Wolves of Hader

Chapter 79

The Dran looked at me, speechless.

It was as if they had just heard the sky was about to fall or the ground was about to split apart.

"Do you have any idea how many people the central great tribe has?"

"I'm only going to strike the Targal tribe."

"There are thousands of Targal warriors alone. What's more, if the human army makes it here, all the tribes will fight on the side of the Targal tribe."

"The human army will not come."

"And what does that mean?"

I looked at Donnie and the Berserkers.

"With just the nine of us here, we will bring them down. The chieftain and the Vargar warriors just need to help us out a little."

The Dran was left speechless again. Then they hurriedly conveyed what I said to the chieftain and the warriors.

The chieftain remained expressionless, and the warriors were so shocked that they seemed bewildered. Anyone could see this was an impossible task.

I continued.

"We will deal with the Targal chieftain and their guard warriors, so all you and your warriors need to do is clear a path for us to retreat."

"With just nine people?"

"Nine is plenty."

Upon hearing this through an interpreter, the chieftain could only laugh.

The warriors exchanged grave words among themselves.

"We will establish a base in the central peninsula, and for that, absolute safety must be secured."

"That's true."

"Hence, the Vargar tribe must become the ruling tribe of the central region. One of my own will help with that as well."

The chieftain was quite startled by my words.

He must have been eager to take revenge on the Targal tribe, who had stolen their home, slaughtered their people, and killed his father.

But there was nothing he could do. The fear of his tribe starving to death likely outweighed thoughts of revenge.

So to hear that the Vargar tribe would become the ruling tribe of the central region—not just a leading tribe as before, but the ruling tribe—was astonishing for him.

"As long as the God's Gorge is in the center, you only need to make the central region safe. Southern tribes won't be able to cross, and no one will dare covet the central region lightly. The central tribes will develop rapidly, day by day."

The Dran and the chieftain conversed.

Then, the Dran said,

"This is just my thought. The chieftain might say it is all right, but dealing with humans could bring problems. The unity might become more complicated."

I looked at the chieftain again.

I felt like I understood why he said it was all right.

It meant he was willing to accept whatever might come.

"If you work with us, and the Vargar tribe becomes the ruling tribe, you won't have to worry about food. And also..."

Everyone waited for me to finish.

No need to worry about food.

Perhaps, even that alone was enough.

"Just as even among our own people there are friends and foes, if our house and the Vargar tribe become friends, the difference in race won't be a barrier. Anyone who tries to hurt my friends—even if they are of my own kind—becomes my enemy."

Chieftain and warriors looked at me in silence after hearing the translation.

Their faces betrayed no emotion, so I couldn't guess what they were thinking. But they knew what a friend was.

The chieftain placed a hand over his chest and nodded respectfully.

The warriors also bowed their heads slightly in the same way. It seemed to be the way the Tak tribe expresses their respect.

/ / /

We entered the Vargar tribe's village.

The tribe members were wary of us simply because we were of a different race. Their guard melted away soon enough, though.

The chieftain and warriors received very deep respect.

When the chieftain entered the village, nearly every member stopped what they were doing and bowed low.

After that, we looked around the chieftain's quarters and observed the village defense structures and weaponry. As the sun went down, we built a small campfire in front of the chieftain's house.

When we took out some bread and offered to share it, the chieftain politely declined and gave instructions for food to be brought.

Now, a big wild boar was roasting over the fire. They must be short on food. The tribe members showed dissatisfaction, not joy.

Nevertheless, all the tribe members gathered and shared the meat together. During the meal, the chieftain finally told us his name.

"Aktun. Vargar Aktun."

"Is that the chieftain's name?"

"That's right. I go by Aktun."

"Chieftain Aktun?"

The chieftain chuckled and nodded.

Despite his seriousness and dignity, he was about my age. Maybe only a year or two older.

"My name is Roger Hader."

"Roger... Hader?"

"Yes, Roger Hader."

"Roger Hader."

Chieftain Aktun mouthed my name several times.

The team members and the warriors were already communicating with gestures and both hands.

The chieftain quietly observed my armor.

Though neither the warriors nor the chieftain showed it openly, they were extremely interested in our weapons and armor.

The Dran who introduced himself as Makshim was the same.

"You forged this with a rare metal—it looks like shining silver, but far harder and lighter."

"It's Racrom."

"Racrom?"

"Yes, it's a metal stronger than steel, but much lighter."

"Oh! Harder than iron, but light?"

"We obtained this metal in the western Dran village."

"So, that's another Dran tribe, the home of the Dran who is allied with your house."

"Yes. Our house has had deep ties with them since long ago. We used to be in the West."

Makshim's eyes narrowed at my words.

As if he wasn't sure what he just heard.

"Is your Hader house the Hader from the western mountains?"

"Do you know the wolf?"

"This can't be!"

Makshim's mouth fell open.

He was speechless.

"What's wrong?"

"Then... Have you met the Hader wolf?"

"Yes. We are together."

Makshim let out a silent gasp.

The chieftain and I looked at Makshim, not knowing why he was reacting this way.

The Dran elder seemed to know something.

"I don't even know how to take this."

The chieftain asked him something.

Makshim just shook his head.

"Why are you reacting like this?"

