Chapter 60: Great Storm (1) (1/2)
Ah, it’s a late release again, hahaha. And next chapter is long, so expect some delays in its release tomorrow.
Terms used in this chapter:
Wasp waist – Wasp waist is a women’s fashion silhouette, produced by a style of corset and girdle, that has experienced various periods of popularity in the 19th and 20th centuries. Its primary feature is the abrupt transition from a natural-width rib cage to an exceedingly small waist, with the hips curving out below. It takes its name from its similarity to a wasp’s segmented body. – Source: Wikipedia
Yondu – a fictional character in Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy comics. Through a series of whistles, he is able to control an arrow made of a special sound-sensitive metal. Depending on the tone and intensity of the whistle, the speed, strength, and direction can be controlled. The arrow is capable of penetrating anything and seems capable of moving at a speed of Mach 5 at least. – Source: Marvel Fandom
Black card – a highly regarded and exclusive credit card issued through invitation only for bank customers with high incomes and A+ credit. The card entitles its holders to VIP access, upgraded flights, event tickets, and special treatment at stores, etc. In Korea, the black card is also known as the Hyundai Card.
There were two playable characters from the land of the barbarians, but in fact, it was extremely rare for the land of the barbarians to become the stage in the game.
The reason was simple. It was because the stage of both Red Wind and Kirara’s main activities were not in the land of the barbarians.
‘Red Wind is in Sälen, while Kirara is in Argon.’
Red Wind began her scenario after escaping from slavery in the northern part of the Sälen Kingdom. She had only been active in the Sälen Kingdom up to the middle of her scenario, before she fought against the corrupted barbarians to avenge her father.
‘Kirara started in the far eastern section of the barbarian lands, and as soon as she was finished with the tutorial, she went straight to the Argon Empire.’
She was not affected by the great invasion of the northern barbarians because she had transferred to the Argon Empire and not the Sälen Kingdom. Kirara had never thought of going back as the reason why she left her hometown in the first place was because she had run away.
Therefore, in Legend of Heroes 2, there were only two events where the land of the barbarians appeared with great importance. One was the ‘Homecoming’ event, where Red Wind mourned at the sight of her hometown that had already become deserted ruins, and the other was ‘Lena’s Death’ event.
***
“Okay, for more details such as the location of the sanctuary and so on, the tribesmen will deliver it.
When Jude and Cordelia said that they will take on the investigation of the sanctuary, Great Storm spoke with a sigh as if he had been relieved.
Great Storm didn’t want to make it obvious, but he was actually under heavy stress.
It was quite difficult for Great Storm, a young wild god, to connect the minds of Jude and Cordelia, who were not his tribesmen, and to also appear before the two.
“Then, let’s organize everything for now. When the investigation is over, then…”
“Please wait!”
Cordelia quickly stopped Great Storm who was trying to stand up from his seat.
Because there was still something left to talk about.
‘Right?’
‘That’s right.’
The two had obviously not discussed in advance on what they should do and talk about if they met Great Storm.
However, Jude and Cordelia had already talked about how to proceed when they arrive at the land of the barbarians.
There was one more important thing that they have yet to tell.
“O magnanimous Great Storm. We have some information we must tell you.”
“What is it?”
When Jude assumed a very serious expression, Great Storm was curious, so he sat down again.
Instead of talking right away, Jude took a deep breath before he spoke in a calm tone.
“It concerns the illness that Red Gale contracted.”
“…Tell me.”
Great Storm’s gaze sharpened.
Because Great Storm was also well aware that the illness Red Gale had contracted was unusual and was actually some kind of curse.
“The illness, or rather, the curse’s name is ‘Blue Spider Lily,’ and it’s a spell that followers of Belial, the overlord of corruption, likes to use.”
T/N: Yes, ‘Blue Spider Lily’ was the translation of 푸른 피안화. How a fictional flower from ‘Kimetsu no Yaiba’ ended up becoming the name of a curse or spell in this series is beyond me. Shouldn’t the author have named it as ‘Blue Spider Lily’s Curse’ or something? The author also called it a curse, but frankly, ‘poison’ would make more sense. Anyway, I’ll call it the ‘Curse of the Blue Spider Lily’ from now on, so that it would make more sense.
The Curse of the Blue Spider Lily was not a curse to kill the enemy.
It was a curse that made its target powerless in order to make them easier to corrupt. The person who contracted the Curse of the Blue Spider Lily would become weak in both body and mind, and eventually become unable to do anything.
The one who cursed him was Haraken, a witch doctor and also an executive of the Devil’s Eye.
