Chapter 214
Chapter 214
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 214
Chapter Title: Souls, and Souls (14)
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The silent forest began to shake violently with the sound of Karak hooves pounding the ground.
-Thud thud thud thud!!!!
-Thud thud thud thud thud!!!!!
“Ugh, uwaaaack!”
“Get a grip, El! Hold on tight!”
“Y-Yes, yeees!”
Once we burst through the edge of the Sequoia Forest, there was no longer any sign of a ‘path.’ Dense trees and thick underbrush between them. As I said, terrain impossible to traverse on horseback or by carriage.
-Thud thud thud thud!!!!
-Smack!
-Crash!
-Thud thud thud thud thud!!!!!
But the Karak were different. They charged ahead, snapping branches and flattening bushes as if they were nothing. All we had to do was grab their manes tightly and hold on. Of course, that ‘holding on’ was the hardest part.
-Whoosh!
-Thud!
-Whoosh!
Meanwhile, up above, Callisto leaped lightly and nimbly from tree to tree. Faster than when I used [Leaf Step]? Damn that elf kid...
The reason we didn’t worry about being ‘heard’ even as we tore through the entire forest was simple.
‘Because we don’t care if we’re found out.’
When the power gap is overwhelming, stealth or ambushes are ideal. If the mercenaries they hired weren’t sacrifices but truly prepared for ‘battle,’ I wouldn’t have chosen a frontal assault either. Sacrifice would be inevitable.
But the mercenaries they hired offered no help to their combat strength. Because they were prepared as ‘sacrifices.’ The crimson light staining the earth moment by moment—the offerings for the ritual to be held the instant that red moon rose overhead. So most of the mercenaries were likely bound hand and foot, unconscious, or in the worst case, already dead.
In short, they weren’t ‘combat forces.’
That didn’t mean they had no guards at all. But the odds of those guards being mercenaries or castle soldiers were low. They had better options.
Orcs.
Not dozens in a massive horde, but skilled orc warriors were surely patrolling the perimeter. Similar to or stronger than the ones who ambushed us. Since they’d traded for the Sequoia Forest, the orc chieftain would have sent capable ones.
Against orcs, a ‘quiet’ fight was impossible. So we had no choice but a frontal charge.
‘They won’t realize it’s us just from the Karak hooves.’
They’d think it was the Karak unit returning after eliminating intruders. They’d never imagine mere humans riding Karak. Orcs’ imaginations were that impoverished.
We’d exploit that brief lapse in vigilance and smash them.
That was the entirety of this simple, brutish plan.
‘Once we crush the guards, they’ll have to halt the ritual.’
If we just stall until the moon sets, the ritual won’t take effect. That alone would make the operation a success.
-Thud thud thud thud!!!!
-Thud thud thud thud thud!!!!!
Through the shadows of the dense trees, faint lights flickered into view.
‘There it is.’
In that brief moment, Lloyd and I exchanged glances.
I yanked hard on the Karak’s mane. It reared up on its hind legs, letting out a long howl, then charged the tree blocking our path.
-Craaaack!!!!
The tree slammed into the Karak’s body with a gruesome snap. I leaped from its back just before impact, riding the falling tree up onto a sturdy one nearby. Conversely, Callisto dropped from a sturdy tree onto the falling one, sliding smoothly down it.
-Puuuush!!!!
And thrust her twin blades straight into the neck of a nearby orc.
-Cruncccch!!!!
As Callisto crossed her blades, a chilling sound rang out, and the orc’s neck vertebrae severed. The headless head...
-Thuuud!!!
Dropped straight to the ground, rolling across the dirt.
-Squiiiish!!!!
Only to be crushed under a rampaging Karak’s hoof.
“Ambush! Amb—!!”
An orc who witnessed it all shouted toward the lit area, but the cry cut off midway.
-Sliiiiice!!!
Lloyd’s greatsword cleaved the orc’s body clean in two.
-Craaaack!
-Thud!
-Thud!
The bisected orc corpse toppled in opposite directions, kicking up dirt.
Other orc warriors came running at the commotion. Some tried climbing onto the Karak’s backs, but without a saddle, that was impossible.
-Smack!!!
-Smaaack!!!
The orcs attempting to mount were kicked flying by the Karak’s hooves, collapsing everywhere. Seeing this, the remaining orcs stopped approaching and drew their weapons.
