Chapter 73
Chapter 73
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 73
Chapter Title: Tendarr Tribe Chief
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The crow tribesman gasped upon hearing Havel's words.
"Then that means you'll kill him."
Elasia translated the crow tribesman's words.
From what he could see, the crow tribe chief seemed quite strong.
"Then just tell me his location and get out of here."
There wasn't any real need to keep this guy around anyway.
But when Havel told him to leave, the crow tribesman let out a sharp caw.
"Ah, well, he says he can't do that as a member of the tribe."
Havel glanced at the crow tribesman.
The pupils in his crow face gleamed sharply.
He might fear death for himself, but he wouldn't betray his tribe.
'He brought me this far and will even allow me to take his captured comrade. That's his line in the sand.'
Unlike those Glasis bastards, this one knew loyalty.
It was a bit of a headache that he wouldn't talk, though.
Havel understood the guy's resolve.
"Fine, then we'll find him ourselves. Planning to stop us?"
The crow tribesman shook his head.
Instead, he opened a pouch slit.
Out came Pyod, Balop, and Owen.
"You found us?"
When Owen asked, Havel nodded toward the iron cage.
The woman inside, Elasia, matched the face from Owen's intel.
Having finally uncovered a new lead, Owen's face lit up.
If Elasia was safe, the odds were good Baria was too.
Damn Na Won, Memento Mori or whatever the hell it was—what a pain.
Havel clicked his tongue and spoke to her.
"Step back from the cage."
At his command, she quickly moved away from the bars.
Havel approached the cage and gripped the bars with both hands, then applied force.
Crunch!
The iron cage, unmoved by Elasia's magic, bent under his strength.
It twisted as easily as a strand of taffy.
Even Elasia stared in stunned disbelief.
It hit her anew just how monstrous he was.
"Come out."
"Yes!"
She scrambled out and bowed deeply to Havel.
"Lord Havel, thank you. I really thought I was done for! Sniff, thank you so much."
Elasia had given up all hope.
She'd even released her message magic, but somehow survived.
In a way, she had some seriously tenacious survival instincts.
Watching her wipe away tears and snot, Havel clicked his tongue again.
She hadn't seemed this ditzy at first.
He wondered if everyone around him ended up like this.
'Am I the cause?'
Maybe he'd been too lenient.
As Havel pondered, Elasia spoke up quickly.
"Lord Havel, the tribesmen patrol this path periodically soon. If they see something wrong with the cage, it could cause trouble."
She might've gotten a bit dimmer, but she was sharp about this stuff.
Havel decided to let it slide.
"You know the chief's location?"
"You're really going to find the chief?"
"Yeah, gotta clear the 73rd floor."
Clearing the 73rd floor.
The method was to gather keys from the five crow tribe chiefs on this floating island.
All who'd passed the 73rd floor so far had done it through brute force.
They wiped them out and collected the keys.
Havel had thought the same until now.
But after uncovering the 7th hierarchy's secret, his thinking shifted.
'I could turn these guys into something useful for the next hierarchy.'
Crows in the 7th hierarchy weren't just ordinary calamities.
The tribesman earlier had shown impressive intelligence.
'Only up to the 76th floor has been cleared so far.'
Havel planned to conquer the entire tower.
So he was thinking ahead to floors beyond 76.
'If influence is the key, I could twist them for the better.'
With that thought, Havel turned to Elasia.
"Elasia, Owen, the crow said there are five tribes. Tell me everything you know about them."
Time for some preliminary research.
A member of the Graiza family, experts in intelligence.
And Elasia, who'd seen the crow tribesmen firsthand.
Through them, Havel learned about the 73rd floor's five tribes.
First, the tribe Havel was in was called the Tendarr Tribe.
They were smaller than average among the tribes.
Not particularly strong in force, but they stuck together tightly.
That unity had helped them fend off attacks from outsiders consistently.
"But lately, the outer tribes have grown too massive, it seems. Battles are getting frequent."
Elasia explained what she'd witnessed firsthand.
Havel crossed his arms thoughtfully, then a question arose.
"Elasia, when did these guys start using gigantification?"
"Oh, that was after Baria and Mr. Moebius went up to the next floor."
She pointed to the sky.
"Once the stairs to the next floor vanish, this floor resets. Everything changed suddenly, and I was shocked."
"How recent?"
"About a month ago, I think. I was wandering injured and got caught."
The moment he heard that, Havel's eyes narrowed slightly.
Owen, Balop, and Pyod froze too.
"What's wrong?"
Elasia asked if there was a problem, and Havel replied.
"The 7th hierarchy reflects climbers' actions from previous floors upward."
Her eyes widened slowly at the info she'd been unaware of.
"So the crows starting gigantification..."
"Yeah, it's the result from the previous floor. Mostly my doing."
Havel stated the real issue.
