Chapter 202
Chapter 202
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 202
Chapter Title: Jaeger (2)
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"This bastard..."
Ronan raised an eyebrow. It was definitely someone he'd dealt with in his previous life. Having successfully dredged up memories from his penal legion days, he muttered in disbelief.
"A dog-eating rice kinda guy...?"
No mistake about it. He'd forgotten the name for a moment because the guy was so utterly insignificant, but it was definitely someone he knew. Jaeger, the one-eyed tiger. He was the leader of a ragtag band of bandits scraping by near the Tukhan Plateau.
Back then, Ronan had wiped out Jaeger's gang single-handedly. It felt like a casual errand done before lunch. The twenty or so bandits were a motley crew at best, but the most pathetic of them all was none other than Jaeger himself.
'I spared him when he begged for his life, and the ungrateful prick tried to stab me in the back.'
Even now, the thought made him chuckle dryly. Hell, even Zaifa's pinky finger was probably stronger than this loser. Ronan remembered the ugly sight of Jaeger dropping his weapon after a single clash and begging for mercy, and the sensation of flaying his skin while he was still alive for repaying kindness with enmity. Ronan tilted his head.
"This dog-eater... no, tiger... is really Jaeger?"
"Yes. He's ambitious enough to revive the Night of Fangs once more. The reason I haven't returned to Phileon and haven't lifted the beastification curse is essentially because of him."
"Night of Fangs."
Ronan twisted his lips at the phrase he'd heard several times now. It seemed he'd uncovered the root of the incident. Suddenly, the grin faded from Adeshan's face, which had been flushed with intoxication.
"What did you say?"
"Oh, you're awake?"
"Yeah..."
Adeshan nodded. Her breath still carried a sweet vanilla scent. She shook off her drunkenness with a splash of water on her face and locked eyes with Secret.
"Professor. Please explain in detail."
"That's what I intend to do. Though... your eyes are a bit intimidating."
Secret's tail drooped under the pressure. An indescribable killing intent was creeping from the depths of her ash-gray eyes. Adeshan hurriedly averted her gaze.
"Ah, sorry."
"No need. The student council president position must have forged that charisma in you. Anyway, this Jaeger..."
Secret continued her explanation. Jaeger, or more precisely Jaeger Urotan, was a were-tiger beastman who claimed to be Zaifa's successor.
Recently, he'd explosively expanded his forces, uniting beastman tribes around the Tukhan Plateau and preparing to invade the Empire once more, she said.
He was inciting beastmen with ideology that stirred racial superiority and regional pride, plundering nearby villages and cities to fund military expansion, and kidnapping talents like blacksmiths. Ronan frowned at how this image clashed so starkly with his memories from his past life.
'How the hell did a loser like that become a big shot?'
No matter how he thought about it, the guy was a nobody. Even in their brief encounter, Ronan had gauged his bowl-sized skill level. A guy with nothing to offer but a face that looked charismatic—more suited to modeling flyers than leading.
A gut feeling that something was off flashed through his mind. Ronan set the paper down on the bed and asked again.
"Alright, fine. Then what's this about 'haejun' research?"
"That's another serious issue. Recently, curses have been afflicting the territories of the local natives. They're twisted curses, so I'm devising more efficient ways to lift them."
Secret spoke of the tragedies that had unfolded over the past few months. Someone was cursing the beastman tribes of the Tukhan Plateau—more precisely, the lands they occupied.
Rumors were spreading among the natives that it was the Empire's army trying to exterminate the northern beastmen. Curse. Curse, huh. Ronan shrugged as he suddenly recalled last night's bandit raid.
"...By any chance, is that curse the one that makes them give birth to monsters? Shortened lifespans too."
"Huh? How did you know that?"
"I ran into some victims of that curse last night."
Ronan briefly explained the raid from the previous night. Werewolves turned into hellish monsters, the captive's cries cursing humans with hatred. He hadn't expected them to be connected to Secret.
"Is that really something a human did?"
"I'm not sure myself. In any case, that curse is greatly contributing to swelling Jaeger's forces. It fits the narrative of hating humans."
