Wolves of Hader

Chapter 76

I was sprinting across the endless ridges of the mountains.

The terrain was less rugged than the northern part of the east mountains, but it was still difficult to traverse on horseback.

I ran all night without rest.

My stamina was depleted, and it felt as if my lungs would burst, but things improved somewhat once I began using magic during the sprint.

I had never run for a long time while channeling magic, to the point where I almost developed a sprint skill.

My speed increased that much, and the distance I covered with each step grew longer.

At sunset, I abandoned my horse and started running. Now, I had descended from the mountains and was running southward.

And yet, dawn was already breaking.

Behind me was the eastern mountain range's observation post.

They had reported that a warning flare had gone up from a mountain far to the south, as seen from that post.

Naturally, the signal was no longer visible by now.

I knew the exact location of the copper mine.

Since there was little chance the miners would be hiding inside the mine, I had no choice but to go there and search blindly.

/ / /

Judging by the sun's position, it was around 8 a.m.

As soon as I arrived at the mountain with the mine, I went straight to the mine.

Just as I expected, there were no miners in the mine.

There were no corpses, nor any sign that people had fled while mining.

Which meant they had fired the flare while in their quarters.

Since I didn't know the location of those quarters, I just came down the mountain and began searching aimlessly for a valley.

After all, one would need clean water to cook and wash.

But as I descended between the mountains, I saw a wisp of smoke rising, distinguishable from the mist.

I hurried down toward the smoke, and that's when I discovered members of the Tak tribe by the valley.

There were nine of them in total.

A Tak tribesman with a large axe was grilling small fish.

There were no corpses anywhere near the Tak tribe.

Steep cliffs flanked both sides of the valley, and above them, the mist hung so thick I couldn't see.

I slid down the rocky slope. Only then did the Tak tribesmen spring to their feet and look in my direction.

I slipped down from the rocky cliff and jumped into the valley.

The Tak warriors closed in around me, axes drawn. Their presence was quite intimidating.

Almost all of them were above 190 cm tall, with enormous muscles. They resembled humans, but had boar-like tusks.

All of them were nearly naked, draped only in fur, adorned with bone necklaces and feathers—decorations hung everywhere.

The Tak warriors encircling me stared without expression. Then the largest one stepped forward.

He was a warrior with a truly striking presence.

A strange power pulsed from him, and long, braided hair was decorated with red feathers. There was a scar over his left eye.

He looked truly formidable.

"Enola uoy era yhw."

His voice was heavy and hoarse, his enunciation rough.

His gaze and demeanor as he regarded me were solemn.

He did not seem savage in the least.

I didn't reply, not understanding his words. If he possessed an elemental, perhaps we could converse through it.

"Where are the people?"

Instead, I asked a question in return. Some of the warriors glanced at each other, while the chief just stared at me.

"Roirraw ruoy llac."

The chief spoke, then sat down on a rock. One by one, the others did the same.

Their attitude was strange. They were wary of me, but showed no sign of wanting to attack. Not a hint of mockery from any of them.

It felt as if I was standing before true warriors I had never encountered before.

Their armament and appearance were barbaric, but their eyes were piercing. Somehow, even their posture looked dignified.

"I came to find people. If you didn't kill them, I will take them away. Where are they?"

The warriors remained silent. It was natural that we could not communicate, but it seemed they understood my meaning.

The chief spoke immediately.

"Ereht pu era yeht. meht ekat. tub. Wonk em tel. evah uoy rewop taht."

The chief spoke, pointing upward with his finger.

I looked up at the mountain hidden by the mist.

The miners must have climbed atop the rocky mountain to escape the Tak tribe.

It was hard to climb without a rope, but that didn't mean these people couldn't do it.

It seemed the chief understood what I was saying, though I had no idea what he was saying.

So I gestured and asked another question.

"Did you kill them?"

The chief slowly shook his head as he looked at me.

"Then why are you blocking this place? Why did you attack humans?"

There was no response from the chief.

I looked at the chief for a moment, then walked toward the cliff. Another warrior got up to block my path.

"Wonk ot tnaw eh. rewop ruoy."

The intent in his stance was menacing. I heard the same words as before. Was there some reason for this repetition?

"What do you want?"

The warrior spoke again.

"Uoy Wonk ot tnaw eh."

"What does that mean?"

Thud—

The warrior threw his axe to the ground before me. Then he drew another from his back.

Only then did the situation become clear.

Though I didn't understand the words, it meant that I had to fight them to take the humans with me.

In short, they had come for revenge and were looking for human warriors.

Because the miners were not warriors, they must have spared them.

It seemed the miners had fled up the mountain in terror. That explains how they had time to launch a flare.

The chief spoke again.

"Roirraw era uoy. nwod mih ekat. meht ekat nac uoy."

At the chief's words, the warrior nodded his chin at me.

He meant for me to pick up the axe.

I couldn't be sure what exactly they wanted, but I picked up the axe.

The warrior blocking my way gripped his axe tighter, and the other warriors stepped back, folding their arms.

When I checked the axe in my hand, I found it was very well made. It even bore an engraved symbol, and the blade was no ordinary iron.

"Is this axe made by the Dran?"

The warrior nodded.

He understood the word Dran. To them, as to me, the Dran tribe was still the Dran tribe.

The Tak tribe had fought a war against the southern Dran tribe before. That was when Wundbark and Ellen, the siblings, had met.

