WeTried Translations
Translator/Editor: ZERO_SUGAR
Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried
◈ SSS-Class Revival Hunter ◈
Chapter 254: Independence (3)
──────
Time swiftly passed.
As the flag symbolizing the Fire River Council became more splendid, the number of tribes gathered under it increased. The rapid pace of development left us, the onlookers, occasionally exclaiming in amazement.
“Wait, wait! Slow down a bit!”
The most excited among us was the Black Dragon Master, my friend Anastasia.
"Another tribe has challenged the chairman of the Fire River Council!”
"Which tribe is it this time?”
"The Mountain Snail Tribe! Look at her attire, she is a miner. A miner from the Mountain Snail Tribe has challenged the council chairman!”
"Really?”
The Black Dragon Master pointed to a corner of the hologram with her finger.
“Don’t just sit there with your eyes! Enhance your vision and take a closer look!”
Ah, it was true.
She was a member of the Mountain Snail Tribe with seven tentacles. She had originally possessed eight, but seemed to have lost one amid life's hardships.
But the loss of one tentacle did not seem to have affected her at all. Like a soldier wearing a scar as a medal, the one-armed miner sat with an exceedingly solemn expression.
On the ground was a red carpet, with the Earth Spirit Tribe members lined up on both sides. Each member of the Earth Spirit Tribe was immensely built, glaring down at the small Mountain Snail Tribe member with intimidating auras.
-Lime.
The Mountain Snail Tribe spat out phlegm.
Her phlegm wobbled like a slime toy one might have played with as a child.
It even looked like a declaration that [she would toy with them from this moment onward].
-First, on behalf of the Mountain Snail Tribe, I pay my respects to you moldy bastards!
The Mountain Snail Tribe shouted.
-Without you, we would have perished long ago, and those who survived would have become slaves, worked to the bone until our shells cracked and our skin melted, Lime. Being able to live moderately while mining is all thanks to you! Especially thanks to the legendary chairman Uburka!
Despite the seemingly friendly words, the face remained fiercely stern.
-Thank you! But enough is enough. We're now capable of fending for ourselves. It's been hundreds of years since anyone tried to destroy us, and it's shameful and embarrassing to rely solely on your protection!
-Ugor.
The current chairman of the Fire River Council chuckled softly.
-Shame is a mark of greatness. It leads to bravery. I acknowledge your shame. Now, speak of your courage.
-I am the strongest among the Mountain Snail Tribe!
Shrrrk, clank, shrrrk.
The Mountain Snail Tribe member raised her seven tentacles. Her chosen weapon was neither a sword nor a spear. An unassuming tool, far from ornate armaments, was held in her grip.
A pickaxe.
Each tentacle clutched one of the miner's shabby pickaxes.
-Ugor!
The Earth Spirit Tribe warriors laughed. Excluding the chairman seated on a massive rock, dozens of Earth Spirit Tribe warriors chuckled simultaneously.
-When we heard the Mountain Snail Tribe was sending a representative, we wondered what sort of prodigy would appear!
-Daring to defeat us with a pickaxe!
-A miner should return to the mine and dig! Mine salt! If you find silver or gold, take it as the blessing of your life! Ugor! Who brings a pickaxe to a sacred duel arena!
-Ugor! Ugor!
The Mountain Snail Tribe remained silent.
She did not glare.
From beginning to end, she merely looked up at the chairman of the Fire River Council.
-Hmm.
The chairman nodded.
-I order those who just sneered. Duel with this Mountain Snail Tribe member.
The Earth Spirit Tribe warriors stirred.
-Chairman, that’s…
-When we were still trapped in the vast caves of Slimepolis, we had no weapons. Spears? Swords? Don’t make me laugh. We only had buckets of water and hammers. With those hammers, alongside the beloved White Lion, we toppled the empire of the Mountain Snail Tribe.
-.......
-A hammer is a weapon that destroyed an empire. A weapon of our ancestors, our people, our own. How is a pickaxe any different? A warrior who fails to recognize the essence of a weapon does not deserve to boast their rank in the Fire River Council. If you lose to this Mountain Snail Tribe member, relinquish your rank and return to Guru!
The expressions of the Earth Spirit Tribe turned pale.
But the one who ruled fire and river, the chairman of the Fire River Council, did not withdraw the command.
-Quickly!
Five Earth Spirit Tribe members timidly stepped into the duel arena.
-Lime.
The Mountain Snail Tribe member's expression remained unchanged. But when she flicked her tentacles once, whoosh!
Her pickaxes swept sharply through a three-meter radius.
-Come at me, one by one or all at once, as you prefer.
The five Earth Spirit Tribe members were easily defeated.
The true duel began thereafter.
Warriors who could easily restrain their own ridicule stepped forward. They lost.
Warriors who had long discarded prejudice against other tribes followed. They too lost.
Warriors who observed not only the appearance of a person but the movements of the aura pulsating from their hearts, considering them as important as the words they spoke, came forward. They also lost.
