Ranker's Return

Chapter 767

It was the morning after a week spent going through the Anfra Forest. Ikta sat next to the coffin where the elf was sleeping and stared at Hyeonu’s face. Ikta stared at Hyeonu for a long time before opening his mouth, “I want to ask you one thing.”

Hyeonu, who was cleaning up the dining area, wasn’t surprised by Ikta’s sudden words and calmly replied, “Ask me.”

“What is your relationship with the great tribe chief?”

Hyeonu shrugged and replied. “The great tribe chief? Who is the great tribe chief? I don’t know that orc.”

Putting aside Ikta in front of him, Hyeonu knew exactly three orcs. He had mentioned two of them to Ikta.

‘Don’t tell me? Raccoon is the great tribe chief?’

This didn’t mean he didn’t get a sense of it at all. The great tribe chief that Ikta was talking about—Hyeonu was able to figure it out. He knew only one orc chieftain, Raccoon.

“Who is the great tribe chief? The chief of the Meadow Wolf orcs, Raccoon—he is the great tribe chief of the orcs.” Ikta pointed it out clearly to Hyeonu. Raccoon really was the great tribe chief.

“I had no idea... I just thought he was a slightly strong orc.”

“He is more than slightly strong. He is considered to be the strongest in orc history. The great tribe chief...” Ikta replied with a frown.

Hyeonu’s words were beyond outrageous. He just saw a slightly strong orc when he looked at Raccoon.

“Isn’t that enough? So how strong is he within the League of Different Species?” Hyeonu naturally changed the direction of the question from Raccoon to the entire League of Different Species.

‘I don’t think there are monsters stronger than Raccoon...’

This was a type of intelligence gathering. It was a place that would be related to him in some way in the future, so he had to be prepared in advance.

Ikta thought for a while about Hyeonu’s question and gave a careful answer: “Let’s see... I don’t know about that either. There are countless species in the league. I might know only a small fraction of it. The thing that I am certain of is that no one I know can be called stronger than the great tribe chief of my family.”

‘It is right. How could such monsters be common?’ Hyeonu smiled slightly.

Things were good. He could say that he was close to Raccoon and they went beyond being acquaintances. This meant that he had a fairly reliable background if he were to be active in the League of Different Species.

“To answer the question you asked earlier... Many things overlapped, but crucially, it was due to this guy,” Hyeonu said. He pointed toward Tang-E, who was smiling as he touched his bulging belly. “He knew Raccoon first.”

Of course, the relationship started with the necklace Hyeonu picked up in the Black Forest. He met Raccoon while returning the necklace. However, Tang-E was the biggest reason why things worked out at the time. Things went smoothly because Tang-E was close to the two orcs, Raccoon and Dakan, in the first place.

‘It was because of the Marionette Bear... Don’t tell me…?’ Ikta thought. There was definitely such a rumor. Even Raccoon, who was a lone wolf in the League of Different Species, had a friend. In addition...

‘It is rumored to be the chief of the Marionette Bears...’

The main character of the rumor was the chief of the Marionette Bears. Then this rumor quickly disappeared as few people saw the Marionette Bears in the first place. It was a rumor with no basis at all.

“Is the Marionette Bear next to you the son of the chief?”

Hyeonu nodded. “That’s right. He’ll be the future master of Bung Bung Island.”

An expression of joy flashed on Ikta’s face.

The great orc chief Raccoon and the Marionette Bears—the presence of the two of them meant his return might not be a mere dream. He didn’t know if it was possible with Raccoon alone, but if even the Marionette Bears supported his innocence...

Even the elf great tribe chief wouldn’t be able to deter them.

“Let’s go quickly. The territory of the league is just around the corner.” Ikta’s face was full of anticipation. Unlike his initial half doubts, the current Ikta completely believed in Hyeonu.

***

“That is Meong, the fortress city of the League of Different Species. We have to be careful. Usually, those who guard the walls have excellent eyesight and are capable of ranged attacks.” Ikta pointed to the huge wall in the distance. It was the Pioneer Guild members, not Hyeonu, who responded to Ikta’s words first.

“Have we just arrived?”

“I thought I was going to die of boredom.”

“How long has it been since we moved safely like this?”

“As expected, Alley Leader is different from us.”

The Pioneer Guild members exclaimed as they looked at the thick and high wall that Ikta pointed to.

It happened at this moment. Ikta’s face turned red in an instant, and the blood in his eyes became insanely dense.

“Stop! What are you doing? Stop it!” Ikta shouted loudly.

Hyeonu continued to walk forward like he didn’t hear Ikta.

‘He can’t go any further.’

The League of Different Species was a closed group. They were never kind to those who came to the league for the first time, even if they were the same species. In addition...

‘It is clear that they will impose standards that are a dozen times more severe than humans.’

The League of Different Species hadn’t been close to humans since its birth. It meant that Hyeonu was in danger. Attacks poured from the huge wall toward Hyeonu as if to say Ikta’s worries weren’t meaningless. Hundreds of arrows and dozens of iron spears flew at Hyeonu.

“Uh? That... This crazy bastard!”

“What are you doing? Use anything quickly!”

