324. The Hawk, the Wolf, and the Sea Serpent (1)
-Pop!
A green flower bloomed. Fernandez tilted his head, stopping for a moment to look down at the flower at his feet.
‘……Weird?’
-Isn’t that Freya’s signal? Why is that weird?
‘There’s no reason to send such a signal now.’
According to the implicit remote signaling system that had been in place from the north, green and blue meant safety. It could be interpreted as a signal to walk in that direction.
However, Freya doesn’t send directional signals when combat begins. It’s pointless. Unless an extremely dangerous moment arises that requires a warning, there’s no need to send movement signals during combat.
And right now, it was clearly a combat situation.
“Stop them!”
“Damn it, where are they coming from?!”
“Curses! The corpses are rising!”
The military encampment of the White Kingdom’s demon tribe was in chaos. Suddenly risen wraiths were silently swinging swords and sinking their fangs into flesh, wreaking havoc.
Individually, the strength and abilities of each wraith were nothing special. But their durability—refusing to fall unless completely destroyed—and the horrifying appearance of the half-decayed wraiths were demoralizing the soldiers.
The soldiers, who had been resting in preparation for the upcoming war, were now in chaos. Fernandez first targeted their warhorses.
The panicked horses running around only added to the confusion, and the soldiers, in the rainy night, were overestimating the enemy’s numbers due to the commotion.
“It’s endless! The dead are rising!”
“Burn the corpses!”
Fernandez walked through the chaotic encampment. In any case, the direction indicated by Freya’s flowers matched the direction he intended to go. The flowers were blooming in a line toward the largest and most ornate Ger he had scouted earlier.
-Worried I’d get lost in the middle of the night, huh?
‘Overly considerate? Hmm…….’
Freya knows Diemonica’s physical abilities. She had personally witnessed the exploits of Diemonica, including Zephis, in the north. Would she really waste energy worrying about Fernandez’s night vision?
‘This doesn’t feel right.’
Piel, being a spirit, might not have noticed, but Fernandez’s intuition sensed something unsettling. He gripped the sword hilt tightly and walked toward the Ger.
-Hearttaker is late.
‘She’ll be on time. No need to worry about Kirhas.’
His plan was recklessly simple. Cause chaos in the encampment, infiltrate right up to Karadskar’s presence, and use Kirhas’s forces to distract them, increasing the success rate of the assassination.
Since it wasn’t a pre-coordinated plan, controlling variables was difficult, but with Piel guarding Kirhas and Freya assisting with the timing of the operation from a distance, it was a plan that was hard to fail.
-Pop!
At that moment, a flower bloomed. A red flower. The once lush bushes, mixed with green and blue, were now covered in blood-red petals.
‘……What is this?’
-Pop! Pop!
The sound of flower buds bursting was eerily unfamiliar. From the small shrubs around to the low-growing grass at his feet, red flowers began to bloom as if blood was gushing out.
-Crunch!
Thorny bushes sprouted from somewhere, crushing the shrubs, and a pile of bright red flowers rose above them.
According to Freya’s signaling system, red meant the appearance of enemies or warnings. But Fernandez couldn’t consider this situation a warning signal.
This wasn’t a signaling system meant to convey information secretly within normalcy. This wasn’t a warning.
-Pop!
It was closer to mockery. The sight of everything turning red was as if…….
-Did that northern god betray us?
‘There’s no reason or need for that. And Abel is by Freya’s side. Even if it meant death, Abel wouldn’t betray us.’
If Freya had wanted to betray him, there were plenty of better situations for that. So, this situation wasn’t her intention.
-Drip, drip.
Raindrops hit Fernandez’s nose and trickled down. He slowly raised his head to look at the sky. In that brief moment, countless pieces of information and hypotheses flashed through his mind like a puzzle.
‘On this land, aside from divine or equivalent ‘power,’ or ancient techniques using ley lines, it’s difficult to use ordinary magic.’
Blooming flowers out of season on this land is clearly an anomaly. But it’s not magic. If ancient techniques were used, he would have noticed beforehand.
‘It’s highly likely that this situation isn’t Freya’s doing. And the fact that there have been no warnings or signals from Freya so far means that Freya is somehow unable to intervene in this situation.’
We must assume there’s a being capable of mimicking a goddess’s power and sealing her divinity. And…….
‘It’s impossible that such a being coincidentally manifested at this exact moment, matching my infiltration, without me noticing.’
In other words, the being causing this phenomenon had been hiding here, concealing its presence.
‘Mimicking Freya’s signaling system means it was aware of the relationship between me and Freya and had already tracked my movements and trajectory.’
The White Kingdom’s demon tribe’s invasion had been largely repelled, and the offensive flow had been cut off at its source, with a large-scale encirclement nearly complete. Fernandez, who had led all these operations, had been identified beforehand, yet until now, it had merely been observing.
It means that.
‘After dispersing the enemy’s attention, strike deep into their ranks to paralyze their leadership…?’
That’s Fernandez’s basic tactical principle. A deep-strike strategy. This war is the kind where victory can be secured by eliminating Karadskar. The numerous tribes of the Beastmen Nobles are nothing more than a loosely bound group, united solely under his charisma.
