IRM Chapter 119

Regarding the Tidal Moon, Ji Chi didn’t know much about it. He had only seen brief mentions of it in the background information for the Northland Wolf King boss.

Historical records showed that every seven years, the flawless full moon would rise directly above the peak of Beast God Mountain, and blood-red mist would enshroud the pristine white moon, causing the border fortress to become permeated with a bone-chilling bloody scent.

Whenever the blood moon hung in the sky, berserk beasts would become even more frenzied. They would gather down the mountain slopes beneath the frozen fortress, desperately surging past the fortress like a tide flooding into the snow plains, wantonly destroying everything in their path.

Only when the full moon regained its pure white color would this bloody tide finally recede.

No one could say for certain how long the Tidal Moon would last, but there was no denying that in recent years, the time the blood mist lingered had been growing longer and longer. The berserk beasts were like endless seawater, wave after wave crashing against the Expeditionary Army’s solid defensive line.

Ji Chi sat at the edge of a rocky ridge, raising his head to gaze at the bright moon above the mountain peaks.

This was his eighth day staying in Snow Wolf Valley. The bright moon hanging above the peak of Beast God Mountain already had faint blood-colored mist swirling around it, dyeing the pure white snow covering Snow Wolf Valley floor an ominous pale red.

“It’s already quite late, why aren’t you sleeping yet?” Reize’s clear and gentle voice came from behind him. He held a burning torch and sat down beside Ji Chi.

The torch was made of animal fat, animal hide, and tree branches. When it burned, it crackled and popped, giving off a pungent odor. Unable to stand the heavy smoke, Reize stretched out his arm and stuck it in the distant snow.

“Will you be going out to hunt with them tomorrow?” Reize propped his arms behind him to support his half-reclined upper body, looking up at the eerie moon overhead together with Ji Chi.

Ji Chi made an affirmative sound and raised his hand to look at his palm. “I went to see the chieftain. He told me to first kill a hundred berserk beasts with my sword techniques before challenging him… Tsk, why are all these old men so troublesome?”

At his complaint, Reize obviously thought of Professor Joseph back in Saint Trilley and said with a laugh, “It seems you’ve already figured it out—the chieftain and the professor don’t distrust you, they just want you to become even stronger so you can face dangers more freely.”

Ji Chi shot him a sideways glance. “I know, I know, Teacher Reize… By the way, what are your plans going forward? Are you staying here, or—”

The smile at the corner of Reize’s lips faded for a moment, then he curved his mouth in self-mockery again. “Of course I’m staying here. Once or twice doing things beyond my capabilities is enough—I can’t depend on you all to save me every time.”

“That’s also why I came to find you tonight.” Reize turned to his side and took the longsword Silvia had given him from his waist, handing it to Ji Chi with both hands. “Since it was originally a pair of twin swords, I’ll leave it to you. Go fight carrying everyone’s hopes, Wolf Knight!”

Ji Chi covered his forehead and turned his face away helplessly, his ear tips flushed red. “Don’t say it like that, it’s too chuunibyou…”

After Reize waited for him to take the sword, he turned his head to gaze at the view below. Under the moonlight, Snow Wolf Valley appeared peaceful and tranquil, with dots of firelight scattered throughout the ravine like flame flowers blooming in the valley.

“Actually, even if I had the ability to fight alongside you, I would still choose to stay here.” Reize furrowed his brow. “These past few days, I’ve been following my father around, and I often see gravely injured, dying beastmen being brought to his cave.”

“My father says that in all his years in Snow Wolf Valley, what he fears most isn’t the beast tide of the Tidal Moon, but rather the sharp increase in severely wounded beastmen before and after the beast tide. His abilities are limited, so he can often only choose to save a few of them… Isn’t that cruel?” Reize smiled bitterly. “What’s even more cruel is that the beastmen who are saved sometimes not only don’t thank my father, but become even more sorrowful and dejected, because they believe they survived by stealing their friends’ or companions’ lives.”

After hearing this, Ji Chi’s heart felt heavy too.

