Chapter 427: Jane
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 427: Jane
“Th-They’re pretty good…?”
Mev spoke, swallowing nervously as she watched the situation unfold. A hint of bewilderment lingered on her face. The reason for her expression was rather obvious.
It was because Baek Ahyeon and Gark were far stronger than she had imagined. Mev had been training quite diligently lately. While she hadn't managed to quit her card games, she was now participating enthusiastically in training, a stark contrast to her previously dissolute lifestyle. She was always doing her best to be a model for the others.
Even so, the time she had lost would not simply return. No matter how hard Mev tried, she wasn't the only one putting in the effort. There was Baek Ahyeon, who was increasing her divine power through the act of prayer, and Gark, who never let the sword leave his hand. Mev had probably never imagined they would become this strong.
Gark’s martial prowess, in particular, was enough to make even me click my tongue in amazement. When I turned my head, I could see a cold sweat beading on Mev’s forehead.
“You could handle that much too, Mev. Right?”
“Uh… uh-huh! O-Of course.”
Perhaps she had even thought she was stronger than Gark. In fact, when she first joined the Blood Dagger Clan, Mev’s combat rank had been higher than his.
“I-If it were me, I wouldn’t have missed a single one, Chief. I-I’m looking forward to it. I hope… I hope they come my way soon.”
“…”
“I-I’m just going to head to the rest area and practice with my bow for a bit…”
When I simply nodded without replying, I saw Mev’s back as she trudged away. It might have been my imagination, but her retreating figure looked a little lonely, and I found it hard to keep watching. I deliberately turned my gaze elsewhere.
“…”
Sighing, I thought of Gark.
The way he wielded his sword certainly brought to mind the Sword Saint or the Queen of the North.
‘Talent.’
The guy definitely had talent. If we were comparing purely on the skill of playing with a sword, Gark was undoubtedly a swordsman who ranked among the top five on the continent. He hadn't even used his unique ability in the last battle. The fact that he had achieved such results with pure physical strength was astonishing, even to me. If it had been me, I probably would have struggled to block that barrage of attacks with just a sword.
What was slightly more impressive than Gark, however, were the humans of the Western Continent. I had been underestimating them, but seeing them fight against Gark and Baek Ahyeon, it was clear they weren't entirely without hope. They had their own system, and contrary to my expectation that they would rely on their weapons, there were clearly humans who had grown through a fairly normal path.
Perhaps if they had landed in the Central Continent instead of the West and grown alongside the Green Skins, they could have reached a similar level.
Among the ones who had entered the storage room, I saw a few who were quite useful. The man with the giant shield was one, and the man who saved the woman at the end, even at the cost of his own arm, was another. I figured Gark’s reason for not cutting him down was his own way of respecting the man.
“Uuugh.”
As I was thinking about them, I heard the sound of someone choking back vomit beside me.
“Is it hard to watch?”
“N-No, sir.”
It was no wonder she had such a reaction while looking at the prayer room where Baek Ahyeon and her followers were. I thought she would have adapted after seeing so much, but it seemed a sight like that was still difficult for her to bear. To be honest, it was a rather unsettling scene even for me. Watching Baek Ahyeon personally handling Jane made me realize why Choi Seulgi had been so impressed with her.
“Save… me… N-No. Kill… me…”
“Aaaaargh!!”
“Aaaaaaaah!!”
“P-Please… I’m… begg…”
“The sons of bitches who ran away…”
Come to think of it, quite a few had abandoned their raid party and fled when they entered the prayer room. I couldn't know if they would make the same choice if they were in the same situation, or if they would choose to save others despite the risk. But one thing was certain: from the perspective of those suffering now, the ones they wanted to kill most were those who had abandoned them and fled.
The high priestess, who possessed considerable divine power, had been pushed aside and trampled by her own allies, so she was probably having second thoughts. Of course, as she was currently spending some quality time with the followers, she didn't seem to have the luxury for any other thoughts.
What decided the outcome of the battle between Baek Ahyeon and that woman was, naturally, a difference in mindset. The gap between soldiers who throw themselves into battle without a care for their own bodies and warriors who are always thinking of their own safety is obvious. If their forces had been swapped, she probably would have had a decent chance of winning.
She must have been a powerful figure of high standing among the enemy. Possessing divine power that ranked among the best on our continent, she must have been quite a renowned powerhouse in the West as well. I slowly turned to Elia and spoke.
“Tell them to bring the woman with Baek Ahyeon here.”
“Yes…”
Her expression was one of shock. It felt like she was saying she didn't want to go there, so I raised the corner of my mouth and spoke again.
“You don’t have to go yourself.”
“Y-Yes. Understood.”
I thought we might have quite a lot to talk about. As soon as I finished speaking, Elia slowly began to leave. However, contrary to my expectation that Jane would arrive immediately, the first person to reach me was Choi Seulgi.
Appearing suddenly behind me, Choi Seulgi slipped her arms around me and spoke.