In any case, I knew very well their desire for revenge.

Yet, it was them who first attacked our special forces; our warriors only fought to survive.

I didn't know exactly which tribe they were from, but these were true warriors.

I didn't think they would hurt civilians. In that case, it would be better to approach this another way.

"If I have to fight to rescue the miners, then I will fight."

Thunk—

I threw down the axe. As the warrior seemed about to say something, I lunged forward.

At that moment, the warrior swung the axe horizontally. His reflexes were astounding.

It made me wonder how our special forces had managed to break through their encirclement!

Clang—

I parried the incoming axe with my side, then spun and kicked the warrior in the flank.

Whack—Crack—

With the sound of ribs breaking, the warrior went flying roughly to the left.

I landed and looked at the other warriors as another one threw his axe and charged at me.

"Woola!"

With a shout almost like a beast's roar, the warrior lunged at me. At the same time, I ducked backward and struck his solar plexus.

He tumbled backward immediately.

Another warrior hurled his axe and came at me. He was so strong it felt as if he could snap my waist.

But this time, I fired back first.

Whack—

The charging warrior took my kick to the solar plexus and went flying. At this point, it seemed they were angry.

Another one came at me with his axe raised.

"Krrha!"

The axe came slicing for my head.

He had no magic, but his ferocity was no joke.

I sidestepped easily, and the warrior's axe whistled past me.

I responded by shoving him in the ribs with my hand.

Crunch—

Once again, the sound of ribs breaking as the warrior rolled savagely to the side.

Now two warriors readied their axes and came forward. They were panting heavily, their nostrils flaring in anger.

Just as they were about to assault me together—

"Balgarr! era uoy!"

The chief's booming shout resounded.

The charging warriors halted at once.

Only those two had lost their heads. The others simply stared at me, their chief included.

The look in their eyes had clearly changed.

They'd realized I was a warrior, but I was much stronger than they had anticipated.

The chief came over to me.

He pointed his axe at me and said something, gesturing first to the south, then to the north.

Then the chief addressed the warriors and walked off first. The others supported their wounded companions and gradually left.

I watched them go.

I wondered why they had come all this way.

Had they come for revenge, only to realize it wasn't possible and give up?

Or, for would-be avengers, their numbers seemed too small.

I had thought to drive them away, but perhaps there was another way.

We become enemies out of ignorance; if we understand each other, we might become friends.

"Miners! You can come down now! The Tak warriors have left!"

My shout echoed up into the mountain. Soon, a call came from above.

"Is it really safe?"

"Come down! I am Commander Roger Hader!"

"Waaaah!"

A cheer erupted from above.

/ / /

Twenty-eight miners and four guards came down one by one using ropes.

Though all looked exhausted, their faces were bright. The foreman bowed deeply.

"Thank you, commander."

"Is everyone safe?"

"Yes, all safe. It was lucky those guys couldn't climb the cliffs."

"What happened?"

"Whew! When we went to the mine in the morning, those guys were sitting inside. So we hurried up the cliff. If they'd caught on quickly, some of us would have died."

"The Tak tribe did not intend to attack you."

"Is that true?"

"They do not fight those who aren't warriors. They won't attack miners anymore."

"I hope so, but..."

That's what everyone worried about. They came to earn money; what was the point if they died?

"Trust me. They won't interfere with your work, and they won't come back here."

"Yes, commander Roger. We trust you. We know what kind of person you are."

The miners nodded at the foreman's words.

"Then go home."

"We can get back to work right away."

"You must be shaken. Take a week off. I'll conclude negotiations with the Tak tribe in the meantime."

"We'll do that, then."

"If any soldiers arrive on your way, tell them to return."

"Yes, commander."

With those words, the miners walked off.

I headed for the mine.

It would take a few days for the Berserkers to arrive.

/ / /

Noon, two days later.

Donnie and the Berserkers arrived at the mine.

After hurrying over the mountains and meeting the miners, the unit had slowed their pace so that, as soon as we met, we could depart together.

"Here is your new armor and greatsword, young lord."

"Well done."

I donned the armor Donnie handed me. It was much lighter than my old, pitch-black, heavy armor, and even had a sheen.

All the members wore new titanium armor. The greatswords were titanium alloy, enchanted for weight reduction.

The armor, silvery with a dark luster, gleamed in the sunlight.

I wore it deliberately, as we would soon meet a Beltern merchant with the Berserkers.

"Urald and Wundbark are still at the fortress, right?"

"Yes. They will set sail in five days. They'll be following the coast, and if they can't meet us, they'll wait at that peninsula in central region."

"We just need to go there. That central peninsula is marked as our port stronghold."

That central peninsula is close to the equator, and is the closest place to Ta-iki on the entire northern continent.

Donnie asked again.

"Then, are you planning to break through to the stronghold with just this group?"

No doubt everyone was curious about this. Having fought the Tak tribe during training, they knew it wouldn't be easy.

But I didn't think it was impossible.

The Berserkers had advanced considerably since training, and the new armor and weapons were on a whole other level.

"I think we'll break through together."

"Together? With whom?"

I smiled and answered again.

"Probably with the warriors I met."

Everyone looked at me in confusion.

For two days, I thought about why the Tak tribe had come north. Then I came to a conclusion.

The Tak tribe that fought the special forces, and the warriors I met, were different. Even if they were from the same tribe, perhaps they—

—were exiles.