Chapter 53
“It’s over.”
“You’ve worked hard.”
Though they were less over-the-top than the elephant tribe, the other four tribes were by no means inferior in ferocity.
They had pursued the wolf tribe, which fled with such doggedness that it seemed determined to follow them all the way to hell.
But Arrelia held no grudge against them and approached Jade looking perfectly fine.
“What hardship? It was refreshing to properly stretch my body for the first time in ages. Besides, our opponent was quite strong. The forest where I live is too quiet, so it isn't much fun. It's not that I dislike peace, but it can get terribly boring. Sometimes you need a little stimulation, you know.”
“Hahaha.”
Despite the small wounds visible here and there on her body, Arrelia looked completely unfazed.
No, she looked more refreshed than ever.
If anything, she looked like she had really gotten a workout.
“I think it was a good idea to come find you, Jade. I even got to experience firsthand, if only indirectly, what the Great Forest is like.”
“The Great Forest isn't this savage every day like it was today. There are peaceful areas as well.”
“That makes it even better. You could say it has endless appeal.”
“As long as you have the strength to protect yourself, it is a fairly decent place to live.”
Vroooom.
Jade, who had been talking with Arrelia, turned his head.
A strange wave of mana had flowed from Whid.
She seemed to sense it too, widening her eyes as she turned toward Whid.
“Did he eat the Wolf King’s corpse?”
“Yes. I thought it might help Whid. It seemed a shame to throw it away, too.”
“True. Whid is a Gold Drake, after all.”
Although he was normally cute and adorable, he was, in truth, a Gold Drake.
A large monster ranked among the most powerful monsters.
But since he was still a hatchling, the Wolf King's corpse might prove useful.
“Fortunately, it seems to be working.”
“The Wolf King wasn't an ordinary werewolf, after all.”
Crack!
A soft light flowed from Whid, whose eyes were closed.
A mass of yellow light resembling golden scales enveloped his body.
At the same time, Whid's body began to slowly grow, accompanied by the sound of bones twisting.
-He’s growing! He’s getting bigger and bigger!
-It works like a charm.
Even Elestra could not hide her surprise at Whid's slow but certain growth.
She had not expected him to react so quickly.
Moreover, a considerable amount of energy was gathering in Whid's heart.
The amount had always been considerable, but now it seemed to have nearly doubled.
Kraaaah!
His golden scales seemed to be growing sturdier, and the horn jutting from his forehead had grown a little as well—though only slightly compared to his body.
Perhaps because of that, Whid opened his eyes and howled toward the sky.
“Oh, it’s faint, but is that Fear blooming?”
“Yes. It’s definitely Fear.”
Both Jade and Arrelia were startled by Whid's roar.
A faint but unmistakable Fear emanated from it.
Kyu-u-u!
But Whid, who had unleashed Fear, instantly returned to his small form and nestled in Jade's arms.
He repeatedly burped as if to say he had eaten well.
“You little rascal.”
Jade couldn't help but chuckle at Whid, who purred as though pleased to have a full stomach.
It was surprising that he had unleashed Fear, but that was all.
Since Fear was something Whid would eventually be able to unleash anyway, Jade no longer paid it any mind.
“I’m looking forward to seeing how strong he’ll become in the distant future. At this rate of growth, he seems capable of easily crushing most drakes, but I wonder just how far he’ll grow.”
“There’s no harm in becoming strong.”
“He might even become a Drake Lord.”
Arrelia said with a playful smile.
Just as orcs, ogres, and trolls had their lords and kings, there must surely be a drake who stood at the pinnacle among drakes as well.
She thought Whid might perhaps inherit that position.
‘Am I expecting too much? But he doesn’t have to become a Lord.’
Since Whid had been raised by Jade from the moment he was born, he was different from ordinary drakes.
Judging from how he usually kept himself small, he did not seem likely to leave Jade even after reaching full growth.
But one thing was certain: the moment of parting would come someday.
‘I guess I could ride on his back soon. I want to try it too.’
Arrelia gave the peacefully sleeping Whid in Jade's arms an odd look.
Judging from the size he had just reached, it seemed it would be all right for her to ride on Whid's back now.
Of course, Jade would be the first one to ride him.
“Let’s go.”
“All right.”
With the battlefield more or less in order, Jade spoke.
The battle was over, but the cleanup was only just beginning.
“W-We won! We won!”
“It’s over! The war is over!”
“Woohoo!”
Meanwhile, the town militia, who had watched the beastfolk war from the ramparts with tense expressions, erupted in cheers filled with relief.
They wanted to tell their comrades and the villagers that the beastfolk alliance had won.
Then cheers rang out from every direction.
“Wow…….”
“So that’s why Lord Jade told us to imagine it.”
“That was amazing. I never knew spirits could be used like that.”
“His control is one thing, but I was more amazed by the amount of mana. Did you see how far those spirits moved? They covered the entire battlefield! And even after two intermediate spirits were forcibly dismissed, he summoned them right back.”
“That was truly incredible.”
Amid the noisy celebration, the ten people who had climbed onto the ramparts to lend a hand in case of trouble all wore stunned expressions.
This was because they had finally seen firsthand why high-ranking spirit mages were fearsome and how a true spirit mage fought.
They also understood why the crown prince had created a new Department of Spirit Studies at the Royal Academy.
If even one person like Jade were to emerge, the strength of the Polstein Kingdom would rise by more than a full level.
“Do you think we can do it too?”
