WeTried Translations
Translator/Editor: ZERO_SUGAR
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◈ SSS-Class Revival Hunter ◈
Chapter 163: Cave Fire (3)
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The commotion in the early morning woke up the Mountain Snail Tribe.
-What's this uproar!
-The lion suddenly started roaring. Lime.
-Unsettling noises are coming from the mines...
Buildings sprouted like mushrooms in the underground city. From the windows of these tall structures, snails emerged. Hundreds, thousands, tens of thousands. From the snails that slept the lightest to those that were deeply asleep, the slime of the Mountain Snail Tribe covered the walls.
-Is it just a disturbance? Or a rebellion?
-It's a rebellion!
-Blow the horns!
-Lime! Let's awaken the spirits of our ancestors!
Snails climbed up the walls. Slap! Using their antennae, the snails slapped their own faces. This was their way of waking up from sleep.
Booooom...
The first Mountain Snail Tribe member to reach the top of the barrier blew a horn. It was not a typical horn, but the shell of a dead snail. The Mountain Snail Tribe used the remains of their deceased kin as a conduit, producing a long, ominous horn sound.
Booooom...
Following the first horn, other Mountain Snail Tribe members climbed up the barrier. Those on the wall brought the shells of their kin to their mouths. In the underground city, with its numerous buildings, each building acted like a pipe, resonating throughout the great cavity. Boooom. Boooom. The harmony of the organs played by the Mountain Snail Tribe shook the dark underground world. The voices of the goblins were buried beneath these sounds.
Bark! Bark!
The dogs raised by the Mountain Snail Tribe barked. The tribe considered dogs sacred because they resembled their god. Dogs raised in the caves had wet noses and sinister barks. Their savage barking was crushed beneath the harmony of the dead snails.
“Grrrr.”
I shattered the cage. Slice! My Aura-reinforced forepaws cut through the iron bars like tofu. By the time the keepers emerged and pointed their tentacles at me, I had already escaped and was running through the streets of Polis.
-A lion!
-The lion from the arena has escaped!
Snails climbing the wall paths were startled upon seeing me. Some snails hurriedly scampered to higher ground. I struck the ground with my hind legs, leaping onto the giant pillar, right onto the one carved with the history of the Mountain Snail Tribe.
“Grrrr!”
My forepaws dug into the pillar. Red aura surged from them. Like a mountain climber, I ascended the pillar, step by step.
-Lime!
-Look over there!
The Mountain Snail Tribe was alarmed by my ascent. Other snails, climbing different buildings, scattered, leaving trails of slime. Some lost their balance and slid down the walls.
I stood atop the pillar, overlooking the city.
Booooom...
The underground world was still filled with the sound of horns. The sound flowed from dead bodies. Following this sound, the Mountain Snail Tribe armed themselves and assembled. Their forces moved throughout the city. Soon, they would suppress the goblins.
‘I won't leave it be.’
I puffed out my chest. No building was taller than the pillar I had climbed. I took in the highest air of the city into my lungs and slowly opened the lion's maw.
Goooooo-
A mighty roar burst from my mouth.
Like ripples spreading across a pond, the lion's roar displaced the Mountain Snail Tribe's horns. The roar spread farther and wider. My lungs were deeper than the empty insides of the dead snails, and my voice more ferocious than their harmonies.
-Gor!
Finally, I caught sight of the goblins. Armed with stone hammers, they gathered at the entrance of the mine.
My seeing them meant, conversely, that they too could see me.
The goblins shouted.
-Kekerkker!
That was my name.
When the Earth Spirit Tribe's language was still amidst the cries of beasts, the goblins called me Kekerkker.
‘Ke’ signified water. Everything pure and transparent in this world was called ‘Ke’ by the goblins.
‘Kerk’ denoted the sky. Everything lofty and sacred in this world was ‘Kerk’ to them.
‘Ker’ meant meat and also animals.
Thus, my name was.
-Kekerkker!
