Episode 27. Gilfield’s Arboretum (4)
A large number of adult Royne Crows took flight at once. The sky seen through the hanging tree branches was covered with a flock of crows.
Pyunick exclaimed.
“This is the race to decide the emperor.”
The race to choose a new king of the Roinecros takes place once every ten years or so. It was a sight that Pyunik had never seen before.
“There will be quite a few Roynecros who lose their lives. It can’t be helped.”
Gilfield handed Pyunig a telescope and said:
“For the sake of order, competition is inevitable, Pyunig. Watch carefully and remember. Our research tasks will increase with this race today.”
The two old tree keepers watched the crows’ dash through their telescopes. First, they looked for Tina among the tangled crows.
Tina tied a mint green ribbon around her tail to make it easier for the two old guards to identify her.
‘To live and live long enough to participate in a race of king crows? No other blood-blind person has had such a strange experience as I have.’
The sound of wings was so loud it was deafening. The crows that took the lead even intentionally broke large tree branches.
Roynecro, who was right next to him, was hit by a large tree branch and fell down.
‘What the hell! This flight to death thing, is this real?’
Tina decided to strategize by breaking away from the tangled mass and taking a safer flight.
A method of climbing to the top by winding around the tree trunk in a spiral direction rather than moving vertically.
Although the flying distance was significantly increased and air resistance increased as a result of flying away from the group, the initial chaos of competition was avoided.
but.
‘Damn, I’m not the only one who took this approach.’
There were Roinecrows climbing up the tree trunk in a spiral pattern in front and behind Tina.
Among them was a crow with a distinct scar on its beak. It was the crow that was said to become a tyrant if it ever became emperor.
‘Look at those guys? Are they after me?’
As expected, a line began to form around the tyrant. Even the two groups flying in front and behind Tina were in the same group.
Kaaaak!
Krrrrrr.
Caw! Caw!
A conversation between crows that would be incomprehensible to humans. However, it was translated accurately to Tina, who had transformed into Roinecrow.
-Tear off its wings and break its beak.
-Cut off the ankle.
-Gouge out your eyes.
Tina understood the eerie words, but was not given time to prepare for the attack.
Of the five crows in front of Tina, three suddenly turned in the opposite direction.
The crows that had been chasing Tina have now realized the impending conflict and have all fled to safety.
Kaaaaaaah!
Tina opened her beak and cried out for him to stop, but the Tyrant’s command was more absolute.
The two crows did not stop flying back towards Tina even though it might cost them their lives.
‘Eww! Are those guys really going to die? This is a holy race for nothing! This is a murder race!’
At the same time, Rubin’s fight continued on top of the foggy tree.
Rubin grabbed the end of the tree trunk with both hands. His pure dark smoke was being infused into his hands as they made contact with the trunk.
‘The crows are flying.’
As the fog cleared, the distant ground appeared. A flock of crows soared toward the top. The crows gathered and dispersed like tangled black spots.
But the once clear vision soon began to shake violently.
Rubin’s stamina was rapidly depleted as he was injected with the dark smoke. Although he was said to be more than a normal human, he was still a child.
‘The old tree in the fog… is it testing me?’
The pure darkness that was injected smoothly at first suddenly became suffocating.
It feels like a wall.
It was so hard that it felt like it had to be pierced through with darkness.
Then, just as I finally managed to break through the wall, a thicker wall appeared and blocked my way after a while.
‘I didn’t expect this.’
The pure darkness that had regenerated the misty old tree up until now belonged to the previous heads of the family, including Siren. Since they were all those who had reached a certain level, they would have easily overcome the old tree’s resistance.
‘No, maybe I didn’t even resist.’
Compared to the previous generations of the family, Rubin’s current dark affinity was weak. Even though he had blossomed earlier than others when he was reborn, his dark affinity had only lasted for 9 years.
Suddenly Rubin felt that the old tree was ignoring him.
‘If we continue like this, the fog will spread again and the Roinecrows will go crazy. Should I open the first ring?’
Everyone in the Assassin’s Blade family, without exception, has only one ring. However, Rubin had another ring that others did not have.
It was the dark smoke of the 5-star realm right before the return. If you open it, it will definitely be helpful.
But even so, if he couldn’t control it completely, it would only hasten his death. It was nearly impossible to control the five-star darkness with a nine-year-old body.
‘That’s not a good way.’
