Chapter 77

After returning from leave, it wasn’t long before the delegation of the Order Federation set out.

The representative of the delegation was Saint Cecilia. Since the second expedition, she had frequently communicated with the Gnoll tribe and possessed the finest sign language skills among the clergy.

Judging solely by contribution and communication ability, it would have been right for Woojin to serve as the delegation’s representative…

But this alliance was to be formed between the Order Federation and the Gnoll tribe. Woojin was not a cleric belonging to the Order Federation, so it would have been somewhat illogical for him to take on the role of representative.

‘Works out well for me.’

Woojin’s role extended only as far as advisor. He was reluctant to take on anything beyond that. The higher his standing, the more work would follow.

‘I should learn a bit from Roland.’

Just look at the man walking beside him.

Despite being a high-ranking knight, if there was something he wanted to do, he pushed it through regardless. Because of that, the Order Federation had essentially given up on controlling Roland and left him to his own devices.

A man who possessed both the high status of a holy knight and the freedom of a mercenary. Woojin thought it might be wise to pursue that sort of path.

Suddenly, someone tapped his shoulder.

Woojin turned his head to see the owner of the gesture. As always, a priestess wearing a pale green veil. Saint Cecilia of Verdure.

“What is it?”

Cecilia replied in sign language.

–Shall we stop by the Third Pioneer City on our way?

Perhaps because they had been walking north the entire time, they had already reached the vicinity of the Third Pioneer City. Woojin pondered briefly before answering.

“We still have ample supplies. Let’s pass by.”

He wanted to visit Elder Bow after such a long time, but it wouldn’t be right to waste time over personal feelings.

Cecilia nodded in understanding and returned to the head of the delegation.

A sense of incongruity suddenly struck him.

‘…They call me an advisor, but at this rate I’m practically handling field command.’

It had only been a few seconds since he resolved to learn from Roland, yet he had mindlessly taken on more work. Lately, it felt like he had been sticking his nose into too many things.

Why had he changed like this?

Thinking it over…

The hardships of the second expedition seemed to have altered his disposition somewhat. He had clearly realized that preventing problems was easier than cleaning them up afterward.

‘…Let’s just finish this one properly.’

If the alliance with the Gnolls succeeded, an advisor would no longer be necessary. He would endure only until then, and afterward declare a leave of absence and head to the Magic City.

With that resolve, Woojin quickened his pace.

There was nothing in particular to do near the pioneer city. The rift core in this region had already been purified, driving out the demonic realm.

Roland, walking beside him, spoke.

“Well now… Jin. Take a look at that.”

Woojin looked where Roland pointed. There, a few strands of weeds and a single wildflower of unknown name had bloomed. Plants that had taken root in what was once a demonic realm. Their color was a deep green.

It was, in its own way, a monumental sight.

“It’s been quite some time since the rift core was purified… It seems nature has begun to recover.”

“Indeed.”

Roland murmured in amazement.

Inside the wall, it would be a sight one would pass by without a second thought. But to those who knew what this place had once looked like, even a few insignificant weeds could not help but leave a deep impression.

After just a few more years like this, the land would fully recover. People would settle here and be able to farm the soil.

“…If the Order Federation’s northern campaign succeeds and the demonic realm is completely driven from this land… what will happen to the Gnoll tribe and your wolves?”

Roland suddenly muttered.

Woojin could not guarantee what the outcome would be either. At present, no one knew the answer to that question. All that was possible was speculation.

“Well… perhaps they’ll lose all their karma and become ordinary lifeforms.”

“If that happens, wouldn’t the Gnoll tribe come to resent us? It’s far in the future, but I hope such a thing doesn’t occur.”

To that question, he could answer with certainty.

“The Gnolls want the demonic realm gone as well.”

“Why do you think so?”

“Because they’re in a situation where immediate survival is more important than retaining their power.”

The ancient beings.

