TUK 25

Chapter 25

“Quite the feast they’ve had.”

“Was it a troll? Or a lycanthrope? Whatever it was, it seems picky — left only the arms behind.”

“Judging by the blood trail leading toward the Frost Mountains, looks like they dragged the corpses back to their territory.”

Tarin muttered, Dominic agreed, and Pine pointed toward the sloped mountain ridge. Just as she said, traces of something being dragged were scattered along the incline.

Then, while scanning the area, Verkir raised a clump of matted fur, sticky with blood.

“It’s the work of lycanthropes.”

He was right. Looking closer, patches of ash-gray and dark fur were stuck to the bushes and trees.

Some said they were a degenerated offshoot of wolf beastmen; others classified them simply as man-eating monsters.
Whatever the truth, for now, it was safe to treat them as monsters.
But then—

“There are troll traces, too.”

Leah, who had been inspecting the area like Verkir, held up a severed arm.

The scrawny arm was wrapped in a blood-soaked scrap of cloth. Anyone could tell it didn’t belong to an imperial soldier.

‘That arm…’

Rian didn’t know whose it was, but he could guess what kind of person it once belonged to.

‘Runaway laborers from Roden’s cleaning corps.’

He remembered the moment he first woke after his own death, facing that same corps. He’d seen the hired workers they dragged along scatter and flee in terror.

Their clothing had been ragged — and the fabric wrapped around the arm was the same as what he’d seen back then.

‘So this is where it ends for them.’

With nowhere left to run, they must have circled back here — the only place to hide.
They probably meant to wait out the war.
Instead, they’d ended up as food for monsters. Rian offered them a silent moment of pity.

‘Still… how did she tell it was a troll’s doing from just that arm?’

Before Rian could ask, Verkir spoke up first, clearly harboring the same question.

“Trolls and lycanthropes may both be monsters, but they fight to the death over territory. So why do you say a troll did this?”

“There’s melted tissue at the torn edge.”

Verkir lifted another mangled arm to inspect it.

“Ah. Trolls do secrete venom strong enough to dissolve even bone. Still, lycanthropes and trolls together? Hard to imagine.
If they fought over prey, there should be signs of battle — yet there are none.”

To that, Leah replied calmly.

“Time gap. Judging by the level of decay, the troll’s victims died first. Later, lycanthropes must have arrived and hunted the retreating imperial troops. The two species wouldn’t have met.”

It made sense.

The imperial collaborators who’d fled here were hunted by trolls first.
The smell of their blood had then lured in lycanthropes, who ambushed retreating imperial soldiers.
Afterward, they dragged the bodies back to their den.

It was the most logical sequence.
Still, who killed whom wasn’t the real issue right now.

“We’ve seen enough, haven’t we? I doubt the imperial army would ambush us under conditions like this.”

That was Dominic’s suggestion after quietly listening to the exchange.
Pine and Tarin both looked to Leah, silently agreeing.

Leah hesitated. Verkir waited, ready to follow her lead — as did everyone else.
Then her gaze met Rian’s. A subtle glance, as if asking for his opinion.

‘Is this part of the evaluation?’

On their way here, Verkir had hinted that Leah would be the one conducting the final test.
So it wasn’t unreasonable to think this was part of it.

It could’ve been irritating — but Rian didn’t mind.
What mattered was reading the situation and making the right call.

“Let’s split our forces and search separately.”

He gave his opinion plainly.
Leah tilted her head slightly, signaling him to explain. So he did.

“We still haven’t seen the end of the imperial army’s trail. It’s possible even this scene was staged by them.”

“But with our numbers, splitting up could be dangerous.”

“Which is why we divide into small teams — one to trace the retreat path, another to follow the blood trail up the slope and uncover what truly happened here.”

He picked up a stick and drew rough paths on the ground to illustrate.

“If our commander is considering striking the imperial rear across the gorge, then identifying all possible threats during this search is worth the risk.
Splitting our strength is the logical choice.”

When Rian finished, everyone blinked — impressed by his clear reasoning.

“Huh? Didn’t know he could talk that much.”

“Oh, the quiet one’s got brains.”

“Tch. Well, can’t say he’s wrong.”

“Haha — seeing a new side of Ricky, huh?”

Pine, Tarin, Dominic, and Verkir each chimed in, half-teasing but agreeing with him all the same.
Only Leah remained silent.

‘He’s right. If imperial stragglers are camped beyond this forest, waiting for reinforcements, Monclay needs to know so we can prepare.’

Rian’s logic checked out.
And if trolls and lycanthropes were both feeding here, they’d soon breed — a growing threat.
Best to cull them now.

‘Risky, yes. But splitting up would be more efficient. Still… Rian Cade — does he not even consider his own death? Or is he just bluffing?’

Leah was puzzled by his calmness but didn’t show it.
Instead, she quietly worked through how to divide the teams.

