Chapter 23 : Snowy King (1)
Chapter 23: Snowy King (1)
“Wow—fuck.”
A thick curse burst from Ubol’s mouth like exclamation.
But everyone shared that expletive.
“Brother… it really feels like we’re the ones about to die now?”
Duar’s vision went dark, yet the sight of countless people stretching across the vast snowy plain remained vivid in his mind.
Hundreds of people glared at the four, each wearing the fiercest expression they could muster.
“It’s like they brought all the forces from the main temple.”
At Ubol’s words, Moritz nodded.
Indeed, they had overwhelmingly superior strength.
Hindir had heard stories about Mans, so they had steeled themselves.
But what on earth did they talk about that caused these formerly sluggish individuals to show up so determinedly?
Boom—boom—boom—
At that moment, drums so loud they stirred the snow began to sound.
The lined-up Seolyandan split left and right as a massive carriage slowly advanced.
Its front was covered with a pure white curtain, atop which a white tiger’s head was impressively adorned.
There could only be one person riding in such a splendidly loud carriage.
Boom—boom— boom—!
The drum sounded stopped and the carriage’s curtain was drawn aside.
In the middle of the carriage filled with lavish ornamentation sat a burly middle-aged man.
He had an impressive build, yet the trio of Choranchai looked oddly small in comparison.
Probably because Hindir, standing right beside him, had an even more intimidating physique.
“He’s strong.”
At Hindir’s brief comment upon seeing the other, Ubol looked on in surprise.
“Hey… what use is sounding weak now?”
“You call a strong person strong—what else would you call him?”
“No one gets smaller seeing that guy walk around fearless in the world, right?”
“You must recognize your opponent as he is if you want to fight properly.”
“What a lousy bastard.”
A balanced body and mana calmly boiling like molten lava.
Plus the confidence felt in his gaze as he naturally looked down on the crowd.
The opponent was clearly the Snowy King.
‘So Mans wasn’t pulling all the strings.’
Hindir’s eyes briefly glanced at Mans, seated beside the Snowy King.
He smiled smugly, but looked endlessly pathetic.
‘He was just playing along with that rookie’s game.’
Relief washed over him that the Snowy King wasn’t a fool.
‘But…’
Another person sat on the opposite side of the carriage.
Hindir, quietly watching the noticeably handsome man, then turned to Ubol.
“Why?”
Apparently he still hadn’t noticed.
“Never mind.”
The situation was becoming interesting.
This board seemed to be flowing in a completely different direction than expected.
The Snowy King rose from his seat.
He strode forward and placed the tiger head from the carriage onto himself, causing the entire curtain to fall back like a cloak.
“It is the Snowy King.”
A confident introduction.
Defining oneself without adjectives—that takes serious confidence.
“Hindir.”
“Hindir.”
Again, the Snowy King didn’t ask twice.
He likewise acknowledged Hindir.
“You’ve traveled far, that must have been hard.”
At Hindir’s words, he waved his hand.
“All corners of the Great Snowfields are my home. Isn’t it rude that a host only appears after the guest has arrived?”
In short, Hindir was the uninvited guest.
Yet Hindir responded with a broad smile.
“Either way, you were the one who moved. The sun will begin to set soon. How about it? Would you drink with us?”
Crunch—
Ubol’s neck twisted as if it would snap.
He thought the madman had started nonsense again… but then—
“Why not.”
Snap—
This time his neck turned the other way and he growled a harsh sound.
Moritz pressing down the Choranchai with a steel face felt different.
The opponent was the Snowy King.
Hindir had been boasting he’d beat them, and had gathered a force to back that up.
And now—he was inviting them for a drink?
They weren’t the only ones surprised.
“Haha, what are you doing?”
The strikingly handsome man seated behind the Snowy King spoke with displeasure.
“Oh?”
It was only then that Ubol recognized him, and his expression stiffened.
“What’s the matter, Lesser Branch Head?”
The Snowy King asked Kartan’s lesser branch head, Kanin.
