Chapter 281: Dogs And Wolves (6)

Kwon Oh-Jin took out a potion from his backpack and approached Leo. Wounds covered the boy’s entire body as if he had gone through multiple violent fights. He slowly poured some of the potion onto Leo’s injuries.

Leo warily eyed the potion, but he quietly took it after seeing his wounds quickly heal.

“Are you feeling better now?” Kwon Oh-Jin asked.

“

Hmph!

L-Like this could—”

“Just a moment ago, you looked like you were about to melt from happiness.”

“S-Shut up!” Flushing bright red, Leo jumped to his feet.

Song Ha-Eun narrowed her eyes and clicked her tongue. “Honestly, all men are the same. What’s so great about lumps of fat like that?”

She shot a disapproving glare at Isabella’s breasts.

Isabella smiled slyly and crossed her arms, which only emphasized her already-impressive bust. “Well, who knows? I don't understand why people like these things either.”

Isabella feigned innocence and brushed her hair back.

“Y-You little...” Song Ha-Eun grabbed the back of her neck in exasperation.

“I-It’s not like that!” Leo shouted in frustration, looking deeply wronged.

Now mostly healed thanks to the potion, Leo jumped back to put some distance between them and resumed a battle stance.

“Don’t move! If you take even one step—”

“Oppa.” Riru walked up to Leo, whose ears and tail warily perked up, and gently patted his back to calm him down. “You know they’re not trying to hurt us, right?”

“I mean...”

“You can stop now, oppa. I’m alright.” Riru brightly smiled and flexed her arm to show that she had regained her strength.

Leo dropped his stance and turned his head away.

“Don’t you have something to say to them?” she asked Leo.

“N-No, I don’t.”

“Oppa.” Riru sternly looked at him.

Still turned away, Leo hesitated and mumbled under his breath, “Thanks...”

Song Ha-Eun grinned and poked Leo in the side. “

Hmm?

What was thaaat? I couldn’t quite hear youuu.”

His face turned beet red as he shouted, “T-Thanks! For saving us!”

Song Ha-Eun burst out laughing and patted Leo on the head. “

Ahahaha!

Finally, you’re being honest, you little brat.”

Annoyed, Leo bared his teeth as if he would bite her hand.

“By the way, you called us demons from beyond the rift earlier?”

“Yeah, that’s what humans are called around here,” Leo said.

“If you do bad things, they say the demons come at night and eat you whole!” Riru added.

What are we, goblins or something?

Kwon Oh-Jin chuckled at their completely off perception of humans.

“It’s probably because of the Black Star Society,” Isabella said.

“Oh, right.”

Now that he thought about it, the Black Star Society had supposedly hidden itself in the Demonic District.

“Even among executors, it’s rare to find an Awakener who’s actually lived in the Demonic District.”

Isabella had never even gone near it.

“But you know... Cassia did live here,” Kwon Oh-Jin said.

In fact, over ninety percent of humans who crossed over into the Demonic District were either heinous criminals or fugitives marked for assassination. No wonder humans were called demons here.

How ironic.

Humans regarded the Demonic District as the ultimate source of terror, but the beings there actually feared humans. This said a lot about how little humanity truly knew.

Riru’s eyes sparkled as she looked at Kwon Oh-Jin. “B-But I don’t think Oh-Jin oppa is a bad person!”

Song Ha-Eun snorted and shook her head. “This guy is definitely bad. He’s a total bastard, through and through.”

“N-No, I don’t think so...” Riru murmured, shrinking back a bit.

Kwon Oh-Jin bitterly smiled and stood up. “Anyway, which way is your home? We’ll walk you there.”

Even if it wasn’t as dangerous as the first forest, he couldn’t leave kids alone in a dense forest.

“There’s a village where our tribe lives. This way.”

Following Leo’s lead, Kwon Oh-Jin’s group headed toward the Silver Mane Tribe’s village.

***

The village was located quite far away from the kingdom.

As they arrived, a beastkin man rushed out and embraced Leo and Riru tightly. “L-Leo! Riru! You’re safe!”

“Dad!”

He turned to Kwon Oh-Jin’s group with cautious eyes.

“And you are...?”

Leo and Riru began explaining everything that had happened.

The beastkin who had shown hostility at first also seemed to change his mind after seeing the two children desperately defending Kwon Oh-Jin’s group.

He bowed politely toward them. “Thank you for saving the children. I’m Leoru, the leader of the Silver Mane Tribe.”

“Leader?”

“Yes. I may be a man who couldn’t even properly protect his own children, but I am the chief of the tribe.” Leoru bitterly held the two children in his arms.

“Your father is the chief?”

“That’s right! My dad is the chief who leads the Silver Mane Tribe!” Leo looked at Leoru with eyes full of admiration.

Leoru lightly patted Leo’s head and approached Kwon Oh-Jin’s group. “Please, come inside. I’ll explain everything to the villagers.”

Following Leoru into the village, countless eyes filled with wariness and hostility stared at them from every direction.

“This way, please.” Leoru opened the door of an old hut and stepped inside.

It looked far too shabby to be called the chief’s house. It was even smaller and more worn down than Baek Mu-Kang’s cabin.