Seven Horns, the chieftain of the Angry Bull tribe, was the first person to be cursed in the land of the barbarians.
As the strongest warrior in the Angry Bull tribe, he became very weak in just a month as his condition was no different from a withered tree, and after half a year, it became impossible for him to do anything without the prophet Haraken’s help.
And in the seventh month, he was sacrificed by Haraken, ascended as one of Belial’s kin, and was reborn as a complete demon.
“The effect of the Curse of the Blue Spider Lily gets stronger the closer the target is to the caster. Fortunately, Red Gale is quite far from the witch doctor, so the illness’ progress is relatively slow, but in the end, he will be completely helpless.”
“Is there no other way?”
Great Storm inquired with a fretful face.
As he cared for the tribe, tribal chief Red Gale was like a child to him.
“There is only one way to get rid of the curse. You must kill the caster who cast the curse.”
In fact, there was a much simpler solution.
It was to purify Red Gale with a stronger power than Belial’s curse.
But that was impossible.
Among the wild gods, Great Storm belonged to the fairly strong group, but the opponent was Belial, one of the five overlords that ruled hell.
Comparing the two was pointless.
“He clearly contracted it when he attended the meeting of the chieftains. It’s obvious that one of the people who attended the meeting was the culprit!”
Great Storm burst into anger, and Jude nodded.
It was highly likely that Haraken attended the meeting of the chieftains and cast the curse on Red Gale, who would become an obstacle to the unification war.
“O Great Storm, please calm down your anger. I have a way to improve Red Gale’s condition.”
“Is that true?”
Hearing Jude’s words, Great Storm jumped from his seat and asked.
Jude nodded his head and took out the Sun’s Necklace hidden under his clothes.
“Anyone who contracted the Curse of the Blue Spider Lily will be eternally exposed to hellish chills. Therefore, if we get rid of the chill using Yang energy, the progress of the curse will slow down, and his condition would improve.”
T/N: Yin energy symbolizes coldness, or chills, while its opposite, Yang energy, symbolizes hotness or warmth. So something with ‘Yang energy’ is needed to counteract the curse’s chill effect.
In the first place, the reason why Red Wind came down to the south was to obtain the Sunflower.
‘The Sunflower loses its effectiveness the moment it is plucked out of the place where it bloomed, so it cannot be used to treat illnesses in the first place.’
Jude had the Sun’s Necklace.
If a person was sick, Solari’s item that continuously gave off Yang energy would be able to stop the Curse of the Blue Spider Lily.
“Ooh…then we can give the necklace to Red Gale.”
“Yes, he can borrow it. I will lend it.”
He didn’t care if he lent it, but it was absolutely impossible for him to entirely give it away.
Moreover, Jude wasn’t willing to give it to him for free.
‘Because the situation has changed.’
If it was before Great Storm appeared, Jude would have lent the necklace for free to save Red Gale, but there was Great Storm now.
If so, wasn’t it proper to receive a rental fee?
“The Sun’s Necklace is a must-have item for me to cure my chronic disease. It’s like a lifeline to me.”
When Jude emphasized the importance of the Sun’s Necklace, Great Storm knit his brows.
“Chronic disease? Don’t you look healthy?”
Jude was clearly in good shape.
At Great Storm’s question, Jude shook his head and suddenly let out a cough before speaking.
“No…cough. Even if I look like this, I’m quite weak. Isn’t it? Cordelia?”
Cordelia suddenly came to her senses when Jude called her, and she immediately stepped forward and said.
“That’s right, my Jude is quite weak. Look at that pale skin. His blood vessels are visible. Not so long ago, I carried him on my back.”
It was true that his skin was clear enough for his blood vessels to be visible and that he was carried on her back.
“No, I think he looks healthy…”
“Look at his forearm here. He has a thin waist too. It’s completely a wasp waist, a wasp waist. What should I do? My Jude is so pitiful…”
Perhaps thanks to having traveled together with Jude, Cordelia’s acting skills have rapidly improved.
It was obvious that her crying was fake, but the beautiful girl’s tearful acting was enough to shake the heart of the viewer.
“Ummm…but I am a god of the wind. There is no way for me to provide Yang energy.”
“It’s all right. If that is so, anything related to the wind will be of help too.”
“That’s right. Although Jude is weak, it’s not to the point he’ll die right away if he didn’t have the necklace.”
Jude and Cordelia spoke together, and eventually, Great Storm conceded to his inevitable predicament of being scammed by the scammer couple despite being aware of it.
“…All right, then I will award you the most powerful one among the divine items that I have.”
“Thank you very much.”
“I’ll use it well. Great Storm is so cool. Handsome. The best.”