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HELHEIM SCANS
[Translator - Night]
[Proofreader - Gun]
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Chapter 364: To the White Snowfield (3)
“There are so many…”
Serena muttered in awe.
There were hundreds of huts.
At least a thousand people must be living there.
A thousand people like the three Barbarians they had seen outside.
Just imagining it made her want to groan.
But Ketal had a vague expression on his face.
“The numbers have decreased. It should be three times that.”
For it to be a proper tribe, their numbers would have to be in the thousands.
It seemed many had died during the fight with the elder.
Ketal clicked his tongue.
“So…”
They had to head there.
But his feet didn’t move easily.
A deep, endless sense of reluctance kept rising within him.
“Sigh.”
In the end, Ketal let out a long sigh and took a step forward.
He slowly began walking toward the Barbarian settlement.
At the entrance, two Barbarians stood guard.
Ketal muttered as if surprised.
“They’re standing guard.”
“Isn’t that obvious?”
“They never understood something as obvious as that before.”
No matter how much Ketal had explained the importance of standing guard, the Barbarians couldn’t grasp it.
So he had taught them by sneaking in while they slept and shattering their bones.
Only then did they reluctantly start keeping watch.
He had thought they would stop once he left, but it seemed they were still maintaining it, albeit sloppily.
They weren’t standing guard properly and were dozing off instead.
“So these are the Barbarians of the White Snowfield…”
Helia and Serena had seen them before, but this was Hashuwalt’s first time.
He quietly observed the Barbarians on guard.
On the surface, they didn’t look much different from Ketal.
He couldn’t sense any extraordinary power from them.
They didn’t appear to have the strength to survive in this harsh world.
‘These are really Barbarians?’
Hashuwalt approached with doubt in his heart.
Once he reached a certain distance, the guards noticed their presence.
“Who’s there?!”
The sleeping Barbarians scowled and grabbed their axes.
Their sudden burst of momentum surged toward them.
“Ugh!”
“Ah.”
The group instinctively tensed and took defensive stances.
As mighty warriors themselves, they could gauge the intensity of the Barbarians’ outburst.
‘Wait, this is…’
Hero-class!
Hashuwalt flinched in shock.
A Hero-class warrior, just standing guard?
The Barbarians were about to lunge at them with all their strength when—
“…Huh?”
“Huh, huh?”
The Barbarians caught sight of Ketal’s face.
They blinked, as if doubting their own eyes, and shook their heads vigorously.
Ketal took a step forward and spoke.
“Kaan. And Begoma. It’s been a while. How have you been?”
“…O-Oh!”
“Ohhh!”
It really was Ketal.
The Barbarians’ faces lit up with joy as they confirmed it.
They shouted loudly.
“The king has returned!”
Their cries shook the very ground.
From inside the crude fences, Barbarians who had been going about their tasks rushed out in droves.
When they saw Ketal, they were overwhelmed with emotion.
“It’s the king!”
“Chief!”
“Waaah!”
They swarmed Ketal in a frenzy.
Helia, Hashuwalt, and Serena, unable to escape the crowd, turned pale.
Serena, in particular, couldn’t bear it and instinctively clung to Ketal.
“Ugh… Ugh…”
The emotions and intensity of the Barbarians surged around them like a tidal wave.
It felt as though they were surrounded by savage beasts.
Even Serena, a Hero-class warrior herself, found it hard to endure.
‘This… this is…’
Helia swallowed hard.
There were dozens among the Barbarians whose presence radiated an overwhelming intensity that even she found hard to handle.
Ketal frowned.
“Quiet down and step back.”
His deep voice rang out.
It was the command of a king.
The Barbarians should have obeyed immediately, but of course, that didn’t happen.
“Waaah!”
“King!”
“The chief has returned!”
Ketal sighed at their lack of obedience.
“Yeah. What can I even expect from you lot?”
They wouldn’t listen to words alone.
So Ketal raised his fist and struck the head of the nearest Barbarian.
Boom!
The struck Barbarian was sent flying as if launched.
Hashuwalt was stunned.
The power in Ketal’s punch was enough to deliver a fatal blow unless one braced for it.
Yet, he used such force against his own people?
The Barbarians, however, were completely unfazed.
Even the one who got hit simply rubbed his slightly dented forehead and stood up.
Only after Ketal resorted to violence did the Barbarians finally calm down.
One of them spoke cheerfully.
“You’ve truly returned!”
“I said I would. Greta. I don’t break my promises. I also have something to ask of you.”
Ketal frowned as he scanned the Barbarians.
“But is this all of you?”
“Yes! Aside from those who’ve gone hunting, this is everyone!”
“About a thousand, huh. A third of our numbers are gone.”
It seemed the fight with the elder had taken a significant toll.
Ketal clicked his tongue.
“Well, whatever. The current chief. He’s here, right?”
“Yes!”
“Take me to him. Make way.”
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HELHEIM SCANS
[Translator - Night]
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“Understood!”
The Barbarians obeyed.
They moved in unison to clear a path.
These ferocious-looking warriors, who seemed like they wouldn’t follow anyone’s orders, listened to Ketal without hesitation.
“The King of the White Snowfield…”
Helia muttered to herself.
She fully grasped the meaning of those words.
They followed the path made by the barbarians and entered the central hut.
Inside, a female barbarian was waiting for them.
"Ahahaha! Chieftain! You’ve come! I wanted to run out the moment I heard the commotion outside! But you said a leader must always carry weight, so I packed my belongings and carried them all on my body!”
