Raising the Princess to Overcome Death

Chapter 150: Diablo: : SilentWhisper: Matthew Yip : George Liu: James Harvey---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Engagement - Ice Island

"Step back, Lena!"

Leo's sword wavered, his vision swimming from the alcohol. He stood protectively in front of Lena, trying to steady himself.

Malhas.

That god, depicted with two entwined ravens, reveled in bloody battles. The blood on the victor's blade became the sweet nectar the red raven eagerly licked, while the corpse of the vanquished was torn apart by the black raven's beak, leaving a bitter taste.

'They' were ancient gods who had existed since time immemorial, sowing chaos to gather their sustenance.

"What is the meaning of this?!"

The innkeeper shouted in confusion, but Leo did not lower his sword. Instead, he pressed it closer, until it was nearly touching the man's throat.

This man could very well be the one who had turned the southern market of Barnaul into a sacrificial altar.

The octagonal divine power he had seen there was incredibly high-level. And Malhas, one of the oldest gods documented in {The History of the Gods}, possessed the power to wield such divine energy.But as Leo scrutinized the terrified innkeeper, he became puzzled.

{Divine Perception} revealed nothing. If this man were an apostle, he should display Malhas's divine power, but his body contained not a speck of it.

He was an ordinary... human.

"What is going on?!"

The burly warriors who had been drinking with the innkeeper raised their axes. As they tried to surround him with fierce expressions, Lena waved her arms to stop them.

"Wait! Wait a minute. There must be some misunderstanding. Hey, Leo! Put your sword away right now!"

Caught in a tense moment that could erupt into a fight, Leo let himself be pulled back, sitting down reluctantly. It seemed he had overreacted.

The atmosphere eased a bit, but the warriors still didn't lower their axes, so Leo felt the need to defuse the situation.

"...I apologize. I must have mistaken you for someone else because of the alcohol."

"..."

Realizing this explanation might not suffice, he mixed a bit of truth into his lie to redirect their attention.

"It was because of that tattoo..."

At Leo's gesture, the warriors looked at the innkeeper's arm.

The feather tattoo. One of the warriors who knew its significance asked,

"That's just the symbol of the Aviker tribe. What does that have to do with you drawing your sword?"

"...My enemy had a similar tattoo on his arm."

Leo kept his words brief.

Unable to explain further, he tried to brush off the situation with a lie...

The innkeeper, who had been massaging his neck to calm his nerves, widened his eyes. Forgetting the near-miss with the sword, he eagerly questioned Leo.

"You saw someone with a tattoo like this? That person must be from the Aviker tribe! When and where did you see them? What did they look like?"

"...I don't know. It was a long time ago..."

Cornered by the innkeeper's detailed questions, Leo was at a loss. As he tried to feign ignorance, Lena interjected.

"His mother was killed by a noble's private soldiers about ten years ago. It was probably one of them."

This was news to Leo.

He stared blankly at Lena while the innkeeper pressed for more information.

"Which noble family?"

"I don't know? It must have been a noble family that held a grudge against his father."

"So you don't know which noble family it was? How can you not know?"

She didn't know.

Uncle Noel had killed more than a few nobles. Moreover, those noble families had all sided with the Aster Kingdom, and had long since lost their influence in the Astin Kingdom.

There was no need to reveal that the famous 'noble slayer' was Leo's father, so Lena changed the subject.

"We don't know because it was such a long time ago. But you mentioned the Aviker tribe, right? Do you know Ran and Anne Aviker?"

"Ran? Anne?! How do you know those names? Could it be..."

"We met them on our way here. They said they had escaped from Ice Island too."

"My goodness! They're alive! They're alive! So I wasn't the only one who survived! So, where are they? Are the chieftain and the priestess alive too?"

The innkeeper exclaimed in joy.

His questions were filled with earnestness, and Lena slipped in an apology.

"But first, we're sorry. Leo drank too muChapter Can you forgive us? Hey! Apologize quickly."

Lena smacked Leo on the back, prompting him to bow his head. The innkeeper waved it off.

"No, no. It's fine now. I didn't get hurt... Besides, you look stronger than me, so a strong person doesn't need to apologize to a weaker one."