A warrior who found the Aura dwelling in all creation beautiful, and therefore regarded the world itself as an [Eternally Burning Flame], stepped forward. That warrior was defeated as well. But four of the Mountain Snail Tribe member's seven tentacles had been severed and one had been crushed, leaving only two, like a human's arms.
-Huff… hah… huff… hah.
Bloodied.
-This is easier… than mining caves, Lime.
Her snail shell was crumpled like a car bumper after an accident. Blood and mucus flowed from her body.
Looking down at the injured Mountain Snail Tribe member, the chairman of the Fire River Council, seated on a rock throne reserved for the strongest warrior of the era, laughed heartily.
-What is your name?
-Seimslam.
The Mountain Snail Tribe member groaned, oozing mucus.
-I am the last descendant of House Lekamulime, one of the seven lords that ruled the now-destroyed Ravine City, and the inheritor of the Spiral Style.
-Impressive.
The Earth Spirit Tribe chairman revealed their huge fangs.
-From now on, you, Seimslam, are the second-ranked Vice-Chairman of the Fire River Council.
Time swiftly passed.
For the first time in the Earth Spirit Tribe's history, a member of the Mountain Snail Tribe rose to the vice-chairmanship. It was unprecedented. Considering that the Mountain Snail Tribe had once ruled over the Earth Spirit Tribe, they had entrusted a key office to the race of their former enemies.
Many Earth Spirit Tribe warriors challenged this decision. Each time, the vice-chairman of the Fire River Council, the Mountain Snail Tribe member, Seimslam, repelled the challengers. She never refused a duel.
-Someone with pride.
The Earth Spirit Tribe decided to dissolve the bitterness of their long history.
-A strong being.
The Earth Spirit Tribe buried the sorrows of the past in the beauty of the present.
-That is enough.
Thus, the Mountain Snail Tribe was officially accepted into the Fire River Council.
Anyone strong enough to hold a rank in the council was not to be mocked or disregarded anywhere. The Strong Survive (强者存). This was the one commandment they had upheld without exception since the White Lion led them to Guru.
"……Amazing.”
As we all watched the hologram, Anastasia suddenly murmured. In the hologram, Seimslam, the Mountain Snail Tribe vice-chairman, was receiving respectful greetings from warriors of lower rank.
"Less developed than us, with a much more rugged society… not capable of achieving as much as us, certainly knowing less than us.”
The Black Dragon Master slightly parted her lips.
"Yet, as strong as us, or perhaps, even stronger.”
"......."
“These children live with pride. The Mountain Snail Tribe miners swinging pickaxes in the salt mines, the Gill-Fin Tribe swimming the waterways, the Fairy Tribe handling gold coins and occasionally taking the stage in Bloodflower Plays, and the Ghost Tribe sending duelists in place of war each time... all of them. They truly are strong.”
I nodded.
"Yes."
Feeling an endless sense of pride within.
“These children are as strong as us… and healthier than us.”
At that moment, a strange emotion curled up in the center of my heart.
Something transparent, yet not sticky, spread slowly from the center to the edges of my heart.
Glancing slightly to the side, I saw the Black Dragon Master and the Paladin with similar expressions.
'That’s right.'
I realized the nature of my emotion.
'This is what pride feels like.'
I wasn't sure if it was the pride a parent feels for their child.
Simply, humans can feel proud watching others, not just themselves.
This realization brightened my mood.
[The 37th floor commences.]
The hologram displayed a snowy landscape.
In the frozen North, a Red Dragon that had been slumbering in the permafrost awoke. This very dragon had once arisen long ago, setting off a volcano and flying away.
Every hunter gathered here knew where that volcano was, how hot its lava was.
“…So it was this dragon that caused the volcano in the 31st floor jungle.”
Anastasia frowned, reading the quest description.
We couldn't interfere with the stage anymore, but thanks to [The Princess Who Strolls Through Mirages], we could briefly read the quest descriptions.
"Hmm. It looks formidable, like a Constellation-level!"
The Heretic Inquisitor glanced at the hologram while stroking his chin.
"If necessary, Uburka is there, so we can intervene..."
"No."
I shook my head.
"The Fire River Council will try to handle it on their own. Look."
The Fire River Council was gathering its forces.
What started as a small assembly of the Earth Spirit Tribe had become, over time, not exclusively theirs. Gill-Fin Tribe, Fairy Tribe, Mountain Snail Tribe, Vampires. Numerous warriors gathered under the flag.
The Earth Spirit Tribe still made up over half of the warriors. However, everyone here earned their rank through fair combat. There were no complaints from the Mountain Snail Tribe about the Earth Spirit Tribe's dominance, nor grumbles from the Vampires about the Fairy Tribe's presence.
They were warriors.
-Are we assembled?
The chairman of the Fire River Council asked.
Tens of thousands of warriors pounded the ground in unison.
The chairman nodded lightly.
-We are gathered. Let’s go.
To the icy North.
On the way north, they encountered an army. One-horned giants. The Ghost Tribe's army.
-Ugor.
-Krrr.
