Chapter 70 – EPISODE 70 – GENTLE SNOW BREEZE (1)
Terms used in this chapter:
Ondol – a Korean form of underfloor heating that uses direct heat transfer from wood smoke to the underside of a thick masonry floor.
Soh-wak-haeng – Korean slang that literally means ‘little but certain happiness.’ It refers to the small/little happiness which one can get very easily in their daily lives. For example, eating one’s favorite dessert after a long day’s work. It may be something that is small/little, but it certainly makes one happy.
Ahjussi – Korean word for uncle, but also used to refer to an older man who is within your parent’s generation.
Around the time when Violent Avalanche went down alone the rocky mountain and headed on the wrong path, Jude and Cordelia were preparing to rest after they had found a suitable place to stay for the night.
“Only when you have a good floor can you sleep well.”
Cordelia nodded her head several times as if responding to her own words, and she made a bed by using magic and the witch’s power.
After having dug the ground a meter or so from the surface, she flattened the ground. She then used the wooden board as a roof to cover the place, and cast magic so that they could spend a warm night.
‘Should I place a flat and large stone, and then cover it with dirt?’
Wouldn’t it be completely like an ondol if I heated the stone with magic?
“Stone bed, stone bed. Long live the stone bed.”
Cordelia hummed as she worked on the bed, before she turned to the side.
Jude was cooking over the campfire, and the smell was quite good.
“Jude, Jude. What’s for dinner?”
“It’s beef jerky porridge, Madam.”
He put some chopped beef jerky in the hot water, and then added some of the grains he saved. Afterwards, he seasoned it with salt.
It was a simple meal, but Cordelia kept drooling because she had been working hard on preparing their sleeping place.
“It looks delicious.”
“It is delicious. I made it after all.”
“Hmph, I look forward to it.”
Despite Jude’s impudence, Cordelia was already used to it now.
She hummed a little more, and then nodded her head after she covered the newly made bed with a waterproof cloth.
“Hmm, good. It’s well made.”
The size of the waterproof cloth was not so wide, but it was enough for two people to lie down on.
“Are you done?”
“Yes, I’m done. What about our meal?”
“I’m also done cooking.”
“I’m excited.”
Cordelia danced with a slight wiggle of her hips before she rushed to Jude’s side, and Jude involuntarily laughed.
“Why are you laughing?”
“Because what you did was cute.”
“Hmph, don’t you know soh-wak-haeng? Little but certain happiness. People need happiness, whether it’s big or small.”
Little but certain happiness.
Although it was lamentable that the happiness of the incomparably beautiful girl and esteemed daughter of Count Chase, one of the 12 northern families, was the food that they were going to eat this day, Jude agreed with Cordelia’s opinion itself.
“You’re right, little but certain happiness is important.”
“Yes, yes, that’s right.”
Perhaps because Jude agreed with her immediately, Cordelia felt better and swallowed a spoonful of the jerky porridge that Jude pa.s.sed on to her.
“How is it?”
“Delicious.”
It was hot so she couldn’t speak properly, but Cordelia had a contented smile, and Jude also began eating.
“But Jude.”
“Yes, Madam.”
“First of all, we saved Red Gale ahjussi.”
“Yes, we did. The curse won’t get any worse now.”
“So what’s our next plan?”
Cordelia roughly knew of their plan in the wild lands.
As they had said while convincing Violent Avalanche, their immediate task was to prevent the Angry Bull tribe from unifying the barbarians.
But this was not enough.
She needed a detailed plan.
“First…we need to create an Eastern Alliance that is centered on Red Gale.”
“To fight against Seven Horns and the Angry Bull tribe?”
“Well, seeing that they’ve already reached this place, it’s likely that they’ve already moved in the western region of the wild lands.”
It would be stupid for them to send a military expedition in this faraway place when they haven’t organized and conquered the surrounding tribes near them first.
Cordelia also nodded as if she understood it.
“What’s next?”
“We should rally the wild G.o.ds of the eastern region too. The Devil’s Eye would have killed or corrupted the wild G.o.ds of the western region. Now that I think about it, it seems like Violent Avalanche was one of the enemies in the game.”
“Violent Avalanche?”
“Yes, do you remember the undead bear that appeared in the middle of Act 2? It had an awful knockback attack.”
“Uh…ah! I remember. Right. Come to think of it, they looked a bit similar.”
As Jude had said, the bear was in an undead state, so it was literally half-rotten when it appeared, but now that they thought about it, that bear seemed to be Violent Avalanche.
