Chapter 142
Chapter 142
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 142
Chapter Title: The Succession Duel
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Thump. Thump. Thump.
As a drum, crafted in a primitive fashion, echoed a sound like a heartbeat, all the Beastkin gathered around the central clearing of the basin, forming a massive circle.
Two figures stood in the center.
Draak and Aisi.
It had been ten days since they last faced each other.
Before the fight, the Elder pulled out the flagpole that stood in the center of the village.
If Draak won, the flagpole would be returned to its place. If Aisi won, a leather strap engraved with Draak’s name would be added to the tokens of past chieftains.
“The succession ceremony of the Bistan begins.”
There were no cumbersome rituals.
As the Elder, holding the flagpole, took his place among his kin, the bodies of Draak and Aisi transformed simultaneously.
A saber-toothed tiger resembling a white snowfield.
Opposite it was a massive bear with blood-red fur.
On the massive paws that had pierced her father’s heart, claws like blades extended.
Grrrroooar!
The blood-red bear unfurled its body and roared, and the saber-toothed tiger, not to be outdone, let out a cry toward the sky.
When the echoes, spreading like thunder across the entire mountain, faded, the two beasts facing each other clashed.
Crash!
Draak’s forepaw swiped at the spot where Aisi had been, but it only struck the ground. In that instant, Aisi twisted her body sideways, as if sweeping the floor, and tried to bite Draak’s leg.
Unlike his large frame, Draak agilely turned to face her again, but Aisi had already reared up and was swinging her forepaw.
Startled by her incredible speed, Draak couldn’t dodge and raised his arm to block.
Thwack!
That single blow made Draak’s body tremble. Seizing the opportunity, Aisi opened her mouth, aiming for his neck.
Just before her sharp fangs could pierce his skin, Draak quickly twisted his body and retreated two steps.
Aisi, too, did not give chase immediately and faced Draak once more.
They were in the same standoff as before, but the atmosphere had changed.
‘How did she get so strong?’
The question arose in his mind.
From that brief clash, Draak could gauge Aisi’s strength.
Before they fought, he had been confident he could win with ease, but she had overwhelmed him in both power and speed.
‘I must be careful.’
Nevertheless, Draak didn’t think he would lose.
He was a warrior known as the greatest of all time. The previous chieftain had also held this title, but by defeating him, Draak had been acknowledged as an even stronger warrior.
Perhaps that was why no one had mentioned a succession ceremony since he became chieftain.
‘I can win.’
Power and speed were not everything in a fight. If they were, he would never have become chieftain.
Experience and fighting spirit.
These were just as important as strength. But how foolish that thought was became clear in the next clash.
Crash! Crash!
Draak deliberately showed an opening, intending to grab his opponent’s neck, but Aisi, who he expected to lunge for his throat, had instead circled around his flank and gotten behind him.
In battle, showing a vital point for even a moment would usually draw an attack, but Aisi showed no reaction.
Instead, despite getting behind him, she didn’t overextend and attacked the back of his knee, which he couldn’t defend.
It started from there.
Aisi never let go of the advantage once she had it.
She coolly picked her opponent apart, as if devoid of emotion.
Starting with the back of his knee, she crippled both his legs, and when he swung his arms wildly, she attacked his shoulders to neutralize them.
All the Beastkin watching did not consider this a duel.
‘A hunt.’
This was a hunt.
It was simply the process of an overwhelmingly powerful hunter safely dispatching its prey.
‘She’s too strong.’
Draak only realized this after he collapsed to the ground from a reckless attack.
It wasn’t just her power and speed.
He couldn’t overwhelm Aisi with experience and fighting spirit either. Draak was not the only one who thought this.
‘They were right.’
Aisi, too, had thought her opponent was too weak the moment they first clashed. When her human friends had told her she was ready, it hadn’t been mere encouragement.
‘I’m much stronger.’
It wasn't just that she was strong.
If her opponent had been a monster she’d met on the mountain, she would have ended its life in an instant.
The gap in their skills was that vast.
She judged that continuing the fight was meaningless, but Aisi didn’t charge in right away. There was something she had to do.
Seeing this, Draak was puzzled.
‘Why?’
Aisi had the upper hand, yet she backed away.
She was giving him a chance.
That’s what Aisi’s eyes were saying.
‘Ah!’
He, who had been wondering, recalled an old memory.
‘I did the same thing.’
He had given the same chance to the previous chieftain, Aisi’s father, whom he had overwhelmingly defeated.
Telling him to give up.
Though no one had ever chosen it, the law clearly stated the right to surrender.
If one did, they could keep their life and simply leave the village.
‘He refused.’
The previous chieftain did not accept the chance and charged. And his heart was pierced by Draak's hand.
‘Is it my turn to choose now?’
Draak forced strength into his trembling legs.
Bleeding and with torn muscles, he pushed himself up and ran toward Aisi with every last ounce of his strength.
Thud! Thud! Thud!
He charged, shaking the ground, and without a moment's hesitation, opened his jaws toward Aisi’s head.
‘I won’t give up either.’
His choice was the same.
But pride did not change the outcome.
When Aisi, who was right in front of him, suddenly disappeared, the back of his neck grew cold.
Having dodged by ducking low, Aisi had left his vital point completely exposed.
Aisi’s sharp teeth bit into his neck.
‘This is the end.’
The thought crossed his mind. But something was strange.
Thud!
He felt the impact as his massive body hit the ground, but his neck, which should have been pierced by fangs, was fine.
The outcome had already been decided.
“Give up.”
Aisi returned to her human form and spoke. In response, Draak also changed his form.
He was a battered mess, bleeding from all over his body.
“Are you mocking me?”
