Chapter 117
Chapter 117
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 117
Chapter Title: Chapter 3-1. Black Tree Tribe
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"Hah. What nonsense."
She dismissed Yuda's words as if ignoring them, but her expression was stiff, and her footsteps slowed. She seemed utterly unconcerned, yet her silence suggested otherwise. Isabel glanced down at Yuda before stopping in her tracks.
"?
"Follow the river, and you'll see the village right away. I've brought you this far, so that should do. Head back to the tribe and rest up with your wives."
Without giving him a chance to respond, she turned and retraced her steps along the path they'd come. Yuda tried to follow, but she pulled away in an instant, leaving him standing there after just a few steps. Their strides seemed even, yet it felt like she was using some kind of shrinking-earth technique.
"Hmm. I didn't say anything unnecessary, did I?"
He thought he should chase after her, but his body, lazy as it was, refused to move. Yuda stood there blankly for a moment before shrugging it off as fine and heading toward the tribe.
Meanwhile, unsettled by Yuda's words, Isabel returned to the riverbank where she had felled the orc moments before. The two tribesmen fidgeted anxiously in the face of her heavy aura, pacing before her. She finished organizing her arrows and walked toward the pile of orc corpses, prodding through them with the tip of her bow as if searching for something. The two tribesmen trailed behind her. Still silent, Isabel extended her hand without looking back.
"Got a dagger? Hand it over."
Without hesitation, they both offered their sheathed daggers. Isabel grabbed the first one that came to hand.
"I've got somewhere to be for a bit, so head back to the village like this. If anyone asks for me, tell them I'll be back by tomorrow."
Without waiting for a reply, Isabel channeled her mana and dashed off at the same speed as before, following the river upstream toward a small tribe between the Red Bear Tribe and her own. She ran the full half-day's journey, spent the night in the forest, and arrived at her destination only as the sun rose the next morning.
Approaching stealthily, she saw that the wooden palisade encircling the village had been breached. She reached to her waist quiver with her left hand and nocked an arrow.
'What happened here?'
Not only was the two-meter-high barrier toppled, but there were no signs of human presence. Staying vigilant, she entered the village. Though she'd suspected as much from the broken wall, the interior looked ravaged as if a massive beast had rampaged through—buildings smashed, corpses strewn about that had clearly been dead for some time. The stench carried on the wind was foul, even from a distance, making her grimace.
'That outsider was right.'
She couldn't say for sure if it was orcs, but something had definitely attacked the tribe. Isabel scanned the surroundings without relaxing her guard. No survivors in sight, unfortunately. Nor were there any signs of the orcs she suspected might have done it.
After circling the village once, she returned the arrow to her quiver. Confirming no enemies remained, Isabel straightened up, eased her tension, and surveyed the area more closely.
Her sharp senses picked up nothing, and all that met her eyes were the dead. Now examining the fallen bodies in detail, she noticed something off.
"Women are dead too."
Orcs rarely killed women, even for breeding purposes. When raiding tribes, they typically killed the men and raped the women. And they lacked the skill to cleave bodies so cleanly in half. A few monsters could manage it, but if they'd appeared, the village wouldn't look this intact—buildings reduced to ash piles, corpses half-eaten and scattered.
'Then... humans?'
Who? Wars between tribes in Lizen had ended long ago. A few neighboring tribes came to mind, but relations were good—no clashes, no conflicts. No reason to fight. Besides, they prized honor as warriors and wouldn't stoop to this.
Isabel wandered the village a bit more, searching for traces, but found nothing.
"Goods are untouched, orc corpses are here... Damn it, no idea why anyone would do this."
Frustrated, she scratched her head vigorously. About to leave empty-handed, she furrowed her brow, swiftly drew an arrow, nocked it, and fired. It struck the forehead of someone peeking at her from behind a building wall.
"Hah. Really."
The figure toppled backward slowly—it was an orc. That set it off; she sensed orcs gathering under her senses.
A number fitting a tribe.