"I didn’t mean that kind of weight. Enough."
Ketal sat down across from her and looked at her.
The female barbarian's physique wasn’t much different from Ketal’s.
Her muscles were so well-defined they looked like a sculpture.
"How have you been, Hecate? The current chieftain."
The woman before him, Hecate, was the current leader of the barbarians in the White Snowfield.
She laughed heartily.
"I'm doing my best! Everything the king taught me! I'm doing it all to the best of my ability!"
Ketal had engraved into Hecate the responsibilities and duties of a chieftain—quite literally, not metaphorically.
It seemed to have worked, as she was carrying out her role without significant issues.
"Ahaha. I'm glad you're back, Chieftain."
Hecate smiled brightly as she looked at Ketal.
Only then did her gaze shift to the three figures standing behind him, as if she had just noticed them.
"But who are these three behind you?"
"This is Serena. She’s traveling with me. Introduce yourself."
"Ah, n-nice to meet you,"
Serena stammered nervously.
Her eyes were filled with fear.
'What is this?'
The woman before her—Hecate—gave off an unsettling and alien sensation.
The overwhelming aura she exuded was difficult to endure.
And Serena had experienced such an aura before.
The wretched rat that had once descended upon the North, defiling everything in its path.
It was the same.
'...Is this really a human?'
Could this not be a monster disguised as a human?
Suppressing her emotions, Serena introduced herself.
"I’m Serena. I follow Ketal."
"Serena, huh."
Hecate showed little interest in Serena.
She clicked her tongue as she looked at her thin frame.
"Why are you so skinny? You need to eat more."
Next to introduce herself was Helia.
"...Nice to meet you. I’m Helia, a priest serving the Sun God."
Helia’s face was tense.
The barbarians outside loathed and despised those who served gods, often attacking believers on sight.
She doubted the barbarians of the White Snowfield would be any different.
Even if Ketal tried to stop them, the barbarians she had seen weren’t exactly obedient.
She prepared herself for potential conflict.
But contrary to her tension, Hecate tilted her head curiously.
"A god? What’s that?"
"...What?"
Hecate did not understand the concept of a god.
Ketal gave a brief explanation.
"It's similar to what you call nature."
"Ah, I get it. You gave something like that the name ‘Sun God.’"
Hecate nodded in understanding.
Helia realized then that these people didn’t even have the concept of hating gods.
It was only natural.
The White Snowfield was a sealed place, untouched by the gaze of any god.
For those who lived there, gods held no meaning.
They were merely seen as something akin to nature.
Their worldview was entirely different.
Lastly, it was Hashuwalt's turn.
"...I’m Hashuwalt. I live in the White Snowfield now."
"Ohh."
The image of a swordsman gripping a blade.
Hecate grinned, baring her teeth.
"I want to fight you."
A surge of killing intent and competitive spirit arose.
Hashuwalt instinctively moved, gripping the hilt of his sword.
His face turned pale.
"Hold on!"
The power emanating from Hecate far exceeded his own, even at its weakest.
If someone like her attacked without hesitation, survival would be in question.
And Hecate, without a moment’s hesitation, grabbed an axe.
At that moment, Ketal smacked Hecate on the head.
"Ugh!"
"If you want to fight, do it later, just the two of you."
"Ugh… It’s been a while since I’ve been hit. Fine."
"...Huff."
Hashuwalt barely managed to exhale.
Having roughly completed the introductions, Hecate grinned.
"So, the king’s return means he’ll lead us again, right? That’s great!"
"No."
Ketal immediately denied her hopeful words.
"I’ll stay for a while once this task is done. But it’s temporary. I won’t be coming back."
"Ugh… I’m not fit to be a chieftain, Chieftain. It’s too hard."
"Deal with it."
Ketal spoke calmly.
"You fought me, remember? A thousand battles. You said if you could wound me even once, I wouldn’t leave. And you also said you wanted me to give you my seed, as you wished."
"Hic."
Serena suddenly let out a small hiccup, but Ketal continued, unfazed.
"And you never managed to wound me. That was the promise."
"Ugh."
Hecate’s expression showed she didn’t want to accept it.
Promises held no meaning for the barbarians of the White Snowfield.
It was only Ketal’s strength that had forced her to abide by it.
Perhaps understanding this, Ketal sighed lightly and spoke.
"Still, I’ll stay for a while after this task. Just be satisfied with that."
"Ugh…"
"Do you want to die?"
"N-No!"
Hecate hurriedly shook her head and stood up with a broad grin.
"Anyway, it’s great that the king is back! Let’s have a festival! A festival!"
"Huh? What?"
Helia was flustered.
A festival?
There was no time to waste—urgent matters awaited outside.
But Ketal stopped her.
"Even if you try to stop them, they won’t listen. Not even to my orders in situations like this. It’s inevitable."
"Ah… I see."
Resigned, Helia lowered her head.
Hecate stood and announced the preparations for the festival to the barbarians.
Ketal turned to Hashuwalt.
"You said you wanted to experience the barbarians, didn’t you?"
"Y-Yes, but…"
"Our festivals aren’t about laughing and playing. They’re something entirely different."
The barbarians likely wouldn’t pay much attention to Helia and Serena.
They were young and frail.
But Hashuwalt was different.
Ketal patted Hashuwalt on the shoulder.
"Do your best to survive."
"...Do I have a choice?"
"Do they look like the kind to take no for an answer?"
"……."
Hashuwalt’s face turned pale.
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HELHEIM SCANS
[Translator - Night]
[Proofreader - Gun]
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