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HELHEIM SCANS
[Translator - Peptobismol]
[Proofreader - Demon God]
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Chapter 185 – Kirrin’s Black Forest (8)
"A guest…?"
Drebren asked.
"Are you saying an outsider is invading our Black Forest?"
"Must I repeat myself?"
"My apologies. We will intercept immediately."
The three dark elves swiftly departed.
Left alone, Nemara remained motionless, his expression utterly devoid of emotion.
His fingers absentmindedly brushed against the leather eyepatch covering his left eye, as if rubbing his forehead in exhaustion.
His remaining eye drifted toward the withered bouquet resting atop a side table in the corner.
A strangely out-of-place object in the Black Forest of the dark elves.
# # # # #
"Brother, who do you think this 'guest' is?"
"It’s probably that professor."
Drebren replied to Zakrion’s question without hesitation.
"Consider this—one, the Imperial Capital sent us an urgent message directly. Two, someone is attempting to infiltrate the Black Forest. The only person that fits both criteria is him."
"Could it be Sir Linus?"
"If it were Linus, he would have sent a letter ahead of time to announce his visit."
"That makes sense. In that case, it seems our movements were exposed, and now we’re the ones being tracked."
"But something doesn’t add up."
Sharian interjected.
"Very few people in the Empire know this location. How did he manage to track us down in less than a day?"
"Someone must have provided the information."
"Who? The Emperor? Or the Second Princess?"
"Most likely the Second Princess. The Emperor wouldn’t send that professor after us—his own allies."
"Hmm… You never know. In the Imperial Capital, friends and enemies can switch overnight depending on necessity."
"True, but I don’t see any immediate reason for the Emperor to discard us. More importantly, dealing with that professor takes priority."
"But Brother, Sister—how exactly do we deal with him?"
Zakrion’s question made both Sharian and Drebren stop in their tracks.
"We saw it at the Academy, didn’t we? The three of us alone won’t be enough. Killing him might be possible, but capturing him alive? That’s impossible."
"We’ll have to ask for assistance from our other siblings."
"Will they help?"
"Dian’s infiltration isn’t just our problem—it’s a threat to the entire Black Forest. Everyone has a duty to act."
"Understood. Then let’s move quickly."
The three siblings set out to alert their clan and rally their forces.
But it wasn’t easy.
Dark elves followed a societal structure completely opposite to that of pureblood elves.
Their clans adhered to a polygamous system—one male chieftain with multiple wives.
When a chieftain died, his most exceptional son would inherit the position and take on new wives.
The former chieftain’s wives would become elder figures, stepping away from active roles, while his other children could either remain in the clan or leave to establish their own groups.
Because of this, wives sought to gain influence by bearing as many children as possible.
The more children they had, the stronger their voice within the clan. And among them, a particularly gifted son might become the next chieftain.
Naturally, this led to an unspoken but ruthless competition.
Siblings fought for recognition. Mothers schemed to promote their children.
At times, they even sabotaged each other’s missions.
Among the current Nemara clan, Drebren was the most likely candidate to inherit leadership.
Which meant the children of the other mothers were hesitant to assist him in dealing with Dian.
If Drebren struggled—or better yet, failed—then their own chances of rising to power would increase.
On top of that, they failed to grasp the true danger of Dian’s presence.
"You never should’ve come crawling back to the Black Forest after failing in the first place."
One of the dark elves sneered.
"If that man is as dangerous as you claim, shouldn’t you be hiding somewhere else instead of leading him right to us? Even you, Drebren, make mistakes, it seems."
"If you want to keep your teeth, shut up. If you’re not going to help, then get lost."
Zakrion snapped coldly, but Drebren raised a hand to stop him.
"Leave it. We’ll try another faction."
"You might as well give up, Drebren."
The dark elf smirked at him.
"Who’s going to help you? A half-breed daughter from a human wench—"
The next thing he knew, he was airborne.
Drebren’s fist had sent him flying.
Lowering his hand, Drebren spoke in a low voice.
"Do not insult Mother or Kirrin. Say it again, and I’ll kill you."
"Brother, he’s right, though."
Sharian placed a hand on Drebren’s arm.
"These people want us to fail. Who here would ever help us? We’ll do this ourselves."
"She’s right, Brother. I have no interest in accepting help from those who would insult our mother. This isn’t the Academy—it’s the Black Forest. Here, we can deal with that man."
Hearing their words, Drebren nodded silently.
"Get a grip!"
The dark elf he had punched yelled from behind them.
"We are dark elves! Those who let emotions control them are unworthy!"
"Ignore him, Brother."
Zakrion muttered, pushing Drebren forward.
