The Hero Becomes the Duke's Eldest Son

Translator: Marctempest

Editor: Rynfinity

Chapter 189

At Aden’s remark, several of the chiefs from small and medium-sized tribes became agitated and rushed at him.

“What are you saying?!”

“Are you saying that we’ll lose to those damned tigers?!”

“What would an outsider know?!”

These were all individuals who were highly regarded in their own territories, so Aden’s words wounded their pride, making them react defensively.

“Why is an outsider even involved in discussing the stability of the Great Forest?!”

As the atmosphere in the meeting room was about to become chaotic,

Boom!

Someone slammed their fist into the floor. With a thunderous crash, the wooden floor of the fortress cracked open.

Rumble, crackle…

The entire wooden fortress trembled, causing some leaves to fall.

A massive man with short, bluish hair, his body covered in fierce scars, glared fiercely.

“Everyone, be quiet.”

“……”

The surroundings fell silent in an instant.

It was the chief of the Blue Bear Tribe, Shamamaku.

He was known for his foul temper and for being as simple-minded and brutishly strong as he looked.

In the Great Forest, he was a warrior who had reached the level of a “Great Warrior,” equivalent to a Sword Master.

He was infamous for strangling an eight-headed Hydra to death simply because it was making too much noise.

The chiefs and envoys from the small and medium-sized tribes, who had been raising their voices at the unfamiliar outsider, were instantly silenced by his reprimand.

The man, who radiated the pressure of a mountain, turned to Aden and asked,

“Why do you say we’ll be killed by those soot-stained tigers? Explain yourself properly.”

His eyes blazed as if sparks were flying.

“If your explanation isn’t satisfactory, I’ll tear your limbs apart.”

Shamamaku menacingly gauged Aden, exuding a fierce aura.

Boom!

He unleashed his “Master Fear” with that terrifying presence.

“Ugh!”

“Cough, h-hey! Blue Bear!”

“Ugh, calm down…!”

Those who couldn’t withstand his killing intent staggered or groaned in pain.

However, those who had reached a level where they could withstand such hostility, including Pamsibet, who had been indebted to Aden, and Furious Fang, became angry.

“Hey! Shamamaku!”

“How can you be so rude to our guest…!”

At that moment,

“Well.”

Clap!

Aden clapped his hands once.

The mana wave contained in that sound quickly spread out, dissipating Shamamaku’s Master Fear.

“Do you even have the ability to do that?”

“……!”

The Blue Bear chief’s eyes widened.

His Master Fear had been dispelled so effortlessly.

The only way to erase a Master Fear was for someone at a much higher level than the caster to inject their killing intent and break it.

This meant only one thing.

Aden was a martial artist at a level far above Shamamaku’s.

“Hahahaha!”

Realizing this, Shamamaku burst into wild laughter.

“It seems I can’t underestimate you just because you’re an outsider! I was rude. Please forgive me.”

He laughed heartily, as if he found the situation amusing, and apologized to Aden.

As simple-minded as he was, his respect for the strong was unwavering.

Seeing this, the eyes of the people from the small and medium-sized tribes widened.

‘What did I just witness?’

‘Did that rigid man bow his head first?’

But that wasn’t the only surprising thing.

“He came here to inform us about the crisis facing the Great Forest. Show some respect.”

“He is the benefactor who saved our Wolf Mother. If anyone dares to insult him, I’ll deal with them first.”

With Pamsibet from the Red Cat Tribe and Furious Fang from the Silver Wolf Tribe declaring this, the other chiefs had no choice but to take note of Aden.

An outsider recognized by the chiefs of the three great tribes.

Those who had initially taken the young foreigner lightly began to sense that Aden was no ordinary person.

They could feel the change in the way the chiefs looked at him.

Pamsibet and Furious Fang exchanged sly glances with Aden.

It was clear that their looks conveyed, "Didn’t we do well?"

Seeing this, Aden smiled with satisfaction.

‘It was a good idea to coordinate in advance.’

Although the Red Cat Tribe and the Silver Wolf Tribe had directly benefited from Aden, the other tribes had not.

Thus, they had set the stage to lend weight to his words.

‘That’s why I didn’t stop the small and medium-sized tribes from getting excited at first.’

Given the authority of the Red Cat and Silver Wolf Tribe chiefs, they could have easily calmed the small and medium-sized tribes.

But they didn’t do so to prompt the intervention of the Blue Bear chief, who disliked noise.

It was a play that could only be carried out because they were well aware of the Blue Bear chief’s temperament.

The provocation directed at Aden that followed was also anticipated.

