Chapter 250: The Prelude

The atmosphere was tense, as if a battle might break out at any moment. Goff, with a mischievous smile on his face, seemed to find it amusing, while the Queen of the North looked at him with a stern gaze. When the host of the meeting, Jang Ye-ri, looked at the situation, she remained silent, which only made her more nervous.

Just when it seemed like things were about to explode, Choi Seul-gi spoke softly to the Queen of the North, Han So-hye.

“We didn’t come here to fight today, Your Majesty.”

I nudged Goff’s arm preemptively, and he, too, seemed to realize he had gotten carried away, scratching the back of his head. The desire to fight was understandable; I felt it too, so it was only natural for Goff.

Breaking the eerie silence in the tent, it was the Queen of the North who spoke first.

“Well… Very well. Sister, or rather, what Choi Seul-gi says is correct. We didn’t come here to fight today. So how about this? Let’s exchange blows just once, without any further violence. Attack me. If I can withstand your attack, I win. If I can’t, you win.”

“………………………”

For a moment, Goff’s face froze. I was also astonished, looking at the Queen of the North with wide eyes, but Choi Seul-gi seemed quite composed.

From Goff’s point of view, it was undoubtedly a blow to his pride. Declaring with such confidence that a mere human woman could withstand a blow of his full strength was nothing short of audacious. Even without considering the huge difference in strength between an ogre like Goff and a human, I, as I was now, would likely suffer considerable bleeding from Goff’s blow. What she didn’t know was that if this had been a simple battle of strength, the previous tribe chief, Agar, would not have been able to handle Goff.

She didn’t say she would avoid it; she said she would withstand it. That could only be more confusing.

“An interesting human… I could even die.”

“That’s what makes it interesting.”

I raised my tail, sending a signal to Choi Seul-gi, who replied with a wink, as if to rea.s.sure me not to worry. My insides were churning. It was crucial that Han So-hye didn’t worsen relations with the North in her current situation.

But she was confident. The Knights of the North nodded in agreement, and it seemed they were confident that Han So-hye could withstand Goff’s blow.

It was clearly a form of entertainment. Goff seemed to enjoy the challenge as he got up.

No one tried to stop her, not even Park Han-cheol or Jang Ye-ri. In truth, I wanted to intervene, but when I looked at Jang Ye-ri sitting quietly, I sensed that she had some plan in mind, so I kept my mouth shut.

This wouldn’t be a full power attack. However, if Han So-hye couldn’t withstand it, she would at least suffer a moderate injury. Her body was trained to the extreme, but she was still human. It seemed that the Northern Knights were similarly convinced, but just in case, I began to slowly circulate my magical energy, preparing to intervene at a moment’s notice. And before I could even finish my preparations, Han So-hye spoke.

“Now. Do what you want.”

“Krrrr…”

As she finished speaking, Goff shot forward in an instant and threw a punch without any form.

The immense power emanating from his arm and the rippling muscles indicated that Goff was giving it his all. The contained power seemed capable of blowing away this entire area. There was no mercy in this blow, only the will to fight.

Jang Ye-ri released her magic power, preparing for the shock that would come to the tent.

In an instant, Queen Han So-Hye of the North rose to her feet in response to Goff’s fist. Her quick action of pulling out a spear hidden behind her back was so fast that it seemed almost unbelievable. The fist descended towards Queen Han So-Hye’s body.

It was just a fist swinging, but the sound of the air shattering could be heard. At that moment, I couldn’t help but think that I didn’t want to face that fist directly, because it sounded like a meteor crashing down.

Queen Han So-Hye thrust the spear at the fist.

For a moment, there was a tremendous burst of air, but the tent did not collapse. This was due to the magic that Jang Ye-ri had skillfully prepared beforehand.

What was incredibly amazing was that “……..” did not make any sound.

The sound of the fist colliding with the spear literally didn’t reach our ears. Normally there would be a deafening roar. The answer was obvious. It had absorbed the shock.

The movement and posture when thrusting the spear, the movement and timing of the magic, the moment when I lowered my body in the direction where Goff’s fist fell – not only my body, but also the magic – all moved to block Goff’s powerful attack in an absurd way.

It was an incredible feat.

Goff’s ma.s.sive, brute force attack had been stopped in a bizarre manner.

Thud.

Snap.

When Goff’s fist, which had stuck to the spear like a magnet, finally touched the center of the table, the table was completely shattered without a trace.

“This can’t be…”

The pinnacle of skill. I was truly amazed and looked at Queen Han So-Hye with astonished eyes, and Goff was no different. Black Spear was also wide-eyed. It wasn’t unreasonable for such a reaction, considering that this was the first time he had seen Goff’s power up close.

If I had failed, I would have been killed, or at least seriously injured.

“I almost died. If the timing had been a little off, it would have been dangerous.”

Even more surprising was his nonchalant tone.

“My organs seem to be a bit damaged. If there’s a good priest, I’ll ask for treatment.”

His calm demeanor as he made the request was rather unusual. Goff continued to open his ma.s.sive jaws.

It wasn’t that he had lost his honor like me; he had lost his ability to speak.

I lightly tapped Goff’s leg, and only then did he quietly take a seat. It was quite an embarra.s.sing moment. Once again, I thought about how truly amazing Queen Han So-Hye was. It was an impossible feat for me to replicate. The level of precision and control required for such a delicate operation was naturally beyond reach.

