The Blood Dagger Clan slowly began to move after making the final details of the operation more concrete. Also, since the scale of this operation was larger, the Black Spear Clan also decided to accompany us this time. Thanks to Black Spear lightheartedly accepting our proposition, this mission will proceed a bit smoother.
Of course, the mother Goblins and children will not participate in this battle. As a result, the Human and Goblin children all waved their hands when they sent us off. What was most memorable were how worried they looked as they shouted over and waved us goodbye.
“Hmmm… are we going to standby here?”
“That is so, Black Spear.”
It was the frontier base that Lee Wanyong had revealed to us in advance. Though it was a bit small for all us to stay here, but it didn’t look as bad as I thought.
“Captain, how long are we going to standby here?”
Mev asked the question that everyone was curious to know, including Ragia and Hayeon, so I replied back to her.
“It probably won’t even take a week. We will definitely be able to receive a signal from here even if a message does not come to me.”
“Okay!”
I slowly began to look inside the frontier base. As expected, there were only buildings. There was a great accumulation of dust on the floors and walls, also there was even rotten meat rolling around. I had thought that it wouldn’t have been bad notion of preserving this place in case of another war, if I was the ruler of the city that is, but assuming that this peaceful era would continue. They did not bother to maintain this place, and it has been quite a long time since anyone had stepped foot within this place.
It was then that I heard a message from Ahyeon.
[Savior-nim…. Savior-nim…]
[Speak my Apostle.]
[I have arrived. And it also seems that the Black Thorn Guild Master, Yoon Jungsoo, wants to meet with me directly.]
It looked as if we had succeeded in contacting the Troll. To be honest, I hadn’t even thought that Yoon Jungsoo wanted to contact her, but it was probably because they desired Ahyeon and the Priests.. This could be why they wanted to personally meet her, and propose an offer which could improve the forces of their Guild.
Of course I wanted to scream in excitement, but I thought that things could not proceed so smoothly.
[I see. So how is the condition of the Troll?]
[The Troll has lost a lot of weight, but it is much healthier than I thought. It is wearing some leather rags, but it is glaring at us while his limbs are bound.]
[It’s a relief that he looks healthy…]
It would be best if I could meet him directly, but it was almost impossible for Ahyeon to bring him outside the city. Not only that, the Black Thorn Guild were monitoring their movements as well, which made it even harder. Since it would be extremely hard to talk to him through Ahyeon, I had no choice but to tell her this.
[Hand over the ring to the Troll, my apostle.]
[Yes… Yes? Any… anything but that Savior-nim. I… I have done wrong? Please…. Please forgive me! Sniff…]
I had roughly suspected that she would enter a state of anxiousness, but she was more alarmed than I thought, that her voice was trembling throughout her remark. Thus, I continued to settle her down.
[I am not abandoning you, my apostle. I just desire to speak with him directly, but the situation does not allow it. It will not be for long so hand over your ring to the guy for a brief moment.]
Soon, after some time, I heard Ahyeon’s voice once more.
[For Sa… Savior… Savior-nim’s Will……….]
It was an order, but it was a voice that really wanted to refuse. If she had learned the language of the Green Skins, this situation could have proceeded differently, but sadly it wasn’t.
Soon, I felt the ring beginning to change owners, and soon heard not Ahyeon, but the voice of the Troll.
[What are you doing, Human?! What schemes are you planning?!]
It was an extremely flabbergasted voice. For that unidentifiable Human to suddenly look down on him and mutter before suddenly putting a ring on his finger, it wouldn’t be surprising for him to be as shocked like that. In the meantime, he still continued to mutter.
[How dare a Human woman…]
Seeing that he didn’t notice me first, I spoke to him first.
[Strength, Wisdom and Honor…]
[…………………………….What… What is this…?]
It seems that he had failed to grasp the ongoing situation, extremely flabbergasted at hearing my voice. But after some time, I heard a voice from him.
[Is this voice coming from this ring?]
It was quicker for him to accept the situation than I had assumed. I wasn’t sure if he had read the description of the item, but he had noticed that we were able to communicate.
[Strength, Wisdom and Honor…]
Soon, I was able to hear him greet me as well.
[I am the Chief of the honorable Blood Dagger Clan. I am called Blood Dagger. The woman in front of you is not your enemy. She is also a member of my clan.]
[……………………….. I see…. I have heard that you are a peculiar clan…]
I had thought that he was locked up for quite a long time, but he still knew news about me. Noticing my questionable aura, he spoke to me once more with an ashamed tone.
[Occasionally, I would hear the news from Goblins that were recently captured. I do not remember everyone, but I remember your name. It is quite shameful for me to speak with you in this state.]
[Let me formally introduce myself. I am the Chief of the Sarajin Clan, Orbo.]
