Chapter 208 – Your Back (3)

On top of a small iceberg a distance away from the Paerun Kingdom's shore. Cale heard an excited voice while standing there.

"Weak human! Are we busting things up again?"

Raon fluttered his wings as he asked with excitement. Cale wrapped the scarf tightly around his neck and responded back.

"Probably?"

He could see the shore that was still frozen as it was still February.
Cale observed the five patrol stations around the area.

They were currently at the Paerun Kingdom's northernmost border. Their defense against the Whale tribe had once been stronger than any other location in the past, however, with the Whale tribe being forgotten about now, the number of guards at this frozen shore was now dismal.

Cale heard the Black Dragon's voice in his ear.

"Are we taking this thing too?"

This thing.
Those words made the Whales next to Cale on the small iceberg flinch.
These Whales were naturally the Killer Whale Archie, and the Humpback Whales, Witira and Paseton. The three of their gazes slowly turned to the side.

They saw a white-haired man sitting on a wheelchair with a blank expression.

The Guardian Knight Clopeh.
He seemed completely out of it as he sat on the wheelchair.

Cale's gaze headed toward Clopeh. At that moment, focus returned to Clopeh's gaze. Cale started to ask in a friendly tone.

"Clopeh, you'll go with us, right?"

Archie flinched at Cale's friendly demeanor before almost falling over after seeing Clopeh's response.

Clopeh raised his limp arms to the air. He then clasped his hands together and bowed deeply toward Cale while still sitting on his wheelchair.
It looked as if he was bowing to a god.

'What is going on here?'

Archie's gaze headed toward the half-blooded Whale, Paseton. However, Paseton had no information as well. Paseton shook his head with a confused expression.

They heard Cale continuing to speak to Clopeh.

"You know what you have to do, right?"
"…I will do … as you command."

'Huh?'
Archie's expression turned odd.
But Cale did not care as he observed the fear in Clopeh's eyes and turned away.

Choi Han had cut off Clopeh's arm.
Ron had cut off his other arm, and his two legs were turned into minced meat.

However, all of his limbs looked normal right now.
He had his legs back even though they did not move, while his two arms at least moved slowly.

Witira started to speak.

"Young master Cale, everything's okay, right?"

She was not asking about Clopeh's condition. She was not the type to feel sympathy for the enemy.
She was just asking to see if this plan would progress smoothly.

"Don't worry."

Witira did not ask anymore after hearing Cale's confident response. It would be fine if he said that it will be fine.

Cale turned away from Clopeh and snorted.
Cale knew that Clopeh was looking at him like a god.

'There's no way it's real.'

He was thinking that Clopeh was acting this way out of fear.

Why?
The necromancer Mary was the one who had made his legs and arms for him.
Cale had told her to recreate his limbs while telling her to do something else as well.

'The new limbs are bombs.'

Mary instantly understood what he wanted.

'Do you just need me to put dead mana in there?'

Dead mana was a deadly poison for the living.
Even the sword master Hannah only survived thanks to Mary's help. That poisonous power was currently in all four of Clopeh's limbs.

Cale recalled what Mary had told him.

'All of his limbs will explode once I send the signal or if someone tries to heal him. He will die right away once that happens.'

Clopeh's life was in Cale's hands.

'He would do anything in order to stay alive.'

That was the reason that Cale could look at Clopeh and snort.
This was the guy who had tricked the continent into thinking that he was the Wyvern Knight. What wouldn't such a person be willing to do to save his life?

Cale would never trust his enemy and had no plan to let go of this weakness that he held in his hands.

The Black Dragon Raon peeked at Cale and Clopeh before flying over to Witira. He then quietly whispered to her.

"That white-haired guy is a bit crazy, but he can still play his part."
"I understand, Dragon-nim."

Witira finally let go of her concerns about Clopeh. With both Cale and Raon saying it was okay, there was no reason for her to worry.

However, Witira did not know the full extent.

'He's a bit crazy.'

She didn't know what Raon really meant by that.
The six-years-old Raon sighed while seeing that Clopeh was still looking at Cale's back.

