The Strongest in Our Neighborhood - Chapter 13

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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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Our Neighborhood’s Strongest (13)
“Small amounts of soil won’t cause significant harm to the human body, but consuming large quantities is fatal. Under normal circumstances, this child should have died the moment he ate that soil.”
“Then… then how is he still alive?”
“I’m not certain what happened, but it appears a trace of earth Spirit Power is dormant within him, which is keeping him alive. However, the Spirit Power is so faint that he won’t be able to endure for long.”
“Is there… is there truly no way to save him? The Druid Clan commands spirits, so surely there must be something you can do?”
“We handle spirits of water and wind. It’s the Dverberg Clan who command spirits of earth.”
“Then please tell me where the Dverberg Clan lives. I’ll go there and do whatever it takes to persuade them.”
“The Dverberg Clan is just as closed off as we are, so even if you appeal to them, they won’t readily agree to treat the child.”
“Even so, please tell me. I’ll find a way somehow.”
“The fortunate thing is that we have connections with them. Let me speak with them first and try to convince them.”
“Oh! Thank you so much. Ah yes, this is all I have right now…”
Rahena handed over the pouch she’d given to Sairan earlier, and Elder Elena accepted it, opening it slightly before her expression grew troubled.
“This amount will make it difficult to ask the Dverberg Clan for treatment.”
“I don’t have much at the moment, but I promise I’ll find the money somehow.”
Elder Elena glanced at Jang Gain beside her, then let out a small laugh.
“Ha, I was joking. I’ll speak with the Dverberg Clan’s chieftain, and if compensation is needed, I’ll pay it myself. Just keep that.”
“No, please take this at least.”
“I said keep it. I have a Communication Stone in my room, so let me contact them and I’ll be back shortly. Please wait here for a moment.”
“Yes.”
* * *
“Grandmother!”
Elder Elena heard her granddaughter’s voice calling as she was heading to the house where the Communication Stone was kept to contact Clan Chief Eggman.
“What is it?”
“There’s been a message from Clan Chief Eggman of the Dverberg Clan.”
“What? He contacted me first when I was about to reach out to him? What’s happened?”
Elder Elena hurried into the room where the Communication Stone was.
“Clan Chief Eggman, this is Elder Elena.”
―Elder Elena! Something terrible has happened!
“What is it?”
―The children who went on a pilgrimage to the Daranda Volcanic Region have been kidnapped by the Maximus Mercenary Corps.
Elder Elena’s eyes widened in shock.
“What! Kidnapped! We had something similar happen recently, and now the Dverberg Clan too!”
―What? Your Druid children were kidnapped as well?
“Yes. Unknown hunters took them, but fortunately we were lucky enough to rescue all the children.”
―Thank heavens! Who were the ones bold enough to kidnap the Druid children?
“After we rescued them, we searched the bodies of the dead hunters but found nothing to identify them—only an Identification Badge from the Koanon Trading Company, which we have dealings with. It seems they must have coerced the traders who entered the forest for business, extracted information from them, and then killed them.”
―How could such a thing… at least those hunters weren’t particularly strong then. Unfortunately, the warriors we sent to rescue our children couldn’t stand against the mercenaries, and the mission failed.
“The bravery of the Dverberg warriors is legendary, so the Maximus Mercenary Corps must be formidable indeed?”
―The Maximus Mercenary Corps apparently has numerous high-ranking mercenaries skilled in Aura. And somehow, their Spirit Magic wasn’t working properly either. As a result, three of the village warriors sent to rescue the children were killed, the rest were captured, and only my son Ingram managed to escape.
Elder Elena listened to the grieved voice coming through the Communication Stone and her expression grew grave.
The truth was, without Jang Gain, she couldn’t say what would have become of the village children.
“Clan Chief Eggman. In fact, we received help from an outsider when we rescued our children.”
―An outsider? Then when you mentioned being lucky earlier, you were referring to this outsider?
“Yes. I’ll bring him to you now, so please ask him for his help.”
―Understood.
“Ah, and this outsider’s name is Jang Gain. He’s a Top-Tier Knight who killed an Ogre, so he deserves to be treated accordingly.”
―A knight who slew an Ogre… If he can save the children, I’ll grant any request he makes.
“Understood. Then I’ll go bring him.”
Elder Elena couldn’t bring up the matter of Smith’s illness and hurried outside the village to fetch Jang Gain.
On the way, Jang Gain heard the rough details from Elder Elena, so he had a general sense of the situation.
Because of this, he was promised treatment for Smith and weapon supplies from the Dverberg Clan in exchange for helping rescue the kidnapped children.
* * *
Time was pressing, so Jang Gain and Eldom set out first toward Houwan Village where the Dverberg Clan lived, riding atop a Saber Tiger.
Once on the Saber Tiger’s back, Eldom couldn’t stop screaming.
“Ugh! Ahhhhh… blegh…”
Less than ten minutes in, he began to retch.
The Saber Tiger, carrying two riders as if unaffected, galloped faster than any horse, leaping across valleys of over ten meters, moving through terrain that wasn’t even a path faster than if it had been a road.
“Ack! A, a branch!”
After vomiting violently, Eldom stared ahead with a deathly pale face, suddenly terrified by the branch hurtling toward him at a dizzying speed.
