Chapter 283: Disturbing Traces

The return of the Weaving Introduction was certainly a good thing for Ron. Even though it was now fixated on returning to its old master, it was still a vast improvement over a stack of draft paper.

With what could be called an antique-level Grand Mage by his side, Ron spent the days of their return journey completely immersed in an ocean of knowledge. Unfortunately, this idyllic period didn’t last long. Shortly after their party crossed back into the territory of Delusional Land, Victoria knocked on the door of Ron’s carriage.

"Ron, Klade’s goblin scouts have discovered some unsettling tracks. I think you should come take a look."

"What happened?" Seeing the Priest’s serious expression, Ron immediately tossed his book aside and quickly ducked out of the carriage.

The party was temporarily camped beside a dirt road packed down by people, pack animals, and carts. It was a path recently trodden out by passing merchants since the construction of the trading post. While it wasn’t wide, and certainly not flat, its advantage was that it was just right, perfectly accommodating the needs of all passing groups.

It wasn’t that Ron and his people didn’t understand that building roads was the first step to prosperity. The problem was, the territory simply didn’t have the manpower to spare for road construction. Since this naturally formed path still met their needs, there was no harm in using it for the time being.

Ron turned to look south, where the faint silhouette of buildings could be seen—that was the camp built by the Carolina bandits, which now belonged to them. Some residents who had moved from the southern city-states but lacked professional skills had been relocated here. If the road beneath their feet needed further leveling and repair, they would be the main labor force.

It seemed they had truly returned to Delusional Land.

"Please don’t tell me Rurik’s deal with the devils fell through," Ron said, racking his brain. That was the most likely danger in Delusional Land right now. "Did the goblins find traces left by a Kambion?"

"With devils? You people are certainly audacious," Jilannis said, also exiting the carriage. The Elf Grand Mage probably disliked walking, as she spent most of her time floating in mid-air, making her a head taller than Ron. "But you’re probably worrying for nothing. There’s no infernal aura around here—at least, I haven’t detected one."

"It’s not devils," Victoria said, pointing toward the nearby woods. "They found a body over there. Sera and Delaford have already gone ahead. I don’t know if they’ve reached any conclusions yet."

"A body?"

"A Centaur," the Priest Heim said, her brow knitting unconsciously. "Although all sorts of races inhabit Delusional Land, this is the first time we’ve learned there are Centaurs here."

"They usually choose to roam across wide-open wilderness, not in the mud of intertwined swamps and jungles."

"Perhaps it was some Centaur Ranger who enjoyed traveling alone," Ron said, gesturing for Victoria to lead the way. "Let’s go take a look. Sera and Delaford are both veteran Hunters; they’ve definitely figured something out."

The trio left the party’s defensive perimeter. No soldiers from Klade’s contingent stepped forward to escort them, but from beside the earth goblin’s war chariot, two bear goblins silently disappeared.

"These huge, hairy beasts can creep out of the shadows as quietly as a cat, dragging women, children, and even adults into hiding to strangle them to death," Jilannis said, having noticed the guards hiding in the dark. "Even in Elf culture, they often appear in stories and nightmares."

"I remember worrying about that when I was a child. But only when I was very young. Later, when I went to study at various academies, there was no room for them to hide in laboratories and classrooms."

"Well, you can start worrying again now," Ron said with a laugh, pushing aside some waist-high bushes. "Seriously though, the goblinoids organized under the earth goblins are quite dedicated. To think their scouting range extends this far."

He glanced back at the road. From here, he could only see the roof of Klade’s war chariot.

"’This is ’our territory,’ so of course the patrols have to be thorough,’" Delaford’s voice came from Ron’s side. The Goblin Hunter emerged from the bushes, shaking a leaf from his pointed ear. "You’re here. Sera and I were just about to come find you."

"Found anything?" Ron quickened his pace and soon saw the goblins who had discovered the body. Sera was among them; even squatting, she stood out from the crowd like a crane among chickens.

Before her, the corpse of a Centaur lay on the ground. The creature was more or less as Ron had imagined a Centaur to be: its upper body and facial structure were a mix between an Elf and a human, while its lower body was that of a horse with brown fur and four hooves.

The body must have been dead for some time. Various parts of it showed different degrees of decay and signs of being gnawed on. The abdominal cavity of the human half had been cut open, and its internal organs were almost completely gone.

The Centaur had few pieces of equipment or decoration on its body. Around the corpse were only some simple leather goods and scattered arrowheads. Ron also saw a bow, broken in two, caked in mud as if it had just been dug out of the ground.

"What a miserable death," Jilannis tutted. "Even for Spirit Creatures, it’s hard to avoid such a fate in the material world."

"Speaking of which, I’ve had a few questions about Centaurs," Ron said, gazing down at the male (or stallion, perhaps) Centaur. "His upper body’s organs have been completely scooped out, so what about the lower half?"

"Is there another set of internal organs, or some other kind of structure?"

"That question depends on the type of Centaur. After all, they’re Spirit Creatures, so they can’t be judged by common sense." If it had been anyone else, they likely wouldn’t have been able to answer, but Jilannis spoke with confident eloquence. "As it happens, there is only one species of Centaur on this continent, and during my time in the Empire, I did witness the dissection of a few Centaur slaves."

"The conclusion is... what appears to be two separate cavities is actually one. The same goes for the internal organs inside. You can examine this corpse yourself later to see if it’s true."

"However, due to their unique nature, a Centaur’s organs are more numerous, more varied, and larger than those of an ordinary humanoid. This is necessary to support their powerful locomotive abilities."

"Take the heart, for example. A horse’s heart can be six to seven times heavier than a human’s, and for a Centaur, you have to at least double or even triple that number. Other organs are similar."

The Elf sized up the nearby Goblin Hunter, who looked eager to start the dissection (or rather, butchery). "Add to that the unique structures of a Spirit Type, and you get a terrifying, almost illogical weight. For instance, the dissected Centaur slave I observed—if I recall correctly, its recorded weight was five thousand and seventy-two pounds. That’s 2.3 metric tons, close to two and a half tons."