Dungeon of Niflheim-Chapter 923: To the Dungeon

With the mountain boundary now behind them Frost and the Lunar maidens were greeted with a white landscape as well as a white sky, a calm blizzard that was picturesque and without lethality. The Lunar maidens nearly wept when they saw the change in environment. They’d been in that hellhole for so long that they had started to forget the beauty of snow covered ground. The high peaks and overhanging mountains barely let in light let alone snow.

"You can relax a little bit now; we should be way beyond their influence and as far as I know this area should be bereft of any real danger." Frost didn’t just dive into this excursion without a plan. Beyond the cave escape and the handling of Valend and his cronies he had already mapped out their route to the Dungeon.

"Hu hu hu hu thank you master." The Lunar maidens drained from their desperate fleeing and their rigorous battle against the seven evil men slumped down against one another to catch their breath and rest their weary muscles.

"Neve come here." Unfortunately Neve wasn’t allotted the same grace, instead of resting she was called to Frost’s side.

"Master."

"Take a look this is the route I plan for us to take." By this point Frost had used his mana to form a small table and two chairs. On the table he had placed one of his prized possessions a map of the Glacial mountains external regions. Areas were divided up into sectors each with their own name, clearly defined boundaries as well as information about their terrain. Several kingdoms, tribes, enclaves and other such dwellings were also present making this large piece of parchment a treasure trove of information.

Frost used his finger to outline a twisted route from their rough location to the entrance into the southlands.

"Currently there are still disputes amongst monsters for territory given the after affects of the monster stampede, so I’ve chosen to avoid areas that house more powerful and more numerous adversaries." He place a conjured ice chip on a few key areas outlining his intentions to avoid such places.

Neve nodded along but felt a little guilty about the extra measures Frost was having to take because of them or rather because of how weak and vulnerable they were.

"Next I want to stay as far away as possible from the frost giant domain, they’ve been unusually aggressive recently and I’ve already suffered once at their hands because of my ignorance." His battle against Bella was nearly his last, if Jared hadn’t shown up he would have been forced to rely on his teleportation talisman but unlike the former that may not have been enough.

"Agreed." Neve and her maidens had already suffered under the yoke of a single frost giant exile, so she was in complete agreement of such as decision even though it’d likely increase their travel time by at least 40 hours.

"Finally I don’t think we should visit any camps, enclaves or kingdoms as your attire and the fact that you’re all women could draw suspicion and interest from... unsavoury groups." If someone discovered a bunch of Lunar maidens travelling through the external regions with a single bodyguard even if that bodyguard was of the B-rank they’d soon be swarmed by money crazed fools, fools who’d likely come with both strength and numbers. Frost was literally travelling with a caravan filled to the brim with money that’s just how much even a single Lunar maiden was worth as a slave. They had to avoid such a scenario at all costs, only the forces stationed within the Niflheim city-state or rather the Dungeon could protect them from such untoward intentions. Of course it wouldn’t stop them completely but at least they’d have a very good chance of fending them off without much or any losses. Frost was quite confident in the strength of his armada, especially after he begins his next overhaul.

"I didn’t think we be such a desirable commodity given our history."

"Back then you still had enough strength and clout with your lineage to give such people second thoughts but now after being practically decimated by the ogres you have no standing and are thus prime targets for such groups." Frost’s words were liked unsheathed swords raking across Neve’s heart, her emotional wounds being pried open without much mercy, yet she revealed very little in the way of distress or pain. Her eyes merely wincing a little before revealing a growing fire, a determination to never allow herself nor her kin to suffer such things ever again.

’Good, the arrogance and pride stemming from her lineage has been beaten down enough that she’s reforging herself into something better.’ Frost found Neve’s burgeoning transformation to be a very positive sign.

"If you want to ensure your own safety then you must become strong enough to once again intimidate such people. To make them think twice about ever invoking the wrath of the Lunar maidens." He followed up his bite with caring advice.

"But until such a time comes and as long as you continue to serve as my subordinates you will be protected under my mantle." Frost would destroy any force that dared to infringe upon his territory let alone dare to covet what was his. It was rare for him to reveal it, but the young Dungeon core was quite possessive.

Hearing his words and seeing a somewhat obsessive look in Frost’s eyes Neve felt a warmth enveloping her heart. She lightly smiled before replying "Thank you Master, I promise not to disappoint your expectations."

"Un" Frost curtly nodded his head before turning back to the map. "As long as we don’t have too many surprises, don’t have to increase our detours and keep a decent pace then our journey should take roughly a week to complete." Without a ravenous horde beckoning at their heels there was no need to travel at such extreme speeds, better to move similarly to that of a merchant convoy, less suspicious and far less burdensome on their weaker and younger members. The children could ride Kiba but the adults who had failed to reach C-rank still needed to use their own two feet to get from point A to point B.

"If that’s the case Master then what will we do about provisions and shelter?" Their food reserves were already dwindling when Frost found them in that cave, there wasn’t enough left for such a long journey. On top of that the external regions though milder in climate than the inner regions still weren’t a pleasant enough place to hitch up randomly. There was a good reason camps, kingdoms and even the odd enclave sported dozens of visitors a day, no one particularly enjoyed camping in a blizzard after all.

"As long as we can find a simple cave or decent overhang before night falls we’ll be fine. My storage ring may not be capable of carrying food stuffs but camping and travelling supplies, thanks to Uncle Shivali I have them in abundance." Just taking a brief look in that ring he’d been handed caused him to sweat from the brow. He had enough tents, blankets, firewood, cooking utensils and even protective wards to outfit a group three times their size and for twice as long.

"And for food that’s easy....we hunt." The external regions was full of a plethora of monsters, many of which made for fine meals even when cooked by a complete amateur. 𝒻𝑟𝘦𝘦𝘸ℯ𝒷𝑛𝘰𝓋ℯ𝘭.𝘤𝘰𝘮

"....." A wry expression suddenly appeared on Neve’s face.

"...You’ve never had to hunt and or prepare your own food before have you?"

"It wasn’t exactly part of my training as the young Matriarch." She blushed, feeling a little embarrassed, never knowing the true depths of her sheltering until she was forced to confront it.

"Haaaaa no matter I can just teach you, it’s a good skill to have regardless of your status."

With their travel plans agreed to Frost and the caravan of Lunar maidens began their journey once they’d finished resting. The night had grown dark, the moons and stars being their only guide through the snow covered ground but eventually they spotted their first night’s shelter, a small cave, far more cramped than even the place they had recently called home but at least they could sleep with peace of mind.

Frost handed out the lavish amount of supplies he’d been given and gave a job to each and every Lunar maiden -even the four children so they wouldn’t feel left out- regardless of their status, even Neve wasn’t free from this duty. She was tasked with being his assistant cook, stirring, chopping and preparing the utensils. Kiba meanwhile was in charge of hunting their meal, with his sense of smell and animal instincts there was no one better for the task....well maybe Frost but if he left then the maidens would inevitably feel anxious.

It didn’t take the tiger long to return to their cave with a bloody elk hanging from his jaws.

"Good catch Kiba those things are normally quite hard to find." The elk was merely an F-rank monster an easy kill for someone like Kiba, but it was quite unusual to find one so close to the boundary, they normally resided further south and within forests.

"Neve you and two others will help me drain and skin it before we cut up and cook this bad boy."

"Urgh...yes Master." The idea of getting animal blood all over her robes alongside the smell that was already a little much for her pampered self-had Neve dry heaving, all colour draining from her face. She missed the days when she was waited on by dozens of beautiful servants, eating the most fantastic of meals, never knowing the harsh work that lay behind making them.