Chapter 24: Great Tribe Leader Agar
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 24: Great Tribe Leader Agar
[Bring me anything that shines. I’ll grant any request. Anything but killing Green Skins… - The Auctioneer of the Green Goblin Clan]
“Welcome.”
“Welcome, brothers.”
The monsters, with Great Tribe Leader Agar at their center, offered us words of welcome. As they all once again placed a hand over their chests, we did the same.
“Sit wherever you’re comfortable.”
Only after the Great Tribe Leader spoke could we be seated. I thought he was just being polite when he told us to sit wherever we were comfortable, but it seemed we really could sit anywhere. I plopped down in a random spot, and a large bowl was delivered to our group. Soon after, Orcs approached and began to pour something into it.
A sweet fragrance lingered in the air.
‘Alcohol.’
So they possessed brewing skills as well. Back when I was human, I’d heard that the liquor Trolls brewed was to die for. At the time, I’d argued back and forth with Choi Seulgi about whether it was even possible for monsters to make alcohol. Seeing this now, I had no choice but to admit that Choi Seulgi had been right.
“Drink.”
And so the drinking began. There was no boisterous clashing of cups, no shouting like when we first met. Everyone simply smiled and touched their cups together. It was undeniably delicious. First, the aroma was superb. Unlike the cheap, bitter swill I was used to, this felt incredibly refined. Just as I was beginning to think that maybe he had called us here for no other reason than to drink, Agar looked at us and spoke again.
“Come to think of it, I haven’t heard your names yet.”
At Agar’s words, Goff was the first to nod and speak. It seemed we were starting with introductions. I wasn’t used to this kind of setting.
“It is an honor to speak my name before the Great Tribe Leader. I am Goff, Chieftain of the Goff Clan.”
“It is an honor, Great Tribe Leader. I am Korja, Chieftain of the Dark Moon Clan.”
Following Goff, the old shaman from the Dark Moon Clan and the others stated their names in turn. Seeing that no one gave only their clan name, it seemed that doing so would be impolite. Before this started, I had planned to just introduce myself as Blood Dagger, but thanks to the old man from the Dark Moon Clan, things had gotten complicated.
The reason was that I didn’t know what my own name was. When my turn finally came, I couldn’t help but hesitate. I was torn between using my human name, Kim Taesung, or just making up a name similar to theirs.
“I am… the Chieftain of the Blood Clan. Blood Dagger.”
When I finally spoke, a look of puzzlement spread across everyone’s faces. It wasn’t a look of arrogance or disrespect. It was genuine confusion. Fortunately, it was Goff, sitting in front of me, who cleared up my confusion.
“What Green Skin would hesitate to declare his name before the Great Tribe Leader? But Blood Dagger lost his honor in a Sacred Battle. He must be ashamed to speak his name before you.”
Only after hearing Goff’s words did I begin to understand the situation. Declaring one’s name before the Great Tribe Leader was apparently the greatest of all honors for a Green Skin. It was a perfect excuse. At Goff’s words, all the others nodded in understanding.
“A warrior who knows true honor.”
“I wouldn’t have said my name either. A name that has lost its honor is worthless… Gerrrruk.”
“Blood Dagger… I’ll have to remember that.”
Goff had unexpectedly boosted my image. This was why I couldn’t help but like the guy. The Great Tribe Leader, having heard Goff’s explanation, also studied me for a moment before speaking.
“I shall look forward to the day I can hear your true name, Blood Dagger, Chieftain of the Blood Dagger Clan. A blessing upon a strong warrior.”
It even seemed I’d received an unexpected buff, as a surge of vitality began to flow through my body.
In the end, I had no choice but to place my hand on my chest and declare:
“For Strength, Wisdom, and Honor.”
“Very good… I have heard much about the brothers who have arrived in this generation. You are all wiser and more honorable than what the chieftain of the Storm Shadow Clan told me.”
At the mention of the Storm Shadow Clan, one of the clan members with long fangs bowed his head. He was a Troll. He was likely the one who had guided us and administered the test. In any case, the Great Tribe Leader continued to speak.
“I have called you to this place to introduce you to the many tribes that protect this Land of Glory, and to offer a little help so that you may survive here, my brothers.”
“We thank you for the offer, Great Tribe Leader, but the Goff Clan needs no such help to survive here.”
“This is not meant to tarnish your honor, honorable warrior Goff.”
Goff bristled slightly at the Great Tribe Leader’s words and retorted, but the Great Tribe Leader wore an expression of understanding. He seemed to have dealt with many belligerent warriors like Goff before. I was beginning to grasp what he was saying.
Some of the humans on this continent were truly strong. If the Sword Saint or the Queen of the North from my past were to clash with our entire clan, we would be annihilated. We would fall without inflicting a single scratch. The Great Tribe Leader’s words likely meant that he would help suppress these powerful individuals as much as possible. As if to confirm my guess, he turned to me.
