Ch.134Chapter 134

Thanks to Voltorn’s efforts, other tribes accepted that the Wendigo was not an enemy. However, not all tribes acknowledged that it wasn’t a monster.

It was quite impressive that thirty voices spoke the same words simultaneously, especially when having an undetectable presence right before one’s eyes was already unsettling.

The eerie voice only made it easier to be suspicious.

The Wendigo looked around at the warriors from other tribes who were clearly wary of him and apologized to Voltorn.

“I’m sorry. I tried to stay quiet if possible.”

“If that was your intention, why didn’t you just come alone… By the way, what are these?”

Voltorn, who had sweated profusely trying to persuade the chieftains, asked while tapping a wooden doll resembling the Wendigo with his fist.

He had mistaken them for living Wendigo kin due to their intricate appearance, but upon closer inspection, they were more like dolls carved from wood.

They had no heartbeat and their bodies were extremely hard, yet they moved as naturally as living beings—quite fascinating to Voltorn, who was unfamiliar with such things.

The Wendigo scratched his head with a sour expression and spoke.

“Actually, this isn’t my real body either. I have personal issues that prevent me from leaving the forest.”

“Huh?”

Puzzled by the Wendigo’s confession, Voltorn approached him. He kneaded the Wendigo’s shoulders and muscles while muttering.

“Indeed, I can’t feel the muscles that were harder than stone. The fur seems a bit dry too… And the horns look ordinary.”

The Wendigo’s hide and fur were as black as a slice of night sky, and the horns on his head were more majestic than any stag’s…

Voltorn realized that the Wendigo before him was shabby compared to before. Upon closer observation, one flaw after another became apparent.

The hide smelled of beast fur, the horns were ordinary and far from majestic, and the teeth weren’t sharp.

“You seem a bit smaller too.”

“Ahem. I tried my best to make it properly, but it was more difficult than I thought.”

The Wendigo involuntarily made excuses at Voltorn’s harsh criticism.

A projection could never surpass the original, so he hadn’t focused much on it. What could he do?

The body he hastily created using wolf hide and deer skull, recalling how Skadi cast spells from over her shoulder, was bound to have flaws.

‘Skadi would have made a more proper body.’

But it was too late to call for Skadi now.

Fearing Voltorn might find more flaws, the Wendigo pointed his claw in one direction.

There, Gulmarg and Angrid, fully armed, were checking each other’s equipment while exchanging loving glances that dripped with the scent of blood—no, love.

“Gulmarg and Angrid seem to make a good match.”

Crunch.

Seeing his daughter exuding a newlywed atmosphere, Voltorn gritted his teeth and swallowed his tears of blood.

His mind knew it was time for his daughter to leave, but isn’t a parent’s love supposed to shine even as their child grows distant?

“Sigh… Yes, they’re a well-matched pair. Watching them reminds me of my newlywed days.”

“Though it’s a bit odd that the newlyweds’ first event is monster hunting.”

“It’ll be fine. Unlike in the south, we prefer couples to go hunting together.”

While chatting with Voltorn, Gulmarg and Angrid finished their affectionate exchange and approached the Wendigo.

Angrid, wearing armor made of chains and leather, greeted them enthusiastically and leaped forward.

“Dad!”

“Yes. Are you and Gulmarg well-prepared? Did you remember to bring daggers or hatchets?”

“Dad, it’s not like this is my first hunt. Would I forget such things?”

“Father-in-law, I’ll take good care of Angrid. I mean… I will.”

Perhaps thinking it impolite to speak informally to his wife’s father, Gulmarg awkwardly switched to formal speech. The Wendigo sent a surprised glance and whispered to Voltorn.

“It’s the first time I’ve seen Gulmarg speak formally. He seems to be trying to make a good impression on you. Why not give him some words of encouragement?”

“……”

Though Voltorn knew the Wendigo was right, he looked at Gulmarg with a displeased expression…

Zap!

“Ahem, of course I was planning to. So Angrid, lighten up your expression.”

“What expression am I making?”

When Angrid shot him a fierce glance, Voltorn checked his daughter’s mood and made excuses. He hurriedly pulled Gulmarg’s arm and naturally put his arm around his shoulders.

“Look. At first I didn’t trust Gulmarg because he was a good-for-nothing—I mean, an outsider—but now I acknowledge him.”

“Hmm~?”

Angrid leaned forward to examine her father’s complexion, and Voltorn patted Gulmarg’s shoulder while smiling as much as possible.

The Wendigo watched from behind and snickered. While Voltorn’s face was smiling, the tendons in the back of his neck were twitching.

