The 9th Class Swordmaster: Blade of Truth-Chapter 420: The Great Jungle of Adur (1)

It was late at night.

“You leaving?”

Karyl paused as he heard someone approach and turned around.

“How’s your arm?” he asked nonchalantly, looking at the man standing there as though he had expected his visit.

“As you can see... Well, Sir Kadin Luer managed to cauterize my wound, so I’m not in any pain.” Darryl Harian lifted his robed arm to reveal the stump of his hand, giving a faint smile.

“So where are you going?” Darryl asked again.

“Why do you want to know?”

“You assigned me the duty of a historian, did you not? Even if it’s kept secret from the public, to future generations, this will become a part of history.”

Despite Karyl’s frosty tone, Darryl Harian still wore his usual affable expression.

“Are you going to find the remaining Godslayers?”

When Karyl responded with nothing but a cold stare, Darryl simply shrugged.

“I merely took a guess. I figured you already have the names of all Ten Godslayers in your head, but only six came to the tomb. If you count yourself in, that still leaves three unaccounted for. And if you’re moving in the dead of night, alone at that, I can only assume you’re going to search for them in secrecy.”

“Were you spying on us?”

“Haha, of course not. I only heard the numbers from others.”

“So? What do you want to tell me? You waited until I was on the move, avoiding everyone else’s eyes, which means you’ve got something to say that only I should hear.”

Darryl nodded. “You really are as sharp as they say.”

“Sharper. Now speak.”

“...Here, take this one with you. I believe there may come a time when you’ll need it.”

At Darryl’s gesture, a creature stepped out from the shadows—it was Alkar, the Divine Deer, one of the legendary Three Great Beasts. It had grown since the last time Karyl had seen it—tall enough now for its head to reach his shoulder.

“Why are you giving me a Divine Beast? Isn’t the revival of all Great Beasts the goal of the Golden Cross Association?”

“Not with my arm like this. I can’t even continue the restoration work, let alone investigate the others.”

“It still sounds like you’re giving up too early.”

“Don’t worry. I’m not asking for you to return my arm. I’m just saying that keeping Alkar with me when I can’t continue the research is pointless.”

Darryl gently stroked Alkar’s forehead as he continued, “Though it’s still young, the Divine Deer is the only one among the Three Great Beasts to possess the power of light. I just have one favor to ask.”

“What is it?”

“Could you find it a place to live? Even though it’s a Divine Beast, it’s still a fawn. It doesn’t have much strength yet. It needs a home until it matures.”

Karyl couldn’t help but snort at the request. “You want me to find a safe haven in a world that might fall apart any day now? That’s one hell of a request, you know?”

“...But it won’t fall apart. You’re going to stop that from happening, aren’t you?”

“You really have a way with words.”

“I’m not saying that just to persuade you. I truly mean it. Please, take it with you.”

Karyl shifted his gaze to the young Divine Beast. He didn’t know how old the deer actually was, but Alkar clearly looked like a frail fawn. It barely stood upright, trembling all over. Naturally, he was wondering if this creature wouldn’t just be a burden if something unexpected happened.

“It wouldn’t hurt to bring it with you.”

Just then, a small orb of light emerged from Karyl and hovered around him.

“Why?”

“A Divine Beast is a lifeform born with the power of a spirit. It’s similar, but not quite the same,” Ramine explained. “While spirits are manifestations of nature’s energy with no physical form, Divine Beasts are living creatures, and their essence is tied to the earth.”

“And?”

“If a Divine Beast lives, the earth grows in vitality. In other words, the very ground that supports human life becomes stronger.”

“According to the texts, when the Three Great Beasts were still alive, the land around their territory became exceptionally fertile, and the air was noticeably cleaner compared to other regions. Some records even say that people who lived nearby lived much longer than average,” Darryl Harian added.

However, Karyl merely scoffed. “Yeah, fertile land and clean air sound great, but have you thought about... I don’t know, surviving this war first?”

“That’s exactly why I’m suggesting you take it.”

Karyl looked at the small light floating beside him.

“Just the presence of a Divine Beast strengthens the land and purifies the air. It’s not just about helping the distant future. Humans grow stronger by standing on solid ground. Same goes for the battlefield you’re standing on now. It might seem like a small variable, but small things can have big effects.”

“Hmmm...” Karyl nodded slowly. In his previous life, the Divine Beasts had gone extinct, so he had no real understanding of the power they held. And since Rasis, the Spirit King of Light, was already with him, he had never really felt the need for anything else.

“I also agree. Reducing variables is part of making a perfect plan. There’s no guarantee something unexpected won’t happen, like with the Kaye Aesir incident.”

“Right.” Karyl nodded at Allen’s words and gently brushed the Divine Beast’s forehead.

Ziiing—

At that moment, a diamond-shaped mark appeared at the center of Alkar’s forehead.

“Huh...” Darryl Harian looked surprised at the sight.

“What’s this?”

“It’s a contract mark. Like spirits, Divine Beasts can form pacts. But unlike spirit contracts, which are usually made with a single individual, Divine Beasts tend to form broader agreements with people who dwell around their territory. The beasts strengthen the land, and in return, they receive life.”

“Life?”

“Yes. Divine Beasts, unlike spirits, have a finite lifespan. Eventually, they disappear. To prolong their lives, they accept the life force from the humans they’ve formed a pact with.”

Darryl tapped his hands lightly as if to emphasize something important.

“I know how that sounds, but it’s not like they literally drain the life out of humans. They don’t feed on blood like vampires. It’s more of a symbolic exchange, like people offer up the harvests that grow from the enriched land as tribute in return for the Divine Beast’s blessing.”

