[Silver Ash] - Become The Strongest In Another World
CHAPTER 299: The Tribe of Artof (2)

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For the second time, Noelle and Tania went to the Cold Forest. However, this time it was not for the heart of the Spirit Hunter, but rather filling out the answers of all the questions they had been keeping for these few days.

After arriving at the lake where Noelle and Tania had rested a few nights earlier, the two went deeper into the forest area, and arrived at a shallow cliff that exposed a pure white plain without a stain.

Not far from there, there was a small settlement, located deep in the forest, surrounded by giant trees, and a pile of white snow that surrounded like a fortress.

The place was protected by a barrier, which caused anyone to never see or even realize its existence. Noelle and Tania were able to see the settlement because they had visited once before.

Noelle looked at Tania who was standing quietly beside her, then nodded at each other as if she understood each other's thoughts.

At that moment, the two immediately jumped up, and arrived right in front of the wooden gate that became the only access in and out of the village of the Artof tribe.

Noelle knocked on the gate a few times, and one figure immediately came out after the door opened.

The figure was small, its size was only equivalent to Tania's waist which had a height of about 163 centimeters.

"Welcome back, Mr. Wanderer. I've been waiting for you two" the blue dwarf told Noelle and Tania.

Noelle remembered her name. Dolum, that's how he calls himself. From what Dolum explained, he was the chieftain who had guarded the village of Artof for forty years. In short, she played a representative in front of Noelle and Tania.

Seeing Dolum prostrate before him made Noelle feel uncomfortable. Even though the tribe of Artof had great respect for himself and Tania, being made the subject of such a deity was not a pleasant thing.

It was like the tribe of Artof had absolutely no pride, so they were willing to bow down before a pair of foreign wanderers whose faces they had never seen.

Previously, when Noelle and Tania first met directly with the tribe of Artof, Dolum and some residents who were performing rituals outside the village were very enthusiastic about their presence. Noelle and Tania had been invited to visit the village, but both of them of course refused to go directly to the place.

That's why, when the two said they would visit again later, Dolum could not waste his time on unimportant things. He waited behind the gate for days just to wait for the two travelers to come.

And here he was, having a direct conversation with the traveler in question.

Noelle forced Dolum to get up by lifting her body using a thread of blood, and said in a tone full of aggravation. "Let's skip all those unimportant parts, and just get to the point."

Releasing the blood thread from Dolum's body, Noelle then handed Tania her explanation, while she herself inspected the entire village with her detection ability.

There was a lot of presence from within the village, and all of them were as weak as Dolum. In fact, some were much weaker at some point. Perhaps, they were the newborn babies of the Artof tribe.

Meanwhile, Tania helps Dolum stand up, and explains everything as Noelle has taught.

"We don't have time for formalities. Can we talk directly? Grei and I want to know more about your situation."

...****************...

In the living room of the village chief of the tribe of Artof, three figures were sitting around a small table on which were candles and three porcelain cups containing green tea.

Noelle sipped her tea quietly, then looked back at Dolum in astonishment. He tried his best to suppress the aura of intimidation that he emitted as Grei Noctis. This he did so that Dolum was not nervous and could answer well all the questions that Noelle would give.

"So what is the real situation? Can you explain that? "

Dolum, who was getting the direct question, inevitably turned agitated. Although Grei had lowered his level of intimacy, it was still strong enough to make Dolum feel threatened.

It took time for Dolum to adjust to be able to answer Noelle normally.

"We, the tribe of Artof have suffered for a long time because of the rampage of the Queen of Bengal. We've been performing routine rituals to make the Queen of Bengal's divination a reality …."

That reply instantly made Noelle and Tania tilt her head. "Pregnancy? "

Both of them had not heard anything about the prophecy. It was natural considering their first meeting with the tribe only lasted for half an hour, nothing more. That time was not enough for Dolum to explain everything.

Dolum nodded, then picked up a book that was placed right beside him.

Noelle's attention had been on the book for a while, and she had just gotten a chance to see it.

The first sheet opens, and Dolum shows it to Noelle who is right opposite her.

There were pictures, and some paragraphs were written in a language that Noelle was not familiar with. In fact, even his automatic translation ability was unable to decipher all those words.

"This is a prophecy that has existed since the beginning of our existence. One day, the Queen of Bengal will send a pair of wanderers."

In short, the prophecy says that one day there will be a pair of wanderers who come, believed to be a dispatch from the Queen of Bengal to save and grant one hope with the tribe of Artof.

What a ridiculous prophecy. It was like they were making excuses to involve others into their problems. And actually, that was Noelle's impression of them at this time, nothing more than a bunch of blue dwarfs trying to get strangers to solve their problems, under the pretext of a prophecy that had existed since the beginning of their existence.

Moreover, the content in the prophecy that Dolum mentioned made Noelle frown.

In the beginning, Dolum mentioned that the tribe of Artof had suffered a long time because of the rampage of the Queen of Bengal. But now he said that the Queen of Bengal had sent a blessing in the form of a pair of wanderers who would give them salvation.

A contradiction.

Even without much thought, Noelle had already noticed.