‘Tarin and Dominic shouldn’t stay together… Maybe Dominic, Verkir, and Pine should handle imperial surveillance?’

But before she could speak—

Aoooo—!

A sudden wolf’s howl rolled down from the snowy slopes.

It echoed through the forest, bouncing eerily off the cliffs.

Aoooo—! Aooooo—!

“What the hell? It’s coming from everywhere! Are they… communicating?!”

It wasn’t just echoes.
The howls came in waves — distinct, coordinated.

Whether it was lycanthropes or frost wolves, no one could tell.
But everyone could feel it — something ominous was coming.

Leah instantly dropped her train of thought and shouted,

“Everyone, to the Frost Mountains!”

And she was the first to sprint toward the incline.
The rest followed close behind.

But her sudden command stirred questions.

“Leah! What’s the plan?!”

Tarin called, voicing what everyone was thinking.
Leah raised her voice so all could hear.

“You heard the howls! We can’t afford to split up now! It’s safer to move together and handle things one by one!”

She understood now why Monclay had personally assigned them to this border search.

‘Just as Rian predicted.’

Monclay planned to strike the imperial rear through the gorge —
and this mission served to both scout their movement and clear the Frost Mountain monsters that might endanger their troops.

Though, judging by the ominous atmosphere, “clearing” them might be wishful thinking.

“Well then, let’s make sure we do it right. If anything goes wrong, Monclay will just keep using Lord Sion!”

Pine added while running beside her.
Tarin fell silent — she didn’t want to hear more.

‘Whatever. Orders are orders. Tch… always overcomplicating things.’

For now, all that mattered were the howls closing in from every direction.

Aoooo—! Aoooo—!

The sounds were growing nearer.
The slope began to level out, the dense trees thinning until a wide clearing came into view.

And then — the stench hit.
A nauseating reek that made their skin prickle with malice.

“Hold position. Stay hidden.”

At Leah’s command, everyone leapt up into the trees, concealing themselves among the branches.

Thud! Thud! Thud!

Rian climbed up too, crouching between the leaves, eyes scanning.

‘The howling… stopped?’

The moment they hid, the echoing howls went silent.
A heavy stillness fell, broken only by the faint rustle of wind in the leaves.

Then—

“There.”

Pine pointed toward the forest to their left.

Everyone’s breath caught at what they saw emerging from the shadows.

Aoooo—!

Five frost wolves bounded down the mountain, howling.

At first glance, they looked like gray wolves —
but the icy blue glow from their four paws marked them as beasts.

They descended the slope as if to tear apart anything in their path —
but when they reached a group of humans, they began pacing around them calmly, like tame cats.

‘What the hell… this is insane!’

They were the Shadow Corps, crossing the Frost Mountains.

Among them, Emilio — who had received a sacred relic from Marquis Arzen — watched the beasts gather around him with a crooked grin.

“Hey, Emilio… you sure you did what the Marquis said?”

“Think about it. If I’d done something forbidden, would they be this docile? Huh?”

His comrades were trembling, barely holding it together with monsters swarming around them.

At their doubt, Emilio snapped.

“Don’t question me! I did it right! That’s why they’re not attacking us… heeheehee.”

He giggled, fondling the relic in his hand.

‘It’s real. It’s really real! With this, I can control even monsters like these!’

At first, he’d been suspicious — thought the Marquis meant to sacrifice them to the beasts.
But no. Just as the Marquis had said, when he turned the gold caps on the relic, he felt a surge of energy escape.

And the result?
The monsters came — but none attacked.

Boom. Boom. Boom. Boom…

Dozens of trolls marched, shaking the earth. Proof, Emilio thought, that the Marquis had blessed them.

Their hulking, blue-skinned bodies radiated such pressure that some soldiers nearly wet themselves.

‘Heh… they’re our loyal dogs now.’

No need to fear — not with the relic in hand.
So long as he had it, these trolls, with their steel-hard skin and crushing fists, would obey him.

‘Come at me, whoever you are. Ha!’

Their human-like faces, blunt noses, thick violet lips —
and those jagged teeth that could chew through steel.

Even those five mad warriors who’d once cornered them — he’d feed them to these things.

And those tusks, sharp as boar fangs, held venom that could melt bone.

“Unless you’re a knight, who the hell could fight things like that?!”

This war — the Roden Empire’s victory was certain.

‘No… my victory.’

He already knew how to use the relic.
By twisting the golden tips, he could control the range of its protection.

Sure, a dozen soldiers had died learning that — but what did that matter?
Their sacrifice served the cause.

And the survivors… well, the dark circles under their eyes said it all.
They were his thralls now.

‘Heh. I’m the ruler of this land now.’

The Marquis had told him to toss the relic into the Trevor River afterward —
but why would he waste something this precious?

“Kh-hahaha… Now… I am the king!”

Emilio’s face twisted into madness as he stared at the onrushing pack of lycanthropes.