Clopeh continued to look at Cale's back.
Cale's red hair looked white to him.
The Guardian Knight still had not forgotten about the legend.

He recalled the voice of the necromancer who created these bomb-infused limbs on his body.
The voice that was so cold that he questioned whether she was truly a human spoke in a monotone voice.

'You cannot get in the young master-nim's way.'

Of course, there was actually a good amount of emotion in comparison to Mary's normal voice, however, it was so faint that only those close to her would be able to notice it.

'The young master-nim is an amazing person.'

Mary informed the Guardian Knight about Cale in a mechanical voice.
To Mary, Cale was someone she was thankful for. He was someone who was pitiable and good, always doing things for other people.

Chatter chatter.
She shared her honest thoughts about Cale. She said it in an innocent way because she was an innocent person.

'That person is always looking at everything.'

He was meticulously caressing all of his group's pains. He may come off as indifferent, but it was always done in a gentle way. His heart seemed to be as tall as a mountain.
He had healed Mary's pain that way as well.

However, Clopeh heard her words differently.

'That person is always looking at everything.'

The moment he heard his words, Clopeh felt as if his mind had cleared.

'That person really does know everything. That is why he appeared in front of me.'

The image of the red hair turning white was still on his mind.
Clopeh thought about the legend. The real legend, and not the one that the Sekka household had fabricated.

< God's Tears. The god of the lake disappeared to the south. >

This was the truth.

'Then that god that went to the south-'

Clopeh's heart started to beat wildly. At that moment, he heard the voice again which cleared up his mind. Only Mary's voice could be heard inside of the prison.

'That person never strays from the good and always works for justice.'

Clopeh realized something.

'That is why it had to be this way.
In the end, the world moves according to his will.'

Mary was just complimenting Cale on preparing for the war in advance and doing what he could to protect everyone.
However, Clopeh understood that compliment differently.
In fact, Clopeh misunderstood it in a significantly exaggerated manner.

Cale did not know of this as he got up from his seat.

"Let's go."

Splash.
The winter ocean was causing rough waves.
The ocean underneath the iceberg. The water was dyed darker than usual.

It was because of the whales.
Large whales were slowly approaching the Paerun Kingdom's shores.

* * *

"Ugh, why is it so cold today?"
"Seriously."

The Paerun Kingdom's northern shores. A soldier at the central patrol station handed the grumbling mage a cup of warm tea.

The communication mage took a sip of the tea before pushing it off to the side.

"Ahh, much better. Why do we need to guard this place when nobody is going to invade from this direction?"
"I agree. There is no way a southern kingdom would be able to break through the ice here."

The South may be busy with the war, however, this northern patrol station did not need to worry about that.

Who would really invade through here?

The mage leaned on the chair and looked out to the ocean outside the window. He could see the water moving in the distance, however, the area near the patrol station was completely frozen.

It was a completely useless point of entry. Who would come through here?

"Is the next check in in an hour?"
"Yes sir."
"Haaaah, this damn life."

The mage sighed at his unfortunate situation of having to pass time without the chance to gain any merits. However, he still had to do his job properly.

They were in a time of war.
There were the central forces who were focused on checking in more than ever.

The central forces.
The Sekka household's current head, Duke Rock Sekka. He was leading the central forces.
He put a lot of emphasis on information and security to the point that he created his office as the central information communication room to use with the communication mages.

"Sigh, we can't make a generic report because the Duke-nim is listening in."

The mage let out a sigh.
Since Duke Rock Sekka would be there, there was no way that he could give a mediocre report.

"I agree. The only thing we would be able to report is if the Whale tribe comes to attack."
"Ha!"

The mage let out a scoff at the soldier's comment.

"The Whale tribe? You're thinking about a tribe that has been long forgotten about. But there is no way something like that would happen. Why would that quiet tribe come to invade us? We haven't done anything wrong to them."
"That's true. I thought so myself after saying that."

The soldier awkwardly nodded his head. Even he thought that something like that would never happen.
The soldier who had grown up by the shore had heard stories about the Whale tribe from his grandfather, however, they were just a mysterious existence from folklore.

