Chapter 234 – Anger and Remorse
Alliance of Northern Immigrants.
Of course, the residents of the land of frost are not happy with that name.
From their point of view, it is nothing more than an epithet given with an imperialistic gaze.
Instead, they refer to themselves as the Children of Winter.
For them, life is always like a harsh winter.
Their hometown is not paradise. It’s not even a shelter.
It’s much harsher than that.
Would you believe it if winter is more than half of the year in the warmest regions?
There is far more barren land where the snow does not melt all year round than there is land that can be farmed.
Being cold and hungry is the same as monsters, so humans always have to suffer from threats to their lives.
Fortunately, among the misfortunes, minerals and other resources are quite abundant.
What does all that mean if there is no place to sell it?
The shortest distance to the northern part of the Empire, the closest external power, is a thousand kilometers.
At that distance, even if it’s on a flat surface, even decently-sized merchants would be hesitant to go up.
The only passage connecting the land of frost and the empire is the great snowfield like a huge white desert.
It is unlikely that normal exchanges will be possible when people risk their lives even for simple passage.
At this point, in terms of territory alone, this huge land that could be called another continent equal to about half of the empire.
It would not be strange that the system beyond the tribal level has not yet been properly established.
In this barren land, the children of winter repeat the struggle for life every day.
Now that they know of the existence of an empire, a land flowing with milk and honey.
Maybe war was inevitable.
—Whee Oh!
A cold wind blowing.
The fluttering white snow crumbles as it rubs against the shoulder of a tall middle-aged man.
“This land was cursed by the gods. There was no future for us except to go on scrapping our lives day by day.”
A word imbued with deep resignation and bitterness sounded more like self-talk than conversation.
The appearances of those who surround him as if escorting him are diverse.
Young people, old people, women, and even boys who haven’t lost their youthfulness.
The only thing they have in common is that they are all high-level warriors with refined prayers.
Their eyes were all focused on Bjorn, who was facing the tall middle-aged man.
If he was an ordinary person, he would have passed out because he couldn’t overcome the pressure, but Bjorn’s face was calm.
The tall middle-aged man looked at Bjorn with pity.
It looked as if he was trying to convince an old friend he had fallen out with.
“That’s why Kagan said that all of us who suffer in this barren land must join forces and fight against fate. You must have been a warrior who knew that better than anyone else, my dear friend.”
“No. Hasn’t the results already proven him wrong, Angorn?”
However, Bjorn shook his head and firmly denied the middle-aged man’s words.
“Is that old man finally out of his mind?”
“I dare not dare to be an old degenerate.”
Then, the momentum of the warriors around them suddenly became rough.
“Stop, I’m talking to my best friend right now.”
Angorn Sigbaldi, the current leader of the coalition, held them in check.
He held out his hand toward Bjorn as if he was sorry, and continued his words.
“…Are you sure you won’t change your mind?”
“Yes. The solidarity of the union, which was already thicker than blood, has become obsolete in the face of greed, and Kagan shows no signs of waking up. Now it’s time for each of us to live on our own.”
“It’s not someone else, and I couldn’t believe that words would come out of your mouth.”
“What, what do you mean by all the strange things you think about? It’s just that we just have to live the way we’ve always lived. Just like always.”
“I see. I understand what you mean.”
Contrary to the calm tone, dark red fighting spirit began to flow from Angorn’s model.
The fluttering white snowflakes are gradually dyed in a black color.
Bjorn’s eyebrows were furrowed at the disparate appearance he hadn’t seen before.
“You…”
“Ah, I’m sorry. I’m having a hard time controlling my anger these days. I hope you understand.”
Originally, the Sigbaldi Bjorn knew was calm and intelligent, unlike a warrior.
A good man with a bold personality who knows how to value his comrades and acknowledges them even if they disagree with him.
That’s why, while possessing the armed forces right next to Kagan, he also possessed the aspect of a strategist who coordinated the conflicts and opinions of various tribes as the second-in-command of the coalition.
His fighting spirit was also very calm and pure.
By the way, what the hell is that ferocious speculation?
“Isn’t that the point. Angorn Sigbaldi, what the hell are you doing? No, now that I see it, you’re not alone. The other warriors of the Nidhoeg tribe…”
“Ah, it’s just a minor side effect. Power doesn’t have a price.”
He smiles wryly, as if embarrassed, but there are terrifyingly bloody lines on his forehead and temples.
It seems that no one can control the boiling anger.
When Bjorn, feeling ominous, tries to take a step back from his old friend who has changed.
— Kwajik!
An arrow that flew from Angorn’s back pierced Bjorn’s forehead.
His body staggered and he collapsed helplessly on the cold snow floor.
“Jackal, your actions just crossed the line.”
Angorn expressed his displeasure at this, but the young man called Jackal only shrugged his shoulders.
