Chapter 81 - Witch’s Forest 1 (1/2)
However, that was only possible with the help of Woohyuk.
Had he not said that he would lend Silvia many of his artifacts such as the Banshee’s Cloak or the Ghost Queen Star Serpent, Tinia would’ve refused her sister’s request until the very end.
Woohyuk sighed as he watched Silvia observe and touch his artifacts with amazement.
‘It’s good that they’ve come to a compromise.’
He didn’t refuse Tinia’s advances last night because he realized she needed someone to lean on.
Nevertheless, he wouldn’t have had sex with her for such a reason.
He didn’t dislike Tinia. However, should he have a lover, it would greatly disrupt his future plans and weaken his mental fortitude.
‘Silvia intervened at the perfect moment last night.’
He had kept Silvia’s presence a secret on purpose because he wanted to catch Tinia off guard.
It was heartless of him to stay silent, but he knew that Silvia was an altruistic person with a great sense of responsibility.
He believed that as soon as she learned of Tinia’s plans to sacrifice herself for her little sister, Silvia wouldn’t sit still listening and would object.
‘It’s safer to keep her by your side.’
Although it was a large citadel city, Dornen wasn’t exempted from monster attacks.
Moreover, the city’s defenses would naturally weaken when the subjugation forces composed of mercenaries and clans would set out on their mission.
Since he wasn’t aware of the events that would happen to this city, it was best to stay as vigilant as possible.
“How long will you stay here? Will you return to the Rhine kingdom once the subjugation is over?”
Tinia asked as they walked down the road, arms crossed.
She wore a nervous face as she waited for his answer.
“No, I have a few more matters to attend to here. I’ll probably stay in the Izuna kingdom for a while.”
“That’s great! Don’t hesitate to contact me if you need some help in the future. Despite my appearance, I’m quite knowledgeable about this kingdom as an active and experienced mercenary.”
Before clans were formed and grew, Tinia was a renowned person. That’s why she had connections with influential people of the Izuna Kingdom.
“First of all, tell me about the Witch’s Forest and the Eclipse Clan.”
“The Witch’s Forest has been considered an ominous place since ages ago. There are stories about it, although the contents vary from place to place.”
Tinia began to talk about her favorite legend since her childhood.
The original story was extremely long, but she kept only the important details and narrated it like a short fairytale.
Nibelungenlied (The Song of the Nibelungs).
It was a story Woohyuk was familiar with.
He could’ve asked her to skip the story, but he acted ignorant and listened attentively.
“Go on.”
“As she awakened from her slumber, Brynhild fell for Sieg’s heroic figure. Sieg also ended up falling in love due to Brynhild’s unmatched beauty. The two got engaged and settled down somewhere where they planned to live out their happy lives.”
“Is it a happy ending?”
“No, it’s not. Destiny ended up splitting the two lovers apart.”
To pass on proper knowledge and wisdom to their unborn child, Sieg left Brynhild’s side for a short while to specialize himself in the outside world.
However, the witch Kriemhild held an unrequited love towards Sieg, and handed him a certain potion. After drinking it, Sieg lost his memories.
In the end, Sieg got married to Kriemhild and began to live with her in the forest. When Brynhild came looking for him later on, he was already a different man and was heartless towards his previous lover.
This was such a shock to Brynhild that she killed herself in front of Sieg.
The winner of the story was Kriemhild.
“The contents of the story sound a bit off.”
After Tinia finished her tale, Woohyuk made a dissatisfied expression.
The conclusion of the story was quite different from the one he had heard of.
“Huh? Oh, this is a version that only Silvia and I know of. A man who saved us in the past told us of this version, stating that it was the real story.”
“Is there a reason why you prefer this version over the other one?”
“Yeah, the message it wants to tell us is evident and clear. Don’t despair like Brynhild did and fight to regain the love you lost until the end. This message left a deep impression in me when I was younger.
“But sis, if you look at it from the other side, it can also mean that we should use any methods at hand to fight for love like Kriemhild did.”
“No, this is a story showing Brynhild as an example of what not to do…”
A small argument had ignited between the two sisters.
Woohyuk spectated for a short while, and soon after, he spoke up.
“Let’s move onto the next topic now.”
“Ah, my bad. So, about the Eclipse Clan. They made their first appearance in this area about 3 months ago. Their clan leader’s name is Steve Miller. They have 10 group leaders, and each group has around 600 clan members.”
It was a large clan with around 6 thousand members.
They had been committing evil deeds and crimes against other mercenaries within their area of activity.
They made the other mercenaries pay fines to be able to live in peace within their territory.
The Blue Hawk Mercenaries that Tinia led were obviously no exception to this.
“Where is their headquarters?”
“North of the Soveir Church. There’s a small hill in the area, so you should find it easily.”
“Alright. I’ll keep it in mind.”
He would have to handle them one day, but he currently had other matters to deal with.
Woohyuk hastened his pace as he approached the potion store.
***
Woohyuk roamed around the commercial district and bought items and materials he would need during the subjugation, using the money he got from the nobles during the rebellion in the Rhine Kingdom.
It wasn’t a burden on his funds as he would simply be supporting a group of mercenaries that barely numbered 1000 members.
Needless to say, it was a jaw-dropping sight to Tinia and Silvia who were low-born commoners.
With his preparations finished, Woohyuk and the Blue Hawk Mercenaries set out and marched towards the Witch’s Forest.
“The Eclipse Clan departed two days ago. They must be busy fighting monsters in the forest by now.”
Silvia commented next to him.
She couldn’t hide her worries since their group was late to the party.
“No need to hurry. They won’t have achieved much even by the time we arrive.”
The forest had taken a long time to get conquered in his previous life.
Since the Gray Wolf Alliance wasn’t properly formed yet, the Eclipse Clan would fail without a doubt.
Silvia stared at Woohyuk curiously as he spoke confidently.
“You look like you know something, brother-in-law. Have you been to the Witch’s Forest before?”
“No, this will be the first time.”
Silvia had called him ‘brother-in-law’.
Even though it was for formality’s sake, he was acting as Tinia’s lover. Due to that status, the Blue Hawk mercenaries ended up using formal language when talking to Woohyuk.
“But how exactly did you woo my sister? No man has ever been able to grab her attention and interest before.”
“...I don’t know.”
The cause was most likely to be their one on one battle. Tinia’s type of man was someone stronger than her.
The only reason she had no previous partner was because her sword skills were unmatched.
“In any case, please take good care of my sister. She may be a bit rough on the edges, but deep down she’s a good woman.”
“...Alright.”
“Do you always speak so little? It’s like I’m talking to a wall.”