Monarch Chapter 186 (Patreon)

Chapter 186

As soon as Prince Caelan said that, Rayne understood that the preliminary exploration of the ruins was finally over.

For the past couple of weeks, most of the warband had slowly become accustomed to the outer edges of the Godless Ruins. They had learned which streets were relatively safe, which buildings were worth entering, and how to react when a ghoul suddenly crawled out from beneath a pile of rubble.

Some of the soldiers who had looked tense whenever they first encountered the cursed creatures could now stand in front of them without even flinching.

They had grown used to the place.

Yet combat experience and learning how to survive around ugly, cursed monsters had never been the actual purpose of their expedition.

Officially, they were here as Prince Caelan's guards while he searched the ruins for artifacts and knowledge on the place. The expedition was supposed to help uncover more of the Godless Ruins and, more importantly, give the prince achievements that could strengthen his position when he returned.

That was the official story, at least.

In reality, they hadn't even come close to achieving that goal because they hadn't seriously attempted it. At least until now.

There would have been no reason for Caelan to call Rayne to a private meeting with his personal retainers if he intended to continue wandering around the outer sections. The prince was clearly ready to move deeper into the ruins.

Rayne took one of the empty seats around the long wooden table. Lyra was already sitting nearby, while several of Caelan's retainers stood along the walls.

The prince waited until everyone had settled before beginning.

"The warband has performed well during the past week," he said. "We haven't lost anyone, and everyone is becoming accustomed to the conditions here. I believe Captain Edran is very likely to agree to moving a little deeper into the ruins now." His gaze shifted toward Rayne. "What do you think?"

Rayne understood immediately why the prince had asked him.

Out of everyone sitting around the table, he probably knew Captain Edran better than anyone else.

They had spent enough time together during the Pascar Plains campaign for Rayne to understand how the captain approached risks and how much importance he placed on the safety of the warband.

"I believe he'll agree," Rayne answered. "It's not as though he expects the expedition to not progress forever. Besides, the areas we've explored so far have already been thoroughly checked by adventurers over the years. There's little reason for a warband of our size to spend much more time there."

Lyra nodded from the other side of the table.

"Casper was saying something similar," she added. "Especially after Rayne and his party came back from the razorwing territory without losing anyone. I think that helped convince some of the others that we're ready to move farther in."

Caelan gave a small nod. "Yes. He did well."

Rayne didn't comment on that.

The prince then looked toward one of the spellswords standing beside the wall and gestured toward the table.

"Namous."

The man immediately stepped forward.

Rayne recognized him after a moment. Although he had been there throughout the expedition, they hadn't spoken much. He unrolled a large sheet of parchment.

The map of the Godless Ruins spread across the entire center of the table.

Rayne leaned forward slightly.

The map was considerably more detailed than anything else he had seen. Streets, collapsed structures, old districts, and several notable locations had been marked across its surface. Different symbols covered portions of the ruins, while several areas had notes written around them.

But what immediately caught Rayne's attention was the enormous section that remained completely white.

There was almost nothing written there. No streets. No marked buildings. No known monster territories.

Nothing.

It was a massive blank space in the middle of the map. Rayne stared at it for several seconds.

Compared to the sheer size of the ruins, the areas they had explored so far suddenly looked almost insignificant.

Caelan noticed where he was looking. "We've barely scratched the surface," the prince said.

He pointed toward a small marked region along the outer section of the map. "This is where we've spent most of our time." His finger moved across the parchment. "And this is the territory occupied by the razorwings."

Rayne followed the movement carefully.

The distance between the explored regions and the inner sections was enormous. Even with their progress over the past weeks, they had barely advanced beyond a few streets.

Caelan's finger eventually stopped near a series of old walls surrounding the central portion of the ruins.

"What we need to do is keep the warband close enough to the central region while remaining behind these walls. That way, Rayne and his party can venture into the central area without any problems."

Rayne's expression became slightly more serious as the prince continued. "You already know your objective will be to search for the sanctum. We don't know its exact location, but we have a general idea of where it should be.”

His finger moved to another location deeper within the unexplored region.

"It may take several days to find it, but at least we aren't searching randomly.”

Rayne stared at the marked area. A general location in a place this enormous wasn't exactly reassuring.

In fact, he couldn't help thinking that actually finding a needle in a haystack was probably safer.

At least the haystack wouldn't be filled with ghouls, cursed monsters, and whatever else had survived inside the central area for hundreds of years.

But Rayne wisely kept that thought to himself.

Another spellsword leaned forward and pointed toward the map. "So, we need to move the warband in this direction?"

His finger landed on a section of the map that appeared to contain a relatively clear route toward the inner walls.

Rayne followed the path with his eyes.

If they went that way, they would be able to approach the central region without immediately crossing some of the more dangerous territories.

But it wasn't as though even that path would be completely safe.

Most adventurers hardly ever ventured toward the razorwing nesting grounds, and even fewer were willing to approach this close to the inner walls. According to everything Rayne had heard, the area around those walls was filled with thousands of cursed spirits that had remained trapped within the ruins for centuries.

