Chapter 154: Black Sun
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 154: Black Sun
The white wolf, Baek Rang, quietly watched the sleeping lizard.
A lizard sleeping so soundly it was even snoring.
Baek Rang wondered how this lizard could have become the Snake Queen's companion.
She, too, was well aware of the situation in the jungle.
The long-standing conflict between the Snake Queen and the King of Birds.
The parrots had informed her that the two had finally clashed.
As far as Baek Rang knew, the Snake Queen could not defeat Gaechalgoatal.
Their stalemate had only persisted because Gaechalgoatal couldn't easily defeat the Snake Queen either.
One cannot intervene in a war that cannot be won.
If the Snake Queen were to be defeated, she could probably save her life, at least.
That’s what she had thought.
Not out of loyalty, but because it would put a spirit beast of that caliber in her debt.
However, the outcome of the war was different from what Baek Rang had expected.
The Snake Queen had defeated Gaechalgoatal.
That meant another power, one she was unaware of, had joined the fray.
The black lizard the parrots kept calling a "kept man."
He must have played a crucial role.
For one, he wore the mark of the notoriously picky Snake Queen around his neck, and his basic physique was impressive.
Furthermore, the internal energy he exuded was so profound that even Baek Rang couldn't properly gauge it.
It was impossible to tell how many inner cores and elixirs had been mixed within him.
To put it bluntly, that lizard was stronger than her.
Of course, just because he was stronger didn't mean he could necessarily defeat her.
Baek Rang led a pack, and her abilities were focused on strengthening that pack.
But Baek Rang's pack was precious to her.
Even if she fought and won against that lizard, it would be meaningless if her pack was harmed.
Therefore, if the lizard refused her request and simply threatened her with force, there was little she could do.
She could either have her pack retreat while she faced him, or they could all just flee together.
She had tried to intimidate him into leaving, but that hadn't worked either.
With that much power, he had every right to be offended by her attitude, yet he had accepted her request.
Since they both had a connection to the Snake Queen, that in itself wasn't too strange.
But there was something peculiar about this lizard.
No matter how you looked at it, did it make any sense for him to sleep so peacefully in front of someone he’d just met?
What would he do if he were attacked in his sleep?
Should she call him naive, or foolish?
Of course, Baek Rang had no intention of harming the lizard.
But she couldn't quite understand his complete lack of suspicion.
The wild is a place where you cannot survive if you do not doubt.
Baek Rang and her wolf pack knew this better than anyone.
They had to be suspicious even of their own kind.
That was also the reason there were no males in this pack.
Anyone who lived in the wild, not just them, would know this fact.
To not know it meant you were still an inexperienced being.
Baek Rang thought the lizard might be younger than she initially believed.
Perhaps even younger than the successor the Snake Queen was so proud of.
Baek Rang snorted, finding her own thoughts ridiculous.
Look at this lizard's womanizing.
There was no way a lizard less than a year old could behave like that.
Seducing the Snake Queen, seducing a bird, seducing a spider.
It was impossible to do all that in such a short time.
Moreover, all three were of different species.
It would be more believable to say that this lizard was the disciple of the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult's leader.
She chuckled softly at the absurd thought.
"Heh, heh, heh."
Look at that.
Even in his sleep, he was casually stroking one of the wolves' bellies.
"...Hey!"
How dare he touch one of her wolves the moment she looked away.
This lizard was surely a cunning old snake.
A very old, lecherous, cunning snake.
Of course, knowing they were different species, Baek Rang thought he was just playing around, but considering the lizard's track record, she felt a little anxious.
Still, she and her pack would not fall for this wicked lizard's tricks.
With that thought, she prepared to lecture the wolves that had been taken in by the lizard's wiles.
*
Ugh, I was sleeping so well. What's all this about?
Baek Rang was glaring at me.
Next to me was a wolf, tongue out, rolling around on the ground.
"Chillang, snap out of it and come here."
"Pant?"
Chillang-i. The wolf whose belly I had been stroking in my sleep, lifted her head.
"Ilang, Irang. Are you two just going to stand there and watch?"
"Whine..."
Two relatively large wolves looked on nervously.
Ilang, Irang.
And Chillang.
Don't tell me she named them in order of age.
Geez, she has no naming sense either.
It seems she's not yet ready to be compared to me, the creator of immortal names like Swish-Swish and Chirpy.
"Pant, pant, pant."
Startled by her older sister's scolding, Chillang seemed to come to her senses and got up.
"Seriously, why is a lizard casually stroking a wolf's belly?"
A bit of a shame.
They may be wolves, but watching them, they were more like big dogs.
A puppy curled up in my arms, sleeping.
Stroking that puppy's belly is so therapeutic.
"Gek gek."
"And Chillang, you too. Why are you wagging your tail?"
"Pant..."
Don't be so hard on her.
That's just what puppies do.