“I followed thinking I’d be shown an entertaining sight, but now you want us to just drink?”
Kanin came to Seolyandan under residence orders from the Parno family head.
But the Seolyandan’s sudden mobilization dragged him along accidentally.
He was already in a foul mood, and now being told to drink casually only made him irritable.
“What’s the rush?”
“It’s not a rush—it’s waste. Are you staging this absurdity to mock me?”
“Haha, would a savage from the snowfields mock Parno’s Lesser Branch Head? Actually, I've suffered far worse. Look at that. He’s blatantly wearing Blood Bear’s identity too. Because of that guy, we too are in trouble, and Seolyandan has taken a big loss.”
“But why the offer to drink?”
“You’re acting bold—and if we don’t accept, how much would the people of the world mock us?”
“Who dares mock Parno? They’d deride us for drinking with those barbarian bastards in the snow.”
Indeed, Kanin had recognized Hindir’s identity immediately.
“I have no intention of partaking in your pointless antics. I will do my business and leave. I’ll take those bastards with me.”
“If you wish.”
The Snowy King stepped aside, clearing the way, and Kanin climbed down from the carriage roughly.
Then he strode forward and spoke first to Ubol.
“Escaping your family only to hide in Seolyandan? Pathetic bastard.”
“Well, someone like me isn’t important to the family anyway, so what do they care?”
“The blood flowing in that body belongs to the family. So you have no choice.”
This time he spoke toward Hindir.
“And you. Are you really a barbarian?”
He let out a hollow laugh, then wiped away his expression entirely.
“In any case, you killed Blood‑Hero, so you’ll pay the price.”
It was easy to know what that price meant without asking.
Finally, his gaze landed on Moritz.
Kanin’s eyes glimmered wickedly as he stared at her.
But Moritz just looked back indifferently despite his unpleasant stare.
Suppressing the urge to gouge those eyes, she glanced at Duar briefly, then thought it a waste to speak, so turned back to Ubol.
“Fine, Allison.”
He called that strange name, and Ubol recoiled.
“Pfft.”
When Duar burst into a quiet laugh, Kanin frowned.
“Do you find my words amusing?”
“No. It’s just that I thought this foul‑mouthed guy’s real name sounded unexpectedly lovely.”
“Shut up, you bastard.”
Ubol’s face had flushed as if he’d drunk heavily. He glared at Duar, then shifted his gaze back to Kanin.
“Why come all the way to this mountain valley? Here on another errand?”
“You still have the same sharp tongue. A worthless, pride‑less bastard. I’ll give you one last chance. Kill that guy beside you.”
Kanin gestured toward Hindir and spoke.
Ubol’s face contorted grotesquely, then he burst into a hearty laugh.
“…Are you crazy?”
“Sniff… no, even you would find it hard to stay sane in this place. But… seems it’s invisible to your eyes too. Lucky.”
“What?”
“I was afraid I alone couldn’t perceive this monster. Well, the others are the same… still, it’s comforting that even the honored Lesser Branch Head of Parno couldn’t recognize him.”
“……”
Kanin grimaced and turned his gaze back to Hindir.
Clearly a pathetic level of mana.
“Hey.”
“What…….”
Kanin, summoned by Ubol’s call, turned, but Ubol had not called him.
“If I fought that bastard, who would win?”
Ubol asked Hindir.
“Crazy bastard.”
Kanin snorted with hollow laughter, but Ubol knew.
This monster’s eyes—whoever he was—were frighteningly precise and cold.
And he wanted confirmation.
He’d spent time getting beaten by Moritz and wasted time dumping ice‑blood qi at Hindir. He wanted to be acknowledged that it wasn’t all bullshit.
Receiving that recognition from Hindir bruised his pride, but still…
“You won’t know until you face him.”
“Cold bastard.”
Ubol spat and stepped forward.
But it didn’t mean he was conceding defeat.
That alone was enough.
“Snowy King!”
Ubol called out to the Snowy King.
