Chapter 127
Chapter 127
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: uly
Chapter: 127
Chapter Title: Sisters, No Ordinary Women
-----------------------------------------------------------------
"This is my final warning.
Take your people and fall back."
". . ."
"If you keep getting in the way of me and my siblings like this, then I'll wipe you out before I even turn south toward the kingdom."
Kwang!
Creeeak!
Something no woman should be capable of was happening right before her eyes—her own sister was making it real.
A solid oak table, made from the sturdy wood of the north, had split clean in two from a single punch and collapsed.
"R-Rude!
Even so, this is the ger of Aigiors . . ."
"Shut your trap.
I might chop you into pieces and toss you to the hyenas."
It wasn't a joke—this woman had once personally hacked up the men who'd fallen for her and fed them to the hyenas as a hearty meal.
The old man bit his lip, about to snap back at her, but another woman sitting nearby reached out to restrain him. He let out a grunt and had no choice but to step back.
Haah.
Eos let out a sigh and gazed at her sister seated across from her.
They looked identical, but their minds were worlds apart—her twin, different in every way imaginable. Slowly, she opened her mouth.
"If things keep going like this, it'll all end in ruin.
You know that, right?"
"Nonsense.
Ruin is for cowards like you."
"Avoiding ruin doesn't make you brave.
If anything, it's foolish."
". . .What are you trying to say, Eos?"
"Fighting the kingdom is impossible."
Her sister's eyebrows twitched in fury at the confident tone.
She'd witnessed their power—Eos's and the tribe's—with her own eyes, yet she spouted this nonsense without hesitation.
It was an insult not just to her, but to the entire tribe.
"You're really going to stand in my way?
Do you want a civil war?"
"Do whatever you want."
At those words, Zhan Temujin, chieftain of Kalta, ground her teeth.
Her sister—and leader of Aigiors—wasn't acting with baseless leisure right now.
". . .Eos already knows she can make things difficult for me in Aigiors."
Zhan's goal was the kingdom's downfall, nothing more.
She wanted to unite her divided tribe, but without a common purpose, they wouldn't mesh—that was the law of these lands.
That's why she was using the kingdom invasion as a pretext to rally scattered hearts and dreamed of forging a mighty kingdom even in these barbaric northern wilds.
"But Eos opposes it.
Why?!"
Attacking Aigiors as Kalta's leader could scatter the support she'd gathered.
And that wasn't all.
Before even clashing with the kingdom in earnest, she'd lose half her forces.
She'd come here assuming the best scenario: marching on the kingdom alongside Aigiors, minimizing losses.
When the kingdom's envoy arrived, Aigiors had sent him packing just like Kalta had, so she'd thought their goals might finally align.
"What's your reason?"
". . ."
"Until just recently, you sent the kingdom's envoy back too, didn't you?
You know better than anyone what that means.
It means choosing war over talks with the kingdom."
"I sent the envoy back, but I didn't cut off his head like our ancestors would have."
Eos's words drew a stunned "Ha!" from Zhan.
"You really don't understand the kingdom?
The envoy was just an excuse.
The moment we rejected him, we chose war—life and death on the line!"
"It might not be that.
I didn't send him back intending war either."
"I don't care about your intentions.
What about the rest of the tribesmen?
Are you telling them to cling to the kingdom to survive?
We are the ice forged in this winter land, the blizzard and the storm.
The kingdom will scatter in terror the moment we charge.
We don't even need to let them come this far!"
With that shout, Zhan rose from her seat.
Like a midwinter snowstorm barreling in, chilling mana swirled around her body before fading away.
"Don't forget, Eos.
We are the north's vast winds, the blizzard, winter itself.
Bringing spring breezes to this land is pointless.
The moment savagery fades from here, the kingdom will bare its hidden fangs and sweep us all away."
With that, Zhan stormed out of the ger.
Abandoning any hope of resolving things with her sister today.
". . ."
Eos watched her retreating figure, still seated, and let out a deep sigh.
Her stubborn sister, and how they only ever wounded each other like this—her chest ached at the sight.
"How are Kalta's movements looking?"
At Eos's question, the old man standing beside her bowed his head hastily and replied.
"Scouts report they're still holding near the northern snowfields."
". . ."
"But if Temujin returns, they could head south immediately, and if that happens . . ."
"It'll be one or the other.
Clash with Aigiors, or ignore us and march south on the kingdom."
"And if they march south on the kingdom regardless?"
". . ."
Eos stared at the empty seat before her, then murmured without thinking.
Words that chilled the air instantly.
"Maybe we hit them from behind."
"B-Burilla?"
Hitting them from behind wasn't a light suggestion.
It meant allying with the kingdom to slaughter people they'd once coexisted with as tribesmen.
"Burilla.
Are you serious?"
"If they're truly set on war with the kingdom, then at least I want to pull my people out of that death pit."
"Aigiors . . ."
They weren't tribe names originally, and not now either.
Both Aigiors and Kalta were coalitions of northern barbarians, divided not by blood but by which woman they followed as leader.
Those following Zhan Temujin—who called for decisive battle with the kingdom, conquest of its lands, and a new world—were Kalta.
Those following Eos Burilla—who advocated peace with the kingdom, insisting they could survive on ancestral lands despite their scarcity—were Aigiors.
