Chapter 11
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 11
Chapter Title: Fratricide in the Great Hall
-----------------------------------------------------------------
The leader of the Rock Fang Tribe, Mountain Sorcerer Jamad.
He was now facing the most headache-inducing crisis since ascending to the chieftain's position.
He had taken the Rock Fist from the treasure vault, killing all the guards there in the process.
The other treasures were worthless compared to the Rock Fist, so he wouldn't have cared if someone else had taken them.
'This is a crisis.'
A massive bell signaling danger rang in his mind.
The tribe, which had shared blood until midnight, was now trying to kill one another.
It couldn't be a collective spell, so if there was a cause for this chaos, it had to be the blood they had shared.
No, pinpointing the cause of this incident wasn't important right now.
It wasn't something that could be uncovered in a short time anyway. What truly mattered was something else.
'More important than who did it is how to stop it.'
There were still ways to resolve this.
If the leaders united their strength, they could contain it.
'But the enemy targeted the treasure vault and Makgata knowing that.'
No matter who the foe was, if the remaining brothers banded together against the threat, they could fend it off.
But with mutual suspicion running rampant, the brothers wouldn't unite.
'The brothers probably aren't behind this.'
His brothers were greedy.
That was precisely why they wouldn't resort to such a brutal method against the tribe.
Yes, this approach was distinctly...
'My style.'
It was that violent and straightforward.
It tore the tribe apart, making it impossible to tell friend from foe.
In such chaos, the only reliable thing was raw power. Only those with overwhelming strength could remain unshaken.
'That's why the brothers suspect me.'
That was why he had taken the Rock Fist.
In this situation, the most potent power was the only thing he could trust.
With the Rock Fist, he could weather any crisis.
The brothers already suspected him anyway, so whether he had truly stolen it or not was irrelevant.
Jamad hid the Rock Fist beneath his massive throne in the great hall.
He waited, hoping the situation wouldn't spiral to the extreme.
The wait didn't last long. Footsteps soon echoed.
Trolls slightly smaller than Jamad entered the Rock Fang great hall.
"So you've come, my brothers."
Troggo, Miyam, Kron.
The remaining brothers, excluding the deceased Makgata, had arrived at the tribal great hall.
"Choose your words carefully, Jamad. We suspect you."
"Will you hear me out, brothers?"
"......"
"Though we were forcibly made brothers by the previous sorcerers, I've never once regretted it."
"Previous generation? You mean the ones you wiped out because they annoyed you?"
It was Jamad who had executed all the prior sorcerers and absorbed their sorcery. At the time, his brothers had neither aided nor opposed him, simply acquiescing.
Jamad continued his story in silence.
He stared down the troll challenging his authority.
"Kron, I understand your belligerence toward me. I'm your closest target, after all. This must be a golden opportunity for you. The tribe falls apart in a single dawn, and yet you crave my seat so desperately?"
"You understand me? Ha! Then you must understand the fate barreling toward you now!"
Jamad's eyes grew bloodshot as the conversation dragged on.
They had all drunk Mael's madness potion, their ferocity doubled beyond normal, barely restrained by their mental fortitude.
"Brothers. When I swept away the previous generation, I made a vow. I would shatter the Rock Fang's stifling traditions and rules, forging ahead to the next era. That's why I spared you all."
"What? Spared us? Your arrogance knows no bounds! Do you think we'd fall easily just because you harbor murderous intent? Killed the elders and now you mock their sorcery too? Enough! You've always looked down on us with that haughty gaze!"
Shing!
Shiiiing!
Spears, axes, and sorcery staves.
His brothers hadn't come to negotiate.
They aimed to completely upend the Rock Fang power structure, using the chieftain's incompetence as pretext.
"Then... you shall pay the price for that arrogance!"
The brothers' tattooed faces twisted in fury as they bellowed at Jamad.
"Why haven't you said a word about Makgata's death?"
"You're no different."
"What?"
"Now that you've drawn your weapons, we're enemies. So I'll tell you why I haven't investigated Makgata's death."
Jamad fixed Kron with the coldest gaze he'd ever shown.
"We're... not true brothers. When conflict arises, we suspect each other first."
"...You're right, perhaps."
"Aren't you proving it right now? Before any unknown enemy, it's your blades aimed at my throat."
"Then let's end this wretched brotherly charade. Whoever survives this can rebuild and lead the tribe."
"Agreed."
Kron and the others' eyes turned crimson.
They could no longer contain their boiling blood.
Jamad's calm, sweeping gaze contrasted sharply with their frenzy.
The overheated tension showed no signs of cooling.
Even now, Jamad recalled tribe members dying outside.
Creak.
Jamad rose from his throne.
His bulk dwarfed the others', that slight difference creating a vast gulf.
Crunch!
Shattering his bone throne, he retrieved something from beneath.
Whoooosh!
It was the brilliantly glowing Rock Fist, radiating its presence without restraint.
"The Rock Fist!"
"It was you after all! We were right!"
Jamad donned the Rock Fist he'd hidden before their arrival.
Clank. Clank.
"Jamad stole it!"
"Don't expect an easy death, betrayer of the tribe!"
Jamad casually flicked his wrist, as if they weren't worth responding to.
"Yes, that's right. This was all my doing."
The rift was deep, trust shallow.
Thud thud thud!
As Kron and the brothers rose and swung their arms, boulders invaded the hall in an instant.
"He must die! Jamad's targeting us!"
"He killed Makgata too!"
"He's using the Rock Fist to devour the tribe!"
The foolish trio began channeling sorcery in unison.
Rumble rumble!
Sharp rocks and sticky mud converged, ravaging the chamber.
Jamad murmured quietly.
"Mother of the Earth, Tancred, if the Rock Fang must bleed, we shall gladly do so. But that blood will be from the worthless."
