Free Web NovelChapter 179: The North
"W-what did you just say...?"
Mika was wearing a shaky smile, pretending to have not heard Tija’s answer.
"The south and the north are currently in a conflict. In the past few months, the number of violent accidents kept increasing, making people uneasy and predicting that a great civil war was upon Grat." Tija elaborated.
But before Tija was able to continue, Mika was wildly waving his hands.
"W-wait, wait...! I-I can’t keep up with you!"
"Sorry, maybe I should start from the beginning." Tija said.
Mika was still in a state of confusion after he learned that he and his friends were sent over to Grat to assist in a civil war between South Grat and North Grat.
"What’s the reason for the conflict anyway?" Mika asked, pressing his fingers at his forehead.
"Let me explain." Yarjak began.
The north and the south.
It all started with the different climate conditions on each side with the south being hot and the north being so cold that the whole land was covered in snow and ice. But soon even the people began to change and had different cultures.
The South was known for its dark-skinned people and their openness, except for strangers, whereas the North was populated by people, whose white skin was paler than the average. The northern people were in addition overall not very fond of people and only moved in their own groups.
While the South was open to everything and was supportive of everything, the North would only acknowledge a person based on the person’s strength and combat skills. From a young age, children would be trained as cold-hearted mercenaries in harsh environments.
However, the greatest difference between these two parties lied in their mindsets. The South’s only desire to live in peace was filled with laughter. But the North did only care about one thing. And that would be to live proudly and without feeling restrained, which led to the conflicts in the present.
"Not too long ago, our two folks minded our own businesses without disturbing each other but then, the north started to get aggressive." Yarjak explained.
"We still don’t know the roots of all of this or why they suddenly started to make such demands." Tija added.
"What kind of demand did they make?" Mika wondered.
Tija got all serious as she leaned closer to Mika with her elbows on her thighs and her chin on her hands.
"They want to gather troops to take down ’The Nightmare in the Sea’."
"They want what?" Mika said flabbergasted with raised eyebrows.
"If I had to compare them, then the northern people are at least as strong and fearsome as the people from Rostanta. We’re lucky that they haven’t sent out their whole force to the south or else, we would have been overthrown by them." Tija said, leaning herself back again.
"However, they, too, realized that their strength was not enough to kill that sea monster, so they requested us to send our forces as aid." Yarjak continued.
"We’re thinking that they want to take it down because it would go against their way of life if they let it be." he said.
As long as ’The Nightmare in the Sea’, also known as Leviathan, was dominating the sea, the people on Grat would be isolated from the rest of the world and that in turn, meant that the northern people would be restrained by Leviathan, hurting their pride as one of the strongest tribe. ƒreewebηoveℓ.com
"We declined them every time they asked because we did not want to lose our best men or overall, many people to this absurd plan, whose result’s sadly obvious." Yarjak elaborated.
Tija looked at Mika, who was trying to comprehend everything.
"Mika." she called him out.
"Yes...?"
"Do you think it’s possible to beat that monster?"
While Yarjak was looking puzzled at her, Sara was narrowing her gaze towards her.
"..."
Mika opened his mouth but no sounds came out of it at first.
"I..."
The image of his greatest enemy, whom he had to fight briefly during the invasion, crossed his mind.
"I-I don’t think it’s possible as long as it’s not the entire Grand Order, who’s facing the monster..." he replied nervously. ƒгeeweɓn૦vel.com
Tija’s mouth was a straight thin line. Her eyes narrowed a little as if she was losing interest.
"Your class is the strongest, right?"
Surprised, Mika shifted his gaze to Sara, who posed the question.
"Every single one of you is very strong. And among those students are people like you and Belian. Two people, who are roughly at the same level as those from the Grand Order. Oh! I mustn’t forget your teacher, Ms. Ross! After all, she’s also a Grand Order candidate, right?"
"What are you trying to say, Sara?" Yarjak asked but was ignored.
"Then, there would be me and the two Grand Order members currently residing in Grat. Dura Waret and Elsa Sunoma. Together, we have five people fitting the conditions."
Sara was getting all fired up as she counted the people with her fingers. She was going through every person she knew and who was also currently in Grat. With this exchange program with Loogam, Sara may be a step closer to her goal as a great number of strong people were put into their care for the time being.
"Now, if we get the help of the whole northern tribe and the assistance of the south, we could possibly exceed the strength of the entire Grand Order." Sara stated sternly.
"Well, if big Sis Olivia has a bad day, I guess..." she added softly.
"..."
Tija was in thought.
"Well, do you think it’s possible with this lineup to take down the monster?" Sara asked Mika.
He sighed.
"I guess it’s possible..." he answered reluctantly.
"Then-"
Sara was about to jump off her seat but Mika was not done talking yet.
"But we would still lose." he said.
"What do you mean?" she asked confused as her excitement took a turn.
It appeared like Yarjak, who listened to them, understood what Mika meant immediately.
"It may be true that we could kill the monster with those members but I can guarantee that many of us will die. Now, how much do you think the deaths of two Grand Order members, an entire tribe or you, the crown princess and sword prodigy would affect Grat or maybe even the world?"
"..."
Sara was clearly at a loss for words as she slumped her shoulders down.
"I’m sorry... I think I got a little too optimistic there..." she apologized softly.
"..."
Mika just averted his gaze.
He, of all people, knew what it felt like to fight a being, whose strength surpassed a Grand Order member and even an A-rank demon by far. Be it Shinra, the king of the jungle, or his mysterious enemy, who wiped the floor with multiple A-rank demons, Mika had experience with both.
It was only because of luck and the help of the system that Mika managed to survive both encounters. And especially, the fight against his greatest enemy made him shudder even to this day. Mika was not even sure if the whole Grand Order was enough to deal with that person.
"!"
Everyone flinched for a moment when Tija suddenly clapped her hands together loudly.
"Enough of this topic! Let’s talk about something nicer, shall we?" she suggested with a bright smile.
Obviously, the others were taken aback in the beginning but they decided to dismiss the previous topic and moved on with small talk to lighten up the mood.
Meanwhile, the carriage with Sylvia, Elsa and Ophelia was mostly silent.
None of them shared a word with someone nor did they do anything aside from gazing outside the window.
Especially, Elsa and Sylvia behaved oddly as the two still wore their robes with the hood on even though they were inside a carriage.
While Elsa’s confident and proud body language did not change, albeit the robe, Sylvia seemed a little anxious, fidgeting on the seat.
"..."
Ophelia heaved a sigh.
"If it bothered you so much, why did you decide to come to Grat with us, Sylvia?" she asked.
"I’m a part of the white class. Do I even have the right to object to the headmaster’s decision...?" Sylvia replied quietly.
"Well, maybe we could have made an exemption and let you go to another nation."
"..."
Elsa took a short glance at the uneasy Sylvia.
"You better calm yourself down soon. Or how do you plan to survive the next three months in the academy of Youra?" Elsa remarked bluntly.
"I-I already know that...!"
Ophelia looked at the two. But in her mind was another student, who could be a little bit troublesome to deal with.
Harik Srong.
"Just what did I get myself into...?" Ophelia lamented quietly with her gaze cast down.
The two in front of her may have not revealed it to the others yet but they were people born in Grat.
To be more specific, they belonged to the northern people, who were invading the south from time to time.
