Ranker’s Return - Chapter 857

‘I’m glad.’ Hyeonu heard about the situation of the battlefield in the East Continent in real time from Yeongchan and sighed in relief.

‘Lebron did his job.’ Hyeonu sighed with relief when Lebron appeared at the right time. If Lebron hadn’t shown up on time, he definitely would’ve suffered a lot of damage from Jeras. It was because Raccoon didn’t care about Jeras during the battle with Luke.

‘It is a bit surprising that Luke and Raccoon are equals.’

It was completely unexpected. Hyeonu had honestly expected Raccoon to be defeated by Luke. There was an indescribably long gap between Luke, who had lived a life too long to count, and Raccoon, who had lived fewer than 100 years. In general, it was necessary to have a gap in talent and in the given environment to overcome such a difference in time. Yet be it Raccoon or Luke, their talent was outstanding and they both had an environment for growth.

So Raccoon, who had inherited everything from the orcs, and Luke, who had mastered all the secret arts of the ra tribe, should be on equal terms.

‘Yet Raccoon overcame that?’

Hyeonu hadn’t witnessed the battle between the two of them firsthand, so he didn’t know what variables had emerged in the battle. There was just one thing that was certain.

‘It goes back to what I am thinking.’

The plan that Hyeonu had drawn was becoming a reality.

“Did something good happen?”

Hyeonu, who was walking quietly, suddenly smiled. This made the dwarf great tribe chief, Kapa, ask Hyeonu that question.

“It is vague to say it is good, but it is good news nonetheless. The war in the East Continent has begun and the allied forces have gained the upper hand. The ra tribe was pushed back to the walls.” Hyeonu informed Kapa about the battle in the East Continent.

It was an immediate delivery of news. This was a privilege for players that NPCs didn’t have.

“I’m glad. I was nervous because of that guy…” Kapa sighed. It was obviously a sigh of relief in anyone’s eyes.

“That guy… Are you talking about Raccoon?”

“That’s right. It is that guy. Raccoon is definitely a great tribe chief. However, he is definitely eliminated as an option when it comes to being a general who leads a war. He can’t be composed. I am the same. I would prefer Nile had gone…”

Hyeonu sympathized with Kapa’s words. ‘I was almost ruined.’

Even for Hyeonu right now, Raccoon’s sudden actions almost thwarted his plans.

“Certainly, Raccoon is more suited to be alone.”

Even so, Raccoon was strong enough for Hyeonu to ignore all of that. If Raccoon were absent, the war against the god tribe would be very one-sided.

Kapa was continuing the conversation when he suddenly took out a coat from the small backpack on his back. It was a coat with dark red fur. Hyeonu’s gaze naturally turned to it.

Kapa felt Hyeonu’s gaze and explained about the coat he had taken out: “It is a garment made from the skin of the pig foxes that feed on lava. The fur here is made by plucking out the small hair that grows only on their back… It is very warm.”

Laughing softly, Kapa added, “My flaw is that I’m weak against the cold even when standing in front of a fire.” 

“Still, I think we’ve come here quickly. I can already feel the cold air so I think we’ve entered the north.” Hyeonu also felt a slight chill. This meant that Hyeonu and Kapa had entered the north in earnest. After arriving in the north, their movement speed increased even more. They were spurred by the thought that the destination wasn’t far away.

“I hope the time was worth it.”

“It will be. Isn’t he the chief of the ran tribe? You will definitely be satisfied.”

Kapa recalled a passage from his memory: ‘The ran tribe and ra tribe—both tribes have too much knowledge that is only passed onto the tribe chiefs.’

“The ran tribe only has the chief left… After all, from the beginning, the chief counts for around half the tribe’s power.”

Of course, there were only species with secret arts that were only passed on to the chief. However, the ra tribe and ran tribe had a particularly severe situation, very much so.

“Half? Aren’t the orcs like that too right now? Is it really that much?” Hyeonu asked with a slightly surprised expression. He thought that the chief would play a very large part in the case of the orcs, among whom there was an outstanding species god called Raccoon.

‘Is it the same for the ra and ran tribes?’

If so, the species god was many times more distant from Hyeonu than he initially thought. It was beyond simply being strong.

“The orcs? Why the orcs? The orcs aren’t like this.” Kapa shook his head. The orcs were different from those two tribes. Raccoon’s presence was large, but it wasn’t that overwhelming.

“It isn’t just about strength. Do you think that counting strength is everything?” Kapa looked at Hyeonu with pitying eyes.

‘I feel very bad…’ Hyeonu received such a glance and instantly felt subdued. It was as if he knew what Kapa’s gaze meant.

-Are you the same as that guy Raccoon?

It definitely had this meaning.

Hyeonu shook his head in response to Kapa’s words. “No, I think that anyone who leads needs the appropriate knowledge. Your own strength is part of it.” 

“Yes, strength is one of the conditions, but it can’t be the whole. That is why the orcs are different from the two tribes. According to the records, the chiefs of the ra and ran tribes were those who could raise the level of the entire tribe simply beyond individual force.”

