The Hero Becomes the Duke's Eldest Son

Translator: Marctempest

Editor: Rynfinity

Chapter 191

- Ooooooh!

The divine beast, Akupala, was not only killed and had its power taken away by the Western Forest Alliance but was also resurrected as an undead.

However, it wasn't just the turtle divine beast.

- Kyaaaaaah!

A chilling screech echoed from the sky.

A massive black monstrous bird with three legs spread its enormous wings against the sun.

Its jet-black feathers looked as if they had been charred by approaching the sun.

- ...‘The Black Bird that Swallowed the Sun,’ the crow divine beast, Karas.

Soon, another cry was heard.

- Grrrrrr…!

A massive black tiger, over 30 meters in size, roared fiercely.

- ‘The Black Tiger that Calls Thunder’ as well...

The three divine beasts that ruled the west.

They all appeared as undead, alongside the Western Forest Alliance.

Even Fenrir knew that the Black Tiger Tribe had hunted and killed the divine beasts.

So, there was no reason to be surprised by their deaths.

- But to rob them of even their eternal rest, turning them into such forms and controlling them!

Grrrrr.

Fenrir bared its fierce teeth, growling savagely.

"Calm down, Fenrir."

Aden stroked Fenrir's fur, trying to calm it down.

But he, too, could only suppress the surge of curses rising within him.

Those bastards.

Who would have thought they'd turn divine beasts into undead?

Even Aden hadn’t expected such a move.

'It seems like one of Chaos' officers has become quite desperate, using such a tactic.'

To resurrect such powerful and noble beings as undead would require an extraordinary sacrifice.

Each divine beast likely required thousands of people as sacrifices.

They must have sacrificed the entire opposition tribes during the formation of the Western Forest Alliance.

At least ten thousand people, perhaps.

That was when it happened.

Flash!

A red light suddenly flashed from the massive black tiger leading the Western Forest Alliance.

Then,

Boom!

Something engulfed in red light flew rapidly.

A single streak of red, soaring high into the sky.

Its target was the Gryphon unit of the Crimson Cat Tribe.

"Scatter, everyone!"

Pamsibet urgently ordered, but it was already too late.

The red meteor was simply too fast.

Bang!

Even just brushing near it caused the Gryphons' wings or parts of their bodies to burst like balloons.

Screeeeech!

The Gryphons screamed in their death throes.

Whiiiiiish!

Even those Gryphons that weren’t directly hit were helplessly swept away by the outrageous storm that erupted within a radius of dozens of meters as the red meteor passed by, like pigeons caught in a tornado.

"Gasp!"

"Aaaah!"

As the Gryphon riders screamed while falling from the sky, those who barely managed to regain their senses after being swept away by the storm frantically grabbed the falling ones.

Despite that, dozens of members of the Crimson Cat Tribe who couldn’t be caught screamed as they plummeted.

- Lahaya Yaharaia!

At that moment, Pamsibet made a peculiar sound, akin to the sound of wind, and shook her bell.

Then,

Whiiiiish.

Small whirlwinds formed, enveloping the falling warriors and Gryphons, gently lowering them to the ground.

It was her shamanic magic.

But they couldn’t relax just yet.

Boom!

A second red meteor came flying from the Western Forest Alliance.

This time, the meteor rushed towards where the Blue Bear Tribe and Silver Wolf Tribe were located.

As the blood-red trajectory swept low over the ground like a bird gliding, the surrounding earth was destroyed in real-time by the storm.

Considering the power, the vanguard of the Eastern army would be shattered if this continued.

"Blue Bear!"

"I know!"

Taash!

Furious Fang and Shamamaku leaped forward and swung their swords at the oncoming meteor.

Shamamaku's deep blue aura blade and Furious Fang's silver aura blade.

The combined power of the two great warriors,

Boom!

The blow containing their strength clashed with the red light.

A dazzling flash burst forth, and a thunderous explosion rang out.

As a result,

"Grrr!"

"Ugh!"

Shamamaku and Furious Fang were blown away by the impact and crashed into the ground.

With a deafening sound, a terrifying crater formed in the ground.

"Chief!"

At the surreal sight, the warriors of the Eastern army naturally shouted for their chiefs in surprise.

The two chiefs, covered in dust, groaned as they stood up.

"Damn it, what the hell is that!"

"What is that...?"

Whatever it was, it had been barely stopped after a humiliating ordeal, even though two great warriors, both Sword Masters, had stepped forward.

Ssssss.

In the 3-meter-deep crater lay a massive spear.