As expected, it was a bigger problem than he'd thought. If these mysterious curses continued, the natives would naturally flock to Jaeger's New Beastman Alliance. Now Ronan understood why Secret hadn't returned straight to Phileon. He said,
"So that's why you were trying to locate their base."
"Exactly. Even if I report to His Majesty the Emperor, it would take the Empire's army quite some time to arrive. I planned to contact them after finding their heart."
"Damn it, this is why I hate you furballs."
Ronan clicked his tongue. Time was the issue, just as Secret said. To nip such a rebel force in the bud, capturing the ringleaders was key. Especially in an organization where the head mattered so much.
But calling in the Empire's army prematurely could backfire. The distance to Rundalian was a problem, but it might drive Jaeger and his lieutenants deeper into hiding with their guerrilla tactics.
The Empire's army was strong, but the north was vast, and they couldn't dedicate enough forces to comb every inch of this snow-covered land just for Jaeger. But the misfortune didn't end there. Secret continued,
"Hate crimes against humans have been rising these past few months. To be honest, coming to the north right now is extremely dangerous. Those ruffians are stirring from Tukhan Plateau all the way to Heiran."
"Damn, even Heiran?"
"Yes. I don't know where your blacksmith is, but it's likely occupied by now. There are just so many of them."
"Shit."
Ronan bit his lower lip, hand pressed to his forehead. What could have waited became an urgent task in an instant. If the blacksmiths were kidnapped, he had to rescue them; if they were holding out, he had to clear the surrounding enemies to even open the forge.
"Anyway, I'll investigate further here, so hurry back. It might be best to visit Heiran and the Sea of Ghosts next time. You came with a merchant group, right? Advise them to withdraw too. Even Rundalian isn't completely safe anymore."
"Not safe?"
"Jaeger's forces are eyeing the iron mines outside the city. Just yesterday, a large group attacked, and the soldiers barely repelled them."
"...What?"
Ronan's face hardened. The Karabel Merchant Group had come all the way to this remote Rundalian for hancheol. He remembered Marya saying they'd visit the source mine during their schedule.
'No way.'
A ominous premonition gripped his heart in an instant. He and Adeshan turned to each other almost simultaneously. Secret's ears perked up at the suddenly tense atmosphere. Ronan was about to speak when—Dong! Dong! Dong!—loud bell tolls echoed from outside the inn.
"Th-this is!"
Secret's fur stood on end. It was the bell rung only for invasions or when the city was in crisis. Ronan grasped the situation instantly and leaped out the window.
"Ro-Ronan?!"
"Hey!"
Adeshan and Secret cried out. But Ronan had already spun three times in the air and landed balanced. He inhaled, cold air flooding his lungs.
"Hoo... fuck."
The entire city was in chaos. Residents too busy fleeing to safety paid no mind to Ronan's flashy entrance. Even the giant deer strapped to carts were headbutting walls with roars. The swelling tolls pounded his eardrums.
"Wh-what's happening now?"
"Jaeger's underlings are raiding the hancheol mines. Damn, they came yesterday too and still aren't satisfied."
Ronan overheard residents and narrowed his eyes. Why did bad premonitions always hit the mark? Closing his eyes and focusing, the ambient noises began separating one by one.
Clashing metal, splintering wood, screams of humans and beastmen interspersed with the bells. Among them, an especially loud someone's shout. Ronan gritted his teeth, eyes snapping open.
"Marya."
No mistaking Marya's voice. Ronan turned toward the source of the commotion. Thick black smoke billowed from the city's western hancheol mines. As he gathered mana for a leap, Adeshan's voice came from behind.
"Ronan, hop on!"
"Sunbae?"
He turned, eyes widening. A massive reindeer charged ferociously right behind him. A great deer, used by northern beastmen for hauling.
Adeshan gripped one antler with one hand, extending the other to Ronan. The great deer's eyes were clouded gray. She'd likely dominated the mind of one from a cart. Grabbing her hand, Ronan vaulted onto the great deer's back.
"West side!"
"Yeah, already heading there!"
Adeshan replied. Thanks to her ability, she controlled it without reins. With each step, scenery whipped by.
