Kumodesu

"Just reconnaissance, no engagement," the Commander reminded us.

We began our descent into the valley.

The first segment, as previously mentioned, posed no danger, so we passed through it without trouble. When we reached the second segment, the path here was barely half as wide as before, with many visible cracks along the edges, indicating that it could collapse at any time.

"Be careful. Entering the second segment also means stepping into the Scutigera's territory. Last time I set foot in here, I was immediately targeted by the mutated one," Vorsel, the scouting team leader, warned us.

I crouched down and reached my hand past the boundary of the second segment to test the area—nothing happened.

"The mutated one isn't nearby," I said.

"Is it safe to enter?" Charlot asked.

I shook my head uncertainly but then tried stepping forward.

"There are 134 small Scutigera within a 10-meter radius," Vorsel reported.

His detection skills were impressive—so why did he fail to catch anything last time?

"Seems like the disguise is working."

After I tested it, the other two followed me in.

"The second segment is the longest—36 miles. Last time, I reached just over 10 miles in when I detected the second mutated one," Vorsel continued to share intel.

"Where did the first one target you?" I asked.

"Between mile 14 and 22."

"So the two of them are close together."

We advanced cautiously, already covering over 5 miles. But as we passed the sixth mile, a gaze swept over us, and all three of us held our breath and froze.

"It's here," Vorsel said.

"Looks like it's patrolling the area. That gaze wasn't because it noticed us," I said.

Charlot remained silent all this time. I knew she wasn't talkative in front of others, but say something, will you? You're supposed to be the one in charge here.

"Vice Commander, what should we do?" Vorsel asked.

"Keep moving," Charlot said coldly and continued ahead.

By the tenth mile, another gaze brushed past us.

"That's the second one."

Hearing Vorsel's report, we slowed down slightly.

"What now?" he asked again.

Charlot signaled us to stop, her eyes turning to me.

"I'll go ahead and check."

I activated my Stealth and crept forward slowly. My Stealth skill was already at level 9, so it wouldn't be easy for them to detect me. On top of that, I had [Sneak] and [Light Foot] at fairly high levels, making me nearly invisible.

I got over a mile away from the others without being noticed. I didn't go farther, deciding to turn back.

"How was it?" Vorsel asked anxiously.

"I wasn't detected, but I wanted to confirm something, so I didn't go far. I think you'd need high-level Stealth to make it through here."

"Vorsel, what level is your Stealth skill?"

"Level 8."

Slightly lower than mine, but still decent.

"And Vice Commander?"

In front of others, I still had to refer to Charlot formally—not because I feared them knowing our relationship, but out of respect for her position.

"Level 6," she replied.

Not bad, but I couldn't confirm how far she could go.

"Mine's level 9. I'll go confirm again. Vorsel, you come with me. Vice Commander, stay here for now."

The two nodded. Vorsel activated his Stealth, and we moved together again. As we progressed, I reminded him to stop immediately if he felt noticed. Right now, I wanted to test how far we could go using Stealth.

Two miles... three miles...

If we counted from the beginning, we had gone 13 miles; if from Charlot's position, 3 miles.

Two more miles later, Vorsel suddenly halted.

I glanced at him. He signaled to me.

He'd been noticed—if he went any farther, he'd be found. So he remained still.

So Stealth level 8 could only get five miles in, huh…

Troublesome.

I continued forward.

Another two miles…

I could clearly sense the presence of two mutated Scutigera nearby. Their gazes passed back and forth over the area, but they hadn't detected me.

Total distance: 17 miles. Still not even halfway…

I thought it would be dangerous to go on, but I had to try. Before moving, I calmed myself and lowered my breathing, which caused my [Focus] skill to level up.

All my senses were on high alert, ready to detect any threat. I also took the opportunity to observe the path—marking unstable spots, narrow areas, and memorizing the terrain.

I even identified spots along the cliff walls where I could grab onto if I fell.

I pressed forward.

One mile... two miles... four miles…

Total distance: 21 miles.

Still no sign of the third mutated one, though I could still feel the presence of the previous two. I moved very slowly now, because the closer I got, the nearer I was to them.

I had to stop every few steps, hold my breath, and focus intensely to avoid being detected.

If I alone had this much trouble, how could an entire group pass through

In truth, if we had enough strength, segment two wouldn't be that dangerous. The real problem was the third segment, which was cursed—you could only cross it through a safe path. Any other method would fail.

