IRM Chapter 121

While practicing his swordsmanship these past few days, Ji Chi had also been troubled over how to persuade the Wolf King. This pure and powerful creature was not bound by many thoughts—threats, intimidation, and persuasion would not work on it.

However, precisely because of this, everything became simple.

The Wolf King caught the scent of divinity from Ji Chi’s soul, as well as the clean aroma on his body, and trusted him without hesitation. Or rather, the current situation had already left it with nowhere to turn—it could only try to trust an unfamiliar deity.

It prostrated itself on the snowy ground, stretching out its neck, indicating for Ji Chi to mount its back.

Strictly speaking, the Northland Wolf King was not really a creature—it was more like a force formed by the gathering of spiritual energy. When Ji Chi sat astride its massive body, he could barely feel that this was a powerful beast.

The Wolf King did not have the foul smell of animals. Its white fur was light as snow, cool to the touch, like a wisp of cloud that would never melt from atop the snow-capped peaks.

Ji Chi lowered his gaze to look at the old chieftain and said, “Don’t bother with the beast tide that appears afterwards. You cannot stop them and will only lose lives in vain. I will resolve the remaining matters. You all just… live well.”

After he finished speaking, the Wolf King stood up and howled to the heavens, spreading its four legs to run with the wind. In the blink of an eye, it melted into the snow and ice covering the ground, leaving no trace of its appearance.

Isaac and Simon appeared at the entrance to Snow Wolf Valley some time later. They saw the old chieftain standing on the snowy ground, looked around the surroundings, and asked, “Where’s Ji Chi? Didn’t he say he was coming to see you?”

Only then did the old chieftain snap out of his shock. Thinking of those blunt words he had said to Ji Chi days ago, his thin, hunched body swayed in the cold wind as he said weakly, “He… He… left with the Wolf King…”

Isaac didn’t notice the change in how the chieftain addressed Ji Chi and was still very excited. “Whoa! The Wolf King! He just met the Wolf King?! Man, I’m so jealous!”

Old chieftain: “…” Jealous my ass! You’ve been pestering a deity for several days and you still want to be jealous of someone!

The old chieftain rubbed his chest, his peripheral vision noticing Isaac’s sleeve that was missing half and stained with fresh blood. He frowned and asked, “Were you attacked by berserk beasts?”

Recalling the severe pain of his arm being torn, Isaac tossed up and down a small pouch in his hand with little enthusiasm. “Yeah, we got separated from Uncle Aqi and were surrounded and attacked by several berserk beasts. Fortunately Ji Chi came to rescue us, otherwise Simon and I would’ve died together… That was really scary.”

Simon glared at him. Make it clear—is dying scary, or dying together with me scary?

Isaac ignored him and tossed the small pouch in his hand to the old chieftain. “This is something Ji Chi asked me to give you on the road.”

The old chieftain caught it and opened it to look inside.

The magic pouch produced by the Saint Trilley Empire was exquisite and compact, yet could hold many things. Inside this palm-sized bag were countless colorful potion bottles packed tightly together.

Isaac said, “Oh, he also said not to be stingy with what’s inside. Don’t send the seriously injured tribesmen to Reize anymore. Only children make choices—adults want it all.”

The old chieftain’s lips trembled a few times. He gripped the magic pouch tightly, shook his head with a bitter smile, and nearly shed tears.

After Isaac handed over the items to the chieftain, he and Simon turned to leave, still muttering along the way, “Why didn’t he give it to the chieftain himself? It must be because he trusts me so much, right?”

Simon rolled his eyes. “Have some shame, I’m begging you.”

The Northland Wolf King carried Ji Chi, treading upon the surging beast tide, running all the way toward the peak of Beast God Mountain.

A blizzard was still raging on the snow mountain, but the Wolf King itself was an embodiment of ice, snow, and will. Sitting on its back, Ji Chi observed the blizzard right before his eyes without being affected in the slightest.

The slope beneath their feet grew steeper and steeper. The peak of Beast God Mountain was already close at hand. The closer they got to the peak, the fewer berserk beasts there were. By the time the Wolf King broke through the clouds and trod upon the flat snowy ground, only one person and one wolf remained around them.

Unlike the magnificent tumult below the mountain, the peak of Beast God Mountain was very quiet.

Pure white snow covered the gently sloping peak. This area, untouched by humans for a hundred years, was peaceful and serene. Light hexagonal snowflakes drifted from the sky, slowly falling on Ji Chi’s brow and hair.

Ji Chi slid down from the Wolf King’s back and walked toward the center of the peak. There, a long sword with red rust marks was crookedly stuck in the snow.

The long sword was truly inconspicuous—without careful observation, one might mistake it for a withered branch casually tossed on the ground. However, such a desolate and bleak long sword was the treasure hidden among the peaks, and also the objective that the Angel Kingdom had been pursuing for many years—the legendary sword containing the Beast God’s power.