Rayne looked at the map again before looking at Prince Caelan.

"Are you sure the captain will agree to take the warband this far?"

The question made several people around the table look toward him. Before Prince Caelan could answer, one of the retainers shook his head.

"Actually, no. The captain will reject it for sure." The man leaned forward and pointed toward an intersection marked on the map. "Anything beyond this point would be too dangerous. We'd lose far too many soldiers trying to push through."

Rayne studied the area he was pointing at. He didn't know exactly what kind of monsters occupied that section, but the map itself was covered with markings indicating the nests and territories of numerous creatures.

There was clearly a reason the adventurers who had explored the outer regions had stopped before going any farther.

Prince Caelan nodded slowly. "You aren't wrong that Edran would object, Rayne." His finger moved across the map until it reached the section just beyond an intersection. "That's why the warband won't go any farther after this point. From there, you and your party will continue alone."

Rayne's eyebrows rose slightly. "Alone?"

"I'll lend you some of my retainers," Caelan added. "You won't be completely without support."

Rayne looked back toward the map. "We'd still have to cover an enormous area before even reaching the inner city."

The prince shook his head. "No. That would simply be a suicide quest, and I have no intention of watching you throw your life away just yet." His finger moved toward the inner city walls. "There's a straight path that leads directly over the walls and into the inner city. That's the route you'll take."

Rayne stared at him in wonder. For a moment, he wondered whether the prince had somehow prepared some miraculous shortcut specifically for him.

But rather than becoming excited, suspicion was the first thing that filled his mind.

Whenever something sounded too convenient, there was usually a reason for it.

"What's this straight path?" Rayne asked. "I don't see anything on the map."

Andrew who had remained silent throughout the meeting finally spoke. "That's because it's in the sewers."

Rayne turned toward him. "The sewers?"

Andrew nodded. "You'll be taking a path straight through the underground tunnels toward the inner city."

Prince Caelan confirmed it with a nod.

"Recently, I acquired some information regarding the entry points of the sewer system that runs throughout the ruins. They're essentially a network of tunnels beneath the city. If you enter from the correct point and continue straight, you should be able to come out on the other side of the inner walls."

Rayne blinked, looking at the map again.

On paper, the plan certainly sounded much smarter than trying to have a small party go through territory filled with countless cursed spirits and monster nests.

The sewers would allow them to bypass most of the danger aboveground and approach the inner city without attracting the attention of thousands of enemies.

It was almost too perfect. And that was exactly what bothered him.

Rayne stared at the map for several seconds, his eyes narrowing slightly.

There was an obvious catch somewhere, and a minute later, he caught it.

Rayne raised his head slightly. "The sewers haven't been used before, right?"

Prince Caelan lowered his head a little, and when he answered, his voice had become noticeably more serious.

"Yes. You're right. The sewers are completely forgotten by everyone." He placed a finger against the map as he continued explaining. "Most of the entry points in the safer sections of the ruins were destroyed long ago, which means there is no practical way to enter them from those areas. And because almost nobody ventures into the deeper sections, finding an intact entrance is extremely difficult."

Rayne's expression became more thoughtful. "So we'd be going in blind."

"Exactly."

The implications were obvious.

Since nobody had properly explored the sewer system in generations, there was no way to know what they might encounter inside. It could be nothing more than an abandoned network of tunnels filled with stagnant water and rats, or it could contain monsters that they would have no idea about.

For all Rayne knew, they could find something down there that was even harder to deal with than the thousands of cursed spirits surrounding the inner walls.

That made the decision considerably more complicated.

Rayne looked toward Prince Caelan, and from the prince's expression, it was clear that he was leaving the choice entirely to him. He could either take the unknown route through the sewers or attempt to cross the surface and deal with the countless spirits and monster nests waiting near the inner walls.

Either way, danger was unavoidable.

For a moment, Rayne couldn't help wondering whether his party actually had enough strength to handle something like this.

They had survived the razorwings, but surviving one dangerous territory didn't suddenly make them strong enough to explore an entirely unknown section of the Godless Ruins.

Still, Rayne had accepted the prince's request a long time ago. There was no point regretting that decision now.

Whether he wanted to or not, he would eventually have to enter the inner city. The only thing left for him to decide was which path he was willing to risk his life on.

Everyone around the table remained silent as they waited for him to speak and after two minutes, Rayne finally released a quiet breath.

"Can I ask first which retainers I can take with me first?"

Prince Caelan smiled. "Of course. But choose carefully. Make sure that whoever you choose will actually be of help to you."

Rayne nodded, and his eyes immediately began moving around the room, studying each of the retainers standing around the table.

Some were spellswords, others were mages, but he only knew the abilities of a couple of them. The others he only had a faint idea of.

As his gaze passed from one person to another, the atmosphere inside the room seemed to change. The retainers who had been standing casually moments earlier suddenly straightened their backs, while several of them exchanged brief glances.

None of them truly wanted to move with his party for sure, but they had no choice. Hence, for a moment, every person in the room seemed to hold their breath.

Then, Rayne finally opened his mouth.