Episode 128
EPISODE.64
“What are you staring at so intently? Aang?”
A clear yet raspy voice awakened Russell’s consciousness.
Russell, who had regained his senses at the voice, lowered his head slightly and muttered.
“Russell Raymond, Count of Endymion and mage of the Tower of Flames, meets the King of Beasts. Please understand that I am ignorant of the manners of the prisoners.”
There was a lot of talk about whether the Kuril Islands should be recognized as a country or not.
However, there was nothing wrong with the king of beastmen being polite. Did he really like Russell’s greeting?
Muyaho leans back with a satisfied expression.
Then he hid his twitching lips.
“The courtesy is just cumbersome.”
Contrary to what he said, he failed to hide his twitching tail.
“-!?”
As her tail passed in front of her eyes, she reached out. He hurriedly grabbed his tail and changed the subject.
“Um hmm. hmm. good. Russell. So…what happened to the humans from the distant continent of Endymion to here on the Kuril Islands?”
Taking a moment to catch his breath at the question, Russell continued.
“There is a place you are looking for.”
“Where are you looking for?”
“yes.”
He nodded and commented.
“I am looking for the place where the river of fire overlaps with the river of ice.
“…!!”
The moment Russell finished speaking, the breathing of several warriors in the hall changed.
It was only for a very short time, but it was not Russell to miss the moment.
‘also-.’
As if waiting, Russell spat out the rest.
“According to my guess, I know that this place exists in the land that the Beast Tribes call Sinji.”
To put it in conclusion, it is a story that is no different from saying, ‘I want to enter a divine land.’
At Russell’s words, some of the beastmen who had been keeping their seats raised their voices abruptly.
“How dare an outsider speak of sacred ground!”
“Insolent and reckless!”
With a shout that rang in the ears, the speculation rose sharply.
That momentum and gaze preceded Russell’s entire body.
chuck-!
Muyaho raised his hand.
“Quiet.”
The speculation that spread like wildfire disappears in one fell swoop.
“Hey, old masters, I know you have a lot to say, but I’m talking right now. Aang?”
Somehow, compared to the other Beast Tribes, his momentum was more refined.
‘Are they the elders, not the great warriors?’
The pillars of the Beast tribe, equipped with both skills and experience, that only a few of the Great Warriors can climb.
While Russell glanced at them, Muyaho nodded.
“As you guessed, there is certainly such a place within Shinji.”
Then he stared into Russell’s eyes as if he was interested.
“By the way, what is the reason why outsiders, especially humans, want to enter Shinji?”
“It is a personal desire.”
“I heard that the Continent’s sorcerers have a deep desire to explore the unknown and mysteries, is that so?”
Muyaho, who muttered that, scratched his cheek as if he was embarrassed.
“But what?”
“…?”
“As you can see from the attitude of our seniors, there is no precedent for an outsider to enter there.”
As if they had waited for her words of disapproval, the elders chattered.
“Shinji is the land where the gods were said to dwell a long time ago!”
“It’s ridiculous that Shinji is not even a warrior and an outsider like that!”
Maybe I didn’t like that buzzing. Muyaho hit the floor of the altar with his fist.
bang!
“madam! Guys, can’t you see I’m thinking right now? Do you really want to lie down and eat porridge tonight?”
As the loud shouts spread, the elders who had raised their voices shrank once again.
An act that has already been repeated twice since the beginning of the story. Nevertheless, the fact that the so-called elders continue to do such an act…
‘It must be that this situation is close to everyday life.
Contrary to his harsh words, Muyaho didn’t seem to be in a bad mood either.
“What should I do?”
Russell asked, as if suddenly reminded of Muyaho’s muttering.
“Is there no precedent for outsiders to enter, or is there a set rule against entering?”
If it was the former, it should have been seen as at least a possibility. Of course, there is no such thing as giving up because of the latter.
“like-?”
At one word that penetrated the essence of the problem, interest spread all over Muyaho’s face.
She clicked her chin as if to continue talking.
“…I remember someone saying a while ago that non-warriors cannot enter Shinji.”
Of course, not all warriors will be able to enter Shinji.
Only a few of those who are called warriors among the Beasts will be able to enter the Shinji.
“In other words, if I acquire the qualifications of a warrior, I too can enter Shinji.”
As soon as the words were finished, chatter spread among the beastmen.
“The Trial of a Warrior!”
“Are you saying that an outsider is challenging the warrior’s ordeal!”
At that sight, Russell tilted his head.
‘Trial of a warrior?’
I still didn’t know what it was.
However, in order to enter Shinji, it seemed that he had to pass through that ‘warrior’s ordeal’.
Muyaho asks, exposing sharp fangs.
“Russell, do you really intend to take on the challenge of a warrior?”
If that was the only way to enter Shinji legally without causing any problems.
“of course.”
Russell nodded.
* * *
Trials of a warrior.
