Chapter 38
Chapter 38
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 38
Chapter Title: Thunder's Chosen
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But Sairan didn't look pleased to hear that she had been chosen.
Though it was just a hunch, Hwijun had been right.
The chosen ones in the Black Scale Tribe numbered five: Rakrak, Jaol, Yur, Owen, and Star Reader.
For some unknown reason, the god was limiting the chosen to five.
Therefore, the declaration that Sairan had been chosen meant...
"Who died?"
Pajijik didn't answer with a brilliant flash this time. Instead, its light dimmed.
Sairan closed her eyes for a moment, murmuring a silent eulogy that no one else could hear.
In the meantime, Hwijun's soldiers seemed flustered by the unprecedented sight, hesitating to approach Pajijik.
Even when Hwijun urged them from behind, they didn't budge.
"You damn cowards! Bring bows and arrows! Where the hell are the archers?"
Pajijik turned to look at the soldiers behind it and Hwijun before speaking.
"Yes?"
Sairan replied.
"I will handle them myself. But, Agent Pajijik, why me?"
At those words, Sairan slowly nodded.
"From when?"
Pajijik flashed brightly.
Pajijik vanished in a burst of light, just as it had appeared.
The salt mine interior darkened once more, lit only by the few remaining torches.
Hwikyung whispered softly.
"So that bizarre creature was..."
"The agent of the god who governs the power of lightning."
"And you just got chosen by the god?"
"Yes."
Sairan looked toward Hwijun as she spoke.
"I thought there would be some complex ritual or procedure, and that I'd learn to wield the power through that process. But no."
"Then?"
"The power is already within me, and I know exactly how to use it."
Sairan gripped the spear blade protruding from her abdomen with her left hand.
Then, as she yanked it out, she pressed her right hand to the pierced flesh of her back.
Crack!
Sparks cauterized Sairan's wound, and the smell of burning flesh filled the air.
"Sairan!"
"I'm fine. Ever since receiving the power, vitality surges through me. And this level of pain is..."
Sairan fully extracted the spear blade from her gut and cauterized the gushing wound before blood could pour out.
"...nothing."
Hwikyung could tell from Sairan's contorted expression that it was anything but nothing, but he respected her warrior's pride and said nothing.
Hwijun shouted.
"What are you waiting for? The monster's gone! Attack now!"
Hwikyung said.
"They don't seem to understand what just happened."
"Then I'll make them understand."
Sairan drew her sword in her right hand and opened her left palm.
Countless electric sparks danced and flickered between her spread fingers.
Hwijun was the first to notice the glow.
"Damn it, no way...?"
Hwijun was quick not just in thought, but in action.
As the front-line spearmen charged at Sairan, oblivious to the danger, Hwijun slipped out of her line of sight and fled beyond the corridor.
Boom!
To those nearby, there was only a blinding flood of light.
Those farther away saw a single bolt of lightning erupt from Sairan's left hand, shattering the corner of the salt mine where Hwijun had vanished.
And those pierced by the lightning saw nothing at all.
-Over a dozen soldiers struck
As thunder echoed through the chamber, over a dozen densely packed soldiers pierced by the bolt collapsed to the ground.
The smell of roasting flesh and white steam rising from their bodies told the tale of their fate.
Amid sobs and screams, fragmented words became audible.
"I-it's the chosen one!"
"Run!"
Some dropped their spears in terror and fled, while others fainted outright.
Sairan didn't pursue the fleeing enemies. Instead, she gazed down at her hand for a moment.
Hwikyung approached.
"You okay?"
"Ah, yes. I'm fine. It's just... I realize this power must be used with caution. It's too immense for an individual to handle. I think I understand now why the god grants it to so few."
Hwikyung glanced at the charred corpses, then nodded.
"With power like this, why doesn't the Black Scale Tribe fight the Cropped Ear Tribe?"
"I've been following Lord Owen lately, so I don't know much about the Cropped Ear Tribe... but they probably have some counter to it. And this power has a flaw."
"What flaw?"
"It can't be used infinitely. I felt some kind of mental energy being consumed. I'll need to burn restorative herbs to recover it during rest."
Hwikyung said.
"...What happens if that mental energy runs out completely?"