"You're wolves, wolves! Even wolves tamed by humans are treated as a joke, so does it make sense to act like this with a lizard?"
Baek Rang gathered Ilang through Chillang and began her lecture.
"Awooo..."
"...He gives ridiculously good belly rubs? Chillang. Where did you learn to say such things?"
"Awoo..."
The relationship between these wolves seemed a bit unusual.
Baek Rang was the leader, but it felt more like watching a capable eldest sister.
It was a little different from a typical wolf pack.
Of course, I know that a wolf pack is a single family, and they are tightly bonded.
This felt even tighter than that.
One could think of it that way, but I had a hunch there was something more I didn't know.
The fact that there wasn't a single male in the pack was also suspicious.
"Look at those claws. What if you get scratched?"
"Awooo..."
"What? It's fine because he used his tail to pet you?"
"Awooo..."
"Seriously, how can he start touching you when it hasn't even been a day? And our youngest, no less!"
Baek Rang spoke as if she were dumbfounded.
Who was the one who brought up maintaining body temperature first?
I just petted her because she was right in front of me.
The other creatures I know would have just let it slide, but Baek Rang is being unusually persistent.
...
...Wait, are the others the weird ones, and Baek Rang is the normal one?
Now that I think about it, that might be the case.
"Hah, this won't do. You, lizard. You come over here and sit down too."
"Gek gek?"
Why is the fire suddenly jumping to me?
*
After listening to Baek Rang's nagging for a while, the day began to break.
Dawn meant it was time for the operation to begin.
"For now, I'll watch from a distance. For some strange reason, they charge at me like crazy the moment they see me. Even if I'm close, I'll only be a hindrance."
"Gek gek."
Baek Rang was beside me, while the rest of the wolves were on standby in the cave.
"One more thing, don't touch my pack. I was relieved because you're a different species, but you couldn't even wait a moment before petting them?"
Anyone overhearing this would get the wrong idea.
If there's a fluffy dog, isn't it one's duty to pet it?
"...Just get the job done. I'll help if you're in danger."
Baek Rang stopped walking.
This must be where she intended to wait.
The location of the bicorns is...
There they are.
【Arsinoitherium LV50】
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【Arsinoitherium】
A massive rhinoceros that grows up to 4m in length and weighs up to 4 tons.
Its two sharp horns, which can grow up to 80cm, are a threatening weapon that makes most predators think twice about messing with it.
Since the unicorns looked like that, I figured the two-horned ones would look like this.
I had a sliver of hope, but I didn't get my hopes up too much.
The only difference from the unicorns was that these ones formed a herd.
Just from what I could see, there were about ten of them.
I see. Now I understand why she outsourced this job to me.
If they all charged at once, most animals would be flattened into pancakes.
"Polyyy..."
The beasts spotted me.
A familiar cry.
"Gamyyyy!"
But the ending was different.
I could feel an incredible aura from them.
I could instinctively tell that they were prepared to sacrifice everything for their beliefs.
Thudududu!
The bicorns charged toward me at high speed.
Their massive bodies kicked up a thick cloud of dust.
"Polygamyyyyyy!"
Is a fight unavoidable?
Well, I needed to test my combat power anyway, so this isn't so bad.
"...Poly?"
Screeeech!
The beasts running at the front slowed down.
Were they surprised by my presence?
Well, they must have realized I wasn't an opponent they could just blindly charge.
"Polygamy! Polygamy!"
...
The menacing aura of the bicorns vanished.
They slowed their pace, making strange cries.
"Japsik! Japsik!"
They began to slowly circle me, and seeing them wag their tails, it seemed they had no intention of attacking.
Their eyes seemed to have softened, too.
Hmm, this is a little different from what Baek Rang said.
"Polygamy! Polygamy!"
They're much more docile than I expected.
Were the wolves exaggerating?
If they're acting like this toward my pure self, it must mean they're even more gentle with ordinary animals.
"Japsik! Japsik!"
"Blaaack Suuuun!"
"Polygamyyyyyy!"
The bicorns cheered, wagging their tails furiously.
They're big, but kind of cute.
Though I have no idea what their cries mean.
[An achievement that would surprise an Allosaurus!]
A message suddenly appeared.
It had been a really long time since I'd seen an achievement.
But an achievement at this timing?
And an Allosaurus-level one at that?
[You have been acknowledged by the Arsinoitherium.]
My, my, what did I even do?
[You have acquired the title, 「Black Sun」.]
A title I'd earned after a long time.
But Black Sun?
I'm not sure what it is, but since it has "sun" in it, it must be good, right?
「Black Sun」
A sun-like being from the legends of the Arsinoitherium, possessing infinite yang energy.
A mythical being who increases their mates infinitely without stealing them from others.
Greatly increases power.
The effect was incredible.
Greatly increases power.
The description was brief, but its effect was devastating.
...But, it doesn't feel like anything has changed.
It doesn't seem like my physical strength has increased...
What kind of power got stronger?