"And the crow origin of gigantification that I took down under my influence was just a day ago."
Elasia's eyes widened further as the implication hit.
"B-but time-wise, that..."
"Exactly. The 7th hierarchy's timeline is twisted from the start."
Elasia stared blankly.
She shuddered as a chill ran through her.
"...I just realized again how terrifying this tower is."
The others wore the same expression, except her.
"It's entirely possible."
To Havel, even the Demonic Palace felt like its timeline was warped.
'Honestly, it doesn't feel like a full century passed.'
His regression had warped his sense of time.
So he couldn't be sure about the Demonic Palace's distortion.
"Not something to worry about right now."
If timelines were twisted, he could observe how influences propagated.
'Perfect floor to test it on.'
Havel started walking.
"Find the Tendarr chief first."
He'd thought of a good way to exert more influence.
"Gonna take his key?"
Elasia hurried after him.
"I'll take the key, but I've got other plans too."
"...Lord Havel, I've got a bad feeling about this. You sure it's okay?"
Her face darkened rapidly.
"And why's the group suddenly so big?"
She glanced back at the three following.
Come to think of it, he hadn't introduced them.
"Freya tribesman and his subordinate, plus Graiza guys looking for Baria."
"What? Freya tribe? What the hell happened?"
Elasia looked flustered.
"A lot happened."
"Indeed..."
Pyod and Balop affirmed with complicated expressions.
But they straightened their faces when Havel looked back.
These guys didn't even appreciate the favor.
Thud! Thud!
Right then, a crow tribesman approached.
"Caw?"
It spotted them and cawed.
Havel ignored it and kept running.
"Caw!"
Seeing Havel ignore it, the crow tribesman raised a foot.
Then slammed it down.
"L-Lord Havel!"
Elasia screamed reflexively.
Havel raised his hand at the cry and smacked the foot away.
Splat!
"Craaaw!"
Thud!
The crow tribesman flipped over with a shriek.
"...Yeah, that's him."
She'd seen something similar in the 6th hierarchy.
So no fresh surprise on her face.
"Caw?"
"Cawk."
As the fallen one drew eyes, more gazes turned their way.
Havel swung his arms loosely at them.
"Beat 'em all down, and one'll be the chief."
Elasia casually stepped back.
"Can we sit this one out?!"
Balop shot his hand up quick.
Owen next to him looked ready to bolt too.
"Fine. Pyod, try taking on one."
No point if they were dead weight anyway.
"Ugh."
Pyod glanced at a crow tribesman.
It was small now, but...
Having faced one gigantified before, he looked overwhelmed by its size.
"You might face even bigger ones later. What good are you if you're scared here?"
"Who's scared?!"
Touchy pride on that one.
Anyway, Havel clenched his fists at the approaching crow tribesmen.
Time to clean up quick.
Tendarr tribe chief Baldoran Tendarr.
A chief who cherished and loved his tribe deeply.
From childhood, his late father had always told him to love the tribe, and now as chief...
He was racking his brains over intertribal wars.
Tendarr was smaller than other tribes.
Their warriors were elite, but outnumbered.
Even with the two strongest powers clashing now...
If one fell, Tendarr would be devoured instantly.
'I must protect my tribe, but I'm so powerless.'
The strongest warrior in Tendarr, yet...
He lamented that alone he couldn't safeguard them.
'Should I defy the tribe and join one faction?'
They'd curse him, but...
Baldoran wanted to protect them any way he could.
As stress made even his feathers fall out, a commotion erupted outside.
Thud!
"Catch that little one!"
"Why's the little bastard so strong?!"
Tribesmen voices rang out suddenly.
"Little one?"
Baldoran shoved back his chair and stood.
Could a little one cause this uproar?
Questioning, he stepped outside.
And witnessed a bizarre sight.
Under the crow tribesmen's feet.
A single little person was sending them flying left and right.
A being that should crumple under one light stomp.
Yet no one could handle this one little guy.
Head already aching from tribal wars.
He wanted to resolve it quick and return.
"Everyone, make way."
The chief pushed through the tribesmen.
Then stood before the little one.
The little one looked up at him, scanning top to bottom, then slowly stroked his chin.
"Are you the chief?"
Little ones couldn't understand their language, but
crows could comprehend theirs.
They used advanced communication beyond mere sounds, conveying intent.
From his demeanor, the chief realized one thing.
This little one had been waiting for him.
"Looks like you've got business with me."
The chief swept his gaze around.
Some tribesmen injured, but none dead.
Definitely meant to draw him out.
"Pyod, hold up."
The little one tussling with a tribesman stopped.
He looked near exhaustion.
"Tendarr chief."
The little one walked up casually to stand before him.
For some reason, an odd pressure emanated from him, stiffening the chief.
The little one smirked arrogantly.
"What if I resolve the war you're caught in?"
And then came the absurd proposal from the little one.