Shota's Isekai NTR Adventure Chapter 1962: Death Valley

"Are you crazy? You want to go to that place?"

I hadn't disclosed our destination to anyone previously, but the moment I revealed where we were headed, they all stared at me as if I had lost my mind.

This reaction was hardly surprising, given that our target was notorious for being an incredibly perilous location.

Unless one was truly desperate, it was a place where no sane person would ever set foot.

Its reputation for danger was so extreme that every nation on the continent officially designated it a taboo zone.

Therefore, it was only natural for everyone to question the sanity of anyone suggesting a trip there.

Nevertheless, this was exactly where I intended to go.

The reason was simple: the next messenger of the gods was currently hiding within its borders.

I was left with no other options; visiting this site was an absolute necessity.

Throughout our journey, my followers did everything in their power to dissuade me from going. However, no matter what arguments they presented, I remained completely unmoved.

Their desperation eventually led them to take more aggressive actions.

"Your Majesty, please, we beg you not to do this."

A group was already lying in wait for me when we reached the town closest to my destination.

I recognized them immediately, as they had arrived in town mounted on wyverns. As members of the royal guards, their primary duty was to ensure my safety.

Klein stood at the forefront of this group, leading the effort to halt my progress.

There was no mystery as to how they tracked me down; the mermaids acting as my escort had undoubtedly leaked my plans. They had provided regular updates on my coordinates just so this ambush could be orchestrated.

In fact, they had coordinated so precisely that the royal guards managed to reach the town well before my own arrival.

I felt no resentment toward them, as I had anticipated such a move from the start.

Still, their pleas weren't going to make me turn back.

This was a task that simply had to be completed.

Upon our arrival, they stopped using my formal titles in public, yet the way they trailed behind me made it obvious to everyone that I was a person of significant status.

I had planned to gather supplies and intel before entering the zone, but having Klein and the others hovering over me made things difficult.

I was forced to give them a final warning.

"Either follow me quietly, or I will disappear and leave you behind."

Hearing this, the expressions on the faces of Klein and the royal guards turned grim.

They were well aware that if I truly intended to, I possessed the means to vanish and ditch them entirely.

Ultimately, they were forced to cooperate against their will. They had no choice but to yield, knowing I was fully capable of carrying out my threat.

With that settled, I began questioning the local mercenaries to gather intelligence.

The region I was targeting was known as Death Valley.

It earned its name through its sheer lethality.

To the naked eye, it appeared to be a parched wasteland devoid of any life, yet it was actually teeming with monsters. Where there are monsters, there are valuable resources to be harvested.

The mercenaries based in this town frequently ventured into Death Valley to hunt these creatures for profit.

This meant they had explored the valley extensively and should have the specific details I required.

However, the information I managed to extract was not at all what I expected.

"That place is nothing short of hell itself."

While that was the general sentiment among the mercenaries, it wasn't the specific data I was looking for.

When it came to the actual details of the terrain, none of their accounts seemed to match.

Some described it as a labyrinth, claiming they were constantly lost in a network of tunnels branching throughout the valley. Others insisted it was a vast desert, an open expanse plagued by violent sandstorms.

There were even those who claimed the valley was a hidden oasis overflowing with various treasures.

Essentially, every person had a completely different story about Death Valley.

Since I had never personally visited the valley, I had no past experiences to help me filter through these contradictions.

"Your... Young Master, I believe this is more than enough evidence of how treacherous this place is," Klein remarked after we had finished our inquiries.

The accompanying royal guards nodded their heads in solemn agreement.

I ignored their comments, focusing instead on analyzing the mercenaries' words.

These men only entered Death Valley for gold, so they didn't stay long. The men I spoke to were likely only describing their own limited paths.

They only scouted areas where money could be made, and every mercenary band operated differently.

After all, each group claimed a specific section of the valley as their own territory.

Therefore, their conflicting reports weren't necessarily lies.

Given the generous payment I offered and their drunken states, it was unlikely they were trying to deceive me; the circumstances were heavily in my favor.

I let out a soft sigh and muttered to myself, "It looks like rumors won't be enough. I'll have to enter the valley and see the truth for myself."