Academy’s Genius Swordmaster - Chapter 208

208. King of the North (2)

#208

Another name for the Tucan Plateau was the Land of Life. The relatively constant average temperature and the large and small streams of water that flow throughout the green land plateau, which is revealed in summer, have become a home for countless lives besides the residents of Rundalian.

Particularly indebted were the natives, who lived in small tribes. The Tucan Plateau, where food can be easily obtained, helped them to live self-sufficiently while forming a primitive group. The werewolf hunter Pocha was also one of those who enjoyed such blessings.

“I never thought I would meet Mr. Jage in my lifetime.”

Pocha, who was leaving hunting, hummed a song. The weather was gloomy and not very good, but the mood was good enough to fly. It was thanks to meeting his idol, Jage, in person.

Jager came to his tribe with two human men and women. The humans asked to stay in the village for a while as they needed to treat Jager’s wounds. Thanks to this, Pocha was able to have a short conversation as well as say hello to Jager, who was resting.

‘Your complexion doesn’t look good, I hope you get well soon…’

However, if there was something that bothered me, it was Jage’s complexion, which was not good throughout the conversation. It seemed clear that something was not right. Pocha closed her eyes for a moment and prayed for him.

“Peace, please.”

As I prayed, somehow my heart felt lighter. He hated humans, but somehow it didn’t seem like the two of them would harm Jager.

I wish I could catch a big Great Deer today. As Pocha was about to get up again and move on, he heard a sound in his ears.

“Ahhhhh…”

“Hmm?”

Pocha turned his head. A werewolf boy was walking, dragging his legs. It was a child who looked five or six years old at most.

“Where are you going, kid?”

“Ah,”

the boy let out a grotesque voice instead of answering. The eyes were unfocused, and sticky saliva was dripping down the gaping muzzle. Long fingernails that seemed to have never been trimmed before were also noticeable. At that moment, Pocha noticed that this boy was a deformed child who had recently become more numerous.

“Oh… tsk tsk.”

The frequency of births of deformed babies was increasing day by day, and it seemed that she was one of them. For a moment, it seemed that the villagers had escaped the tribe while taking their eyes off them. Still, dragging a leg or drooling were good symptoms.

“Looking at their clothes, they look like the Moss Rock tribe… Let’s go together, kid. I’ll take you.”

Pocha approached the boy and held out his hand. There were so many deformed children in his tribe that he could not stand by. The werewolf boy didn’t answer this time either and just moved on in silence.

I can’t. I need to hug you and move you It was the moment Pocha put her hand on the boy’s shoulder. Awesome! Something fast and sharp passed through his neck.

“uh?”

The world Pocha saw turned upside down. His other half spinning in the air was stuck in the cold snow. What Pocha saw in her rapidly fading consciousness was a clouded sky and her body collapsing in a fountain of blood.

Then the light went out in his eyes. The boy’s long toenails were wet with red blood. The boy who cut off Pocha’s head in one blow muttered in a grotesque voice.

“Ahhh…my…this.”

The boy followed Pocha’s footsteps and moved. In the distance on the plains, a halo of light created by torches shone. The snow flurries were getting stronger under the dark sky.

****

“His name is Barka. Jaifa’s brother…and the actual ringleader in planning the Fang Night.”

A dry voice escaped Jayger’s mouth. Ronan and Adeshan’s eyes widened. Ronan, who was silent for a moment, opened his mouth.

“…brother? Did Zaifa have a brother?”

“okay. It’s not unreasonable to not know. Because he is a person who does not reveal his true self in front of others. There are probably less than 10 people in the north who know his identity.”

This was really the first time I heard it. I can’t believe Zaifa had a brother. Ronan strode forward and squatted down in front of Jaeger again.

“Tell me in detail. What do you mean by being the actual ringleader?”

“It is literally. It’s no exaggeration to say that Zaifa was the one who gathered the people and became the focal point, but he did all the plotting behind the scenes. The fact that we captured the Marquis of Barsa in three days was partially thanks to his strategy.”

Upon hearing the name of his hometown, Adeshan’s face hardened rapidly. Jager began listing the projects that Barka had been leading, one by one.

“Unlike Jaipa-sama, he is a sly and cunning fellow, but he is naturally gifted with one thing. Do you remember the incident that became the decisive trigger for the night of the canine?”

“Occupation of Jube, the Holy Land of the Empire.”

“You know well…I handed that over on purpose. A messenger secretly sent by Barka informed the Imperials of a byway through which they could attack the northern defenses. As a result, we were deprived of the symbolic land of the Holy Land, but we were able to gather 10,000 of our compatriots with anger as the focal point.”

It was a series of truly shocking testimonies. The transfer of Jube, the holy land of the northern beasts, to the imperial army, and the defeat of the soldiers of the marquis were all ideas that came from Barca’s head. Jager continued.

“He came to me without any hesitation and asked if I was willing to become the King of the North. Unlike in the past, he was respectful. Without thinking, I replied that I would do it if asked. What happens after that is as you know.”