“Leo, Riru, wait outside for a moment.”

“Okay! We’ll go tell the villagers we’re safe!”

“M-Me too!”

Leo and Riru hurried out.

Leoru watched their backs with a bitter look. “Thank you for saving my children.”

“You’ve already thanked us.”

“Even thanking you multiple times wouldn’t be enough.”

Kwon Oh-Jin had expected Leoru to be hot-tempered like Leo, but he turned out to be far more composed.

“I heard Mr. Oh-Jin is human... What brings you to the Demonic District?”

“I came to meet Horus.”

Leoru’s expression hardened, and a chilling bloodlust filled the hut.

“The king of the Black Mane Tribe... Why are you looking for him?”

“To confirm if there’s a connection between him and the Heavenly Demon.”

“The Heavenly Demon, huh.” Leoru frowned as he continued. “I don’t know about the Heavenly Demon, but Horus definitely has a connection with the demonkin.”

Leoru bared his white teeth and practically spat out the words. “He’s the bastard who sold the kingdom to the demonkin.”

A vicious energy swept through the hut. If Kwon Oh-Jin had been a regular human without mana, it wouldn’t have been strange for his heart to stop on the spot. The once-composed Leoru now looked like a ferocious beast.

“Could you tell me what happened?” Kwon Oh-Jin asked as calmly as he could, careful not to provoke Leoru further.

Leoru took a few deep breaths to calm himself. “A hundred years ago... No, even longer than that, a great war occurred between the Khan Kingdom and the demonkin.”

Kwon Oh-Jin had already heard from Baek Mu-Kang.

“The beastkin fought desperately to fend off the demonkin, but the demonkin’s strength was too overwhelming.”

It was a long, grueling war. When defeat seemed inevitable, the demonkin made a tempting offer to the beastkin. The first race to surrender would not only survive, but also gain wealth and honor.

“So, Horus surrendered to the demonkin?”

“Yes.” Leoru growled and bared his teeth. “He betrayed Khan, who had always led the beastkin, and became a loyal dog to the demonkin.”

“And the Silver Mane Tribe...?”

“We fought to the end.”

As a result, they were exiled from the kingdom and forced to hide in a remote forest.

“How unfortunate...”

Leoru shook his head, his eyes glowing with pride. “No, it’s an honorable one.” He proudly placed his hand over his chest. “We are wolves. We will never become dogs.”

His vow still contained determination.

Kwon Oh-Jin nodded. “Then, is the Khan Kingdom currently under the control of the demonkin?”

“Not exactly. It’s ruled by a faction loyal to them. Only a few demonkins actually reside in the kingdom.”

“How many are there?”

“Five.”

“Excuse me?”

No matter how elite the demonkin were, five seemed far too few to control an entire nation.

“There weren’t always this few. It’s just that many of them have been leaving recently.”

“Is there a reason?”

“That, I don’t know.”

A mass departure with no known cause...

Could it be related to the Heavenly Demon?

Kwon Oh-Jin furrowed his brow and shook his head. He didn’t have enough information to make any assumptions yet.

“Ah, now that you mention it, strange rumors have been spreading ever since the demonkin started leaving,” Leoru said.

“Strange rumors?”

“Yes, rumors that they’re preparing for war.”

Kwon Oh-Jin’s eyes narrowed. “War?”

“There are rumors that Horus is gathering troops to prepare for war against the demons beyond the rift. Ah, my apologies, the humans.”

A war against humans, huh. Is this what Cassia was talking about?

Whatever the case, such a rumor couldn’t be ignored.

“Of course, it’s still just a rumor. There hasn’t been any official conscription or anything like that.”

“Thank you. I’ve gained some valuable information thanks to you.” Kwon Oh-Jin bowed politely.

“You saved my children. Compared to that, this is nothing. By the way, Mr. Oh-Jin, what do you plan to do once you meet Horus?”

“I’m not sure. First, I’ll need to confirm whether he’s connected to the Heavenly Demon.”

“And if he is?”

“Then, I’ll have to kill him.”

Before a greater calamity strikes.

Leoru’s eyes briefly flashed with intensity. His lips parted slightly as if he were about to say something, but then he shook his head.

“Please rest here in the village until you head for the kingdom. We’ll prepare a place for you to stay.”

“Thank you.”

“

Haha

, the Silver Mane Tribe never forgets a debt, whether of vengeance or gratitude.” Leoru smiled warmly. “Well then, let me show you to your place. Please follow—”

“There’s one thing I want to ask,” Riarc said.

“Yes?” Leoru subtly clenched his fists, seemingly wary of Riarc because of his black fur.

“Do you not regret it?” he asked bitterly.

“Regret what?”

“Because you didn’t surrender, your people are now living miserably, hiding in this remote forest.”

Leoru remained silent.

“You live in fear, never knowing when you’ll be kidnapped and sold into slavery. You shiver in terror, barely clothed or fed, suffering from hunger. Even so... do you not regret it?”

“You...” Leoru frowned and glared at Riarc. “I have no regrets. He may be gone now, but long ago, Lord Khan once told us...”

Leoru proudly placed a hand over his chest.

“We are proud wolves.”