Chapter 127: The Green Skins' Raid
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 127: The Green Skins' Raid
[ The coming-of-age ceremony of the allied tribes, founded by Blood Dagger, Goff, and Black Spear, is quite fascinating. For the Green Skins of the allied tribes, this ceremony takes place not within the clan's territory, but outside it. Unlike the ceremonies of other tribes, which test individual bravery, this one tests cooperation. It is not a test of who is strongest, but of how well they work together. They join forces to hunt magical beasts and other creatures they could not face alone, and the greater the beast they bring down, the more recognition they earn from their fellow tribe members.
The young warriors from each tribe who undergo this group trial learn the mindset required to live within the allied tribes, and how to cherish, protect, and aid their brothers. This trial, established after the battle with one of the East's most colossal magical beasts, remains a long-standing tradition for each clan. It was during this ceremony that the Warcry Queen, Kim Yoora... [excerpt ends] - From a very old book, The Footsteps of the Great Chieftains. ]
I wasn't much of a speaker, but it seemed my words had been effective enough. The temperature in the room seemed to shoot up in an instant. Everyone was staring at us with fiery eyes. Some were burning with fighting spirit, while others placed their hands over their hearts. Goff looked at them and spoke once more.
“The sooner the three tribes become one, the sooner we can plant the banner we have all longed for.”
Black Spear did the same.
“If you trust your brothers, you can become one.”
Thanks to them fanning the flames, morale was already at its peak. So much so that I felt like we could march out to hunt the magical beast of the East right now. It seemed I wasn't the only one thinking that way, as they raised their hands to the sky and began to shout.
“For our brothers!”
“For the new land!”
“For the new land!!”
Their emotions soared in an instant. I watched them and smiled.
And so, the training to hunt the magical beast of the East began.
*
To be honest, I thought it would be a little simpler. I figured I'd spend a day or two explaining the concept, finish the training, and then practice by hunting some decent magical beasts. After that, I thought we could take the united clan east and easily take down our target.
But it was foolish of me to think that the Green Skins, who had never hunted this way before, would immediately understand my instructions. They were aggressive enough to be called a warrior race, but compared to humans from Earth who understood the concept of a 'raid' through games, their comprehension was extremely low.
The training method was also a problem. Trying to run a simulation against an invisible, imaginary enemy just left everyone confused. The basic formation was centered around Goff, Orbo, and the Twin-Headed Ogre, Gara. The main force, including Black Spear, would be positioned at a distance, while the swordsmen of the Blood Dagger Clan, including the Ogres, would be positioned behind or to the side, out of the beast's line of sight.
Perhaps because there was no actual enemy, they couldn't grasp what they were supposed to be doing. It would have been easier if I could have them slowly learn the concept by fighting a medium-sized magical beast as humans would, but the Ogres themselves were about the size of a medium-sized magical beast.
An Ogre as strong as Goff would turn any ordinary medium-sized magical beast into a bloody pulp in an instant. They were the type to go all-out even against a rabbit. Practice itself was impossible.
If there was any progress, it was that I'd managed to get them to memorize their positions to some extent. It was impossible to assign each one a precise spot, but they could at least get into their general positions. Of course, these were positions that I, with my humble lack of raiding experience, had devised with Hakajin. Future adjustments were inevitable.
Today, we were practicing formations again, but only their eyes and bodies were passionate. Their movements were so stiff and awkward that I worried they might trip over each other.
“Hmm... so I just need to throw my spear from this position.”
“That's right, Black Spear.”
Those in ranged positions, like Black Spear, had it relatively easy.
“Chieftain, why am I not with the other archers?”
“The agile archers move separately to focus their fire on vital spots.”
“Oh... I see.”
However, it was definitely difficult to demand so much from the tanks, including Mev, Ragia, and Goff.
For example, things like turning the beast's attention to make its breath attack miss the main force, or figuring out an escape route if things went wrong. It was even harder for me to explain because these were concepts I had only ever read about.
What seemed so easy when I read about it became ambiguous when it came to actual practice.
Just dividing them into classes like warrior, mage, archer, and priest wasn't enough. Hunting a large magical beast in real life wasn't a game. There might be set patterns, but there was no guarantee the beast would follow them. It could be about to use its breath attack and then suddenly switch to a tail swipe. It could lose aggro, ignore Goff, and charge straight for the main force.
Of course, in that case, the warriors would have to restrict its movement as much as possible while the main force retreated, but then the healing magic from the priests and shamans wouldn't reach the warriors. Simply standing still and attacking wasn't the answer. The beast's tail could be longer than the range of our arrows.
Even the ranged attackers had to constantly maintain their distance. Whether they knew my head was starting to ache from the complexity of it all, the Green Skins were moving about excitedly.
“We have become one!”
“I feel like we could take down the magical beast of the East right now!”
“This is the power of the three tribes!”
Gark, Hark, and a number of Ogres were swinging their blades at the empty air. To my eyes, they looked anything but united, but it seemed they truly believed they had become one.
“Ugh...”
Just as I was clutching my aching head, Jung Hayeon approached and spoke to me.
“How about we show them? It's not just Green Skins here, after all.”
“That's not a bad idea...”
Seeing it once is better than hearing about it a hundred times. She was right. There were other humans here besides me—Baek Ahyeon and her followers. Of course, I couldn't say they all had raiding experience, but they had seen and heard enough to be able to demonstrate the proper movements. I paused the training for a moment and went to explain the situation to Goff and Black Spear, who both nodded in agreement.
It would be more helpful for them to see how it was done rather than trying to vaguely imagine it in their heads. Goff seemed to think so too, nodding as he spoke.
