Chapter Ninety: That Woman Is No Human Being!

The young man had not left the vicinity since he came out from the high priest’s shelter. Every time he recalled that raspy, eerie chuckle, a chill seemed to crawl from the nape of his neck to the back of his skull, leaving his scalp prickling with dread.

In Marcen, the mere mention of that name was enough to make even the strongest warrior of the beast clans feel a stirring of awe. To the beastfolk, he was more than a name; he was a symbol.

To all beastfolk, he was a mysterious existence.

No one knew how long he had lived, and no one knew the extent of his abilities. What everyone did know was that no matter how difficult a matter might be, he could always resolve it with ease.

“That damned old man!”

He shook himself hard and turned to glare at the shelter. He was not like ordinary beastfolk, who treated the old sage with reverence. To his eyes, the fellow had some skill, yes, but no matter how capable he might be, he was still only a damned old man.

Just then, a thunderous crash came from within the old man’s shelter. The wooden wall was visibly split by several fine cracks. Before he could react, a succession of heavy impacts followed, and one side of the wall was smashed open into a hole half a man’s height. Though the shelter was far away, his keen eyesight still allowed him to see clearly what was happening inside.

In the pitch-dark room, Vermilion flames poured continuously from the mage’s body, and waves of searing heat rolled through the air. In his hand, he controlled a fire chain as thick as a barrel, swinging it like a whip with all his strength. At the other end of that chain, the old sage was pitifully bound within his own defensive barrier, lifted and hurled down again and again, crashing into the floor like a hammer striking iron.

“This is…”

His eyes widened. He swallowed hard, then quickly recovered, and a gleeful, malicious smile spread across his face.

“So the old monster can suffer like this too? Hah! Serves you right.”

He laughed aloud. At once, the nearby beast guards heard the commotion and hurried over. When they saw him standing there, they all froze. Then they looked toward the sage’s dwelling. Heavy sounds continued to echo from within, as though someone were tearing the house apart. Faintly, they could even see flickers of red firelight.

What on earth was happening?

Confusion filled the guards, but none dared rush in rashly. Hadn’t they noticed that he was still standing here? If something truly serious had happened inside, would he be standing here without moving? That was the place where the high priest lived. More importantly, rumors said that their high priest had an odd, withdrawn temperament and disliked being disturbed.

After hesitating for a while, one guard finally gathered his courage, stepped before him, and respectfully struck his chest in salute. A little nervously, he asked, “Lord, may I ask…”

Ordinary beastfolk stood at least a good deal taller than two and a half meters, and this guard was no exception. At nearly two and a half meters and more, he was half a head taller than the man before him, yet he did not dare look down at him. Instead, he lowered his head and fixed his gaze on the other man’s feet.

“Yes?”

The reply was casual. The youth gave him a calm glance and knew at once that the guard had come to ask questions. So he said directly, “The high priest has encountered some trouble and does not need to be disturbed. Return to your posts for now.”

“But…”

The guard opened his mouth, as if wanting to say more, but when he saw the slightly impatient look on the youth’s face, he immediately shut it again.

In truth, the old sage really had encountered a great deal of trouble. At first he had thought that with his own strength, dealing with this brash boy would be no difficult matter. Who could have imagined that the boy would be so troublesome? Through a moment of carelessness, he had suffered a great loss at the boy’s hands, and had even sworn not to seek revenge. What made it even more hateful was that this brat had the audacity to press his advantage, brazenly extorting him without restraint!

Given how cunning he was, how could the old sage fail to understand the boy’s thoughts? A trade? Hah. To put it plainly, was this not still a plot against the beast clans’ gold mine? Gold had no practical value among the beastfolk, but that did not mean it had no worth. Though he was a beastman, he knew very well what gold meant in the world of humans.

What he had not expected was that this time the boy would not try to extort him with empty threats. Instead, he proposed a trade using grain, something beastfolk could not grow at all. And what the beast clans needed most right now was grain.

Autumn was drawing near, which meant the bitter, foodless winter was not far behind.

The old sage was no fool. He knew that human lands held vast stores of food, but those were things beastfolk could never obtain. Humans were naturally repelled by beastfolk and feared them, and beastfolk by nature could not get along with humans. To the beastfolk, humans and food were scarcely different things. With two races so utterly opposed, there could be no true intercourse between them. Trade, let alone exchange? The greatest blessing would be if they did not start a direct war.

“How do you want to trade?”

The old sage’s eyes rolled, glinting with shrewd light as he asked the boy. Since beastfolk and humans could not openly trade, well then—could they not do so in private?

“You’re tempted?” the boy asked.

“A little. It depends on how you mean to trade,” the old sage said slyly.

“I doubt I’ll disappoint you. But are you sure you want to discuss this while we’re still like this?”

The boy grinned wickedly and winked at him. Only then did the old sage remember that he was still being held by the boy. His face reddened, and he hurriedly called out, “Then hurry up and let me out!”

When the fire chain binding him beyond his defensive barrier gradually vanished, the old sage finally let out a breath of relief. With a slight wave of his hand, the protective barrier around him opened instantly.

“Hiss—You really have no idea how to hold back when you strike, do you?”

