Chapter 69 – EPISODE 69 – MISSED (2)
There were more than a dozen tribes in the wild land, of which, four tribes were particularly strong.
The Angry Bull tribe was made up of powerful warriors.
The Great Storm tribe lived with the wind and pursued harmony with nature.
The Silent Wolf tribe produced outstanding hunters for generations.
The Red Moon tribe was a tribe of shamans full of mystery.
Among the four tribes, the Angry Bull tribe had been expanding in recent years.
By subduing and uniting the surrounding tribes with force, the power of the tribe had doubled, even though it had only been a few months since their expansion began.
“For the Angry Bull tribe!”
“For the Great Chief Seven Horns!”
The tribes living in the wild lands had their own wild G.o.ds, but not all of the wild G.o.ds were strong enough to build their own sanctuary.
Moreover, Angry Bull, the wild G.o.d of the Angry Bull tribe, was one of the most powerful G.o.ds among the wild G.o.ds.
However, the wild G.o.d in this village was someone who did not properly build a sanctuary, so there was no way for her to resist the enemies.
“Ah! My children! My children!”
A wild G.o.d in the form of a girl with small horns on her head, cried out as she saw the burning village, but it was already useless.
Now that most of her power had already been sealed, she was no better than an ordinary girl.
“Divine punishment will befall you! The Golden Dragon King will punish you!”
“Noisy!”
“Ah!”
Sharp Horn, a warrior of the Angry Bull tribe, kicked the enraged wild G.o.d and didn’t stop there. He violently grabbed the girl’s golden hair to lift her head, and then swung his fist that was bigger than the girl’s face several times.
“Ugh…aa…”
The wild G.o.d girl couldn’t even scream in front of the brutal violence that she faced, and eventually, Sharp Horn kicked the girl and told the warriors around him.
“Take her away! Make her aware of the situation!”
“We understand.”
The warriors of the Angry Bull tribe had already been corrupted. For them who had forgotten their respect for the wild G.o.ds, the girl in front of them was not a being they should worship and respect, but just a toy that they could play with as they please.
As his subordinates dragged the wild G.o.d girl away, Sharp Horn wiped the blood off his hands, and headed to the place where a large flag was erected in the middle of their main camp.
It was to seek an audience to the powerful being who sealed the power of the wild G.o.d itself.
“We captured the wild G.o.d and killed the chieftain. As you had instructed, the warriors are capturing everyone alive, even if they are injured.”
Inside the large tent made of animal skin, Sharp Horn sat down on both knees and paid homage.
“I see, you did well. Sharp Horn. You didn’t disappoint me again.”
“It is all thanks to Haraken.”
In a gracious voice, Sharp Horn bowed his head again in courtesy.
Ever since the appearance of the being in front of him – the prophet Haraken, the Angry Bull tribe had changed.
They had become much more powerful and richer as a result of their continuous war of conquest.
And the same went for Sharp Horn who had changed a lot too.
Originally, Sharp Horn wasn’t a very strong warrior. Because he was born with a weak body.
But Haraken changed everything.
He made the body of Sharp Horn to be big and strong, and also made Sharp Horn into one of the most powerful warriors in the Angry Bull tribe.
Therefore, Sharp Horn deeply respected Haraken.
He considered as the truth the story of Haraken about the wild G.o.ds being false G.o.ds – that they were just beasts with a little strong power.
“You may go. We’ll have to leave for a new land tomorrow.”
“Yes, Master Haraken. Please make yourself comfortable.”
Sharp Horn bowed his head again and politely left, and Haraken, who was finally alone, frowned.
‘How bothersome.’
He wasn’t talking about Sharp Horn.
Haraken was satisfied with Sharp Horn’s loyalty.
To begin with, he deliberately made the weak to be powerful in order to elicit a sense of loyalty to him like Sharp Horn did just now.
What touched his nerves was the sad news that he heard from far away.
‘Zarakul.’
He lost his connection with the mid-ranking demonic human of the Devil’s Eye.
It was obvious then that Zarakul was dead.
‘What happened?’
Haraken had the appearance of an old man who grew a long and white beard, but this wasn’t his true appearance in the first place.
He thought as his compound eyes, where a human’s eyes should be, blinked.
Violent Avalanche’s sanctuary.
Violent Avalanche wasn’t as weak as the wild G.o.d of the tribe that they had captured today.
It didn’t have a tribe that it looked after, so no one worshipped Violent Avalanche, but at the same time, it didn’t necessarily mean that Violent Avalanche’s power was weak.
Despite living alone, Violent Avalanche wasn’t weak.
Rather, it was one of the wild G.o.ds on the strong side.
