Chapter 74
Chapter 74
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 74
Chapter Title: Crow Unification War Begins
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Hearing Havel's words, Baldoran wore a dumbfounded expression.
It was only natural.
The war that had broken out among the tribes was one that threatened the very survival of Tendhar.
Tendhar had agonized so deeply that even its feathers were falling out.
For such a grave issue to be resolved by a mere little person.
Baldoran couldn't believe it.
As Baldoran stared with a blank look, Havel stroked his chin.
"You don't trust me, do you?"
Baldoran's face flushed red with anger.
The little one seemed far from ordinary, but war was no child's play.
Thus, he lowered his stance slightly, as if issuing a warning.
"War is no child's game."
Havel narrowed his eyes at Baldoran's words.
It wasn't out of offense.
To Havel, their voices simply sounded like incessant caw-caws.
'Not understanding the language is such a hassle.'
The solution was simple: get an interpreter.
"Elashiya."
At Havel's call, she scampered out from the bushes.
She cleared her throat with a little cough, as if preparing.
"He says war is no joke."
Havel blinked at her words.
Then, as if finding it absurd, he burst into laughter.
It was the first time Elashiya had seen him laugh like this.
Her eyes widened in surprise as she stared.
Baldoran reacted the same way.
He wondered if the little one had lost his mind.
"War is no joke, huh. You're right, it's definitely no joke."
Havel finally stopped laughing and wiped the corner of his eye.
Did this guy know how many wars he had fought?
Not for the tribe's survival, but wars for all of humanity.
'Just talking about the Unification War era would take all night.'
Briefly reminiscing, Havel looked up.
"Then I'll just make you believe me."
Havel gazed at Baldoran as if it were no big deal.
"Chief, let's have a go at it."
Hearing Havel's intent through translation, Baldoran's thick eyebrows twitched.
The little one brimmed with confidence in his own skills.
Baldoran glanced around.
The tribesfolk all eyed Havel with fear.
Clearly, the power he'd shown was no ordinary thing.
'This is no time for this.'
Baldoran swallowed a sigh that threatened to escape.
But he couldn't just let this one be.
"If you lose to me, will you leave quietly?"
He quietly pleaded for the other to back off without causing trouble if defeated.
Havel nodded at the question.
Sincerity shone in his eyes.
If he lost, he'd withdraw gracefully.
Baldoran nodded back.
Good. It was better this way.
His mind was cluttered; moving his body might clear it.
"Follow me."
Baldoran turned and walked away.
Havel immediately followed.
Despite the huge height difference between Baldoran and Havel, he kept pace effortlessly.
The place Baldoran led him to was a training ground.
In the empty training ground.
A gust of dusty wind blew, obscuring Havel's figure.
Baldoran worried if combat was even possible in such conditions.
"Don't worry."
Havel's voice rang out through the swirling dust.
"It'll end much faster than you think."
The moment Baldoran showed doubt—
Momentarily stiff!
Baldoran's body froze solid.
He instinctively stepped back.
A sudden surge of presence poured from Havel.
"If you can't see me well..."
In that instant, Havel's body seemed to grow larger than before.
It expanded until it matched Baldoran's size.
"Then I'll make sure I stand out."
"Ha, Havel...?"
The followers gasped in shock at Havel.
And rightly so—Havel had truly grown to match Baldoran's stature.
"Manifestation."
Paiod said with bulging eyes.
Havel had used Manifestation to gigantify himself.
"Ma-Manifestation? That realm beyond Mastery?"
Balop reacted with intense surprise.
Considering Havel's skills now, it wasn't shocking anymore.
But using Manifestation for gigantification was the issue.
Manifestation embodied one's life experiences.
They hadn't seen all of Havel's life.
But gigantification seemed unrelated to his past.
Yet Havel had activated it.
Naturally, everyone was stunned.
"That human can even control what life he embodies in Manifestation at will."
Only Paiod, the strongest among them, grasped what Havel had done.
"I knew he was a monster."
To freely manipulate even his mental image like that.
Could that be called a human realm?
Paiod felt his mind reeling.
And a thought struck him simultaneously.
'Me too.'
He wanted to reach that level.
As a warrior who revered strength.
Unbidden, respect welled up for Havel, who displayed the pinnacle of martial arts.
He too had once swung his sword with all his heart and soul.
Though his obsession had waned since then.
Watching Havel reignited it.
The vision of himself reaching the martial peak.
"Damn, he makes me want to swing my sword."
Paiod's hands itched as his eyes gleamed.
And before such a Havel.
Chief Baldoran stood with a hardened expression.
The little one who had instantly grown to his size.
He somewhat understood why the other was so confident in war.
He possessed special power.
"How long are you going to space out?"
At Havel's question, Baldoran finally looked at him.
"Guess I'll have to test you as you say."
Baldoran's wings unfurled.
Simultaneously, the aura pouring from him shifted.
Not for nothing was he called chief.
His muscles swelled, boosting his presence further.
To not be outdone by Havel.
A long spear appeared in Baldoran's hand.
Whoosh!
At the same time, pure white flames erupted from his spear.
The pristine purifying flames were Tendhar's symbol.
