Chapter 587: Avoiding Disaster

"Why is that thing heading in this direction!?" Standing atop the city wall, the stout adventurer who had been relaxed so far even as the blizzard descended upon him and swallowed up the city behind him that had been covered by a hazy teal light, frowned visibly upon seeing the glacial behemoth, visible through the blizzard thanks to a special skill of his, turn and move directly in the direction of him. "Curse this damnable luck, to think there was a mountain in the way, causing it to turn all of a sudden!" Only as he squinted his eyes slightly did he realize that the original path of the glacial behemoth had been blocked by a smaller mountain, causing it to change direction to avoid the small mountain in question.

Normally, this would have been fine as the senior dispatched by the guild was more than powerful enough to push the glacial behemoth away from the city and stop it from getting too close.

Unfortunately, that dependable senior had just recently left to help deal with a dungeon crisis and hadn’t returned yet. Meaning that the dependable senior who could deal with this mountain sized monster was currently missing.

The strongest one left behind to ensure the safety of the main northern city and other cities under the guild was none other than the stout man standing atop the city wall frowning to himself as he looked towards the approaching glacial behemoth.

It wasn’t that he was weak by any means, as he was also an adventurer who had surpassed the SS Rank.

It was just that the glacial behemoth was far too powerful even for someone with his strength to deal with.

Not to mention pushing it away from the city. In case he really did make a move, there was a good chance he would end up getting killed by the glacial behemoth.

The only reason he hadn’t retreated so far was because he was still hoping the intimidation brought by that senior of his was still present and would make this glacial behemoth turn around and avoid the city. After all, this wasn’t the first time the glacial behemoth had attempted to run over the city.

Of course, another reason for not evacuating the city also had to do with the simple fact that doing so came with immense risks. Not just because of the blizzard raging outside potential sweeping them away, but also the simple fact that most people living inside the city couldn’t endure the terrifying cold of the blizzard without the teal barrier that could be seen behind him covering the city.

This barrier didn’t just keep out the worst of the blizzard but also ensured that the temperature inside it didn’t drop down to a deadly level.

If he had to evacuate the city, at least half of the people residing there would end up perishing in the process- and that was not even considering such a move might draw the attention of the glacial behemoth. Leading to it attacking them, something that would undoubtedly end up with everyone expect himself and a few other skilled adventurers perishing in the process.

"Haaa... I really hope it won’t come to that..." Muttering this to himself as the blizzard churned violently around him without leaving any sign on his body, the stout man narrowed his eyes as he mobilized the vast mana flowing through his body and directly ignited it. Allowing it to multiply and grow rapidly until it reached a level far beyond what he could accomplish under normal conditions.

Still, as his mana essentially ignited into a small storm within the blizzard and forced it back, it was also starting to get rapidly depleted. After all, he wasn’t just displaying his vast mana, but had forcibly raised it dozens of times over, something that put an immense strain on his already limited mana as someone who wasn’t even a mage in the first place.

Yet, it was the only real solution he could think of to potentially deal with the current situation, as this inanition of his mana was a sign of intimidation that his now missing superior used to announce his presence and hopefully avoid a direct confrontation with the glacial behemoth, something he hoped to copy.

Still, this wasn’t without flaws, as while this kind of intimidation did work, it didn’t work every time and sometimes, the glacial behemoth would instead get angered by the display and come charging over.

The one positive thing he could rely on this time around was the fact that his senior had clashed with the glacial behemoth not that long ago. Meaning it was unlikely to want another meaningless confrontation I the foreseeable future. Increasing the chance of this intimidation working.

Then again, he still had to endure the terrifying pressure that this kind of display, something his senior could casually put forth, placed on his own mana. After all, he wasn’t a mage. Meaning this kind of thing was far harder to accomplish. Only able to rely on the fact that he wasn’t one of those who focused purely on physical strength and completely disregarded any kind of magic.

His one saving grace being the time when he had been younger and had a fascination towards magic that had led him down the path of a Spellsword, a unique melee class that also had some magical abilities mixed in. Laying a foundation for him learning some magical abilities and growing his magic attribute since his younger days.

Without that, he would have already escaped without bothering to try and intimidate the glacial behemoth once it reached the threshold that made it clear it wouldn’t turn around.

Now, watching as the glacial behemoth started to slow a bit as it crossed this threshold, the stout adventurer didn’t rush down and call for an immediate retreat of the city. Instead, pulling out an expensive mana recovery potion that he swallowed without the slightest bit of hesitation, his presence growing a bit stronger in the eyes of the glacial behemoth thanks to this sudden injection of new mana into his body. Looking like a clear and obvious warning that finally caused the towering monster to stop.

"Come on, leave you damnable ice mountain!" Cursing silently to himself as he felt the side effects of chugging another mana recovery potion starting to set in along with a severe strain from pushing his body beyond its limits, the stout adventurer kept up the ruse to the best of his ability as he stood confidently atop the city wall like nothing was wrong.

Rumble~

And faced with this, the glacial behemoth finally seemed to be moved enough to turn in a direction around the city. Treating it like a mountain that had to be moved around-

Thud~

And just in time, as the stout adventurer collapsed onto his knees feeling the exhaustion overwhelming him along with the side effects from chugging down far too many mana recovery potions in such a short period of time.

Of course, this only took place after the glacial behemoth’s attention had been focused elsewhere. After all, had he collapsed during the confrontation in this kind of manner, the glacial behemoth would undoubtedly have charged forth without turning.

"God damnit, maybe I should start focusing a bit more on my magic in the future..." Silently cursing this to himself as he slowly got back up on his feet again, the stout adventurer didn’t retreat back down the city wall and instead remained standing even as he felt his body starting to struggle to deal with the blizzard, he had been able to easily brush off earlier. Knowing that he couldn’t leave before the glacial behemoth had left the vicinity of the city.

Luckily for him, though the blizzard continued weakening his body without any pause, the glacial behemoth didn’t seem to get second thoughts about the city after the earlier confrontation and obediently moved around the city before continuing onwards deeper into the northern region.

During this time, the stout adventurer not only had to keep up appearance but also had to follow the glacial behemoth along the city walls to ensure it looked like he was keeping an eye on it in case it attempted to make a move in the direction of the city.

Of which, the hardest part wasn’t the fact that he had to follow the glacial behemoth around the city, but instead the fact that he had to keep up the appearance of not struggling with the blizzard when he was very much finding it difficult to endure the blizzard after the last display of strength that had not just weakened his body, but also added on several side effects after overconsuming mana recovery potions.

Still, the will of an adventurer who had managed to go beyond the SS Rank wasn’t something to scoff at and through willpower alone, he managed to just barely hold on before he collapsed out of sight having left the city wall before being dragged away by a group of adventurers below that had been anxiously watching everything play out from down below.