“To confront the corrupted wild G.o.ds, we also need the help of other wild G.o.ds. Moreover, we have to fight against the Devil’s Eye.”
“Hmm…you’re right. Mid-ranking demonic humans are already too much for us, so we’ll be unable to come up with a solution if a high-ranking demonic human appears too.”
It was almost impossible for the power of the current Jude and Cordelia to defeat high-ranking demonic humans.
So their plan was to let those who can deal with those enemies to be on their side.
‘Of course, the best thing that we could do is for the two of us to become stronger.’
Jude and Cordelia’s levels were already considerably higher than when they first entered the wild lands.
Moreover, both Jude and Cordelia still had plenty of room for growth.
‘Because the Ninth Heaven’s Nine Doors is still just at the second door. Furthermore…once we meet Lena and obtain the angelic blood, Cordelia would be able to use the Ancestral Regression technique.’
Cordelia’s Fallen Angel mode that he wished to see would then be possible.
‘I’m looking forward to it.’
Jude briefly imagined the appearance of Cordelia’s awakening as a fallen angel, and Cordelia slapped Jude on the back.
“Oww! Why?”
“No, I feel like you’re thinking of something insidious.”
“Anyway.”
“What is it? Were you really thinking of something insidious?”
Instead of answering, Jude diverted the conversation to another topic.
“Red Gale is both a powerful warrior and shaman too. If it’s only a curse, he’d be able to deal with Seven Horns.”
“Don’t change the topic.”
Cordelia stared at Jude for a while, but it was only for a moment. She soon joined Jude’s conversation.
“There must be strong men among the warriors and chieftains of the other tribes, right?”
“I guess so. There must be some wild G.o.ds who specialized in fighting too.”
“And Lena.”
“Yes, Lena.”
She was one of the five main characters in the first episode of Legend of Heroes.
It was highly unlikely that she was on the same level as Landius and Kamael, whose strength were already beyond this world, but her strength would still be really powerful.
“Uh…if I knew where she is right now, I would have gone running immediately.”
Cordelia said as her shoulders drooped, and Jude nodded as he agreed with her.
“Because there are many hidden mysteries regarding Lena’s death.”
Lena’s death in Legend of Heroes 2 was shown in a cinematic movie.
However, the problem was not that it appeared in accordance with the story of the main character, but the fact that a cinematic movie unexpectedly appeared at a certain time.
‘Because we only know the place and time.’
In fact, the location itself was unclear, but some of the rotten waters of Legend of Heroes 2 estimated the location based on the background from the cinematic movie.
‘Raptor Canyon.’
Lena died there.
So they had to arrive there in advance and stop Lena’s death.
“Raptor Canyon is in the north of the eastern part of the wild lands, right?”
“Yes, so it’s close to the Argon Empire.”
Kirara, one of the playable characters from the wild lands, left the wild land at the beginning of the game and run away at night towards the Argon Empire, and Raptor Canyon was along the route she took.
“Hmm…it’s not that we are pressed for time, but it’s rather tight.”
“We have no choice but to leave the establishment of the Eastern Alliance to Red Gale and Violent Avalanche. Of course, we can invite the eastern tribes that we meet on our way to our destination.”
“How do we do that?”
“This or that.”
“Hmph, you scammer.”
Cordelia stuck out her tongue, but her eyes were smiling. She was already skilled in helping Jude with his scams.
‘It’s fallen, it’s fallen. She hasn’t become a fallen angel yet, but she’s already been corrupted.’
But somehow, Jude unconsciously felt proud.
“Anyway, let’s wash and sleep after we’ve finished eating.”
“I want to take a bath, a bath.”
The idea of making a hot spring and taking a bath was still a bit unreasonable.
Therefore, Cordelia wiped her face and neck clean with water that was made by melting the snow, before she lied down.
“Haa…I had a hard time today again.”
“Have a good rest.”
“Yes, you too.”
That was it. Cordelia fell into deep sleep right away, and Jude laughed in admiration at that before he covered her with a blanket.
***
The next morning.
Jude and Cordelia left early as they followed the map given by Violent Avalanche and proceeded to the northeast where Gentle Snow Breeze’s sanctuary was located.
Cordelia couldn’t tell where they were because of the snow everywhere, but there was no hesitation in her steps.
Because the almighty JudeWiki was by her side.
“JudeWiki, we’re going in the right direction, right?”
“Yes, that’s right.”
