The 9th Class Swordmaster: Blade of Truth-Chapter 422: The Great Jungle of Adur (3)

“An... Anchar?”

Halkata was utterly stunned by the name Karyl had just uttered, so much so that he didn’t even register the pain from his fractured wrist.

“How do you know that name?”

“Hmph.”

Instead of answering, Karyl drove his foot into Halkata’s stomach. With a dull thump, Halkata was lifted off the ground, folding unnaturally around Karyl’s foot. Before he even hit the ground, Karyl unleashed a flurry of punches, shattering his freshly healed ribs.

“Gaah...!” Halkata finally broke, screaming out in pain.

Karyl was relentless, striking his legs with the back of his blade before slamming him straight into the ground.

Crunch—

Halkata’s legs flopped lifelessly, like the limbs of a broken puppet.

“I heard Wildlings can heal as long as their limbs are still attached. Good. That means I can beat the crap out of you as much as I want.”

Karyl pressed down hard on Halkata’s shattered leg, looking down at him.

“Agh... Ghh...”

Halkata tried to say something, but the wave of pain stifled his words. He collapsed, curled up on the ground like a worm.

“Y-You bastard...!”

Although they possessed incredible regenerative abilities, that didn’t mean the Wildlings were immune to pain. Getting stabbed, having their legs shattered—they felt it just like anyone else.

What was truly terrifying about them wasn’t their resistance to poison, but the sheer willpower it took to endure that kind of excruciating pain.

So the fact that Chief Halkata broke into screaming said everything about how ruthlessly Karyl had beaten him—targeting every vulnerable spot on his body.

“Don’t start whining. I haven’t even used mana. You call yourself a Wildling?” Karyl grumbled, looking genuinely disappointed.

The others stared at him with ashen expressions.

“You don’t get to say you to me. It’s Lord Karyl.”

“...What?”

“You address me as your lord, got it? I know you’ve been holed up in this jungle of yours, but it’s time for a change. I mean, how long are you planning to keep scraping by in this godforsaken place, eating nothing but monster meat? The world changes, and people should change with it.”

Karyl gave Halkata a light pat on the shoulder.

“And while you’re at it, learn some manners. You said you knew who I was, right? Then I shouldn’t have to tell you that there won’t be a second warning.”

“...”

Halkata felt a chill crawl down his spine. This boy, who barely reached his chest, was more terrifying than any beast he had faced in the depths of the Great Jungle.

[Look at that blank stare. Ha... How pitiful]

Allen couldn’t help but chuckle as he looked at Halkata.

[Well, it makes sense. A true beast should rely more on instinct than thought. You’re standing before someone who holds not one, but two dragon hearts. It’d be more shocking if they didn’t tremble in fear.]

Hissss...!!

In that instant, Mael shot out from Karyl’s arm.

“Wh-What the hell?!”

The blue serpent bared its sharp fangs at Halkata, ready to sink its teeth into his throat, then vanished just as suddenly.

[Hmph. Dragons, my ass.]

Mael sounded annoyed, his pride clearly wounded. Karyl glanced at him and chuckled drily.

“So you’ve come here to drive us out of the jungle? If so, you’ve wasted your time. We’ll never leave. What, you think we should abandon our land and go live like the immigrants? Not a chance.”

“Who said anything about leaving? You’re staying right here.”

“...What?”

“Halkata, you should be grateful you and I crossed paths.”

With that, Karyl turned his head.

“...”

Halkata was lost for words, his lips twitching.

“I’m not here to change you, but the jungle itself.

“What does that even—”

Karyl turned and lightly brushed Alkar’s forehead.

“So guide us. Take us to her.”

“Her...?”

“I don’t want to waste time, so I’ll talk to her directly. Like I said, you won’t get a second chance. Move now. Take me to Anchar, the true leader of your people, the Druid who carries the souls of the Five Beasts.”

It was then that Halkata realized this encounter wasn’t a coincidence. This boy knew his name, despite his tribe living in isolation, completely cut off from the outside world. And now, he had just spoken the name of someone known only to a select few within the tribe.

He’s not even from the empire. He didn’t just come to conquer the jungle. But... why her?

For all his tough exterior, Halkata failed to hide his uneasiness.

“Getting to the hut isn’t the hard part. But whether she’ll see you... that’s up to her. Actually, getting inside at all might be the real issue.”

Karyl chuckled softly at his reply. “That’s my problem, not yours. Don’t worry. Just guide me to the Golden Spirit Lake. I could find her myself, but I’ll need the tribe leader to escort me if I want to meet her directly.”

“...You even knew about that?” Halkata murmured, his eyes wide. The jungle was completely off the grid, so there was no reason for an outsider to know this much about the land.

“Just who the hell are you?”

Karyl didn’t answer. He just gave Halkata’s shoulder another light pat and stood up.

“You’ll find out soon enough. Oh, and by the way, Shaveliger liver tastes better steamed than raw. Do you mind cooking some and sharing a bit with me?”

He flashed him a faint, ambiguous smile before walking away.

***

In the center of the swamp where a small hut stood, bubbles rose and burst over the pitch-black surface as if the whole thing was boiling. The fact that the hut hadn’t sunk despite sitting in the middle of that churning muck was impressive in itself.

“Hmm... Smells alright.”

It wasn’t the swamp’s stench Karyl was referring to, but rather the steamed liver Halkata had prepared for him.

“I’ve never once heard of steaming Shaveliger liver. Liver should be eaten fresh and raw, as it’s meant to be.” Halkata frowned at the blackened piece.