The wall blocking the dark smoke grew stronger and stronger. Rubin’s dark smoke, which he had been breaking through one by one, began to shake, and eventually his body also swayed once.
‘But if it succeeds… … .’
The dark smoke injection was easily completed. However, I am not sure what will happen to my body after that.
“Tina, when are you coming?”
Rubin muttered, biting his lip.
In the still air, the sound of wings could be heard in the distance. However, it was too early to expect anything. There was still quite a distance left before they arrived.
‘Damn it! This wall is too much of a hassle… …!’
The resistance of the old tree also increased again. This time, a larger and thicker wall was blocking Rubin’s darkness.
“Just a little more… Just a little more.”
Rubin continued to push the darkness away, forcing himself to hold on to his clouded mind.
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Meanwhile, Tina, who was participating in the Death Flight, barely made it to the front of the line. There were only a few crows ahead of her.
‘I almost died.’
The Tyrant Crows’ collision plan failed because Tina fell momentarily, causing the two to collide and crash into each other.
Even after that, the tyrants’ attacks on Tina continued, but Tina managed to avoid them by changing the trajectory of her flight each time.
Grrrrr.
Kaaaak!
Following the other crows, Tina spiraled towards the top and at one point soared vertically.
The group of tyrants that were pursuing also tried to switch to vertical flight following Tina. However, as the game progressed, most of them fell behind as they showed their physical limitations.
In the end, only one person was chasing after Tina.
Scarred beak. He was a tyrant crow.
Kaaaak!
‘You tough guy. If you want to follow me, then follow me!’
If Tina’s innate talent was ‘speed’, her acquired talent, developed over a dozen years of training as an assassin, was ‘stamina’.
‘I escaped from the best assassins on the continent, so I’m afraid I’ll be caught by the likes of you?’
The condition was good. If it continued like this, I would be able to reach top speed until the transformation was over.
‘By the way, Rubin, are you okay?’
The race was taking much longer than expected. Tina was holding up just fine. There was still plenty of time left before the transformation wore off.
But there was no way to know Rubin’s condition. Suddenly, a feeling of anxiety came over him. What if, as Gillifield had feared, the injection of pure darkness stopped midway?
Thinking about it that way, it felt like fog was rising again around me.
‘This is not normal… … .’
Even if it was just my mood, I couldn’t delay any longer.
Tina picked up her pace and went ahead of the group. Then, as if she had been waiting, Tyrant, who had been behind, also picked up his pace and approached Tina.
Kaaaaaaah!
The tyrant crow, who had been saving his stamina with the help of other subordinate crows throughout his flight, was soon following Tina to her feet.
Unstoppable speed. The Tyrant’s scarred beak flew fiercely. As if aiming for Tina’s neck in one breath.
“Eww! This?”
Tina dodged the attack and moved forward, but the Tyrant latched on again and struck her with his beak.
This attack even included an attempt to climb onto Tina’s back.
“How dare you!”
Tina turned her head and bit the Tyrant’s neck in return. The Tyrant, startled by the counterattack, let out a threatening howl.
Kyaaaaak! Kaaaak!
“It’s not that I’m accepting this because my older sister is weak!”
Tina twisted her head as she grabbed the tyrant’s balls.
No matter how large the tyrant is, if his head twists while flying at high speed, he will lose his balance. The guy flew far away.
Kaaaaaaah!
The tyrant flapped his wings desperately, almost tearing out his feathers as he fell.
Tina cheered when she saw that.
“I’ll remember! I hope you’ll become an emperor in your next life!”
With this, we have dealt with the tyrant group.
Tina flapped her wings to gain more speed. There was no competition, but it felt like the fog would rise at any moment.
It is currently in a transformed state, so there is no darkness at all. If exposed to the poisonous fog, even Tina would have difficulty preserving her life.
As if in foreboding, a poisonous fog was forming near the top of the old tree.
And at the same time, a small silhouette appeared beyond it.
‘I see it! Rubin!’
Rubin, whose stamina was finally depleted, had no choice but to make a decision to overcome the crisis.
In order to make a frontal breakthrough towards the old tree that tests oneself, one must open up another hidden dark side, the first ring.
Rubin didn’t know how far he could control it, but it was worth a try.
‘If you can control it, you can endure it till the end.’
If it seems to be getting out of control even a little bit, you can just pick it up at that moment. Of course, I can’t guarantee that it will be possible.
‘If I fail, I’ll be a wreck.’