"Don't worry. I'll just get tired. And I still have plenty left. Not bleeding as much helps, too."
To Hwikyung's eyes, Sairan's condition didn't look great, but he nodded for now.
Several more clashes erupted inside the salt mine.
Hwijun refused to give up to the end. He regrouped the soldiers who had fled and blocked the mine entrance, and a surprise attack from a seemingly lost sword tiger from deeper within occurred, but Sairan repelled them all with the power of thunder and lightning.
Finally, as Hwikyung and Sairan emerged from the salt mine, only Hwijun and a dozen or so remaining soldiers were left.
"...So you've cornered me like this in the end."
Hwijun clenched his fists in indignation, glaring at Hwikyung.
Hwikyung was dumbfounded.
"Think about who started this."
"You were the one who brought that vicious lizard into our city. You polluted what should have been a succession struggle among brothers with the stench of idleness and lizardmen."
"What did I... No, and since when was that a rule?"
"Idiot. You've always been short-sighted. Do you think the Autonomy will stay intact if a successor borrows outside power? Humans will be pushed out, swallowed by one race or another. Even if luck holds and that doesn't happen, the Autonomy will be at the mercy of the Cropped Ear or Black Scale tribes' interests, in constant danger. Is that what you want? To see the city walls attacked?"
Hwikyung sighed.
Hwikyung stepped forward from beside Sairan.
"Hwijun, you're the idiot. Father whittled away at himself to protect the Autonomy, but that made it too timid, unable to act boldly amid the shifting tides. The world is vast. This continent and the northern coast teem with major powers like the Cropped Ear and Black Scale tribes, yet Father avoided deals out of fear their interests might clash with ours. This is the result."
"...But."
Hwijun tried to interject, but Hwikyung pressed on.
"Truth be told, this result might not be so bad. All relationships are transactions. You gain something, you lose something. City walls attacked? So what? As far as I know, the Autonomy has the tallest walls around here. If you're confident, tell them to come attack. Father cherished and hoarded his greatest bargaining chip too dearly to put it on the scale. I'm not a coward like Father. Instead of offering the Autonomy, I'll claim something greater."
That's when Hwikyung noticed Hwijun's gaze wasn't on him, but fixed on something behind his back.
'Sairan? No, not that. Farther back.'
He tried to turn, but it was too late.
Hwijun's fingers had already given the signal.
Hwikyung realized Hwijun had prepared his final gambit.
He had let Sairan distract him, forgetting his true nature in a brute-force assault, but now he remembered his talent.
In the end, it wasn't Sairan who mattered—it was Hwikyung's life.
'That finger signal just now was to the assassin behind me.'
Probably an arrow.
Too far for a thrown dagger from a hidden spot.
There were salt sacks piled on a small shed at the mine entrance—likely hidden behind them.
Sairan would react the instant the arrow was loosed, but a split-second too late.
'Then the arrow hits my back.'
For some reason, Hwikyung could vividly picture the incoming arrow's shape and trajectory.
'What kind of arrowhead?'
'Fletching?'
'Where will it hit?'
Hwikyung belatedly realized he wasn't thinking alone—he was conversing with the 'inner voice'.
'You...'
'No.'
'You too?'
'No, I'm too slow. Sairan will miss it by a hair.'
'How do you stop an already-loosed arrow?'
'I don't know. If only a gust of wind...'
The inner voice, which had seemed irritated, softened.
Hwikyung could feel it.
A sudden gust began swirling in the air behind his back.
Hwikyung said to the inner voice.
'What exactly are you?'
'No.'
'No... that's not what I meant. What are you? The curse that's tormented me? Or...'
'...Kin?'
The inner voice continued.
'...Can you explain it more simply?'
The arrow flying toward Hwikyung lost its momentum, caught in a sudden whirlwind.
It dropped limply behind his back.
─┼
Hundreds of meters above the Autonomy, looking down.
A system window appeared before Seong-un.
Through the video chat, Seong-un heard Hegemonia's shout.
"No way! It wasn't a curse?"
"Of course not. You think I'd pick a cursed unit?"
"But in Hwikyung's character history, it clearly said he was cursed..."
Hegemonia trailed off, realizing the answer, and fell silent.
Seong-un stifled a laugh.
"Who do you think wrote that history?"