“No, father. It was Chief Bjorn who crossed the line first. He insulted the kagan and looked down on my father. Besides, look at that.”
—Saaaaa…
Bjorn’s body scattered into the air as countless pieces of ice.
It was an elaborate alter ego made of frost, not human fabric.
The jackal looked at it and clicked his tongue as if he was disgusted with it.
“The author said that he came to inform, not to negotiate in the first place. The Frosttooth tribe is no longer a member of the Alliance or anything. That is true of the tribes that agree with them.”
“Jackal. I repeat, you are too quick-tempered.”
“…I’m sorry, father. I’ll be careful from now on.”
As soon as his father’s stern gaze turned to me, it was a jackal that quickly lowered its tail, but Angorn also swung his head away without further reproaching him for his unruly behavior.
Angorn’s gaze briefly lingered on Bjorn’s shattered alter ego, but that was all.
“Go back.”
“Yes, father. Then, shall we destroy all the rebels like this?”
“Speak nonsense. Don’t act rashly, Jackal.”
After the conversation with Bjorn, Angorn returned to his tribe.
Sending his son to follow him in, he sighed in his tent.
His head hurt
It is getting more and more difficult to control the boiling anger.
“It’s getting harder and harder. Me and my son. Even my subordinates. Even if it’s an unavoidable side effect…”
At that time.
A single figure appeared inside his tent without any signs.
Wearing a large hood so that neither his face nor his gender could be identified, he made a brief declaration to Angorn.
[Left of anger, Angorn. The time of the solar eclipse will come soon. You fulfill your responsibilities according to the contract]
Then, the dark red speculation that engulfed his body grew thicker.
Angorn suddenly roared and rushed at his figure.
“Wow!”
The human spirit that has now appeared is an entity close to the source of the demonic spirit he has accepted into his body.
This is because the madness that he had barely suppressed exploded when he faced the thick demon.
—Peeing
However, his blow cut through the air for a fleeting moment.
The wind pressure in his fist, which had lost its destination, instead blew through the entire wall of the splendid and large tent.
—Wow!
A wall that disappeared without a trace with just the wind pressure.
The aftermath of the wind was barely stopped until several more tents of innocent Nidhogg tribesmen were smashed to pieces.
“Heo-euk, heo-eok…!”
“Father! Are you okay?”
“Chief Sigbaldi, what’s going on!”
“…Don’t come closer.”
Angorn, who witnessed the horrors he had created, sat down on the ground, defeating his son and his men who rushed to him.
And, he had a gut feeling.
He said he had crossed a road from which he could never return.
It was too late to regret it.
* * *
“It’s strange. My dad isn’t one to be late without contacting me.”
Astrid is visibly anxious.
At last, she jumped up from her seat and began to walk around impatiently.
Wolfgang calmed her down with her calm tone.
“Calm down. Nothing big will happen.”
“How can you be sure of that? Without my father, me and my tribe…”
“Oops. Did you worry so much that you didn’t notice?”
“What are you talking about!”
The reason he was so aloof was simple.
Wolfgang had a keen sense of humor, but after fighting Astrid, his senses subtly became sharper.
Wolfgang had already noticed that Bjorn was not far away.
Wolfgang thought.
It is true that he said that he would go somewhere, but he probably sent an alter ego or a substitute through some means.
The spiritual power, or imagery, possessed by the Perennial Frost Bjorn was notorious even in the Empire.
A kind of ice design ability that creates illusions or alter egos through frost.
His image, which specializes in applied power rather than scope or power, had brought enormous confusion and loss to the Imperial Army.
Even if he had a limp on one leg, there was no way he would have completely lost that ability.
However, the reason why he deceived even his allies and moved secretly was because it required such high security.
If Wolfgang hadn’t grown up once, he probably wouldn’t have even noticed that he was around.
—A jump!
“I’m sorry everyone! Am I a little late?”
“Dad!”
Bjorn came through the door as if he had been waiting for it.
It was Astrid, who was visibly flattered and greeted his father.
Bjorn chuckled at him at his daughter.
“Daughter, are you worried that Dad will go somewhere and die?”
“Poem, noisy! People are watching!”
It was Astrid who was visibly shy and concerned about Wolfgang’s stares.
Seeing her like that, her group showed various reactions to her.
That would also be the case, because there are no people with proper family relationships in this place right now.
The relationship between Wolfgang and the family is the worst.
Ophelia and Scarlett are orphans.
The dragon people to which Lazarus belongs do not have the concept of family.
“I didn’t expect you to be so filial. Surprisingly.”
“Wow, he looks like a jerk, so he’s playing cuter than I thought?”
“Mmm, it’s good to have deep family love!”
“I’m sleepy… I want to sleep…”
Sitting in his seat, Bjorn looked around at Wolfgang and the others and warned them in a serious voice.
“You guys said you were leaving tomorrow, right? Please be careful.