All the rings you have will break, the darkness you have contained will explode, and perhaps all the organs in your body will burst.
The risk was too great. But the reason we must try is because we must avoid an even greater risk.
‘If the infusion of dark smoke stops like this, Roynecro will become extinct.’
An assassin without Roinekrow is like a tiger without teeth. The fighting power of the Assassin Swordsman will be cut in half. No matter how strong Rubin becomes, he will never be able to stop the Emperor.
For a moment, the old foggy tree shook slightly. I felt a completely different darkness that Rubin was injecting.
A new ending, a new depth of darkness.
It was a dark smoke of a five-star realm that had been honed for 30 years.
‘It’s a success, at least up to the point of opening it.’
As soon as the first ring of smoke was injected into the old tree, it quickly advanced to the blocked area. And at the end, the two smokes came together.
It was unstable, as if it would explode at any moment, but so far there has been no great difficulty in controlling it. This was possible, since only a third of it had been revealed.
Then, a curiosity suddenly occurred to me.
‘Can you reveal more here?’
With just a third of the tree’s resistance was gone, but I wondered if I could go any further.
As the range of controllable powers increases, so does the amount of darkness Rubin can utilize.
In other words, it was possible to achieve explosive growth in an instant.
‘What do you think, Haneke?’
-I won’t be picky. It’s your choice.
Cool, simple, and soldierly advice.
-But if it were me, I would have wondered about my limits.
Rubin smiled. It was a thought worthy of a warrior who had reached the 7-star level. Haneke seemed to be interested in what Rubin would choose.
‘I’m curious too. I also feel sorry.’
-What a pity? What?
‘The race is over.’
Down there. Tina finally appears.
It was later than expected, but as I promised, I won first place in the ‘Sacred Race’.
“Little one, I’m here!”
Tina moved her beak and shouted. Rubin smiled faintly, gathering the unstable smoke.
“If only I had been a little later, I would have gone down and dragged you here myself.”
“Wow. You have no idea how popular this body was.”
Then Tina rose to the same height as Rubin. Tina’s beak touched the top of the old tree where Rubin was resting his hand.
It was the ascension of a new Roinecro Emperor.
Tina’s ensuing, excited scream echoed throughout the forest.
“Hey, tyrant! Are you listening? You’re out now!”
Thud!
The next moment, a dull sound filled the entire ‘Foggy Tree’. It was the signal for the end of the ‘Sacred Race’.
“Grandpa! The fog has returned!”
Even before the eyes of Gillifield and Pyenick, who were watching through the telescope below, the fog was clearly visible.
“Did Master Rubin fail? Or did another crow win?”
Pfynnick looked up from his telescope and looked at his grandfather.
Gilfield stroked his beard for a while in silence.
“No, Pyunick. That means everything went as we intended. That fog means the old tree has regenerated.”
Although he had no choice but to follow Rubin’s wishes, Gillifield doubted whether the plan would succeed. However, Rubin eventually succeeded.
“I guess I can sleep comfortably now.”
Many of the Roinecros who had participated in the flight began to return one after another. Among them was a tyrant who had been beaten up so well by Tina.
The fall left the guy completely disfigured. He’ll probably never return to the ranks.
“Hey! Over there! Come over there, over there!”
Then, Roinecrow, with his wings spread wide and his mint eyes, appeared through the fog.
It was the glide of the new emperor, Tina.
The other Roinecrows croaked and banged their beaks on the ground, indicating their acknowledgment of their emperor.
“I am the emperor! Where is the tyrant? Come out obediently when I speak to you kindly.”
Tina was screaming with excitement. Rubin, who was riding on top of Tina, also said something.
“This emperor has no dignity?”
“What? What kind of safety is this lowly brat talking about? Look! Is there no one here?”
Unaware of the conversation between the two, Pyunik was waving his hand towards the young master of the Assassin Swordsman and the woman of the Hwan-hyeol Tribe, filled with joy.
Rubin also waved at Pyunick.
“Tina. You have to do your job properly here and help your old man. Until I get back.”
“You said two years later?”
“Okay, two years later. Let’s meet again then.”
Tina had already received a promise from Rubin that after two years, she would live a life other than that of an old lumberjack’s assistant.
“Because he’s a kid who always keeps his promises. I’ll trust him.”
Tina, who had come down to the ground, lowered her body and let Rubin down. As Rubin landed on the ground, the thousands of Roinecrows surrounding them began to cry in unison.
