The 31st Piece Overturns the Game Board

Chapter 322

The 31st Piece Turns the Tables

"Kuakha! Get away!"

"Run, Kuakha!"

"Kiik… Kiik…"

For a moment, the surrounding battle stopped.

The moment their ruthless leader fell into a trap, they felt something had gone wrong.

Seol and Jamad simultaneously said.

"You're too noisy."

"I-I'll be quiet. It's fine if I stay quiet, right? K-Kuakha will be silent now, so…"

Seol clenched his hand tightly. As he did, the stone hand followed and gripped Kuakha firmly.

Crunch—!

"Kiik! Kiik!"

"Kuakha!"

Pfoosh—!

Crunch…

"…"

"Kiik…"

There was a heavy silence. The sight of bits and pieces of Kuakha scattered across the battlefield struck terror into everyone.

"Seol… Seol?"

"What the…"

Yeva and Ishi backed away.

Seol said.

"Finally, some silence."

Swoosh…

Seol unleashed the energy he had been suppressing. Dark shadows emerged around him and then scattered in all directions.

"Kiik! Kiiiik!"

"Run! We must run!"

"He's dangerous! He's a dangerous Shaman!"

Whoosh…

Crunch…

The stone gripping Kuakha just a moment ago floated upward. This was one of the things that changed after Jamad became a Great Shaman, especially since he became the Pillar of Earth.

He could now continuously regenerate Mountain Primal Power.

BOOM—!

"Kiik…"

"Run!"

The floating stone hands dropped down, crushing the moles below.

Crash—!

A fragment of stone pierced the mole's head.

"Kiik!"

"It's dangerous! Too dangerous!"

As if they didn't have any loyalty, the moles broke formation and fled. Each one scrambling to save its own life.

Countless moles were slain by the Frostmaw in the process.

"Oof… Oof…"

Brutul gasped for breath.

The Frostmaw watched the outpost the moles had abandoned with tense expressions.

The sight of Seol effortlessly dealing with Kuakha and single-handedly driving back the moles must have made him look like an absolute being.

"A… A Great Shaman!"

"A Great Shaman has appeared for the Frostmaw!"

"Oh, Great Shaman! Please… Please…"

Warriors and Shamans dominated the troll society. And among them, the Great Shaman held a leader-like status. Those who were even at a higher plane were the Pillar Shaman. These strong Shamans were revered almost like gods.

Since trolls couldn't become gods, they revered the beings that were the closest to such.

Swoosh…

Seol's shadow rose.

Jamad's gaze scanned everyone.

"Brutul."

"G-Great Shaman… Why…"

"I am Jamad of the Rock Molar."

"Jamad… The Frostmaw are slow about news… They do not yet know your name."

Jamad smiled.

"You're going to remember it from now on."

"Then, we…"

Brutul cast aside a Shaman who was healing him and asked.

"Will we be able to survive…? Will we be able to protect this land our ancestors have passed down?"

"Since I have stepped forward for you…"

Jamad made a chilling smile.

"You will."

* * *

"Please, teach us!"

"Great Shaman, teach us!"

After Seol fended off the moles' attack, the response from the Frostmaw diverged greatly.

Some were wary. Wondering why the Pillar of Earth had come all the way to Hwigeltong and help the Frostmaw.

Others, however, revered Seol and Jamad.

Unfortunately, due to Brutul's incompetence, Seol and Jamad's presence had been disproportionately magnified. Brutul humbly acknowledged this.

Three days had passed after the attack.

"It's all due to my shortcomings…"

He sat on the edge of his bed, self-reproaching for a long time. Seol didn't soothe him. 

"But Great Shaman, why did you come to such a place? Hwigeltong isn't exactly an ideal place for training, is it?"

"I have some circumstances."

They wouldn't believe him anyway, even if he said he was blown here by the Barrier Stone's explosion after Yaksha's Great War.

"Will you really help us…?"

"Yes…"

"Is there anything you want?"

Seol nodded.

If a Great Shaman was willing to engage in a battle between factions actively, it was most likely because he had something he wanted.

"The staff the mole named Krom uses."

"Are you after that artifact…?"

"Yes."

Brutul looked noticeably relieved after hearing Seol's response.

"There will be no need to suffer from baseless fears. After all, that's not an artifact that belongs to our tribe. The Great Shaman taking that cursed item is something we would welcome."

Brutul was now showing a respectful demeanor toward Seol.

Leaving one's tribe aside, a Great Shaman was a rare and formidable figure, even among the trolls as a whole, just like how the Council of Elders had a huge influence over other tribes as well.

"But… Let me ask you something."

"Who is she?"

"Th-that…"

"It seemed the moles knew. Since we're dealing with them, it would be useful for me to know as well.'

Amid the battle, Kauhka asked Brutul about 'her' whereabouts. Now that they were allies, it wouldn't hurt to know who she was and where she might be.

"I'll tell you everything… Please, follow me."