“Ooh… sitting here like this, you really look like a king of somewhere. Kim Taesung, you’ve made it big.”
“I’m already the Great Tribe Leader of the Green Skins. What’s being the king of a mine like this?”
“So you’re getting used to it now, huh?”
“That’s not what I meant.”
The reason she was here, when she should have been marching on the Western Continent with Jang Ye Ri and Han So-Hye, was quite obvious. She was likely here to report on the overall situation unfolding at the Goff and Black Spear Clans’ positions.
“Did you get a good look at the situation?”
“I did, but… are you really going to ask me about official business the moment we meet?”
She had a slightly pouting face. I smiled faintly and spoke to her.
“Why are you pouting?”
“Forget it, you bastard. Success has changed you.”
Of course, I knew she was joking. When I pulled her waist with one arm, she leaned against me as if she couldn't help it. I placed a light kiss on her forehead and murmured.
“Is this enough?”
“Well… I-I’ll call it safe.”
As I began to stare at her intently, she quickly blushed and started to answer my question.
“First… I’ll tell you about where the Black Spear Clan is positioned. Thornbush Valley, was it?”
“That’s right.”
“That was probably the first place the humans from the West attacked. A pretty large number of them entered the forest all at once. I don’t know if they thought the work in the forest was too valuable to lose or if they just didn’t have the ability to burn it all down, but… there was no fire attack. In fact, you could say they entered very cautiously and slowly. At the first location, they couldn’t hold out against the spear-throwers led by Black Spear’s son and daughter and had to retreat. It seems that troll, Shakara, had already laid traps everywhere while they were advancing, so they couldn’t even put up a proper fight. They probably just forced the attack.”
“Fucking idiots.”
“Doesn’t that just show how desperate they are?”
Black Spear’s daughter, Shakara, had already established herself as the clan’s successor after her coming-of-age ceremony. For a Named Monster who was talented beyond her young age and thought a little differently from other Green Skins to be guarding the first gate at Thornbush Valley, I figured she must be deeply trusted by Black Spear.
“She fought really cleverly. Tenacious, vicious, and relentless… There were some parts that were a little lacking, and her personal combat ability seemed a bit insufficient, but…”
“She’s still young. It hasn’t been long since she came of age.”
“To be that good already… she has a promising future.”
I hadn’t been worried in the first place, but hearing that they had defended well put me in a good mood. It felt like things were proceeding as planned.
“How’s the Goff Clan?”
“Ah! The Wilderness Forward Base. The first fortress there was breached.”
“What?”
“There were no major losses, so you don’t have to look so surprised. The Big Hand Clan, was it? It seems the Goff Clan put them in charge of the first fortress, but they weren’t used to siege defense and couldn’t beat back the advancing forces. Of course, they retreated before they were overwhelmed, so there wasn’t much damage. The humans were all shouting in victory and going crazy, but… you should have seen Goff’s face. Hehe.”
Hearing Choi Seulgi’s explanation, a grin crept onto my face without me realizing it. He must have been incredibly anxious that the first section of the forward base under his management had been taken.
“The Ogre named Big Hand is just watching Goff’s every move. And Big Ogre, who recommended Big Hand, seems to be on edge too…”
“Did you tell them the news from this region?”
“Of course. No damage in the valley and the mountain range, except for the Wilderness Forward Base. That story was the decisive blow.”
I could start to imagine the scene. Being a guy with a lot of pride, he would naturally be sensitive to such things.
“What happened next?”
“Ah, what came next was pretty great. The Twin-Headed Ogre took up a position in the forward base’s supply depot.”
“Ah… Gara.”
“Right. That was his name.”
The Twin-Headed Ogre, Gara. He held a position in the Goff Clan similar to Gark’s in the Blood Dagger Clan. He was, without a doubt, the second strongest warrior in the Goff Clan. His unique ability was Potion Junkie. It was an ability that amplified the effects of any potion-type substance he consumed to an unimaginable degree. I clicked my tongue briefly and spoke to Choi Seulgi.
“Don’t tell me he’s holed up in the potion warehouse?”
“Yep. You know him well. It was absolute chaos. No matter how many attacks the triumphant humans threw at him, he was perfectly fine. In the end, they were crying and wailing as they fled… You couldn’t even tell if the bullets and magic were hitting him or not. Other Ogres kept charging in from the sides. The funny thing was, that Ogre would look like he was about to fall, but he never did. His acting was killer…”
“Is that so?”
“In the end, the mages and soldiers armed with firearms, who had poured out magic until they were on the verge of exhaustion, were annihilated on the spot. Only a few survived and returned.”
“Hmm…”
The next line would probably not be breached. If that guy had really holed up in the potion warehouse, I figured even I would find it a pain to dislodge him. Unless the Western Continent gathered all its strongest fighters and charged in with the resolve to die, the Wilderness Forward Base would not fall. This explained just how angry Goff must have been. For some reason, I felt a little disappointed. As Choi Seulgi and I were talking, a voice began to call from outside.