Looking at the bruises and swelling all over himself, the old sage ground his teeth and glared at the boy. Yet the boy only laughed shamelessly and replied with righteous indignation, “And who was the one who struck first? You’ve eaten a great loss, and now you’re blaming others. Hah, High Priest, tell me, does that sound reasonable?”

“…”

The old sage fell silent. He knew the boy was speaking of him, yet he had no words to refute it. In the end, he could only glare at the boy and sigh helplessly.

“Ahem. Let us set aside other matters and speak first of the trade,” he said, clearing his throat and trying to shift the subject.

But the boy had no desire to discuss trade with him. After all, he was an amateur in such matters. A little extortion was one thing; if it came to a real bargaining match, that would be another matter entirely. To ensure the greatest possible benefit, such business should be left to Buck.

“No rush. Let’s talk about the important matter first.”

The boy waved a hand, found a cane chair in the room, and sat down. “The important matter?”

The old sage turned his eyes, immediately guessing what the boy wanted to ask. With a sly smile, he also found a chair and sat down. “Boy, you want to ask about Procis, don’t you?”

“Yes. Nan said she seemed to have suffered a very serious injury, and…”

As he spoke, the boy deliberately drew out the end of his sentence and said slowly, “Besides, this seems to have something to do with your beast clans, doesn’t it?”

“Don’t talk nonsense, boy! That was done by those invaders…”

Blurting it out in haste, the old sage instantly regretted it. Seeing that the boy’s expression had not changed in the slightest, he immediately realized that this brat must have known all along.

“Go on then. What exactly happened?”

The boy smiled faintly and glanced around. “I mean, you’re the beast clans’ high priest. How is it that your home is so poor it doesn’t even have anything in it?”

“You really don’t treat yourself like an outsider, do you?”

The old sage looked at him, though without anger. After a moment of thought, he sighed and asked, “Fine. Tell me first—what do you know?”

“A religious organization called the Temple of Martial Souls gathered several groups of experts and entered the forests outside beast territory. Procis and I happened to run into them…”

The boy looked at him and thought for a moment before deciding to tell him everything he knew. “Also, those people were after a legendary divine artifact, and that artifact seems to be somewhere in this region.”

When the old sage heard the boy mention the divine artifact, there was no sign of shock on his face. Instead, he gave the boy a thoughtful look and let out a thin, eerie chuckle.

“Not bad, not bad. You may be sly, but at least you’re frank enough.”

“You know about the divine artifact too?”

The boy was stunned at first, then asked in surprise.

“Of course.”

The old sage snorted. “This is beast territory. What is there that I, the old sage, do not know? And as for the divine artifact—I was the one who told Procis about it.”

“You told Procis?”

The boy’s confusion deepened. What exactly was the relationship between this old man and Procis?

Seeing his puzzled expression, the old sage seemed to guess his thoughts and smiled again. “Boy, are you wondering what relation I have with Procis? Why I told her about the divine artifact? And why, after she was injured, she did not return to the human world for treatment, but instead chose to enter the wilderness?”

“Could it be…”

Looking at the old man’s vile, lecherous expression, the boy’s face changed abruptly. With a whoosh, he shot to his feet, eyes wide, pointing at the sage and shouting, “She can’t be your old flame, can she!”

He had seen Procis with his own eyes. Just think of it: with that peerless beauty of hers, and then look at the lecherous old man before him… Bah! Bah! Bah! Too evil. Far too evil!

“You little bastard! What nonsense are you thinking?”

The old sage barked sharply. With a casual wave of his hand, the boy felt as if some heavy object had struck his head. The pain made him clutch it and grimace.

“It really is fortunate that Procis is your teacher, to have taken in such a student. Hmph. If she heard what you just said, I wonder what her reaction would be?”

The old sage snorted coldly. “Boy, weren’t you supposed to be clever? How could you miss something so obvious? Answer me this: is Procis beautiful or not?”

“She’s a beauty beyond compare, rare in all the world!”

“Then let me ask you another thing. Does Procis have any peculiar habits?”

“An obsession with cleanliness!” the boy answered without hesitation.

“Then since you’re also a mage, you should know what level a mage must reach to preserve eternal youth?” The old sage winked at him.

“To remain forever young, one must reach the rank of Archmage!” the boy blurted out. Suddenly, a flash of insight passed through his mind, and he hurried on, “But Procis is only a Mage Lord, and her age… By the time she became famous, she was already in her thirties. When she became president of the Magic Guild, she was forty-two, and she held that post for ten years. Then, when she became a court mage, she was fifty-seven, and she remained there another ten years. By any reckoning, she must be at least seventy now!”

“And yet, look at her appearance now. Even if someone said she was twenty-five, who would believe it?”

The old sage added the last piece at just the right moment, stirring the boy’s heart even more violently.

Peerless beauty, a long life, an exaggerated obsession with cleanliness…

“Hah. So you’ve thought of it too. Let me tell you: that woman is not human at all. In your people’s terms, she belongs to the wild races as well.”

The old sage gave a cold laugh and said to the boy, “Then what is she?”

“An elf.”

Before the boy could finish, the old sage had already given him this astonishing answer.