Terms used in this chapter:
Podaegi – a Korean baby sling/carrier with a medium to large rectangle of fabric hanging from a very long strap. Traditionally the rectangle is quilted for warmth and wraps around the mother’s torso, while the straps are wrapped snug under the baby’s bottom and tied around to the front to support and secure the baby on the mother’s back.
The reason why the Sälen Kingdom did not expand its influence on the land of the northern barbarians was simple.
“Because it’s hard to live here.”
They didn’t stop at Thunderdoom Fortress just for no reason.
There were two main reasons why the land of the barbarians was difficult to live in. One was the harsh natural environment, and the other was the monsters that appeared everywhere.
“It’s cold and barren, and there are many monsters, so it’s not a place for people to live.”
That was why the barbarians strike the northern border every few years. The north was hard to live in, while the south was habitable.
It was to find a better place to live.
“Haa…haa…this is tough. There’s really nothing but snow as far as I can see.”
Cordelia panted as she left deep impressions of new footprints on the pure white snowfield without a single footprint.
At first, she liked that it was beautiful, but its beauty was only for a while as she began hating the snowfield that spread out endlessly while she walked.
The environment in the land of the barbarians was really harsh.
The village of the Great Storm tribe was still a bit livable, as it felt like a village located in the northernmost part of in Count Hræsvelgr’s territory.
However, as soon as they left the village area, it was slightly like a worse version of Frost Anvil.
Blizzards ruthlessly stormed as heaps of snow piled up everywhere.
Had it not been for the Winter Protection, it would have been difficult to even breathe properly.
“The barbarians are…haa…really…haa…the reason…haa…is…”
Living in this environment naturally made them stronger.
No, the weak would not survive in the first place.
Unlike Cordelia, who was gasping and saying whatever she wanted to say until the end, Jude closed his mouth and just checked their direction with a compass.
They were in the northwest direction from the village of the Great Storm tribe.
After measuring the distance in his head, Jude soon sent a hand signal to Cordelia.
“What? Do we have to go a little longer? Hasn’t it been…haa…like that…haa..since a while ago?”
Jude responded with a hand signal again instead of answering, and Cordelia lost her temper.
“Ah, fu-! It’s better if you just say it with your eyes!”
It was easier for her to understand than a hand signal she didn’t know about.
‘It’s amazing when I think about it. How did you do that? Is this like an animal’s instinct? As expected of a beast, huh?’
“A beast?”
Cordelia somewhat comprehended Jude’s gaze and hit him hard on the back.
Jude continued to speak with his eyes.
‘It’s really just a little further. Can you see that slightly raised side over there? There is a way down there. An underground cave, I think?’
Seeing Jude’s gaze, Cordelia frowned and groaned as she repeated her question. Because his words were too long, it seemed that she couldn’t properly understand it.
“Uh…so there’s a way down there?”
‘That’s right.’
“F*ck, just say it yourself. Talk in words. Say it in words, Daddy!”
“Yes.”
Jude briefly responded to her whining and began to take the lead again, and Cordelia gasped for breath and continued following Jude.
In terms of physical strength, the relationship between the two was completely reversed due to the Sunflower.
And around 5 minutes later…
Jude and Cordelia finally reached the entrance of a huge cave.
As Jude had said, it was a large cave that stretched downwards, and it was like the entrance to a dungeon.
‘This place was in the original story.’
There seems to be something – now that that short line in the game had appeared in front of them, it was impossible for them to not enter this place.
Jude swallowed down and had a small smile. Because his heart was beating at the thought of going to a place he had never been before and taking a step towards the unknown.
Unlike Jude however, Cordelia strongly reacted in surprise as she stood in her spot and then said.
“Say, let’s get in there quickly. I don’t want to be exposed to a blizzard again. It would be better once we get in.”
“…But there’s no romance.”
“Romance and so on is worthless if you’re not warm and comfortable. What kind of romance is that when we’re freezing?”
Cordelia rapidly spit out words without dreams or hopes as she quickly made a magic light and took the lead as she began to go down.
“Be careful.”
“Yes, you too.”
As soon as they started going down, Jude naturally took the lead. He was three steps ahead of Cordelia. He could feel Cordelia openly gazing at his tail, but from here on, it was not the time to stop and walk side by side.
He stood in the front line and protected Cordelia who was in the rear.
He became a shield that would protect Cordelia from any danger.
“A little reliable, huh?”
“Ha?”
“No, your tail is cute.”
Instead of getting angry, Cordelia laughed and looked around with a little curiosity because the blizzard had disappeared.
The cave that led downwards had a very high ceiling, and strangely enough, it widened as it went downwards.
“Uh…I think I’m getting scared.”
Nearly 30 meters down, the cave became so large that it could not be seen with her small magic light.
A dark and humid cave where one had no idea on what’s around.