“Warrior who has lost his honor, Blood Dagger. Who was the one you fought in the Sacred Battle?”
It was a sudden question, but I understood its purpose.
“A female warrior of the human race.”
The Great Tribe Leader and the other Green Skins simply nodded; they didn’t laugh like the chieftains of my old settlement had. If anything, they all looked as if they understood.
“The humans of this world are strong. Honorable warrior Goff, no matter how brave you are, there will be a limit. I, Great Tribe Leader Agar, wish for you all to survive to the end and carve true honor into this land. This is not to say I will suppress your freedom, my brothers. You may plant your flags anywhere in this land and head in any direction you wish. But the pack stays together. When a great power is needed, we will fight together and die together.”
Great Tribe Leader Agar. He was, of course, quite the character. Even more so than I’d thought. I didn’t know exactly how long Agar had been in this land, but I suspected that if he hadn’t been here, the Green Skins might not have survived. Most Green Skins are belligerent. They instinctively desire battle and wish to be on the battlefield. To put it bluntly, if the Great Tribe Leader hadn’t been here to act as a deterrent, the Green Skins would have likely charged the human territories the moment they were summoned and met a swift end.
Only then did I begin to understand the meaning of the earlier test.
The strength to survive.
The wisdom to begin a battle.
The patience to wait.
Perhaps the old, belligerent Goff would have refused the Great Tribe Leader’s words. But the Goff who had learned patience in the desert and wastelands was likely very different from before. As I expected, I saw him open his mouth, baring his fangs. He seemed to understand, yet not want to. But the look in his eyes, the one that showed he agreed with the Great Tribe Leader’s words, was genuine.
“I… will follow the Great Tribe Leader’s will.”
Only after Goff nodded did the others begin to nod as well.
“We will follow the Great Tribe Leader’s will.”
“Thank you, my brothers who know honor.”
At this point, a question arose in my mind, and I began to speak to the Great Tribe Leader.
“But what does it mean that we can go freely to wherever we wish, Great Tribe Leader?”
“It means exactly what it sounds like, Blood Dagger. You may go anywhere you wish on this vast continent. The Land of Glory is where Green Skins gather, but Green Skins are spread throughout the entire continent.”
“For example… yes. White Silver Fang, the chieftain of the White Silver Fang Clan sitting over there, has settled in the north of the continent.”
At Great Tribe Leader Agar’s words, a white werewolf who had been sitting quietly spoke up.
“For the harshness of winter.”
The Great Tribe Leader nodded in satisfaction and continued.
“The Minotaur Chieftain Clan is in the great plains of the center!”
“We uphold the will of the great plains. For honor alone!”
A Minotaur snorting steam from its nostrils also responded to the Great Tribe Leader’s words.
“And the Trolls of the Storm Shadow Clan are in the swamps of the east.”
“Victory and honor do not sink.”
I was finally starting to get a picture of how the Green Skins lived on this continent. Countless Green Skins had taken root here, each living in their own way, in their own places. It was like a giant spiderweb. And naturally, at the center of that web was Great Tribe Leader Agar, who protected this Land of Glory.
“I do not yet know where you wish to plant your clan’s flag, but you may choose. Three years. After exactly three years have passed, you will finally be able to plant a new flag.”
Let me summarize. We could ‘choose’ the region we wanted to go to. But that was just independence in name only. We would be under the protection, or perhaps surveillance, of the other chieftains sitting near the Great Tribe Leader. The idea was that after three years, if we felt we could stand on our own, we could go and plant our flag in an unclaimed territory.
Of course, it would be a relationship of living ‘together’ with the other tribes, not one of taking or giving orders. All Green Skins are equal. They wouldn’t interfere with each other’s clans, and as long as it didn’t harm their own clan, they wouldn’t care what the others did.
But they would fight together. If a battle or a war broke out, they would stand back-to-back and fight as one.
‘Not bad.’
This was what I had wanted to ask for in the first place. It meant we had a reliable shield for three years. It was a good opportunity to learn how the monsters here survived. The problem was where to go.
I naturally began to look around. There had to be some who had settled in the area where I used to live. Of course, I knew them.
‘The Green Goblin Clan.’
A clan composed mainly of green goblins. They liked to attack novice adventurers and were fast. Their flag’s symbol was a crudely drawn face of a green goblin. They were so notoriously cruel and fierce that even high-level adventurers would slowly back away if a pack of them came charging. But I wasn’t human now. I started to turn my head to see if he was really here, and sure enough, it wasn’t long before a goblin with a mischievous expression came into view.
‘He’s here.’
While I was lost in thought, the Great Tribe Leader continued to introduce the others. I had to consider the possibility of going elsewhere, so I began to listen intently to the introductions of the other clans as well.
Finally, after all the introductions were over, it was time to choose. Fortunately, Great Tribe Leader Agar concluded by giving us a day to decide, and we all dispersed from his tent.