"It's nothing. Anyway, your house should be in the West—how did you end up all the way in the far East?"

"We were exiled. But we've since recovered."

"Exiled? Your house? By whom?"

"That's a long story."

"Incredible. How could it be so alike. Something similar happened long ago, too."

"I don't quite understand what you mean."

Makshim stared at me quietly.

A certain conviction flickered in his eyes.

"You weren't with the Hader wolf before, right?"

"That's right."

Suddenly, makshim's face brightened.

"A new era will come."

A random comment.

A new era?

"If the Hader wolf is now with your house, it means a new era is on the way. That's all I can say."

"What kind of era do you mean?"

"I don't know, either."

Makshim smiled mischievously.

He honestly seemed not to know.

"If change hasn't already begun, soon it will. Meeting the Vargar tribe among so many tribes is, to me, a sign of change. It feels like a flow of fate you can't yet see."

Makshim smiled again and said,

"Maybe, for you, the path you take will become fate. It's not the same as following the fate given to you. So always go where your heart leads you."

I nodded silently.

Makshim the Dran elder had his own reason for keeping things to himself. I had no plans to probe further.

If it was really about fate, I didn't want to know more. It seemed Makshim knew some ancient prophecy of the Dran.

/ / /

We stayed several days in the Vargar tribe's village.

I gathered information about the Targal tribe, and occasionally conversed with the chieftain.

Donnie and the team helped out with repairs and odd jobs in the village.

Later, they even went out on distant hunts with the warriors and came back.

Because of that, the attitudes of the Vargar tribe members softened noticeably.

The warriors and our team didn't speak much, but became a little more friendly.

Over time, prejudice faded on both sides, and we realized our Berserkers and the Tak warriors were similar in many ways.

Their attitudes towards their lords, combat approaches, the personalities and organization of individuals—all were alike. The chieftain himself had made this comment to me.

"These silver armors... Do they cost much?"

"No. Around 10 gold coins is enough."

"Could you make one for us?"

"Of course."

We had this conversation without an interpreter.

After five days together, both sides had learned a few simple words, and with gestures and signals, we could get by.

As the chieftain and I watched the warriors and the team, makshim arrived. He brought a list of about 300 key Tak words I had asked for.

"The Tak language isn't a complicated system, so with these written words, you should be able to manage basic conversation."

"Thank you."

"Thank me? If you all do well and no longer have to worry about starving, I'm happy. You're heading straight to your ship when the fight is over, right?"

"Yes. Our ship should be waiting. When we leave, I hope the chieftain and Makshim will help strengthen tribal unity."

"It won't be easy, but I'll try. In fact, the chieftain and I spoke about this last night."

I looked at the chieftain, and he nodded.

We would win the battle as swiftly as possible and depart from the South immediately.

After that, it would be Chieftain Aktun's task.

The chieftain had to unite the central alliance of tribes, now leaderless.

We could do nothing to help. In fact, our involvement would only get in the way.

"Could it be done in a month?"

"Food is the key. As long as we don't starve, there's no reason the tribes wouldn't follow us."

"Then I'll send a supply caravan to the village in fifteen days."

"We pay you with gold, right?"

"Of course. Two gold coins for a cartload of food. We'll bring mostly meat."

Long ago, the Vargar tribe had been a ruling tribe and so had far more gold coins than any others.

Nearly all of these coins dated back to the era of the hero Vargar.

I saw a huge chest filled to the brim with ancient coins; supposedly, there were dozens more like it.

They had saved these for the day the tribe might arise again.

I looked back at the warriors and the team.

The warriors were drawing something on the ground—they must have been explaining the terrain of the Targal tribe.

Makshim remarked,

"Are you really confident?"

He was genuinely worried. After all, nine people had to face thousands in the Targal tribe.

Meanwhile, the chieftain watched the warriors and the team with a faint smile.

He had probably already told Makshim about my combat abilities.

How much he knew, I wasn't sure. But he knew I wasn't boasting. The warriors too.

/ / /

We headed south.

After a week's walk, we began to see the villages of the central ally tribes here and there.

The Vargar warriors went ahead of us and stopped the smaller tribes from spotting us.

Thanks to their efforts, we weren't detected by the minor tribes' warriors.

This time, around 150 Vargar warriors joined us.

The chieftain took thirty elite warriors somewhere, and the rest fanned out and moved forward steadily.

At the end of the vast forest, a rocky mountain ridge appeared.

One warrior waited for us on the ridge, pointed below, then withdrew.

I crawled forward, lying low on the ridge, and looked down.

Below the ridge sprawled a rather large village.

There were no big buildings—just tens of thousands of shabby huts packed into a wide basin.

It was obvious at a glance which was the ruling tribe and which were the subjects.

Most of the village was miserable, while only the eastern area surrounded by a log-fence looked clean.

"The largest house in the eastern plaza is the Targal chieftain's. Once the sun sets, we move east, descend from that cliff, and go straight to take the Targal chieftain."

"Understood."

"You know the direction from which chief Aktun and his warriors will provide support, and the retreat point?"

"Yes."

"Move out."

We ran east, keeping low.

The western sky was growing red.

Tonight.

A great change would begin in the South.

Just as the Dran said, perhaps a new era truly was about to begin.