Saiyan stowaways on the Ark

"That's... Wendigo!!!"

Finally, the inner guard was able to see the other party's true appearance from this distance.

If the other person is wearing armor that has been with them for a century, they might be able to recognize their identity immediately.

But now, the guards only saw a tall man whose upper body was covered in black Originium crystals, whose skull was exposed like the Grim Reaper in legends, but with antlers, rushing towards them.

Without weapons or armor, the Wendigo was only wearing a crudely made, oversized robe. The crystals all over his body indicated that he was terminally ill, and the broken antler and visible wounds showed that he was already covered in injuries.

"But why... is the air trembling, and why am I... trembling too?"

The young center-back had never seen a pure-blooded Wendigo before.

They had only been told about the strength of the Wendigo.

I've only ever heard from retired guards that a powerful Wendigo left Ursus.

They never imagined facing an opponent who was beyond their expectations in this way.

—But three interior defenders are enough to defeat one Wendigo!

This is the "negotiation" that the patriot in the rumors once proposed.

Just as they were thinking this, an object, like a cannonball, smashed at the feet of the frozen guards.

It was a blood-stained guard's mask.

"Whether you have three, five, or ten, come at me all together."

The last pure-blooded Wendigo, "The Patriot," "The Shield of the Infected," Yelena's father, now stood before the Inner Guard, speaking to them as if facing his death.

[Main Text] Chernobog, Amidst Ruins: Chapter Fourteen is about Bozokasti, not the Patriots.

"Patriot? Wendigo? Why are you here? Why are you still alive? In the center where even the core city has been reduced to ashes? And why are you exuding such murderous intent?"

The first few questions were still within the normal range of "confusion," but the last doubt only shows that these guards never questioned the other problems caused by their actions from the very beginning.

It's not a lack of common sense, but simply a disregard for anything beyond the ultimate goal of the action.

The guards simply couldn't understand why the surviving patriots would do such a thankless task.

By doing this, he was essentially challenging Ursus. In the past, when facing the Inner Guards, he had only managed to make them retreat. He should be a rational person and not foolish enough to choose to oppose Ursus.

Is this reasonable?

"In that catastrophe, I should have died and vanished into thin air, but I survived."

Even though Frostnova and the Shield Guards were some distance away from Patriots, they still chose to gradually distance themselves and retreat.

The terrifying aura was enough to deter the guards from making any rash moves, but it did not have any negative impact on them.

On the contrary, it would not be an exaggeration to say that they felt at ease and in awe.

The Patriots have advanced step by step, and now they have become an unexpectedly threatening adversary slowly approaching them, while the Inner Guards are still hesitant about whether to confront them with swords.

Former adversaries are always the targets of their slaughter.

Private soldiers of nobles, traitorous generals of the emperor, bandits from the mountains and fields, unruly commoners...

Infected individuals who wielded Originium Arts with their bare hands were reduced to cold corpses by their swords, while those still breathing and designated targets for elimination could only struggle in agony as their skin was ripped off.

But now, even though the Patriots had thrown the mask of one of the guards—the very man they had sent to "clean up"—at their feet, the three guards still couldn't muster the will to fight.

Firstly, because Patriot has always been a "General Ursus" worth winning over.

Secondly...

Can we really win?

The Patriot's aura not only exceeded the Inner Guard's expectations, but also overturned Frostnova's impression.

As Patriot's adopted daughter, Froststar had witnessed her father's power in past battles.

But she never knew it could be this powerful.

Of course, Frostnova wasn't as surprised as the Inner Guards. Even the Shield Guards only let out a gasp or two from under their tightly sealed helmets.

After all, the Shield Guards had already witnessed how the Patriots smashed through massive rubble to rescue other guerrillas trapped underneath.

When Froststar reunited with Patriot, she instinctively sensed the changes in her father.

He used a special technique of the Wendigo, which was also considered a forbidden and terrifying ability among the Sarkaz—"cannibalism".

They devour the flesh and blood of the dead, or simply draw strength from those who have fallen.

All the Sarkaz, the dead, can return to the ancient bloodline of the Wendigo, until the death of the Wendigo.

