Chapter 611 - Fenrir
"As you can probably already see and tell, Little Princess, the clan is currently buried under this mountain of carcasses." Jorn proceeded to explain the situation.
"There were simply too many rats attacking the clan that we had no choice but to use their carcasses as cover and hide from them after losing more than half our people in the battle."
"We lost more than half our clan to the rat tide?" Lilith repeated with a heavy heart before gazing at the black cloud of mutant rats attacking Leon in the distance with a frown.
At the same time, Aria and Duna also turned their heads to look while listening in on Lillith and Jorn's conversation.
Although the current rat tide's numbers were great, it was still inferior to the rat tide they faced at the Western Frontier.
"Losing half our clan's population is not a small loss... but with our clan's strength, I am sure that we can still finish off the rat tide if there was only this much left…" Lilith said.
After Jorn heard this, he smiled bitterly before saying, "That would indeed be correct if our warriors were all in peak conditions at that time, Little Princess. However, we are not tireless machines."
"After slaying more than a billion rats, everyone was too exhausted to continue fighting for much longer. Also, the remaining rat tide back then was still much bigger than what you currently see now, Little Princess."
"Mostly likely after we went into hiding, the majority of the mutant rats went looking for other prey after losing their targets," Jorn inserted after his explanation.
"I see…" Lilith uttered with a hint of awkwardness.
After witnessing Leon's seemingly endless vigor, she seemed to have forgotten such a simple truth.
Not everyone had a secret method of replenishing their stamina like he did.
"Pardon my ignorance regarding the Wildlands, but I find this rather strange…" Aria suddenly inserted herself into their conversation with a wrinkled expression.
Even so, Jorn was not displeased with Aria's sudden interjection and asked her with respect, "What do you find strange, Miss Aria?"
"The rat tide. I am aware that the Wildlands is vast, and rodents breed very fast, but there shouldn't have been this many in one region, no?" Aria asked.
Back in the Western Frontier, she had thought the rat tide was quite large but still within a reasonable range.
However, after seeing the carcasses in the Desolate Crow Clan and thought about other places in the Wildlands that were most likely also under attack by rodents, the added numbers far exceeded the scope of being normal.
"Right, I also find it quite strange that these creatures just seemingly burst out of nowhere," Jorn nodded.
"These species weren't born to live deep beneath the earth, and neither would their natural predators have allowed them to breed to the point of being overpopulated like this."
"Not unless someone purposely protected and bred them," Aria guessed.
"Rather than someone, it's more like some force—And a tremendous force at that. This isn't something a single person can pull off," Duna joined with a calm and collected expression.
Jorn frowned with concerns before asking, "But for what purpose would they be doing this?"
"To take over the world? To destroy all life? Who knows? But one thing for sure is that the rat tide is only the beginning. Perhaps, they will reveal themselves after every tribe under attack is worn out," Duna casually spoke.
Jorn furrowed his brows before asking, "How can you say that so calmly, Miss Duna?"
"Am I not supposed to? What does the Wildlands have to do with me? Whatever happens to it is of little concern," Duna stated nonchalantly.
"You…"
Jorn was struck speechless.
Nevertheless, he recovered after a short moment before stating seriously, "If the unknown enemy truly wants world domination or to wipe out all life, this is a matter that concerns every living being!"
"And what makes you think I am one such being?" Duna asked coolly.
"You…"
Jorn was stunned before his eyes widened in realization after failing to sense Duna's heartbeat and warmth.
"You… what are you?—"
"Let us continue this topic after Leon finish dealing with the rat tide."
Once Aria, who Jorn believed to be the strongest person in the group, said this, he had no choice but to give a silent nod before everyone else also expressed their agreement.
Shortly after, Lilith changed the topic and asked, "Uncle Jorn, what about my parents? How have they been? Did the Desolate Netherbird Tribe make things difficult for them during my absence?"
"They were…" Jorn hesitated.
Upon seeing Uncle Jorn's hesitation, Lilith's expression immediately turned solemn before she requested with a firm look, "Please tell me everything that has happened, Uncle Jorn."
"This… Well, alright."
…
Sometime later, the last mutant rat on the battlefield was slain before Leon dispersed his barriers of fire and nihility.
"A lot less messy than I anticipated," Leon casually commented while giving his surroundings a quick inspection.
Suddenly, he frowned before giving his hands a glance.
Although the injuries fully healed, he could vaguely feel the heat and coldness in each hand—almost as if it was an illusion.
"The coldness is coming from my burnt hand while the heat is coming from my frozen hand, huh? How peculiar…" Leon muttered with slightly creased brows.
However, before he could continue his train of thought, he was interrupted by Silver's feet entering his field of vision, causing him to look up at the four-tailed silver wolf's prominent figure standing before him.
Seeing that the four-tailed silver wolf had a solemn and dignified aura surrounding it as it gazed back at him with a sharp look, Leon raised an eyebrow.
"What? Now that you have evolved and become a Rank 2 Transcendent, you don't want to listen to me anymore?" Leon asked.
The four-tailed silver wolf gazed back at Leon with an even deeper look.
However, in the next moment, it rolled over with its limbs hanging before giving Leon a soft bark as if asking him to reward it with a belly rub for the excellent work it has done.
"Awroof!"
"…"
Leon smiled wryly.
Perhaps, he was just overthinking.
"Alright, I have decided. From now on, you'll be called Fenrir," Leon stated while giving the four-tailed silver wolf a belly rub.
"This name hold significant meaning and expectations. I hope you will be able to live up to it."
"Awrooo!"