As expected, Shamamaku, who had sensed Aden’s overwhelming strength, acknowledged him, making it impossible for the small and medium-sized tribes to take him lightly.

With the stage set, Aden spoke.

“Now, I’ll share what I’ve discovered.”

Aden explained to them about the existence of Chaos behind the Black Tiger Tribe and their objectives.

As his explanation continued, the chiefs’ faces turned pale.

“Hmm…”

Even the chief of the Cheongung Tribe let out a sigh when Aden explained about the artificial Sword Masters and the Philosopher’s Stone.

“…That’s all I have to say.”

As Aden finished his explanation, sighs of despair erupted from all around.

“My God…”

“Who would have thought such wicked beings existed?”

“Creating artificial Great Warriors and reviving the dead, such nonsense!”

“The Black Tiger Tribe, to think they’d join forces with such evil beings, they’ve truly fallen!”

Cries of outrage echoed from all directions.

At the same time, fear began to creep in.

Even one Great Warrior, or Sword Master, was a terrifying existence.

But to think there could be dozens of such beings…?

On top of that, they could revive after being killed and return in perfect condition!

Aden’s initial words, “Everyone gathered here will die,” now made complete sense in the face of this shocking revelation.

The shock therapy had worked quite well.

However, it would be problematic if morale dropped too much.

Aden continued.

“Based on my personal experience, they weren’t fully fledged Masters but rather incomplete ones.”

While they could wield Aura Blades and possessed the power and might of a superhuman, their Aura manipulation was clumsy, and their skills were only on par with an advanced Sword Aura Knight.

“And the Philosopher’s Stone in question was destroyed by me on the spot, so there’s no chance of the enemies reviving again. The forty or so artificial Sword Masters remaining in the western forest are all they have.”

While absorbing the Philosopher’s Stone, Aden had also devoured the souls of the despicable Caliph of Treachery and the Black Tiger warriors.

Their bodies had turned to ash and disappeared because of this.

Thus, Aden had to read some of the wraith’s memories using the “Wraith’s Kaleidoscope.”

‘They only have one nearly complete Philosopher’s Stone.’

Although many materials were required to create the Philosopher’s Stone, three elements were essential.

The 72nd Sword, Balak.

A divine essence existing in the mortal world.

A blood sacrifice of a soul filled with resentment.

The process of creating the Philosopher’s Stone involved investing significant time in refining the hardest substance in the world, the 72nd Sword, to make a vessel, then pouring divine essence and the purified blood of countless humans into it.

This was how the Philosopher’s Stone was created.

‘The Philosopher’s Stone currently in the possession of that Western officer only contains divine essence within its basic structure. It’s an incomplete product. With that alone, they can’t create new artificial Sword Masters or perform the miracle of resurrection.’

So, the current forces possessed by the Western Forest Alliance amount to only thirty-eight artificial Sword Masters, minus the twelve Aden had killed.

And that wasn’t all Aden had discovered.

‘As I suspected, the Archmage was in league with Chaos.’

She had even positioned herself as one of Chaos’s lieutenants.

Shaura of Hellfire.

That was her name within Chaos.

A fitting title for her, who primarily used fire magic.

Hearing Aden’s words, the chiefs’ expressions eased slightly.

“Hmm, that’s a bit of a relief, but…”

“Even if they are incomplete, forty Great Warriors who can wield Aura Blades…”

It was only a slight relief.

Most of them were still apprehensive about the fact that there were nearly forty Sword Masters.

Someone murmured,

“Perhaps we should surrender first…”

At that moment.

Whizz, bang-!

A menacing hand axe whizzed past the head of the chief who had mentioned surrender and embedded itself into the wooden wall with a thud.

“Gasp…!”

Had it been even a fraction closer, his head would have been split open, and his face turned ashen.

“Silence.”

The Blue Bear chief, who had thrown the axe, glared at him.

“Lowering our heads to those tiger scum trying to take over the Great Forest with such cowardly methods? I’d rather take down as many of them as possible before I die.”

The chief of the Red Cat Tribe, Pamsibet, also spoke with a cold gaze.

“The Black Tiger Tribe has crossed the line. They’re no longer allies of the Great Forest but are instead like the wizards who seek to exploit nature. Do you want to be subjugated by a wizard?”

“N-no, of course not!”

The chief who had mentioned surrender turned red with shame.

The other chiefs’ expressions also changed

 at the mention of wizards.

Furious Fang continued,

“They are those who tried to exploit even the powers of our divine beasts. Their greed will consume the Great Forest and turn it into a hellscape.”

Thud!

Furious Fang stood up and declared,

“Our Silver Wolf Tribe will fight to the death against the Black Tiger Tribe.”

Pamsibet also stood up.

