Chapter 223: [223] What??

The journey to Alask would take two days on foot, but Ark’s plan was to speed up the journey any way he could.

They could have decided to sprint all the way there. Most of them could handle it. The only issue was Rodolph, the rest of the support crew, and the old man, Harold.

They could not leave them behind, so they would be forever moving according to their pace.

This meant that it didn’t matter how fast they were individually, their entire group could only move as fast as their slowest member, which meant they would all be going at Harold’s pace.

As Ark watched the man basically crawl around the camp, he shook his head and stood up. Forget two days, if they were accompanied by Harold, it would take two weeks!

So Ark came up with a brilliant idea to solve their problem, a method to carry both Harold and the support crew across the frozen wasteland.

A sled.

A sled’s design was basic. It was simply like designing a carriage, only that in place of wheels, he would place flat boards that could easily glide through the snow with ease.

There was only one little problem...

There were no materials to build the sled. There was an abundance of trees, sure, but they were all frozen stiff and useless.

Most of the logs within the trees were no longer tough. They would break down before he could even think of fashioning them to shape.

And so Ark came up with another brilliant solution!

"Jenna."

The mage appeared in front of him in seconds, her staff clutched tightly in her hands as she cocked her head to the side.

"I’m going to need you to build something for me..."

Ark, Jenna, and Rodolph spent the next few minutes building a sled that was more than capable of traversing the white sea.

Rodolph, using his knowledge of how carriages worked, advised them on how the design should be. Jenna crafted it with her black ice, while Ark polished the sharp edges with [Destructive Flames] and the hero’s blade.

Ark had instructed the rest of the party to prepare for their departure. They were to distribute as many bear corpses as they could among themselves, store them in their inventories, and clean up all traces they had left in the area.

But not long after they were done, they began to gather around Ark, watching him with curiosity as they built the sled from the ground up.

Even Ragnar, who was still pissed that Harold was accompanying them, stood by the side, watching them as well.

Normally, a carriage made out of snow would have been foolish, even in a frozen biome.

This was because no matter how cold it was, there would be friction as the sled moved. Friction meant heat, and heat meant the snow would melt...

But Ark was able to overcome this due to two reasons. First, Jenna’s ice was not ordinary ice. It took a whole lot of effort to melt it. Even direct contact with fire was usually not enough.

And secondly, this region was far colder than even the Arctic back on Earth, so the ice would be well preserved.

After about one hour, they finally arrived at an acceptable result. Ark, Jenna, and Rodolph took a step back to appreciate their creation.

The sled was large enough to carry all of them and solid enough not to fall apart during transit. They had not just moulded the entire thing out of ice. Instead, they crafted parts which they fused together, making it more rigid.

The inside of the sled was layered in Frost Bear hide, meaning that although it was made of ice, it was incredibly warm.

"Perfect, simply perfect," Ark said.

Rodolph nodded. "I couldn’t have said it better myself..."

Jenna saw Rodolph nodding and nodded as well, just before she raised her hands into the air as though to celebrate.

Ark was not sure if she was just mimicking him or if she knew what she was doing, but he found the action rather cute.

"Well, this is great and all." Olivia walked up to Ark and stared up at the large carriage. "But what is going to pull it?"

"..."

Everyone grew silent...

Rodolph’s face paled as he turned to face Ark. "Guildmaster?"

"Ha!" Harold laughed from where he sat. "I guess you lads aren’t as smart as you think you are. Why do you think we don’t use sleds over here?"

It was simply because all domesticated animals were long dead, either killed by the harsh weather or eaten for the sake of survival...

"What are you going to do, build a bull out of ice?"

Harold walked up to the carriage that shimmered like obsidian under the dim glow of the moon.

"It’s a shame, though. If we still had domesticated beasts, this would have been a wonder in the snow!"

Ark suddenly chuckled, pulling all attention to himself. "Who said anything about domestic animals?"

"Huh? What are you talking abou—"

A ripping howl suddenly cut through the air like lightning, causing Harold to stumble back, his eyes wide as he searched the area, looking for the source of the sound.

It was a sound unlike anything he had heard in all eighty years of his life. No beast in the region should have been capable of producing such high-pitched roars...

Harold was not the only one who had reacted to the harrowing sounds.

Swish!

Ragnar and Dark immediately pulled out their weapons, while Cici began quickly murmuring a spell underneath her breath.

Olivia, on the other hand, stared in a certain direction, her eyes widening slightly as two small dots appeared in the distance, blitzing through the snow.

"Huh? Isn’t that..."

Her voice trailed off when she saw something else far beyond them, her mind trying to comprehend just what Ark’s plan was.

"No one attack, those are... Ark’s pets," she said as the salamanders came into view.

"P-pets?" Cici stuttered. The monsters were taller than her!

Olivia immediately turned to glare at Ark, a tired look in her eyes as she placed her hands on her waist.

"Ark... what did you do—?!"

Plop!

Tai and Kenny slammed into Olivia, tackling her to the floor and licking her face, smothering her with love.

"Hahah, I missed you too! Wait, I need to talk some... hahaha... that tickles... I need to talk some sense into that bonehead... ahahaha!"

Save for Ark’s party members, who were familiar with his bonds, everyone else was frozen in place as they watched the monsters with wide eyes, some even afraid to take a step away.

Ragnar frowned as he regarded them.

’Black and red salamanders?!’ Salamanders were known to be practically impossible to tame. Even the most experienced tamers found it difficult to control them.

Ark was meant to be a mage... What sort of miracle did he have to pull to have these monsters under his command—

’What is that sound?’

Ragnar stared up, and then his jaw dropped because he finally realised why Olivia had been so concerned.

The salamanders had not come alone.

"Holy shit! Are those Frost Bears?!" Dark screamed.

Charging right towards their group was a pack of Frost Bears, all of them sprinting so fast that it was as if their very lives were on the line.

Harold panicked. "I thought ya cleared out all of them in the area! Where did this one come from?!"

He turned to where Ark stood, only to see him watching the approaching pack. He had made no effort to draw his sword or even use one of his skills to dismantle them.

"No one should lay a hand on those monsters. Let them come," Ark said calmly.

"What the hell are you saying?! Are you trying to get us killed?" Harold tugged on Ark’s arm, begging him to move.

Ark yawned, and Harold’s heart went cold.

The support crew were basically panicking in silence. Cici was sweating underneath her boisterous hat, Ragnar had taken his stance, and trust that Rodolph had already distanced himself from them.

But as for Harold, he simply went down to his knees.

What was the point of running? They would catch up to him in seconds and spew his guts in the cold. Why stress his old bones if he was still going to die anyway?

Harold waited for his death to come, but it seemed fate had other plans.

Because why? Why did the bear stop right in front of Ark, bowing at his feet?

And why... just why was he growling at them??!

After a few minutes of exchanging growls, Ark turned to the group and said in a merry tone.

"So, good news! The bears have agreed to help us pull the sled! Isn’t that wonderful?"

"..."

’...what?’