“I see.”

“But still, this is unexpected. Alkar hasn’t even chosen a territory yet, and Karyl, you’ve already been marked with a personal contract. That almost never happens.”

“Well, of course. It’s because the power Karyl can offer him is greater than what the land could ever provide.” Allen Javius puffed out his chest slightly, speaking with pride. “That’s the standard my disciple ought to meet.”

“Hah...!” Darryl broke into a chuckle, almost incredulous that the Great Sorcerer of the Magical Era would joke like that.

“Alright. I’ll take it with me. I don’t know if this fawn will actually be useful, but if it can really empower the land... I have a feeling this one might end up becoming an unexpected variable where I’m headed.”

“And where is that?”

“The Great Jungle, Adur.”

At Karyl’s response, Darryl’s expression stiffened slightly. “Are you planning to meet with those beasts? They’re hardly people.”

“So? Even demons from the Demon Realm ended up under my command,” Karyl answered in an unusually calm voice.

“Darryl, have you ever met a Wildling before?”

“No, I haven’t.”

“Then have you encountered the northern tribes back in the day, before all this?”

“...No, I haven’t,” Darryl said lamely, as if he already knew where this was going.

“Not that long ago, the people of the north lived under the stigma of heresy. The empire deemed the north a cursed land, claiming that no one was born there with all their limbs intact. But now that you’ve seen them for yourself, what do you think? Were they really cursed heretics like the rumors said?”

“Not at all.”

“Right. Blindly believing rumors is foolish. But you lot aren’t like that. After all, you helped bring back a Divine Beast that the world thought to be extinct.”

At Karyl’s words, Darryl bowed his head.

“Indeed... I was short-sighted.”

“No, not really. If you hadn’t shown me Alkar, I probably wouldn’t have believed it myself. And the Wildlings are even less known than the people of the north or south, so I get where you’re coming from."

Karyl brought his fingers to his lips and whistled. In the distance, a flash of red scales shimmered as wings flapped through the air.

“I founded the Free Nation. It’s not a kingdom, a principality, or an empire. Even Wildlings can live freely here, because this land belongs to me. I intend to bring them in.”

With that, he mounted the wyvern, settling into the saddle.

“By the way... there’s one thing we need to clear up.”

“Yes?”

“It’s not three. It’s two.”

At that, Darryl tilted his head in confusion and looked at him.

“I only need to find two more people. One of them is already here. Think about who it is. If you manage to bring him to me, I might just consider reattaching your arm.”

“Haha, giving me homework again?” Darryl sighed and shook his head. He smiled in resignation, realizing he would never win an argument with Karyl.

Karyl merely cast him one last glance before pulling the reins of his wyvern and taking to the skies.

“Wildlings, huh... You really plan on bringing in the most outrageous people,” Darryl Harian murmured under his breath as he watched Karyl disappear into the distance.

“Well, that man always goes beyond what I expect... Haha, I wonder if Kaye Aesir himself would’ve come up with something like this.”

“But if they really do come... we might end up needing the White Spirit Wolf. Huh, even while he’s away, he keeps me busy.”

Gazing at his missing arm, Darryl felt it was time to put down the pen and resume his long-paused research on one of the Three Great Beasts—Roarvrok, the White Spirit Wolf.

***

“Ghrrr...”

The red-scaled wyvern flew high above the jungle, growling as it caught the scent of damp air.

Karyl looked down. The jungle stretched out beneath him, dense with towering trees and massive, palm-like leaves. Everything in sight seemed oversized, as if he had stumbled into a land built for giants.

Located near the empire’s eastern edge along the coast, ironically, this place was closest to Heim.

While the Church represented knowledge and civilization, this jungle was the complete opposite. It was home only to Wildlings, a people the world still labeled as primitive. Even the empire had chosen to leave this place alone.

There was a time when Titan Shutean had tried to expand the empire’s territory by sending troops into this tropical forest, intending to clear it and claim it as new land. He had dispatched nearly a thousand soldiers—but shockingly, only a handful returned. Those who made it back looked as if they had barely survived a war.

The emperor flew into a rage, vowing to burn the jungle to the ground if its inhabitants resisted like the northern tribes. He demanded answers immediately, but when he heard the survivors’ reports, he fell completely silent.

There had been resistance, but not from people. The enemy was nature itself. The jungle was vast and dense, a tangled maze of tropical trees. It was hot and humid, filled with swamps and monsters hidden just out of sight.

To outsiders, it may have looked like a land full of promise, but in truth, it was a brutal, unforgiving place where survival was a constant struggle. freēwēbnovel.com

Even the emperor who had never abandoned a single plan was eventually forced to give up on turning the Great Jungle into his own.

A country can endure war and conflict, but it still has to offer its people a place to live. The Great Jungle didn’t even grant that, as it was simply a living battlefield, where survival was an endless struggle.

Naturally, the jungle was off-limits, just like the Promised Land where the Platinum Dragon had made his lair, though for different reasons.

Although the wyverns in the Promised Land were extremely dangerous, there were ways to deal with them. On the other hand, no one knew anything about the Great Jungle. It was simply a blank spot on the map.

Karyl looked down at it all, drawing in a long breath of the damp, heavy air.

“It’s been a while...”

His eyes held a hint of nostalgia, as if he were returning home.

Wooooooh...

Something echoed through the trees in the distance. The monster’s deep cry sounded like a giant horn.

This 𝓬ontent is taken from fre𝒆webnove(l).𝐜𝐨𝗺