The Return of the Iron-blood Sword Hound

Chapter 90: Ancestral Spirits (1)

“If you don’t know what’s coming, make whatever comes useless,” Hugo Le Baskerville used to say every time he had to use the seventh fang.

He always welcomed countless challengers, and every time, he turned them upside down under his sword.

Among those who had challenged Hugo, many had taken unexpected and unpredictable actions, such as ambush, assassination, lurking, betrayal, curses, and more. But in the end, all of these were in vain.

Overwhelming strength.

In front of it, all variables and surprises turn into mere tricks.

And this time, Vikir was using that lesson.

[Rumble…]

This overwhelming strength was not his own, but someone else’s, but it was a bit different.

Danger Level: A

Size: 5m

Discovery Location: Enemy and Black Mountain, 7th Ridge.

– A giant bear with two huge horns

It is the ultimate terrestrial predator, a carnivorous bear with a nearly perfect killing weapon. It rules the ecosystem of the Black Mountain Range’s 7th ridge, with few natural enemies other than its own kind.

A bear with two massive horns.

Originally, this monster, with a height of 5 meters and a weight of about 1 ton, was considered a top-tier danger even during flood disasters.

Moreover, this Ox Bear was familiar with Vikir.

“…An old, blind female.”

This fellow was easily twice the size of other Ox Bears. Its weight was also significantly heavier. If we classify it by danger level, it wouldn’t be strange to assign it A+.

This place, where the Illiad was taking place, was the territory of this old female.

Vikir knew the location here from his previous experience of hunting with Aiyen, and he intentionally caused a big commotion to lure the female Ox Bear.

Aheuman, who had rarely been on a hunt, did not know this, which led to this disaster.

“Ugh…”

Aheuman desperately wiped the foamy drool flowing from his mouth.

The Ox Bear, whether now or then, had its ears perked up, listening to the sounds around it, even though its vision was not great.

“It seems like the already bad eyesight has gotten even worse.”

This was another aspect that Vikir already knew.

He silently retreated.

/ Stinger

Slot 1: Burn (火傷) – Cerberus (A+)

Slot 2: Silent Heal – Mushussu (A+)

Slot 3: Heavenly Anchor – Ox Bear (A)

Thanks to the skill acquired a while ago from hunting the giant snake Mushussu, there was no sound when he stepped. On the other hand, Aheuman, still suffering from the flames of Cerberus left by Vikir, could only make painful moans.

“Ugh! Ugh, agh!”

And now, the impact from the Ox Bear’s front paw strike reached him.

The slowly dawning pain and the ongoing agony finally twisted Aheuman’s lips, which had clung to the wounds left by Vikir, and he let out a howl.

“Kuaaah!”

The Ox Bear immediately responded to the sound.

Thud!

The Ox Bear swung its front paw, sending Aheuman’s lower body flying.

Aheuman spun like a top, hit a tree, and his legs and waist twisted in strange directions.

[Kwaaah!]

Upon hearing the cries from behind, the Ox Bear pricked up its ears once more.

The Ox Bear turned to where two Ox Bear cubs were blinking their eyes cutely.

Unusual chubby bodies for cubs, and bright, intelligent eyes.

The female Ox Bear gave a snort towards the intruders and then returned to her cubs.

At this point, she deemed that she had shown enough of her authority and determination.

After a while, Vikir revealed himself from the bushes once again.

Aheuman lay on the ground without moving. However, the trembling of his breath indicated that he was still clinging to life.

Rustle… Crunch…

Leaves in the surroundings rustled. The warriors of Ballak, who had been observing the Illiad so far, were gathering.

All the warriors surrounded Vikir and Aheuman.

The winner and the loser were very clear. Vikir had no injuries, and Aheuman was barely holding on to life.

“It’s over. The winner has been decided.”

“At this point, whether Aheuman is innocent or not doesn’t matter, right?”

“Regardless of who’s innocent, Aheuman was too reckless.”

