Chapter 248: Meeting the Queen of the North
The past three days have been undeniably busy. The work on the Mist Forest, connecting the continent to the land of our brothers, was in its final stages, and I had the chance to meet Rabah again after a long time.
When he saw me, Rabah rushed over and shed tears, but fortunately he didn’t make a scene like before. It seemed that my gift of a shield to Rabah had earned me some personal respect from him.
As for Lee Wanyong and Bae Ahyeon, as I mentioned before, they had begun their work on the underground city in earnest and were now leading the workers, which allowed them some leisure time.
However, Lee Wanyong didn’t seem to like the idea of resting as much as they worked. He never let go of his work and immediately began preparing for war with the Hakajin. The Greenskins who had been trained as recruits returned to the land of our brothers and resumed their daily lives with the goblin triplets.
I will never forget the look on Little Finger’s face when we arrived in the land of our brothers. Watching him tear apart the bizarre puppet he always carried with him sent chills down my spine. It was no coincidence that the Giant Scream Apache seemed to be in great pain as he watched this scene.
Meanwhile, Goff, Black Spear, and I were on our way to the rendezvous point.
“Looking forward to this, huh? Are you sure it’s okay for us to go together?”
Goff asked me while I was lost in thought. Honestly, I thought it would be enough for me to go alone, but if the negotiations went well, we might end up facing each other frequently. There was a reason for inviting her on the trip.
I thought it would be better to get used to this situation if we had any intention of joining hands with our Green Skins, even temporarily. Of course, it might be more advantageous to present Green Skins like Fairy Mev or Alauine Jeong Ha-yeon, who looked somewhat human, as the front representatives, but I didn’t think that was of much importance. We had to be able to accept real Green Skins, not just try to clumsily imitate humans.
“Maybe that’s how we can build more trust in each other, especially in times like these,” Black Spear said. I nodded in agreement, understanding the importance of trust.
“Ah, yes. I know that much, Black Spear. Even if Blood Dagger had told me not to follow, I would have gone first. After all, we’re talking about this woman. Hahaha,” he laughed amusedly, and somehow, I felt a hint of annoyance rising in me, as if he was teasing me. Black Spear replied with a smile that matched his mischievous tone.
“That’s right. The warrior who stole Blood Dagger’s honor and name. I’ve only heard stories about her, but I’m really looking forward to meeting her,” Black Spear said.
“She will probably exceed your expectations, Black Spear. When I met her a long time ago, she was already strong. I’m sure she’s even stronger now. I’ve heard that she even claims to be the queen of an entire city. By our standards, she’s no less powerful than a chieftain or a king. We won’t encounter such a formidable human again,” I replied.
“Hearing you say that makes me even more excited,” Black Spear remarked, showing one of his fangs, obviously finding this situation extremely intriguing. I sighed as I looked at her.
“Well…” I began.
“It seems you’re already looking forward to this,” Black Spear teased.
“It’s not that, Goff. I’m just worried. I hope you can refrain from provoking her too much if you happen to meet her,” I expressed my concern.
“It’s not me you should be worried about refraining from, it’s Blood Dagger,” he said. His words were true. In fact, even now, my eyes were starting to turn slightly red. We’ve fought many battles, but none have left as lasting a memory as the time we faced the Queen of the North. There was a mixture of regret and anger in those memories.
However, it is an undeniable fact that the defeat of that time played a significant role in shaping the person I am today. It was strong, admirable, and had something that lit a fire in people. Thinking that I had become stronger than before, my hands and feet began to tremble at Choi Seulgi’s side.
Choi Seulgi had said that I would lose. Just like me, the returned Choi Seulgi had become an extraordinary power. Roughly speaking, she might be slightly inferior to me, but in the field of assassination, there was probably no one she couldn’t compete with. She had made such an assessment, to the point where I couldn’t help but think that I might still be trailing behind the Queen of the North.
Therefore, my expectations grew even more.
“Perhaps they will propose a holy duel during the meeting. It’s a worrying prospect.”
Upon seeing me, Black Spear cast a meaningful glance at me. I felt my face redden for no apparent reason. I couldn’t help but reconsider whether it was a useless decision to bring these guys along.
“Keum… As I’ve said before, restoring honor comes after everything else. Those things you’re thinking about won’t happen.”
“Understood.”
“Krrrrrrrrr.”
While the guys grumbled at me for a while, I looked back to where Gark and the Blood Dagger Clan were waiting. Gark, holding the flag, and the elite orc warriors’ eyes were shining brighter than ever, as if they were about to go into battle, and Nicole’s tattoos came into view.
“Blo… Blood Dagger Clan…!”
It seemed like they would cheer wildly with just a slight glance, so I turned my head away, hearing the disappointed voices of those who were eager to see more.
Originally, the leaders were supposed to meet in the conference room, but as the meeting now included Goff and Black Spear, the location had to be moved outside the castle. While Black Spear, slightly bigger than me, could still manage to fit in the conference room, it was impossible for Goff to do so.
The reason for assembling a relatively small force was precisely for this purpose. Greenskins enjoyed showcasing this kind of thing.
