Book 5 Chapter 11
Chapter 113
Harvadonia was nominally treated as a single geographical region, but considering the biological and geographical diversity and scale of the land, it was easier to think of it as a continent.
After traveling for a full month and a half, we arrived at Frostfang Canyon and hurriedly unpacked our luggage.
Frostfang was originally said to be the home of the Germia tribe, but now, perhaps they too had moved south to join Griffion, as the canyon was forlornly empty.
As night deepened, the tribe quickly set up tents and lit bonfires all around. This was because the undead, attracted by the scent of life and raiding settlements, feared fire.
“This is where we are now, Frostfang Canyon.”
Since it was an extreme land where they couldn't afford to make paper, Chief Beduel's map, which he unfurled before the bonfire, was a wide slate stone.
The geographical features of Harvadonia were detailed, carved into the rock surface with a blade, and I was impressed because no map this detailed existed anywhere in the Empire.
“From here, we have to circle to the right, follow the Roborun tributary down to LavenFell (Winter Harbor).”
LavenFell was a port city built east of Silverhorn Bay at the southernmost tip of Harvadonia—yes, it was the only city built in this Arctic region.
Until the 8th century, before the White Wolf Great Wall and the beastmen became estranged, the city had greatly prospered as various classes of people traveled through the North Sea.
Merchants sought quality oil and hides from walruses and seals, adventurers sought fame, and mages and witches sought research.
“It's incredibly close to the Wall.”
“It’s not just close; it’s about three days away from the Wall. If we hurry, we can reach it in a day.”
It could be called a geographical landmark sufficient to gather all tribes. Therefore, a hint of unease arose.
“Will we be able to arrive in time?”
Perhaps because it was a tribal migration, the speed of southward movement was several times slower than Rain had expected.
The terrain of Harvadonia was never kind to the old, the weak, and the children. And if a blizzard blew in or the sun set, further movement was impossible due to the threat of the undead.
If they arrived too late… if the war had already begun, it was clear to anyone that everything would be in vain.
“Here, why can’t we just go straight across, like this?”
Kasena, who seemed to have been dozing beside me, pointed to the map with her finger.
Specifically, she traced a straight line with her index finger from Frostfang Canyon, through central Harvadonia, directly south to LavenFell.
Immediately, Barzen shook his head.
“We can’t go this way.”
“Why?”
“It’s the Shen Plateau.”
“The Shen Plateau?”
“Haven’t you heard? This is why you hairless folk are… This place is the land of nightmares.”
The Shen Plateau was a plateau formed where the Mountains of Madness, stretching south, gradually widened and lowered.
This also meant that the ancient beings residing in the Mountains of Madness could descend the mountain range, so the Shen Plateau had long been considered forbidden land by the beastmen.
The topic seemed to have ended so simply with Barzen’s opposition, but Chief Beduel looked down at the map with a troubled gaze.
“Yes, it’s certainly such a land, but…”
Feeling a flicker of anxiety from his gaze, Barzen struck the ground as if to snap him back to his senses.
“Chief, if you’re thinking anything strange, stop it. You’re not actually thinking of going there, are you?”
“Blizzards are becoming unusually frequent. If we continue like this, we’ll run out of food before we even reach LavenFell.”
“That’s… still, isn’t this the Shen Plateau!”
“Yes, it’s a plateau. There’s no better land for travel.”
If there was one advantage to the Shen Plateau, it was that Harvadonia’s characteristic unstable terrain did not apply there.
With vast and flat plains stretching out, there would be no more suitable land for large-scale movement.
It is said that at the end of the war, Enuel and his assault team also marched north along the Shen Plateau.
“You know, don't you? What happened to all the tribes who went this way for temporary convenience!”
“I know. And those tribes didn’t have companions like us.”
Beduel, who had been arguing with Barzen, suddenly turned his gaze towards us.
That gaze was asking… for our will and resolve.
Hesitating for a moment, thinking we might be a nuisance, I exhaled white breath in tension and nodded.
“If the sole purpose was merely fast travel, I wouldn’t have made such a decision. But Barzen, isn’t that not the only purpose now?”
“…!”
“We must let these children meet Griffion. Isn’t that right, Lord Alakish?”
Alakish, who had been silently watching the conversation with folded arms, nodded.
「I, Alakish, have passed through the Shen Plateau many times. While it is certainly a dangerous land, if one can pass through it skillfully, it will be the safest path.」
“Safe, how can this place…”
「Do you not know? There is no truly safe path in Harvadonia now. Something is strange. The cold wind is becoming excessively fierce.」
That was a problem Barzen knew well, having lived in this land his whole life.