“I see it as a very fortunate outcome for me.”

The warriors each had their own comments.

From the time of the Red Plague to the present Illiad, they all had one disappointment or another with Aheuman.

And Aheuman, listening to the evaluations of himself, was lying on the ground, trembling like a bug.

“Why?! Why!”

Aheuman was screaming.

That guy Vikir in front of him, what was different between him and himself?

They were both slaves brought in from the outside, so why were their paths so different?

Aheuman recalled the years of suffering and endurance he had endured all this time.

And everything Vikir enjoyed.

Youth. The chief’s daughter followed him. The trust of all his comrades. The support and love of the entire tribe before the flood. Outstanding abilities and a shining appearance.

Despite all of this, those eyes seemed disinterested in everything.

“…! …! …!”

Aheuman gritted his teeth. He ground down his teeth, even if they all fell out and his gums were crushed.

Now, Aheuman finally tore his gaze away from Vikir and looked at himself.

Old age. The old shaman who treated him like a disposable tool. Scorned and disregarded by all his comrades. Being used and then discarded by the empire. Unrecognized abilities and a body that had now become useless.

The inferiority, defeat, hatred, resentment, and compensation of the old man who had lost everything to the young man who had everything, all boiled up together.

And then…

“….”

Such Aheuman’s gaze met Ahun’s eyes, and he immediately turned his gaze away.

The last vein. His grandson’s indifference ignited a fire in Aheuman’s emotions, leading to an explosion.

Meanwhile.

“……”

Ahun had his fists clenched tightly, turning his head.

There was a hand on Ahun’s shoulder.

It was Vikir. He looked at Ahun with calm eyes.

“How about trying to make amends with your own hands?”

“……No.”

Ahun shook his head. Because of the recent Red Death incident, he almost lost his younger sister. No matter how much he called him a grandfather, he couldn’t forgive him.

It was overlaid with sadness and anger towards himself and his younger sister, who had been constantly ignored for a long time.

But Vikir shook his head.

“At the last moment, it wouldn’t hurt to watch his side. It’s not just because of duty, but also to prevent possible incidents in advance…”

“Enough! Cowards like that should die! They’re not worth pity!”

Ahun pushed Vikir’s hand away and turned his head once again.

Right then.

Ku-oooooh!

An incident occurred.

Mana began to form strange currents in various places.

Squeak – creak!

The sound of bones coming together, and eventually, the bodies of the monkey’s that had turned into bloody pulps began to rise again.

They shed their heavy, rotten flesh and lifted their skeletal bodies.

The appearance of the dead shook the warriors of Ballak.

The monkey corpses moved like marionettes with their strings cut, supporting Aheuman.

After a while, Aheuman, with his swollen eyes, looked at Vikir, Ahun next to him, and all the warriors of Ballak.

“…It’s all unnecessary. All of you are unnecessary.”

Aheuman declared his surrender. But he wasn’t talking about Illiad.

It meant giving up everything he had as a warrior of Ballak.

And.

As one Ballakian disappeared, one Rokokoian was born.

As soon as Aheuman abandoned the pride of a warrior, he finally murmured a forbidden spell, one that had been taboo even within Rokoko.

A forbidden spell that calls the dead back to the realm of the living.

The warriors of Ballak who heard Aheuman’s incantation sneered with contemptuous expressions.

“What is this? Another one of those same resurrection spells?”

“It’s really pathetic. No matter how much of a shaman he is…”

“But what can we do? There probably aren’t any more monkeys to resurrect!”

There are no more corpses around here.

The most Aheuman can raise is a few orangutans here.

But.

…!

Vikir noticed.

Aheuman’s magic was not aimed here, but a little further away.

Following the flow of black mana, Vikir turned his head.

There, a familiar place was visible.

A valley and waterfall towering high below a low hill, with the Hero’s spring below it.

It was the ‘Dragon Tomb,’ where the ancestors of Ballak were buried.