Chapter 126

Chapter 126

TL/Editor: raei

Schedule: 5/week

Illustrations: None

Join the discord! Here

The northern warriors surrounded the Mountain King’s palace.

It was certain that the Mountain King was inside.

But even with armed intruders right at his doorstep, the Mountain King did not show his face.

At this point, one could feel his stubbornness.

One might wonder if the Mountain King was a reincarnated modern human who would rather choose to die than apologize.

He had too much pride to apologize to humans.

He would rather die than say he was sorry!

...Surely, that couldn’t be the case.

“Ian.”

“What’s happening?”

A while ago.

After surrounding the Mountain King’s palace, the shamans insisted on being the first to meet him.

The high chieftains readily agreed.

Diplomacy with the Mountain King had always been the shamans' responsibility.

Moreover, the Mountain King was a beast.

Even if the high chieftain spoke, they wouldn’t understand each other.

So, the advance party of shamans entered the Mountain King’s palace first.

As a foreigner, Ian was part of the rear party.

So he waited for his turn to enter.

“I... can’t believe it. The Mountain King attacked the shamans.”Nnêw n0vel chapters are published at novelhall.com

“??? Why can’t you believe it?”

Ian couldn’t understand Pyra’s confusion.

Given that they had been fighting, wasn’t it understandable that the Mountain King would kill the shamans?

“Because everything is already over! What would he gain from resisting now?”

But Pyra’s confusion was reasonable.

The Mountain King and the northerners weren’t mortal enemies.

They weren’t at odds to the point of dragging each other to hell.

Although they came armed, the northerners still respected the Mountain King.

They expected peaceful negotiations...

Surprisingly, the Mountain King killed the shamans who came to negotiate.

This had clear implications.

Either the Mountain King had decided to fight to the death.

Or, he had simply gone mad.

Pyra openly suspected the latter.

“The Mountain King must have gone mad.”

A subtle rage flickered in Pyra’s eyes.

There is a certain “etiquette” even in war.

Even when trying to kill each other, there are rules to follow.

It sounds ridiculous at first—fighting to the death, yet talking about manners?

But only the soldiers die in war.

The nobles, the people, the merchants...

And many others entangled in interests.

They don’t die on the battlefield.

They need to think about life after the war.

That’s why there are rules in war.

Since the Mountain King broke the rules, the angry northerners would slaughter the beasts of the holy mountain.

The Mountain King brought this upon himself.

[Ian. I want to hear what the Mountain King has to say.]

The phoenix, Winnie, chirped.

“Is that your wish? Or is it your soul’s wish?”

[Both. I wish for it too, Ian.]

“... Okay. Let’s go talk to him.”

[Thank you, Dad.]

Ian headed towards the cave entrance to enter the Mountain King’s palace.

The closer he got, the more he heard incomprehensible northern curses.

They were roughly cursing out the Mountain King.

“High Chieftain. I’d like to meet the Mountain King next.”

“Hm?”

Looking around, Ian saw injured warriors lying around, groaning in pain.

Their injuries were so gruesome that missing limbs seemed minor in comparison.

Many warriors were practically displaying their entrails.

Ian frowned and turned his head away.

“You said you were a wizard. Meeting the Mountain King now is not wise.”

“Well. It looks that way.”

When Ian agreed, the high chieftain frowned.

“If you go in now, you might end up meeting Hrundal in the Ice Palace. Or since you believe in the Sky God, you might end up in ‘Heaven.’”

The high chieftain spoke in a polite yet ominous manner.

Icicles hanging from the ceiling resembled chandeliers, and the cracks in the walls formed fractal patterns like snowflakes.

“Quite a nice place to live,” Belenka commented, summing up the cave’s atmosphere in a single sentence.

Ian thought of a giant lizard living in a cave, specifically Longtail, the lucky drake who owned a well-decorated home thanks to Ian.

He didn’t even take out a loan, so he didn’t have to worry about a real estate downturn...

Anyway.

Judging by the cave, the Mountain King had been living well up until now.

So why did he massacre the Yagons and antagonize humans?

[Humans have entered again...!]

At that moment, Ian heard a low, rumbling animal sound.

Ian immediately knew it was the Mountain King’s voice.

Thump! Thump!

A massive body emerged from the darkness.

It was likely the same strike that had annihilated the shamans.

The Mountain King, a Behemoth, attacked with sheer force, using its massive body to push forward!

The creature’s weight alone made it a formidable threat that no human could imitate.

If caught beneath it, one would be crushed into human jerky!

“Belenka! To the left!”

Ian shouted as he grabbed Kira and threw himself to the right, pushing Pyra out of the way as a bonus.

“Kira! Are you okay?”

“... Yes, I’m fine.”

Kira replied shyly.

He saw that Belenka and Takarion had also managed to avoid the attack.

Belenka immediately prepared for battle.

“Wait!”

Ian shouted loudly, calming his companions.

‘Something is wrong.’

The Behemoth had missed its target and collided with the wall.

Ian carefully observed the Behemoth's body.

Even in the dark cave, Ian’s excellent dark magic allowed him to see as clearly as if it were daylight.

‘Is that... a wound?’

And Ian saw it clearly.

The Behemoth's massive body had several long, gruesome scars on its back.

These were not ordinary wounds.

They were blackened, festering, and crawling with insects.

[This is my home! Get out! Humans!]

Roar!

The Behemoth roared loudly.

Icicles shattered and fell from the ceiling, and cracks spread across the ice walls.

“Ian! The Mountain King is not in a state to talk, we must...”

Pyra started to shout but then stopped.

The shaman’s Arcana magic lacked the ability to communicate with such a crazed being. It was too indirect.

But the Empire’s [magic] was different.

It was a unique magic created by the great wizard Maronius.

“[Mountain King!]”

Ian shouted in Maronius’s tongue.

[... You. Did you call me?]

The Behemoth responded hesitantly to Ian's will.

Pyra was genuinely shocked to witness magic so different from Arcana magic before his eyes.

He already knew Ian’s magic was peculiar, but to think it could work on the Mountain King!

“[Yes, I called you.]”

The Behemoth was equally surprised.

It was astonishing that he could understand the other’s will, and even more so that the other understood him and responded!

Such a clear conversation was impossible even among his own kind.

[Amazing. Truly amazing.]

The Behemoth, forgetting its previous rage, began to speak with Ian as if entranced.

Ian sighed in relief.

If the Behemoth had been as malevolent as a Manticore, he would have had to flee immediately.

But after speaking with him, Ian could tell.

As the shamans had said, the Behemoth was indeed a gentle and wise spirit.

Ignoring the slight throbbing headache he felt, Ian continued speaking.

“[I am a wizard from across the sea.]”

First and foremost, Ian wanted to emphasize that, unlike the northerners, he had no personal feelings toward the Mountain King.

The reason was simple: the Mountain King seemed extremely unstable.

“[I noticed the wounds on your back. Are you alright?]”

[...]

The Mountain King fell silent at Ian's question.

Ian's uneasy feeling was confirmed.

The Mountain King was highly reluctant to talk about his wounds.

[I... I...]

The Mountain King mumbled.

[I will be fine... I’m sure I’ll be fine...]