Whissh.
Jang Gain, who had been sitting behind, drew his Sword Aura and sliced through the overhanging branches.
After cutting away the branches, when the Saber Tiger came to a halt moments later, Jang Gain spoke up.
“We’ve arrived at the place with the three large stones standing in a row that you mentioned.”
“What? Al-already? Oh! We really are here.”
Eldom looked around with a half-dazed expression and, upon spotting the rocks he had described, opened his eyes wide.
“Then please continue down along the canyon below until you reach the point where the water’s color suddenly shifts to a deep blue, and stop there.”
“Understood. Saber Ti—”
“Wait, just a moment. Jang Gain, couldn’t we go a bit slower?”
“Eldom, notice how Saber’s breathing hasn’t even become labored?”
“What? Oh, yes.”
“Actually, Saber has been adjusting her pace ever since you got sick.”
“Ad-adjusting? My hands and feet are trembling!”
“That’s because you’re riding a monster at such speed for the first time. You’ll adapt soon enough.”
“I feel like my insides are going to turn inside out before I do.”
“You won’t die, so don’t worry.”
“I know I won’t die, but I feel like I will.”
“That’s exactly the point—you won’t die. Now adapt already.”
“I can’t adapt.”
“You will. By the way, this Ogre Core really does work wonders. Look at how much power this beast is putting out.”
……
When Eldom didn’t answer and only stared, Jang Gain shrugged and gave the Saber Tiger’s back a couple of pats.
“In any case, since only Eldom knows the way, I’ll have him set the pace. Come on, Saber, let’s take it slower. Head down that way for now.”
Growl.
Leap.
The Saber Tiger nodded and bounded down roughly ten meters to a lower rock, and immediately another scream tore from Eldom’s throat.
“Aaaahhh! Sl-slow down…… please slow down……”
* * *
“My boy, your body’s still not mended—why are you sitting out there?”
Eggman, the clan chief, looked at his son Ingram, who sat wrapped in bandages on a boulder near the village entrance, with a pained expression.
“Elder Elena said she’s sending a Top-Tier Knight who defeated the ogre. So I’m waiting for him to arrive.”
“We sent word this morning, so even at the fastest he won’t be here until late evening, if not tomorrow. And since so many others in the village are waiting as well, you should go inside and rest.”
Most of the villagers, not just the parents of the kidnapped children, were lingering about near the entrance.
“No, Father. Though I am injured, there’s no threat to my life, and sitting like this isn’t so difficult. And when everyone is waiting so desperately for this Jang Gain, how can I, a failure, rest?”
Eggman’s face twisted in an instant.
“Why do you call yourself a failure? You did your best and barely survived a brush with death. The true villains are the Maximus Mercenary Corps who murdered people and kidnapped children—not you.”
“Father, incompetence is also a sin. If I had died fighting those mercenaries like Bellina, Hwaran-ta, and Surengo did, I wouldn’t feel this way. Sob……”
“You fool! How is incompetence a sin? And you are not incompetent. You fought bravely to protect the children and fled with every ounce of strength, alerting the village to their kidnapping. Without you, we wouldn’t even know those who took the children were from the Maximus Mercenary Corps.”
“But—what will become of Irun and Delan and the other children?”
“A Top-Tier Knight named Jang Gain is coming, so they will surely be rescued.”
“I hope that’s true.”
“Wait! A monster! A S-Saber Tiger!”
Someone among the villagers cried out.
“What! Where? Oh! It really is a Saber Tiger. Gate guard, what are you doing? Close the gate, now!”
When the Saber Tiger, larger than most buffalo, appeared, the villagers gasped in fear.
Eggman, who had been speaking with his son, heard the commotion and drew the axe from his belt, rushing toward the palisade.
“Where did a Saber Tiger suddenly come from…… What’s that?”
Having leapt onto the watchtower in a single bound, Eggman’s eyes widened when he saw people riding on the Saber Tiger’s back.
The other clanspeople, who had come up with large bows and long spears to fight the monster, also now wore expressions of confusion upon seeing riders on the beast.
“Ch-Chief, isn’t that person on the Saber Tiger a young man from the Druid Clan?”
“It does seem to be!”
“Oh! Chief, there’s not one person—there are two!”
The commotion died down at once, and everyone peered out with puzzled faces.
“So they must be Eldom and Jang Gain that Elder Elena spoke of?”
Eggman gazed at the young man sprawled flat on the Saber Tiger’s back with his head turned to the side, retching, and the man sitting calmly behind him, regarding them with ease.
He had never heard of a Beast Taming expert in Elena’s Druid Clan capable of commanding a Saber Tiger, so the man sitting composed in the back must be the one with Beast Taming ability.
‘This knight who slew the ogre—does he also possess Beast Taming ability to command the Forest Calamity itself?’
Setting aside raw martial prowess, the mere fact that he commanded a Saber Tiger dramatically increased the odds of recovering the kidnapped children.
“Chief, I believe these are the ones Elder Elena sent. Shall I order the men to open the gate?”
Tendre, the gate commander, stepped closer and asked carefully.
“Before we open the gate, we need to confirm these are truly the ones Elder Elena sent. What business do these two people riding the Saber Tiger have in our village?”

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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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