Dressed in leather clothes engraved with various symbols, Brutul led Seol down into the underground of the outpost.

Creak…

Creak…

Brutul opened a secret door that had been sealed with a Shamanic Spell while sweating. In a way, it seemed as if he became Seol's subordinate.

- Poor Brutul! 

- It's kind of bittersweet. It's like watching the survival of the fittest, hahaha.

- If you don't like it, get stronger! The strong dominate the weak! Snowman is always strong!

Swoosh…

As the door opened, a wave of moisture poured out, and the humidity that dampened his face carried a freshness he had never felt before.

'Hmm?'

Swoosh…

Seol spread his hand and let the moisture slip through his fingers.

'I sense a shamanic power. This is no ordinary humidity.'

Upon seeing the change in Seol's expression, Brutul held up a torch and said.

"It seems the Great Shaman felt it too."

"Yes..."

"She's here."

"It does look like a space like that. What impressive shamanic power."

Step…

Step…

Brutul began recounting an old memory while extending his hand with the torch.

"I remember the first time I saw her."

"What was she like?"

"It felt as if I had encountered the purest, cleanest being in the world…"

Jamad answered in his place.

"They often are. They are beings who draw forth devotion and obedience from many."

"That might be… the first time I saw her, I was hiding behind my father. And when she smiled at me, I made a vow."

Brutul looked at something in the distance.

"I vowed to carry on the will of my predecessors—to protect her."

"The will of your predecessors…"

"Do you know the origin of the Frostmaw?"

Seol smiled.

"As much as it's known."

"Our ancestors settled here long after. Although we ruled over Hwigeltong for a long time, we used to live elsewhere."

Nod…

Seol nodded.

"We are the descendants of the falls. Our ancestors were the now-disappeared Soul Rain Tribe."

"…"

The Soul Rain Tribe.

"…"

Mountain, Cloud, Sulfur, Lightning, Gust, and Waterfall—in the past, the six troll tribes lived scattered. They adapted to their surroundings by borrowing strength from the Old God they served.

The Soul Rain Tribe, which inherited the power of the waterfalls, was the first to grow into a large tribe.

Water was an element closely tied to the birth of life. The trolls who wielded it were well aware of it.

However, as conflicts with other tribes arose and they became too big, internal strife arose among the Soul Rain Tribe, eventually plunging it into crisis.

"A curse fell upon the land where we lived. Plagues arrived, and the flesh of many melted, turning the land into a swamp."

A plague that couldn't be overcome even with the power of an Old God.

"We left that land—those who remained ended up perishing. Ultimately, we were driven out again and again… And were forced to settle in this barren land."

Brutul looked weakened.

"That place is this, Hwigeltong."

"Was that when you lost the power of the falls?"

"To be more precise, we didn't lose it. We just couldn't reclaim our former glory."

"Couldn't reclaim your glory…"

"Our power hardened, transforming into the one of the glaciers. Rarely… very rarely, some children who can wield the power of the waterfall are born, but…"

He shook his head.

"That power can no longer take root."

"Why?"

"Because my father, Bron, passed away."

"Bron…"

"Do you know my father?"

"I know him… Quite well, actually? You could say we're acquaintances."

"You knew him…? Ah… Haha… Father wasn't fond of humans in his lifetime, so I'll take that as a joke."

"Hmm…"

Brutul didn't believe in Seol's words.

After all, it had been many years. And Seol and Bron probably hadn't lived in the same era even for a single day.

"My father… He was our tribe's last flame."

"The end of the golden age of the Frostmaw."

"Yes… It is said the Frostmaw was at its peak during my father's era, more than Branka's. Although Branka wielded Ancient Shamanic Spells, Bron, my father, wielded something closer to the pure power of the falls."

"The power of the falls…"

The one thing Seol regretted when he was at the Library of All Knowledge was not having witnessed Bron's power.

The legendary Bron, the Great Hail, was known for being stronger than the infamous Branka. He regretted never having the chance to see if what the stories said was true.

"The story has gone for too long… I'm not the one with whom the Great Shaman should talk."

"Yes…"

Seol reached the deepest part of the underground.

Drip… Drip…

The sound of water dripping from the ceiling echoed.

"Then… have a conversation with her."

They arrived at an underground lake.

The mysterious light radiating vibrant colors remained perfectly still. No fish swam within its depths as it lay motionless, showing off its clarity.

Brutul shouted.

"Oh, Madria! Wake up!"

"…"

"Spirit of the falls! Please…"

- Aah! Shut up!

Whoosh…

A small wave rippled across the water, and a shape resembling a young troll started to form. Strangely, her body seemed to be composed entirely of transparent water.

[You have witnessed an extraordinary being.]

[Your Wisdom has permanently increased by 5.]

The same message that appeared when he encountered Purga.

- Human! I've been waiting for you. I heard you helped my children.

"You were watching…?"

- Of course! After all, I can see very far.

The spirit of the falls—the Old God Madria was standing before Seol.

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