Immense sorcery gathered around him, fists clad in Rock Fists.
Whiiiiiish!
Jamad declared.
"Jamad is the mountain. The mountain does not shake."
"Don't get cocky, Jamad!"
"Now we'll decide the one true chieftain!"
"You've always deluded yourself as above us!"
The Mountain Sorcerer Jamad, bearer of the earth's relic, sneered coldly.
Crunch!
Booom!
Rocks, gravel, and mud surged toward Jamad.
But with the Rock Fist, his sorcery overwhelmed them.
Crack crackle!
"Gaaahhh!"
"Miyam! No!"
"How... such power..."
Miyam's body was shredded by rock shards.
Unlike his arrogant demeanor, he perished pathetically to Jamad's single strike.
[Mud Sorcerer Miyam harbors resentment toward Jamad.]
[Jamad contracts lung disease.]
[Casting time for spells doubles for one week. Casting failure rate fixed at 70%. Sorcery backlash intensifies.]
[Experience accumulated.]
[Mud Sorcerer Miyam defeated.]
[Rewards enhanced.]
[Rock Fang Offering upgraded to Rock Fang Sacrifice.]
The giant that had lurked in wait emerged into the world alongside the Rock Fist.
"Brother Miyam... he's dead!"
"Damn it!"
Jamad's Rock Fists blazed repeatedly.
Whoooosh!
His body soon armored in solid rock.
Each sorcery he unleashed made the Rock Fists emit eerie glows.
"United by your blood, the Rock Fang will grow stronger than ever!"
"Forcing the earth's power like that! You'll face heavenly retribution..."
"It won't last! That's no power for a single sorcerer to wield!"
Booom!
Jamad charged like a living boulder; the gravel sorcery bounced futilely, and soon Troggo was in his grasp.
Squish! Crunch crunch!
Troggo was crushed in Jamad's embrace.
"Guhk... guh..."
"Troggooo!"
[Gravel Sorcerer Troggo harbors resentment toward Jamad.]
[Jamad contracts vertigo.]
[For one week, spatial awareness warps: defense, resistance, stamina, and base accuracy reduced by 70%.]
[Experience accumulated.]
[Gravel Sorcerer Troggo defeated.]
[Rewards enhanced.]
[Rock Fang Sacrifice upgraded to Rock Fang Relic.]
"Jamad! You dare..."
"Sorry I didn't sweep you away sooner. Perhaps I felt a shred of pity for you, forcibly made my brothers."
"Don't look down on ussss!"
Kron, eyes blazing red, encased himself in rock and charged Jamad.
Boooom!
"Kuhk... kuh..."
"Hahk... haaahk..."
Jamad finally felled the last brother after a grueling battle.
Splurt!
His arm piercing Kron's chest was proof.
"Jamad... cough... you'll pay for betraying your brothers..."
"Kron, you're no king material. Too dim and easily swayed."
"I will... I will..."
"Go."
[Rock Sorcerer Kron harbors resentment toward Jamad.]
[Jamad contracts heart disease.]
[For one week, current stamina continuously decreases and does not regenerate.]
[Experience accumulated.]
[Rock Sorcerer Kron defeated.]
[Rewards enhanced.]
[Rock Fang Relic upgraded to Rock Fang Treasure.]
Thud.
Jamad dropped to one knee.
"Haa... haa... cough... Pesky vermin..."
Sizzle.
Screeeeech!
The Rock Fist wailed.
Forcing its immense power had let him defeat his brothers, but his body was now in tatters.
As his brothers had said, the Rock Fist's power was beyond any single sorcerer.
'But... it's fine. I'm the tribe's sole unifying force now. I'll rebuild from scratch. First, to overcome this crisis, unite the tribe members...'
Step.
Step.
A presence stirred.
Instinct told Jamad the one outside the door was there to take his life.
Creeak.
"...Who goes there!"
Jamad hurled rock shards with squeezed effort, but a moonlit sword deflected them.
Clang!
The deflector was Kang Seol's summon, Karuna.
With Karuna leading, Kang Seol stepped forward and greeted Jamad.
"Fighting among brothers? You should get along."
Professor, we haven't learned that yet.
No fighting, just kiss and make up!
This is... human? Ugh... disgusting!
I don't know if he's the strongest human, but he's definitely the most wicked... And I love it.
He's lost it, for real; I thought it was some dumb stunt, but he'd set the whole board? How'd five brothers turn into an only child! What demolished this big family!
Captured one, but all five brothers wiped out? Can't believe my eyes;
Swish...
Kang Seol stood before Jamad in the darkest hour of dawn.
Holes pocked the great hall's outer walls from the brothers' brawl, moonlight seeping through.
Whoooosh!
[Karuna is affected by moonlight.]
[Moonlight Ascension charges faster.]
"...You. The mastermind. As expected, my dim-witted brothers couldn't have pulled this off."
No point in kind words from the foe, so Kang Seol didn't bother continuing the talk.
The venue and circumstances weren't suited for chat. The enemy seemed to agree.
Layered with grudge sorceries and overtaxed from excessive casting, Jamad struggled to rise.
Whoooong!
Confirming it, Kang Seol grinned tensely and nodded to Karuna.
Moonlight-clad Karuna stepped forward, hand on sword hilt.
Jamad's eyes, facing him, burned entirely red. Seething rage poured from that gaze.
Jamad asked Kang Seol.
"Devil, do you crave the mountain?"
Grind!
With a guttural roar like breaking bones, Jamad charged Karuna ferociously.
"Come take it, if you can!"
But just as Jamad closed in, Karuna's aura shifted dramatically.
Crackle crackle!
[Moonlight Ascension (Moonlight Knight Karuna) Stage 2: Half Moon]