Offer a Tribute and Become an Archmage - Chapter 223



Only Noblemtl

Episode 223.

The northern dawn, where loneliness seems to have settled, is lonely. The dry, cold air stings the lungs, and the snow fluttering in the wind covers all directions like fog, making the eyes squint. The skin of the orcs who have lost the forest is black and white, like the dead who have lost their color. Perhaps they are fighting to find their own color that will turn blue with the vibrant forest again.

“The great warrior of the Red Bone Tribe, Rakaku, is dead!! Aaah, aaah!!”

A cool dawn. A man with a slightly different appearance shouted among the orcish procession that would sweep the north. With his bone necklace and red, flashy attire, he did not look like a warrior. He was a sorcerer who was quite influential among the orcish groups that had gathered together from various tribes. For the orcs who had lost their will to the forest, sorcerers were one of the few windows that could communicate with the forest. There should be no doubt about what he said.

“Great Warrior Rakakuga?”

“Nonsense. He was the next chieftain! The chieftain of the Red Bones, not any other tribe!”

The Red Bone Warrior, known as the bravest and strongest of the five great tribes! I couldn’t believe that he was dead.

“The great star has set.”

“How can the forest abandon its heroes…!”

Some were angry, others were sad. The name Rakakku meant a lot to the orcs. He was one of the strongest men in the world, aside from the chieftain.

The Great Warrior is one of the tribes.

For the current Orcs, who had five great tribes that had come together to form an army, the death of the Great Warrior was like the collapse of a pillar. That was why the warriors who admired the Great Warrior’s strength shed tears at his death.

“Rakaku will definitely be in the south. I, Rikita, a warrior of the Blue Hand Tribe, will avenge the Great Warrior!!”

“Nonsense! Red Bone’s work is Red Bone’s work! I, the Red Bone Warrior Bakum, will avenge the Great Warrior!”

“Shut up!”

Then, the giant of the Blue Hand tribe shouted as if to tell them to stop. The warrior who was growling as if he was going to fight couldn’t even make a sound when he came out because he was the great warrior of the Blue Hand tribe.

The strongest and most honorable warrior of the tribe.

That’s the great story.

The power and feats of a great warrior are too great for mere warriors to fill.

“Rakaku is a great warrior who surpasses me. If he was defeated, then there must be a warrior stronger than him. You guys would have no chance. Isn’t that right, sorcerer?”

The sorcerer nodded.

Then he took out some black powder from his bosom, sprinkled it in the air, and muttered while moving his mouth. Then the black powder took shape for a moment and then disappeared.

The shape that was caught in an instant was something that did not look human.

“A monster, yet a human. A warrior with blue hands. Kiba. Can you defeat a warrior with four arms?”

The surroundings became noisy at the sorcerer’s voice.

“Four arms! That’s ridiculous! There’s no such thing as a human! He’s a monster!”

“Four arms… How am I supposed to deal with them? This is difficult.”

Unlike the orcs who were all muttering and worrying, the great warrior Kiba reported with a calm expression.

“Whether or not you can win depends on the will of the forest. A warrior just fights. If you don’t fight when there’s an opponent you’re willing to risk everything for, you’re not a great warrior. Rakakku must have been the same.”

The sorcerer nodded.

“Bring the blessings of the forest he holds, for the forest will embrace the honorable warrior.”

The sorcerer blessed Kiba’s departure by applying a pigment mixed with blood and ash to his face.

*

one side.

The Ronobe group settled down in Lapain and headed north.

The destination is the snowy mountains of Bavaria.

“Nas. How’s the sword?”

“Excellent.”

“But since it’s made of magic, I don’t know when it’ll disappear. I tried my best, but magic can do whatever it wants.”

“If there is any change, I will let you know immediately.”

“The gauntlets are the same, and the greaves I gave you this time are the same, so don’t hesitate to tell me. If you get hurt, our military’s power will be greatly reduced.”

“Thank you for your concern, my lord.”

Just as Ronobe nodded and was about to close the carriage window, Liam was there, glaring at him with his rotten, fish-like eyes.