Leaping between buildings, over residents' heads, bounding up high stairs, the great deer soon breached the gate and arrived at the hancheol mines. Ronan frowned at the pandemonium.
"This is..."
The stench of burning wood was overpowering. As expected, Karabel's wagons were lined up halted. Five or six horses lay dead, bloodied.
Thick smoke rose from one wagon engulfed in flames. Mercenaries, merchants, and city soldiers tensely guarded the perimeter. The bandits had vanished into hiding. Ronan inhaled deeply until his lungs burned and bellowed,
"Come out, you dog bastards!"
Ronan drew his sword and dismounted. If anything happened to Marya or Duon, beastman city or not, he'd flay every bandit's skin alive. Adeshan climbed the great deer's antlers and raised her crossbow. Scanning meticulously, she tilted her head.
"Wait, Ronan. Something's off."
"Huh?"
"No... enemies in sight."
Ronan's eyes widened. If Adeshan said so, there really were none visible.
'What the hell?'
Calming his excitement, Ronan scanned again. The atmosphere was weird. The mercenaries, merchants, and soldiers weren't tensely guarding—they were just standing around dumbfounded. There was a sinister presence, but what was going on? Suddenly, a familiar middle-aged man caught his eye in the crowd.
"Duon!"
"Ro-Ronan-nim?! How did you...!"
"You okay? Shit, what happened?"
Ronan quickly checked Duon's state. Clothes a bit torn, but no injuries. Meeting Ronan's eyes, Duon waved his hands.
"I-I don't know either. We were suddenly picked a fight and fighting, then the beastmen enemies' bodies floated up there...!"
"Up?"
Duon nodded frantically, pointing upward with his index finger. Only then did Ronan notice the unnatural shadows scattered on the ground. Looking up, he frowned.
"...What the hell is that?"
About 30 meters in the air floated dozens of bizarre lumps. Each wriggling violently, they seemed alive. Ronan quickly realized they were the beastmen who attacked Karabel.
"Beastmen...?"
"Ronan, Sister Adeshan. You came!"
Then a familiar voice from nearby. Ronan looked down. A blonde girl dashed over, massive greatsword on her back.
Thankfully unharmed. Marya stopped before him, panting heavily.
"Hoo... gonna die. Ran like hell."
"Marya. What happened?"
"Dunno... hoo, we were fighting hard, then suddenly the bandits floated up. Been like that since..."
Blood on her greatsword showed she'd taken a few out amid it. Not very helpful testimony; Ronan twisted his mouth. Then, Adeshan atop the antlers shouted, staring somewhere.
"Guys, over there...!"
"Huh?"
Ronan and Marya turned simultaneously. Her finger pointed at the roof of a mineral warehouse about 50 meters away. The two tilted their heads.
"That's...?"
"A little girl?"
A small girl stood on the roof. Striking with ruby-red long hair, she extended her hand toward the floating beastmen. One lower-floating werebear bellowed at her thunderously.
"Your doing, you rat-like human! Release us now!"
"Eek! S-sorry. Don't yell!"
"Gaaah! M-my back!"
The girl flinched, shoulders hunching. The beastmen screamed simultaneously. Her grip seemed to tighten. Hearing her voice, Ronan and Marya's eyes bulged.
"That's...!"
Familiar voice. Very much so. Ronan rubbed his eyes a couple times and looked again. Yep, someone he knew.
Why the hell was that kid up there? Brushing back his bangs in astonishment, Ronan called out.
"Hey, Asel!"
"Huh?"
The girl turned. Her eyes blinked several times meeting Ronan's. Exactly three seconds passed.
"Ro-Ronan? Marya?!"
Finally recognizing them, Asel jumped in place. Concentration shattered; the telekinesis holding the beastmen vanished momentarily.
"Gah...!"
The beastmen's fur bristled. Regaining freedom was good, but their altitude was too high to descend safely with agility.
The black lumps plummeted rapidly. Unfortunately, Asel didn't regain composure until they hit the ground. Boom! Crash! Fireworks heralding cripples echoed loudly.