As if they were trying to frame the orcs for the village's destruction. Face clouded in confusion, she nocked another arrow.
"Fine, whatever it is, I'll take them down first."
She kicked off the ground and leaped onto a rooftop. Landing, she saw a horde of orcs leering at her with drooling lust.
"Who are you lusting after?"
Not in a hundred years. The arrow on her bowstring sliced through the air and embedded in an orc's groin. With that, her hands blurred, firing arrows faster than the eye could follow.
She had fifty arrows. Each one claimed an orc's life for sure. Leaving exactly ten spares, she inflicted heavy casualties on the orcs before escaping the survivorless village and returning to the Black Tree Tribe. Back home, she immediately summoned the warriors.
"Triple the scouting teams to three per group. Heighten security and report anything unusual to me at once."
"Don't let the kids out of the village. Plenty of spare arrows left? How many? Not enough. Make more and stockpile them."
"Send people to the tribe below us. Check if their village is intact, any suspicious activity lately—find out everything. Right now!"
Her orders were carried out promptly. Everyone in the village sprang into action. Everyone except one group: Yuda's party in the building housing the envoys from the Baekje Empire, located at the northern edge of the village.
Isabel went to the flowing river to wash herself clean and sank into thought.
'Yuda, was it.'
That boy. That outsider. The child with traits of the legendary spirits. Without his words, she might have gone a long time unaware of a tribe's annihilation.
She might have just mocked them as fearless fools for letting orcs invade. Emerging from the river, Isabel wrung out her hair and dried her body with a towel. The cold wind sharpened her senses.
Should I rest a bit? she muttered, but changed her mind and went to find Yuda. It was her first time visiting the building she'd given to the Baekje envoys. Without any prior notice, she strode to the house and flung open the door.
"Kyaa!"
The door burst open to a startled scream. A frail-looking woman with brown hair hurriedly covered herself. Fresh from a bath, faint steam rose from her warm body. Face flushed, Arhil gaped at Isabel.
"Why so startled? I'm not here for you, so carry on."
With a bored expression, she waved dismissively, kicked off her leather shoes haphazardly at the entrance, and looked for Yuda. Opening a door revealed him snoring uniquely—grrr—on the floor. He hadn't stirred at Arhil's scream moments ago.
Lucky.
The place had at least four rooms, yet she'd found him on the first try.
Isabel approached Yuda, squatted down, and poked his cheek.
"Wake up. I need to talk."
"Uh...?"
Watching him twitch and open his eyes, she smiled as if he were cute.
"Just a bit longer... I said..."
The women the boy had introduced as his two wives entered the room late. Isabel stared pointedly at the blue-water-haired woman, Jeanne, and poked Yuda's cheek again—a gesture to wake him. She wasn't one to miss the meaning. Hesitating slightly, she spoke.
"Don't."
Yuda twitched and shook his head at the poking. But Isabel couldn't stop. It was soft, and this reaction was a fresh experience.
"Yuda, the chieftain is here. Uh, that's not us poking with fingers."
"...?"
At that, Yuda seemed to grasp the situation, closed his eyes briefly, then bolted upright. Isabel yanked her hand back and chuckled.
"Sleep well? Or rather, sorry for interrupting your good sleep."
Slurp—
Smacking his lips, Yuda stared blankly at Isabel, piecing things together. She gave him plenty of time. After about a minute, he seemed collected, offering an awkward smile and greeting.
"Uh, well—good morning?"
"Afraid it's evening."
"...Is it?"
"It is. Enjoyed sightseeing the village and resting?"
To Isabel's question, Yuda nodded with a vague expression.
"Good. Then, mind if I ask a favor?"
"I hope it's not too hard."
"Hmm. Depending on the situation and your skills, it could be tough or easy for you. Want to hear it?"
"No choice, right?"
"Of course. What you told me blew this up pretty big."
Isabel informed him of the tribe that had been wiped out. Yuda's face lit up in shock.
"You really went to check?"
"Yes. And confirmed your hunch was right. Maybe you really are a spirit to us outsiders."
"......"