Chapter 124
Chapter 124
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 124
Chapter Title: Chapter 3-1. Black Tree Tribe
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Not a single blade of grass grew on the rocky mountain, which looked as if a god had carved a single massive boulder. This mountain was a sacred place revered by the Red Bear Tribe.
On one face of that rocky mountain hung a man bound by chains around both ankles, his right wrist, waist, and neck.
He hadn't bathed in a long time, and a stench emanated from his body. He dangled there with his head bowed, as if dead.
Thud, thud. As someone climbed the rocky mountain, making heavy footsteps, the man seemed to hear it and lifted his head.
The haggard face belonged to Cain.
Cain Sabnak.
Grandson of Caseun Sabnak, the Spirit Sword owner in Serenia Castle, he was a talented boy chosen by the Third Holy King Gabriel to bear the Apostle class.
The once vibrant and justice-filled boy, always full of energy, now stared blankly with unfocused eyes at the climber, one arm severed.
"Hmm?"
The giant man who had climbed the mountain, the Red Bear chieftain Quake, saw his gaze. His hardened expression softened.
Just before, during the Fragment's trial when he massacred the orc tribe, he had crossed blades with an unknown boy and lost an arm. Since then, Cain had shown no reaction, like he was dead.
Now, for the first time, he was looking at him. In a joyful voice filled with expectation, Quake asked.
"Have you come to your senses?"
But Cain gave no reply. He merely glanced at the Fragment Yakar, which Quake held, leaking red aura like mist, then stared at him.
At that doll-like appearance, Quake sighed with a complicated expression.
"Frustrating."
He slammed the Fragment into the ground. The sharp blade sliced through the hard rock and embedded smoothly.
As he let go, he felt the overflowing power from the Fragment cut off.
Quake stared at the boy before him, recalling memories from a month ago.
In Lizen, those with power could take multiple wives. He had more than enough ability for that.
But he loved only one wife and refused others. The tyrant-like man softened most when facing or being with his wife.
Their happy marriage produced many children, but when they all came of age, they perished during the Fragment's trial.
He came to curse the Fragment passed down through generations, the source of his power. It had taken the children born from his beloved wife's painful labors. And recently, even his wife had fallen ill, her body weakening.
He always climbed this rocky mountain to seek the spirits and pray.
Please remove this cursed Fragment and heal my wife's illness.
He prayed fervently. What appeared was not a spirit but a beautiful woman with white wings, called the Holy King.
A divine light too sacred to behold, utterly different from the unpleasant aura of his Fragment.
Gabriel appeared on this rocky mountain from the heavens amid that holy light, opening his eyes to a new faith.
Holy King Gabriel granted his wish. First, she healed his wife's illness. She could smile brightly again, greeting him with an even brighter face. Astonishingly, at a late age, she even showed morning sickness from pregnancy.
Overflowing with joy, he next asked her to destroy the Fragment.
But she said she couldn't do it herself and would send a boy to take it instead.
By chance, wandering the forest, he met this boy named Cain, a pink-haired girl named Liel, a priest who wouldn't give his name, and a warrior.
He knew at once they were sent by Holy King Gabriel from their weary faces. He invited them to the tribe and treated them with utmost hospitality.
To their bewilderment, Quake smiled happily, told them of Holy King Gabriel, and handed over the Fragment.
He felt a twinge when giving it away. After all, this Fragment was rooted in the power of rage.
But Quake no longer wanted to bear its weight. It always felt like a boulder crushing his shoulders. Perhaps that's why he thrust it upon them, eager to shed it even a moment sooner.
The child, who said she received a mission from the goddess to collect all Fragments. The child with honest eyes was overjoyed at having collected one.
When he received the Fragment from her, unlike his tension, he lifted Yakar without issue.
Indeed. A child sent by the Holy King is different.
He felt relieved. Her companions approached joyfully at the sight.
The child, believing something special would happen, entered the trial.
The moment she gripped Yakar's hilt, she swung the sword wildly, slashing all her nearby companions.
It was a mistake.
Even a child blessed by the Holy King, not yet a Spirit Sword owner.
Thrusting it upon her like shedding a burden to escape its weight even a little sooner was the mistake. Lowering his guard because she didn't go mad right away was the mistake.
Horribly, she hadn't fully lost her mind. In disbelief at her own act, she stared wide-eyed with trembling gaze at her slashed companions.
As if amused by that, Yakar shuddered along its blade, like giggling.
And then.
Yakar devoured the promising boy's flesh. Quake subdued the screaming, rampaging boy.
For some reason, the Holy King didn't appear then. Was this another trial for the child?
Quake gazed at Cain for a long time, then had no choice but to pass Yakar based on his own experience.
To grow accustomed to Yakar's rage, one must wield it often—see as much blood as possible. He released him in the orc village several times, even in nearby small villages.
