Chapter 139
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 139
Otar, the Chief of the Black Hawk Tribe, prepared to head out the moment the messenger departed.
If there truly was a way to escape these snowfields, he had to see it for himself.
Since his tribe had maintained occasional contact with the Blue Dragon Tribe, the path there was not difficult to find. However, Otar was forced to halt at the entrance due to a reception unlike any he had experienced before.
“Please wait a moment. The King has not yet finished his preparations to receive his guests.”
At this unilateral declaration, Otar and his warriors narrowed their eyes.
This wasn't just a common messenger; a tribal chief had come in person. Yet, far from being greeted, they were told to simply wait until the other party was ready.
“The Blue Dragon Tribe’s prestige is even greater than I heard. If the preparations are going to take this long, I’d rather go back to my tribe and rest. Would that be alright?”
Otar threw a pointed remark at the warrior who had come to meet them. It was a warning that no matter how much the man claimed to be a king, if he kept a chief waiting, Otar would scrap the negotiations entirely.
But the warrior didn't even flinch as he nodded.
“Feel free to do as you wish.”
“What?”
“If you wish to leave now, I will not stop you. However, the consequences of that choice will be yours alone to bear, Chief of the Black Hawk.”
“You dog…!”
At a tone that went beyond rudeness into sheer arrogance, one of Otar’s warriors reached for his weapon. Even in this touch-and-go situation, the opponent remained perfectly composed.
Sensing something strange in that composure, Otar restrained his warrior and spoke.
“My apologies. My nerves are frayed, and I misspoke. I will wait, so please lead us to our quarters.”
“…As you wish.”
Surprised by the quick shift in attitude, the Blue Dragon warrior nonetheless led Otar to the guest house without further fuss.
The quarters were built with considerable care, rivaling even a chief’s residence. Once Otar was settled, the Blue Dragon warrior left, saying he would call for them when the time was right.
The moment the door clicked shut, the warriors who had been suppressing their rage erupted all at once.
“Chief, why did you let that insolent brat slide?”
“Even for the Blue Dragon Tribe, this is crossing the line!”
“Leave it to me! I’ll take full responsibility and split his head open with my axe!”
It wasn't just a single warrior being insulted; it was their chief. Since it was essentially the same as looking down on the entire tribe, their fury was justified.
However, Otar grew even calmer in the face of his warriors' rage.
“No, let’s watch a bit longer. Something is strange.”
“Strange? You mean there’s something more to it than them acting tough because of that ‘King’ or whatever?”
“That’s part of it, certainly. But as you all know, the power to stop the blizzards is a weapon that can only be wielded once. After we escape these snowfields, that authority won't mean a damn thing.”
To someone who has fallen off a cliff and cannot climb back up, the rope that pulls them out is more precious than anything. But the moment they step onto flat ground, the rope loses its utility.
The King’s authority claimed by the Blue Dragon Tribe was the same. No matter how much power he had to manipulate the blizzards, once they left the snowfields, there would be no reason to cling to him as they did now.
“I thought their demand for an oath of loyalty was to secure a commitment before we left the snowfields. Once the oath is taken, the entire tribe would be bound by it even after the power becomes useless.”
“But now you think otherwise?”
“I wonder.”
It was a difficult question for Otar to answer. There was still the possibility that this was all a bluff by the Blue Dragon Tribe. They likely knew better than anyone that a threat based on that authority was a one-time deal.
Yet, the warrior’s expression had been far too serene to be a mere bluff.
‘One cannot wear such an expression without an absolute belief that everything will go according to the King’s will, regardless of that authority.’
Was there something else besides the authority?
After agonizing over it for a long time, Otar finally sighed and spoke.
“Let’s just wait and see. Whatever they’re relying on will eventually be revealed.”
If that hidden card turned out to be nothing special, the Black Hawk Tribe would simply be fools played by a bluff.
But if, by some chance, the Blue Dragon Tribe was hiding a power that more than justified that confidence…
Then the tribe that submitted to the King without resistance would become the victors, treated better than all others in the new land.
*
“The King has finished his preparations.”
It was evening when the Blue Dragon Tribe called for Otar again. Tired of waiting, Otar sighed as he stood up.
“I finally get to see this King’s face.”
“I hope you do not behave rudely. He is the King. He is not someone to be compared to a mere chief like yourself.”
“…”
Otar was speechless at the warrior’s words. This warrior must have lived in the snowfields for decades and should have known the relationships between the tribes well. Yet, he naturally placed the man he served as King above a chief and didn't care at all about the repercussions of his statement.
“Just in case, did you speak to the other chiefs this way too?”
“Yes.”
“And did they just take it?”
“So far, yes.”
“So far? Are there other chiefs waiting to see the King besides me?”
“To be precise, they are all on their way here. The King wished to see you all together.”
“…!”
For a split second, Otar had to suppress the urge to cut down the warrior in front of him.
He said he wasn't ready, but was he actually making them wait until all the other chiefs gathered? Not for a meeting between equals, but with the intention of lining up those he would rule and comparing them?
‘This arrogant son of a bitch…!’
He thought that even a pretender would have some sense of reality after seizing the position of chief. But now it seemed the man was a madman who truly believed he was a king.