“No. I’m trying to protect my tribe. Draak, you will accept your defeat and remain in this village. As chieftain, I will take responsibility.”
“You want me to abandon my warrior’s pride and be mocked for the rest of my life?”
“That’s right. Abandon your warrior’s pride. Choose the glory of the tribe instead.”
“The glory of the tribe?”
Aisi spoke loudly enough for everyone to hear.
“There are only five hundred of us. I don’t want to lose any more of our tribe. When I am chieftain, we will live differently than we have until now. You, too, must choose for the sake of the tribe.”
Draak’s eyes wavered.
Aisi, who had always seemed so young, had now become a warrior worthy of the tribe.
A proud and great warrior.
He had no choice but to admit she was more suited to be chieftain than he was.
And so, he had no choice but to make his decision.
Roooar!
Transforming back into a bear, Draak charged toward Aisi.
Aisi’s eyes held a hint of regret, but she did not let herself be hit.
Transforming into a saber-toothed tiger, Aisi brushed past Draak’s neck.
Sssshk!
Blood poured from Draak’s neck, and as his strength faded, he reverted to his human form.
This time, she showed no mercy.
The dying Draak smiled. The wound was too deep for him to speak, but Aisi knew his intention.
‘Only when I am gone can you become a true chieftain.’
Another fate of the Beastkin.
He had chosen both pride and glory. And with that, Draak closed his eyes.
Aisi looked down at him silently, and the surroundings fell quiet.
There was no sense of accomplishment from her revenge.
Even less was there satisfaction in becoming chieftain.
The moment he made the same choice as her father, a word befitting a Beastkin came to her mind.
‘Destiny.’
It was a concept incomprehensible to human thought, but to the Beastkin, it was the closest word. Only by accepting it could they live in submission to the flow of time and nature.
Feeling this, Aisi erased the sense of emptiness and raised her head to the sky.
Then, a deep sense of mission for what she had to do next was engraved upon her heart.
For the first task of that mission, Aisi let out a roar that echoed through the mountains.
It was for her tribe members, who were watching their new chieftain.
In response to her cry, the Beastkin all transformed into their beast forms and howled at the sky.
It was the moment a new chieftain was born among the Beastkin.
***
Oh Min-jae finally accepted the Magic Tower's repeated requests for a visit after a fortnight had passed.
This time, it wasn’t the 5th-floor mage Sodoban, but the 7th-floor mage Romez who came in person.
“I formally apologize for our past rudeness.”
The prideful Romez was the first to bow his head.
For the past week, all personnel related to the Mirje Trading Company across the country had refused to cooperate with the Magic Tower’s investigation. They could hold out because the investigation was not legally binding.
That didn’t mean there was no pressure at all.
For now, there were only requests for cooperation from their business partners, but there was no telling what would happen over time.
“I accept your apology.”
“Thank you.”
“Starting today, all our employees will cooperate with the investigation again.”
In truth, their cooperation wasn't a crucial part. It was because there were no suspicious individuals within the Mirje Trading Company.
However, the symbolic meaning of a group refusing to cooperate with the Magic Tower's investigation was important.
It was because others might also start to resist the non-legally binding investigation.
In any case, for Romez, the biggest problem had been solved.
But Oh Min-jae’s words didn’t end there.
“We have no intention of selling magical materials until the investigation is over. And as for our investment in the Magic Tower, we can discuss that afterward.”
Romez’s eyes trembled.
Magical materials were items from which the Magic Tower received royalties.
On top of that, their largest investor had just announced they were halting investments. In short, it meant all the money coming from the Mirje Trading Company would disappear.
“This is too sudden. Didn’t you say you accepted our apology?”
“Accepting the apology is a gesture for our relationship up to now. But the future is uncertain.”
“What do you mean by that…?”
“I heard you were also rude to my partner.”
Romez knew who Oh Min-jae was referring to.
Lennox Vega.
He had expected some sort of retaliation for that incident eventually, but he hadn’t thought it would come like this.
“I’ve come to realize this time that there is no trust between the Magic Tower and the Mirje Trading Company. In other words, our relationship was purely business. Now that I understand that, I intend to treat the Magic Tower accordingly.”
The Magic Tower is arrogant.
That’s why they never acknowledged anyone as an official partner.
They don't even consider nobles as anything more than investors. Oh Min-jae was mocking that fact.
“So, let’s talk about our relationship again after this matter is over.”
Faced with such a firm atmosphere, Romez didn’t dare try to persuade him further.
In the end, Romez bowed and left.
On the surface, he had secured their cooperation, so his primary objective had been achieved. As for the investment, that was something that could be discussed again later.
In any case, the Mirje Trading Company had also profited immensely from Life Stones, so they wouldn’t be able to disregard the Magic Tower.
After he left, Oh Min-jae looked out the windy window and thought.
“Aren’t they being overly confident? Believing they can catch the culprit.”
Oh Min-jae would have bet his life that they wouldn’t be able to catch the culprit.
“The chase will take a long time, and by the time they come to their senses, the vault will be empty.”
Oh Min-jae’s declaration wasn’t just about a power struggle.
The recent assassinations of Bae Wang-sik and Sa Seon-gi had produced a more significant result than expected: the fact that *they* were now dedicating all their resources.
“They won’t even be able to think about building a gate for a while.”
Thanks to that, the gate invasion will be delayed significantly.
“And when they try to start again, they’ll have to offer up much more.”
It was as Oh Min-jae was smiling and organizing his thoughts.
Tap. Tap.
A rather large bird was tapping on the window with its beak.
‘An eagle?’
It was a smallish eagle.
When it made eye contact with Oh Min-jae, the eagle nodded its head as if it were a person.
‘A Beastkin!’
Realizing this, Oh Min-jae immediately opened the window.