If the Snow Wolf Tribe didn’t have to hold fast in the snowy mountains, they could completely go to the nearest town and spend a few gold coins to buy some healing potions, instead of watching familiar people stop breathing forever right before their eyes.

Reize shook his head and continued, “So I want to stay here. At least… I can save one more person, reduce one more agonizing choice. I hope everyone can survive.”

Early the next morning, Ji Chi ran into Isaac at the entrance to his cave.

Today’s Isaac was as obnoxious as usual. He was neurotically waving around a new big iron hammer, frightening a young beastman child who had woken up early not far away.

Ji Chi scrutinized his gray-blue eyes seriously and asked, “Can you really not transform back into beast form?”

Isaac tilted his head and patted the snow wolf beside him. “I already have a snow wolf, don’t I? It’s my beast form.”

“I see.” Ji Chi pondered. “I thought you were a different breed.”

Isaac grew curious and stopped swinging his big iron hammer, eagerly crowding forward. “What what? Is there a breed even more majestic than snow wolves?”

Ji Chi: “Mm-hmm, in my homeland it’s called a Siberian Husky—very majestic.”

Isaac had never heard this name. He repeated it several times and even thought it sounded quite nice. After laughing foolishly for a while, he ran off with a bound to show off to his arch-rival.

Left behind, Ji Chi shook his head. He really was a troublemaker who’d bolt at the first chance, exactly like a husky.

He walked along the suspension bridge toward the upper stone wall. Today’s hunting party would assemble outside Snow Wolf Valley. The group also included quite a few young beastmen going out to hunt for the first time. They were incredibly excited, having climbed onto their snow wolf companions early on, leaving plum blossom paw prints across the smooth snow.

The beastman leading the team this time was Aqi. He wasn’t riding on his snow wolf’s back, but instead carried a greatsword on his back, standing steadily on a boulder.

His snow wolf stood in the snow beside the boulder. Both the front and back legs on the snow wolf’s right side were broken off partway, currently connected to the joints with simple tree branches for support. One could tell at a glance that walking was very painful for it, yet its expression remained very calm.

There was more than one hunting party going out each day. Some tribespeople passing by Aqi all raised their eyebrows in pleasant surprise, waving hello. After walking away, they turned their heads to quietly exchange words with their companions.

“Aqi is actually leading the team today? Is he finally willing to come out?”

“I saw him even started greeting Mr. Rechel recently. He must have let go of it—after all, his brother’s been dead for seven years.”

“Sigh… If only Reize had come here sooner, maybe both of them could have been saved.”

“Who can say for sure? Without Mr. Rechel, neither of them would have made it back.”

“That’s true…”

Ji Chi followed behind them, taking in all these words. He raised his eyes to glance at Aqi on the boulder, and ultimately put the potion he’d been handling for several days back in his pocket.

He knew that Aqi most likely wouldn’t use the potion. This type of stubborn person liked to use their own pain to make up for the guilt in their heart.

The last to arrive for assembly were Isaac and Simon. They came while fighting with each other the whole way, dragging a long trail of billowing snow dust behind them. Their snow wolves, by contrast, were very quiet, walking shoulder to shoulder behind them—their relationship looked quite harmonious.

Aqi furrowed his brow and stepped forward to knock sense into the two overexcited youths. “Settle down! Stay close to the group later—getting lost in the snowy mountains is no joke.”

The two arch-rivals glanced at each other and huffed as they turned their heads away.

Isaac wiped the sparkling beads of sweat from his temple, found Ji Chi, and told him, “Don’t worry, this isn’t my first time hunting. I won’t get lost again this time! You’ll definitely have no problems following me!”

Ji Chi listlessly lifted his eyelids to glance at him. “So how many times have you been hunting?”

Isaac: “…Although this is the second time, but…”

Ji Chi: “Oh, so you got lost the first time. Round it off and that’s getting lost every single time?”

Isaac: “…Why do I sound so unreliable when you put it that way…”

The hunting party’s hunting ground today was a gentle foothill on the north side of Beast God Mountain. It wasn’t far from Snow Wolf Valley, there weren’t many berserk beasts, and there were many rock caves for taking shelter from blizzards.