Giving suffering with his tantrums, then sending blessings in the form of a pair of wanderers. That doesn't make any sense. The actions of the Queen of Bengal were completely inconsistent.

Noelle did conclude that the figure of the Queen of Bengis is real. But, it was not enough to be a definitive proof of the situation that was going on.

Aside from the information and rumors as well as random theories he found in the city library, Noelle had absolutely no definitive information about the Bengis Queen. That's why he hasn't come to a conclusion.

It was not Tania's role to ask, because all that she would leave to Noelle. However, he has an important role in the form of 'interrupting' when Noelle suddenly drowned in his own mind. Noelle had asked Tania to take on the role.

At Tania's request, Dolum nodded and opened another page on the book in his hand.

"The Queen of Bengal is the patron god of this forest and mountain. He had enveloped the entire world with his white blanket filled with hatred, keeping no threat that would fall upon the inhabitants of the Cold Forest."

"But, everything changed since they, the so-called Crystal Invaders appeared in the Cold Forest, killing life, and destroying nature. They bring disaster, make the charming Queen of the Bengal vanish all her anger, and drop eternal winter on the tribe of Artof, who still worship her."

(Again ..).

The more Noelle heard it, the more convinced she was that there was something strange here. And this time, not only her, but Tania was also aware of it.

The Artof are loyal devotees of the Queen of Bengal, or at least that's what Dolum said. However, why would the Bengis Queen drop her anger on them instead? Moreover, Noelle thought that the 'eternal winter' which was the embodiment of the Queen of Bengal's anger was similar to the 'white blanket protecting the inhabitants of the Cold Forest'.

It was completely filled with contradictions, so Noelle inevitably frowned and clicked her tongue unconsciously.

What is the difference between a 'white blanket', with the 'eternal winter' that Dolum describes? This made Noelle wonder. From anywhere, they are both the same thing. Only, the first is mentioned in an implied way, while the second is explained directly.

If this eternal winter is really the result of the anger of the Queen of Bengal, then what does that 'white blanket' mean? Are the two different things?

(White blanket may mean the natural winter cycle, while eternal winter has the same meaning as the name; never-ending winter, never-ending, no matter what season is out there ..).

Noelle had thought that there might be a misunderstanding between the Bengis Queen and the Artof tribe. The Queen of Bengal probably thought that the tribe of Artof was the one who made the mess, even though it was actually an entity called the Crystal Invaders.

(Wait, Crystal Invaders? )

Tania saw Noelle frowning, and was convinced that the man must be immersed in his own thoughts. Therefore, he intended to ask Dolum another question. But—

"Explain in detail about the Crystal Colonizer."

—Before Tania had time to ask, Noelle had interrupted first.

He had only recently realized that Dolum mentioned 'Crystal Invaders'. He may be too focused on other things, until he was not aware of the mention of this foreign entity.

For a moment, Noelle thought of the Spirit Hunter, because of its crystal-like form. That fits the picture that came up when the term Crystal Colonizer came out of Dolum's mouth.

"To explain that .. I have to take you two to visit somewhere. Doesn't it matter? "

...****************...

The discussion at Dolum's house ends, and Dolum finally takes Noelle and Tania somewhere, in order to fulfill the question Noelle gave.

It was a cave, located in a remote mountain slope area, but not far from the village of the Artof tribe. Actually, the cave was still in the village area, so they did not make the long journey to reach its place at all.

Dolum's goal in bringing Noelle and Tania to this place was to show them something.

One step into the cave, Noelle and Tania are immediately attacked by a stifling cold, instantly depleting oxygen levels that make them barely able to breathe.

Fortunately, they quickly regulate body temperature in their own way.

The cave seemed to have a layer of ice all over the surface, but not only that, there were some crystals that were like growing directly from the cave walls, like flowers growing above the ground. And each of those keristals emitted a faint light of a different color.

Going deeper, Noelle and Tania finally realized that the cave might lead very deep into the mountain, and might have a way to go underground.

"Here."

Dolum stopped, and raised both of his arms while chanting something. And again, it uses language that Noelle cannot translate.

A faint light emerged from the white tattoo all over Dolum's body, and it was seen resonating with the unique magic circle pattern that was on the floor.

A dazzling light appeared, but no one was bothered by it. Until finally, something appeared.

It was a coffin, which might have been a coffin. Completely made of ice, with a transparent top, fully revealing the figure lying inside there.

"?! "

Not only Noelle, but also Tania instinctively jumped back away from the chest. Both of them had a very strong sense of danger when staring at the figure lying inside the ice chest.

"What the fuck is that …."

Noelle frowned hatefully, and immediately manifested her own sword, while Tania who was not far from him also did the same.

What lay inside the coffin might be worthy of being called a corpse, but calling it an organic corpse might also be wrong, as there was not a single part of the figure's body that could be called 'organic'.

All parts of his body were made of crystal, blackish purple with certain parts that were pale yellow in color.

Despite having a humanoid form, no one would believe that the figure was a living being. It really looks like an ordinary crystal statue.

After the alert feeling of danger subsided, Noelle lowered her weapon, and walked over. Tania did the same. He wanted to check the contents of the ice chest once more.

However, the moment they did, the consciousness of the two of them instantly crashed.

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