Chapter 548 - North Tribe

Several days ago, somewhere in the plains north of Britannia.

The night was dark, but it was far from quiet.

In the center of the plains, a roaring fire could be seen burning bright, illuminating the area around it with warm light. Surrounding the fire were hundreds of people in animal fur. Most of them were bare-chested, only having animal fur cover some parts of their bodies. Some of them had what seemed to be white paint on their body while others did not, but all of them had some sort of tattoo on different parts of their bodies.

Even from afar, some of these people could be seen knocking a spear onto the ground while the rest each held a torch in hand. Together, they danced around the burning fire in rhythm.

These few hundred people were of the northern tribe. Despite their number, only two were well-known among them; the largest warrior named Brigantes and another known as the painted twins. They were called that because of how they paint their whole bodies white. And although these twins were technically two people, they considered them to be a unit.

When the tribe leaders finally gathered in front of them, the beating sound and the dancing promptly halted.

All of a sudden, a figure in a large fur coat with bird feathers walked among them. The man had a bronze mask covering his face, and on it were numerous deer antlers. With the man's arrival, the present warriors immediately shouted in unison and showed their respect. This man was one of the people these tribesmen greatly respected, known as 'the horned ones'.

The figure walked toward one of the tribe leaders, a large man with tattoos visible all over his face. He was painted in flesh blood all over his body.

The man painted in blood fervently roared,

"I am Esca, the Lord of a Thousand Spears of Brigantes! It is my honor to lead the war!"

"Hooooo!!!"

"Listen! Can you hear the sound? Can you hear your heart beating? Can you feel the fire in your belly?

"Drink! It is time to celebrate! Tomorrow, we will head south and become warriors! With our hands, we will bring victory to our tribe!"

"Hooooo!!!"

With their whole body filled with excitement, the tribesmen began to drink and the whole tribe started to dance once again. Just like before, they danced their warrior dance while yelling and jumping, this time with more vigor. Some of them even jumped on all four limbs on the ground like animals.

Away from the crowd, the masked figure silently approached a beautiful woman. Having witnessed the previous scene, the woman said to the man walking toward her,

"The time has finally come where the whole seven kingdoms will fall."

The masked man simply asked in response, "How about the girl?"

Hearing the man's question, the woman turned away and began walking, leading the masked man toward one of the caves on the hill.

Just outside the entrance to the cave, a few painted warriors could be seen standing on guard. Every one of them had an uneasy expression on their face, but none of them said anything. This was because for days now, they had been hearing terrifying voices from inside the cave.

As soon as the woman and the masked man arrived, all the guarding tribesmen quickly showed their respect.

When the two entered the cave, they also began hearing the voices. Although they called those noises voices, they were more like a mix of growls followed by long howls reverberating through the cave. As they walked deeper, the two could finally see the source of those sounds.

They beheld the monstrous creature in front of them. In a cage made of stone and steel was a towering dark wolf with spikes all over its limbs. Those four limbs were each bound with a large chain, tying the wolf firmly to the cage.

Seeing the beast, the woman concisely explained, "She has been like this ever since she consumed the organ."

The masked man was silent for a moment before saying, "She doesn't have as much strength as you. The dark energy inside of you is able to control the beast, but it's not the same for her."

The woman could faintly see where this conversation was going, and she did not have a good feeling about it. However, she only stayed quiet, waiting for the man to finish speaking.

The masked man continued, "She will not be ready for battle in time. It's best if you kill her and take her powers now."

Hearing this, the woman did not say anything. Without any words, she walked toward the beast. As she came closer, the beast appeared to slowly calm down. Of course, the woman noticed this.

She turned toward the masked man and refused, "No. I am her alpha now... she's too precious to kill."

With how the beast calmed down in her presence, she thought that she would be able to take care of the matter. However, as soon as she lifted her arm, the beast instantly turned frenzied once more.

"You cannot control her. You will regret this."

The woman was enraged to hear the masked man's words. With refusal clear in her eyes, she hastily said, her voice unintentionally getting slightly louder, "No! She just needs some time..."

The man was starting to get irritated. He took a step toward them when the woman immediately stopped him.

"I am stronger than you now! Don't you dare hurt her! She is mine!!"

The masked man decided to take a step back. He sneered, "Huh! Don't you forget who helped you become who you are now! Witch!" With those words, the masked man walked away, exiting the cave. 

The woman, however, did not care about the man as she said to the beast,  "Wait here,  I promise, I will return with the heart of the man who hurt you, my dear Morgana."

When the morning came, from the hill, the woman could vaguely see thousands of warriors running as fast as the horses crossing the plains, each with a spear in hand.