NOVEL WEB Chapter 120: Who Are You?
Jade stood her ground, her gaze fixed on the endless sea of mercenaries before her. A single grim thought echoed in her mind: there were thousands of them, against her ten thousand soldiers.
"Commander! What should we do?!" The female soldier on her right asked, her voice tight with panic.
"Each of these mercenaries can take on a Divine rank warrior. Fighting them head-on is simply suicidal," the male soldier on her left added, his face pale.
Jade listened to them, then closed her eyes, a heavy sense of finality settling over her. In all her life, she had only ever acted for her own benefit. Leaving Nioh's parents behind was a prime example of her ruthless self-preservation. But now, in this moment, there was no escape. Nioh wouldn't let them live, and surrendering wasn't an option. With a resolute expression, she raised her sword and bellowed:
"Charge!"
Her two soldiers stared at her, stunned into silence.
"Stop looking and attack! Are you going to let all our soldiers die in vain?!" she roared, her voice laced with iron determination.
The two looked at each other, then with a shared, determined shake of their heads, they joined her cry.
"Then come with me, and let's charge to hell!" Jade yelled. Her words ignited a fire in her soldiers, restoring their fighting spirit. As one, they charged forward, a wave of defiant courage against the overwhelming odds.
A devilish smirk formed on Nioh's face as he watched them. "So cute," he murmured.
"You know the command."
Instantly, the one hundred thousand mercenaries charged, a ravenous tide crashing toward the ten thousand soldiers.
_________
BAM!
A lone battleship crash-landed on a desolate, red planet at the edge of the galaxy. A cloaked figure jumped from the wreckage.
"Is this it?" he muttered, checking the map in his hand.
The man exhaled, pulling back his hood to reveal a flat landscape of red sand and a crimson sky.
The air was thick with a strange, coppery scent. "The stench of blood is so strong... Was this a battlefield?"
WHOOSH!
A massive shadow streaked across the sky above him. Xanor's head shot up, but he saw nothing but red clouds.
WHOOSH!
He whipped his head to the side just in time to see a spear flying toward him.
"What the?!" he yelled, leaping aside as the weapon struck the ground, creating a mini-crater on impact.
"This?!" Xanor stared at the spear, still impaled in the ground.
"A grand class weapon? Did he find me?!" He turned, horrified, to see his battleship completely destroyed from the clash.
"Oh, nice! You just made me mad!" he snarled, standing up and turning toward the direction the spear had come from.
"If you have the guts, show yourself!"
WHOOSH!
".....?!"
Xanor frowned as two more spears flew at him from behind. He quickly leaped into the air as the weapons smashed into the ground, shattering it.
'Two more grand class weapons!' he thought, landing several meters away.
'It seems I'll have to use my transformation to be able to locate these people!'
Black smoke rose from his feet, enveloping his body. Moments later, Xanor had transformed into a black werewolf.
"Come on! Let's play!" he growled, clenching his fists.
WHOOSH!
"Got you!!" He shot toward a spear flying toward him, caught it, and with a powerful motion, threw it back in the opposite direction. The spear sliced through the air, breaking the sound barrier as it hurtled toward the unknown target.
BAM!
The spear stopped mid-air. Xanor stared in disbelief as a figure with huge dragon wings materialized beside the weapon, holding it still.
"...This? A dragon?" Xanor was stunned, watching as the figure slowly descended.
'No... This is no Dragon,' he thought, the photo in the book flashing in his mind.
'No... This is a Wendigo,' he concluded, a feeling of horror creeping up his spine.
WHOOSH!
The three spears that had struck the ground vibrated for a second, then shot out of the earth, heading toward the Wendigo. Xanor watched as they merged with the spear in the figure's hand as he finally landed.
'His body and face are the same as a Wendigo, but his hands aren't long... And this guy doesn't have horns...' Xanor's mind raced, his cosmic brain trying to make sense of what he was seeing.
'This guy has intelligence... And most of all, that weapon he is holding is a grand class equipment.' He exhaled.
'I can't even sense his powers, and my cosmic brain isn't helping.'
[Target's profile is locked.]
'This can only be possible if he has a Cosmic brain... But Wendigos don't have cosmic brains...'
The Wendigo before him didn't speak, instead, he got ready to strike again.
"Hold on! I'm not an enemy! Volkov sent me!" Xanor quickly yelled, raising his hands and undoing his transformation.
The Wendigo tilted his head, then lunged forward, thrusting his spear.
"....?!!"
Xanor was stunned, but he stood still, unable to move against the immense force of his opponent.
"Calm down, Veer."
BAM!
The spear stopped just an inch from Xanor's eyes. Veer stepped back as another Wendigo descended from the sky. This one was different—a hybrid of a Wendigo and an Elf. He had no wings but could fly. Xanor's gaze was fixed on the man as he landed in front of Veer.
"As the fourth pillar under the king, you should use your head," the newcomer said to Veer before turning to Xanor.
"What is your name, and why are you really here?" he asked.
"I'm Xanor... And I was an ally to Volkov."
"Was?" The Wendigo's eyes narrowed.
"Yes... We planned to take over planet Zax, but the Beastify nation stopped us and killed all the forces on the planet---"
"--How are you still alive, then?!" Veer asked, his voice cold.
'Oh... He speaks?' Xanor stared at him in disbelief.
"Don't be shocked by our looks and English. Just focus on your story," the second Wendigo said.
Xanor nodded, pulling out a necklace. "I promised to avenge them, but I can't do that alone. That's why I came here."
"How do you know about this planet?"
Xanor was silent. He couldn't say he discovered it while searching Volkov's office. So he said aloud:
"Volkov told me."
"....??"
The two Wendigos frowned, their expressions a mix of confusion and suspicion.