Chapter 352

“Wow–that was close. You made it just in time.”
Sekrit breathes a sigh of relief as he runs into Jaifa.
I was worried that it would take a while to arrive today, but thankfully it did.
Varen stammered, “What is it?
“Seriously, Professor Sekrit, what the hell is this—?”
“I sent out a distress signal on the way here. The archmage’s spell must have been well crafted if you didn’t notice.”
Sekrit nodded nonchalantly.
He fired a rescue call magic while being kidnapped by the North Winds.
It was a spell Asel had crafted for Sekrit, who traveled to all sorts of dangerous places to collect curses.
“It’s agreed that the nearest security force will come, so in that sense, our friends here are out of luck. I don’t expect Jaifa himself.”
“Well, I heard you just had a drinking buddy—.”
“Alas, literally. We’re close enough in age and see each other often enough that we’ve gotten to know each other, so we’ve been meeting up for drinks.”
“Squadron sweeps–that’s great.”
Varen was purely impressed.
I knew Sekrit had been traveling the North for a long time and had friends all over the place, but I had no idea he’d made Zaifa his drinking buddy.
As far as he knew, Zaifa had only Ronan and Nabirozé to call her friends.
“That’s right, are you feeling okay?”
“There’s no way he’s going to be okay after that beating, he’s going to be laid up for at least three months.”
“Oh no—! Let’s get the hell out of here—”
“Never mind. You’ve done enough already, let’s leave the rest to that tiger.”
Sekrit pointed at Jaifa with a gesture of his chin.
The Black Weartiger still lingered on top of the sliced spire.
Sekrit, who glanced back and forth between him and Varen, muttered softly.
“—— We both have a lot on our minds, don’t we?”
****
“Holy shit–this is really fucked up.”
Blantha clenched her fists.
The beautiful leopard’s pelt was prickled with needles.
The Weartiger standing atop the spire was unmistakably Jaifa Turgun.
The space cut in his auror was smoldering and healing.
Lethe opened her mouth.
“——Calm down, Blanta. We have a plan for times like this.”
“I know–I know. I know, but it’s not easy.”
Blantha replied, her gaze fixed on Jaifa.
The Unyielding City soared toward the sky, casting a frosty glow.
“Has the old man grown more vicious since then?”
I couldn’t believe he was nearly a hundred years old.
It was overwhelmingly large, even compared to the same WearTiger.
Lethe wiped away a cold sweat.
“I’ll go for now. I’ll ask for two.”
“Got it. Hit me.”
“Let’s hope it works, because if it doesn’t, we’re all dead.”
With those words, Lethe walked toward the fortress.
I could tell by the way he walked that he believed in something.
“Zaifa, danger–cluck!”
“Don’t be silly. I’ll leave you behind the moment you even think about running away.”
Varen tries to warn her, but Blantha shuts him down.
He radiated fury and grabbed at the chains that bound the two of them.
Varen and Sekrit giggled, strangled.
Still staring at Jaifa, Blantha pursed her lips.
“—That’s right. If it fails, we’re all dead.”
Jaifa looked around in silence.
His red eyes were glowing, not unlike those of his social enemies.
It didn’t take me long to figure out what was going on here.
“Can’t you get up! Where are you falling down!”
“Sin, I’m sorry—I haven’t eaten in seven days.”
Abuses were still being committed in the faraway salt flats.
The reason for this was that we hadn’t noticed the Zyfa’s presence yet due to the distance.
A man in a red coat was beating the salt-carriers with a spiked whip.
“That’s because you suck. If you don’t want to be salted meat, get up now!”
“I’m sorry, please have mercy—!”
When I shifted my gaze, I saw watermen traveling to and from the mine.
With dust caked all over them, they had already lost their original fur color.
I coughed and coughed and coughed and coughed, but all I got was a cold dismissal and a pat on the back.
“Why aren’t you guys working harder? We just ate dried cod.”
“Kollock, Kollock, I’ve only given you half a loaf each, and you’ve only given me—.”
“Don’t complain, look at me, I get beaten up every day and I don’t lose hope. How can I expect you, who have no one to blame, to be so hard on yourself?”
It was even the same handful of people managing them.
Wearbear, who had been burning a cigar in Blanta’s room earlier, was now shamelessly pretending to be a work crew leader.
Telling story after story of beatings that didn’t happen.
“This is—.”
The scene reminded Zaifa of the past.
Burning homelands, dying compatriots under the Empire’s expansionist policies.
Wife and son killed after being hunted down like animals.
I was reliving a nightmare I’ll never forget.
“Form up, everyone! Don’t make any mistakes!”
“Swordsmanship is a thing of the past, now it’s just a bunch of gnomes. Subdue and kill!”
I could hear people’s voices from under the spires.
Before he knew it, the North Winds had risen to the roof and surrounded Jaifa.
It was quite a bustle, and if you counted the people outside the fortress, there were hundreds of them.
They were all armed with equipment that looked different from the usual armor, and all of them seemed to have developed their own devices for dealing with the Sui.
Of course, none of that mattered at this point.
Varen said to himself at the sight of the fighting spirit.
“Da, have you all gone crazy—?”
It was clear that the group had been hypnotized.
Or you don’t know who Zaifa Turgun is.
Otherwise, I couldn’t understand his behavior.
I’m ready to run away and not look back.
“The North belongs to the people!”