The 4-meter-long throwing spear, overheated and glowing red, emitted a shimmering heat haze as it was half-buried in the ground.

Seeing this, chills ran down their spines.

'Damn. Did someone throw such a massive spear? From that distance?'

'Who the hell...'

For the first time in a long while, Shamamaku and Furious Fang felt a chilling sensation.

It was a feeling they had never experienced since reaching the realm of a great warrior.

At that moment, a third red light flashed again.

Boom!

A red meteor, or rather a giant spear wrapped in aura, came hurtling towards Fenrir, the wolf divine beast, with the intent to pierce through its enormous body.

With a thunderous roar, the giant spear charged forward with terrifying momentum.

It was even faster than the previous two spears.

In the blink of an eye, the spear was about to pierce Fenrir’s head.

Swoosh!

Aden leaped forward in front of Fenrir and swung his sword.

Aden’s blue aura blade clashed with the spear.

The same action as what Shamamaku and Furious Fang had done.

However, the result that followed was slightly different.

Aden’s aura cleverly twisted the momentum of the spear, wrapping around it.

Bang!

The spear’s trajectory was altered, veering off in an unexpected direction.

Rumble!

The spear, twisted to the side by Aden, didn’t lose its momentum and flew somewhere else.

Boom!

Soon, it struck a massive, fossilized skull-like mountain beside the Eastern army.

Rumble.

The skull-like mountain crumbled into ruins as it collided with the spear.

There were no more spears after the third one.

"......"

However, the sight of a mountain collapsing due to a single spear, and Aden’s skill in deflecting such a terrifying spear, left the entire Eastern army in silence.

"What a grand introduction."

Aden glared at the man riding on the back of the black tiger at the forefront of the Western Forest Alliance, from where the spear had flown.

"Is that Kaan?"

Aden’s vision had sharpened upon reaching the level of a high Sword Master, and he could clearly see.

A scarred giant with a well-trained physique and black hair.

That man was also looking at Aden.

Kaan had thrown a spear so powerful that it destroyed a mountain and could not be fully blocked even by two masters.

This meant only one thing.

"It seems that guy has also reached the level of a high Sword Master."

The ability to maintain aura on a weapon even after releasing it was a skill only achievable by masters who had reached a high level.

Considering that even ordinary Black Tiger Tribe warriors could become masters by using the Philosopher’s Stone, it would be strange if he hadn’t used it himself.

He must have broken through the wall of mastery by consuming a fragment of the Philosopher’s Stone.

That was when it happened.

"Who are you?"

A voice infused with mana spread out, reaching the entire Eastern army.

It was an omnipotent-sounding voice that seemed to come from all directions at once.

The overwhelming pressure in that voice caused short groans among the warriors of the Eastern army.

"Why is an outsider interfering in the affairs of the Great Forest?"

It seemed that blocking the attack that could have killed a divine beast in one blow had hurt his pride a bit.

In response to that question, Aden chuckled and spoke, infusing his voice with mana just like Kaan.

"Who are you to talk? You were the ones who first joined forces with an external power. Is it romance when you do it and adultery when someone else does? Man, what a dirty bastard. Thanks to that, you got to become a high Sword Master, huh?"

"......It was because of you that the false god is still alive."

He was referring to the wolf divine beast, Fenrir.

Twelve Black Tiger Tribe masters had suddenly disappeared from the east.

Neither Kaan nor Bivaldo could figure out the reason, but upon seeing Aden, they had no choice but to understand.

It was him.

The young outsider who had reached a level that could only be achieved after enduring the agony of having both the soul and body devoured by swallowing the 'Stone of Blood.'

It was natural that his subordinates had fallen to such a monster.

However, he didn’t feel particularly angry about it.

‘It was just because they were weak.’

He didn’t feel the need to be angry on behalf of those who had died because they were weak.

"Brothers of the East, I give you one last chance."

Kaan spoke, infusing his voice with mana, so that it reached the entire Eastern Forest Alliance.

"I have shattered the mountain of the 'Howling Great Mountain' with my spear."

Ooooooh!

The massive mountain turtle roared.

"I have beheaded the 'Black Bird that Swallowed the Sun' and caused it to plummet from the sky."

Kyaaaaaah!

The giant crow screeched noisily from the sky.

"And, I split the body of the 'Black Tiger that Calls Thunder' and brought it down."

Grrrrr.

The massive black tiger growled lowly.

"Yes, I have conquered the beings that once ruled as gods in this Great Forest."

He had killed the gods and resurrected them as undead, making them his servants.

The three divine beasts of the East, now with the Western Forest Alliance.

