Chapter 333
Chapter 333
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>Translator: Ryuma
>Chapter: 333
>Chapter Title: The 31st Horse Overturns the Game Board
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Chapter 333
Krom had been tasked with leading Seriagui's forces straight into the heart of the snowfields to confront the blizzard head-on.
As long as he had the staff bestowed upon him by Lizard, he had been confident in any mission. The shattering of the crystal orb had been a devastating blow.
"Why... why... me...."
"Eeek! Run! Let's run!"
"Lizard... to me...."
"Eeek! Don't pass out! You're heavy!"
"Grab him! Get him in there too!"
Several moles hoisted Krom up and fled in a frantic retreat.
"What the hell are those guys...."
"Well, at least that's one less worry."
Yeba and Ishii muttered to each other.
Thud...
Rumble...
As the Seriagui tribe drew closer, everyone in Binghaagui stared in shock at their transformed appearance.
"What... what kind of power...."
"...What the hell happened?"
It was hard to even imagine them like this, recalling how they had been exiled from the tribe.
After their berserk rampage, their jaws had been locked open in agony, their fur patchy and sparse. Their final state had resembled withered mummies.
That image was nowhere to be seen now.
Their bodies had swollen to three times their size, like giants, radiating overwhelming menace.
"Kahahahaha! I hoped this day would come someday, but to think it would arrive at the hands of brothers returned from death."
"Brother, are you ready for battle?"
Bram laughed in response to Bron's words.
"Yes, advance."
Everyone turned to face one direction.
The vast army gathered in the snowfields slowly moved north toward the moles' stronghold.
* * *
Whiiiiiing...
A blizzard was about to hit.
Those familiar with the weather said it wouldn't be too fierce, but it was still Whigelthung's blizzard all the same.
Not an ideal environment for battle.
Squeak...
Squeeeak...
Squeak-squeak...
Given the moles' subterranean habits, their stronghold being attacked was an exceedingly rare event in Whigelthung's history.
The underground was their domain, after all.
No one welcomed the risk of fighting them there.
And at the pinnacle of that Emon stood Lizard, a fragment of the Primordial God—effectively making Emon the apex predator in the power structure since Binghaagui's fall.
Squeeeeak!
"They're coming! Coming! They're here!"
Whiiiiiing...
Boom...
Boom-boom...
Boom-boom-boom...
The war drums echoed.
The sound, reverberating from an unimaginably distant point, instilled unprecedented fear in Emon.
A terror etched deep into their instincts, toward certain beings.
"They're here... I see them!"
Even if the Emon had gained intelligence, their history was far too short. Acquiring knowledge spanning all of society was nearly impossible for them.
They had compensated for their ignorance with sheer numbers and aggressive expansion. But in this situation, it became poison.
"So many!"
"What do we do!"
"Zakucha! What do we do!"
Far off in the snowfields, Zakucha locked eyes with someone. Kang Seol did not avert his gaze.
'...We can win.'
Meeting Zakucha's wavering eyes, Kang Seol noticed the slight anxiety in him.
'The fight will ignite in an instant.'
Everyone gathered here likely thought the same. They faced a battle that would catch fire like dry straw, erupting into a massive inferno.
In Whigelthung, the land of death, the struggle for hegemony was not about survival, but about how many enemies you could kill.
Kang Seol's heart began to race.
The eerie calm before war numbed everyone's senses.
'I focus on what I must do.'
Roles in this war varied.
Some had to lead the vanguard and draw enemy attention, while others had to pierce the enemy lines and thin their ranks.
Kang Seol and Bron's roles were even clearer.
'Hunt Lizard.'
They had to fell Lizard, the fragment of the Primordial God, to end this war. The most dangerous, perhaps impossible, task.
No salvation, immense obstacles.
A fight where they could only rely on themselves.
"Hoo... hoo...."
Boom...
Boom...
[You are inspired by the war drums.]
[Pain is dulled.]
[Your thirst for vengeance sharpens.]
Boom...
Boom...
Bron stepped forward to the front lines and turned around.
"There is no retreating now."
"......"
"......"
His voice silenced everyone.
"Don't expect anything grand. We've always thrashed about just to survive, as always."
"Haa... haaa...."
Fangs bared, breaths turned to clouds and vanished.
"When Madria fled to the polar wastes to walk a different path from the other Primordial Gods, we thrashed to survive."
"Hoo... hoo...."
"When Whigelthung's overlords refused to acknowledge us, we thrashed to survive."
Perhaps their lives were a history of defeat.
"And now, the pain Madria bore threatens to seize our lands. So, we'll thrash once more."
"Hoo... hoo... haa...."