“Uh… you tell me too.”

“Thank you for your concern, my lord.”

I’m sure he said the same thing as Nas, but the meaning sounded a little different.

‘Why is that little bastard so narrow-minded? I can’t say anything.’

As I closed the window, internally cursing Liam, Benny patted Ronnobe’s back.

“Don’t be like that. I can tell you’re favoring Nas.”

“It’s not a matter of favoritism, it’s a matter of importance.”

“That’s true, but… Liam would be upset and stuff.”

“I know, but what can I do? You have to overcome it yourself. I care about you too.”

As your awareness of the soul increases, the ways to graft it also increase. I have seen that using the soul in transformation magic is effective. Now, if you change into bear form and pour in the soul, you will have a defense that is unaffected by most axes.

Ronobe was trying to graft the power of the soul into familiar powder, also known as knight powder. Knight powder is a powdered stone that is infused with Ronobe’s magic. But what is this magic? Ronobe was thinking about it again.

“Mana.”

I simply thought it was mana.

But what is mana?

It is the remnant of a miracle.

So what are the remnants of a miracle?

What is a miracle?

What is it made of?

Ronobe judged it to be a soul.

‘soul.’

People sometimes fight by burning their souls. A being that exerts all its strength dies without any injuries.

Ronobe now thinks that it might be because he has completely burned his soul.

I didn’t know it before. But when I think about the existence of the soul and the vast influence that the soul has on magic, I think we may be creating a soul without even knowing it, using the power of that soul, and then dying with great power.

‘Charles said that the soul is just a trace, but it belongs to the dead.’

What then is the soul of a living person? Ronobe thinks that this is the power that approaches the root of miracles. The living soul that Charles has not yet revealed. Isn’t that the miracle?

‘My magic sometimes glows blue or creates blue fire, which may be because I burned my own soul.’

Those who use magic pay a price. Isn’t it likely that the price is mostly for the body? Then why do miracles require a price? Isn’t it because the body is inhabited by a soul? If so, the soul may be the one that plays an important role in the secret of miracles.

From a wizard’s perspective.

“truth.”

It is to the point where I feel like the soul is one of the truths of the world.

Of course, this is all just Ronobe’s personal thoughts, and the truth is probably shrouded in mystery. However, Ronobe was thrilled to the point where he thought he had finally realized a glimpse of it.

‘Wait a minute. So does that mean that all the powders I made had my soul in them?’

It was creepy. So Liam was no different from a knight raised by burning the soul of Ronobe!

“It doesn’t matter.”

The important thing is that if you use this power, you might be able to create a knight’s powder that is much stronger than before. Ronobe quickly added soul to the rock’s powder and classified it. He was used to making powder. It took quite a while because he put in a lot of effort, but it wasn’t that big of a deal.

There are three powder pouches of the knights made by Ronobe.

From the left.

“Green Knight’s Powder. This is Blue Knight’s Powder. This is Red Knight’s Powder.”

The green knight’s powder contained only one soul. The blue knight’s contained three souls. The red knight’s contained three souls and Ronobe’s magic. Just by feeling it, it was clear that there was a clear difference between the normal soul and the Ronobe’s magic. As expected, since he was a child of offering and a sage of the forest, there seemed to be a qualitative difference in the souls.

“good.”

“Give me some too.”

Just as he was about to hand over the Red Knight’s Powder to Liam after making all the powder, Benny also started to covet the powder.

“Benny. I told you last time. There’s no way to know what side effects an ordinary knight might experience if he eats this.”

“It’s okay even if it happens.”

“I’m not okay.”

“No matter what happens, Ronobe will heal you. Just like Nasu.”

“that…”

That’s true.

But Gochido is not omnipotent. If he suddenly dies, there is nothing we can do. And what if Ronobe isn’t there? Benny will just die.

“It is said that each noble family has a vision to enhance the power of the original knight. It is different for each family, so it is impossible to know for sure… but I think this might be one of them.”

Family vision.

I’ve heard that there is such a thing.

But this is different from that.