And during that, he coincidentally encountered a black-haired boy. That boy was incredible. Not only did he fight evenly with Cain wielding Yakar amid hordes of orcs, but as the battle dragged on, he overpowered the strengthening, tireless Cain.
After his left arm was severed and a strange aura akin to Yakar emanated from a dagger embedded in his body, Quake intervened to save and retrieve him.
For the first time since gripping Yakar, Cain, who hadn't fully regained his senses, spoke.
'...Hmm.'
He wanted to let him fight that black-haired boy once more.
As he climbed the rocky mountain, Quake burned herbs he brought using a stone imbued with fire power, making Cain inhale the scent. It was a drug forcing sleep.
The moment Cain inhaled, unlike before, he groaned resisting the oncoming drowsiness but soon collapsed again.
'He was with the Black Tree Tribe's archer, so a guest of theirs?'
Lost in other thoughts, Quake placed Yakar in Cain's hand.
Before climbing, he had razed three orc tribes. Yakar, having slain hundreds of orcs, was greatly amplified in power.
Cain's body began regenerating from Yakar's power. The cauterized severed flesh bubbled and regrew in grotesque form. In pain, Cain convulsed.
The light from Yakar faded, and Cain's left arm fully regenerated. The grime on his body flaked off.
'Never touched a great tribe before. Might have to try one, depending on the situation.'
Planning ahead, Quake recovered Yakar, unbound the chains holding Cain, hoisted him over his shoulder, and descended the rocky mountain.
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"Haa, another bust."
Arhil spoke wearily. As she said, the orc tribe seemed long attacked; corpses rotted, covered in beast bites. The horrific stench, impossible to call even jokingly pleasant, wrinkled noses. No matter how many times, one couldn't get used to it.
Izabel sighed, kicking a thick orc bone with rotting flesh while surveying around.
"Let's head back. No point searching for traces here."
At her words, Judah, Jeanne, and Arhil nodded in unison and turned.
Who knew how many days it had been. Searching for Red Bear chieftain Quake and Cain in Lizen, they had wandered the forest like ghosts for over a month under Izabel's lead.
At first, guided by Izabel, they tried various things, exhausted by forced marches, but now it was routine.
"I wish they'd just appear before us. Can't wander this forest forever."
"Right?!"
Arhil chimed in to Jeanne's words. Traversing this jungle-like forest was no longer welcome. No paved roads, no carriages or horses. Not even a general store, let alone places for tasty food. Thankfully, Judah's subsapce <Bag> provided fresh vegetables and necessities; without it, days would be truly hellish.
Arhil shuddered at the mere thought, then cried out resentfully.
"If only they'd pop up right here, under this hill...?"
Arhil stopped, eyes disbelieving.
After climbing the high hill, about to descend, a knight stood as if by magic.
Red greatsword planted in the ground, hands crossed over the hilt, waiting. Parts of his armor shredded by Judah were crudely patched with mismatched metal.
"......"
Judah, Jeanne, and Izabel stared at Arhil in bewilderment.
"...I didn't summon him, right? Just coincidence?"
"Of course, but whatever the case, no more wasting time chasing."
Izabel gripped her shoulder-slung bow, nocked an arrow. An ominous aura emanated from her. With hostility, she drew and loosed at a place devoid of presence.
With a twang, the arrow shot out, piercing a tree. Thick, rooted there decades or centuries, yet the trunk holed instantly.
"Not thinking you can hide behind a tree like that, unbecomingly? Quake."
"Such. The Black Tree Tribe's chieftain is quite rough. Shooting an arrow right away upon meeting."
A muscular, burly man, reminiscent of Caseun, emerged from behind the tree. He held the arrow Izabel just shot.
Looking up the hill, he smirked, then snapped the arrow with one hand's grip.
"Saw black hair and eyes, thought rare guests... but didn't expect the chieftain herself escorting. You don't really think that child is a spirit, do you?"
"Spirit? Who do you take me for? But... who knows. Maybe the spirit come to take your tribe's Fragment?"
"Funny. Taking a Fragment from the Apostle chosen by me—no, by the Holy King? The child you believe a spirit will be the Apostle's sacrifice, fully inheriting my Fragment. Just a sacrifice."
"We'll see."
Izabel drew two arrows from her full quiver, infused with mana, and loosed. Spirals swirled around them from the string, hurtling powerfully at Quake and Cain.
"I'll take Quake. You handle the Fragment recovery?"
"Yes."
Judah nodded without shifting gaze from Cain.
Arhil hastily blessed Izabel as she spoke and prepared to leave, saying she trusted him. In Spirit Sword owner duels, such buffs helped unexpectedly. Unsure what it was, Izabel felt lighter and charged forward gratefully.