However, Haraken never thought that Zarakul would fail.
Because he gave Zarakul a group of powerful warriors who would remain after they subdued Violent Avalanche.
But what happened?
Who killed Zarakul?
It wasn’t Violent Avalanche.
If Violent Avalanche was the culprit, Zarakul’s death would have been much faster.
It was someone else.
Someone else had killed Zarakul, who had gone to corrupt Violent Avalanche.
“Red Gale.”
The strongest warrior of the Great Storm tribe.
But Haraken soon shook his head.
He clearly put Red Gale under the Curse of the Blue Spider Lily.
‘The closest one to him is Madgar.’
Madgar was a mid-ranking demonic human who attacked Gentle Snow Breeze, a powerful wild G.o.d.
In fact, both Violent Avalanche and Gentle Snow Breeze were wild G.o.ds who lived far away from the home of the Angry Bull tribe, but the reason they took the trouble of attacking the two was because of the Great Storm tribe.
They planned to corrupt the nearby wild G.o.ds and then isolate the Great Storm tribe.
They needed to suppress the Great Storm tribe’s power, so that they couldn’t hinder the Angry Bull tribe’s actions.
‘For now, I’ll leave it to Madgar. I must unify the northeast region of the wild lands first.’
The Angry Bull tribe was located in the northeast region, and likewise, the Silent Wolf tribe was located in the northeast too. They needed to subdue that tribe too, so that they could advance towards their final goal.
‘To pollute the dragon vein and corrupt the wild G.o.ds. And even turn the Golden Dragon King as our slave.’
The Golden Dragon King was the king of the wild G.o.ds.
Haraken organized his thoughts and then took out a crystal ball. He infused a large amount of mana on it in order to deliver his message to Madgar who was located far away from him.
***
Three days after leaving the rocky mountain.
Violent Avalanche would have originally arrived at the Great Storm tribe’s village at that time, but it still hadn’t arrived there.
The reason was simple.
“Sob, sob! Where the h.e.l.l am I!”
After it descended from the rocky mountain, Violent Avalanche went straight towards the direction that Jude had told it.
It had visited the Great Storm tribe once, though it may be a long time ago, so Violent Avalanche followed his memory of the way to get there.
A day had pa.s.sed.
There was nothing but snow everywhere.
Violent Avalanche didn’t care much about it.
This area was originally only a snowfield.
If Violent Avalanche went straight ahead, it would eventually reach the village of the Great Storm tribe.
Has Great Storm grown up a lot?
Violent Avalanche warmly smiled as it recalled a little brat, and afterwards, it continued walking.
A day pa.s.sed by again.
There was still nothing but snow everywhere, and Violent Avalanche began to feel a little nervous.
“Strange.”
I should have arrived at this point.
Great Storm would have come to meet me.
Even the Great Storm tribe children would have come.
T/N: The children referred here is not literally kids/children. The wild G.o.ds referred to the tribes/humans as children, so Violent Avalanche was referring to the Great Storm tribe as children.
“Are they busy?”
In fact, there was one more reason that was more likely than them being busy, but Violent Avalanche tried to ignore it and continued walking.
And a day pa.s.sed by again.
At the present.
“Uwaaa! Where is this place! Where am I!”
It was only today that Violent Avalanche, who had been living in the rocky mountains for hundreds of years, finally realized.
The fact that Violent Avalanche itself was bad at directions.
“What do I do, what should I do?”
It was a body clone, and not its main body.
Moreover, Violent Avalanche was weak before it left its sanctuary, so its divine power was even more weak now that it has left its sanctuary.
If Violent Avalanche had its main body, it would be able to fly with his magic power or contact Great Storm. And even if it can’t do that, Violent Avalanche would still be able to detect the presence of Great Storm and follow that direction. But that was all impossible for the current Violent Avalanche.
The Violent Avalanche now was just a talking bear cub, and it was a very far existence from the great wild G.o.d it once was in the past.
“Uhh…I’m hungry. Hungry after hundreds of years.”
Actually, Violent Avalanche had been hungry for the past two days.
When Violent Avalanche was in its sanctuary, breathing alone was enough to sate its hunger, but now that it had left its sanctuary, Violent Avalanche had become hungry as if it was a real bear cub.
“Sob, sob, I hate seeing the snow now.”
Violent Avalanche didn’t feel full even if it ate the snow.
But the only thing that it could eat right away was snow.
Violent Avalanche sobbed and burst into tears.
And at that very moment.
“Eh?!”
At the moment Violent Avalanche felt a chill, Violent Avalanche raised its head. Because it sharply felt a stabbing sensation on its back.
