The power of Adessa could be divided into two major forces.
The Elf tribe dominating the eastern Great Forest.
And the beastmen tribe dominating the western Great Forest.
Despite being different races with different instincts and values, they had maintained a stronger cohesion than any other nations on the continent, existing together since ancient times.
What the two factions had in common was a very broad tribal social system, with many tribes united.
Unlike Elves, Beastmen had internal divisions, but it held little significance in Adessa.
The Beastmen of Adessa had long been united around the Gonark tribe.
A great clan that birthed the most powerful warriors, those with the ‘Spirit of Sacrifice’.
The current High Chieftain of the beastmen was Udakbat, the leader of the Gonark tribe and the most formidable warrior.
“Ignel.”
Udakbat looked at his fellow tribe member with complex eyes.
She raised her chin slightly and then opened her mouth.
“Do not address me by my name, Udakbat.”
At her words, many warriors and elders around them emitted a fierce aura.
On the other hand, Udakbat, who did not even raise an eyebrow, waved his hand to dispel the tension.
“Your insolence is beyond what I can tolerate, Ignel. So, why have you come?”
“Well, why do you think I’m here?”
“I’ve had enough of your rudeness. Did you come looking for a place to die after your rampage?”
Ignel raised the corner of her mouth.
“It wouldn’t be bad to wipe out all these useless old men, but let’s not do it today.”
Some of the elders stared at her and spoke up.
“You have a sharp tongue, Ignel. You, who betrayed the tribe and now act as a lapdog for the Overlord.”
“Letting those filthy feet touch our sacred land, just spit out your business and get lost!”
“Yeah, yeah, old folks. I didn’t come here because I wanted to face your disgusting faces, you know?”
The aura swirling among them made the young warriors of Gonark nervous.
The visit of a single figure had brought all the warriors and leaders of the tribe together for a power struggle.
For them, who had only heard of the Beast King as an old tale passed down among the tribe, the current situation felt unfamiliar and strangely unsettling.
“I’ll make it brief. It seems the Emperor of Santea is plotting something at the northern edge of the forest. So don’t just stand here like idiots, unaware of anything, and be on high alert.”
Udakbat frowned.
“...Emperor of Santea? Did the Overlord asked you to deliver that message?”
“No. This is just information I personally share with you.”
“How can we trust that?”
The Beast King scoffed.
“Hey, do you think I still have any remnants of loyalty to this tribe to volunteer as a messenger?”
“......”
“I don’t care if the entire tribe is wiped out, or if Adessa becomes a living hell like it was during the Great War. All you have to do is protect that damned tree, even if it costs you old men’s lives and warriors’ lives, just like it did then.”
The fierce roar of the Beast King silenced the gaze of the Udakbat.
“You’re still a child, and you haven’t grown up at all.”
“Haha, really? I’m much better than a coward, that’s for sure. We’re done talking.”
The Beast King turned around. However, it wasn’t the direction she had come from.
The warriors standing in the path she was headed to froze.
“Where are you going, Ignel?”
Ignoring them, the Beast King continued walking. Udakbat let out a fierce howl.
“Stop. Who gave you permission to approach the World Tree?”
The forest was suppressed by the aggression emanating from him. The Beast King resisted without faltering and returned the energy in response.
“Permission? Whose permission do I need when I want to go see my brother?”
“You are no longer a part of Adessa or the tribe. Take responsibility for the path you have chosen.”
The Beast King let out a cold laughter.
“Responsibility! Fine. Then, as the Lord of Calderic, shall I just eliminate everyone who dares to block my path?”
“Ignel, do you really want to die?”
“Why, do you think I can’t?”
The Beast King reached for her sword hilt on her back. The warriors all gripped their weapons simultaneously.
“If you continue to obstruct, I will do it for real. Let’s see. How many can I slaughter before I fall?”
The elders also prepared for battle.
Some glared at her with murderous intent, while others looked at her with complicated eyes.
Amidst the suffocating confrontation, Udakbat raised his head and broke the silence.
“This is the only time.”
“Chief!”
“Are you willing to spill the blood of our tribe members for this matter?”
The elders couldn’t argue.
They didn’t know the damage that could be done if the Beast King went on a rampage in the middle of the tribe’s base.
“Captain, follow her and keep an eye on her.”
Turaq, the appointed captain, immediately approached the Beast King. Udakbat spoke quietly.
“Do not engage in pointless actions, Ignel. At least, I don’t want to kill you with my own hands.”
The Beast King snickered and continued on her way.
***
“Do you know the purpose of the Fifth Lord?”
I asked Thunder Lord as we rode the wyverns.
With a glance, the Thunder Lord answered, “Although I don’t know the exact purpose, she has definitely moved towards the territory of the Gornak Tribe.”
“If it’s Gornak...”
“It’s a tribe led by the Chief of the Beastmen. Do you know the origins of the Fifth Lords?”
I nodded my head. The Gornak Tribe was a tribe governed by the High Chieftain, who was at the center of the beastmen in Adessa.
The Beast King was once a member of the Gornak Tribe before leaving the Great Forest and becoming a Lord of Calderic.
“Perhaps she went to share information about the Emperor with the High Chieftain.”
“Is that allowed?”
“If the Overlord hasn’t said anything, that means it doesn’t matter if she does or not, so she’ll do as she pleases.”
Thunder Lord kindly answered the question, perhaps because she had something at stake.
I thought for a moment about the character of the Beast King.
I also knew the reason why the Beast King abandoned the tribe and left the Great Forest to become a Lord of Calderic.
At the center of the Adessa Great Forest, there was one colossal tree.
The World Tree. It was a common setting that often appeared in comics or games when elves were involved.
Another name for Adessa Great Forest was the Blessed Land.
