“You will see it just a bit further inside, Blood Dagger.”
I saw a smile that was hung on Black Spear’s face. He did not normally express himself in such obvious fashion, so this victory must have been really something else for him. This was how we began to drag the bastard with us. As the spear was still staked in the tail, and the ropes haven’t been retrieved, it was decided that the Ogres would drag the Beast of the East.
Wanting to help, several Trolls and Orcs were also carrying heavy loads, but the real issue was the part of the b.a.s.t.a.r.d that I cut off, the huge right-side head. Although a few Ogres volunteered to lend their hands, the tribe members began to reject, vehemently.
“Moving the severed head of the Beast of the East must be done by the tribe members!”
“I understand your intentions of wanting to help, but understand why we’re turning it down!”
It was a rather cute scene to see the Green Skins carrying the head as they clustered around. When the head was raised high, primarily by Orbo, the Minotaur, Gark and Hark, the issue was with the three Goblin sisters, and the like, who could not reach it.
Mev was levitating in the air as she helped carry the head, but the Goblins were just hanging along by extending their hands up and holding on to the head.
The head was already heavy, and that made it even heavier, of course. They looked happy, carrying the head of the Beast of the East, even though they were most likely exhausted from the battle.
I walked, carrying Baek Ahyeon and Jung Hayeon on either side in my arms. They could not walk because they depleted all of their magic power. In fact, Jung Hayeon was the only one who collapsed from overexertion, but seeing that, Baek Ahyeon also fell, and so it has come to this.
We moved along with the trophy and shortly, I heard a loud yell from the front.
“This is the land of honor!”
“This is the land of victory!”
The archers scouting ahead have found something. The Green Skins who were dragging the Beast of the East, and those carrying the severed head began to move faster upon hearing that sound.
What lay before us was a green land.
“Wowowowwww!”
“This is a great land! Yheeeeck!”
“This is the promised land of victory!”
As Mev let out her emotions of excitement, the three Goblin sisters got off the Beast’s head first, and went crazy. In utter contrast to the swap around us, what lay ahead was a plain, arable field. The forest was in the rear and a river in the foreground. Both sides of the land were bordered by dark swamps, so the only route to enter this place was through the ground on which we stood. I thought that the land was optimized for both living, and defending against any attacks.
“Wonderful…”
Baek Ahyeon and Jung Hayeon had come around and were already looking ahead, wide-eyed.
The land was very good for planting our roots. Black Spear and Goff were also talking to each other excitedly. Seeing them pointing at the land made me think that they were discussing how to form the village.
Looking at them, I thought that I should spend much of the immediate future building the village. Instead of a place to just sleep, it would be a place to rest. As many such thoughts came to my mind, I began to look forward to a life in the future.
The ones that have carried the Beast of the East and the severed head unburdened themselves and also started jumping around. The incredibly wide land looked ample enough to house all our three tribes. Even as the tribe grew in the future, there was enough space for the little Green Skins to thrive and grow.
This was the land on which the brothers and our children would grow.
This was our territory. How could we not be happy?
I must have been unconsciously smiling already. Baek Ahyeon and Jung Hayeon were smiling brightly while looking at me. I, walking slowly, stepped into our land.
The feeling was rather strange. When I stepped onto the land, every clan member looked in this direction. Having regained their feet already, both Jung Hayeon and Baek Ahyeon were walking behind me. It was Gark, the flag man, who handed the flag. He was holding the flag of the Blood Dagger Clan, which was drawn first by Najin.
“For Blood Dagger!”
“Thank you.”
Gark passed the flag to me. Even though I was the head of the tribe, I have never held a flag before. I felt a heaviness settling in my hands.
As I moved again, one by one, everyone around me raised their hand to their chest.
“For Blood Dagger.”
Ragia who did everything possible as the head of the tribe.
Gark and Hark who have become the buttresses, both knowingly and unknowingly.
Mev who’s come along from tutorials.
Orbo who was trustworthy, although we met not too long ago.
Hakajin who could fill my deficiencies.
Baek Ahyeon who has always trusted me.
Jung Hayeon who made me realize that humanity was still part of me.
The countless many tribe members who ran the race with me up to now.
I knew that it was the beginning, not the end, but my heart was bubbling. It was just a simple act of staking a flag. I tried to comfort myself like that, but it wasn’t such a bad feeling. I’ve learned quite a bit, not as a human, but as a Green Skin. This new life would not be lived aimlessly, floating from day to day. It would be a life spent with those who truly trusted and followed me.
I lived to take revenge and I lived to survive. I owed my life and found a purpose, and something to protect. It was the same with the flag that I was holding. This flag was a responsibility.
I kept moving. Goff and Black Spear, too, slowly came forward, holding their respective flags.
I was given the privilege to stake a flag only after having been here for three years. The field was strangely quiet, the Green Skins unlike their usual selves, the ambiance was solemn and placid.
No one, not even Goff, Black Spear, nor I spoke. We just nodded quietly and looked at each other.
That was how we…
We staked our flags into the land that we ascertained through struggles and battles.
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