‘Finally grasping the situation, huh?’
But it was far too late.
-Whiiiissssh!!!!
I nocked arrows tipped with moonstone heads I’d recovered after the previous battle and began targeting their napes. Two per orc. Three fell to my arrows.
“Tell ‘him’!”
“Damn it, with this racket, he’ll know even without telling!”
“He might not, so go! Go!”
“Damn it all!!!’
The smallest orc was shoved backward, fleeing. But...
“Ugh, u, uwaaaaaack!!!!”
-Craaunch!!!!
Unfortunately, it didn’t even take a few steps before El trampled it. More precisely, the ‘Karak’ El was riding did. El, still clinging to the rampaging Karak’s mane without dismounting, seemed to excite it further—the Karak bucked wildly, crushing orc warriors. Should I praise it or scold it...
-Yip! Yip yip!
-Grrooooowl!!!
Orcs dodging the rampaging Karak had their throats torn out by Isla. Isla’s teeth were sharp enough to pierce orc hide; hot blood sprayed as she bit a nape.
-Slice!
“Gaaahhh!!!”
-Sliiiiice!
“Queeeek!!!”
Thanks to Callisto, Lloyd, and El(?), the orcs fell one by one. ‘Autumn leaves in the wind’—never thought I’d think of that watching orcs. But nothing fit better. The orc warriors were utterly helpless, dropping like leaves in an autumn breeze.
Once all orcs were down, the ground was soaked in their blood. The earth gleamed eerily under the pouring red moonlight. I looked up at the sky. The red moon still hung at an angle. ‘For now.’
Time was running out.
They’d surely noticed us by now. They’d rush the ritual. I pushed through the fallen orcs, parting bushes ahead. The light shining through the shadows felt more intense than before. Without hesitation, I plunged through the foliage into the shadows.
* * *
“Fabio!”
Ever since the orcs’ screams echoed, Dawood couldn’t hide his anxiety, calling Fabio’s name like a child. But Fabio, ascended to the altar, only gazed at the red moon, ignoring Dawood. As if his pathetic voice wasn’t worth hearing.
“Urgh!”
The moon crept toward its position. As the crimson light intensified, Dawood felt pain like his heart was being ripped apart. No—like someone had set fire to his living heart! Unlike his father or brother, he wasn’t used to pain. In the end, Dawood pathetically knelt on the dirt, clutching his chest and gasping. He needed black powder to ease it, but... Fabio no longer cared for him.
It was only natural.
To Fabio now, the most important thing was this ‘Blood Ritual.’ Hunter’s Gate. When the red moon’s blessing peaked, offering blood sacrifices would bring fitting recompense from the moon.
‘Fitting.’
Yes. The world always followed equivalent exchange. The most vital thing was ‘balance,’ maintained only when value matched price. Like getting only a hard coarse bread for 10 coppers, what you got depended on what you offered.
That was why.
“......”
So many lives were needed.
Fabio smiled down at the base of the altar. Below, unconscious mercenaries lay encircling it, necks craned skyward—at the moon. Not one had open eyes. All inhaled black opium powder, comatose, awaiting the ritual.
-Caw, caw, caw...
-Caw, caaaaaw...
Dozens—no, hundreds of crows wheeled overhead, circling as if guarding the moon. When it reached position, they’d dive at the mercenaries’ napes. Sharpened beaks piercing skin, severing arteries, spilling hot blood. And as that blood as red as moonlight soaked the earth...
‘The gate opens.’
The gate to perfect the imperfect fragment! Then Dawood’s wretched whining would stop. The ‘fragment’ hidden in his heart tormented him now like fire, but once the gate opened and it perfected... that pain would be nothing. Power rivaling a god! It would free Dawood.
“Don’t worry, Lord Dawood.”
Freedom...
“The gate opens soon.”
So, ‘death.’
When the fragment from the gate merged with the one in Dawood’s heart into a perfect ‘fragment,’ if lucky, Dawood’s soul would shatter under its power and vanish.
If unlucky, he’d suffer eternally, trapped in flesh... But Dawood’s pain meant less than dust to Fabio.
-Caw, caw, caw...
The crows’ cries drowned the surrounding clamor.
And...
The moon moved.