“Old meow, you belong in the back room, why did you crawl in here!”
Jaifa was still lost in thought.
There was a barrage of profanity, but he didn’t care.
The number of people on the roof of the fortress had recently reached triple digits.
Ready, the North Winds finally gave the order to attack.
“Now! Fire!”
“Fire!”
Bokchang followed.
Crossbows and other projectiles were fired at Jaifa in rapid succession.
Some of the items were used to kidnap Varen and Secrete earlier.
The head of the closest crossbow split open and the net popped out.
Finally, Jaifa spoke up.
“Okay, I’ve decided.”
At the same time, Unwaldo’s form blurred.
The blade swung in all directions, but no one saw its trajectory.
The sphere of projectiles was the car that tried to swallow Jaifa.
Pfft!!!
With a rushing gust of wind, all the projectiles exploded in midair.
Nets are shredded, arrows and spears are split in two.
Unnamed machinery was also shattered and scattered.
“Moo, moo, what!”
The North Winds have frozen over.
The debris from the projectiles was raining down overhead like rain.
Zaifa’s body had no wounds.
“Monster—!”
“That’s ridiculous.”
The first to wake up was the man acting as company commander.
He was about to say something to his frozen men.
Zaifa leapt from the spire and landed on the man’s head.
Kwazik!
A splatter of blood accompanied the sound of a person being crushed.
Straightening his spear, Zaifa spun and swung his Unworldly Sword.
The well-honed blade of the spear circled, drawing a red line across the necks or faces of the members.
“What.”
A strike was made, but again, no one noticed.
They were just about to react when they noticed the company commander’s squeeze.
Chaaaaaah!
A red line opened up and a hundred heads shot into the air.
Eerie beeps.
A hundred streaks of blood soaring toward the sky.
It was unusually red, contrasting with the white clouds.
The only survivors are the seven people who were standing out of range.
Barely escaping with their lives, members threw down their weapons and began to flee.
“Ahhhhhhh!!!”
“Fuck, run!”
But Jaifar had already made up his mind.
Unyielding Sword swung again, and seven bodies were simultaneously sliced in half.
Bodies lying in a heap.
Another torrential downpour of blood.
Dropping his gaze down to the fortress, Zaifa growled low.
“You are to be exterminated. Every last one of you.”
****
“Hmm? Why would you—.”
“Huh huh, boss!”
The troupe stopped in their tracks, startled by Lethe’s presence.
They had just left the fortress and were fleeing.
Lethe’s eyes narrowed as she realized what was happening.
“What are you all doing here, get back to the battlefield.”
“Nothing, it’s too much. We can’t beat that thing, no matter what weapon we use, it won’t work!”
The middle-aged man in the lead pointed behind him.
The fortress where Jaifa was rampaging was turning into a hellhole.
A pitiful scream echoed through the air as each black charge smashed through the outer wall.
“Stall for time if you have to, I’ll fix it.”
“What’s a solution in this situation—we’re already half dead, just let us retreat—”
The middle-aged man in the car was sobbing.
Raising his right hand, Lethe made a trigger-pulling motion.
Poof!
A poisoned dart fired from below his wrist lodged in his neck.
“Kuck.”
The staggering middle-aged man collapsed.
The faces of the other fugitives paled.
The spot where the stinger hit was turning black.
Needless to say, it was instant death.
“Two, boss—.”
“It is the ultimate poison for animals. A glance is all it takes to kill a human. I have exactly twenty of these poisonous darts loaded under my wrist.”
Lethe moved her hand slowly.
Each time a finger was pointed at him, the group gulped.
Lethe rolled her eyes.
“Go back. I won’t tell you twice.”
“Gulp—!”
“Run, don’t walk, I’ll shoot you the moment you stop or walk.”
There was no room for negotiation.
The group turned away with tears in their eyes.
Liberated men were exiting through doors and windows.
“Woohoo! I’m free!”
“Long live the Zaifas, wipe out the humans!”
Now that they were free, they rushed at the sight of the North Winds.
Most of the time, they were subdued, but there were times when they were able to push through with their size and win.
One werewolf that finally managed to close the distance bit the female member of the group who was firing the crossbow.
“Gahhhhhh!”
“Kahaha, even blood is sweet!”
Blood and guts splattered.
Once the distance was closed, there was no way for humans without mana to beat Su Yin.
She was torn apart by the wolves before she could put up a decent fight.
In a blood-crazed rampage, the werewolf tore apart three members of the troupe, including the woman, before dying in a hive.
“Zaifa—.”
Lethe chewed on her lower lip as she watched the carnage.
He resumed his brisk pace, arriving at a watchtower quite a distance from the fortress.
A building that was just tall, now abandoned and unapproachable.
On that rooftop was something covered with a tarp.
“The night of the fangs is not over yet. Zaifa.”
The tarp was lifted to reveal a giant ballista that looked like it belonged in a siege.
The junk that would normally have no use at all was made just for this moment.
The parts that made up the ballista were engraved with all sorts of magical spells and inscriptions.
Removing his gloves, Lethe stroked the oldest of the inscriptions.
[May you be a good engineer].
A clunky but sophisticated font.
The man who carved the crest was no longer in this world.
Lethe took a deep breath and sat down at the controls.
Aiming for the fortress, he hissed, chewing and swallowing.
“Blood, you must wash with blood.”