‘No-no way?’
Violent Avalanche swallowed his breath, looked back, and soon found the reason why. The moment Violent Avalanche met its eyes, the Frost Wolf gave up its stealthy approach and began sprinting!
“Bark! Bark!”
The Frost Wolf even barked. If it was Violent Avalanche’s main body, the Frost Wolf would have been beaten with one fist, but now, it was a strong enemy that the current Violent Avalanche couldn’t fight against.
The quick-witted Violent Avalanche began to run in vain.
“Awooooh!”
“Ahhhhh!”
The surroundings were filled with the sounds of howls and cries.
Violent Avalanche ran hard, but because it was a bear cub, its legs were too short. Its distance from the Frost Wolf was quickly reduced.
“Spare the wild G.o.d! Spare the wild G.o.d!”
Violent Avalanche desperately shouted and rolled over the ground at some point. Violent Avalanche had tripped over a small rock that it didn’t notice because it was covered in snow.
“Ahhhhhh!”
Violent Avalanche rolled over the ground and eventually lied down in exhaustion. The Frost Wolf howled and jumped over the head of Violent Avalanche. With a single leap, it reached Violent Avalanche and pressed down on Violent Avalanche’s chest.
“Awooooh!”
“Ahhh…”
The Frost Wolf exhaled and drew its face closer. Drool spilled in between its sharp teeth, and Violent Avalanche struggled hard, but it was useless.
‘Am I going to die like this?’
If it had known that this would happen, Violent Avalanche would have chosen to die at its sanctuary.
‘No, I cannot die now!’
Violent Avalanche couldn’t die. Violent Avalanche had a n.o.ble mission to deliver the news about the dangers that would befall the wild lands!
“Hey! Ha!”
Violent Avalanche began to struggle again, but it was only for a short time. As the Frost Wolf stepped harder on the chest, its claws dug into the skin of Violent Avalanche.
“Ahhh!”
It hurt so much.
Violent Avalanche couldn’t stand it anymore and finally screamed.
“Help me! Help me! Aaahhhh! Help me!”
It was the last cry.
The Frost Wolf didn’t waste its time and widely opened its mouth.
And a flame went straight into its mouth.
Boom!
It was an explosion!
The fireball that entered the Frost Wolf’s mouth exploded. It was a magic that was terrifyingly precise.
The fireball entering the Frost Wolf’s mouth was not a coincidence, but something intended.
Moreover, the adjustment of magic power was precise.
The Frost Wolf was instantly killed from the fireball’s explosion, but the damage never went out of its body.
“Kke-”
The Frost Wolf had its throat and intestines burned, and it collapsed after a single groan. Violent Avalanche blinked its eyes as it realized that its life was saved. Violent Avalanche stood up from its spot while roughly exhaling.
“Wh-who is it! No, who are you!”
When Violent Avalanche looked at the direction where the fireball came from, it saw a man and woman.
Because of that, Violent Avalanche had a thought.
‘They came to look for me!’
Jude and Cordelia.
The two had saved me again!
“Cordelia! Cordelia!”
It was the moment when Violent Avalanche cried out in joy.
“It’s not human?”
“Don’t attack it!”
“I know, because it gave us a clue.”
The voices came from the man and woman.
The voices were different, but it resembled the voices of the crazy couple, Jude and Cordelia.
Now that Violent Avalanche saw them, the color of their hair and their appearance were also different.
The woman was pretty.
She looked like Cordelia.
But her hair was blonde, and she had a fiercer impression.
The man was handsome.
He also looked like Jude.
But his hair was blue, not black. The color of his eyes was also blue, not green.
‘He’s also much bigger.’
Violent Avalanche blinked its eyes as soon as it came to its senses. While Violent Avalanche was thinking about on what to do, the two people in front of him approached at a terrifying pace towards him, so Violent Avalanche raised its arms high.
“Wait! I’m not an enemy!”
“A talking bear cub? How cute…no, it’s not the time for this.”
The blonde woman – Adelia, who came close to Violent Avalanche, shook her head once to drive away her thoughts, and then asked, threatening Violent Avalanche with the short cane that she was holding in her hand.
“Who are you? What is your relationship with Cordelia? Have you met her?”
Her eyes looked like she would kill Violent Avalanche right away, depending on the answer.
Violent Avalanche unconsciously flinched and urgently replied.
“I am the wild G.o.d Violent Avalanche! Me and Cordelia are f-friends!”
“Wild G.o.d? Friend?”
Adelia looked at Violent Avalanche sharply.
She knew little about the land of barbarians, but this was the first time she had heard of the existence of wild G.o.ds.