The Pioneer Guild immediately panicked, but they quickly started to help Hyeonu. The priest used defensive magic, including blessings, while the magicians fired their magic at the flying spears and arrows. However, it was all meaningless. It was because Hyeonu blocked all the spears and arrows before their magic reached him. Purple mirrors appeared in the air, wrapping around Hyeonu and neatly blocking off the arrows and spears.

“This is what he showed last time.”

“As expected of Alley Leader...”

“Isn’t it actually scarier when seeing it in person?”

The Pioneer Guild members sighed when they saw Hyeonu use Land of Mirrors. It wasn’t that they didn’t trust Hyeonu; it was just an instinctive reaction. Anyone would’ve been worried about the person below if they saw the shower of arrows that covered the sky.

“This is a very nice welcome.” Land of Mirrors disappeared, and Hyeonu’s appearance was revealed again. Hyeonu was waving toward the city walls that had a steep height.

“That... This crazy guy.” Ikta, who had put down the coffin and picked up the axe, grabbed his forehead.

Hyeonu’s actions were really unpredictable. He really did something really crazy without hesitation. Regardless of whether he knew what Ikta felt, Hyeonu continued to shout at the wall, “Show your face! Isn’t it only polite to have a conversation face to face?” There was no reaction from beyond the walls to Hyeonu’s behavior, which was close to being rude.

“Captain, what are we going to do?”

“Should we attack again? He won’t be able to use that skill again, right?”

“It will be good to have a conversation. It is a human who came to this place through Anfra Forest. It will be difficult for us alone. We need to buy some time.”

On the wall, the elves watched Hyeonu and spoke their own words. The first time when Hyeonu appeared in their view, they launched a preemptive strike on Hyeonu at the order of the guard captain. It was up to there. The guard captain didn’t order a follow-up attack.

“Captain, why aren’t you giving any orders?” The elf guards surrounded the guard captain.

“Look closely at the shoulder of the human. It is a Marionette Bear. We almost made a huge mistake a while ago.”

It was because of Tang-E that the guard captain didn’t give any instructions. If Tang-E had lost his life in the attack a little while ago… the elf species itself could be in danger. The Marionette Bears weren’t easy to deal with.

“Bring others while I buy time. Hurry!” The guard captain’s choice was to find someone who could go against the Marionette Bears. In other words, it was to find someone else to take responsibility.

“I understand. I’ll be right back.” An elf nodded and went down the stairs on one side of the wall. The guard captain confirmed the elf’s disappearance and moved to a place where Hyeonu could be seen.

“Humans are not permitted on this land. Go back,” the guard captain said with the hope that Hyeonu would go back.

“I have something to give you. Why don’t you come down first?” Hyeonu, however, had no intention of going back. He had to find the magic circle heading to the divine world somewhere in the League of Different Species.

“You have something to give? No, there is nothing to be received from a human,” the guard captain cried out firmly.

‘Now is the only time he can speak firmly.’ A sinister smile flashed on Hyeonu’s face under the mask.

Hyeonu turned slightly toward Ikta and the Pioneer Guild members and clapped. “Bring it out.”

There wasn’t any discussion, but they all knew what Hyeonu was telling them to bring. Ikta picked up the coffin on the ground and placed it back on his back before slowly approaching the wall.

“This guy?”

“He is wanted, wanted!”

“I don’t know what guts he has to come back, but today will be the last day he can breathe!”

The elf guards who recognized Ikta screamed. To them, Ikta was an enemy.

“Be quiet!” Hyeonu waved his hand toward the noisy elves. From Hyeonu’s fingertips, purple lasers shot out toward the city wall. The lasers missed the elves with only a small difference, shooting above their heads or by the side of their faces.

Hyeonu turned to look at Ikta again. Ikta arrived next to Hyeonu and carefully laid down the coffin.

“I’m not here to fight. I’m here to talk.” Hyeonu clenched his fist and tapped the coffin slightly. Then the lid of the coffin split open, revealing the unconscious elf that was lying inside. He looked no different from when Hyeonu first saw him.

“What have you done to our kin?!”

“You have done such a thing, but you want to have a conversation?!”

“It is disgusting. Sure enough, humans can’t be trusted.”

The elves were agitated without even thinking about the exact circumstances before and after.

“Stop. He wouldn’t have come here if he made our kin like this. He also brought the wanted guy to the league. Most importantly, the tribe member has returned alive. It won’t help anything to go crazy in an agitated manner,” the guard captain said. Fortunately, the guard captain analyzed the situation calmly and speculated the intentions behind Hyeonu and Ikta’s actions.

“What do you want?” the guard captain shouted at Hyeonu. It was necessary to obey Hyeonu and Ikta’s will for now in order to save the elf.

“Call the great tribe chief. I will speak directly to the great tribe chief.” It was Ikta who answered the guard captain’s question.

The guard captain shook his head and expressed his refusal, “He isn’t someone whose status is light enough to come when you call.”

Just then, a thick voice flowed from behind the guard captain and echoed everywhere: “There is no need to call me. I’m already here.”

An orc who possessed muscles similar to a millennial rock stood behind the guard captain.

“Great tribe chief!”

It was the appearance of Raccoon.