"I declare to the brothers of the East. Surrender."

Kaan, in an emotionless voice, made his first and last offer to the Eastern army, urging them to submit.

"You cannot defeat us."

"Woah, woah, woah!"

The Western Forest Alliance responded with a cheer, stomping their feet and clashing their weapons together.

Fwoosh!

The Black Tiger Tribe's masters ignited their blood-red aura blades.

Dozens of dazzling aura blades.

"Will you still choose to fight us?"

Acknowledge that coexistence and harmony are mere illusions, and the true law of nature is the survival of the fittest.

Silence.

Kaan’s words, filled with this meaning, caused the Eastern army to fall silent for a moment.

Overwhelming power, overwhelming strength.

Some of them even turned their gaze towards the collapsed mountain destroyed by Kaan’s spear.

It felt like it foreshadowed their own future.

But that moment was brief.

"...Kaan, Chief of the Black Tiger Tribe of the Western Forest, I, Pamsibet, Chief of the Crimson Cat Tribe, answer you."

Pamsibet spoke in a clear voice, infused with mana, so that everyone could hear.

"How do you think that outsider standing before you is here?"

"......"

"It is thanks to my daughter, Cassie."

A somewhat unexpected statement.

However, she spoke with a voice filled with pride.

"My daughter, who was born with a weak body, was the frailest child within our tribe."

A child who would collapse after just a few steps due to her congenital mana circulation disorder, and who would intermittently cough up blood, a child who could have died at any time.

That was Cassie, someone who, by Kaan’s standards, belonged to the ‘weak.’

"But that child eventually grew up, became an adult, and formed new bonds outside the forest. And those bonds, in the moment our tribe faced danger, brought forth a helping hand."

Because Cassie was alive, Aden and his party were able to reach the Crimson Cat Tribe’s village deep within the Great Forest.

They were able to save the life of Lord Miao, the cat divine beast.

'She even brought back a son-in-law.'

She chuckled briefly.

But only for a moment, before she glared fiercely at Kaan in the sky.

"It was Lord Miao who helped Cassie grow up. Ha! Kaan, believer in the law of the jungle, let me ask you! Having saved each other’s lives, who is the weak and who is the strong?"

She shouted in a fervent voice.

"The divine beasts are lifelong benefactors and companions who have allowed us to live in this Great Forest! In this, the logic of strength and weakness is meaningless!"

That was the coexistence and harmony she believed in.

"Kaan! Our Crimson Cat Tribe will never surrender!"

"Wooooooo!"

Screeeeech!

A thousand warriors of the Crimson Cat Tribe shouted in unison.

The Gryphons roared.

"I, Furious Fang of the Silver Wolf Tribe, also speak on behalf of my tribe."

Furious Fang revealed her sharp fangs and calmly raised her killing intent.

"We wolves do not forget our debts."

A brilliant silver aura blade appeared on the curved sword held in Furious Fang’s hand.

"The outsider Aden Remes saved our Wolf Mother, and your kind aimed for her life. Could there be a more undeniable debt? Chief of the Black Tigers, I will repay the debt owed to you."

- Awoooooo!

The king of the direwolves, tamed by Furious Fang herself, howled.

"Woooooo!"

Hundreds of wolves and warriors of the Silver Wolf Tribe followed, roaring.

"So much damn noise. What’s with all the talking when we’re about to fight?"

The Chief of the Blue Bear Tribe, Shamamaku, who had been watching, frowned and scratched the back of his neck.

"Do we need any grand reasons? Black Tiger! I'd rather die fighting than serve under a pompous bastard like you! Who are you to say who can and can’t win!"

"Hahaha! Our chief is absolutely right!"

"Let’s fight!"

"Wooooooo!"

The warriors of the Blue Bear Tribe laughed boldly, shouting loudly.

Crimson Cat, Blue Bear, Silver Wolf.

The three tribes, and all of the Eastern Forest Alliance, shouted as one.

"We will punish the traitors of nature!"

"Nature rejects you!"

A clear rejection.

Kaan watched this with a faint smile.

"Fools."

It was a sneer.

"How do you intend to punish us when you have only one divine beast left at full strength?"

"Who knows."

Aden merely shrugged with a mysterious smile.

That was when it happened.

- Kyaaaaaah!

The cries echoed.

Three roars that seemed to shake the very earth.

In the Great Forest, there was only one being capable of making such a sound.

At that sound, the faint smile on Kaan’s lips disappeared.

Instead, a deep satisfaction spread across Aden’s face.

"It seems it’s not just one after all?"

Now, the war begins.