Chapter 63: Chapter 63

"A bloody wind blows over the hill. Brother, rise up, Dakir is watching over you. Brother, bleed, Dakir is waiting for you?"

At the cliff's edge, Oscar hummed the lyrics. The wind rustled through his hair as it passed.

Within his forlorn, sunken eyes, the grand scenery of the mountain was fully captured.

Towering peaks rose like massive pillars connecting heaven and earth, and the winding ridgelines stretched on endlessly. Thıs content belongs to NoveIꜰire.net

"Just looking at it makes me feel how insignificant my existence is."

Before the grandeur of nature, any human is nothing but a speck of dust.

Oscar was feeling that with his whole body.

Perhaps due to the high altitude, even the air was thin. Oscar turned, his white cape fluttering.

"General, the old woman resembles the Barbarian Umi of the Snowstorm Spider tribe from the past."

"Snowstorm Spider tribe? I've never heard that name before."

"Yes. They were a tribe with their land at the western end of Aurag, but they were exterminated several years ago."

A man who seemed to straddle the line between civilization and barbarism followed behind Oscar.

Oscar brought the flower in his hand right up to his nose.

"Whew, it's enough to make me nauseated."

The village was in a wretched state. The dismembered bodies of monstrous beasts were scattered everywhere. The stench of blood was overwhelming.

"She survived alone, that old hag."

Oscar poked at Umi's corpse with the tip of his boot.

"Any other survivors?"

The guards were searching the area. Oscar dropped the flower onto Umi's face.

"A cannibal curse, huh. Truly horrific. If it weren't for that bastard, I'd have killed her myself."

"Shall we hold a funeral?"

"Are you a Northlander or an Imperial? Answer me now."

Oscar looked Bulka straight in the eye. Bulka avoided his gaze. His cheeks suddenly reddened. Up close, Oscar looked unmistakably like a woman.

'These days, the curse is progressing even faster.'

Now, all that remained of "Great Chieftain Mukesh" in Oscar were his heterochromatic eyes.

Bulka turned his gaze back. He quietly looked down at Oscar's green left and purple right eyes. He recalled the days several years ago when he and the great Mukesh had ruled the Northern Plains. The battle cries still echoed vividly in his memory.

"I serve only you, General."

"Idiot. Just answer my question properly."

Is Mukesh merely a ghost of the past, or is he now writing a new legend as Oscar?

And what was he himself chasing?

"When you become the Grand Duke of the North, the Northlands will likely be annexed as Imperial territory. For me, who serves you, country and tribe have no meaning."

Oscar tilted his slender chin upward. A faint smile crept to his lips.

"You look like a bear but think like a fox. Good. That's more like you."

Oscar swished a few strands of Bulka's braided hair with his hand, exposing the tattoo running from his temple down to his neck.

"When you are formally granted a name by His Majesty, take care of this shoddy hair first. This is not a warrior's pride—just a remnant of a primitive past."

A messenger weaved through the searchers. Dressed in the guard's uniform, he knelt on one knee before Oscar.

"General! The scouting party searching the northern route has been attacked!"

Oscar stroked his chin. An odd turn of events—if any slope was gentle, it was the southwest mountain path.

The guards finished searching and began to gather. In Oscar's stead, immersed in thought, they reported their findings to Bulka.

"General, all stores of food and water in the village are gone. It looks like they were deliberately collected."

"It seems we made the wrong assumption from the beginning."

One of the adjutants approached and handed Oscar a flower. Apart from supply goods, a cart with flowerpots was brought separately.

Oscar, savoring its scent, half-closed his eyes.

"The bastard never intended to hole up here and come down when the coast was clear."

"Then do you suspect another destination?"

Everyone's eyes widened. Bulka quickly asked,

"May I ask why you think that? Is it just the direction?"

"Just... A hunch. An intuition I gained after being reborn as Oscar."

Oscar tapped his puffed-up cheek with a finger.

There was still no established path through Astana Mountain. Besides the rough terrain, there were inexplicable weather changes and mysterious mountain beasts—phenomena that even Northlanders, not just Imperials, regarded as forbidden.

Bulka spoke in a low voice.

"I know a Barbarian of the Order's Special Unit once crossed over to the mainland through these mountains. But that was only possible because he was a Barbarian. The reverse is practically impossible, General."

"I've met the bastard twice. He's no ordinary one."

"Would he risk going to the Northlands? Hasn't all sea passage to the mainland from the Northlands been blocked?"

"True. Thinking rationally, it's hard to justify. But sometimes, intuition trumps logic."

He recalled his bout with Ran in the imperial capital.

Superhuman warriors sense each other's level just by exchanging breaths. It goes beyond mere comparison of strength.

Ran's golden eyes flickered in his mind.