"Hmm?"

The soldier flinched after looking out the window at that moment.

"Umm, m, mage-nim?"
"What is it?"

The mage who was drinking tea looked up at the soldier with a grumpy expression. However, the soldier's gaze did not move away from the window.
"What is it?"

The mage sounded annoyed as he looked out the window as well.
The soldier was pointing to something in the distance.

"Umm, what is that in the ocean?"

There was a spray of water shooting up into the air in the distance. The ocean that had been gray was now completely black.

He could also see waves.

No, they were not waves.
Large beings were pushing forward across the ocean.

"…Huh?"

The mage's shocked voice could be heard as well.
The soldier who realized what they were shouted in almost a shriek.

"W, Whales! Mage-nim, they are definitely Whales-!"

Baaaaang!

The soldier could not finish his sentence.
The patrol station was shaking.
Something was slamming onto the ice from the bottom.

Boom, boom!

"Huh, huh, this-"

The mage subconsciously took a step back.
Something was coming up from the bottom of the ocean from underneath the ice.

Bang! Bang!
More cracks appeared on the ice with every bang.

The soldier grabbed onto the mage and continued to shout.

"Whales, it's the Whale tribe! Mage-nim!"

It was the moment he said that.

Baaaaaang!

A bang that was louder than any other previous bangs could be heard as the ice on the water cracked completely. The frozen ice cracked away as a large Whale appeared.
It was a Humpback Whale with an X-shaped scar on her back. This large Whale's body rose above the water.

The soldier and mage made eye contact with the Humpback Whale. They felt their whole body freezing up after seeing the cold gaze in the Whale's eyes. The Humpback Whale's large tail moved at that moment.

The tail that looked as if it was going to strike the heavens headed back down.

Baaaaang!
It then slammed down in order to get rid of the ice.
That was the beginning.

The Whales surrounded the patrol stations. They then started to proceed to break up the ice frozen above the ocean.
The power to break through nature.
This berserk and brutal strength was overwhelming.

"This, just what…"
"Mage-nim, we must hurry up and send a message! We must let the others know that the Whales have invaded!"

The soldier urgently shouted, and the mage finally managed to come back to his senses.
The invasion of the Whales.

The mage felt fear from these forgotten existences.
They were destroying the ocean.
The Whale tribe was known as the rulers of the ocean.
His hand was shaking as he urgently grabbed onto the video communication device.
A loud noise could be heard at that moment.

Baaaaaang!

The soldier reported the situation.

"The eastern patrol station, the eastern patrol station was destroyed!"

The mage poured mana into the video communication device and nodded his head. He could see the eastern patrol station being destroyed with his own eyes.
At the same time, he could see vapor rising around the Humpback Whale with the X-shaped scar.

And then, once the vapor disappeared.

Flick.

A female Whale Beast person appeared while flicking a long water whip. This whip made of water was moving around and breaking up the ice.
The Humpback Whale Beast person stepped on pieces of broken ice as she made a beeline for the central patrol station.
She was far away, but the mage was certain about something.

That Whale is looking at him.

Fear filled his body.

Crackle, crackle.

The sound of the video communication device connecting could be heard. The mage quickly lowered his head and looked into the video communication device.

– It is not time to check in, what is going on?

He could hear the voice of the communication mage of the central forces on the other end. The mage urgently started to shout.

"The Whale tribe, the Whale tribe has invaded!"
– What are you talking about?

The unexpected report made the mage think that he had heard incorrectly.

"The Whale tribe has come! The Whale tribe is causing a ruckus in the ocean!

The mage was scared.
He thought that he might die. That thought made him shout loud enough for the video communication device to break.

His voice that was full of despair turned the information communication room into chaos.
One person responded to the shout.

– What are you talking about?

Duke Rock Sekka.
Clopeh Sekka's father and the person known by the Paerun Kingdom as the Guardian Knight. He appeared on the screen.

The mage spoke with even more urgency after seeing his face.

"The Whale tribe has invaded, and they are destroying the ice!"

The mage then turned the screen toward the ocean. The already destroyed patrol stations, the patrol stations currently being destroyed, and the mess that was the ocean could be seen.