It seemed he still found it difficult to trust and entrust his daughter.

Voltorn stared—no, gazed warmly at his son-in-law’s face and offered words of encouragement.

“Though our relationship wasn’t formed through a long connection, I trust my daughter’s judgment. At least my daughter wouldn’t fall for a man without substance.”

“Angrid is a wise woman, like a tiger… sir.”

“Yes. So if anything happens that makes my daughter sad, then—”

“Voltorn! I hear strange sounds coming from the place you mentioned!”

At that moment, Golgota came with an excited face and called for Voltorn. He had heard something collapsing from the land where the armored spider’s hideout was located.

Voltorn clicked his tongue and put on his helmet. His face had already transformed from that of a caring father to that of a cold-blooded chieftain.

Voltorn pointed at Angrid with his finger and commanded.

“Angrid, tell the whale hunters to prepare to throw their stone spears at any moment. The first attack is on my command, after that, follow Larisa’s judgment.”

“Yes! I follow the chieftain’s orders!”

Though Angrid was a young and passionate woman, she knew how to separate public and private matters. When the chieftain’s order came down, Angrid kissed Gulmarg’s cheek and ran off to find the whale hunters.

Voltorn silently watched her retreating figure and muttered quietly.

“… I will definitely quell this chaos and give you a grand wedding.”

“……”

Having unintentionally overheard Voltorn’s soliloquy, the Wendigo approached Gulmarg and tapped his shoulder with his claw.

Gulmarg turned to the Wendigo with a puzzled expression, and the Wendigo whispered softly in his ear.

“Just in case, let me tell you something. Don’t go find Angrid and talk about having a wedding after this battle is over, or naming your children.”

“Wendigo, have you developed a new talent? I already told Angrid that I would offer the enemy’s head at our wedding.”

“……”

Why did both father-in-law and son-in-law ominously bring up such things at the same time…

The Wendigo composed his uneasy feelings and followed Voltorn alongside Gulmarg.

* * *

“What are you going to do with the armored spider after this hunt is over?”

“My younger sibling is getting married, so I’m thinking of making armor from the spider’s shell as a wedding gift. I heard it makes a good dowry.”

“Hehehe… Forget about your sibling’s wedding, I’m going to propose after this hunt. I met a woman from another tribe recently, and if I give her a harpoon carved from the spider’s leg—”

‘This is terribly ominous.’

Why did they need to have such fresh-faced conversations right before a hunt?

Standing in the front line with Gulmarg, the Wendigo felt his anxiety increasing in real-time as he listened to the warriors’ chatter.

Even if he wanted to dismiss it as superstition, in this world, there were many cases where things were more “mysterious” than superstitious.

The Wendigo wished the hunt would start soon so that these ominous conversations would stop.

Had his wish reached the heavens?

Crumble!

“The ground is sinking!”

The snow covering the field began flowing into the ground, and the faint rustling sound grew louder.

The warriors’ murmuring ceased, and weapons glinted in the sunlight with sharp metallic sounds from all directions.

Voltorn raised his axe toward the sky.

Rumble…

The ground tremors continued unabated, growing louder, and the scratching sound became a crumbling noise that echoed across the snowfield.

Finally, as lumps of snow poured down, a huge hole appeared…

And then, as if by some lie, silence fell over the snowfield.

“What’s going on?”

Someone’s voice represented the warriors’ thoughts. The pit that seemed ready to spew forth monsters had appeared, yet the world was surprisingly quiet.

What was all that commotion just now…

Crack.

As a tiny noise echoed through the silence, Voltorn’s eyes flashed.

“Damn! Whale hunters, aim ahead of the planned position!”

Noticing something strange, Voltorn swung down his axe and loudly ordered the whale hunters.

Following the trajectory of the axe, lightning struck from the clear sky. The lightning, tearing through the air, struck not the gaping hole but the open space in front of it…

For a very brief moment, the warriors instinctively wondered:

Why would a seasoned warrior like Voltorn attack bare ground instead of the monster’s nest?

“KIEEEEEEEK!!!!!”

The answer was simple. There were armored spiders lying in ambush in what they thought was bare ground.

The armored spider hiding in the snow couldn’t bear the pain of its flesh and muscles melting from the lightning and jumped out of the snow with a scream.

Realizing their ambush had been discovered, the armored spiders leaped out of the snow with howls and charged toward the warriors. But they couldn’t reach them.

Stone spears thrown by the whale hunters rained down on the armored spiders’ bodies.

The spears pierced, crushed, and tore apart the bodies of the ambushing armored spiders. The creatures, sensing failure, let out mournful cries.