It was called the [Demon Sword], the weapon used by the Beast God during their lifetime, and also an indispensable quest item for clearing the main storyline.

The Demon Sword was the first legendary weapon players obtained, but it could not be used in ordinary combat. It contained powerful force, yet its blade was broken and battered, able to withstand only one attack—

That’s right, in the main storyline, to kill the final boss, the Archangel Akangie, the last strike must use the Demon Sword to truly kill him.

And after killing him, the Demon Sword would also shatter along with it, disappearing forever from the continent.

Players speculated that this must be because the game developers were too stingy and wouldn’t even give away a free legendary weapon.

Ji Chi stood before the Demon Sword, setting aside the extraneous information in his memory and going through the not-quite-clear main storyline once more. He glanced at the Demon Sword but didn’t immediately pull it out. Instead, he turned back to ask the Wolf King, “Has it never changed position?”

The Wolf King had been watching Ji Chi all along. Seeing that his eyes held no urgency or greed, and that he didn’t hastily pull out the Demon Sword, it breathed a sigh of relief and only now completely trusted him. “No, it has remained here ever since Mother Goddess died.”

Ji Chi frowned, lowering his gaze and muttering softly, “That’s not right. When I came here before… later, the Demon Sword’s position—”

Suddenly, he thought of a possibility and gradually widened his eyes. He stepped back a few paces, looked down at the snow mountain beneath his feet, and asked the Wolf King softly, “Wolf King, tell me, after all these years, where is the Beast God’s corpse?”

The Northland Wolf King’s silver-white pupils rippled with a trace of sorrow. It lay down, lingering affectionately against the ground, then quietly raised its eyes to look at Ji Chi, as if confirming the thought in his mind.

“It’s this snow mountain, isn’t it?” Ji Chi knelt on one knee, swept away the snow layer on the ground, revealing the pitch-black “rock” beneath the snow. “The Beast God died outside the fortress, and their body became Beast God Mountain.”

“No wonder.” Ji Chi showed a bitter smile. “No wonder the magic power has been suppressed. So we’ve been standing on the source of power all along…”

Thinking of something, Ji Chi propped himself up again and came to the edge of the peak, looking down at the vast whiteness below. “Then what are the berserk beasts?”

The Wolf King paced to his side and said in a low voice, “They are Mother Goddess’s rotting flesh and blood, and also power that has lost control.”

The Wolf King raised its head to look at the blood moon faintly appearing at the peak. “Every seven years when the blood moon hangs in the sky, the power remaining from Mother Goddess becomes unstable and leaks out, transforming into countless berserk beasts that scatter from the snow mountains to the snow plains like a tide.”

It said, “I can feel that the power Mother Goddess sealed within their corpse is about to collapse. Perhaps after this Tidal Moon, the remaining power will be difficult to suppress, and they will cause a catastrophic disaster.”

“Young god…” the Wolf King sighed, “do you have a way to stop the disaster? Mother Goddess loved this land and cherished their people. I do not wish to see them destroyed.”

Ji Chi was silent for a moment and didn’t make absolute promises. “I will do my best.”

He glanced at the Demon Sword stuck in the snow but didn’t rashly pull out the sword. He had an intuition that once he pulled it out, the power in the Beast God’s corpse would suddenly collapse, and the entire snow mountain would transform into berserk beasts.

Ji Chi thought for a moment, reached his hand to press on the magic pouch at his waist, and suddenly laughed. He turned his gaze sideways to ask the Northland Wolf King, “Wolf King, if you could see the Beast God again, what would you want to say to them?”

The Wolf King froze, from eyes full of disbelief to comprehension revealing wild joy—

Ji Chi looked down at the translucent white conch in his palm and let out a soft sigh. “In the end, who broke free from the plot first, and who needs to thank whom…”

The conch that Bard had painstakingly crafted to summon Fitos’s soul resonated faintly atop the snow peak thousands of miles away.

The Conch of Mourning called to the souls wandering on the other shore, carrying the thoughts of the living and building a bridge across life and death.

The gently falling snow atop the snow peak froze in mid-air, glimmering with faint light. Countless snowflakes suddenly converged toward the conch, lifting the small conch into the air.

Radiance poured into the conch. The already translucent shell was like some kind of crystal-clear vessel. When the light was at its brightest, it opened with a crack, and a figure draped in ice, snow, and gunpowder smoke walked out from the depths of the light to appear before them.

The Beast God had the appearance of a human female, but with two sharp horns standing upright on their forehead. A head of snow-white long hair cascaded down behind them, beneath which was a blood-red cloak. A faint bloody smell drifted from above.

Their pupils, like the Wolf King’s, were pure and cold silver-white, currently looking at Ji Chi with scrutiny.

“The God of Forging?” The Beast God’s voice was an androgynous, husky smoky tone, revealing no emotion within. “No, your auras are different.”

