"Liard!"
Sheba's voice was trembling with uncontrollable joy and concern.
"It's the village of Rak."
"Mm."
Guin, a giant of more than two meters tall, and a young man of the dwarf tribe Shem, who was only half that height - and a Valakian mercenary who was not as tall as Guin, but slender and quite tall - stood at the bottom of the valley and looked down.
The village of Raku is located in the valley of Ido and the other valley.
The night was already deep, and there was not the slightest sign of any waking movement in the valleys they had traversed, save for the strange id and the white angel hair, but the great village of Rak, now spread out below them, was lit up here and there like a flickering fire in a sea of night. The village of Raku, usually quiet, must have been awake and busy all night preparing to welcome the rare visitor and the return of Shiva and the others who had gone out to scout with Guin and the others.
"Wow, this village is a lot bigger than I thought."
Istvan whistled, as if he had forgotten that he had reproached him for staying here as a guest of Sal.
"Eeeeew!"
"Aye!"
At that moment, like a part of a giant glowing amoeba, a group of people came rushing up the mountain path, shouting with joy, waving torches in their hands, and running towards them.
"Leard! Leard!"
"Shiva!"
They were shouting. And among them a voice, very high and youthful,
"Guin!"
"Oh, Guin!"
There was a scream, and suddenly two figures came from the crowd of Shem, clinging to the Leopard-headed warriors from both sides. They were Linda and Remus.
"Oh, Guin -- thank God. You're safe. ... I was worried about you, I was worried about you."
Forgetting the dignity of a proud Paro princess and the attentions of others, Linda rubbed her pretty silver head against Guin's chest, clinging and squirming. Remus, too, clung tightly to Guin's waist, reminding her of two stray chicks that had finally returned under the wings of their parent bird.
"How could I be?"
Guin said with a snarl. Istvan looks at the three of them with a bit of disgust.
"The little queen of Paro, she's still just a kid--she'll lie down at the first sign of trouble."
A mocking light flashed in his dark eyes, and he smacked his lips. Linda leaned her head back and looked at Istvan as if she had noticed his presence for the first time.
Linda and Remus looked at each other and began to giggle meaningfully. Linda and Remus looked at each other and started to giggle meaningfully.
"Hey, what's the matter, we've barely made it through the brink of death or life, and we're just sitting back and enjoying the monkey's feast."
Istvan pouted like a spoiled child. Linda is still giggling,
"I'm sorry, I didn't notice - but I'm glad you're safe, the village of Rak has been waiting for you for some time now, preparing a great welcome feast for you."
"We'll have plenty of treats."
Remus said. And Linda and Remus looked at each other again and blew.
"Oh, my God. Oh, my God."
Istvan grumbled, but even though he was young, he was exhausted from all the adventures he had been on, and above all, he was very hungry. A number of torches were put out to light his way, and the party that greeted him treated Guin and Istvan as if they were heroes who had just returned home.
"I'm dressed like this, it's not a pretty sight--I wonder if there's any armor or at least a bodyguard somewhere in Sal's village that we could loot from the Gora soldiers. In the name of Saria, the goddess of beauty, this will make even Istvan look 30 percent less handsome.
He mumbled, then looked down at his armor and footpads with concern.
Linda and Remus were insanely happy to see Guin. Since their chance meeting in the Forest of Ludes - though no one could have known whether it was by chance or by fate - they had been captives of the Black Count, As they overcame many hardships together, such as the captivity of the Black Count, the fall of Staphorus Castle, the drifting of the River Kes, and the adventure in Nosferus, this mysterious leopard-headed man had become the only guardian deity for the twins, whom they asked to be their staff and pillar.
With Guin, the wanderer's helplessness and loss of country were lessened, and this vast unknown frontier, to which he knew not where to go, seemed less frightening. When they learned that Linda and the others had rescued Suni, the grandson of their chief, the Rak, who were by nature mild and good, gave them every possible welcome, and for the first time in many days since the fall of Paro the twins were able to rest, eat a full meal, and even rinse their hands, feet, and faces clean. But as long as Guin was away from them, the twins felt that they could not really be at ease.
"Guin's back-- everything's gonna be okay now."
Linda hung from Guin's large hand and let out a squeal as she led the way to Rak's village with a leaping gait.
But her violet eyes clouded over when she saw the luscious scars all over Guin's body,
"Guin--are you hurt?"
He yelled in concern.
"No, it's no big deal."
Guin replied simply and did not try to make him tell him the details. The Leopard's eyes glittered in the darkness with concern and frustration that could not be contained.
"Liard!"
At that moment a new company, bearing torches, came up towards them. At the head of it were Suni and Lotho, the chief of the Rak and Suni's grandfather. Lothor's whitened bristles gleam like silver needles in the smoldering light of the torch.
"Safe journey home - our village and its people are heartily pleased to welcome back our heroes."
