Chapter 137
Chapter 137
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 137
Chapter Title: A Continent in Flames
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"Chief!"
*Thwip-!*
*Thwip- Thwip-!*
Several arrows pierced the monster shrouded in black smoke.
The creature that had been biting the small Gray Elf woman's calf thrashed and collapsed.
"Are you alright!"
A tall, muscular male Gray Elf ran over, bow in hand.
He continued to fire arrows, keeping the surrounding monsters at bay.
"Lady Sarieta!"
"I'm fine, Kufuhtan. It wasn't a deep bite."
"That one is venomous. You must treat it quickly!"
The small Gray Elf woman, Sarieta.
She sat on the ground, applying pressure to her thigh to draw out the black blood.
Then, she took a few dried leaves from her pouch and began to chew them.
"Chief! This way…"
A tall, slender Gray Elf woman helped Sarieta to her feet.
Hamar held Sarieta and began running deeper into the forest.
"Hah… hah… What happened to Lady Actria?"
Sarieta asked, gasping for breath in Hamar's arms.
The leaves she was chewing only slowed the poison's effects; they couldn't neutralize it completely.
The only way to detoxify was to circulate her mana and slowly expel the poison.
But Sarieta was exhausted from the continuous fighting, and just keeping the poison from spreading was a monumental effort.
"...Lady Actria… the forest… it's been completely burned down."
"Oh… no…"
Tears streamed down Sarieta's face.
Actria's Forest, cultivated and preserved since the time of their ancestors.
The successive chiefs of Nightingale Forest had always cared for Actria's Forest, borrowing Actria's wisdom to maintain peace.
And now, during her generation, Actria's Forest had been destroyed.
"Hamar… please take me to Lady Actria."
"I can't! The area is already swarming with monsters."
"I have to do something…"
"Absolutely not! We have to escape from here!"
*CRASH-!*
A loud explosion echoed from the distance.
The place where black flames were soaring.
The house where Sarieta and her grandmother had lived was collapsing.
"Grandmother…!"
Sarieta struggled.
Her grandmother had been fighting alongside the elders to protect the village hall, which housed all the village's books on its first and second floors. That was the building that had just collapsed.
"Hamar! We have to go back, now!"
"Absolutely not! I can't do that!"
"Oh… please!"
Sarieta beat against Hamar's chest, trying to break free.
But she was no match for the strong arms that held her tight.
"Chief! You must pull yourself together. If you're gone, our village… I will save you, no matter what!"
Hamar held Sarieta with one arm and swung her sword with the other, cutting a path through the monsters as she ran.
Behind her, the burning Nightingale Forest was visible.
Gray Elf warriors fell to the monsters attacking from within the flames.
The already cold bodies of Gray Elf elders and children.
And even her grandmother, Salireuna.
Overwhelmed with the guilt of not being able to save anyone, Sarieta's vision blurred with tears.
"*Sob…* Help me…"
***
A massive mountain range stretching across the eastern part of the Tranpeion Continent.
At the entrance to Heoden, a village nestled beside one of its mines, the clang of various weapons resounded.
"Oson, catch!"
*Whoosh-!*
Oson Ironhammer, a dwarf with a beautifully braided gray beard, spun around and snatched the flying axe from the air.
*Thud-.*
"Father!"
"Don't you worry about me!"
Oson watched as his father, Puson Ironhammer, was dragged away by a horde of monsters.
He wanted to rush to his aid, but dozens of monsters were already swarming before him.
"Grrgh!"
Oson squeezed his eyes shut and swung his arms, cutting down the monsters.
His father wouldn't be killed so easily.
For now, hunting the monsters invading the village was the priority.
*SLASH-!*
*SHIING-!*
The Dragon Bone Double Axe, Puson's beloved weapon and the village's divine axe, danced brilliantly in Oson's left hand.
"Kneel before my axe!"
Oson, gripping a double-bladed axe in each hand, rampaged through the monsters, felling them left and right.
The Dragon Bone Double Axe was heavy, but its edges, treated with dragon bone, always maintained supreme sharpness. In contrast, the Wyvern Bone Double Axe, made entirely of wyvern bone, was lighter and less destructive.
Both were treasures of the Dwarven race, boasting incredible offensive power.
Wielding the two double-bladed axes, Oson was virtually invincible.
"*Gurgle gurgle…*"
"*Krrrrr.*"
The monsters dropped one after another before Oson's indiscriminate axe swings.
But black smoke seeped from their corpses and flowed into the others.
With each transfer, the monsters grew stronger, making them harder to fight.
"Hah… hah… Kaison! Hernet!"
His fellow Dwarf warriors, fighting alongside him, began to fall to their knees one by one, and through the gaps, monsters slowly pushed into the village.
"Block them! This village won't fall to the likes of these monsters!"
Oson shouted.
How hard had they fought to protect this village?
This was Heoden, which had survived and maintained its legacy even against the exploitation of dragons.