We had another route—through the Orat mountain range—but that risked detection by Garat Empire forces. The range on the right, Mesacti... yeah, we'd be dead for sure if we went that way.

No way around it now.

At mile 22, I stopped walking and crawled instead.

This method seemed more effective.

After a while, I stopped, focusing all my energy on concealing myself—I had just discovered the third mutated one.

So it was true…

I concentrated to pinpoint its position—it didn't seem to be near the ground, which made its presence feel faint.

Scutigera usually stay in one spot their whole lives, unless food or something else forces them to move. But their detection abilities were so strong that even stationary, they could sense prey from afar.

Without the smell of the Venomous Serpent masking me, I estimate most people could only make it to mile 15 or 16, even with Stealth.

I waited a few seconds, then pressed forward.

Mile 23.

Mile 24.

Mile 25.

I was nearing my limit.

Crawling had helped me make it this far, but there was still no viable method for the entire group to pass through. Judging from how the mutated ones were spaced out, there would likely be a fourth one between miles 28 and 30.

I wanted to confirm this.

But at my current capacity, I had reached the edge. For the past few miles, I'd had to hold my breath repeatedly, always on alert. They hadn't found me, but their suspicion had definitely increased.

I should head back…

I retraced my steps the same way, finding Vorsel still standing where I left him.

I brought him back with me. Once we returned to Charlot, I pulled her out too.

Only after we reached segment one did we speak again.

"How was it?" Vorsel asked.

I recounted everything I experienced and all my deductions.

"Four mutated ones…" Vorsel's face turned pale.

"My skills are rather specialized, and I moved extremely slowly to reach 25 miles. I'm not confident a whole group could make it through…"

"Let's go back," Charlot, who had been listening quietly, finally said.

Upon returning, we reported everything to the Commander. There were a few others in the room as well. After listening, everyone's face darkened.

"What do you think, Commander?"

The Commander stayed silent for a long time before finally sighing.

"Four mutated ones aren't impossible to deal with, but the terrain there makes combat unfeasible."

Whoa.

He still thinks we can fight four of them?

"Can we lure them out?" someone asked.

"Before you lure the mutated ones, you'll have already brought hundreds of smaller Scutigera out," he replied.

Still a dead end.

"Didn't the kingdom account for this?" I hesitated before speaking.

The Commander remained silent.

"Yes—but it's gone beyond our projections," the Vice Director answered.

"The last expedition was 13 years ago. Back then, there was only one mutated one when we passed through. Before departure, we accounted for growth and predicted three at most."

So they didn't plan thoroughly.

"But the fourth one is just your guess, right? What if it's not there?" someone challenged my assumption.

"You can't think that way. We must plan for every possibility. Without this reconnaissance, we wouldn't have even known about the third one," the Commander defended me.

"There's only one option left," he said grimly.

Everyone held their breath.

"We go down into the valley and confront them directly."

Eyes widened in shock.

Even I hadn't expected such a direct approach.

The valley was estimated to be over 100 miles deep, and he wanted us to descend into it...

It wasn't impossible, but we'd need more manpower. If only a few of us went, we'd be exhausted long before reaching the mutated ones.

"This means one group must distract them, so another can pass through safely," the Commander said.

Silence again.

Now that really was a death sentence—no one volunteered.

"Then it's decided," the Vice Director finally said.

With his approval, everyone else had no choice but to accept.

"If we've resolved how to handle segment two, we should also discuss segment three. Otherwise, people down below will be fighting for their lives while those above die like fools to the curse."

His sarcasm was heavy, but no one seemed to mind.

"He's right. For segment three, the key is to stay calm. If everyone passes one by one, nothing should happen. But just to be safe, we should decide on the order," the Commander said.

Oh boy, looks like something interesting is about to happen.

I stayed quietly at the back, waiting to see the next spectacle.

Suddenly, the Commander said, "Loyral, you'll lead the group above."

I froze.

I thought I'd be assigned to the combat group. Honestly, at this point, I'd rather go fight.

I knew what I said earlier, but I don't see any survival chance for the distraction team. At least fighting gives you some chance, no matter how small.

The Commander paid no attention to my reaction and continued organizing.

According to him, I would lead, followed by Alger, then the nobles, the researchers, and finally the regular soldiers.

Ideally, the researchers should go second, but if that happened, the nobles would throw a tantrum—and right now, stability was what the Commander needed most.

A logical arrangement—but it meant I couldn't stay near Seryl.

In a place this dangerous…

I clenched my teeth.