So it was true, that he was the chief who would lead all of the imprisoned ones to liberation. Soon, we were able to engage in a conversation, and I had initially thought that he would be of the same category of Hakajin and Ragia who had fled the Patriarch’s Exam, but it wasn’t so.
[I don’t understand… How were you captured and taken to this place.]
[To say it simply, Blood Dagger. After our three years, we were on our way out before encountering Humans.]
[………………]
[There were only a few Humans, but they were stronger, so we lost. Not only us, but the other clans as well. We had no choice but to follow their commands since they held our young Green Skins hostage. Of course there were a few clansmen and members of other clans that were here, but they were in conditions that was impossible to be called Green Skins. They used our bodies for various things. The Humans call this process an ‘Experiment’.]
I roughly thought they would have proceeded like this. In order to suppress their instincts, they performed experiments on them. Although they kept the young Green Skins as hostages, the purpose was in truth to discover a way to control them easier. If that kind of life were to continue, they would adapt to that kind of situation in the end; even if they were Green Skins. At the beginning, they will focus on educating the slaves. Then, they will adapt them perfectly to human society and mold them into subservient slaves. Listening to his story, I swallowed back my dry spit.
But what was troubling my mind were two things. The first was was the small group of Humans that had captured these guys.
Obviously enough, but Green Skins that had endured the three years of wait were quite strong. In the perspective of Humans, they were about the strength of a medium small-sized clan, but they were done in just like that. Not only that, they were Humans who had captured a whole monster clan alive.
‘Spider.’
Of course it might not be them, but for some reasons, my instincts were screaming at me that this was related to the Spider of the East. Other than that, it would be personal connections that Yoon Jungsoo had formulated himself. Anyhow, since there were a lot of clans that were pursuing the Spider Clan, they probably won’t be hiding inside the city, but I thought it would be quite interesting if we were to destroy Somorah.
The second of the two that was worrying me were the condition of the guy. Though I was briefly talking to him, his condition looked normal. As the Troll Shaman who would lead the liberation, I thought that it would be possible for him to escape the influence of the experiment. In the end, curiosity won, I asked Orbo.
[Orbo… are you not affected by the experiment?]
[Of course. But, for some reason, they did not give me that weird potion today… It has been a long time since I felt normal again. If I were to have been given that medicine, I probably won’t be able to talk to you like this, Blood Dagger.]
[I see.]
It seems that he didn’t have an ability that inhibited the effect of the potion. I think I knew why the guy was delivered to Ahyeon’s room in a normal state. It was probably extra service that the Guild had provided after that shocking declaration.
Since she emphasized several times that she wanted a strong monster, they decided to restore his sanity this time.
From that unexpected achievement, I couldn’t help but laugh. As if they knew the exact kind of monster that the customer wanted, despite not requesting for him specifically, they had sent over Orbo. It seems that they were both extremely grateful and wanted to impress a favorable situation in the eyes of the Saint of the West. After this, even more curious, I continued to ask.
[If you drink the potion, can you explain what kind of condition you’re in? For instance, perhaps you have to blindly follow the orders of the Humans once you drink it?]
[That is not the case. However, it’s as if you’re on a cloud and you’re just in an absent-minded state. In that condition, nothing such as desire or combative spirit comes to mind. It’s as if everyone is submerged under water…]
[As a Shaman of the clan, have you not tried getting rid of the effects of the medicine?]
[There are no Shamans that have survived in this place. As much as they are cautious of us Shamans, they don’t group us together.]
[………………………]
It was an unexpected development. Though I knew that the city would be overturned by the Troll Shaman in two years, but I couldn’t help but swallow back my words. The fact that there were no Shamnas probably included himself as well. In other words, it seemed that the ‘Shaman’ was not in Somorah at this time.
[I see…]
In truth, it was part of the operation in that I would combine forces with the Troll Shaman, but the fact that he didn’t exist shook the foundations of this operation. It was a brief moment, but I thought that I should abandon the operation.
However, there was no time. It was a stupid decision to wait for two years for him to arrive. After briefly organizing my thoughts, I heard his voice once more.
[Are you coming here?]
It was a voice filled with desperation.
[We do not care what happens to us. But it is unbearable watching the Green Skins of the future growing here.]
[I am a stupid Chief who had made my tribal people into slaves… So I do not care if you insult me, Blood Dagger.]
It was a voice that was laying down one’s pride. In the end, I had no choice but to interject.
[You are not a slave, Orbo. You must allow the Humans there to truly clearly know that you are a Green Skin.]
TL Afterword:
Calvis: Oh shet. I thought Orbo was the Named Monster of the Troll Shaman at first. Looks like I got fooled, LOL.
PR Afterword:
T0ngan: Well – there goes the inside man plan for operation liberation.. now it is mass suicide bombers & an invading GS force, or just climb through the sewers underneath or TROJAN Horse that city!
Also, please note that ‘rebellion’ has been replaced with ‘liberation.’
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