But, let’s think the other way around. What if he were someone like Karadskar, a figure in the leadership of this military encampment, someone who could watch Fernandez’s every move and anticipate his strategies in advance.
If Fernandez were in that position, the most rational strategy would be to use the exact same method.
The combined forces of Dane-Leviathan, the Federation of Beastmen Nobles, Lavirata and Apotazar’s Wraith Faction, and even Al’Hashir, who might be sending reinforcements from somewhere in the west.
Considering they are all multinational legions, if there were someone capable of hijacking Freya’s signal system, if Fernandez were in that position, he would undoubtedly strike deep into the enemy’s ranks to paralyze their command.
By killing the enemy’s chief of staff present here.
‘To tell me this now…’
Fernandez lowered his head, gazing at the red flowers soaked in rainwater. This pile of flowers, filled with mockery.
‘It’s a trap.’
-It’s a trap.
The expanded thought process quickly closed. In the instant the raindrops fell, the puzzle of hypotheses unfolding in Fernandez’s mind took shape.
There’s a Great Demon. At least on par with Sadarkelisa. And someone who has remained silent, hiding their true strength.
Who could it be? Fernandez narrowed his eyes. Tyban’s seal is still intact. After all, it was Faijashi’s achievement in his past life that first discovered the location of Tyban’s seal. No matter how twisted the worldline is, finding and dismantling Tyban’s seal is no easy task.
Urcasia is likely incapacitated now. The Great Demon nearly exhausted its power to corrupt its minion, and then the Great Demon’s spell was dismantled. The backlash of magic is something even a god cannot escape. Urcasia is probably out of action for the time being.
That leaves only one possibility. Someone who has been aware of his existence for a long time, capable of setting such a Deceptive Trap, and able to remain silent until the perfect moment.
“Yekaset…”
About a year ago, during the Walker incident at Merlin Port, he killed Gian-Kel, drawing Yekaset’s attention. Gian-Kel was Yekaset’s apostle, and demon minions share their master’s vision.
Yekaset’s seal, unlike other demons, exists in a conceptual realm. It can be naturally released by performing seven specific rituals. Like offering the heart of an unbeliever who has killed seven innocent subordinates.
Its seal is not located in the Material World. To directly interfere with its seal in the Material World, one must perform a conceptual ritual, not rely on a specific place or relic.
-Drip, drip…
The raindrops carried a mix of foul odors. The smell of fish, sweet floral scents, the stench of blood, and the reek of animal fur.
Fernandez frowned and crouched low. Did it hear his whisper? The presence beneath the tent grew clearer and more intense.
-Krrrrr…!
A sickly yellow light descended from the sky, and the earth groaned lowly. A vile presence scorched the ground, and the surrounding shrubs began to collapse one by one.
Heavy rainclouds scattered raindrops across the sky, and within them, a deep yellow light flickered. The moon swelled grotesquely, its presence clearly visible even beyond the clouds.
Mumto’s manifestation was followed by the gaze of death that raises the dead, Urcasia’s manifestation brought a toxic downpour that rotted all things, and Yekaset’s manifestation—
-Awooo!!!
The howl of a beast and a wild, maddening curse descended. The earth seethed, and warriors were shedding their skin. The military encampment, once chaotic from the wraiths’ night raid, fell silent in an instant. The predatory gaze of hunters, their murderous eyes, tightened around him.
[Seeing you, I am now certain. The Shaman was right. You killed my son.]
-Snap!
Claws tore through the ger, emerging with a splash. From within the darkened, withered ger, four pairs of red eyes glared at him.
[You dog of false gods. You killed my son, and you summoned me.]
“You haven’t been completely consumed yet, Karadskar.”
Fernandez frowned and steadied his stance. The presence was close to that of a Great Demon, and if not for his power, the situation would be hard to comprehend. But Karadskar still retained the rationality of a mortal.
If you could call that rationality.
-Crunch!!
[Do not treat me like your puppet! You bugs, panting like dogs on leashes, fawning over your false gods… licking the dust of those creatures!!]
The ger collapsed, and debris flew. Fernandez swiftly swung his sword to deflect the incoming wreckage. The impact against the blade was no ordinary force, and he was pushed back a few steps before regaining his footing.
Beyond the debris, there he was. Against the backdrop of the sickly moonlight and black rainwater, he slowly unfurled his crouched form, looking down at him.
[I will tear this world apart, and even the arrogant hypocrites in the sky above will be shattered. I am the end of you and your world, you bugs. No one can escape me!]
“Ha.”
Fernandez looked at Karadskar’s face and let out a short laugh. He now resembled a wolf, almost as if consumed by madness.
Four pairs of red eyes hung from the massive wolf-human form, with patches of human flesh clinging and scattering. The madness bursting from beneath the skin tore the flesh, distorting the form.
“Many have said that before, Karadskar.”
I even feel a sense of kinship. Fernandez muttered briefly. When drunk on power, he too often uttered such words. Directed at the so-called ‘heroes’ who came at him.
I never imagined I’d be on the receiving end… Fernandez shook his head and spun his sword.
“Now, only you remain.”
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