The pure white beast descended from the sky.
Otherwise known as the White Lion.
I stood tall in the heart of the underground world and roared.
“Guru!”
Seeing me on the pillar, the Mountain Snail Tribe faltered, while the goblins stamped their feet. The goblins formed ranks. It was the hunting formation I had taught them long ago while hunting bison.
The goblins had preserved the time we spent together two hundred years ago. Like a casual word from a parent leaving a lifelong mark on a child.
Feeling a sense of responsibility, I looked at the formation formed by the goblins.
-Guru!
Alright.
My youngest others.
I will take you to the homeland you yearn for.
“Grruk.”
I exerted strength in my forepaws. The aura that surged from my heart flowed through the lion's forearms, paws, and claws.
Crack-Crack-Crack-.
The pillar cracked where my claws dug in. The red aura infiltrated the pillar like a spider web in an instant.
Divine Art of the Demonic Heaven - Reformation.
The First Form.
Sword of Burning Youth.
The giant pillar shattered like glass. The snails screamed. The carved pieces, holding the Mountain Snail Tribe's myths, broke apart.
I stepped on the fragments of the collapsing pillar as I descended. When I landed on the ground, the pillar had completely collapsed. Dust swirled around me.
‘Now, the Mountain Snail Tribe's spirit has surely crumbled.’
In this era, people lived in myths. The collapse of the pillar was more than just a single building falling. The pillar was the Mountain Snail Tribe's history and religion. Its collapse signified a disaster.
A deity had descended.
‘On the contrary, the goblins will be emboldened.’
But I wasn't the only deity roaming the underground world.
An oracle I had never given reached me.
[The Heretic Inquisitor admires your swift strategy.]
Then, cutting through the dust cloud, a hunting dog leaped at me.
“Kaah!”
The hunting dog howled and clawed at my waist. It was a surprise attack. I roared and swung my forepaws. Whoosh! But my claws swiped through the air, not the hunting dog's head. The hunting dog, which was right in front of me, had suddenly disappeared.
‘Holy Technique!’
I immediately realized the identity of the hunting dog.
‘Did the Heretic Inquisitor also possess an animal?’
The Heretic Inquisitor quickly grasped my objective. To bring down the pillar symbolizing the Mountain Snail Tribe's religion. To plunge the Mountain Snail Tribe into panic.
I aimed to swiftly secure victory by staging a scene from mythology. If the Mountain Snail Tribe fell into chaos, it would make the Earth Spirit Tribe's escape easier. In response, the Heretic Inquisitor possessed a divine beast to confront me.
‘Where are you.’
My waist throbbed. Blood flowed from the wound torn by the hunting dog. I guarded all directions, but the Heretic Inquisitor was nowhere to be seen. The dust cloud still obscured my vision.
‘Where will you appear from, Heretic Inquisitor!’
It was at that moment when the scent of oil wafted to my nose.
"Grr!"
As soon as I smelled the oil, I rolled to the side. Thump! The hunting dog leapt from mid-air, striking the ground where I had been. It licked its lips, as if regretting its missed attack.
The hunting dog had golden fur.
It was clear that the Mountain Snail Tribe's priests had always cared for this creature. Small jewels were embedded in the hunting dog's teeth. Swirling wave patterns adorned its short fur.
Most importantly, the scent of olive-like fragrant oil emanated from its entire body.
‘You chose a divine beast to fight in a mythological manner.’
I growled, making a beastly sound.
‘But that’s where you went wrong, Heretic Inquisitor. Your body reeks of fragrant oil. I might have fallen for your ambush once, but don’t think a second ambush with [that smell] will work!’
In this body, I could only produce the roar of a lion. Yet, it seemed like the Heretic Inquisitor understood my roar. He ceased his ambush, realizing its futility.
We looked at each other, taking a step each.
“Karrr.”
"Grr..."
The sounds of the hunting dog and the lion mingled in the dust.
I slowly circled to catch the hunting dog.