After the shower of stone spears passed, the ground tremors that had stopped momentarily returned. This time they didn’t stop and were louder and rougher than before.

As if that sound were a war horn, armored spiders swarmed out of the hole that had opened like the gates of hell. They paid no attention to the deaths of their kin.

The swarm of armored spiders trampled over their comrades’ corpses and charged toward the warriors with howls.

The whale hunters hurriedly threw spears to slow the charge, but…

“Damn it, the timing is completely off!”

“They’ve moved beyond the range of our spears!”

Because the first attack had been stolen by the ambushing armored spiders, most of the spears missed their targets. Even worse, the large armored spiders at the front charged forward without any damage.

Sensing that a collision was inevitable, the chieftains shouted to the warriors in formation.

“Big ones to the front! Prepare to block them even if one line breaks through!!!”

“Armored spiders are just like beasts! If we stop their charge, their large bodies will become obstacles!”

“Wait! S-something’s wrong! Are they… are they forming a formation?!”

A warrior pointed at the armored spiders in shock. The armored spiders, which had seemed to be charging in disorder, began to form an attack formation.

The chieftains, who had naturally expected the armored spiders to rampage randomly, were greatly perplexed.

They had planned to surround and annihilate them, but now they risked engaging in a chaotic battle with the armored spiders.

However…

“This has become troublesome. Gulmarg and Wendigo, would you two follow me?”

“You’re the commander of this battle, so that’s only natural.”

Voltorn’s expression showed irritation, but no confusion.

The Wendigo immediately understood what plan Voltorn had formed and controlled his projections to stick close behind Voltorn. Gulmarg, standing beside Voltorn, politely asked him.

“Should I, break through?”

“Thanks, but I’ll decline. This is something a chieftain should do.”

Rejecting Gulmarg’s offer, Voltorn let out a battle cry and pulled the reins. The mammoth that had been roaming the battlefield with him let out a roar that shook the earth, as if expressing its master’s anger.

Golgota burst into hearty laughter at his friend’s unchanged temperament.

He thought his friend had become docile after getting married and having children, but people don’t change so easily!

“Everyone, follow Voltorn! He will smash through the enemy’s front line and charge!”

“What? What does that… Cough!?”

“Golgota is right. Instead of wasting time thinking, just run!”

When the chieftains shouted, the warriors charged with puzzled expressions.

Of course, as Hrimtur warriors, they didn’t mind a head-on collision with armored spiders…

But such frontal charges were usually tactics they would suggest, only to have their heads bashed in by the elders.

Golgota smirked, reading the warriors’ expressions. He could predict their thoughts without asking.

‘This is indeed a foolish method.’

The warriors’ doubts were justified. Suggesting a head-on charge against charging enemies was an incredibly stupid tactic.

What good would it do if both sides’ front lines collapsed upon collision? It was obvious that a chaotic battle would ensue.

Considering that the opponents were monsters, a frontal charge was the worst possible move.

But there was one thing the warriors overlooked.

Voltorn had no intention of stopping his charge.

“PUOOOOO!!!”

“Kiee..”

CRASH!

Voltorn’s mammoth trampled the armored spiders as it charged. The mammoth neither thought of stopping nor felt the need to.

As more than ten armored spiders charged with fierce howls, Voltorn’s axe shattered their shells and slaughtered them.

Voltorn hurled the armored spiders’ corpses skyward and let out a roar.

“You’ll regret standing in the way of my daughter’s wedding!!!”

The lightning-infused axe swung at the head of an armored spider larger than the mammoth. Befitting its role as the vanguard, its shell was harder than rock…

CRACK!

“KIEEEK!?”

“Get lost!”

The axe not only dug into the spider’s head but also sent its massive body flying sideways. As its body was flung away, the head caught on the axe was torn off and soared into the sky.

The Wendigo burst into laughter at the carnage caused by an axe wielded with just one hand.

‘Now I understand why Angrid couldn’t date until now.’

At that moment, the words of encouragement Voltorn had tried to give Gulmarg flashed through his mind.

If anything happened to make Angrid sad, wouldn’t he try to split his son-in-law’s head with that axe?

“Get out of my way if you don’t want to die! Because of you bastards, my daughter’s man… I’ll tear you all to pieces!”

‘I’m truly glad he’s not my father-in-law.’

A monster father-in-law who could send a monster’s head flying with one hand—what a terrifying thought.

The Wendigo sincerely prayed for the well-being of Gulmarg’s married life.

Otherwise, he might end up attending either Voltorn’s or Gulmarg’s funeral.

… Or perhaps even both.