– When did the attack start? What is the current situation?

He could hear the urgency in Duke Rock's voice as well. However, the fact that he was still composed made the mage calm down as he responded back.

"The attack started five minutes ago. The eastern patrol station is destroyed, while the others are under attack as well. As for our central patrol station-"

The mage stopped talking.

"…Huh?"

He noticed the weirdness outside the window.

'What happened to the Whale?
What happened to the Whale that was heading toward us?'

He could not see the Humpback Whale Beast person.

– What is it? Why aren't you saying anything?
"Ah, uhh, ah-"

The mage could not continue speaking. He realized something else at that moment.
The soldier.
The soldier that was next to him was quiet.

'Why is he being quiet?'

Plop.
He saw the soldier fall down by his foot. He seemed to have fainted without a single injury. The mage's eyes slowly started to turn.

He had seen the blue-haired woman who had been heading toward their patrol station. This Whale had blue hair similar to her hair, however, it was a man this time.
The mage could not do anything even though he saw the blue-haired man's hand heading toward his back.

Plop.
The mage was easily knocked unconscious by the half-blood Whale Paseton's hands.

Tang, tang!

The video communication device fell to the floor.

– What is going on?! Are you unable to make a report?!

Duke Rock's voice could be heard from the still connected video communication device.
A person picked up the video communication device.
Cale Henituse. He passed the video communication device to someone else.

"Here."

Clopeh received the video communication device from Cale with shaking hands. Duke Rock continued to speak while the screen was shaking.

– Communication mage! Are you unable to continue the video? What is the number of Whales?

Urgency and a sense of emergency seemed to be in Duke Rock's voice, however, Cale was completely calm on the other side.

"You remember my order?"

Clopeh's pupils shook after hearing Cale's voice.
Cale's order.
Make the Paerun Kingdom become our spy.

Cale pushed down on Clopeh's shoulder as he pointed toward the video communication device. It was him telling Clopeh to do as he was ordered.

'He'll do it if he doesn't want to die.'

Cale quietly observed Clopeh, whom he thought would pick his life above all else. Clopeh's hands were shaking as he turned the screen toward his face.

– What is going on, huh?

Duke Rock Sekka flinched.

He could see white hair.
He became at a loss for words after seeing hair as white as his own.

– M, my son.

Clopeh Sekka.
It was recorded that his son was missing in action after the battle against the Roan Kingdom a few days ago. Duke Rock could not understand what was going on.
However, as someone from a quick-witted household, he raised his hand and motioned to the mages.

Security level 1.
The people inside the information communication room quietly started to proceed according to his signal.
The Duke did not look at them as he continued to look at his son.

It was at that moment.

"Hello there."

The Duke saw someone else through the screen.

– You, you are!

The Duke was familiar with this person.
He was the reason that their plan to take down the Roan Kingdom had failed.
The red-haired man.
He could see Cale Henituse on the other side.

He was smiling brightly with a hand on Clopeh's shoulder. Duke Rock Sekka looked as if he had seen something that was hard to understand.

The Whale tribe at the northern border with his son and Cale Henituse.
What the hell was going on?

Rock's pupils started to shake at that moment.

"Father."

His son Clopeh was smiling brightly.

Cale quietly observed him from the side. Clopeh would follow his order in order to survive.
Since the Roan Kingdom seemed stronger than the Indomitable Alliance, he would want to stick with Cale in order to protect his household.

Cale confirmed that in his mind as he looked toward Clopeh.

"God."

'Hmm?'
Cale flinched.
Clopeh responded brightly to his father.

"This esteemed sir is a god."

'…What the hell?'
Cale looked toward Clopeh with true disbelief.
Clopeh spoke with an expression that seemed to be saying that he had achieved his dream.

"Father, I have escorted the legend here."

'…Did he really go crazy?'

Cale was at a loss for words.

***

If you find any errors or have suggestions, please feel free to provide feedback.

Thank you for reading!

[Author – Yu Ryeo Han]

[Translator – Anowa]

[Proofreader – Rai_Mayank]