Bron glared fiercely.
"Then let's thrash."
Swish...
His wolf turned back to face forward.
The swarming Emon glared at them, weapons in hand.
Bron raised his hand slightly, feeling the wind.
Whiiiiiiing-!
The gale made arrows ineffective. The same went for the enemy. Besides, Binghaagui weren't the type to fall to arrows anyway.
Bron roared.
"Sweep them all away!"
The signal for war.
As if waiting for his voice, the Binghaagui—wolf riders and all—charged with shields and weapons raised.
"Uwaaaaaah!"
"Kahahahaha!"
"I'll kill you all!"
Rumble-rumble-rumble...
The ground seemed to shake.
Kang Seol whipped his reins and moved alongside Bron.
Dash-!
Thud-thud-thud-thud!
Binghaagui's front lines clashed with Emon's.
Krakakakaka!
Binghaagui trampled onward.
"Uahaha!"
"Take their heads!"
Squeeeeak!
"Surround them! Kill them!"
Splurt!
"Graaaah!"
"Aim for the legs!"
Proper words wouldn't reach them anyway.
Skolla led the vanguard, directing the troops.
"Pierce to the right!"
Crackle-crackle...
Ice spikes erupted from the ground, impaling Binghaagui bodies.
"Gruaaagh...."
"Counterattack!"
Whiiiing...
There were far more skilled sorcerers among Binghaagui.
Rumble-rumble...
A snow giant formed.
Whoooosh...
"Dodgeeee!"
Kwaaaaaang-!
The snowball giant smashed the mole formation, sending dozens of Emon flying.
Squeeee...
For a moment, Kang Seol's mind blurred.
The battlefield was pure chaos.
If central wars favored refined techniques, polar wars were raw clashes of brute force.
Crunch-crunch-crack!
Squeak...
A mole soldier's head was crushed by a blunt weapon.
"Deploy the armored moles!"
Rumble-rumble...
The earth split, and armored moles—like those seen from the fortress—burst forth.
'...More than expected!'
Kang Seol worried for the main force upon seeing the mole numbers, his gaze shifting to them before returning to Bron's back.
Bron did not turn.
It could be called cold-blooded or wise.
"Uahaha!"
Bram leaped onto an armored mole's head.
Kriiiik!
Kriiiiik!
His claws tore into the armored mole's flesh.
"The moles die today, so wait your turn."
Crack...
Monster-like strength snapped the massive mole's neck. The Seriagui, reclaiming their ancestral power, recreated the nightmare they once inflicted on Binghaagui.
Squeeeeeeeeeak!
Rumble-rumble...
Kwaaaaaaaaaaang-!
It happened right then.
'...The ground's collapsing!'
Whether pre-planned or not, a trap Kang Seol hadn't anticipated activated.
'Crazy... even the moles...'
A trap sweeping Binghaagui's front lines—and the moles too.
Crunch-crack!
Crunch-crack-crack!
The entire ground crumbled, dragging everyone into the collapse without exception.
The drop wasn't that high.
The lucky would survive unscathed.
The unlucky...
'Focus!'
Doubt crept in.
Unclear roles.
Did coming here matter more than comrades' lives? The first doubt to arise.
Ridiculously, no choices surfaced. If he could even check his options, his mind might calm slightly.
Kang Seol looked at Bron.
He focused solely on not falling.
Yes.
He protected 'himself' with all he had.
To reach Lizard in peak condition.
Crunch...
Dash-!
Flash!
Kang Seol swiftly rejoined Bron.
"Urgh...."
Groans filled the air.
"Squeeeeak! The ground collapsed!"
"It's our chance! Chance!"
"Lizard! Lizard!"
Kang Seol scanned the chaos, eyes landing on a prominent structure.
An elegant ice building crafted underground.
It looked utterly unrelated to the Emon.
'No doubt... that's....'
Lizard.
The fragment of the Primordial God's abode.
Hiss...
"This is...."
"Why stop?"
"Look up."
In the direction Bron pointed, immense power gathered.
'My god....'
Lizard's power, unmistakably.
The curse of extreme cold itself.
Frost converged, as if to bury the chaotic battlefield entirely.
"...Urgh."
Even Bron hesitated, his feet frozen, anticipating massive casualties.
'We have to block it....'
Even if they felled Lizard, total annihilation of the main force by Emon wouldn't be victory.
As Kang Seol and Bron turned to aid the main force—
Splashhhhhhhh...
A massive water pillar surged, clashing against Lizard's frost power.
Splashhhhhhhh!
Kwaaaaaaaaang!
The powers collided midair and dissipated.
The attack was barely blocked.