It hadn’t been 100 years since Viper descended to wage war with the Ghost Tribe. There was still an odd sense of rivalry and competitiveness between the Earth Spirit Tribe and the Ghost Tribe.
The two armies faced off across the Tundra Plains. The Earth Spirit Tribe's chairman rode a lion to the Ghost Tribe, while their High Priest, who worshiped the serpent god, tapped their staff as they approached.
The Earth Spirit Tribe's chairman asked.
-Are you here to fight?
The Ghost Tribe's High Priest answered.
-Of course we're here to fight, damn it. But we did not come out here to fight you bastards.
-The Red Dragon?
-If left alone, it’s said to cause a catastrophe of mythic proportions. All mountains will erupt, all rivers will burn, leaving the land uninhabitable.
-It’s a scene I’d like to witness once. Ugor.
-Agree, but the youngsters think differently.
The chairman and the High Priest chuckled together.
-What does your serpent god say? Does he wish to descend?
-Our god pondered...
The Ghost Tribe's High Priest slowly shook their head.
-But in the end, announced non-interference.
The Celestial Martial Clan Master.
Viper, who would have wanted to care for the Ghost Tribe more than anyone, decided not to intervene this time. He chose to step back, allowing them to face their crisis on their own.
It was the choice of the Celestial Martial Clan Master, still residing in that world.
-When the red dragon spread its wings before, the gods protected us. But much time has passed. The gods trust us now. We are strong. We will become stronger.
-Weaker than us, but, Ugor.
-Damn moldy bastards.
The High Priest grumbled, and the chairman extended their right hand.
-Dear parents and friends watch over us from the heavens. Let's show them how strong we've become.
-Let's unite in battle.
We hunters silently watched the 37th floor.
-Kooooooo!
In the middle of the snowstorm, the giant Red Dragon roared.
Blizzards swirled around, insufficient to cover its blazing red skin. Heavy snow fell from the sky, but too feeble to bury the dragon’s intense heat. The permafrost cracked and screamed with every movement of the dragon.
-Let’s go.
In the first battle, the Ghost Tribe's High Priest perished.
Caught in the dragon’s breath, they vanished into the frozen snow without leaving their ancient staff.
-Let’s go.
In the second battle, the chairman of the Fire River Council died.
Someone had to buy time while the warriors completed the Demonic Heavenly Formation. One minute, or even just thirty seconds, was needed for them to concentrate, exchange Aura, share their mental images, and manifest their landscape in this world.
The chairman of the Fire River Council held out for one minute and twenty-three seconds. Their axe gouged the Red Dragon's hide, and their fist burst its left eye. Against a monster of myth that caused earthquakes and volcanic eruptions merely by existing, the lone warrior swung their axe. They were chewed to death in the Red Dragon's teeth while still frozen in the posture of trying to swing it again.
-Let’s go.
In the third battle, the Red Dragon's neck was severed.
The dragon's skin was thick. Its flesh, thicker. Its bones, thickest.
The first pickaxe scrape grazed the skin, the second opened it, the third finally cut the flesh. The fourth severed it, the fifth tore it, and the sixth scratched the bone.
The seventh pickaxe strike severed the bone.
-Lime.
With one remaining tentacle coiled around the pickaxe.
A lone Mountain Snail Tribe member sat atop the dragon's neck.
-Easier than mining caves, Lime.
And delivered the final blow.
The dragon's head, as large as a hill, kept screaming as it fell endlessly into the abyss. Even plummeting down the ice cliff, the screams continued.
Eventually, the sound of water signaled the end of the screams as the dragon's head sank into the icy sea.
-Lime.
Atop the cliff, the Mountain Snail Tribe member shook her head. Mucus scattered.
When she turned around, she saw that the warriors were slightly fewer in number than when they had come north. One. Two. Three. Altogether, seventy-four warriors had died, including the Ghost Tribe's High Priest and the chairman of the Fire River Council.
-Impressive.
Yesterday, the second strongest warrior on this continent, and today, the strongest, the Mountain Snail Tribe member smiled bitterly.
-Let's return to our homeland, Lime.
Seimslam.
629th Chairman of the Fire River Council.
The first time in history a Mountain Snail Tribe member became chairman.
[Stage Clear!]
[The 37th floor has been cleared!]
A success without any hunter’s help.
It was, the first time a stage was cleared without any 'player' intervention.
-Gong-Ja.
‘Hmm? What is it, Sword Emperor?’
-Aren't you forgetting about some old man and the tribe he's taking care of…?
Hmm.
To clarify.
It was, possibly the first time a stage was cleared without any 'player' intervention.
'Something about that sentence doesn't quite resonate…'
Anyway, what does it matter?
Right beside me, the Black Dragon Master was shouting “Ajaaaaaaa!!” in delight, linking arms with me and hopping up and down. Surely, matters involving the Celestial Martial Clan Master and the Sword Saint would work themselves out too.
I smiled, deciding to simply bless those reflected in the hologram.
'Congratulations on your independence, kids.'
Proud of our children, more than anyone.
Join our discord at https://dsc.gg/wetried