It was strange, something unexplainable… the abyss mixed in the cold wind had become so dense that an unpleasant cold sweat ran down his back.
And the dark clouds that had covered the heart of the Mountains of Madness for some time now were enough to further fuel that vague fear.
「Something has clearly happened to the seal. I need to take these children to the Wall quickly and investigate it.」
Alakish’s words seemed to bring a provisional conclusion to the meeting.
The gazes of everyone gathered lingered for a long time on the letters [Säén], ominously deeply carved into the slate.
Even Rain had to swallow dryly due to the vague fear permeating that land, which seemed to be composed of a giant enigma.
Finally, Chief Beduel exhaled a tense breath and decided the tribe’s future.
“Barzen, tomorrow, set our direction southeast. We are going to the Shen Plateau.”
* * *
“See? There’s no one here either.”
A white wolf frowned, annoyedly blowing breath onto his frozen hands.
“This patrol is a damned waste of time. Where would beastmen who haven’t gone to join Griffion be now?”
They were called wolves, but they weren't wolves.
The name "White Wolves" originated from the pure white wolf fur cloaks worn by the warriors who guarded <Snowy Wall> in the Age of Origins.
Not only wolf cloaks, but their clothing was entirely pure white for camouflage. Woolen clothes, leather vests, and leather boots…
Such attire was passed down through generations, and the name was also inherited, so those who were here now were also called White Wolves.
“No, this one is a bit different.”
Another wolf, carefully examining the desolate, abandoned village, reported.
“There are bloodstains and scattered traces of sparks everywhere.”
His name was Shawnwell, a Limitless (2-star) mage who had just graduated from <Winterhold> Magic Academy this year. Despite being a newcomer, he received better treatment than other wolves.
Goot, a senior wolf who was not pleased by this, narrowed his eyes and retorted.
“The bloodstains? That’s just because those bastards eat their food raw like animals.”
“And it’s strange that the tents are still here. Beastmen usually take all their tents when moving as a tribe.”
“Hmph! They probably just made new tents and took them. These are so old, I’d abandon them too.”
Jared, the old wolf, who had been listening to the strange reports from his subordinates returning one by one, finally nodded.
“Shawnwell is right. Something is strange here… We need to investigate further. Returning to headquarters is next.”
“Huh?”
“Goot, we’ll camp here. The tents are already set up, so we just need to light fires. Oh, and drive stakes around the entrance.”
“Sleep in tents used by animals? Ugh, I’d rather freeze to death in the snow.”
“Well said. If you don’t start preparing camp right now, I’ll personally bury you in a snowdrift tonight so you can freeze to death.”
It was then, as Goot grumbled and dismounted, leading the squad to prepare for camping.
The wind… the wind that had swept through the dense branches of the pine forest seemed to sigh.
Primal fear, goosebumps ran down their skin.
The hunting dogs brought by the wolves began barking until their throats were raw, and the horses tied in the stable frantically bucked and snorted wildly.
“Wha, what is it?”
Suddenly, something cold and damp landed on the wolves’ foreheads and heads.
Before they could realize its identity, a blizzard, a furious blizzard unlike anything they had ever seen, swirled in, extinguishing all the flames that had been burning around them.
Was it due to the blizzard, or… the cold that pierced their bodies was so sharp that they couldn’t move for a moment.
“…?”
And into that blizzard, an ancient being transcending human imagination silently walked.
The peerlessly beautiful boy, who appeared clad in a dark blue robe with long, flowing sleeves, seemed to be about seven or eight years old, judging by his physique alone.
“Ki, kid…?”
“What in the…?”
However, his skin beneath his dark blue, shimmering hair was ghostly white, yet strangely, every movement he made possessed an indescribable dignity.
「Doon oe piaris.」
At that moment, the primal fear that seized the mage Shawnwell’s mind was…
The instant he uttered “Kneel” in the ancient language, the limbs of the sixteen wolves around the boy were torn to shreds and scattered around.
Their heads and torsos were caught in something like spiderwebs, hanging in the air, and the boy, one by one, plunged his hand into each head.
Each time that bizarre and sinister ritual ended, the wolves withered terribly, as if drained of sustenance, their heads drooping.
‘I’m going to die, I’m going to die, I’m going to diediedie…’
Only such overwhelming terror moved Shawnwell’s body.
He frantically formed a hand-sign and haphazardly hurled 2-star magic Ice Shards, but the boy’s body seemed to be pierced by the shards… but wasn’t.
To be precise, each time it was pierced, spiderwebs immediately sprouted, regenerating the penetrated area. In the blink of an eye.
