Ch.129Chapter 129

The Wendigo was lost in regret, unaware that the Hrimtur were watching with shocked expressions.

He wished he could release hundreds of beasts to find the armored spiders at once, but with such small numbers, it would likely take considerable time.

Yet summoning beasts vulnerable to cold might result in them freezing to death before they could even run far across the snowfield…

“Hmm, perhaps I could infuse them with mystical energy to make them more resilient.”

“Um… excuse me.”

“?”

Hearing Wendigo’s muttering, Voltorn nervously called out to him. While he appreciated the help for his daughter, there were proper limits to everything.

Even now there were plenty of beasts, and Voltorn wasn’t shameless enough to ask for more.

“I think this is already more than enough help, so please don’t overexert your powers.”

“Y-yes. It’s similar to a Djin’s power, isn’t it? Pushing too hard won’t do any good…”

Angrboda joined Voltorn in trying to calm the Wendigo.

Overusing one’s power inevitably strained both body and mind. The two were worried about how much burden Wendigo might be feeling while controlling over a hundred beasts.

Honestly, they wouldn’t be surprised if he collapsed right there.

If that happened, they wouldn’t be able to show their faces due to guilt over burdening their in-law!

“I’m fine. I’m not so weak that something like this would tire me.”

But Wendigo truly was fine. In fact, this consumed less mystical energy than when he fought with a sword.

From Wendigo’s perspective, controlling animals consumed less mystical energy than fighting to kill opponents.

Why would he need to infuse mystical energy when he wasn’t using the animals to kill anyone?

Moreover, since he wasn’t constantly possessing the beasts, there was almost no mental discomfort.

Of course, Voltorn and Angrboda didn’t know this, so they remained extremely concerned.

As the beasts spread out in the distance, Wendigo made a request to Angrboda.

“Angrboda, if it’s not too much trouble, could I ask for some tea? It was truly as good as Voltorn boasted.”

“After all your efforts for my daughter’s marriage, a cup of tea is nothing. I’ll bring it right away.”

“Hmm… it seems awkward to just stand outside. I’ll lend you one of my tents, why don’t we go there?”

As Angrboda left with a smiling nod, Voltorn stroked his beard and made the suggestion.

He felt uncomfortable leaving Wendigo standing outside when he had come as a guest and was now selflessly helping the tribe and Angrid.

Moreover…

“It must be a real Djin. How else could this be possible?”

“But his personality is decent. Besides, have you ever heard of Djin capable of such feats?”

“Hey, I won the bet, so the saber-tooth necklace is mine.”

“Ah, I really don’t think he’s a Djin…”

The gazes around them were quite intense. As the Hrimtur whispered about him, Wendigo scratched his head and nodded.

“…I suppose we should.”

“Don’t worry too much. Even if you’re something similar to a Djin, we won’t be greatly disappointed.”

“……”

Was it his imagination that this sounded like “you’re practically a Djin anyway”?

Wendigo quietly glared at Voltorn’s back as he led the way.

Voltorn instructed his children to prepare a tent for Wendigo. Without much complaint, they followed their father’s directions and brought out the finest tent the family owned.

It was made from the hide of a six-tusked mammoth that Voltorn had hunted in his youth after making a risky wager.

Wendigo admired the tent with amazement.

“Was this made from a single hide rather than connecting multiple pieces?”

“It was an impressive beast. I haven’t seen a larger mammoth to this day.”

Voltorn tapped the tent and burst into hearty laughter.

Wendigo was grateful for Voltorn’s kindness and was about to sit down…

“Wait a moment! I’ll bring my saber-tooth fur rug!”

“Hmm… it smells strange since it hasn’t been used for a while, but I have musk incense at home that I’ll bring.”

“Isn’t that for the bedroom?”

“You tactless girl…”

The siblings couldn’t stand by while their friend’s future husband was making such efforts to help their beloved youngest sister.

Voltorn’s children brought items from their homes and decorated the tent with such enthusiasm that they seemed ready to set up an entire household.

Wendigo looked at Voltorn in bewilderment, hoping he would reasonably restrain his children as it was difficult to refuse their kindness.

Voltorn called out to his thoughtless children in a stern voice.

“Don’t just bring any precious items! If you’re going to bring things, discuss it first and bring matching items!”

“Ah, that’s right!”

“That’s why I said we should use ivory for the tableware.”

“I-I think tableware made of birch would be nice…”

“Toto, sister! Only you would chew on wooden tableware!”

Impressed by their father’s guidance, the children sat in a circle and held a meeting about how to decorate the tent.

Wendigo watched them discuss in speechless amazement.

Angrboda, who had brewed tea with chunks of meat floating in it, opened the tent door and gasped in surprise, covering her mouth.

“Oh my! Children… everyone get out quickly. What are you doing making our guest uncomfortable!”

“Dear, that’s not—”

“You too, go out with the children. How could you occupy the tent that was prepared for him to rest comfortably?”

As Angrboda pulled him, Voltorn and the children all left the tent.

They knew well that while their mother was usually gentle, she could be frightening when angered.