The sound of water droplets dripping from afar seemed to be heard regularly, and soon, the sound of a buzzing bug was heard.
“Cordelia, can you increase the light a little more?”
“Yes, wait a second.”
Increasing the intensity of the light naturally increased the mana consumption but securing their visibility of the surroundings was a priority.
When Cordelia added more mana to her spell, the magical sphere that emitted the soft light doubled at once, and the light intensity was more than tripled.
Paa-!
At that moment, the light devoured the darkness as if they had turned on the light in a dark room. The surrounding landscape was revealed more clearly, and at that instant, Cordelia almost screamed.
There were dozens of pairs of eyes in all directions.
A surprisingly large number of monsters were watching from the sides of the walls and ceiling, and she wondered why they had not noticed so far.
“Cordelia! Begin!”
Jude instantly shouted and Cordelia immediately understood it. She turned around and stood back to back with Jude, while Jude clenched both of his fists instead of drawing out the Eastern Warrior’s Sword.
The numbers were estimated to be around twenty to thirty at most.
Fortunately, the monster itself was a known species to them.
“Snow Goblin!”
“Live in big groups! White skin with a bluish glow! Blue eyes!”
“Obviously ice attribute!”
“Poisonous nails and teeth!”
“Timid and seriously coward personality! If they’re a bit disadvantaged, they run right away!”
Jude and Cordelia shouted in turns.
However, they had no choice but to correct their words.
“Hey! Their eyes are red!”
“Fallen version! If they have that, they won’t run away!”
“Berserk Mode!”
The situation had changed for the Snow Goblins who had been corrupted due to their exposure to the power of Belial, the overlord of corruption.
They were poisonous species who rushed and fought until the last one died.
“Here it comes!”
“Believe in me!”
When Jude cried out, Cordelia confidently shouted as the Wind’s Wing Arrow in her waist flew into the air. Immediately, she used the Witch Transformation and then yelled.
“I’ll wipe them all away!”
“Yondu!”
Jude looked at the Wind’s Wing Arrow in anticipation, and after taking a so-called swordsmanship pose, she deftly moved her hand to control the Wind’s Wing Arrow.
Shaa-!
The Wind’s Wing Arrow seemed to fly at a terrifying speed with a piercing sound and it flew precisely between the forehead of the Snow Goblin in front of Jude.
“Kaaa!”
The monster who was hit in the head fell. Jude cheered as he expected the Wind’s Wing Arrow to penetrate the others in succession like what he saw in the movie.
But there was nothing more. The Wind’s Wing Arrow was blocked by the Snow Goblin’s skull and couldn’t go any further.
“Uh…this isn’t it.”
Cordelia said, and at that moment, the Snow Goblins roared and began to rush towards them.
“F*ck! I knew it would be like this!”
“Great Storm, you fraud!”
Spitting out an insult after a long time, Jude held his breath and used Twenty-Four Gale Steps. A strong gust of wind was created and quickly swept the area around Cordelia at the same time.
He prevented them from approaching Cordelia.
He knocked down the enemies with one blow and steadily reduced their numbers.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Roars broke out in succession, and four of the Snow Goblins that approached in advance and swarmed on all sides, had their heads, necks, and chests smashed before they fell down.
However, it was only four of them. The Snow Goblins lunged at them without care like a sea’s surging waves.
“Let’s run!”
Each of them were weak, but there were too many of them. So Jude thought that they should at least change their location for the fight.
Jude quickly grabbed Cordelia’s waist at that instant and carried her on his shoulders like a sack.
Normally, Cordelia would have said something about it, but she didn’t say anything because they were in the middle of a battle, and at that moment, Jude kicked the ground as he soared up high.
“Guaaa!”
Snow Goblins swarmed into the place where Jude once stood as they ferociously roared, while Jude stepped on their heads and tried to go back to the path they originally came down from.
But it was impossible. Because a new group of Snow Goblins had already appeared and blocked their retreat.
‘Was it a settlement from the beginning?!’
Snow Goblins often formed large colonies than the other goblins. If it was really a proper settlement, their numbers could exceed a hundred.
‘We need to go to a high place.’
Jude looked for a place with a higher ground to avoid being surrounded by them. And it was at that moment.
“Don’t! I’ll use it again, so carry me on the back! Ah, no! Carry me in your arms!”
Cordelia abruptly shouted, and Jude automatically followed her words. He shifted her position of being carried on his shoulders to the so-called princess hug.
“Go!”
Cordelia exclaimed. At the same time, an intense wind swept around Jude and Cordelia.
Shaaaaaaaa-!
It was the Wind’s Wing Arrow.
It came out from the head of the monster it first defeated and then passed through the Snow Goblins at a terrifying pace.
No, it wasn’t just that.
“Kaah!”
“Ack!”