Probably the result of hundreds of thousands of repet.i.tions, what was even more astonishing was her ability to maintain composure in front of that fist. Looking at Goff again, I couldn’t help but feel a bit warmer seeing blood dripping from his arm.

“He’s strong.”

The appearance of the Northern Queen, which I had envisioned, was exactly as I had imagined, if not more.

It seemed like she could sense my gaze, and with an amused expression, the Northern Queen looked at me as she received the sacredness of the priestesses.

“Hehe. It’s been a while since we met, hasn’t it?”

“I’d like to request that we talk after everything is finished.”

Her eyes sparkled. Chang Je-ri opened her mouth while looking at that expression.

“Then, to get to the main point…”

“No, there’s no need for that. We will work together with the Greenskins. They are trustworthy. Let’s dispense with the formalities and get straight to the point. I believe the words of the Eastern Queen. The East is our ally. We don’t need to waste our time. I won’t allow Kang Chang-hoon, So Yeon-joo, Choi Seulgi, or Ban Ron.”

There was no objection.

Even the Northern knights who seemed to harbor some dissatisfaction with Han So-hye’s words and the Master of the Frost Dragon Guild, So Yeon-joo, who had been watching us with an amused expression, both nodded. Whether it was simply the result of exchanging information with each other, I didn’t know, but the Northern Queen’s expression was quite serious.

The immediate thought that dominated my mind upon seeing her was that she was different from us. I wasn’t sure what had happened on Earth, but her way of thinking was closer to that of Greenskins than humans. It might be a good idea to ask her later about what she had been doing on Earth.

She was calm and a good leader.

There was an expectation that the direction she chose would always be right. Just by looking at the expressions of the Northern knights and So Yeon-joo, it was evident. Whatever the reason, once a decision was made, they followed it. Of course, it was still unclear how the ordinary people of the North would accept the Greenskins, but at the very least, it could be expected that the warriors who followed her would accept us.

“I have one question.”

“………………………”

“I heard that the Greenskins also respect the struggles of humans.”

“Um.”

“I’m curious why the Greenskins in the Brave Goff Clan are getting involved in the fights of humans.”

There was an expression of great antic.i.p.ation.

Though not entirely sure, it seemed like they were waiting for an answer indicating a desire to fight together. When I was about to open my mouth slightly to give the answer they wanted, a voice came from an entirely unexpected direction.

“It’s because there’s a child in my belly. That’s the reason.”

It was Chang Je-ri.

“Huh?”

Han So-hye stared at Chang Je-ri with a blank expression. My feelings were quite complex as I looked at Chang Je-ri’s face, which seemed extremely proud. Having a Greenskin’s child might not necessarily be something to brag about. Of course, she wasn’t human, but they didn’t know that fact.

“A…a child…”

“I don’t know what you’re thinking, but it’s simply the result of love, Northern Queen.”

“I see…”

Suddenly, Han So-Hye stopped talking, her face even turning red. I didn’t know what she was imagining, but she seemed embarra.s.sed about something.

Though not entirely certain, there was a sense that something was inflating her cheeks, revealing a rather cute side. She appeared not only disappointed but also somewhat sulky, as if she hadn’t received the answer she wanted.

“Understood.”

Abruptly, she reverted to a curt tone.

It was clear that there would be thoughts about how she had neglected her training or the training had been neglected. When Han So-Hye abruptly stopped speaking, Choi Seulgi naturally began to take the lead in the meeting. Thanks to Han So-Hye, it had become somewhat burdensome to be here suddenly.

However, I couldn’t afford not to partic.i.p.ate in the meeting. Although both Han So-Hye and Goff had forgotten how to speak, it felt more smoothly conducted without the two.

The most important thing was the movements in the west and south.

When the north showed signs of shifting its troops to the east, they also heard that they were marching eastward with their troops spread out. I couldn’t help but notice that they were quite obstinate.

“As we discussed before.”

“That’s right. The Queen of the East’s words were correct. It seems they want to divide the west and east broadly. There’s a high possibility they are preparing for a long-term war.”

“A long-term war…”

Unfavorable. Originally, the resources in the west and south were different from the eastern region, which had a harsh winter and many swamps. Even though the eastern region wasn’t entirely devoid of resources, when compared to the west, which had the best environment, it was clear that the situation wasn’t favorable.

Probably, the black money gathered during the time of Janggi-young would have been used to block trade in the south. The situation had been prepared for quite some time and was difficult to hide. I spoke while looking at the two.

“Extending the war is not a pleasant situation. It’s not something we need to worry about too much, but…”

What I received in response was the knights in the north.

“We can endure a few years. For now, maintaining the front line is the best option. We didn’t really need the help of the Greenskins, but seeing the warriors under you, even if the quant.i.ty of troops is inferior, it seems like the quality is not lacking. With a large army and guerrilla warfare in mind, it’s more likely they’ll enter the plains rather than the forest.”

“Then it’s best to maintain the front line around that time. Building fortifications would be a good idea.”

“Fortifications?”

It couldn’t be built in a short time. As if curious, Han So-Hye spoke up again.

“Have you forgotten?”

Upon hearing Han So-Hye’s words, I tried to recall, and sure enough, there was something that came to mind, so I smiled. During the tutorial, Goff and I had undoubtedly penetrated the Queen of the North’s fortifications. It was a rather pleasant memory.