The World Tree, filled with immense vitality, was a sacred being that bestowed powerful strength upon the entire Great Forest and all its inhabitants.
However, Adessa could not avoid the war that began with the invasion of the Demons in the past.
Although it was only one demon who invaded the Great Forest, that creature was truly a living catastrophe.
It was the most powerful weapon of war possessed by the Demons during that time.
Even compared to the current archdemons, an overwhelmingly dominant existence that has no rivals except for Azekel, who stood at the top of the hierarchy.
Fogwigg.
They were faced with a crisis where the power of that guy eroded them, and the Great Forest was on the brink of instant destruction.
Pushed to the brink, the beastmen and the elves did the only thing they knew how to do.
That was to amplify the power of the World Tree.
It involved absorbing the body and soul of the most powerful warrior in the Great Forest into the core of the World Tree.
'So, it means that the warrior with the Spirit of Sacrifice gave themselves up.'
The ‘Spirit of Sacrifice’ was a legend passed down from generation to generation among the Gonark tribe.
Even the exact nature of it was uncertain.
However, throughout the history of the Gornak tribe, there had been rare instances of powerful warriors being born that far surpassed common sense.
Igrel and Ignel.
They were the Beast King and her twin brother, the warriors with the ‘Spirit of Sacrifice’ who saved Adessa.
That incident became the decisive factor for the Beast King to abandon her tribe and venture out of the Great Forest
...That’s the setting.
I only had a rough understanding of the details, and I didn’t know the specifics.
Attachment to her homeland? Attachment to her tribe? Did the Beast King still hold on to such things?
Or was it because she couldn’t let go of her attachment to the twin brother who merged with the World Tree?
There were many reasons that came to mind with a little thought.
In any case, if it was about those things, there was no need to worry about her.
More importantly...
'We need to find the Emperor quickly.'
The reason why the Emperor’s actions were tantamount to a disaster lay in the contents of what I just thought.
Because the being he was trying to summon was the demon who almost brought about Adessa’s destruction.
In the game, it was not revealed where the Emperor obtained the Fogwigg’s demon core.
However, through his many experiments and studies, the Emperor had found a way to deal with its disastrous power.
He conducted research to enable humans to possess the immense power of demons, even those on the level of Archdemons.
Driven by his ambition, he resorted to all sorts of cruel acts and eventually succeeded.
Fogwig was a being with subpar intelligence and self- awareness compared to other demons, making it possible.
Once all preparations were completed, the Emperor would be reborn through fusion with Fogwigg.
He would not be as powerful as before, but that was why he had chosen the Adessa Great Forest as the site of his resurrection.
The Emperor planned to conveniently absorb all the vitality of the Adessa through the World Tree and fully restore Fogwigg’s power.
“There are conditions for restoring your power, Second Lord.”
“Sigh, I already told you. I’ll use the power of the spirits to find the Emperor’s location.”
“Besides that, one more thing. If the Emperor intends to destroy Adessa, how will you act?”
Her brows furrowed.
“What do you mean?”
“Exactly as I said.”
“Do you really think the Emperor of Santea possesses such power? What nonsense are you talking about...”
Her words trailed off as she looked at me intently. Then she spoke again.
“...I thought your behavior was strange. Do you know something, Seventh Lord? What is the Emperor trying to do here?”
“In general.”
“How?”
“Since I also have my own informant, it would be good if we could just leave it at that. However, the emperor may engage in a very dangerous act.”
Since I had agreed to restore her powers, she should be a complete ally for the duration of this.
“Why didn’t you tell the Chief of Staff?”
“Because I don’t know exactly what the Overlord’s intentions are.”
The Overlord didn’t know the Emperor’s intentions and wanted to track his whereabouts and investigate.
But if she knew exactly what the Emperor was up to, she might be more inclined to leave him alone.
After all, Adessa was a different faction.
In the game’s story, Calderic was never involved in this mission from the beginning.
So I didn’t know how the Overlord, the Chief of Staff, the Beast King, or the Thunder Lord would behave.
“I’m in favor of helping Adessa. If Adessa is in danger, even if we oppose the Chief of Staff, you must follow my will for now. That’s the condition.”
Of course, it could be an unnecessary worry.
After a moment of silence, the Thunder Lord spoke.
“Why do you want to help Adessa like this?”
“You ask something obvious. If Adessa falls, the balance of power will crumble. Now is not the time for that to happen.”
The Thunder Lord looked at me with an expression of not understanding, but soon nodded.
“I was trying to help Adessa from the beginning, for Calderic’s sake, not yours. If the Overlord wishes for Adessa’s destruction, I will not go along with it, even if I have to face the consequences later.”
I nodded.
“That’s good too.”
***
Time passed, and as the sun set and rose again, we arrived at our destination.
The northwest outskirts of the Great Forest, where the vegetation thinned, and rocky mountains appeared.
“There it is.”
I pointed to a rocky mountain that towered conspicuously alone.
Thunder Lord narrowed her eyes.
“Is that really it? I don’t feel any aura at all.”
“It is.”
As we reached the top, the Thunder Lord hurriedly dismounted from the wyvern and looked around.
I dismounted after her and said to her.
“If we wait, it will soon appear.”
That creature was a spirit trapped in this rock mountain, unable to escape.
Grrrr...
Not long after, Ti-Yong sensed something and let out a low growl.
The Thunder Lord’s wyvern reacted in the same way.
Thunder Lord focused her gaze to one side with tense eyes.
'It’s here.'
With my arms crossed, I also looked in that direction.
Kurrrung!
The sound of thunder echoed, and a dazzling aura gathered at the summit of the rock mountain.
Soon, a massive figure revealed itself before our eyes.
