Free Web NovelChapter 291: Frey and Bron
Both Frey and Bron were clearly Mature Stage Spirit Beasts, and though their auras were very well restrained, from such a close distance, Celestina was able to tell exactly what Realm both of them were in.
Mid-Rank Sixth Order, and not newly promoted, Celestina analysed, keeping her expression as neutral as possible.
Although in absolute terms, Celestina was still theoretically stronger than either of these two, if a fight were to suddenly break out, she wasn’t sure if she could defeat them both.
Beyond that, however, was the unnerving fact that among the beast pack standing in the distance, there were 2 more Sixth Order auras.
Understanding that the situation before her was very precarious, Celestina focused herself and replied politely, "It is a pleasure to meet you, Princess Frey. I am Marquess Celestina Balfour of the Rockwell Kingdom and the current military leader of this city you see before you."
"Rockwell Kingdom..." Frey muttered before seemingly sighing and turning to her mate.
Bron, in response, shook his head in a very human-like manner.
This brief exchange was naturally not missed by Celestina and it gave her a faint idea about why these beasts had decided to show themselves tonight but had so far not engaged in any kind of aggressive action.
When dealing with other humans, especially nobles, now would be the time when Celestina would try to make small talk and subtly probe the other side’s intentions, but Spirit Beasts tended to prefer being straightforward, so she decided to be direct, "Might I ask, Lady Frey, what is your purpose here?" ƒrēewebnovel.com
Sure enough, Frey answered in an equally direct manner, "We are seeking directions, as well as permission to pass through your lands so we might return home."
Just as I thought, Celestina mused.
Clearly, this pack of Spirit Beasts had been brought here through one of the Spatial Storms Lucas had described to her. Finding themselves in a foreign land, uncertain of the strength of the local forces, it only made sense for Frey to act cautiously.
Quietly breathing a sigh of relief, Celestina decided to ask a few questions first before making any kind of decision, "Is this your entire pack, Lady Frey?"
"Why do you wish to know that," Bron, who had so far been silent, asked back in a somewhat sharp tone.
Realizing she was on the verge of creating a misunderstanding, Celestina calmly and honestly explained, "I am trying to assess what kind of risk you pose to my people."
"Oh, you would admit that you are wary of us?" Frey asked with some interest, "It seems your Rockwell Kingdom is not very strong."
"It also seems like you regularly interact with humans," Celestina commented in return, "Your understanding of how we think and how we do things is quite impressive."
"Hmph," Bron snorted, "You humans are a sneaky bunch. You pretend to be friendly, only to plot and scheme against us beasts!"
Frey growled slightly, seemingly chastising her partner before addressing Celestina again, "Forgive my husband for his rudeness, Lady Celestina, he has had some... unpleasant dealings with humans in the past."
"I can see that," Celestina nodded, not minding in the slightest.
In all honesty, Celestina preferred interacting with Spirit Beasts over human nobles as things were much simpler with them.
"Since you have been honest with your concerns, I shall be frank in kind," Frey continued, "The 53 individuals you see here are the only members of my Ice Fang Tribe that were mysteriously brought to this foreign land."
"As for the full strength of the tribe itself," Frey revealed casually, "There are about 3,000 of us, with my father, the chief, being our strongest warrior at what you humans call the Peak Seventh Order."
Hearing this, Celestina was both worried and relieved.
Worried about just how powerful this Ice Fang Tribe was, and relieved that Frey was still acting so reasonably despite having such a powerful background.
4 Sixth Order Spirit Beasts was still something the Rockwell Kingdom could handle.
In fact, even the current defences of Iron Rock could probably deal with this small beast pack, but doing so would be both dangerous and costly, so if a conflict could be avoided, Celestina was more than willing to negotiate.
Unfortunately, there was a major problem with this idea.
"Enough!" Bron snarled again, clearly losing patience, "Tell us, human. Will you grant us passage through your lands, or must we force our way through?"
Frey’s face cramped up, clearly displeased with her husband’s outburst, but she chose to remain silent this time.
She too was feeling anxious having been brought to this unfamiliar place and wanted to return home as quickly as possible. As such, she decided to see how the strong human in front of her would respond to this kind of aggressive approach.
Feeling the tension rising, Celestina narrowed her eyes slightly. Just because she was trying to be civil here didn’t mean she was going to back down meekly when threatened.
