When the Saintess Arrives, No King Exist
Chapter 87 - 85 Mountain March

Chapter 87: Chapter 85 Mountain March

The wheels with side diagonal patterns approached from afar, their axles making peculiar clattering sounds as they rolled over the weeds on the road.

In the long mountain gorge, clouds and mist swirled, and the vertical rock walls were covered in moss, revealing their dry greenish skin.

Along the undulating mountainsides, the black-clad citizens of the Pope Country formed two long lines, nervously passing through the zigzag mountain path.

They carefully pushed small carts, wearing straw sandals, and tapped the ground with their walking sticks to prevent falling off the road.

On the right side of the path was a slope covered with fluffy short grass, while on the left was a horseshoe-shaped mountain, with terraces rolling smoothly downwards.

Occasionally, stones from the upper layers would roll down the slope, hitting the citizens climbing below.

If someone were to fall from here, they likely wouldn’t die but would at least suffer broken bones.

The original elms, irises, and long-leaf grasses gradually changed into firs, spruces, and edelweiss as the elevation rose.

When someone looked up, they saw hill upon hill, peak upon peak.

Looking to the sides, it felt as if being cradled by giant hands, with the gaps between the fingers showing the overcast sky.

As the elevation increased, the weather grew colder.

Even the citizens of the Pope Country, who wore black vests and short capes over their ordinary clothes, couldn’t help but shiver.

After traversing wide roads, Horn and his group’s pace slowed even more on this mountain trail.

Since Danji’s death until now, two days had passed, during which Horn and his group had covered about 15 miles.

There were still roughly 30 miles to the Black Bone Swamp and 205 miles to the Joan of Arc Castle.

"Where are we now?" Horn asked Qianqian, who was resting on a large stone.

After two days of rest, Horn’s leg injury had improved significantly, though he was feeling sick from the carriage.

Riding in these carts without rubber tires was akin to a death sentence.

At this moment, he was walking slowly with the Pope’s Staff like everyone else.

Of course, in exchange, Horn was protected by armored tanks in front and was escorted by four companies of Child Soldiers.

"This is the most challenging part; after climbing these mountains, we’ll reach Yier Mountain.

Going around Yier Mountain leads to a plank road, and when we descend it, we’ll be off the high plateau of the mountains."

Qianqian stood up as Horn arrived, supporting herself with a staff and continuing forward.

"How much further is it?"

"Including the descent, it’s about 10 miles, but don’t worry. We’re just around the mountainside of the high plateau, and going down isn’t that difficult." Qianqian touched her smooth chin. "After we go down, there’s an outpost called Ande Castle nearby, perfect for resupplying."

"Alright, pass the word, hang in there, and we’ll reach the supply point after a day of travel. When we reach Joan of Arc Castle, I’ll treat everyone to a three-day feast. Good times are ahead of us!"

"Pass it on, once we reach Joan of Arc Castle, three days of feasting!"

The Child Soldiers stood at the edge of the mountain path, one facing up, one facing down, shouting Horn’s order.

"Hey, by the way, where’s my big bow?" Horn asked, pointing to the ’Snow’ word on his waist which was swinging from the Yun Zhongxue. "I gave it to you the day before yesterday, hasn’t it been tuned today?"

"It’s broken, being repaired. Jeanne will reforge it with lightning tonight," Qianqian replied irritably.

Horn was shocked, "Broken, how did it break?"

"Are you kidding? Mountain copper has its limits. I don’t know what you shot yesterday, but you definitely exceeded the mountain copper’s limits."

Horn frowned, "Impossible, I checked when I returned, and it was fine."

"It’s internally damaged." Qianqian tied up her hair, donned a hunting outfit, and looked like a boy, despite being a girl in disguise.

"Honestly, it’s the first time I’ve seen pure mountain copper like this. Normally, we think its elasticity for humans is limitless."

Qianqian couldn’t help but recall seeing Horn manipulate the mountain copper rod that day.