Isaac was somewhat disappointed. That foothill was too peaceful—it didn’t do justice to his newly forged big hammer at all. He grumbled under his breath, “No way… There are only rabbits to hunt there. I was hoping to hunt a moose and bring it back so the tribe could eat well for several days.”

Simon scoffed contemptuously. “Give it up. You’ll be lucky if that hammer of yours can hit a snow mouse.”

The two started fighting again while arguing.

Ji Chi didn’t want to watch kindergarteners spitting at each other, so he quickened his pace to come to Aqi’s side.

Aqi’s expression was very grave. He vigilantly observed their surroundings. When he saw Ji Chi approach, his expression softened somewhat. “I heard from the chieftain. A hundred berserk beasts is very easy for you, so don’t focus on the quantity. Entangle with them a bit longer—it’s very useful for improving sword techniques.”

As he led the way, he guided Ji Chi through some combat techniques. Aqi understood that this youth had talent and perseverance. What he lacked was time. As long as he was given enough time to temper himself, he could become the sharpest sword.

“This is the north foothill. Berserk beasts generally sleep beneath the snow layer. Watch for bumps in the ground, and don’t fight too many berserk beasts at once.” When the hunting party arrived at a gentle area of terrain, before releasing the young beastmen to roam free, Aqi carefully instructed, “Prey isn’t the point. The most important thing for you today is learning how to fight berserk beasts.”

As soon as he finished speaking, Isaac couldn’t wait to swing his iron hammer and fiercely smash it in front of a small hill-like snow pile.

“ROAR——” Along with the roar, a white bear two stories tall furiously awakened, raising its massive paw to swat at Isaac!

Isaac wasn’t afraid either. He rode his snow wolf to lead the giant beast away, running off in a flash while not forgetting to shout a warning, “I found this one first! No stealing my prey!”

Simon sneered coldly. “Who would want…” As he spoke, his voice suspiciously paused. His gaze slowly moved to the snow wolf beside him. He lifted his leg to mount it and patted the snow wolf’s fluffy neck. “Let’s go, we’ll chase after him. We’re going to steal it just to piss him off.”

As soon as Aqi finished giving instructions, the energetic and recklessly bold young beastmen scattered in a whoosh, each finding berserk beasts to attack. The peaceful foothill instantly became filled with flying snow dust and echoing roars.

Ji Chi was too lazy to run far. He poked a nimble snow fox awake with his sword and fought with it halfheartedly while constantly watching the snowy peaks above. His brows were tightly furrowed—a sense of an approaching storm kept winding through his heart.

“CRACK!” Suddenly, a sharp sound close to his ear made everyone’s hearts jump.

Aqi also knitted his brows and roared angrily, “Don’t make such a huge commotion! Are you trying to attract all the berserk beasts in the entire valley?”

“No, it’s not that… Uncle Aqi, up there, look above Beast God Mountain!” A rather timid young beastman said in a trembling voice. The snow wolf beside him was also shivering.

Aqi’s breath caught. He abruptly raised his head to look at Beast God Mountain, his face changing drastically—

A rumbling sound came from atop the mountain peak. What came pouring down along with it were tens of millions of tons of milky white snow blocks. The excessively violent disturbance awakened the berserk beasts all along the way. They stood up from beneath the snow layer, shook off the snow blocks on their bodies, and followed the snow waves sweeping down Beast God Mountain.

Aqi’s remaining left arm slowly began to tremble. He stared wide-eyed, unable to believe it. “How could there suddenly be an avalanche? I clearly checked the weather…”

Ji Chi swiftly swept over from not far away to his side, his expression equally grim. “It’s not an avalanche—the Tidal Moon came early.”

Today’s sun was unusually dazzling, so no one noticed that a full moon was concealed behind the brilliant sunlight, slowly descending onto the peak of Beast God Mountain, then being invaded inch by inch by blood-colored mist.

Ji Chi gripped the twin swords in his hands tightly, suppressing the anxiety in his heart. He said through gritted teeth, “This is just the first wave of the tide. Get everyone back to Snow Wolf Valley first. Then, I must meet the Northland Wolf King today!”