People believed this to be an evil Sarkaz witchcraft that steals the bodies and souls of others.

But in Wendigo's ancient traditions, this is also part of the heritage.

Countless lives were lost in Chernobyl.

The patriots who should have perished along with him were given a chance to live and make a difference.

Whether for change or for survival, he wanted to have enough power.

So he did do that.

"Ursus, the immense will torments me. To eradicate killing, he killed, and in the end, he left to seek a new path, but that path ultimately led to his demise."

"That's why you should return to Ursus; you are still a patriot."

“I want to make changes, but I won’t change my mind. Now is not the time to discuss lofty ideals and self-deception with you.”

—For Kazdel!

Despite being called a captain, he failed to protect the Sarkaz princess.

—For Ursus!

Bearing the name of a patriot, his hands are stained with blood that perplexes him.

—For the integration movement!

He thought he had found a young leader he could trust, but watched as the Reunion Movement turned to ashes.

Patriots had no shields or spears, and most of their bodies were not even protected.

Even so, he still opened his arms wide, his chest exposed, facing the guards with an unprecedented posture.

"The politicians' round table is where conspiracies are woven and people are manipulated, and here..."

Patriot paused in his speech, and Frostnova and the Shieldbearers seemed to sense something and quickly retreated.

The guards had no time to worry about the others who were retreating; the Patriot in front of them alone did not allow him even a moment's distraction.

"This is the place where you paid the price for harming my soldiers and my daughter!"

The patriot actually uttered a complete sentence.

No, that didn't come from the patriot's throat.

The one who actually spoke these words was the black aura surrounding Patriot.

Three crimson beams of light fell upon Patriot's unprotected body.

They broke through the ominous aura, seemingly merging into the patriot's body without any resistance.

Whether it's a magical impact or a sturdy Originium Arts creation, their blades can be easily weakened and disintegrated.

The weapon's built-in staff structure further enhances its power.

Their physical attributes further enable them to unleash powerful physical attacks.

The fact that the Patriots were physically confronting the enemy did make them wary, but at this point they had no choice but to devise other plans.

—Including choosing to evacuate.

They watched as the blade pierced the Patriot's body, but then realized something was amiss in the feel of it.

It went in?

The blade turned to ashes the instant it touched Patriot's body.

"Was the 'cannibalism' technique applied to the staff's casting unit?"

The moment the guards' thoughts took shape in their minds, they simultaneously released their grip on their sword hilts.

Since Originium Arts are ineffective, using techniques to weaken opponents at close range is not very meaningful.

Even without any eye contact or verbal communication between the guards, they realized that a new combat strategy should be adopted.

"boom!"

"boom!"

"boom!"

But their biggest miscalculation was that they thought they could leave the area after getting close.

That was just a simple arm swing.

Patriot used his arm, which was wreathed in magical energy, to smash the guard who had just released his grip.

With a single blow, they vanished from sight.

One crashed into the frost-covered ruins that Frostnova had created earlier, while the other two flew hundreds of meters away, crashing through buildings and sinking deep into the ground.

“If there are other guards secretly watching, and if they want to report back, they should say ‘Bozokasti’ instead of ‘Patriot’.”

[Main Text] Chernobog, Amidst the Ruins: Chapter Fifteen: The Intractable Disease

The bodies of the Imperial Guards had all been tampered with to some extent. This was not just simple training, but rather something taboo that was considered a state secret, just like their stone coffins, which seemed to have disappeared with the destruction of Chernobog.

As a result, they are able to perform inhuman physical actions, operate bizarre spells, and even endure various fatal injuries.

Even when facing Frostnova, they did not unleash their full strength, or rather, demonstrate the "maximum" they were capable of.

Even so, after taking a direct hit from the current Patriot—or rather, the Wendigo who calls himself "Bozokasti"—he is currently only maintaining his consciousness with his strong life force.

Their bodies were already rendered incapable of any function due to the shattering of vital organs and the main skeletal structure.

The guards were equipped with basic life support devices, which allowed them a few more painful moments of survival.