“Kiiee!”
The arrowhead of the Wind’s Wing Arrow tore and wound the skin of the Snow Goblins’ neck, waist, and so on.
‘Crazy.’
Her control skills were truly terrifying.
If she couldn’t penetrate it, then tear and wound them.
The theory itself was simple, but it was an arrowhead and not just anything else. Moving it at such a rapid pace and wounding their skin was close to an acrobatic feat.
‘However.’
It was meaningless if it was just a scratch.
The Snow Goblins weren’t that weak enough that they’d kick the bucket from just that.
Cordelia was also aware of that fact. So she had added one more measure.
“Kuuk!”
“Kiiee!”
The Snow Goblins who were wounded by the Wind’s Wing Arrow suddenly let out their dying breaths.
The reason was simple.
“Poison!”
“That’s it!”
<Poison Blade>.
With the witch’s spell, Cordelia had added a highly toxic poison to the arrowhead.
Moreover, Cordelia’s combo didn’t end there.
Because there were new spells that she had learned due to repeatedly leveling up.
“Explosion!”
Cordelia released the spell and clenched her fist. The Snow Goblins’ wounds seemed to swell and soon burst out into something purple.
<Poison Explosion>.
In a word, it was an explosion of poison.
It was a magic that exploded the poison on the enemy, and the greater the amount of poison on them, the greater the power of the explosion was.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Dozens of explosions followed one after another as if they were one.
Cordelia’s <Poison Explosion> was weak because she had just learned it, but she had already calculated it to that extent, or rather, Cordelia had instinctively understood it.
The Wind’s Wing Arrow did not wound them just anywhere.
It only targeted places where even a small explosion could be fatal.
“Kiiee!”
The Snow Goblin with a torn throat choked and fell down, and the one next to it couldn’t even scream properly because its groin exploded. Some of them couldn’t properly move due to their waist and ankle injuries.
“Haa…haa…ha…h-how is it?”
Cordelia had used up a lot of mana and her concentration at once, and as she turned to Jude while breaking out into a cold sweat, Jude first looked around. Over a dozen Snow Goblins had entirely fallen and were making groaning sounds.
‘She’s Yellow Storm indeed.’
At least in the area of one-to-many hunting, she overtook Jude himself and was said to be the strongest in Legend of Heroes 2.
“As expected of the Massacre King.”
“No…it’s not. Even the strong guys are good…at slaughtering?”
And that was it. Cordelia painstakingly spoke as blood dripped from her nose and her languid arms fell down.
“I’ll deal the last hit, so just rest for now.”
“Fu-f*ck…”
With a resentful cry, Cordelia fainted from overexerting herself.
‘Still, it was incredible.’
Jude and Cordelia had just reached level 30. At this level, Cordelia was probably the only one who can create a scene like that.
‘I look forward to the future.’
How strong would she become in the future?
Jude smiled while looking at the fainted Cordelia’s face, before he began dealing the last hit to the struggling goblins.
***
“Ah.”
Cordelia opened her eyes.
She had a headache and her whole body had no strength.
“Uh.”
She uttered again. She then heard a familiar voice.
“Did you wake up?”
Instead of answering, Cordelia firmly closed her eyes once, before she opened them and looked around.
They were still in the cave.
She was on Jude’s back.
“Uh…where are we?”
“Inside the cave. The deeper we go, the less Snow Goblins there are.”
“Why?”
“…Isn’t it obvious?”
“My head hurts. I don’t want to think.”
Cordelia whined and hit Jude’s shoulder several times with her chin, and Jude said after clicking his tongue.
“The divine power is getting stronger. That, do you remember the Leisegang’s seal? It’s similar here.”
“So, we’re in the right place?”
“Yes, I’m certain there are ruins of Solari here.”
“Hey, that’s exciting.”
Cordelia weakly responded and then looked at herself. She soon realized that she was tied to something like a podaegi and was hanging on Jude’s back.
“I’m sorry, I couldn’t find a diaper.”
“Don’t go too far.”
Instead of creating a magic light, Cordelia stared at the torch Jude was holding before she spoke.
“So, how much longer do we have to go?”
“I think we’re almost there.”
It was as Jude said. When Cordelia looked straight ahead, she could see something like a door in that place.
“Solari’s crest.”
“It’s not a mere ruin. It’s similar to a grave.”
Jude brought the torch closer to the crest engraved on the stone door and scrutinized it once before he spoke.
“Cordelia, are you able to walk by yourself?”
“Perhaps?”
“Then I’ll let you down first.”
When Jude untied the podaegi, Cordelia seemed to somewhat wobble, but soon succeeded in standing on her own feet.
“Huu, Wind’s Wing Arrow consumes too much mana.”
“Its power was a little weak. But its mobility was amazing.”
