Black Killer Whale Baby - Chapter 238

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Chapter 238
Natasha, the head of the Snake family, was a beastkin who had lived quite a long time.
Even among her close associates, there were those who didn’t know her exact age.
She was a beastkin who had lived long while maintaining her youth.
On a whim, she had even married a Black Panther Matriarch, someone as formidable as the imperial family itself.
But after their brief marriage ended due to differences in upbringing and temperament, she had secluded herself in her territory.
By nature, she was not a beastkin specialized in combat.
Rather, her specialty, though considerable, was more of a supplementary ability.
When disputes first arose, both large and small, she had tried to resolve them by mobilizing her subordinates.
Fortunately, she was also quite a capable commander, so she won disputes that involved combat without difficulty.
Until the crocodiles appeared in massive numbers, acting on secret orders from the imperial family.
In this land, vast as a tropical rainforest, there existed marshlands where countless lives breathed and thrived.
The snakes had competed with the crocodiles for this marsh for quite some time, and the snakes had been the victors.
The displaced crocodiles had settled downstream in the river.
But suddenly, they came claiming that place was their ancestors’ land, moreover the imperial family’s land, demanding it back.
Furthermore, though they were originally weaker beastkin than the snakes, for some reason, they displayed a power entirely different from before.
This was when Natasha first sensed the imperial family’s abnormal interference.
The crocodiles had occasionally caused trouble, but they were a cunning race that valued their own safety greatly.
For them to attack like this, and even during their breeding season, both males and females alike?
It was far too abnormal.
But even having noticed, there was no adequate way to respond.
The snakes, similarly facing their breeding season and numerically disadvantaged, suffered considerable damage from the sudden attacks.
They managed to hold on somehow, but as the attacks repeated, their limits were reached.
“I shall go to Aquasiadel, Mother.”
This was the reason she had been forced to swallow her pride as a lord and seek cooperation from the distant Orca family.
Already, the snakes were treated as heretics among land animals simply because they respected aquatic animal beastkin.
Yes, up to that point, all was well.
But then….
A violent gust erupted!
What in the world was this?
Before her eyes, the crazed crocodile beastkin flew through the air and crashed to the ground.
Among the fallen crocodiles, a man stood with one hand thrust into his pocket.
Around the man, a vicious whirlwind of water swirled fiercely.
Surely one of the Matriarch’s brothers, his name was said to be Atlant.
Meanwhile, there was another standing quietly among the fallen.
His appearance was so immaculate one would never believe he had fought fiercely.
If not for the blood staining the sword he held.
He too was said to be one of the Matriarch’s brothers.
And that wasn’t all.
That orca with bandages wrapped around his fists, for instance.
An orca woman with long braided hair, for instance.
Each and every one of them was remarkably skilled.
It was strange how they had remained unknown until now.
Most of all….
“This is the Snake Matriarch, right?”
Natasha showed no surprise at the male face that suddenly appeared before her eyes.
Nor at the fact that the male was dangling helplessly, caught by his ankle.
I simply focused on the beautiful woman who held the male while asking me with an unperturbed expression.
Yes, the most incongruous element was precisely this Orca Family Matriarch.
“…That’s right. The leader of the crocodiles.”
“Hmm. So it is.”
“…It must have been difficult to capture him with imperial support. Impressive.”
“Really? It was rather tedious.”
Natasha swallowed her astonishment with effort.
There was no need to emphasize how much the snakes had struggled because they couldn’t capture that leader.
“You seem very accustomed to combat.”
“Just as those foul-smelling creatures believe, we’re mad battle fanatics who fight every single day, you know?”
….
“Ah, my apologies. That stench wasn’t referring to you all. I was talking about those lion cubs.”
Her smiling face looked youthful.
“Yet your face still carries a hint of doubt?”
“You’re certainly right about that. Remarkable skill indeed.”
“I see.”
Even being generous, Calypso Aquasiadel couldn’t be more than in her early twenties.
Despite the freshness of her teens, my body had stiffened naturally, as if facing an aged matriarch.
“We’re accustomed to fighting.”
Perhaps from very long ago? The Orca Family Matriarch’s expression as she said this was playful.
“Matriarch, to prevent the next conflict entirely, I believe we should raid the crocodiles’ spawning grounds.”
Natasha and Calypso turned their heads toward the young man who had just appeared. It was Levai, the bespectacled youth.
“How would you find that out?”
“With Whale and… no. With Ekion, it shouldn’t be difficult. Would it be alright to investigate?”
Natasha found it somewhat absurd.