“Benny. As you said, I am experimenting on my private soldiers to increase the power of my family. Why? Because they are weak soldiers.”

The soldier dreams of being a knight.

However, most of the time, they die without becoming knights, or if they survive, they become elite soldiers. If they achieve great feats, they can make a pact with the lord and become a common knight of the territory. It is difficult to aim for more than that.

Because it has to be innate.

This part is exactly the same as the wizard.

“Benny. You’re different.”

Benny is well-born.

She has manifested the power of the knight and is still growing sufficiently. The power of the eyes she has manifested is a power that can be compared to White. However, Benny is still lacking in experience. It is something that time will solve.

“Ronobe. Time is fair to everyone. But time doesn’t wait for anyone.”

“…”

That’s also true.

Time is fair to everyone.

The enemy will not wait for Benny to grow up in a fair amount of time. It means that the time is now.

“But Benny.”

“Ronobe. I am a knight. A knight must protect. You are the only one I can protect in this world. If I can’t do that, I would rather die.”

The determination to become stronger.

It’s not just Ronobe.

Benny is not the type to be greedy or stubborn in the first place. The fact that he said this means that he has a firm meaning. Even Hopper’s beastly man, Ronobe, can’t help but be sweet to my woman.

“Promise me you’ll stop taking it even if you experience even the slightest side effect.”

“I will do it.”

Haa. Ronobe took a deep breath and nodded.

“Thank you, Ronobe.”

“Just wait. I’ll make it again.”

That’s what Benny eats.

It’s different from those men who eat dirt-covered meat roughly.

Ronobe took out the rock dust again and selected the pure and high-quality souls from among the souls he possessed. He held the soul in his hand and filtered out as much as he could, and he put his power into it and compressed it as much as he could, and held the powder in his hand.

Ten portions of pure soul.

There’s even Ronobe’s magic there.

After finishing the work with the utmost care, Ronobe put the powder in a pouch, tied it with wet thread, and handed it over.

“What is this called?”

To Benny’s question, Ronobe answered with a smirk.

“The Black Knight’s Powder.”

I don’t know if that will happen or not.

But wouldn’t the power of the powder become a miracle if it contained even such a wish? A smile spread across Benny’s face for the first time in a long while as he held the powder in his arms. He really liked this smile that only Ronobe could see.

At that moment, I collapsed inside the carriage.

“It’s the enemy! It’s the enemy!!”

“What, what is it!”

Ronobe appeared, pulling up his flowing trousers and looking around.

“What is it?”

“It’s a group of orcs. They’re small in size…”

When Liam trailed off as if he didn’t know, Lopin continued as if he had been waiting for him to do so.

“There are only orcs wielding clubs. Judging from the faint tribal markings on their clothing, they are likely wandering orcs who broke away from the Five Great Tribes.”

“Wandering Orc?”

“They are the ones who were weeded out from the tribe. Or maybe they were exiled for committing injustice during the war. It is a common occurrence.”

“I see.”

Exiled Orc.

Those guys are no different from bandits who wander around, raiding houses, stealing food, and acting as they please.

A group of warriors without axes.

The number is less than ten.

“Leave it to us.”

Lopin said, beating his chest.

“You guys are talking.”

“I may be old and rusty, but I must show that I am useful. I stole the Baron’s iron from Lapain, so I will show you that I am worth my money.”

“Hmm. Good.”

There is nothing wrong with that.

Thirty old soldiers.

I couldn’t completely trust them. No matter how long they’d been soldiers, aging eats away at people. Their strong muscles sag, their bones weaken, and their bodies become sluggish. They needed to prove themselves.

‘I gave it to you because it was hard to just carry around iron.’

It was a season where I couldn’t sell it anywhere and it was hard to carry it around. So I just gave it to them, but who would have thought they would say something like that? From Ronobe’s perspective, it wasn’t a bad thing. The private soldiers who fought together would return to Hopper together even after the North’s work was over, but they weren’t. Even if it was cold-blooded, from Ronobe’s perspective, it was better for them to be consumed.