'Eyes that seem empty, yet brimming with something untouchable.'

It was as if a few threads from the weave of human emotions were missing.

Perhaps he had already transcended it all.

'? The true realm of a superhuman.'

Oscar suddenly felt a sense of kinship with Ran—perhaps even awe.

From the moment a human is branded by Dakir and becomes a Barbarian, their soul, driven to attain a superhuman state, rapidly withers.

Oscar, too, had never escaped that trial's yoke.

"General? Are you alright?"

Bulka checked Oscar's complexion. Her face, already pale, had become even whiter.

Bulka, now closer, whispered,

"? General. If the bastard is carrying the 'Vessel', we can catch up. Moving with a child can't be easy."

That the crown prince's assassin would be moving with the 'Vessel' was only the Emperor's prediction—no solid evidence yet.

After all, no proof had been found, from the capital to Orvik, that the two had traveled together.

"Yes, that's right. The bastard matters, but securing the Vessel comes first."

Oscar gazed off toward the Northlands.

A mix of emotions welled up.

The destination was set.

Ran stretched his hand down the precipice.

Rev had barely managed to steady himself on the cliff ledge. He glanced up, struggling to move his head. Even with his arm stretched to the limit, it was just barely within reach.

His chest heaved up and down.

He was drenched in sweat.

His feet couldn't rest fully on the ground.

A clump of dirt tumbled down, suspended in the air for a moment, then plummeted. Far below, a sea of trees spread endlessly. If he fell, not even his body would remain intact.

He squeezed his eyes shut.

"? Ran! I don't think I can make it! At least my packs—?!"

"Don't say stupid things! Drop it now!"

The space was too tight for him to keep hold of his packs.

Losing an arm for his life wasn't too dear a price, but faced with the immediate danger, it was only natural for his heart to falter.

"Rev! Drop your packs, quickly!"

He could hear Iel's voice. Ran was climbing the cliff with her on his back. Even if Rev's arms had been unscathed, he lacked the nerve and strength to follow suit.

In the end, he'd skirted a narrow trail that ran along the cliff until it gave way beneath him, causing this mess.

Ran's shout snapped Rev back to awareness. He struggled to lift his eyelids.

A black rod hung before him like a lifeline.

"Drop your baggage already, it's too heavy!"

Rev's parched lips trembled.

"S-sorry! I'll repay you for this for the rest of my life!"

He let go. The sound of his luggage hitting below echoed up only after a while.

Ran lifted Rev by his sword sheath, shaking with the strain. He clenched his jaw so hard veins showed on his cheeks.

"Just a little more, just a little—!"

Iel watched anxiously from nearby.

Finally, after a perilous struggle, Rev managed to climb up. As Ran's strength was nearly spent, he kicked off with his heel and pulled himself to solid ground.

Ran and Rev collapsed on their backs, panting. Both of their vision swam yellow.

"Again, we survived...?"

Reality was starting to blur. Twice now they had scraped past death.

Rev abruptly got up and dropped into a bow toward Ran, who was still sprawled out. He all but slammed his head to the ground.

"How could I ever repay this debt! Ran! Thank you so much!"

Ran had saved his life at the cost of their provisions. Giving up food and water in these mountains was akin to tossing away one's life.

Rev was nearly moved to tears.

"It's alright, you can stop. More importantly—is this the right route? It's a little odd that you went hunting on such a dangerous path."

"It's probably because of the mountain's 'Distortion'. The paths change."

Distortion—an unseen shift in the terrain. The mountain itself changes like a living organism.

"As the mountain spans the entire continent, even the slightest change can have a huge impact on the whole. What truly makes Astana Mountain terrifying is this intermittent Distortion."

"So it's really like a labyrinth, huh?"

"You could say that. But don't worry too much. There are rarely sudden, drastic changes overnight. The route to the safe zone probably hasn't shifted too much."

Rev gave a thumbs-up. His eyes sparkled brightly.

Iel, exhausted, slumped down between them.

Ran looked worriedly at Iel.

Her complexion had grown noticeably pale. Her forehead and nose seemed perpetually damp with cold sweat.

"How far is it to the safe zone?"

"Originally, about half a day!"

"? Good. Iel has reached her limit. Let's hurry."

As expected, the journey was grueling. He was honestly grateful Iel had made it this far.

At first, he hadn't fixed on going to the safe zone. There was the risk the pursuers might catch up. If need be, just picking up some supplies and leaving would've been enough.

But seeing Iel, he changed the plan. He couldn't bear to watch a girl barely ten years old endure out of sheer will. He decided to let her rest as much as needed.

The group rested briefly before continuing on.

The three arrived at the safe zone two days later.

-------------= Clacky's Corner -------------=