Guin held up a hand to stop Roto from speaking in the slow, strange, singing Nakahara style.
"Hold on."
I'll tell you in a crisp, matter-of-fact tone.
"That'll have to wait. Chief, would you please send word to gather here the tribes of Shem, all their principal ones, right now? As soon as possible-- how long will that take? On how soon depends the life and peace of you and all of us."
"Oh my God!"
Roto turned his eyes. The crowd of torches swayed.
"Raku - not only Raku, but also Karoi of Shioya, Guro of Black Hair, Rasa of Speckled Hair, and Tubai of Ido Taming - is it?"
"That's right."
Without stopping, Guin continued down the gently descending road toward the large village of Rak, with Linda and Remus's Paro twins on either side of him.
Roto rushed to his feet, trying not to be left behind. He looked up at Guin and the others, wondering if Guin was joking or if there was a reason for this.
"Liard! Tell me, sir. What can I do for you?"
"Mongol has advanced his forces to Nosferus."
Guin's voice was short and harsh.
"The advancing army has already crept up the Kes River and is camped on this side of the river, waiting for the morning. They number about 15,000. They are led by Amneris, Lord and Lady of Mongol. Judging from their equipment and the pattern of their formation, it seems that this time Mongol is determined to destroy the Semites of Nosferus, deal them a blow that will make it impossible for them to cross the river again and enter Gora territory, and extend the northwestern border of Mongol at once.
"Ten thousand--five thousand!"
Roto growled inaudibly.
And the people of Lâq, who were listening to them as if they were holding them in their arms, were for a moment in tumult.
The old chief held up his hand to stop him.
"Then Shem is finished-- Liard. Shem will be destroyed."
He said it in an oddly matter-of-fact tone. In fact, Guin's voice was more shrill.
"It must not perish. Not even Shem, the antediluvian race, has the right to destroy it for his own ambition and drive out a tribe that lives in peace. Fight, Lothor. That's why we'll send out a message to all the tribes."
"Oh, Leard."
Lotho said softly. They walked in silence for a while.
That was the entrance to the village of Shem. The village at the bottom of the valley, lit up by a bonfire, was but a heap of earthenware, hollowed out into a rustic appearance, lined up in a row like a series of bowls with threadbare bottoms. All the Semitic villagers, young and old, young and old, men and women, of every age and sex, were looking at this astonishing visitor.
And as they walked along the well-trodden street, which seemed to be the heart of the village, the glittering eyes of the Shem pursued them, and that chirping voice which is peculiar to the Shem,
"Liard, Liard (the Leopard)!"
"Son of Alfetu!"
They whispered to each other, and it reached their ears like a ripple.
"Ei, what the hell--!"
Istvan, who had been silent for some time, could not, of course, keep his mouth shut for very long.
He walked over to Guin,
"Hey, Guin--yeah."
He looked around and mischievously put his mouth to Guin's ear.
"What?"
"It's a bit of a monkey mountain. It's quite a view-- By the way, you're not actually planning to lead these guys against 15,000 of Mongol's elites, are you? I don't think so, but since it's you I'm counting on you... Hey!
Guin made no reply. Roto stopped and motioned for them to stop. They were in front of one of the bowl-shaped earthen houses, which stood out in the darkness.
"O heroes - guests of Raq, come into our house and accept our hospitality."
Roto said formally. Then he stretched out his little hairy hand and grabbed Guin's arm,
"Leard is this way, if you don't mind."
Guin nodded. Guin nodded.
"There's nothing to be hungry about. But first, you need water to wash your hands and feet. And a drink to rinse my mouth."
Istvan said excitedly, and with a shrinking of the neck followed Shem and the others into the dark house. The twins followed. Linda turned her head and looked at Guin as if she wanted to say something, but then she thought better of it and put a pretty smile on her face and followed her brother through the entrance of Rak's house, as if she were already in a familiar place. Suni continues.
Shortly afterwards, a muffled voice came from within, the voice of an Istvan, loud and boisterous.
He glanced at it and chuckled.
"In fact, that 'Red Mercenary' is a strange man. He's always complained about not wanting to be Shem's guest, but when he enters the village, he's instantly at home. It was rare to find a man who could behave so naturally and freely in any circumstances as if he had been born there. He, too, must have a destiny that is more than ordinary."
He murmurs to himself, without telling Roto on the other side. Roto looks up at him inquiringly, but his thoughts of the children are fleeting.
Immediately, his eyes looked back at Roto with a stern and decisive light, and he raised his hand lightly, as if to point vaguely beyond the mountain.
"Roto, even a minute is too precious."
I'll tell you in a crisp, matter-of-fact tone.
"Bring me the touch. And, for now, all the chiefs of Raq."
"Yes, sir."
The old chief nodded. For a while there was a flurry of activity in the bonfire-lit village of Rak.