Angrboda watched her children leave the tent, then offered the tea to Wendigo.

“Here’s the tea you requested.”

“Thank you.”

Wendigo thanked Angrboda for handling the troublesome situation and accepted the tea.

As he tilted the cup, the salty, fresh, oily broth—or rather, tea—smoothly went down his throat—

“We’ll discuss decorating the tent with the family a bit later. That’s only right after all your efforts for Angrid.”

“*Cough!*”

Wendigo choked in surprise when Angrboda, who had seemed the most normal, launched this unexpected attack.

After shaking off the spilled tea, Wendigo attempted to possess an animal, partly to escape the conversation.

* * *

The beasts that Wendigo had released into the forest and snowfield spread out in all directions, surveying the surroundings.

Large creatures like reindeer and elk pushed through the snow to look around, while smaller animals like mice and rabbits dug through the ground searching for traces.

Wendigo was watching through the eyes of a deer he had possessed.

‘I thought the forest was vast… but the snowfield is even more expansive.’

Wendigo admired the snowfield glistening in the sunlight.

The snowfield, untouched by human hands, was so pristine that it was difficult to spot any animal tracks…

By now, he was curious how the armored spiders had managed to hide themselves. Given their size, they should have left traces.

Wendigo ran across the snow, concentrating his mind. Connecting the vision of birds looking down from above, he roughly mapped the area and marked the positions of the beasts.

Prepared to notice even the slightest anomaly, Wendigo waited patiently.

Waited for something to happen in this empty snowfield.

“!”

After waiting endlessly, Wendigo realized that some birds had lost sight of certain beasts.

More than ten beasts had mysteriously disappeared around one area.

Wendigo possessed a reindeer near that location and moved toward the position with five or six other beasts. However, the snowfield remained remarkably clean.

Crunch.

“?”

While running across the snowfield in the reindeer’s body, Wendigo felt the texture of the ground change.

Until now, he had felt the sensation of running on soft snow, but suddenly it was like stepping on bumpy rocks…

‘…Now I understand why they weren’t visible.’

Wendigo hurriedly ordered the beasts to leave the area, but unfortunately, they couldn’t escape alive.

The moment the beasts slowed down, legs of armored spiders shot out from the snow, piercing and slashing their bodies.

Blood stained the snow red, and the armored spiders that emerged from the ground pulled their prey down into the snow like ant lions.

They skillfully devoured the blood-soaked snow and covered it with fresh snow, making it hard to believe they had just butchered beasts moments ago.

Wendigo desperately moved the deer’s legs to save it. With acrobatic reflexes, he dodged the legs that suddenly emerged from the ground, but…

‘Not enough stamina.’

The deer, which had been running at full speed across the snowfield, was nearly exhausted. The moment Wendigo sensed he couldn’t save the deer, an armored spider’s leg pierced its neck.

Wendigo watched this through the eyes of birds flying overhead and measured the distance the deer had run. He was quite surprised by the extensive range.

‘Almost the size of an entire village.’

Of course, he couldn’t assume the entire area was filled with armored spiders, but Wendigo took the problem seriously, realizing their numbers were greater than expected.

He thought that since he had only found one such area, there might be more if he continued searching.

Wendigo decided to report this information to the Hrimtur.

* * *

What awaited Wendigo after exploring the nearby forest and snowfield through dozens of beasts was…

Hrimtur women sitting down, looking at him with terrified expressions.

They were clutching small defensive weapons like daggers and hand axes, warily watching him.

Wendigo looked around in confusion. Having synchronized with the animals’ sense of time, he had lost track of how much time had passed…

‘They actually decorated the tent.’

The tent was now densely filled with furniture made from animal by-products.

This meant enough time had passed for them to finish their discussion and bring furniture from their respective tents…

Wendigo turned his head to look at the Hrimtur women and asked.

“Why are you so wary—”

“AAAHHH!!!”

“His n-neck! Is it turning again!?”

“I clearly, clearly saw his neck break, so how is he still alive!?”

When Wendigo opened his mouth, the Hrimtur women let out shrill screams despite their muscular builds, wildly swinging their daggers and hand axes.

They were Voltorn’s daughters, who had visited the tent at Angrboda’s request to check on Wendigo’s condition…

The reason they were panicking was that when the deer Wendigo had possessed died, his neck had momentarily broken.

With the sound of breaking bones, his neck had snapped right before their eyes, and when they tried to check his condition, his neck wobbled around before returning to normal.

Even seasoned female warriors couldn’t help being frightened when a deer skull with an eerie glow shook with the sound of crushing bones.

“……”

Of course, Wendigo, who didn’t know how his body would react when dying while possessed, felt wronged.

After working hard to gather information, the last thing he expected was to be greeted with screams.

Wendigo was so dumbfounded that he couldn’t even stop the women as they fled the tent.

Whatever they shouted after running out, the area outside the tent quickly filled with murmuring voices.

He needed to go outside to share the information, but…

‘I really don’t want to go out there.’

Wendigo sighed deeply as he opened the tent and headed outside.