And Gaël spoke.
“Violent Avalanche, who was Lady Cordelia with? What is the name of the person she was with?”
The handsome man – Gaël, spoke, but his eyes were terrifying. Even more so when Violent Avalanche realized that he had pulled out his sword.
Violent Avalanche unconsciously stepped backwards and fell on its back before it quickly said.
“Ju-Jude! Jude and Cordelia! The crazy couple!”
Violent Avalanche closed its eyes and curled its body as much as possible, and Gaël and Adelia looked back at each other.
“It seems to be correct?”
“I don’t agree with the words crazy couple.”
“I don’t too.”
Crazy couple. Wasn’t those some rude words to describe their younger siblings?
Gaël and Adelia found it strange that those words somehow seemed to be correct, and they unconsciously exchanged smiles, but soon after, the two cleared their throats and turned towards Violent Avalanche.
Gaël opened his mouth first.
“We won’t hurt you. Please open your eyes.”
It was definitely a more friendly voice than before.
Violent Avalanche carefully opened its eyes and saw Gaël and Adelia. After sniffing with its nose once, Violent Avalanche was convinced.
‘They’re the relatives of Jude and Cordelia!’
Perhaps they’re their older brother and older sister.
Because they smelled almost the same as the two.
“You said you were Violent Avalanche, right? I’m Gaël Bayer. This is Lady Adelia Chase.”
Instead of following up Gaël’s introduction, Adelia stared at Violent Avalanche with fierce eyes, and Violent Avalanche flinched again and looked at Gaël as it courageously said.
“Are you Jude and Cordelia’s older brother and older sister?”
“Yes, we came all the way here to look for the two. Do you know where the two are now?”
His voice was still friendly, but Gaël stared sharply at Violent Avalanche again.
Because of that, Violent Avalanche gulped in nervousness before it stood up and replied.
“I know. The two left to help Gentle Snow Breeze.”
“Gentle Snow Breeze? What do you mean by they left to help?”
Adelia’s eyes were still fierce, but Violent Avalanche understood it now.
Adelia was worried about Cordelia. She was by no means, an evil person.
“It’s a long story. It’s not something I can say in a moment. But to tell you one thing in advance, Jude and Cordelia are trying to save the wild lands. From the threat of demons.”
At Violent Avalanche’s words, Gaël and Adelia looked at each other. It wasn’t as much as their younger siblings, but after traveling together for more than 10 days, the two could somehow understand the thoughts of each other.
‘You think there’s something going on?’
‘I don’t think it’s a simple runaway.’
Gaël turned his eyes to Violent Avalanche again.
“Okay, we’ll listen to your story.”
“Wait! Before that, I have a condition…no, a request.”
“Request? Have you forgotten that we saved your life?”
Violent Avalanche flinched when Adelia sharply retorted.
Gaël spoke as he tried to dissuade Adelia from lifting her magic wand.
“Tell us.”
“We have to go to the Great Storm tribe. Take me to them. I’ll tell you the story of Jude and Cordelia on the way. A-and you need to go to the village of the Great Storm tribe anyway if you want to get the directions.”
Because Violent Avalanche didn’t know where it currently was.
Gaël slowly nodded his head.
“Okay. Let’s do that.”
“Will it be okay?”
“It’s a better option. This is an unknown place for us as well.”
Gaël quietly whispered to her ear so that only Adelia would hear it, before he spoke again to Violent Avalanche.
“We will accept your offer.”
“Th-thank you.”
Violent Avalanche breathed a sigh of relief and stretched its shoulders, and Adelia looked down at Violent Avalanche as she folded her arms. She was shouting that it was cute in her mind, but she still spoke in a cold voice.
“We don’t have time. Hurry up and begin guiding us. And start talking too.”
Since it had spoken about the threat of demons, Jude and Cordelia could be in danger at this very moment.
Violent Avalanche replied hesitantly to Adelia’s urging.
“Th-that.”
“That?”
“Do you know where this is first? I got lost…”
Violent Avalanche said as it shrank in shame, and Gaël and Adelia looked at each other.
And at the same time, in a completely different place…
“I’ll entrust it to you.”
“Just trust me.”
After he bid farewell to Count Bayer, Count Chase flew into the sky with his hands full of luggage.
He was headed towards the north.
It was in the direction where his two daughters and the others were.
T/N: The t.i.tle of this chapter is ‘Missed,’ but in Korean, it is a verb that specifically means, to miss each other on the way. A longer one would be, to fail to meet each other because their directions or timings of pa.s.sing a certain point are different from each other. The t.i.tle was a bit spoilerish, so I just left it as ‘missed.’