When a dragon tyrannically demanded they craft accessories from Thorn Ore, Oson had traversed the continent and ultimately returned with it, saving the village.
He couldn't let a village maintained through such hardship fall to mere monsters.
*SWISH-!*
*CHOP-!*
After beheading a monster with both axes, Oson raised the Dragon Bone Double Axe high and roared.
"Fight on, Dwarves! Defend our home, Dwarves!"
His commanding shout, echoing across the battlefield, greatly boosted the morale of the fighting Dwarven warriors.
With his gray beard whipping fiercely, Oson charged forward into the horde of monsters.
"For Heoden!"
"Uooooh!"
"Waaaaah!"
***
In the heart of the southern rainforest.
There was a man who didn't shed a single drop of sweat amidst the blistering heat.
"Nothing but corpses here, too."
Do-jae murmured as he walked through the ruined village.
The bodies of monsters known as the Mac were strewn everywhere.
Of course, on Tranpeion, they were likely a different race with another name, but there was no need to know it.
There was no one left alive to communicate with.
"They haven't been dead for long…"
Do-jae walked slowly, surveying his surroundings.
The corpses hadn't attracted a single insect, half-collapsed houses revealed half-eaten meals, and the embers of a dying fire were still visible.
This was already the several-dozenth destroyed village Do-jae had seen on his way to Elatra's temple.
In every one, the bodies of other races and monsters were mixed together.
What in the world was happening to this continent?
What had become of this land in his absence?
- We do not know either. All we can perceive right now is what we see and hear through you.
- Are you perhaps curious about the Paikan tribe? Or, if you go north for about another day, you can meet the Centaur race. Should I tell you about them?
The voices of Altein and Ruiden echoed in his mind.
Since crossing over to this other world, they had started speaking to him more frequently.
Ruiden, in particular, was quite talkative, which was a bit tiring.
"You're all less useful than I thought."
- Heh heh, isn't that a bit harsh?
- Hey… We're Ascetics, you know. But it's true we're not very useful right now… Haha.
Do-jae cleanly ignored them and left the village, heading back into the forest.
He had a persistent, bad feeling.
Whether it was because of the destroyed villages or Havik's failure to appear, he couldn't say.
"More importantly, that guy isn't showing up. Can't I just go back to my original world? Is there any way?"
- Havik is the one holding the Axis of Causality. Unfortunately, unless you deal with him and reclaim the Axis, returning is impossible. It might be different if all the Ascetics were gathered.
- Well, it would be possible if Elatra's power returned.
Ruiden's words piqued Do-jae's interest.
If he didn't have to stay in this unfamiliar land, he wanted to return as soon as possible.
"Really? Then just…"
- But I can't guarantee which time and space you'd end up in. Forcibly twisting the Axis is a bit dangerous. So, if you want to go to a specific time, we need to interfere with the Axis of Causality. That's what I'm saying.
"…Is that so."
- It's because we passed our power to you.
Do-jae was disappointed by Ruiden's words.
Space was one thing, but going to a different time was meaningless.
He briefly wondered what it would be like to go back to when his parents were alive, but his head started to spin thinking about what would happen to the 'him' living in that timeline, and what would become of that future.
Hadn't various heroes in issue 27 of Metallic Hero wrestled with such timeline dilemmas?
Besides, it wasn't even certain he could go to that specific time, so thinking about it further was a waste.
"By the way, an old woman named Helen said something. Four black stars. Four Apostates. If that prophecy is true, it means I'll never be able to eliminate Havik and will be trapped here forever… Is there any chance the prophecy is wrong?"
- I'm sorry, but we don't know that either. Seeing the future is one of Gellahan's unique powers. It's not something we can interfere with.
"You really don't know anything, do you? You can go back inside now."
In the end, he had learned nothing from the conversation.
He was right back where he started.
The only way was to defeat Havik, take back this 'Axis of Causality' he held, and return.
After that, with the Ascetics' help, he would return to a time as close as possible to before he left for this place and prepare for these 'four stars'.
"I should rest for a bit before I go."
After traveling for a long time, Do-jae leaned his back against a large tree and sat down.
He had been moving for a full day without sleep or food, so he needed to relieve some fatigue.
Accumulated fatigue would increase his stamina consumption, and since he didn't know when or where Havik might appear, he had to rest when he could to maintain his condition.
"Aqua, Fire."
Do-jae took a pot from his Subspace, created water with 'Aqua' magic, and lit a fire with 'Fire' magic, bringing the water to a boil in an instant.
He added pre-portioned meat, kimchi, and various other ingredients and began to boil it vigorously.
He also put rice in a small pressure cooker to cook.
While the stew and rice cooked, Do-jae closed his eyes and rested.
Soon, a delicious aroma filled the air as steam rose from the stew and the rice cooker.
"Who would've thought I'd be eating kimchi stew and rice in a place like this?"
Do-jae transferred the deliciously cooked rice and the savory-smelling kimchi stew into a bowl.
He was about to take a big bite.
*Rustle-.*
He heard a presence from far away.