‘You won’t beat me in a one-on-one fight, unless it's a group battle. Your Holy Technique is formidable but is more of a support skill. Without comrades to fight alongside, it’s only half as effective.’
The golden hunting dog growled.
To me, it sounded like the Heretic Inquisitor's laughter.
[The Heretic Inquisitor says he is happy to fight you.]
‘Happy?’
[The Heretic Inquisitor wants you to prove that you are more capable than him.]
I couldn’t immediately grasp the meaning of the message.
The hunting dog moved its forepaws more slowly, as if reading my expression.
[The Heretic Inquisitor says,]
[He acts only to achieve the best outcome.]
Slowly, the dust cloud settled.
[Everyone has different abilities.]
[A capable person's best is more right than an incapable person's best.]
[If it’s proven that you are more capable than him, the Heretic Inquisitor is ready to submit to you.]
Beyond the settling dust, the figures of the Earth Spirit Tribe and Mountain Snail Tribe became visible.
Both tribes faced each other, with us in the middle.
[The Heretic Inquisitor has shown you his best over 200 years.]
[Now, he asks for your best.]
The hunting dog charged at me.
I too roared and raised my claws.
As we collided, the citizens rushed towards the slaves, and the slaves charged at the citizens.
-Lime!
-Kekerkker!
The Mountain Snail Tribe, clad in leather armor, swung their tentacles wielding blades. The goblins, lacking proper clothing, swung their stone hammers with bare bodies. The citizens overwhelmingly outmatched in armament, but the snails were unsettled by the sight of the falling pillar, and the slaves had the upper hand in morale.
“Grrr!”
My claws tore through the Heretic Inquisitor's hind leg. Kaaa! The hunting dog twisted its neck, howling in pain. However, my attack wasn’t fatal.
Each time I tried to land a decisive blow, the Heretic Inquisitor skillfully used his Holy Technique to evade. The Holy Technique, though ineffective for ambush, was still valid for dodging.
The Heretic Inquisitor's tactics were clear.
‘Are you trying to delay?’
The hunting dog whimpered softly. I couldn’t understand the sound of the hunting dog, but the intention of the Heretic Inquisitor was easy to imagine.
He must be thinking, ‘The Mountain Snail Tribe is in disarray now, but they will gradually regain their composure. More forces will converge here. If I just delay, I am bound to win.’
A delaying action.
That was the Heretic Inquisitor's strategy.
“Grrr.”
I watched the hunting dog with blood dripping from my waist. The hunting dog limped on its hind leg, locking eyes with me. Both of us were wounded beasts.
‘Not a bad strategy, but.’
I growled.
‘It only works when you're dealing with me alone. In the current situation, it’s a bad move.’
Time was definitely not on the Heretic Inquisitor's side.
More precisely, it couldn't be on the Mountain Snail Tribe's side.
The time that the snails had ruled was now suffocating them.
[Rebellion breaks out in Slimepolis!]
Suddenly, something appeared from the sky.
A black swan.
The black bird spread its wings and let out a long cry.
[The Vampire Tribe rebels against the Mountain Snail Tribe!]
The Black Dragon Master's divine beast had appeared using spatial teleportation.
Bats hanging from the cave ceiling fluttered their wings. They swooped down on the snails moving toward the salt mine. The Mountain Snail Tribe screamed and flailed their tentacles, but the Vampire Tribe bared even fiercer fangs.
‘The one stalling wasn’t you but me, Heretic Inquisitor.’
The beasts' roars did not stop there. From the docks adjoining the river, from the harbor piled with sacks of salt, and from the western end of the cave to its eastern end, four separate roars erupted.
[The Gill-Fin Tribe rebels against the Mountain Snail Tribe!]
[The Ghost Tribe rebels against the Mountain Snail Tribe!]
[The Fairy Tribe rebels against the Mountain Snail Tribe!]
[The Pure Humans Race rebels against the Mountain Snail Tribe!]
It was the sound of an empire crumbling.
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