They walked closer to Ji Chi, sniffed near his neck, then laughed softly, “Another person from another world. What do you want to do this time?”

Ji Chi glanced at them and did not avoid, “I want to end all of this and let you rest in peace.”

“Rest in peace?” The Beast God looked down at their own semi-transparent palm, then toward the damaged Demon Sword, their expression momentarily dazed. “Ah… that’s right, I’m already dead.”

They slowly walked to the side of the Demon Sword, placed their right hand on the cold sword hilt, closed their eyes and remained motionless, as if listening to the sword’s confession.

After a long while, the Beast God slowly opened their eyes, turned their head toward the direction of the snow plains and let out a long sigh. “I understand now.”

They gripped the Demon Sword with both hands. The radiance around their body surged greatly, making the blood-red cloak flutter wildly—

“Ha!” With a short exclamation, their incorporeal soul actually drove the Demon Sword deep into the snowy ground! At the same time, a sharp wailing suddenly rang out from the snow mountain, as if someone was enduring pain that reached deep into their soul.

The wailing spread from Beast God Mountain all the way to near the fortress. Countless raging giant beasts stopped moving in the same instant.

The expedition soldiers, covered in blood and grime, roared as they hacked their weapons at the berserk beasts. Seeing them motionless, they hesitantly retreated a few steps to observe.

“General, this is…” A commander looked at Silvia in confusion, then stared at her in a daze for a long time.

Silvia smiled. Her smile was like a snow lotus blooming atop the snow peaks—extremely rare and breathtakingly beautiful.

Silvia glanced at him sideways and quickly restrained her smile. She casually stuck the temporarily borrowed long sword into the ground and said, “Do I still need to give orders? Have the soldiers finish them all off.”

She strode away from the chaotic battlefield, walking faster and faster. Finally, she ran to the Countess’s side and embraced her tightly, her still blood-stained face buried in the woman’s neck. “Sister, they did it, sister…”

The Countess seemed drained of strength as she propped herself up with her sword. She closed her eyes and hummed in acknowledgment, but she was very cautious. She frowned again as she looked at the blood moon gradually appearing above the snow peak and said softly, “But this may be temporary. We won’t be in danger for now… Silvia, I have a premonition that the next Tidal Moon won’t be another seven years away. And when that time comes, it will be the final judgment of everything.”

Silvia froze and slowly released her embrace. She bit her lip and stepped back. When she raised her eyes again, she had returned to the stern and sharp appearance of a female general. “I understand. But no matter when, the Expeditionary Army will pledge to defend the snow plains to the death!”

At the peak of Beast God Mountain, the Beast God’s soul became even more transparent. They stepped back, looked up at the gradually reddening full moon, and said with their back to Ji Chi, “This is all I can do now. The out-of-control power has been temporarily suppressed, but when the full moon is completely invaded by blood mist, they will burst out in an instant. At that time, it will be an unprecedented mad tide.”

“And whether or not you can stop it.” The Beast God raised their lips in a smile. “Though I’m reluctant to admit it, it can only depend on you.”

Ji Chi imagined the mountains and plains filled with berserk beasts, frowned, and said honestly, “Sorry, I can’t do it.”

The Beast God’s brows and eyes turned colder as they snorted, “Of course not. My power is not so easily eliminated—however, you got one thing wrong. It’s just that you can’t do it now.”

They raised their chin to point at the blood moon overhead and stated proudly, “So didn’t I prepare enough time for you? You just need to be able to do it before the blood moon arrives.”

Ji Chi froze.

The Beast God floated around him twice, their brows and eyes curving with a tone that Ji Chi found inexplicably familiar. “Oh my, it seems like it’s been a long time since I trained a warrior—”

They reached out to tap the twin swords at Ji Chi’s waist, smiling even more brilliantly. “Whether you’re a deity or whoever you are, if you want to become the Beast God’s Wolf Knight, you must first gain my recognition.”

The Wolf King, who had been silently gazing at the Beast God, finally shifted its eyes and looked deeply at Ji Chi, its gaze full of sympathy.

Ji Chi felt this development was somewhat wrong. He thought he had come to solve post-class practice problems, but what was with this sudden intensive Olympiad training?

“Wait wait wait—” Ji Chi quickly retreated several steps, watching them warily. He pointed at himself then at them. “Me? Here? Receive your training?”

“Mm-hmm.” The Beast God crossed their arms, raised an eyebrow, and looked to be in a good mood. “Around the Demon Sword, my soul can still maintain itself for some time, which is perfect for giving you some guidance.”

“And…” They suddenly leaned close to Ji Chi’s ear and said softly, “Gaining my recognition is also one of your purposes for coming here, isn’t it?”

Ji Chi studied them for a while, then turned back to glance at the Demon Sword. His expression struggled and changed somewhat before he finally made up his mind. “Alright, I will stay here until I become a true warrior.”