Wolves of Hader Nove Chapter 77

I walked with the Berserkers for four days.

No matter how far we walked, we couldn't find any trace of the Tak warriors heading north.

There were plenty of signs that the Tak tribe had passed by.

We passed places where they hunted and lit fires, and there was even a small hut where hunters had rested.

"This area is where we fought the Tak tribe during training. I thought the Tak tribe was much farther south, so I didn't expect them to have co up this far."

This was the western region of the Eastern Mountains. The range still stretched eastward, but only this area was open plain.

Donnie continued.

"We were practicing formation training on this plain when the Tak tribe suddenly attacked. It was the last day of training."

"There must have been Tak tribesn nearby."

"Yes. There was quite an echo at the ti, and they must have heard the sound and co."

We crossed the plain.

I had heard that the Berserkers and the strike squad held the front, while Russell broke through from the rear.

It was easy to imagine how fierce that battle must have been.

There were said to be over 300 Tak warriors, so it was a miracle just to have broken through their encirclent.

"The Tak warriors are bigger than our mbers, right?"

"No. Most of them were smaller than our mbers, and only a few were really big. Those were the ones wielding axes."

"Axes?"

"Yes. Most use crude hamrs or short spears, but a few used axes. The ones with axes were different in both build and strength."

Could they have been the ones I t?

"The ones with axes are probably the best warriors in the tribe. Honestly, except for those few, the rest had poor armor and weapons. There even seed to be so young ones."

"How many of the Tak tribe died?"

"About sixty. We weren't fighting to kill them, but rather to escape."

As Donnie said, the goal was escape, not killing. There's a difference between killing and beating back.

Besides, none of the special forces died.

There were so soldiers who barely survived thanks to being imdiately given healing dicine, but nobody lost any limbs.

"Didn't the Tak tribe attack the special forces without warning back then? No threats or warnings?"

"Yes. It was clear they intended to wipe us out."

Until yesterday, I'd thought the Tak tribe had simply tried to expel humans who'd invaded their territory.

But trying to drive soone away with threats is different from trying to annihilate them.

The warriors I had t were not the latter.

Though they got excited with competitive spirit, at least the chieftain would have issued a warning first.

If that didn't work, they'd have fought.

So I wondered if they had co to seek reconciliation, or if perhaps they were a different tribe.

They certainly hadn't co to take revenge on humans.

And those warriors seed to want to deliver so ssage to humans.

It's just that the miners ran away in fear and the ssage couldn't be delivered.

If so, they could just deliver it to , but they had simply left.

Or rather, maybe they had given a ssage. They had pointed south and north. What could that have ant?

"What do you think it ant when the Tak chieftain pointed a hatchet at

and gestured to the south and north?"

"I'm not sure. Maybe it ant not to co further south? I've heard that when Tak warriors point a hatchet at soone, it's a warning."

I also thought so.

That humans seed to be coming further and further south, so they wanted them to stop.

Killing a miner would only make things worse, obviously.

"What about you, deputy Hans?"

"I think it was a warning too. Judging by their deanor, I think they have so intention of reconciliation."

Then why did they make

fight one of their warriors?

Maybe they were testing

because I didn't seem ordinary.

Recognizing

as a warrior even though I had no weapons was also odd.

"By the way, when you fought, did you see a warrior with braided hair adorned with a red feather and a scar on one eye?"

"Tak warriors all looked similar, so I don't really rember any specific faces. It was such a chaotic ti, too."

It was the sa for the other mbers.

At that mont, the youngest mber spoke up.

"I didn't see a red feather when we were surrounded, but a few days later, I saw the warrior you described, young master."

"A few days later?"

"Yes. Even after we escaped, they kept pursuing us, so we had to keep fighting. Once, we even raided their camp, and at dawn that day, I saw that warrior."

"Was he from another tribe?"

"I think so. There were warriors with slightly different decorations watching us from the top of a cliff, and the red-feathered one among them was especially morable."

It was them.

As expected, they weren't from the sa tribe.

"That chieftain had magic power."

"Is that really true?"

"Yeah. I can't say for sure it was magic power, because it was a kind of strength I'd never seen before, both in size and nature."

I couldn't fully grasp the chieftain's power. But I had sensed his fierce aura.

If that was magic power, it ant the chieftain could hide his strength in front of .

"Let's go. We'll know when we et them."

I walked on with the mbers again.

At the far end of the plain was the treeline. Unlike the terrain we'd passed through, endless forest stretched ahead.

We entered the woods. The trees here were all incredibly tall and thick, ancient trunks.

As we went deeper, it got so dark that sunlight no longer penetrated, and I felt an odd presence, as if the power of nature itself.

None of us had ever seen a primordial forest like this before.

"Nature's magic is so abundant here."

"So it is. The elentals are responding."

I could feel that the elental traveling with

was as delighted as if it had co ho.

Perhaps the lush forest felt as welcoming as Ta-iki Island.

In pristine nature like this, there are always forest elentals.

Perhaps even a high-ranked elental, perhaps even a lord-rank who governs this entire south.

It was when we went further into the woods. Small lights began to fall from above like snow.

At first, I thought they were fireflies, but the lights circled around us.

I and the other mbers stopped walking and looked around. The small cluster of lights danced around us like fairies.