Hyeonu agreed with Kapa’s words. The records of the dwarves had to be true. The ran and ra tribes were clearly powerful. The level of the tribes on the whole was overwhelming; they didn’t just have one or two strong members. This was especially so in comparison to the other species.

However, Hyeonu didn’t fully agree with Kapa’s words.

‘Ultimately, it will end if you are strong.’

If Luke and Ragand had been strong enough to win the war against the giants… 

If that was the case, the ran and ra tribes might look like they did today, but they would’ve also dominated the continent.

‘The thing that is lacking is to have someone else do it for you…’

There were many ways to compensate for weaknesses. In general, the most difficult of these methods was to overcome the weaknesses, while the easiest part was to find a subordinate to mask them.

“In any case, this is a request from the ran tribe. There is definitely something interesting waiting for you, Kapa.” Hyeonu hid his inner feelings and just smiled.

***

Around one week after the chill turned into a bone-chilling cold, a human figure over two meters in size appeared in front of Hyeonu and Kapa. Unlike Kapa who was very surprised by the sudden appearance, Hyeonu wasn’t too startled. The figure that appeared had a face that Hyeonu knew.

“Gang Hyeonu, I’m here to meet you.” The figure got down on one knee in front of Hyeonu.

“I am receiving this treatment because I’m with you, Kapa,” Hyeonu said without glancing at the figure. He was instead looking at Kapa next to him.

“Is this a human you know?” Kapa asked while making eye contact with Hyeonu.

“I know him, but he isn’t human. He is the subordinate of the one we are going to meet,” Hyeonu replied while pointing to the figure on his knees.

The true identity of the figure was a guardian. They were doll-like existences that only followed the chief of the ran tribe.

‘It must be the first time since my ancestors…’ Kapa thought.

“Is this figure part of the ran tribe?” Curiosity grew in Kapa’s eyes. It was the first time he had seen a member of the ran tribe in person. He had only read the records that had been left behind. So of course, it was natural for his interest to rise.

“To be precise, it is a bit vague to consider him as part of the ran tribe. It is right that he is part of the tribe’s force, but it is wrong if you say that he is part of the bloodline,” Hyeonu relayed accurate information to Kapa.

“What does that mean?” Kapa asked with a surprised expression. At first glance, Hyeonu’s words didn’t make sense.

“They are monsters created by the chief of the ran tribe, beings who only obey the orders of the chief. Of course, they are very strong. Perhaps each individual will be comparable to the great tribe chiefs of each species,” Hyeonu whispered softly into Kapa’s ears.

“Really? Is it that strong?” Kapa looked even more surprised. He had no choice but to be so. According to Hyeonu’s words, the guardians were artificially created. In other words, it was a concept like a golem or chimera. Yet they were on par with the great tribe chiefs, including Kapa himself.

‘I was vigilant in the first place, but I didn’t notice until he showed up in front of me…’

At first, he was so surprised that he couldn’t think properly. But after listening to Hyeonu’s explanation, Kapa felt Hyeonu was right.

“That is right based on what I have seen in the demon world.”

The basis for Hyeonu’s judgment was Lebron. Lebron was the only one who had competed against the guardians and Jeras.

‘He won against both without difficulty, so it can be said that they are similar.’

Of course, that couldn’t be the basis for an accurate judgment, but it wasn’t a meaningless indicator. There were many things that Hyeonu had seen and heard in person.

“Then are we going to Edward right now?” Hyeonu asked the guardian.

“Yes, you can go with me. I will take you there quickly and comfortably.” The guardian rose from his spot and bowed.

‘How the hell did Edward make this guardian?’ Hyeonu trembled with an extreme sense of discomfort. The guardians he saw previously weren’t like this. They were monsters fed by beliefs.

‘Right now, he just seems like a service worker…’

Hyeonu turned to look at Kapa and asked, “Really? Kapa, what would you like to do?” 

“We have to go anyway. Wouldn’t it be convenient for someone to guide us?” Kapa nodded.

“That’s right. It is convenient even if I already know the way well,” Hyeonu agreed. The presence of the guardian meant Edward had noticed that they had appeared in the north.

‘Based on the explanation I heard from Callioraks before… He said there was a guardian who is good at magic.’

It was most likely the guardian in front of him.

‘We can go comfortably with magic.’

It would be quick and comfortable to accompany the guardian. There must be teleportation.

“Then I will take you there right away,” the guardian said.

He lightly clapped his palms together twice.

Tak tak!

Light applause sounded exactly twice in Hyeonu’s ear. Then Hyeonu felt his body being engulfed by light.

***

Hyeonu opened his eyes the moment he felt the light disappear, and a familiar scene appeared before him. It was an iceberg that wasn’t pure white and had a bluish color.

‘It is indeed teleportation.’

Hyeonu looked around and knew that his prediction had been correct.

An iceberg, the source of the undead army—it could be called Edward’s main camp.

Edward appeared in the distance and said while smiling at Hyeonu, “I didn’t expect you to bring a dwarf so soon… It is amazing, amazing. It is also a waste. Why is this type of talent under such a wretch?”

“Stop talking nonsense. It doesn’t feel good at all to hear that from you,” Hyeonu responded to Edward’s words with a stiff expression.