He omitted the honorific.
He had already sided with Hindir, not Seolyandan.
“Ubol. Long time no see.”
“Well… this is how things ended up.”
“Nothing lasts forever in this world.”
“I want to ask one thing.”
“Speak.”
“Did you know from the beginning?”
“I did.”
Words were omitted but meaning conveyed.
With a Parno family member right before them, detailed questions and answers would benefit no one.
“In that case, there’s no need for regret between us.”
“Exactly. Is that all you wanted to say?”
“No. I’ll show you something entertaining, so drink hard and get drunk. That bastard drinks like a monster, so be prepared.”
“Ha‑ha! That sounds fun.”
When the Snowy King gestured, troops dispersed in unison and began setting up camp.
On a nearby hillock, drinking tables were arranged.
The process was so swift that even Kanin watched half in a daze.
But he soon realized he was becoming the spectacle and his face turned beet red.
“You lowly things.”
The Lesser Branch Head of Parno was about to become appetizers for mountain brigands.
Worse yet, he shared blood with the one who orchestrated this.
If word of this reached his father’s ears…
“What’re you doing? Scared?”
But such worries vanished with Ubol’s one line.
That hybrid’s provocation could not be ignored.
“Phew… yeah… yeah….”
Kanin, eyes closed and head thrown back, reset his posture.
When Ubol saw raging blue flames burning in his eyes, he felt every nerve in his body stand on end.
“Ubol. I could kill you, and everyone here.”
“Crazy bastard. He’s the best there is.”
“Shut your mouth. You’re worse than a bug.”
Kanin pressed his left hand behind his waist and extended his right hand forward.
His sword at his waist still sheathed. Ubol snorted at Kanin looking down on him from above.
“You’ll regret this.”
“No. Half‑breed like me is enough with this.”
“Heh‑heh… unlucky bastard.”
Just as the two began radiating cold air, Hindir headed toward the prepared drinking tables.
The Snowy King, already seated waiting, reached across toward the opposite seat.
Hindir sat down, and the Snowy King’s subordinates were secretly astonished.
The Snowy King himself was massive, but seated across from Hindir, he simply looked ordinary.
One person wore bright red bear fur, the other bright white tiger skin.
While the bizarre yet mystical scene mesmerized everyone, Moritz, Duar, and the jester Mans stood behind them respectively.
The Snowy King gazed at Moritz calmly and expressed admiration.
“Remarkable. General Second was someone whose true nature was impossible to read—how did you bring her in?”
“I offered what was needed.”
“So I was lacking after all.”
Indeed, the Snowy King had seen through Moritz’s potential.
He also looked at Hindir anew.
To him, Hindir’s aura clearly seemed insignificant.
If he had slain Blood‑Hero, daba‑dan (inner core) should have emerged, and even consuming that, being at this level made no sense.
“I’m growing more curious.”
“The night is long. Let’s have a drink first.”
Hindir raised a bottle and filled the Snowy King’s cup.
The act was so natural the subordinates couldn’t protest.
The Snowy King likewise made no attempt to stop Hindir.
Then Hindir poured himself a drink, and without a word they both raised their cups and downed them simultaneously.
“How splendid.”
“Bringing fine liquor was worthwhile after all.”
This time, the Snowy King picked up the bottle and filled both Hindir’s cup and his own in turn.
And again they drained them in unison.
One cup, then another—back and forth.
In no time the bottle was empty and a subordinate brought a new one.
Their hands trembled violently as they set down the bottle.
The tension between the two was so intense.
Even Moritz, jester Mans, and Duar standing nearby had long since grown damp with sweat.
If they looked away—or even blinked—something explosive felt inevitable…
Bang—!
At that moment, a sudden crash startled everyone.
In the brief lull of tension they all exhaled and turned their heads.
Two figures with violently clashing cold qi.
“Hmm!”
The Snowy King nodded with admiration.
Before he knew it, Ubol’s greatsword was blocked by Kanin’s blade.