Speaking of spawning season, it was the time when clans retaining animalistic instincts bore their young.
A clan’s spawning grounds were treated as top secret, and this applied equally to both snakes and crocodiles.
“I have some memories. Though they’re just guesses.”
“Really? Go ahead.”
What memories could he possibly have? Natasha started to interject for a moment, then promptly closed her mouth.
It was an animal instinct. The sense that they would lose nothing by letting this proceed.
“…I never expected you to help us like this. I’m already wondering how to repay you.”
“Ah, don’t worry. I’ll only take what’s fair for the help given.”
Watching this unfold, Natasha felt a chill run down her spine for some reason.
* * *
Levai, Whale, and the Dragon Duke returned the next morning.
“We found it. The spawning grounds.”
Levai spoke in a place where all of us, excluding the snakes, had gathered.
‘That’s strange. Levai moving with someone other than Atlant or Hauser.’
Even when pretending to have lost his memories, whenever protection was needed, he subtly seemed to prefer staying close to Atlant, who clearly retained his memories.
But Whale, setting aside Second Brother, had chosen the Dragon Duke.
‘Stranger still. That means he’s acknowledged him as a comrade?’
“How did you discover the location?”
“I had picked up some information long ago, and I decided to investigate just in case. Since crocodiles bury their eggs by digging into the ground, I heard that crocodile beastkin also give birth underground.”
I crossed my arms and tilted my head.
“So we should occupy that place? Sounds pretty villainous, doesn’t it?”
“It would be suitable for minimizing the duration of combat.”
After deliberating, I nodded.
“At the very least, pregnant women and children must not be harmed at all. Is that possible?”
“It shouldn’t be difficult. Whale.”
At Levai’s call, Whale raised his hand slightly.
“While moving with my brother, I examined the crocodiles that fell in between.”
“Who knocked those crocodiles down?”
“Me and the Dragon Duke?”
“Right. Keep going.”
“The crocodiles had problems with their minds.”
Whale’s ability was diagnosis and treatment. More precisely, time-reversal healing.
“The mind, or rather, something had burrowed into their heads. Like some kind of strange worm?”
“…Was it perhaps a pitch-black worm? Shaped like an earthworm?”
“Ah, yes.”
I frowned. It was a being I had glimpsed very briefly in the third cycle.
Under the Crown Prince’s command were those willing to do anything to achieve victory in war.
The representatives of these were the “monkeys.”
Among them were those who, seizing moments of chaos, conducted cruel experiments to control and suppress ordinary beastkin, then enhanced them to the point of physical strain…
devising methods to turn them into slaves who thought only of combat.
‘In the third cycle, it must have been a failed experiment…’
Since that Crown Prince also retained his memories, did he succeed this time?
“So with your ability, Whale, can you treat them?”
If he could diagnose something that wasn’t an illness or injury, could he also treat it?
In the third cycle, it was an attack we suffered helplessly against.
We only had the advantage because the experiment had failed, resulting in only a tiny minority becoming successful slaves.
“It’s possible.”
Whale nodded.
I had no way of knowing how many more of these creatures I would face in the future, so it was truly fortunate.
‘Even if a Crocodile beastkin is enhanced, dealing with them won’t be particularly difficult.’
But what if the predators at the next tier underwent such transformations?
The shift in power would be significant.
“However, I alone cannot manage it. I need the Dragon Duke’s assistance.”
“What?”
“What I mean is… if what’s in this head is ultimately a Worm.”
Since it was a living, breathing creature, Whale’s ability alone would be insufficient.
The Dragon Duke’s ability is time manipulation—if he temporarily halts the body’s time, Whale can perceive the Worm that has infiltrated the body as an inanimate object and perform treatment.
“Wait, that’s certainly impressive, but there’s a problem.”
Bellus, who had been quiet until now, raised his hand and spoke calmly.
“If it takes time to treat each person individually, that’s also an issue.”
The point was valid. I had been thinking the same thing.
Whale nodded and answered.
“Hmm, that shouldn’t be a problem.”
“Why not?”
Whale glanced at the Dragon Duke. The Dragon Duke, noticing his gaze, nodded slowly.
Apparently, the Dragon Duke had no difficulty halting time for an entire unit at once.
“And the materials required for treatment aren’t particularly expensive or rare.”
“Huh?”
“If anything, it’s comparable to treating a moderately deep sword wound.”
“Wow… that’s actually quite surprising.”
I blinked at this unexpected solution.
‘Ah, so this must be the method that Prince came up with as his desperate gambit…’
Because Whale was alive.
Because the Dragon Duke was on our side, it all fell apart.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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