Still, the veteran General and Marquess knew that the situation hadn’t gotten to the point where it was irreversibly yet, so she took a breath to calm herself and replied, "On behalf of the Rockwell Kingdom, I can grant you the passage you seek, though you will need to be escorted through our borders by our soldiers; however, I suspect that won’t help you as much as you are hoping."
"What do you mean?" Frey jumped in, hoping to take back control of the conversation before her hot-tempered husband made things more complicated.
Pursing her lips, Celestina asked, "If I may be so bold, can you tell me exactly where your home is, Lady Frey?"
Thinking there was no harm in answering this question, Frey replied, "My Ice Fang Tribe is native to the Crown Mountains."
"Ha..." Celestina let out a sigh and shook her head, "Them I’m afraid I have some bad news for you."
Bron growled immediately upon hearing this, but Frey waved her paw at him, telling him to wait.
Nodding in thanks to Frey for her patience, Celestina stated bluntly, "As far as I know, there is no place on this continent called the Crown Mountains."
""Huh?"" Frey and Bron were both confused when they heard this, not understanding what this human female was trying to tell them.
Seeing this, Celestina asked again, "Do you know what continent you come from?"
"Continent?" Frey tilted her head, "What’s a continent?"
I have to start from there, huh, Celestina felt a slight headache coming on.
.....
It took her a few minutes and a couple of different examples, but eventually Celestina managed to get her point across.
"You mean, this is a land beyond the great ocean?!" Frey shouted incredulously.
Bron, on the other hand, howled wildly, "Impossible! How can there be land beyond the great ocean!? You lie!"
Noticing the fury in Bron’s eyes, and feeling his killing intent beginning to rise, Celestina adjusted her stance and reached for her spear, just in case.
"Wait!" Frey snapped, a contemplative look appearing on her face, "I’ve heard stories from my father about this before, about how the humans of Eternal Spring Valley would occasionally journey to the far south to recruit others for their Sect."
As if she had suddenly gained enlightenment, Frey asked hurriedly, "How many humans are there on this... Blue Sky Continent?" frёewebηovel.cѳm
Unsure what Frey was trying to get at, but willing to take this off-ramp that had been presented to her, Celestina quickly answered, "I’m not sure of the exact number, but there should be eight or nine hundred million humans living on the Blue Sky Continent."
"Yes... Yes! So many humans could not possibly survive in the harsh lands of ice and snow! This must be the fabled lands that aren’t covered in winter year-round that my father spoke of!" Frey said excitedly.
Ever since arriving here, Frey had thought this place was simply very far south, or some kind of unique region like Eternal Spring Valley that had a warmer, milder climate, but it turned out she had actually come to a far more legendary land, the land across the ocean!
Thinking so, though, Frey suddenly realized what Celestina meant when she said that crossing through the Rockwell Kingdom wouldn’t help them.
If what this human said was true, then they were much, much further from home than they originally thought. Whether they could traverse such a great distance safely was questionable at best, especially if an uncrossable ocean lay between them and their homeland.
Bron understood this too after a little thought, and his aggressive air instantly deflated, being replaced with a kind of forlorn gloom.
"Does that... does that mean, we can never go home?" Bron whimpered as he collapsed to the ground.
Frey wasn’t fairing much better.
Of the husband-and-wife duo, she had always been the calmer, more composed one, but even she felt a sense of defeat upon realizing the challenge that lay before them.
Seeing these two powerful beasts suddenly become depressed left a bitter taste in Celestina’s mouth.
If someone had just told her she had been sent to a distant land and there was no hope of her ever returning home, she would probably feel depressed as well.
Releasing her grip on her spear, Celestina instinctually walked over to the slumping pair of beasts and reached out to stroke Frey’s head, causing the latter to look up in surprise at her for a moment before letting out a soft whimper.
Even Bron, who would normally not allow any human to get so close to his precious wife, didn’t react much to this sight, though he did keep a close eye on Celestina to make sure she didn’t reach for her weapon again.
Suddenly, however, Frey sat up and stared fixedly at Celestina before leaning in and sniffing her all over.
Celestina, caught off guard, couldn’t react immediately, but since she didn’t sense any hostile intent, she simply allowed Frey to do as she pleased.
A moment later, Frey withdrew her snout and tilted her head in confusion, "Lady Celestina, I can smell a faint trace on you from one of my kind... no, not one of my kind... something different... something grander..."
Unable to explain herself, Frey sank into her thoughts for a few seconds before her eyes suddenly lit up and she gasped, "A Great One! You actually have the scent of a Great One from our clan on you!"