"At first glance, Temujin's stance seems better, more forward-thinking.
But . . ."
If it were possible, it would've happened already.
The kingdom left them alone due to the north's harsh climate, their guerrilla tactics, and the terrain that enabled them.
Abandoning those advantages to march south was like shoving their necks into a hyena's jaws.
"That's why Burilla tried convincing the whole tribe to stay and survive here through trade with the kingdom . . ."
But the northern lands weren't suited for farming.
Producing staple food for trade was nearly impossible.
They'd settled on herding sheep, goats, and horses in the pastures, but large-scale trade was tough.
So they'd pushed further north to the eternal-blizzard snowfields, hunting rare monsters for byproducts to trade. But overhunting had depleted them, shrinking trade goods.
"It was our mistake.
Blinded by greed, we slaughtered monsters en masse, and now it's strangling us."
"The warriors got too fanatical about the hunts.
We never expected their numbers to dry up in just three years, with the rest fleeing to the Blade Mountains."
The brief three-year peace from trade ended that way.
The north reverted to its old poverty, and people who'd tasted plenty suffered worse than before.
Furious hearts, with nowhere to go, blazed toward the innocent kingdom.
Or maybe it was inevitable.
Northern folk had always raided kingdom borders for food when scarce.
That fueled anti-kingdom sentiment among those already hostile, drawing eyes to Zhan and forming a massive force they named Kalta.
They bestowed "Temujin" on her—the legendary warrior from northern lore—and begged her to lead.
"I'd hoped my sister wouldn't accept it.
No matter how many gathered, without a strong leader, no group survives the brutal north.
But . . ."
"Burilla's sister would never abandon her tribe."
"Yeah.
My foolish big sis.
She couldn't bear seeing the tribe rot in poverty, so she accepted.
Even knowing what grabbing that sword meant."
Raiding the kingdom was one thing; full-scale war another.
Northern kingdom lords, knowing the situation, offered food allowances to deter raids, and tribes kept to limits to avoid invasion armies.
They'd stumbled into symbiosis.
Bloody skirmishes, sure, but not mutual annihilation.
"But invading and occupying kingdom soil is declaration of war on the whole realm, not just local lords."
Realizing the gravity, those who'd favored kingdom peace flocked to Eos, who'd kept amicable ties.
To block Kalta and Temujin, they offered her another legendary name: "Burilla," pleading for her leadership.
Eos hated opposing her sister and kin.
But with Hispania Kingdom war looming, she became head of this new peace faction to stop Kalta.
"How long ago did we send back the kingdom's envoy?"
"Nearly a month now."
". . .The kingdom would've decided by now, whatever it is."
"Possibly, the punitive force is already marching."
"That's our limit.
Unlike them, we lack reliable eyes and ears.
In war, watching the enemy is key, and we can't even do that."
"No helping it.
These folk have only known this land as home.
Full war with that vast kingdom? Horrifying to imagine."
The aggressor bleeds more, wounds deeper here.
Even if they burned domains and claimed land, northerners sucked at defense.
Charging, ambushing, looting, retreating, flanking—that was their art, easier than eating.
Holding ground to block? Alien to them.
"I hope the kingdom gets our intent."
"I was shocked when you first said you'd send the envoy back, Burilla.
Feared you'd choose war like Temujin."
"I trusted you'd grasp my meaning soon enough."
Why send the envoy packing without meeting?
Simple.
Even a royal envoy was just a "herald" to them.
If he looked down on them as barbarians amid boiling rage, tempers would've exploded.
Eos secretly messaged the kingdom: To calm the winter storm, send someone worthy.
Convince northern tribes you're not dismissive, respect our pride.
"'If they choose war anyway, we might have no choice.'"
She and Zhan were strong.
The kingdom would admit that.
Warriors who could beat their vaunted high knights.
But the others?
Regular tribesfolk differed.
Full war? No guarantees after.
"Burilla!
Burilla!"
Urgent calls for Eos came from outside the ger.
She permitted the sentry to let him in. Moments later, a scout burst inside.
"Greetings, Burilla!
Something urgent came up during patrol—had to report in person."
". . .Did Kalta move?"
For a mere scout to report to the Burilla's ger, it had to be big.
As if expecting it, Eos clenched her fist tight.
"N-No, not that.
A group just crossed into our lands from the kingdom side."
"From the kingdom?"
Eos tensed more than at Kalta news.
What did they want? War, or final talks?
"Our warriors demanded parley. They said they seek council with all northern folk.
Their guard captain revealed his identity . . ."
"Revealed what?"
"He claims he's vice-commander of the royal knights."
The old man beside Eos paled in shock.
A mere guard captain as royal knight vice-commander?
Some royal dignitary?
". . .Then who requested the council?"
This mattered.
A nobody? Ignored.
A heavyweight? Even Kalta couldn't refuse.
"I'm not familiar with the name, lowly as I am.
Said he's heir to Klauzen . . ."
Hispania's Shield!
Eos let out a hollow laugh.
Average northerners might not know, but through kingdom trade, she'd gathered intel.
Including on House Klauzen, Margraves guarding an entire border.
"Merchants' last tales from the north: a greenhorn turned monster, smashing enemy states overnight—that young war hero's coming here?"
What did the kingdom want? Eos sank into thought.