Karyl made no response. He merely took a bite of the liver and chewed. Then, without warning, he walked right into the swamp.

“W-Wait! Be care—!”

Splish, splash... Splish, splatter...!

The swamp suddenly quaked. The fish living in its depths began thrashing wildly, as if something had triggered a frenzy.

“What the hell...”

“You use the leaves from the Golden Spirit Lake to make poison for hunting monsters, right? That just means the poison running through this swamp is incredibly potent. But even so, that kind of poison isn’t much of a threat to Wildlings like you.”

As he spoke, Karyl tore off pieces of the liver he was holding and scattered them into the swamp.

“The real problem is the man-eaters. The ones that live in this kind of poison are on a whole other level. They look like the ones from the Fonein River, but they’re smaller and a hell of a lot faster. And if one of them sinks its teeth into you, not even you Wildlings with your so-called immunity to poison would make it out alive.”

“Skraa! Skraak...!”

To Halkata’s surprise, the frenzied fish scattered and swam away, avoiding the area like they were afraid of it.

“But here’s the funny part. These things hate Shaveliger liver. When it’s raw, it doesn’t give off a strong enough scent, so it doesn’t work. But if you steam it, the smell becomes potent enough to drive them off. If you keep it in your mouth, they won’t come anywhere near you.”

Karyl tossed the rest of the liver to Halkata, who was still standing behind him.

“And it’s not even that bad.”

With that, Karyl spat out the chunk he had been holding in his mouth, a faint smile curling on his lips.

“Well, it’s not really to my taste, but I bet you’d like it.”

Halkata stared at the piece of liver in his hand, unsure whether Karyl was suggesting that he eat it.

“This is the only way into the Golden Spirit Lake. You want to meet her, don’t you? The one who ran off and locked herself in there?”

“...Why are you telling me this?”

“She’s your daughter.”

Karyl finally revealed the meaning behind that strange smile he had shown earlier.

“...Ugh.”

Without a moment’s hesitation, Halkata shoved the remaining piece of liver into his mouth. The stench hit him like a punch to the gut, and he nearly gagged, but he forced himself to chew it down in full view.

Watching him, Karyl turned away and gazed toward the old hut.

Anchar... You don’t know it, but I’ve already stopped the thing you regretted the most in your past life. Now you’re free to go wild.

“The Wildlings believe their ancestors are the spirits of countless beasts that lived since the Mythical Era. Each of us carries the spirit of one beast.”

Karyl wiped his mouth and glanced back at Halkata as he approached.

“But she’s not carrying just one. She’s cursed. All of the ancestral spirits ended up inside her at once, and it’s tearing her apart. She’s turning into a monster who can’t even hold on to who she is.”

“When did it start?”

“About a month ago.”

Karyl nodded at Halkata’s response. Right on time.

It was after the Oracle was prophesied and the Tarak began seeping into the world. That was when the spirits inside her went berserk. In his previous life, she hadn’t awakened her powers until after the Tarak had already appeared.

But when I came looking for her after the Oracle, the Great Jungle was already a wasteland. The Wildlings had been wiped out long before I arrived.

Only two of the chosen Ten had awakened late, after the Tarak began their invasion. Their power was immense, but they differed from the others in one crucial way.

They were influenced by the presence of Tarak—the more those hellish monsters contaminated the world, the more powerful the two became. But the cost of that power was steep. If they weren’t careful, they would lose their minds, consumed by that very power.

It might have sounded similar to Hwarin’s berserker state when tapping into the Lycan’s Will, but that was only a temporary state, one from which she could return.

In Anchar’s case, however, unless the Tarak’s spreading corruption across the continent was reversed, she would never come back. She would keep losing parts of herself until, in the end, she became just another monster wandering the earth.

And right now, she’s just awakened. She has no idea how to control the power she gained. Back then, she let that power consume her, pushing her to kill her own people.

That was the one thing she had regretted for the rest of her life—she had even killed Halkata, her own father.

Now that Blood is gone, this is probably the only time she’s stable. But she doesn’t dare leave. She knows another outburst could happen at any moment.

The next time Halkata met her, Anchar would tear out his heart with her own two hands. That was why Karyl had come here immediately after slaying Blood—he had to recruit her and teach her how to stay in control.

“Stop...!!”

The scream echoed from the hut in the swamp. It wasn’t male nor female, but both—an eerie, inhuman scream.

“Anchar...” Halkata muttered her name, his voice filled with worry.

“Halkata,” Karyl called out softly. “Your greatest strength as a Wildling is your immunity to poison. Can you give that up for your daughter?”

“...What?”

“That immunity comes from the poisonous plants that grow here. But I told you, I’m going to change this land, and I’m starting with the Golden Spirit Lake. I’ll tear it up completely. Those plants will never grow here again.”

“...Then what about Anchar?” freewebnσvel.cøm

“She’ll live.”

That single answer was enough for Halkata. He nodded slowly, not a hint of hesitation in his expression.

“Good. Then stand back. I’m going to purify her and this land, starting now.”

Crackle... Crunch...

Ice spread beneath Karyl’s feet. He drew the Freezing Talon from his waist and thrust it deep into the swamp. In moments, the water froze over into a wide, solid sheet of ice.

He gently brushed the forehead of the Divine Beast resting beside him.

“Alkar. It’s your turn now.”

The young Divine Beast stuck out its tongue, seemingly pleased by Karyl’s touch.

“Alright. Let’s go greet the master of the Wildlings, the one who will be offering tribute to you from now on.”

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