"Kyaaaaak!"
Bron shouted at the one who blocked Lizard's assault.
"Madria!"
"Go! Bron!"
"But...."
"We agreed no looking back! Hurry!"
"Urgh...."
"It's your task alone... our last chance! Go!"
Dash-!
Forcing their gazes forward, Bron and Kang Seol headed for the underground ice fortress.
"Block them! Stop them!"
"Squeeeeak!"
"They can't reach Lizard—"
Pew! Pew!
Water arrows pierced the throats of Emon blocking the way.
Dash-!
Kang Seol and Bron sped past the gurgling foes.
Then, Kang Seol bellowed.
"Stop! Bron!"
Kriiiik!
The head of Bron's wolf was severed clean off.
Kang Seol dismounted to match pace, sending his wolf back. Lizard's lair was just ahead anyway.
"...We can't pass here."
Kang Seol eyed the mole radiating murderous aura, who had slain Bron's wolf.
"Zakucha...."
"This ends your rebellion."
They were so close to Lizard, yet snagged.
"......"
"To dare dirty feet in Lizard's sanctum...."
But Zakucha's venomous words, sword aimed forward, were cut off by another.
"Kahaha! Knew it, Bron."
A troll with glowing blue eyes appeared, riding the returned wolf.
"...Skolla."
"Uhaaaaa!"
Skolla dismounted and charged Zakucha like a bolt.
Kaaaaang-!
Screech...
Screech-screech-screech...
"...Go on, Bron."
Skolla grinned.
"No failing this time."
"......Got it."
"Urk... stand there!"
"Where?!"
Kaaaaang!
"Moles play with me."
"Urk... you bastard...."
Kaaaang...
Kang...
As they clashed, Kang Seol and Bron entered Lizard's lair.
[You enter the Shattered Frost Corridor.]
[Mid-level Insight activates.]
[Tremendous danger lurks.]
An unknown aura emanated from within.
"Haa... haa...."
"......"
"Hoo...."
Kang Seol glanced at Bron, breathing raggedly. He trembled more with each step.
"Damn... can't calm down...."
"...Why? We're here."
"Heh... that's why... failure scares me."
"......"
"What if we fail again? This fight... it's crucial. What if...?"
"Then it's all over."
"Kahaha! True. All over...."
Bron watched Kang Seol stride confidently ahead.
"...Hey."
"What."
"Not scared? Of all this."
"Scared?"
"Yeah, the foe is Lizard. That...."
That instant.
Roll...
Something tumbled across the floor.
An Emon skull.
Soon, a massive mound of bones appeared. And atop it, a being overlooking them.
Whooooosh...
Absurdly borrowing a troll's form, the transcendent entity gazing down at Bron and Kang Seol was...
- ...Come.
The fragment of the Primordial God, Lizard.
- O returned from death, and wanderer.
Whiiiiiing...
The wind whipped fiercer than blizzard or gale.
A chill to freeze all.
Thud...
Bron dropped to one knee.
Not submission, nor pre-battle courtesy.
"Haa... haaa...."
Fear.
Of his presence.
Lizard's eyes pitied him.
"I... I...."
"Get up, Bron. You can't fight like that."
Bron suppressed his trembling and stood.
He questioned Kang Seol.
Why no fear facing Lizard.
The reason was simple.
Kang Seol always walked the razor's edge.
He had fought countless pivotal battles with everything at stake.
To him, all this was just a phase. Perhaps the most unique thing in Whigelthung.
Plop...
Lizard rose from the bone mound, forming armor of frost.
Crackle-crackle...
- I am the curse.
As Lizard revealed power, Bron's fear grew—but it did not lead to defeat.
For the one defying that fear was his sworn brother.
"Bron, wait longer?"
"Heh... kahahaha! Sorry! Old memories hit me."
"Ready to start?"
"...Of course!"
Bron's trembling ceased.
Lizard, too, questioned Kang Seol. No one had ever stood before him without reaction.
- What... are you?
[The raid battle with the Primordial God Fragment 'Glacier Lizard' continues.]
[Adventure allows acquisition of substantial Era Force.]
[The adventure's outcome will be recorded in history.]
[The adventure's outcome will impact Pandea.]
[Extremely dangerous battle.]
[Current raid members: 2.]
[Subjugation success grants massively enhanced rewards.]
[Difficulty approaches impossible.]
......
Crackle-zzt-!
Kang Seol merged with Jamad, assuming stance. Arms slightly spread.
A pose perfect for clapping in place of sorcery rites. As always, time to step forward.
The night crow smiled, answering Lizard.
"A sorcerer."
Clap-!