“What are you talking about? We have to, no matter what. After seeing that, do you really feel like giving up?”
“No, that’s not what I mean. I mean I’m not confident. Everyone has different levels of talent.”
“So are you going to give up?”
“Of course not. We have to throw ourselves into it as if our lives depended on it.”
The children’s eyes hardened.
The overwhelming display had intimidated them, but their hearts had also begun to pound.
Everyone’s heart was racing at the realization that the power known as spirit arts could reach such heights.
Parzali’s eyes in particular burned the hottest.
“Now, now! Enough celebrating! Hurry down and start cleaning up! If we don’t want to smell blood again tomorrow morning, we need to get moving!”
“Everyone, get down! We need to clean up with the determination to finish today no matter what!”
“We need to hurry, or the monsters might smell the blood and come tonight!”
Cheers continued without pause, regardless of age or gender.
The apprentice knights, soldiers, and town militia were no exception.
But they could not celebrate forever, so Ged, Ilait, and Kevin broke up the celebration and began issuing orders.
The battle was over, but the cleanup of the battlefield was only just beginning.
“Understood!”
“Everyone, let’s get down!”
“All right!”
Following the three knights, who set an example by laying down their weapons and heading below the ramparts, the able-bodied men streamed down after them.
There was nothing to be gained from letting the smell of blood waft around with the beastfolk here.
Besides, they wanted to lend a hand in whatever way they could.
“Let’s go too.”
“Yes, brother!”
“Those contracted with earth spirits, especially, bury them right away. There’s no need to move them.”
“We’ll burn them with salamanders!”
“All right.”
The ten apprentice spirit mages also began clearing the corpses under Parzali’s direction.
They started by clearing away the wolf tribe’s corpses.
They thought the monkey, lion, tiger, or fox tribes might come looking for the corpses of their own people.
“But they’re so big.”
“They’re all around four meters.”
“This one’s over six meters.”
“Ugh!”
From a distance, it had felt like a battle of monsters, but not as though the monsters were enormous; up close, they were larger than expected.
Even in death, their corpses were so large they were intimidating.
Perhaps because of that, all the children’s faces darkened.
“What are you doing? We don’t have time to stand around being surprised. Just dig!”
“Don’t think about it! Dig the hole first! Then put them in and cover them up!”
Unlike the children, who were flustered by the unexpectedly large werewolf corpses, the town militia began shoveling with practiced ease.
They had seen more than enough monster corpses, so they dug rather than waste time being shocked.
Seeing the militia at work, the domain soldiers and apprentice knights also began shoveling.
“Let’s help too!”
“We have to clear them away quickly so the village will be safe!”
The village’s able-bodied men joined them as well.
All the males, from boys to old men, came out to dig or carry the werewolf corpses.
Even if they could not be of much help, everyone tried to lend a hand in some small way.
Clap, clap!
“Let’s hurry too!”
“Yes, brother!”
“But what do we do with that one?”
“Hmm!”
Parzali’s brows drew together.
Where the children pointed stood a gigantic werewolf well over six meters tall.
It looked as though a great deal of blood had drained from its body, which was riddled with wounds, but its sheer size made it look anything but light.
“Leave that one. We’re going to skin it properly and sell it.”
“My lord!”
“Pull out its claws and teeth, too. We’ll sell them with the hide. It’s hard to get a werewolf this size, so plenty of buyers will be looking for one. The hide’s pretty badly damaged, but a werewolf this large is still rare.”
Jade approached with Whid in his arms.
Arrelia stood beside him, wearing her usual bright smile.
“It definitely has rarity value.”
“Would you like me to set some aside for you too, Arrelia?”
“I’d like you to call me by my nickname now. We fought a second battle together, so don’t you think you can be more casual with me?”
“All right.”
“Hehehe!”
Arrelia looked satisfied when Jade immediately switched to informal speech.
It seemed she finally felt a little more at ease.
-That auntie laughed like a fox!
-She does kind of feel like the fox tribe.
-Auntie? How could someone with that face be an auntie?
No sooner had Arrelia laughed than Silestin and Elestra spoke up in displeasure.
But their words made Jade snort with laughter.
No matter how he looked at it, the word auntie and Arrelia simply did not go together.
-You have to consider her age. She’s the war elf tribe’s war chief, so she must be over 300 years old at the very least.
-Elves usually live for about a thousand years and retain a youthful appearance until they’re 900, so she might even be over 800.
-Oh, honestly.
Jade made an incredulous face.
Even if Arrelia could not hear them, that was going too far.
“What’s wrong?”
“It’s nothing. Ria, go back and rest. I’ll come in after I see the beastfolk arrive.”
“I’ll help too. I still have plenty of mana.”
“You must be tired.”
“I feel completely refreshed.”
Arrelia grinned.
She had a few minor wounds, but they did not hurt.
Wounds like these would heal completely within a day, after all.
“And wouldn’t it be better if I lent even one more hand? I may not be as good as you, Jade.”
Shimmer, shimmer.
The space around Arrelia wavered.
Spirits of the four elements appeared.
Before long, the summoned intermediate spirits began moving on their own.
Although she was not as skilled as Jade, she was still an outstanding spirit mage in her own right, so she directed them with nothing but her thoughts.
“Maybe I’ll put my strength to use too.”
Spirits appeared all around Jade in a rush.
They responded the instant the thought arose.
And the five tribes that had pursued the wolf tribe returned one after another.