“I'll send a few Ogres to capture a magical beast nearby.”
“Try to get one that's uninjured, if possible.”
“Understood, Blood Dagger.”
With the sudden change of plans, the training came to a halt. But when they heard we were going to show them a live demonstration, everyone's eyes began to sparkle.
I called Baek Ahyeon and her followers aside to explain the situation, and they nodded with expressions of intense loyalty. Even though it was a simple task, they looked as solemn as holy knights embarking on a crusade.
So passionate, as always. Baek Ahyeon's followers had all come from different professions. Although they had become priests under her influence, their past experiences hadn't vanished. With Jung Hayeon and me helping, I was confident they could handle hunting a medium-sized magical beast.
Soon, after having all the tribe members sit down, we waited for a short while before Goff and the Ogres returned, having subdued a decent-sized magical beast. Everyone watched from a distance. It looked like some kind of drake, very similar to a lizard. Seeing the flames bubbling in its mouth, it seemed capable of using a breath attack as well. I smiled happily, and Goff, catching my eye, grinned back with an expression that said this would be fun.
Wanting to show them the hunting method as quickly as possible, I immediately called Baek Ahyeon and Jung Hayeon over and addressed the wide-eyed crowd. Everyone was clearly looking forward to it. Goff and Black Spear, watching from the very front, had shining eyes.
I felt like a teacher.
“Ahem. We will now demonstrate how to hunt this beast.”
“This is a medium-sized, fire-breathing lizard. It's much smaller than the magical beast of the East we will be fighting.”
The Green Skins kept their mouths shut and nodded their heads vigorously. Since most of them knew how strong I was, many also had expressions of confusion, not understanding why I needed to use this creature for a demonstration. I could understand why they looked that way. The three chieftains could handle it without difficulty, and even Gark and Hark could take it on one-on-one. I spoke again to those with such expressions.
“I will not use a weapon. I will take Goff's place in this hunt. The ones doing the hunting will be only the humans standing before you.”
“Oh...”
“I wonder if that's really possible... Krrk.”
The crowd instantly began to murmur. Naturally, the high-level Green Skins in this settlement could gauge the strength of the humans here. A group composed entirely of priests. I had already explained that, unlike shamans, priests were beings that needed to be protected. In Green Skin terms, they were weak. I could see some who probably expected their soft skin to be torn apart, spraying blood the moment the fight began.
Even as I spoke to them, I was holding a wooden shield in one hand, tapping the beast with it to provoke it. This was, of course, to build aggro in advance. The tightly bound beast began to glare at me with burning eyes. Believing the preparations were complete, I immediately got into position.
Baek Ahyeon's followers, who had been briefed beforehand, did the same. With looks of deep emotion, they readied their basic attack spells and nocked their arrows.
“Then we'll begin. As I said, I am Goff. The ones in the back are the Black Spear Clan. And the ones on the right can be considered the Blood Dagger Clan.”
As I slowly cut the restraints binding the beast, it immediately began to move. Its eyes were fixed firmly on me. It seemed my earlier provocations had paid off.
“At first, the ranged and melee attackers will wait in the same position. The only ones who will engage the magical beast of the East initially are Goff and a few warriors.”
I glanced at Goff, who was watching me with brightly shining eyes. He seemed to be imagining himself charging alone at the colossal magical beast of the East. His easy-to-read expression was quite endearing.
I slowly faced the lizard and, imbuing a tree branch with magic, poked it just enough to be annoying.
“Right now, I'm just tapping it lightly, but when fighting the actual magical beast of the East, it's right to fight with all your strength. You must attack with enough force to be a threat, so the beast focuses on the warrior.”
“Once I've determined that the beast's attention is completely fixed on me, I will give the order to attack. It's important to start slowly.”
As if on cue, Baek Ahyeon and her followers began to slowly attack the beast. Weak arrows and hastily chanted spells. The key was to slowly accumulate damage without the beast noticing. The most effective method was to constantly remind it that I was a bigger nuisance and a greater threat than the humans attacking from behind.
I glanced over at the Green Skins and saw them staring at us as if they had discovered a new world.
“The... the monster isn't attacking the humans. Krrr...”
“Amazing.”
I looked at them and continued my explanation.
“When you judge that the beast's movements have slowed or that it's been wounded, you gradually increase the power of your attacks. If the monster turns to look at the rear, you must obstruct it with all your might.”
As the humans' attacks grew stronger, the lizard, as expected, began to turn toward the rear. Baek Ahyeon and the rear unit shifted positions, circling around it. Just as planned, the warriors who had been on standby rushed out to block its path or deal damage in their own ways. It wasn't a particularly strong beast to begin with, and it began to stagger.
As the damage continued to pile up, the beast finally reached a point where it could no longer move and collapsed to the ground. I poured all my magic into my shield and completely smashed its head.
In a way, it was a revolutionary hunting method. When I glanced behind me, countless Green Skins were staring at me with their mouths agape.
“W... Woah...”
“WOOOOOOAH!”
A roar erupted from the crowd. I had been worried they might not accept it, but thankfully, most of them seemed to like it. It wasn't the blood-splattering battle they craved, but it seemed to offer a different kind of excitement.
“I am a warrior! I will protect from the front!”
“The warrior protects the archer, and the shaman protects the warrior! The archer protects both the warrior and the priest!”
The eyes of the endlessly shouting Green Skins were sparkling. Only then did I realize why they were cheering so wildly. To them, this method was a game. Just as humans enjoy raids in RPGs, these guys were thrilled at the thought of enjoying this new, different way of hunting.
It was a very interesting situation. My own heart began to pound, just like theirs.