‘Ultra-fast regeneration?’
The only being in this world capable of ultra-fast regeneration was… Shawnwell blankly turned his body and began to run.
‘I have to tell, I have to tell the main unit. That, that’s…’
But why did he get closer and closer to the boy the more he ran?
The answer lay in the boy's outstretched finger, from which dark, murky spiderwebs flowed.
As the boy's face drew closer, primal terror exploded, and Shawnwell's bladder burst, letting out a desperate scream.
“Sa, save me, save me, please, pleeease──!”
Finally, as the boy plunged his fingertip deep into Shawnwell's brain, who had been dragged to his feet, a black aura flowed from the victim's body and was absorbed into the boy's hand.
‘While the King slept, these lowly creatures have quite strengthened their forces…’
Shar’kas, who was directly extracting memories from Shawnwell’s brain, slightly raised an eyebrow.
Still, humans are humans.
So weak.
Shar’kas tossed Shawnwell’s corpse, now terribly and sickeningly shriveled, all its nutrients and vitality completely sucked out, onto the snow.
‘I need another host. Something strong enough to obtain more information…’
However, Shawnwell's head, which had been tossed aside, suddenly twisted in a bizarre direction and grinned at Shar'kas.
[You just read my memories, didn't you? How do you like my work?]
A human capable of possession…
Shar’kas flicked a finger, and in the blink of an eye, Shawnwell’s head was cruelly severed by spiderwebs and flew into the air.
Even as it flew through the air, spitting blood from its throat, Shawnwell’s head chuckled, “Ho-ho!”
[As the legends say, you are truly amazing. Even I barely saw that movement just now. Though my abilities are a bit diminished in this possessed state.]
He spoke playfully and intimately, but Shar’kas merely stomped on the head with his clog-clad foot, with an expression utterly devoid of emotion. Until the eyeballs popped out.
「Silence your mouth.」
[Haha, don’t be so cold… I’m on Baekdoryeong-nari’s side.]
「Side? Consider it an honor that I even deign to speak to a human.」
[Hahat, anyway, how do you like my work? Beastmen and humans are fighting. Aren’t they the descendants of those who bothered Baekdoryeong-nari? That’s right! I planned it all. I think it took about 400 or 500 years.]
「I won't say it a third time. Do not open your lowly mouth arbitrarily until I permit it. Do you think I don't know where your true body is now?」
As Shar’kas pointed in a certain direction, the smile vanished from Shawnwell’s lips.
Far away, cold sweat-laden chuckles escaped the mouth of a young man sitting cross-legged at the center of a dark blue barrier that covered all four cardinal directions.
Shar’kas’s killing intent was accurately aimed at the location of his true body.
‘What an utterly ridiculous monster. How did that old hag defeat such monsters?’
Meanwhile, Shar’kas silently looked down at the human corpses, narrowing his eyes.
Humans, they speak the language used by the servants of the Creator God.
Shar’kas, who had instantly learned the Imperial language from Shawnwell’s memories, found this deeply unsettling. In just one thousand four hundred years, His kingdom had been so ravaged.
‘The image the King showed me before the seal was broken… does that mean the King is now captured there?’
He needed information.
He needed information to find the King.
But humans were too weak to be useful… their remaining days were few, and the total amount of knowledge they could acquire was too small.
「A host.」
Perhaps startled that Shar’kas had spoken first, Shawnwell’s reply came a little late.
[What kind of host?]
「I need hosts capable of devouring memories. Prove your usefulness with that. If you fail, I will take your brain.」
Then Shawnwell hummed, rolling his tongue as if in thought for a moment, and then with a short gasp, created a mirage in the air.
[Coincidentally, there’s a suitable one. Very close by.]
What appeared in the mirage was a Dragonkin, with hair as red as flames, traversing the snowfield.
[This is a True Dragon sent by a Fire Dragon. I believe it has lived for over one thousand four hundred years. Very troublesome.]
A Fire Dragon… that would be the one who was the left head of Asura, the Three-Headed Dragon. According to this human’s memory, it seems to have split off now.
That’s its clone?
Shar’kas, whose expression had shown no change since awakening from his long slumber,’s lips curled up slightly at that moment, as if satisfied.
「Hmph, that wouldn’t be bad.」
No sooner had he finished speaking than, *crunch, crunch*… amidst the sickening sound of bones twisting… one by one, they began to rise.
The White Wolves, who had clearly died.
With twenty-four grotesque ribs protruding from their bodies and writhing, they crawled across the ground hideously, like spiders.