This was a place of honor for the beast tribe warriors to show off their skills.
‘The rules are simple.’
Survive for ten days at the bottom of a very deep canyon named the Canyon of Trials.
That was the biggest rule.
Of course, it wasn’t just about holding on.
The difficulty of talking about having to deal with a total of
5 people for 10 days, such as ‘five beast warriors come down the canyon and challenge in turn’ was not the only difficulty.
‘Not only food but also drinking water is not provided…’
It was said that obtaining food and drink completely depended on the challenger’s ability.
‘I’m sure he’s going to test his mental strength as well as his skills.’
Above all, the most important thing to worry about was the fraud that flowed from within the gorge.
As much as it was called the Canyon of Trials, the inside of the canyon was filled with various scams.
If you have weak mental strength, you will not be able to withstand the fraud and will lose your mind and pass out within three days.
In addition, he had to be careful of the snakes that ate the fraud.
‘If he passes all these trials, the beastmen treat him as an honorable warrior.’
Not only that, but also until he obtained the qualifications to enter Shinji.
wheein-.
The wind from inside the canyon ruffled Russell’s hair.
The trickle that flowed out tickled the tip of his nose.
At first glance, it was sticky and wet, and it was an unusual scam.
‘If only this was buried in the wind.’
There must have been a fraud many times more dense than this spread like a net inside the canyon.
Then Muyaho patted Russell on the back.
“How are you? An outsider?”
“What do you mean?”
“I’m talking about how you feel when you look inside from the outside. Do you think it’s worth it?”
Russell nodded at her question.
“Honestly, I still think it’s worth doing.”
It’s a great scam, but not great enough to contaminate Russell’s mental barrier in the 6th circle.
Not only that, but among the beast warriors he looked around, there seemed to be no one who could be his opponent, except for the beast king Muyaho.
This is not to say that the Beasts are weak. but-.
‘She’s ridiculously strong.’
How many sums can you survive if you do your best?
‘It won’t last long.’
Muyaho giggled, whether he knew what Russell was thinking or not.
“How confident are you?”
Then, with a smile, he met Russell’s eyes with a serious expression.
“hey. an outsider.”
“yes.”
“Do you know why I challenged you to the ordeal?”
“…?”
“Our Beasts are definitely strong. But that’s a strength confined to the Kuril Islands. I’m sure there are monsters out there who have much more power than the Beasts.”
Aren’t Hemingway and Daria strong enough to compete with her, who is called the Beast King?
“In the meantime, an outsider. Your guy showed up.”
Of course, she didn’t ask for an answer either.
“It’s a pretty well-hidden force, but I can feel it. It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say that there is no one among us beastmen who can defeat you head-on, except for me.”
Muyaho spoke calmly.
“I want you to let us beast people know the vastness of the world. I hope that we, the Beasts, will be able to move forward without being stagnant here.”
It wasn’t just for interest or entertainment, it was a job that calculated the future of the beast race. Realizing that a king is indeed a king, Russell nodded.
He clenched his fists and asked her.
“I don’t know if there are people whose hearts will be broken.”
As I opened my eyes wide at Russell’s bold words, Muyaho giggled for a while.
“If you have a guy like that, you should tear off his ears and tail. isn’t it?”
Just then, boom-dung-dung-.
The sound of drums was heard.
It was time to enter the canyon.
Dung Dung Dung-.
.
.
chuck-.
As soon as he landed at the bottom of the canyon, Russell frowned.
It was because more frauds than expected came in.
Tsutsutsut-.
Sussssseu-.
The sound of unknown snakes crawling was also heard everywhere.
‘Certainly not a normal amount of fraud.’
The old mythic age.
It is said that this is the canyon where the corpse of Jormungand, the serpent that Fenrir, called the first Beast King, bit and killed was thrown away.
The many poisonous snakes must also have been influenced by it.
‘Shall I write this down for now?’
This will also be a good research material.
Thinking so, I had been using magic to film the depths of the gorge for some time.
Before long, I felt a presence from above.
A beastman warrior was descending to challenge Russell.
.
.
One day, two days, three days, four days.
Time went on and on, and holding out in the canyon wasn’t as hard as I thought.
Not only did he push back the approach of the snakes using the circle of fire, but he also prevented the invasion of fraud using magic power.
It would be a lie if I said the fatigue didn’t build up, but it wasn’t to the point of being taken seriously.
The beastmen who were watching from the outside rolled their tongues at his resolute appearance.
“her. A person with such strong mental power…”
“Not only mental power, but also great skills.”
“A human who looks young has that level of skill and mental strength…”
“I thought they were a weak species, but I can never ignore them.”
And on the last day…
Suddenly, a star in the shape of a beastman fell towards the depths of the canyon.
“My body is itching to just watch! Kyahaha!”
It hung down its long tail like a meteor.
shook the earth
Kwagwagwagwa-!
dragon-swallowed wizard