Lena vaguely remembered hearing something similar from Ran.

"You really do know Ran and Anne."

"Of course I do. They're the daughters of our chieftain and priestess... Tell me more about them. They must be all grown up now... Ah, sorry for speaking so informally."

The innkeeper righted a fallen chair. Seating Lena beside him, he resumed his seat, and the warriors, sensing the situation was under control, sat down as well.

Leo remained somewhat apart, while Lena began recounting the stories she had heard in the village with the hot springs.

+ + +

"Dear! Keep walking. I'll follow soon."

Ran, a young girl barely more than a child, clung to her father's hand, running with small, quick steps.

The frozen ground.

Though summer made it slightly less slippery, it was still a treacherous place where the ground could give way at any moment.

But those who lived on Ice Island, like the Aviker tribe, could easily distinguish which parts of the ground were safe.

"Catch them! Don't let those who worship the false god escape!"

The warriors in gleaming white armor shouted. Despite their awkward, stumbling steps, they pursued quickly.

"Dear, I can't leave you. I'll fight too. Malhas will protect me..."

"No! Please, take the children and run. I can't fight if they're here. I swear on my honor as a grand warrior that I'll survive."

Her father held her mother's shoulders. Her mother sobbed, and Ran's eyes welled up with tears as well.

"Mom. Don't cry. Did dad make you cry again? I'll scold him."

Ran knew this would make her parents smile, but this time, it didn't work.

Her father stroked her hair and then her younger sibling's before turning away.

"Be safe!"

Her mother called out as her father looked back briefly and smiled reassuringly. He grabbed two axes and ran towards the enemy.

They ran with their mother.

Soon they reached the icy shore. They carefully stepped onto the ice, which cracked and groaned with each step.

Ran looked back at the shrinking Ice Island. A massive ship, its sails marked with a cross and its hull reinforced with dark steel, was anchored nearby, breaking the surrounding ice with loud crashes.

Black smoke rose from Ice Island, filling Ran's heart with dread.

  *

"When will mom and dad come?"

Anne whined.

Holding her younger sibling's hand tightly, Ran reassured,

"Mom said she'll bring them soon. Just two more nights, and they'll be here."

We successfully crossed the frozen sea and arrived at a village. My mother explained our situation and begged for a place to stay for a few days. She managed to secure a small storeroom, though it cost her a few of her bracelets. For Ran, who had been walking for days without rest, having a place to lie down was a joy.

We spent a night there. The next morning, my mother, anxious and biting her nails, spoke to us.

"Kids, wait here for five nights. I'll go bring your father."

"Five nights?"

"Yes. Ran, you can count, right? Stay hidden here with your sibling. I've informed the village chief, so be sure to listen to him."

Despite the promise, it took her seven nights to return, and she came back alone, without our father. She only brought back his two broad, thick-bladed axes.

Mother said nothing. Even when we asked, "Where's dad? You said you'd bring dad back! I want to see dad!" she, a young woman in her mid-twenties, only welled up with tears.

We left the village.

When all the trinkets and ornaments my mother, a priestess, had once worn were gone, we arrived in a large city called Barnaul.

There, my mother desperately searched for a place to live. I still remember those days vividly. For several nights, we slept on the cold streets, unable to find a home.

I buried my head in her right armpit, and my sibling snored softly under her left. Between her warm arms, I heard a faint prayer.

"Lord Malhas, please help me. I offer this wretched body of mine. Just let my daughters grow up without want."

Eventually, my mother found a place. It was a tiny shop in a remote corner of the southern market, barely large enough for Ran and me to lie down. My mother bent over a workbench to sleep.

Despite its modesty, she worked tirelessly day and night to pay the rent, making 'headbands' adorned with feathers, as worn by women of the Aviker tribe. As her skills improved, she crafted elegant bracelets and displayed them in the window.

It was around that time that I noticed the light in her clear eyes dimming each day.

One night, she called us over and took out an axe. She lightly cut our thighs, smearing the blade with blood, and lit eight candles. It was a sacrificial altar for welcoming new followers.