Unsure if she was mistaken, the mountain copper rod seemed to have restored itself several times only to reverse itself again.

Normally, when twisted into a ’(’ shape, it would return to a ’|’ shape.

But Horn’s mountain copper rod would continue to deform, going from ’(’ to ’)’, only reverting after multiple oscillations.

According to the Alchemist, mountain copper softens upon contact with mana, absorbing and storing it as it deforms, and releases it upon returning to form.

But when it absorbs mana, it takes in more than needed for restoring itself, discharging any excess upon reverting.

How did it keep oscillating like this?

"I thought mountain copper had a high deformation limit, but even this won’t do," Horn complained, shaking his legs.

Turning around, Qianqian looked at Horn as if he were a demon.

This bow’s limbs were entirely pure mountain copper, 8 pounds of pure mountain copper, equivalent to a small crossbow in power.

Based on yesterday’s evidence, Horn had shot a 0.5-pound piece of half-spear with a single arrow.

Even a Witch would have passed out after exceeding limits, and a regular wizard would have died from brain exhaustion.

Yet, this man not only exceeded the mountain copper bow’s limits but also managed to walk back after firing it.

"How much mana do you have?" Qianqian couldn’t resist asking, "Not even a Witch has so much mana."

"How should I know? I can’t even cast spells," Horn tapped his head and raised a finger, "Actually, I’ve always wanted to ask — is this your first time making a mountain copper bow?"

"What else did you expect?"

"Did no one ever think of making a mountain copper bow before?"

Qianqian shook her head, "No need for it."

Seeing Horn still a bit puzzled, she carefully explained.

Mountain copper is an alchemist product with a simple formula: 7 pounds of iron, 1 pound of copper, a dash of mineral powder, a dash of charcoal powder, and two drops of sunflower juice, requiring four wizards for the alchemy ceremony.

Of course, the method usually yields sponge mountain copper full of gaps.

To get normal mountain copper, you must put it in a furnace for reforging.

In this world, metals have poor heat conduction, making flame-based refining costly.

Plus, the cost of iron needed for mountain copper is high, making the cost of one pound of mountain copper equivalent to half an armor suit.

A bow made of mountain copper won’t penetrate armor if it contains too little mountain copper and will render the shooter comatose if it contains too much.

This mountain copper bow can only be used by those with mana, but if they already have mana, why not use spells?

It’s just Horn, a freak full of mana but unable to use spells, who had a need for such a mountain copper bow.

Mountain copper is normally used by Demon Hunters to make heart guards or vest armor, usually alloyed with iron.

The main aim is to defend against physical witches.

The mana gets absorbed during a physical witch attack on mountain copper armor, making the attack’s power decline; the more it deforms, the more it weakens.

However, this only reduces damage, with the deformation of mountain copper ultimately limited, breaching such limits causing an explosion.

It was said a Witch once punched mountain copper armor to destruction.

"Your Grace, Your Grace."

While the two chatted, a Child Soldier stumbled toward them from the front.

Horn and Qianqian exchanged a serious glance.

This Child Soldier was assigned to the first column of ten households; if there’s trouble ahead, delays are inevitable.

They could afford no delays in their journey.

Despite not knowing why their scouts had not sighted Church infantry, this didn’t mean they weren’t present.

They could be lying in wait at any mountain pass for Horn and his group.

"Ha, ha, Elder Sachis sent me to relay a message..."

"Calm down, what’s the matter?"

Horn placed a steady hand on his shoulder, asking calmly.

"He sent me to ask if we reach Joan of Arc Castle, is it true there will be no fighting for three years?"

Horn hesitated for a good five seconds.

"...Tell him if his ears don’t work, cut them off, get it straight before asking questions."

"Uh," the Child Soldier hesitated, "Wouldn’t that hurt him?"

"Cut the crap!"

Horn’s shout echoed back and forth through the valley, mixing with the mist like a beautiful melody.