Jude had already packed a compa.s.s from the very beginning when they left home.
At the time when Violent Avalanche was lost in the snowfield, Jude and Cordelia steadily moved towards the right direction.
Thus, one more day pa.s.sed.
By the third day around lunch time, Jude and Cordelia beheld the sanctuary of Gentle Snow Breeze with their eyes.
***
The sanctuary of Gentle Snow Breeze was in a large basin, but it was actually very easy to recognize even without the basin.
This is because of the sudden change in environment by just arriving near that area.
“There’s no snow.”
They had been in a snowfield up until now, but there was no snow from a certain area, as if a line had been drawn. Although the weather was also chilly, the weather was at least like autumn.
It couldn’t even compare to other places that were extreme enough like Frost Anvil.
‘Is this the power of a wild G.o.d?’
It was the reason why the barbarians can live in the wild lands.
The vast field was full of green vegetation. It seemed that farming, as well as raising livestock, was possible here.
Cordelia was briefly fascinated by the landscape that suddenly changed, but at some point, she raised her head.
“They’re fighting.”
It was as she said.
As they climbed up the low hill, they saw the entrance to the basin beyond the wide field.
There were hundreds of people fighting around the village walls.
Jude and Cordelia automatically lowered their positions, before they grasped the situation of the battlefield.
The ones attacking the wall were monsters and people who wore helmets that have horns on it, and the attacking side’s troops were three times stronger than the defensive side.
“They won’t last long.”
It was as Cordelia said. The defending side was holding on quite well, but it was visible that they were struggling.
If they had arrived an hour late, they would have seen a wall that had already been collapsed.
But what should they do?
Should the two rush alone towards the hundreds of soldiers?
“I have an idea.”
Jude said, and a smile spread over Cordelia’s face.
***
Madgar, a mid-ranking demonic human of the Devil’s Eye, looked at the battlefield with cold eyes.
The warriors of the Angry Bull tribe were waging an onslaught with monsters that they summoned from h.e.l.l.
Thanks to the Spear of Corruption that Haraken received from Belial, Gentle Snow Breeze couldn’t properly use her strength.
This is because the Spear of Corruption was stuck in the dragon vein and suppressed the divine power of Gentle Snow Breeze.
Of course, the defending troops were doing all they can to support the warriors that were working hard to remove the Spear of Corruption, but it was useless in the first place.
The number of tribesmen who worshipped Gentle Snow Breeze was small. Although each and everyone of them were strong warriors, the Angry Bull tribe was the most powerful group of warriors in the entire wild land.
They were even strengthened by the power of Belial, and their number was three times that of the Gentle Snow Breeze tribe, so it was hard for the defending side to overcome it.
‘It’s only a matter of time.’
They have endured well, but it was over now.
After destroying the walls and annihilating the tribe of Gentle Snow Breeze, they would capture the wild G.o.d.
“Break it! Kill them! Destroy them!”
There was power in Madgar’s words, as she wore the bones of a beast on her head, rather than a helmet.
As a shaman, her body was filled with patterns drawn with colored paint, and an evil power shook from the skeleton staff she held in his hand.
Madgar closed her eyes and smiled.
She savored the current situation as if she was tasting delicacies.
‘I’m different from that stupid Zarakul.’
Zarakul had failed his mission to capture Violent Avalanche even though it didn’t have a tribe.
He was a stupid b.a.s.t.a.r.d.
But Madgar didn’t hate him.
Zarakul was already dead, and because of his major failure, Madgar had another chance to contribute for herself.
‘The day I’ll become a high-ranking demonic human is not far away.’
The goals of the demonic humans of the Devil’s Eye were all the same.
To get closer to Belial.
After becoming a high-ranking demonic human, the path to becoming a demon prince, a superior demon, would also open.
Madgar smiled as she imagined the future that was still far away, but she would surely achieve.
But suddenly, she heard the screams of the Angry Bull tribe.
“Huh?!”
“Master Madgar!”
Madgar hurriedly opened her eyes to the cries of the startled warriors. There was no significant change in front of her.
The b.l.o.o.d.y warriors of the Gentle Snow Breeze tribe, and the almost destroyed walls were just as it was before.
But things have changed.
Neither the attacking side nor the defending side were fighting. Everyone looked at the same place with the same stunned faces.
At the direction everyone was looking at…
Madgar turned. And she saw.
“Crazy.”
Raging waves of fire were moving forward and burning the whole field.
A huge and fierce wildfire was attacking their backs.