Since my elental greeted them, this must have been a welcoming gesture.

"I think they're communicating with our elentals."

"Indeed."

The lights danced like fairies, giving us an almost enchanting feeling.

So lightly tapped my and Donnie's arms as they flitted by, so floated right in front of my eyes.

Just then.

Donnie tapped my back, and when I turned, I saw a Tak warrior watching us from farther inside the forest.

He had long hair, his face was painted white, and he was holding a club.

The youthful Tak warrior stared at us, then hurriedly backed away and dashed off into the woods.

None of us chased after him.

When in a group, no one among us acts on their own judgnt.

"Should we not go after him?"

"If we chase him, it might cause misunderstanding. He'll co back."

Startled by the sudden atmosphere, the elentals dispersed and vanished.

They seed to be of similar rank to those of the knight order.

We resud walking.

Before long, we heard twigs snapping nearby. Tak warriors were gradually gathering around us and encircling us.

As we stepped into a forest clearing, we finally stopped walking—for the chieftain was standing at the opposite edge.

Only then did the Tak warriors reveal themselves one by one, watching us warily.

The Tak warriors began narrowing their encirclent, gripping their weapons more tightly, as if their village was just ahead.

The chieftain's face looked grave.

The chieftain said sothing.

I wondered if there had been a misunderstanding, so I took off my helt.

"Ah!"

Exclamations ca from all around. The chieftain and the other warriors I had t recognized .

However, they did not yet lower their guard.

I took a step forward, alone.

The warriors around the chieftain moved to stop , but the chieftain gestured with his hand to halt them.

Then he too took a step forward.

I handed my greatsword to Donnie and advanced further.

The chieftain, in turn, handed his hatchet to his subordinate and approached.

After each of us walked five or six steps, we stood facing each other.

I wondered how I should get my intent across.

Grrrgle.

My stomach suddenly growled in hunger.

It was utterly out of place, but judging from the chieftain's expression, I felt things might actually go well.

So I made a pitiful face pleading for food, as if I was starving, and pantomid sleeping to show that I needed a place to rest.

The warriors still stared at

with fierce faces, but the chieftain alone smirked at

with amusent.

At his gesture, a warrior tossed an apple. The chieftain caught it and handed it to .

I shalessly took the apple and chomped—a big bite. Maybe it was wild, but the juice was very sweet.

"Donnie."

Donnie caught on and pulled out a large piece of bread from his backpack, tossing it to .

I, in turn, offered the bread to the chieftain.

"It's still soft bread. It's made with eggs, so it's delicious. If you spread milk oil on it, it tastes even better."

The chieftain just stared at the bread blankly, looking like he didn't know what it was.

So I tore off a bit, put it in my mouth, and ate.

Only then did the chieftain snatch the bread from

almost greedily. He sniffed it, then his face softened.

He took a rough bite out of the bread and chewed it vigorously, his eyes growing wide.

His face basically said:

'There's a taste like this in the world?'

When I smiled, the chieftain also gave a wry smile, as if dumbfounded.

Then, as if asking if there was more, he brought both hands together, then spread them apart.

I nodded my head.

We eat this every day, and have plenty. Farrs till the ground and plant sothing called wheat, from which it's made.

My soft gestures must have made so sense to the chieftain.

Perhaps he found my actions amusing, as Donnie and Hans were laughing behind .

For now, so of their wariness seed lifted, but I wasn't sure what to do next.

Anyway, I decided to keep explaining with gestures.

"We don't want to fight you. It seed you gave us so sort of warning, and I wanted to ask why. Is there so problem in your tribe?"

The chieftain just looked silently at .

It seed he understood I didn't want to fight, but not the rest.

I was about to try speaking again when—

The warriors behind parted to either side, and soone very small stepped into the clearing.

A Dran?

Suddenly, a Dran appeared, quietly observing us.

There was no wariness; on the contrary, they looked pleased to see us. They seed far older than Urald.

"Why have you co here?"

"Are you with them?"

"I was a prisoner at first. Now, though, I serve as a blacksmith."

"Glad to hear it. Our house has two Dran as well."

The Dran's face changed.

"Really?"

"Yes. One is from the south here."

"Then I must know him."

"Do you know Wundbark?"

The Dran's face brightened further.

"Oh! That eccentric is in your house? I didn't expect that!"

"So you know him well."

"Of course. He never bothered to learn any crafts but always managed to get in trouble. I thought he'd died in the war, but it seems he left the south."

Since there's only one Dran village in the south, I figured he'd know Wundbark.

I never thought I'd find a Dran among this tribe—it was incredibly lucky.

"But back to the point. I haven't heard your answer yet. If you intend to attack this tribe, you'd better stop right now."

"We have no intention to assault this tribe. But the chieftain here gave

a warning, and I ca to ask what it ant."

"A warning?"

The Dran asked the chieftain sothing.

When the chieftain replied, the Dran finally nodded.

"You should be grateful. The chieftain warned you because he knows sothing major is coming your way."

"Sothing major?"

The Dran sighed.

"The mighty tribe that unified the central lands will soon march north. They're the ones who drove these tribes to even these frontiers."

The Tak great tribe is coming north.

This ans war.

A war like never before.