“Mana…it seems that its power will increase if I pour more…but to do that, I think I need to raise my level a lot more.”
After she said that, Cordelia took out the mana potion from her waist pocket and gulped it down.
“Uh…bitter. Anyway, let’s go in now.”
Solari’s historical ruins.
If this was a grave, it would certainly have items that would be helpful in fighting demons in the future.
“Wait a second.”
Jude lightly loosened his shoulders before carefully opening the stone door.
“Wow.”
It was like a cave even beyond the stone door, but its appearance was completely different.
Far from being dark and dreary, jewels that emitted a blue light were embedded here and there, creating a mysterious atmosphere.
Moreover, the water stream flowing down the wall was so clear that one could see the water about a meter deep.
“This is clearly Solari’s power.”
Thanks to the Sun’s Necklace, Jude was familiar with Solari’s divine power.
“Can you figure out whose tomb is this?”
Rather than immediately answering Cordelia’s question, Jude shifted his gaze towards the end of the sarcophagus (stone coffin) some distance away.
It was a huge sarcophagus measuring 1.5 meters high and 4 meters long.
In addition to Solari’s crest engraved in the coffin, there were several sacred texts inscribed on it.
“Oh my god.”
“Why?”
“It’s the tomb of Galleon.”
At Jude’s reply, Cordelia blinked before her eyes widely opened and she asked back.
“Galleon? The disciple of Gallus? Saint Galleon?”
“Yes, Saint Galleon.”
Gallus, Solari’s champion who sealed the Demon Prince Leisegang, had three disciples who inherited his skills.
They were Saint Galleon, Paladin Berfa, and Crusader Amelia.
T/N: The word ‘Saint’ in Saint Galleon refers to the ‘saint’ in the Saint Seiya series, and not the Catholic saints. Saints in the Saint Seiya series are also something like holy fighters.
As for ‘Crusader’, it means ‘holy warrior’ in the literal translation of its Korean word, but I used ‘crusader’ because Diablo 3 used that word for the Korean translation of its crusader character class.
“Wow, isn’t there something great here then?”
“Perhaps?”
Galleon was also a named person in Solari’s denomination.
Cordelia’s eyes began to sparkle.
“Let’s quickly open it.”
If there was something here, it would be inside the sarcophagus.
Moreover, Saint Galleon was the progenitor of the God’s Fist used by the Guardians of the Holy Cross.
There was a high possibility that it contained useful stuff for the present Jude.
‘Though if you think about it, isn’t this a tomb robbing?’
It wasn’t a sealed demon or a villain, but a saint’s tomb.
“Well, we can’t help it right?”
They were two people who were likely to clash with the Devil’s Eye during the time that they would be examining the condition of Violent Avalanche’s sanctuary.
In order to prevent the future that would escalate into a catastrophe, they needed a power to fight the demons.
“But let’s at least offer a prayer first.”
“Yes, let’s offer a silent prayer.”
It was different from the game.
Jude and Cordelia prayed to Solari together and held a moment of silence for Galleon.
And after one minute…
Jude and Cordelia smiled after looking at each other before they touched the coffin. Trembling in excitement at the thought of finding a completely new item, they tried to lift the seal that locked the coffin.
And it was at that moment.
[Who dares touch the tomb of the holy fighter!]
A rough and angry voice violently shook not only the inside of Jude and Cordelia’s heads but also the entire cave.
“Jude!”
When Cordelia covered her ears using both of her hands, Jude grabbed Cordelia’s waist. He immediately used Twenty-Four Gale Steps to leave the spot where they were standing, and at that very moment, lightning bolts fell from the ceiling and struck the place where Jude was standing.
Craaack…Boom!
It was a blue thunderbolt.
Blue light continuously gathered over Galleon’s tomb and soon took the shape of a winged leopard.
[He who defiles the tomb! Ye cannot avoid Solari’s retribution!]
A giant leopard with blue fur stood at the top of the coffin and stared at Jude and Cordelia.
It was clearly the guardian of the tomb, who often appeared in historic ruins related to Solari.
“Tomb Guardian.”
“The lowest ranked angel.”
“No intelligence. Virtually a gargoyle. It’s highly likely that its words are pre-recorded.”
“Holy attribute. Solari’s angel with an additional solar attribute.”
“What should we do?”
“We have to fight.”
It seemed like prayers and silent tributes were not enough.
Whether they had wanted to open Galleon’s coffin or run away, they had no choice but to fight now that it had come to this.
Furthermore, their party had one more reason to fight it.
“By the way.”
“Yes?”
“Is that an angel?”
Angel.
It was the lowest of the angels, but it was still an angel.
It may be similar to a gargoyle, but in the first place, it was a being made up of flesh and blood.
“Angel’s blood.”
Cordelia said, and Jude nodded his head.
The eyes of the two rotten waters began to brightly shine.
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