Extra's Perfect Ending-Chapter 234: week

A week passed as Egul led them north. This time, they took a path many dared not tread; the terrain was difficult for ordinary people to walk on. However, with Egul’s protective power, they managed.

They were currently traveling through a mountain range that separated Duranberg from Guragua, extending toward the Frostfang territory. In another word, this path would lead them directly to the Frostfang tribe, from where their journey would be smoother.

"Wow," Theia whispered in awe as they traveled along the mountain ridge, gazing at the endless northern mountain ranges.

When she was a child, her father often spoke of the beauty of the northern lands. Now, seeing it with her own eyes, she could confirm its beauty.

And as the mountain range strung on, one stood taller than the others. It was the tallest mountain that Egul only dared to enter once. It’s hard to reach through the cloud.

Four days later, they reached the Frostfang tribe. Fortunately, they hadn’t encountered any more mutated deer along the way, thanks to Egul’s experience and theories on how to avoid them. The village sat atop a mountain, with wooden homes and stone chimneys in each house. Even for northerners, the cold could be brutal.

This village lay on the outskirts of the tribe’s territory—an underdeveloped area, even by northern standards. When they arrived, the children noticed the large man and ran over excitedly.

"Egul is here!" they shouted. "Egulllll!"

The kids cried out and hugged him, clearly overjoyed.

"He’s quite popular, isn’t he?" Theia observed, smiling at the heartwarming scene. She could see that Egul was beloved by his people. The big man picked up the kid and had him over his shoulder. Then he started running; the kid couldn’t help but smile.

"Egul visits this place once a year to support them," Hilda explained.

"Support? Like giving them money?" Theia asked.

"More than that—he brings them warmth," Leon replied with a smile. His gaze fixed on Egul. Theia didn’t know that Leon could say such sweet words about Egul.

Theia glanced at Egul again, her smile widening. Hilda then noticed Theia’s expression and asked, "Want to play with them?"

"Could I?" Theia asked eagerly. I didn’t know that it was a possibility.

"Why not? Let’s go!" Hilda led her over to play with the children.

Meanwhile, amidst the joyous atmosphere, the doctor let out a muffled groan, but the rope in his mouth prevented any clear words from escaping. His whole body had been tied up, restricting his movement to a crawl. After hearing his noise, Hilda kicked him lightly to keep him quiet.

After the previous incident, Egul hadn’t trusted the doctor, so he was bound and dragged along the snowy path. Luckily, no matter how harshly they treated the doctor, he couldn’t die.

---

"Apostle..."

"I already saw it," Reeva replied, not turning to look at the person who’d entered his room. He was in the relative comfort of a castle’s commander quarters, built of stone and decorated with military symbols. Fortunately, the bed still held up after all these years, though he had to move carefully to avoid breaking it.

From his window, he could see a group of malformed deer staring back. The numbers had dwindled since the last attack, but they still posed a serious threat. Thankfully, the pale yellow flames from their defenses would last until morning. Otherwise, Reeva would have woken to the sight of deer pouring into the castle.

Dressing quickly, Reeva stepped outside to join the remaining members of the group. With the person who came to fetch him, he went to find the high priest, who had assumed command while Reeva was asleep.

"How’s the situation?" Reeva asked, heading toward the castle wall to survey their surroundings.

The pale flames still burned, and with the bridge now broken, they were stuck inside. Max, one of the high priests, gave Reeva an update.

"They appeared this morning," Max reported. The deer had shown up at dawn, and though they’d considered waking Reeva, they decided against it since neither side could do much—the flames blocked the abominations from crossing, but the moat also trapped the defenders.

"What’s our next move?" Reeva asked.

"Repair the bridge and look for an opportunity," Max replied. Without the bridge, they were stranded, so its repair was a top priority. They still had some wood and nails left, so fixing it wasn’t an impossible task. Reeva was more concerned about the escape after they’d repaired it.

Luckily, they still had some supplies, thanks to horses that had carried provisions before they abandoned the village. It wasn’t much, but it would have to suffice.

"Apostle, would you like a tour of the castle?" Another guard offered.

Without knowledge of woodworking, Reeva sighed and accepted the offer. They walked through the broken castle, which had deteriorated from years of neglect. Only a few rooms were still usable, though they did discover a wine cellar.

Reeva visited various quarters long abandoned; trees had overgrown in some places, and stone walls had crumbled in others. After sightseeing, he returned to the bridge repair site, where workers were removing the remnants of the old bridge and preparing to replace it with new wood.

Some knights and villagers kept watch over the situation outside. The malformed deer continued to appear in fewer numbers, which was worrying in its own way. Reeva hoped they wouldn’t evolve further, as that would make their escape even more dangerous.

---

After hours of playing with the children, Egul excused himself and gathered Hilda and the others. Their destination was the main tribe’s village, but first, they stocked up on beef jerky and listened to the villagers’ concerns.

They didn’t head directly to the main village, though; the people here had been struggling to hunt due to strange animals in the area, and Egul wanted to help them before moving on.

It was likely the thing that Hilda was hired to help hunt anyway, so there’s no warmth in starting the job early.

"It’s right over there... Well, it used to be," the tribesman said, pointing to an empty space beside a tree. Across the frozen river, there had once been a massive tree. Yet, upon closer inspection, it wasn’t a tree at all.

Egul crossed over and kneeled on the ground, examining the area. There were clear signs that something large had once stood there.

And it was here not long ago.

"I don’t think this thing exists," Leon muttered, unable to hide his unease. Theia stayed silent, but she too was visibly shaken. The thought of something over five meters tall rushing toward her was deeply unsettling.

"Shut up," Egul snapped, focusing his energy. He didn’t have time to coddle Leon. Instead, he searched for any clues, eventually spotting a faint trail leading deeper into the forest.

Following the trail, he arrived at a tree that looked oddly darker than those around it. From afar, it blended seamlessly into the surroundings, but up close, Egul sensed something was disturbingly wrong.

The people who arrived right behind Egul also sensed that something was wrong with that tree. It’s in human nature to find something like this odd.

For one, it was certainly not a tree. Its "branches" moved as if swayed by a gentle breeze, but no wind could make them appear so fluid and lifelike.

Leon held his breath. Even standing behind Egul didn’t feel safe; the tree was simply too big.

"Are we fighting it?" Theia voiced the question on everyone’s mind. They had come this far, and now they had to face whatever this creature was.

Egul’s response was wordless. He summoned his mystic power, casting it over himself and those around him. His figure became a blur as he leapt directly into the tree’s reach.

Up close, Egul could see the tree’s dark surface was actually a kind of flesh, disguised to look like bark. And the "branches" were not branches at all but horns—deer horns. He realized this was likely another malformed deer.

Egul quickly launched himself at the creature, landing a powerful punch on its flesh.

But the creature reacted instantly. The area around Egul’s punch hardened, completely absorbing the impact. Snow sprayed in all directions, but the creature itself appeared unharmed.

As Egul pulled back, Hilda rushed in with her knife, her weapon shimmering with magical energy. She struck, but the creature’s flesh darkened, hardening in response, and the knife glanced off.

Suppressing her fear, Theia summoned her wolf. The creature was too distant to directly harm her, so she commanded the wolf to attack. It leapt forward, its jaws snapping shut on the dark surface, but the tree’s flesh turned rock-hard, deflecting the assault.

Egul seized the opportunity for another attack. This time he coated his fists with concentrated ice mystic force, striking the creature with everything he had. The surface hardened again, but this time the impact reverberated outward, blasting snow aside and causing the creature to shudder as though uprooted.

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