With his spear blazing white-hot, Baldoran stomped the ground.
Just that shook Paiod and the others like an earthquake.
With a charging rush, Baldoran thrust his spear at Havel.
The clean thrust seemed poised to cleave Havel in two.
Before the spear reaching his nose—
Havel lightly pulled his foot back and spun his body like a roll.
It was footwork, the basics of martial arts.
Havel's movements flowed as naturally as swimming in water.
The moment Baldoran's first attack failed, he unleashed a flurry of spear techniques.
But each time, Havel effortlessly dodged every thrust.
Baldoran's eyes widened more and more.
His breathing grew ragged in tandem.
These were full-power spear strikes.
Moreover, the purifying flames traced trajectories.
Yet Havel evaded them all.
It felt like fighting a phantom.
Amid the white flames, Havel's silhouette kept blurring.
Grind!
Baldoran clenched his teeth to refocus.
Then he drew even more heat from within.
His body became enveloped in pure white flames.
The sight evoked the sun's scorching heat.
"The chief's using full power!"
"Everyone, fall back!"
The tribesfolk screamed and fled the training ground.
Regardless, Havel faced Baldoran squarely.
Baldoran's feathers bristled amid the flames.
"――――――!"
With a shout, Baldoran swung his spear with full force.
White flames spewed from it, engulfing the training ground.
In the white-hot inferno that devoured all.
Baldoran panted heavily within it.
But his eyes slowly widened.
Whoosh!
In the center of the white heat.
A straight crack was slowly forming through it.
From between the cracked white heat.
Havel walked out in his sword-drawn stance.
"My turn now?"
As Havel grinned with the question.
Dawn light began gathering on his sword.
Though it was dawn's glow, Baldoran felt heat surpassing the white-hot blaze.
Seeing it, Baldoran's eyes shook violently.
Death peeked through the dawn light.
"Wa-wait."
"Caw caw."
Baldoran hastily opened his mouth to intervene.
But regrettably, his voice didn't reach Havel.
To Havel, it was just another caw.
The interpreter Elashiya had long fled the training ground.
In other words, Baldoran had no way to stop him.
The training ground was dyed in dawn.
The enveloping dawn pierced Baldoran's white heat and permeated his body.
And Baldoran's mind cleanly shattered beneath the dawn light.
Baldoran regained consciousness a few hours later.
He jerked his head up.
"Oh, you're awake."
The first thing he saw was Havel, back to his small size.
"Caw?!"
Baldoran let out an undignified shriek without thinking.
Even Tendhar's greatest warrior had screamed pathetically.
But no one who had witnessed the dawn could blame him.
Havel was truly a monster.
A monster no Tendhar tribe could handle.
"So, will you accept my proposal?"
As Havel questioned the risen Baldoran, he wore a dazed expression.
His mind was slowly coming back online.
Come to think of it, it all started with Havel offering to help in the war.
Baldoran slapped his own face to snap out of it.
Then he resumed his chief's demeanor.
Tendhar was in a precarious situation, exposed to crisis at any moment.
Until moments ago, he'd dismissed Havel's words as nonsense.
But clashing with him directly, he understood.
Perhaps one individual could sway the war's tide.
This was an opportunity.
If seized well, Tendhar's chance to survive.
'Perhaps the Night God pitied us and sent this chance.'
Baldoran judged that the god the crows revered had bestowed grace.
"If we accept your proposal, what do you want from us?"
At Baldoran's question, Havel glanced sideways.
Elashiya quickly translated for him.
"Sharp one."
Not for nothing was he chief.
Satisfied with his choice, Havel smiled and spoke.
"The Keys of Beginning that you and the other tribes possess."
Baldoran froze at the mention of the keys.
"I want those keys."
"The Keys of Beginning are mere legend."
"Then dig up that legend and find them. In exchange, I'll end the war with the best possible outcome for you."
Baldoran fell silent for a moment.
He had experienced Havel's power firsthand.
This one might truly resolve Tendhar's crisis.
"The best outcome—does that mean Tendhar achieves tribal unification?"
Baldoran asked cautiously.
Long ago, the crows had been a single tribe.
But after the chief died without naming a successor, leaving five sons.
The crows split, each claiming chieftaincy.
Thus, the five chiefs declared.
Tribal unification was the tribe's deepest wish.
The warring tribes now felt the same.
They sought to unify the crows and become the unified chief.
Baldoran, facing invasion, was no different.
He harbored the aspiration for unification deep in his heart.
In such circumstances.
Perhaps the Havel before him could even achieve unification.
Seeing Baldoran's serious face, Havel grinned.
"If that's what you want."
Baldoran's eyes widened at Havel's firm declaration.
Tendhar had always been on the receiving end of invasions.
Baldoran had ached watching it.
If only his power were greater, he could have protected them.
Then came this fateful encounter with Havel.
"......Can you really do it?"
He asked one last time, seeking confirmation.
Desperate enough to borrow even a cat's paw, a tiger's claw had appeared.
Legendary Key of Beginning or whatever—for Tendhar, he'd yield it all.
"Yes."
A slow smile curved Havel's lips.
"I'll make your tribe the sole one on this island."
Crow Unification War.
The beginning.