Fury boiled in his chest, but he couldn't flip the table after coming this far. Barely managing to control his breathing, Otar glared sharply at the warrior.
“You’d better pray your King is safe. I might be able to endure this insult, but the other chiefs won't have that kind of patience.”
“A lowly creature’s anger is still just that of a lowly creature. Before a Dragon, they are nothing more than a single meal.”
“Ha! At this point, I’m dying of curiosity to see what kind of person he is. What exactly did you see in that King?”
“You will understand naturally once you have an audience with him. Ah, it seems everyone has arrived.”
At the warrior’s words, Otar looked up and saw the chiefs of various tribes approaching from all directions. The other chiefs also seemed to have realized the situation only after arriving, their faces flushed red as they struggled to contain their rage.
The warriors who had guided them bowed their heads to the chiefs, who were on the verge of exploding.
“Now, please enter. You must enter all together, not one by one.”
“Damn it! Fine, let’s see the face of this so-called King!”
The first to spit out a curse was Broindolf, the Chief of the Red Wolf Tribe. Having reached the limit of his patience, Broindolf cast aside all etiquette and strode forward. The Blue Dragon warriors flinched for a moment but did not stop him.
SLAM!
“Come out! You damn pretender! Who the hell do you think you are to—”
Broindolf, who had kicked the door open as if ready for a fight, froze instantly upon seeing the person inside.
“…A kid?”
Strictly speaking, he was a man closer to a young adult than a boy. In the Empire, he would have been considered a full-grown adult, but this was the snowfields. His body, two heads shorter than the others, and his beardless face made him look like a child to the tribal warriors.
However, the young man didn't care about being called a kid; he simply smirked and looked at Broindolf.
“What are you doing? Now that you’re here, don't just stand there dazed. Come and sit.”
*
The five chiefs who entered the room were all at a loss for words as they stared at Lucian, who sat in the seat of honor. They had imagined a veteran warrior or a cunning strategist, but instead, they found a young man whose peach fuzz had barely begun to grow.
What was even more absurd was his attitude.
“Thank you for coming all this way. You were all quite fast on your feet. I’m glad, as it seems things will be finished quickly thanks to that.”
“…”
“First, come forward one by one and introduce yourselves. I need to know about the ones I’ll be putting to work under me.”
Otar barely held back a hollow laugh at the sheer absurdity. They hadn't even sworn loyalty yet, and here he was talking as if he were ordering subordinates around.
“What kind of joke is this? A green brat like you is the King? Are you mocking us right now?”
Broindolf, who had been the first to step forward earlier, couldn't take it anymore and jumped to his feet, shouting. Lucian looked at Broindolf as if he were seeing something strange.
“That’s odd. I believe all five of you said you would offer me your loyalty if I only cleared the blizzards. Are you going back on your word now?”
“I thought you were a warrior since you claimed to be King! To push out the former chief, Ivar, you’d naturally have to be a stronger warrior than him! But a weakling like this…!”
“A weakling?”
Lucian bared his teeth in a predatory grin.
At that moment, visualized mana surged out from his body in thick branches. As a searing heat swept through the entire room, Broindolf flinched and took a step back.
“The Dragon’s Blessing?”
“It’s too early to be surprised.”
As Lucian’s smile deepened, the density of the mana flowing from his body increased. The haze-like mana gradually became a waterfall, making it difficult to even breathe in the room.
The chiefs all began to draw upon their own strength to resist Lucian, but they could barely manage to keep breathing.
“What the…!”
The five chiefs had to shut their mouths tight, unable to even utter a curse. They felt that if they let their breathing falter even slightly, they would be buried by this pressure and suffocate.
But the density of the mana continued to rise without end, and soon it became difficult not just to breathe, but even to keep their eyes open.
Creeeeak, crack!
The sound of wood splintering echoed clearly in the ears of the five chiefs. Unable to withstand the pressure, several pieces of furniture nearby were being crushed.
When not just the furniture but even the floor began to groan, cold sweat broke out on Otar’s forehead.
‘Damn it. If we make a wrong move here, we’re all dead!’
The Dragon’s Blessing was a power that could become a sharp storm or a heavy boulder depending on how it was handled. Right now, while the King was only increasing the density like a boulder, it was barely endurable.
But what would happen if his mind changed and he turned this boulder into a storm? Not only would this room explode and be blown away, but everyone gathered here would surely be turned into scraps of meat.
Crunch, snap!
As the floor began to give way one by one, the five chiefs’ bodies wavered. Despite the risk of falling disgracefully, they couldn't move an inch. Breathing had long since become impossible, and they were doing everything they could just to keep their bodies from being crushed.
Finally, just as Otar’s eyes were about to roll back into his head, the mana in the room vanished as if it had never been there.
“Gasp, huff!”
“Haaaa…!”
Freed from the pressure of the mana, the five chiefs gasped for air repeatedly. Who knew that a simple breath of air could be so precious?
It was just as the chiefs, having finally caught their breath, were regaining their senses.
“Say it again. Who did you say was weak?”
At the King’s chilling voice, the five chiefs froze where they stood.