The monsters that lived deep within the demonic realm had grown increasingly active. As a result, the Gnoll tribe had suffered many casualties and were ultimately forced to abandon their territory and retreat.

Yet one Old One was not satisfied with that outcome and continued its offensive.

‘If the Order Federation is to carry out a third expedition, they’ll have to deal with the forces under that Old One.’

Or the expeditionary force would have to abandon this region entirely.

Whichever path they chose would be a thorny one. If they gave up passing through the Gnoll tribe’s territory and chose another route, they would have to fight the magical beasts settled in that area instead.

The delegation had been given two missions.

First, to finalize a ceasefire with the Gnoll tribe. Second, to investigate the being the Order Federation would eventually have to confront—the Old One and the forces under its dominion.

“Honestly… this all feels unreal. ‘Old One’ is a term you’d only hear in some old fairy tale.”

“Think of it as something similar to a fairy.”

Reality sometimes surpasses fiction. It was something Roland had said recently. Woojin returned those words to him as they were.

As they chatted and walked…

Before long, the Second Wall came into view. A wall built to protect the pioneer city from the demonic realm. It stood taller than the last time he had seen it.

“Open the gates!”

The knight commanding the wall’s garrison shouted. Soon the gates opened, and the familiar smell of mold pricked at his nose.

‘…It’s been quite a while.’

Woojin had returned to his hunting grounds.

***

They advanced north with the delegation. The process was far smoother than last time.

The second expeditionary force had been a large army of roughly eight thousand troops, but their skill levels had varied widely, leaving many vulnerabilities. From the perspective of magical beasts, they had been as tempting as a school of sardines.

The delegation, however, numbered only eighty—but every one of them was a seasoned elite. And with three Gnolls accompanying them, the magical beasts hesitated to attack and instead withdrew.

…Still, there were bound to be magical beasts that possessed both formidable strength and confidence.

“Grrrrooo!”

A massive side bear blocked their path.

‘A fairly strong one.’

He had sensed its presence earlier. Clear claw marks were carved into trees throughout the forest—signs marking this as the bear’s territory.

The delegation had noticed as well but entered the forest without much concern. The bear-beast now revealed itself to drive out the unfamiliar intruders.

‘Well, isn’t this a treat.’

He had been bored anyway; it seemed he might have some fun for once. Thinking that, he reached toward his machete—

“Subdue the enemy.”

The holy knights responded at once. Blades wrapped in crimson radiance—the divine power kindled by high-ranking knights of the Order of Strife.

The knights charged in unison. Confronted by them, the side bear roared in fury and swung its forepaw.

KWA-BOOM!!

Its forepaw smashed uselessly into the ground. Having already read the bear’s movement, the holy knights split naturally to the left and right, like a flowing stream parting around a rock.

With the sudden gap created, the bear’s paw struck empty earth. After evading the attack, the holy knights surrounded the beast. Crimson blades swung wildly, carving into the bear-beast from all directions.

‘Yurgis’s Chain Assault.’

It was the technique Roland and his subordinates had once used against Bigfoot. A martial art devised by Yurgis, the hero who symbolized the Order Federation.

No single person’s strength was usually enough to bring down a powerful magical beast. Exceptions like Woojin were rare. Thus, Yurgis had created a technique in which multiple knights cooperated to defeat a common enemy.

Relentlessly battered, the side bear let out pitiful screams. Seeing no need to step in, Woojin simply observed.

Thud!

Before long, the side bear collapsed onto the dirt. Woojin approached the corpse and extracted its inner core.

‘Who should I give this to…’

After a brief consideration, he tossed it to the wolf Yan. It seemed suitable for compensating for the wolf’s lacking physical strength. The other three wolves watched with envious eyes.

With four mouths to feed, situations like this were always awkward.

‘If only I could use that ability to distribute karma evenly, it’d be fair.’

The power he had used to awaken Claire.

Woojin had thought deeply about how to replicate that method, but had achieved no particular results. Frankly, he had no idea how to make it happen again.

Only one method came to mind.