Barca came to see Jager when he was in the middle of his banditry. From that day on, Barca served as Jager’s advisor, telling him what he had to do to unite the North once more.

He did not know why he wanted to make Jager the king instead of himself. However, even though he was stupid, Jager, who was born with charisma and instigation, managed to create a huge force called the New Northern Union in just two years. Ronan, who was listening to the story, twitched his lips.

‘He’s a dangerous man. I didn’t even know it existed in my previous life.’

I couldn’t figure out why such a tycoon hadn’t shown up in my previous life. Nothing particularly happened in the north until the giants descended from the sky. I only vaguely heard the news that a giant named Duaru, whom Navardoze had dealt with, evaporated the Tucan Plateau. Suddenly, a question crossed Ronan’s mind.

“wait for a sec. So, was Zaifa’s surrender to the Empire a thought that came from that bastard’s head? Just hearing something explained makes it feel like an entirely different action.”

“Yeah. In conclusion, no. As you thought, the surrender of the Northern Alliance was Jaifa’s independent decision. He wanted to take what he had gained so far, and Barca insisted on pushing to the ballon. With that incident, the Tergeng brothers turned around and never met again.”

Jager said in a slightly bitter tone. As expected of Ronan, Zaifa’s surrender and oath of allegiance were his own discretion.

Zaifa tried to protect the rights and territories of the northern beasts through negotiations with himself as a hostage, but Barca wanted to hold everything in his hands. It was obvious that there was a lot of friction between the two before Zaifa made that judgment and put it into practice.

War was also a part of fighting after all, so it was something to know, but Ronan thought Jaifa’s choice was right. No matter how fierce the momentum of the Northern Union at the time was, in the end it would have been defeated without being able to defeat the giant called the Empire. Ronan, who thought for a moment while touching his chin, came to a conclusion.

‘Barca…even if I go around for a while, I’ll have to get rid of it.’

It was already too deep to go just looking at the forge. Furthermore, since Barca belonged to Nebula Klagie, it was related to her job called Dawning. Ronan asked.

“good. Do you know where he ran away?”

“I’m not sure, but he probably went to Heiran. Because his base is there. One day, I had my subordinates follow me to find out.”

Ronan raised his eyebrows. Again this was unexpected. If it was Heiran, it was the destination he originally intended to go to before the itinerary went awry. Suddenly recalling the situation at the forge, Ronan opened his mouth.

“That’s right, I’m telling you right now, get rid of your men who have occupied Heiran. Free the blacksmiths who are being held captive.”

“Hey, if you think you’re mistaken and think I’m going to do your thing…”

Jager frowned. Although he felt remorse when he saw his fellow countrymen under the curse, he did not completely turn to Ronan’s side. Although he had already said it in desperation, he was still afraid of Barca. Jage, who was about to say something, shook his head.

“…no, not like that. I owe you.”

“Good idea.”

“There are only conditions. Even if you meet him, don’t tell him what happened here. I was kidnapped by you guys and went back, and I muttered nonsense in pain of having my limbs cut off. Did you understand?”

Seeing his evasion of responsibility, Ronan laughed. I wondered what was the use of talking about it, but I could understand her feelings. It was because he could have been silenced by Barca for revealing his secret.

“My idea of driving the humans out of the North hasn’t changed. But not this one. No matter how much it is part of a strategy to unite compatriots… this is not it.”

Jayger grabbed the doll. It was fortunate that the brain was bad, but the last conscience seemed to remain. It was better than something insidious like Barca.

“I don’t think you guys can kill Barca. Because he is a monster in a different sense from Mr. Zaifa. He must have a strategy to annihilate you.”

“Could that bastard also have the qualities of a swordsman? That’s a little tight.”

“I don’t know because I’ve never seen him fight properly. Because he was more suited to be a staff member than a warrior. But I don’t think that Tergeng’s lineage will go anywhere.”

Ronan shook his head as if agreeing. I could guess his skill just from the kick I got hit in Jayger’s room right away.

Just looking at its size, it seemed like it shouldn’t be caught off guard, no matter what it looked like. Suddenly, Jager snapped his fingers as if he remembered something.

“really. give me this It will help you track him down.”

“ok?”

“Instead, you must never let him know the existence of this thing. Because you will definitely know that I gave it to you. Where did this damn thing go…”

Jager mumbled and began to rummage through his pockets. It looked like he was trying to deliver something. After searching through most of his pockets, it was the moment he put his hand into his inner pocket. Ronan, who felt a tingling pain in the area of his thigh, narrowed his forehead.

“hmm…?”

“Ronan? what’s the matter?”

Adeshan came to him. Ronan, who was silently rummaging through the pants pocket on the side where the pain occurred, pulled out a short, thick stick. It was a stake used to curse the tribe.

“what?”

“Damn this…!”

Both faces hardened at the same time. The evil aura rising up on the surface was getting stronger. The unique purple color of the curse was visible. A shrieking scream was heard from outside the tent.