In the first place, they were just corpses looking for a place to die.

“You fight well.”

“Hmm, damn it. What do you think?”

“I can only say that you are very experienced. You make up for your lack of strength with technique. If you misuse techniques that take advantage of your opponent’s strength, you will end up in big trouble. Even without that, you are quite strong for an old man.”

The veterans who fought the orcs were all veterans. They were clearly people from whom there was much to learn.

Of course there were casualties.

The fight against the orc horde was over quickly, but eventually one person died.

“Norton. This is how it goes. We will be there soon. Just wait, my friend.”

There was no special funeral.

The old soldiers took the dead soldier to the base of a nearby tree and left him there.

“I’m not asking.”

Lopin glanced at Ronobé and answered.

“It is winter, so the ground is frozen and hard. If we leave it alone, it will belong to the ground anyway. The body is just a body. Norton’s soul has already left the body and ascended high into the sky to be in the arms of Obel.”

Obel.

I know Ronobedo too.

It is one of the religions of the kingdom.

Basti and Obel. Listening to the nuances of their speech, I think Obel might be a guy similar to the god of war.

“Do you know about the god Obel?”

“Lord Obel loves warriors who fight and die with honor. It is said that all warriors who die on the battlefield become Obel’s spear blades with honor.”

“Wind blade?”

“There is a legend that says that on the day when the blade of Obel is completely sharpened with the soul of a warrior, the cold of the North will disappear and this land will be reborn. Well, that is just an old story.”

It’s quite a romantic story.

Ronobe is not very interested in religion. Even when he was a modern man, he was an atheist. God does not appear even when called. Religion is ambiguous to modern people who only believe in what they see. However, he is somewhat interested in the religion of this era.

‘Because God might actually do it.’

I have never met him.

Unlike the wandering gods that Ronobe meets, the gods that have religious groups have many followers who support them, so there may not be a need to meet a child of tribute.

“Old soldiers who are just waiting for their day to die… want their death to be useful. Being old is proof that you have survived, but an old man who just lives is useless…”

Lopin laughed bitterly.

Ronobé was at a loss for what to say as the mood suddenly became tense, but Liam put his worries aside.

“What should we do with the orc’s body?”

“Oh, cut off the leg and bring it to me.”

“All right.”

I decided to ignore the old man’s complaints.

Liam had his soldiers bring him orc legs, and Ronobé used Vivian’s magic to turn them into greaves.

“It lasts a long time even without putting my soul into it. Is it because my skills have improved?”

Normally, the intensity would subside and disappear after about thirty minutes, but now, even if left alone, it would last for several hours. Although he didn’t know why, Ronobe didn’t think much of it.

“Let’s go.”

From then on, he was a wandering orc.

Or they encountered groups of orcs, goblins, and gnolls, but there was no major crisis. Unlike before, the experience of the old soldiers became useful wisdom in battle, and they avoided battles or started them at an advantageous position.

“There are traces. There must be orcs nearby.”

The old soldier could sometimes accurately infer the situation by looking at a tree with a broken bark, or urine or footprints scattered in the snow. It was wisdom born of experience.

Even if they faced a fairly large group, it wasn’t difficult because most of them were cleared out with a single magic attack from Ronobe. After taking the elixir, the power to use Golhonyu increased, so the accumulated snow didn’t become a big problem. Ronobe kept Golhonyu going and cleared the snow around him as he went forward.

And finally, the party reached the Bavarian Mountains without difficulty.

“be high.”

The Bavarian snow mountain was so high that its peak was not visible.

A snow-covered mountain hidden behind clouds.

It was a tall and majestic mountain that was so tall that it was daunting just to look at. It was a mountain that seemed to have some kind of mysterious power.

“Where do Barbarians live?”

“I live on the top floor.”

“her…”

Living on top of a mountain where even the oxygen seemed thin… Ronobe swallowed his breath with trembling anticipation.

“Do I have to go up there?”

Even though the North was eaten, I somehow felt like I knew why the Barbarians were still alive.

Bavarian Snow Mountain [2]