‘Extract the core and consume it… then peek into its memories.’

The dark-sided priest who had awakened Vikram’s Insight.

If he could find and devour that being, he might inherit its ability—but even after searching through Vikram’s memories, he could not deduce the priest’s whereabouts.

‘…Someday, an opportunity will come.’

With that thought, he moved on.

He hoped for more chances to encounter magical beasts, but the side bear ended up being both the first and last skirmish.

Several days later,

the delegation reached its destination without major difficulty. Between narrow gorges stood a stone wall built from stacked boulders. A familiar structure.

The Gnolls’ gate.

Before long, the gate swung open. Woojin and the delegation passed through and stepped into the Gnoll tribe’s territory.

“We will guide you to our city.”

Rogar, Jaka, and Brodul took the lead, guiding the delegation. After walking northeast with them for quite some time…

A city came into view in the distance. Houses built by hardening dark bluish mud into brick-like blocks, with magical beast bones and tree branches layered over as roofing. Multiple holes were pierced into the walls in place of windows.

A city composed of somewhat primitive structures. Jaka muttered under his breath.

“…It’s a bit embarrassing… Honestly, compared to human cities, it looks quite inferior.”

Rogar and Brodul did not refute him. Regardless of their pride in their tribe, in terms of living conditions, the Gnoll side clearly seemed more lacking.

Woojin surveyed the city once… and spotted a large building in its center.

“Is that your chieftain’s residence?”

“That’s right. I’ll take you there.”

Jaka led the way. The human delegation crossed through the city behind him. Gnolls throughout the area watched the outsiders with curious eyes.

Before long, the delegation arrived at the chieftain’s residence. To announce the guests’ arrival, Jaka and Brodul entered the building together… and soon came back out, gesturing toward them.

“Come inside.”

“You’ve already finished reporting?”

“Braknark must have mentioned things in advance. There wasn’t much to explain.”

Without delay, they walked in. Soon after, the delegation came face to face with a massive Gnoll.

A hyena seated on a chair carved from stone. It was a head taller than Braknark had been the last time they saw him. An overwhelming physique. A large lion’s pelt was wrapped around its waist like a skirt.

Perhaps due to age, its fur had turned gray-white like an old man’s hair. Yet its fangs and muscles were more formidable than those of any youth.

‘Krnartash.’

The tribe’s strongest warrior and its chieftain. The Gnoll’s eyes swept once across the delegation.

Its gaze lingered on Woojin’s face.

“…Have we met before?”

Krnartash asked in a tone tinged with uncertainty. Woojin nodded readily in reply.

“Chieftain. You’ve grown rather gaunt.”

“That’s rich… Guardian. You’ve changed quite a lot yourself. If Braknark and Jaka hadn’t warned me beforehand, I wouldn’t have recognized you.”

Krnartash grinned widely, baring his fangs. The Gnoll rose from its seat and strode forward. With its large frame came broad strides. In an instant, the chieftain stood right before him.

Grab.

The Gnoll picked Woojin up with one hand. Like someone who had found a curious treasure, Krnartash examined him from head to toe.

…It was not a particularly pleasant feeling.

“Put me down. Unless you want to embarrass yourself in front of everyone.”

“Even if your appearance changes, your personality hasn’t.”

Krnartash quickly set Woojin down, then returned to sit on the stone chair. The lion pelt around its lower body fluttered briefly.

Watching that, Roland suddenly asked,

“…Wasn’t the chieftain supposed to be a queen?”

“That’s right.”

“In that case, I must have seen something incorrectly just now. I could’ve sworn I saw something rather… impressive.”

Roland muttered. After a moment’s consideration, Woojin offered a small explanation.

“…You saw correctly.”

“W–what?”

“Female hyenas have that as well.”

Because female hyenas produce even more testosterone than males. In fact, it is often larger and more pronounced.

“For reference, Rogar is female as well.”

“…Oh, merciful goddess.”

Roland felt dizzy.