There were no offerings, and my mother skipped the prayers, collapsing into a deep sleep.

The next day, she left the house abruptly.

"Are you going shopping?"

I rubbed my sleepy face against her hip from behind.

"Yes. You two are of no use yet, so just wait here."

"Huh? What did you say?"

Her voice was barely audible, cold and emotionless, as if from a distant stranger. Yet she gently patted my head and sent me back to bed.

That was the last I saw of her. No matter how long we waited, she never returned. We begged the neighboring shopkeepers to find her, but we became orphans overnight.

"What a terrible woman. Who knew she was so heartless."

The shopkeepers gossiped, assuming she had abandoned us due to the hardships. They spoke ill of her, saying she had run away.

"No, no! Mom will come back! She will come back!"

I hugged my sibling, crying amid the murmuring crowd. My sibling quietly sobbed, holding the headband our mother had left behind.

The southern market's shopkeepers debated our fate. Despite being barbarians with large tattoos on their backs, we were still young girls. They couldn't just throw us out, so one shopkeeper offered to take us in as future daughters-in-law.

I was thirteen, and my sibling twelve, when we each married one of the shopkeeper's sons.

There was no wedding ceremony. We simply began sharing a bed one day, and that was our marriage. We both became pregnant at a young age.

Fortunately, our husbands were kind-hearted boys. They were diligent, and... well, just diligent.

That was enough to be a good husband and a competent jewelry maker.

I gave birth to a lovely son, and my sibling had a daughter and then a second child by the time the king died under mysterious circumstances. This was five years after our mother disappeared.

A civil war broke out.

Looking back, it was a brutal time. Waking up to find corpses in the streets became normal. Occasionally, wounded knights would seek refuge in the southern market.

Whenever a knight left, retribution soon followed.

Angry nobles would send their soldiers to scour the market, killing innocent shopkeepers.

This happened repeatedly for three years.

The shopkeepers of the southern market eventually formed a militia out of sheer necessity. They drove away knights and fought off noble soldiers, warning them not to meddle with the market.

Ran and I wielded our father's axes to protect our husbands and children.

We stood guard every night and often fought one-sided battles.

We usually lost.

Despite being injured, knights were fearsome monsters. They would lash out if we refused to hide them.

The noble families, having spent their fortunes on raising armies, were powerful. Even when the southern market shopkeepers united, countless shopkeepers and their families were slaughtered if a noble family targeted them.

During those blood-soaked days, Ran and I became the strongest warriors in the militia. We thought the civil war would never end, but it reached an unexpected conclusion.

The two claimants to the throne were killed by their own sons.

The sons, who then led their respective factions, declared themselves kings and made a pact.

The kingdom of Aslan split in two. The western part became the Kingdom of Astin, and the eastern part became the Kingdom of Aster.

Barnaul fell under the Kingdom of Astin. Regardless of our wishes, we all became subjects of the Astin Kingdom.

Peace returned after three years.

Ran and I resumed our lives, raising our children and supporting our husbands. But we felt an emptiness.

The sight of our father's axes haunted us. This peace, while welcome, felt hollow.

We spent our days sparring occasionally, seeking purpose, until one day, a merchant named Vernon, with whom we were friendly, Announced he was reforming his caravan.

He lacked funds to hire more than two mercenaries and went around asking if anyone from the militia could join him.

Most of the militia members were shopkeepers, so it was a difficult request unless they could accompany him as merchants.

After much deliberation, Ran and I volunteered. We felt guilty towards our husbands and children, but the warrior blood in our veins wouldn't let us stay idle.

Vernon was delighted, and soon, we set off.

"Wow, look at that. That's a magical beast."

While traveling, we saw a magical beast called a Snow Horned Deer in a forest.

The majestic stag, with its enormous white antlers, seemed to beckon us.

At that moment, Ran realized.

Our destiny as warriors and our great trial awaited us there.

"We need more people. The grand warrior's trial requires five participants."

She didn't say 'let's catch it,' but her sister understood perfectly.

"Alright. Let's find some people."

Vernon's caravan moved slowly towards Avril Castle, and Ran and Anne's hearts raced with anticipation, breathing new meaning into their lives.

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