“The Red Cat Tribe also vows to avenge the divine beasts.”

The Blue Bear chief, Shamamaku, didn’t stand up but instead grinned wickedly.

“Our Blue Bear Tribe is always ready to fight. The boys will have some fun for the first time in a while.”

With the three chiefs of the Great Tribes firmly declaring their intentions, the chiefs of the small and medium-sized tribes also responded enthusiastically.

“Yeah! Let’s crush them all!”

“There’s no way we’ll bow our heads to scum like them!”

“Those who forget nature’s grace deserve divine punishment!”

“Nature will reject them!”

The Eastern Forest Alliance.

A force to counter the Western Alliance, dominated by the Black Tiger Tribe, had been born at that moment.

And it meant that the war between the Eastern and Western forests was now inevitable.

* * *

After the Eastern Forest Alliance was established, several meetings were held.

And they all converged on one conclusion.

‘We must gather the strength of the East and strike the West first.’

It was an unavoidable decision.

At this rate, the Western Alliance would attack the Eastern Forest first in an attempt to swallow it whole.

It was better to strike first than to be struck, as it would minimize the damage.

The only plain in the Great Forest that divided the Great Forest into East and West.

‘Bone Rock Plains.’

For the East to reach the West, they had to pass through that plain, and the same was true for the West.

‘According to the scouts, the tribes of the Western Alliance are already gathering. At this rate, we’ll likely clash on the White Bone Rock Plains.’

Thus, as all the forces of the Eastern Forest Alliance gathered,

There was still a problem that needed to be resolved.

“We’ll need the help of the divine beasts in this war.”

Aden spoke to the feline, serpent, bear, and wolf divine beasts gathered together.

“Chaos is supporting the Black Tiger Tribe from behind. Their black magic and curses are incredibly troublesome.”

Currently, the Western forces had thirty-eight artificial Sword Masters.

On the other hand, the Eastern Forest Alliance’s Master-level forces consisted of Pamsibet, Shamamaku, and Furious Fang, making three in total. Even with Aden, that made only four.

No matter how incomplete the enemy’s Masters were, it would be impossible to handle all thirty-eight of them.

“So, we’ll need the divine beasts to step in.”

Fenrir, who had taken on the appearance of a human woman, nodded.

“If you give the order, I’ll take them down, Great Master.”

Her attitude toward Aden had changed significantly from before.

Having fulfilled her mission when the Sacred Fire Lord’s avatar disappeared, she swore to serve Elise and Aden, whom he had named his successors, as her new “Masters.”

Thus, Aden was now addressed as the “Great Master.”

-Nyaa… But what are we supposed to do, even if the wolf is fine?

The cute kitten divine beast.

Lord Miao asked in a gloomy tone.

-We’re currently in a weakened state. Even if we holed up in a sanctuary for 100 years, it wouldn’t be enough to restore even half of our original forms, nyaa.

The cute white baby snake, Jormungandr, nodded in agreement.

-If it were up to me, I’d want to immediately purge all those mammals and spread the greatness of our reptile comrades! But it seems impossible in my current state…

-I’m in the same boat, dummng! Those damned tigers! It wouldn’t be enough to tear them apart and scatter their limbs all over!

The blue baby bear, Cheongung, with its innocent eyes and adorably cute appearance, cursed in a manner that didn’t match its looks.

Looking at the three cute little divine beasts, Aden spoke.

“So, if there’s a way to help you recover your strength, what would you do?”

At Aden’s words, the three divine beasts reacted with intense enthusiasm.

-I’d make them regret it, nyaa! No matter what, definitely!

-It’s a blood feud, dummng! I’ll do anything!

-Revenge…!

Satisfied with their intense reactions, Aden smiled contentedly.

“If that’s your wish, then.”

Aden pulled out three sheets of paper from his pocket and placed them in front of each divine beast.

“Please sign here, divine beasts.”

-Nyaa?

-Kiik?

-Dummng?

The little divine beasts looked at the papers with curiosity in their eyes.

Representing them, Miao waved her cat tail and asked Aden,

-Nyaa? What’s this?

“It’s a contract. The condition is that you’ll sign this contract with me in exchange for my help in restoring your strength.”

-Wait, Dragon Slayer. This content sounds like a complete slave contra….

‘Shh, be quiet.’

And so, Aden gained three divine beast slaves—no, companions.

* * *

A few days after the Eastern Forest Alliance was formed.

Contact was lost with the eight griffon riders who had been secretly sent to spy on the West by the Eastern Alliance.

And instead, only a single bloodstained telegram miraculously arrived.

**10,000 Western Alliance troops advancing toward the East.**