We are strong.
We are the Blood Dagger Clan.
That’s about it, but there was pride in their eyes. Especially thanks to Mev, who paid quite a bit of attention to the appearance of the tribe, even the Giant Wolf Ivar was wagging his tail behind me after a long time. The meeting place was a plain between the major city Garia and the territory of the Hyungje brothers.
The Chang Je-ri faction had prepared everything, so there probably wouldn’t be any discomfort throughout the meeting.
“It’s about time. Let’s go.”
With Goff’s words, the sound of the drum began to resonate.
“Dung!”
“Dung!”
It had been a while since an orc struck the drum, and he was hitting it like a fish in water, fortunately seeming not to have applied any buffs.
“Wuwoooooo!”
The ogres from the Goff clan let out a cheer. The elite spear wielders from the Black Spear clan moved with icy determination. The elite orc inspectors from the Blood Dagger clan showed similar resolve. Though they didn’t march in unison, there was a peculiar sense of intensity in their movements, as if they were itching for a fight. I didn’t particularly recommend this kind of action, but the scene was quite impressive.
From atop Ivahar, I raised my head and saw a massive tent. I wondered how it had been modified to accommodate creatures of Goff’s size.
Amidst well-trained soldiers, both Park Han-chul and Queen Chang Je-ri stood in their places. Queen Chang Je-ri had a somewhat familiar face with Goff and the Black Spear, so she nodded slightly as a greeting, and Goff responded by placing his hand over his heart. Clearly, they held her in high regard.
It seemed that the northern side hadn’t arrived yet at that moment.
A banner, its space rippling and fluttering, revealed its form. It was Choi Eun-joo who had opened the space. The beautifully illustrated flag, depicting a noble spear, was the flag of the northern region that I had admired for a long time. Since Choi Seulgi was the first to reveal herself, she waved her hand toward us, and I smiled in response.
The next person to appear was a familiar face.
“Knight Kang Chang Hoon of the Northern Region.”
In terms of strength, he was probably a second-rate guy, but he seemed like a character from a fairy tale. Coming face-to-face with someone I had only heard about in rumors was quite an experience.
And he wasn’t alone.
“Master Seo Lee Ju of the Blood Cold Guild.”
He had brought some formidable people with him. Even in the midst of the pressure that the western and southern regions were exerting on the northern region, the fact that they sent such powerful figures indicated that the northern region’s forces were quite abundant. Most likely, they were only made up of elites like them.
The appearance of the knights was quite dignified. As Seo Lee Ju approached with an icy air, the footsteps of the knights echoed loudly as they advanced, quite different from our greenskins who marched forward beating their drums. It was an impressive sight.
Thud! Thud! Thud!
The advancing figures suddenly stopped.
And there, in the midst of them, was a face I had missed.
Behind her was a lance much larger than her own body. Though her appearance hadn’t changed much since then, the energy emanating from her seemed to show how much stronger she had become.
The knights paving the way for the Northern Queen raised their lances high, and when I saw that, I realized that it wasn’t just us greenskins who focused on appearances. Perhaps it was a gesture of pure reverence.
With her stern gaze, steady breath, and steady movements, she looked more like a warrior than a woman. It was clear that she was on the verge of becoming a true warrior. I, too, found myself unconsciously gasping for breath, so I took a moment to steady myself, and as the Northern Queen’s strange gaze continued to fix on me, my eyes turned red without me noticing.
“Is that woman… a human… a warrior?”
“You’re right. Black Spear, she’s a warrior.”
Goff and I muttered at the sight of the Northern Queen. Despite the passage of time, nothing had changed.
She was a warrior.
And she wasn’t the only one. The knights of the northern region seemed to have well-honed swords, and Seo Lee Ju also looked surprised when she observed us, but she quickly composed herself. If we were to fight now, it would be a great battle.
However, there was no reason to clash.
Finally, in the midst of the Northern Queen, our greenskins, and Chang Je-ri, a strange silence fell over the battlefield. Choi Seulgi seemed to be amused, the northern knights seemed to be a bit annoyed, and Seo Lee Ju seemed to be fascinated.
The Queen of the North alternated her gaze between Chang Je-ri and me. Maybe Choi Seulgi had already said something about me that made our meeting happen through the translation magic.
Elias, who had been at Chang Je-ri’s side for a while, began to recite a spell, and I greeted them for the first time. It must have been a surprising discovery for the knights, even though Choi Seulgi had already informed them. They probably couldn’t believe that we were really intelligent beings. More than that, they must have been surprised that we had such an advanced civilization. There was no way around it. As I breathed heavily while watching the greenskins rush in with their eyes turning red, I realized that no one thought there were intelligent beings among us.
But the Northern Queen nodded her head.
Maybe it was because we hadn’t touched her after the holy duel, or because we had watched her fight, or because Choi Seulgi had mentioned something about me. It was probably a natural reaction of respect.
“Northern Queen Han So-hye. It’s been a while.”
A brief introduction, and she chuckled before offering her hand, which I shook.