"When we return, I’ll deal with that fool myself."
# # # # #
The sun was high in the sky.
After dodging and dismantling countless traps, I finally took a break.
Because I was hungry.
Anticipating delays, I had packed a simple meal.
The moment I sat on a nearby rock—
Click.
The rock gave way, and sharp metal spikes shot upward.
These lunatics. Did they booby-trap everything in sight?
This must be what American soldiers felt like during the Vietnam War.
After pulling out the spikes, I sat on the half-collapsed rock and opened my lunch.
I was close to the Black Forest now, but I hadn’t encountered a single dark elf yet.
I needed to meet them soon.
There were questions that needed answering—
Why had they attacked me?
Was Kirrin’s disappearance connected?
And most importantly… Where the hell was Kirrin?
The moment I finished eating, I shifted my body to the side.
A nearly invisible thread zipped past where I had been sitting.
They’re here.
Grabbing the thread, I gave it a sharp tug.
It came loose too easily—already cut.
"Come out. Let’s not waste our energy."
As soon as I spoke, a net of interwoven threads descended upon me.
I stepped back, only for a dark elf wearing knuckle dusters to charge at me, leaving afterimages in his wake.
I caught his fist and deflected it—
Just as another dark elf leaped down from above, wielding a massive iron club.
Dodging the club, I countered with a kick to his side, sending him rolling into the shadows of the forest.
When I turned around, the first attacker had already vanished again.
Three dark elves.
The same ones who ambushed me at the Academy during the tournament.
They planned to use their home turf to their advantage.
But something felt off.
This close to the Black Forest, there should’ve been more of them.
An outsider breaking in should have been serious enough for the entire clan to mobilize.
Hmm… let’s take a guess.
One of these three must be a major candidate for the next chieftain.
Which meant the others deliberately refused to help.
A bloodline filled with betrayal and schemes.
That was the dark elves.
"You understand the common tongue, right? Come out. Let’s talk."
I scanned my surroundings as I spoke.
"I know you’ll call this a disgrace to assassins, but it’s just us here. No one else will know. Fighting is pointless."
"Forgive me, Professor."
A deep voice responded from somewhere.
"But talking is just as pointless. We already know you won’t accept our terms."
"And what are your terms?"
"We cannot tell you unless we’re certain you would comply."
What kind of bullshit logic is that?
"Fine, then. If you don’t tell me, I’ll ignore you and head straight for the Black Forest."
"If you could, you would have done so already."
"That was me being polite."
# # # # #
"B-Brother!!"
As Dian suddenly unleashed his aura, Zakrion recoiled in shock and turned to Drebren.
"What the hell is that?!"
"Aura."
Even as he answered, Drebren stared down at the surging energy around Dian, his expression betraying disbelief.
He had always known Dian was a formidable fighter, physically strong and highly skilled.
He had witnessed his prowess firsthand during the Battle of the Black Swamp.
But aura?
Until now, Drebren had only ever seen one person wield it—his father.
Aura was a power that only those who had reached the absolute pinnacle could use.
Had Dian truly reached that level...?
His talk of charging into the Black Forest wasn’t just bluster.
Drebren had failed to even consider the possibility of him possessing aura—an inexcusable miscalculation.
If someone with that level of aura broke into the Black Forest, the future of their entire clan would be at risk!
"Sharian, Zakrion! Go to Father at once! Warn him that an aura user is heading for the Black Forest!"
Drebren turned to his siblings.
"I’ll buy us time."
"That’s insane! How do you expect to stop someone wielding aura?!"
"He’s right, Brother! Let’s handle this together!"
"We can’t. Kirrin’s side needs to be represented."
Drebren’s words left both Sharian and Zakrion speechless.
Meanwhile, Dian had already gathered his aura and was preparing to launch himself forward, knees bent, torso leaning forward like a coiled spring.
"Go, now!"
At the same moment Drebren dispelled his concealment and leaped toward Dian—
Dian kicked off the ground and shot forward.
The sheer force of his aura sent a crushing pressure through Drebren’s chest, leaving him gasping for breath.
They were still more than ten meters apart, yet already—?
Drebren hesitated, torn between choices.
There was no way to stop him by force.
And he could not allow someone like this to enter their forest unchecked.
He was a candidate to inherit his father’s position—he had a duty to protect the clan.
He had no choice.
He had to negotiate.
"Professor Dian! Fine! I’ll tell you everything!"
Drebren shouted, raising both hands.
But Dian was too fast.
It was already too late!
"No, Dian!!"
At that moment—
Kirrin suddenly leaped between them.
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HELHEIM SCANS
[Translator - Peptobismol]
[Proofreader - Demon God]
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