Chapter 147: Heavy Axe

Chapter 147: Heavy Axe

As the mist scattered, everyone felt disappointed and could not help but let out sighs of regret. The priest turned his stiff neck, made tense by the situation, and looked at the youths, then at the family members behind them.

The adults behind these youths were tall and burly, dressed in lavish and exquisite clothing. The facial markings on their faces glowed with a mana radiance in the flickering firelight of the Temple.

The youths sighed and felt frustrated, then grew excited and began to whisper among themselves uncontrollably.

“Who is that? Is she one of our people?” a bold youth voiced the question on everyone’s mind.

“Are those facial markings painted on? She doesn’t seem much older than us.”

The priest frowned. “The Pool of Foresight only shows a true appearance.”

After hesitating for a moment, he continued, “I’m not sure if she is one of our people either.”

After speaking, he unconsciously raised his hand and rubbed his thumb against the side of his nose, as if it were a bit itchy. Then he casually clapped his hands. “Sorry, children. The pool water has exhausted its power . We can only go this far today.”

He hastily ended the ritual and saw off the chattering crowd. Then he hurriedly walked deeper into the Temple. A large number of recorded documents were stored there, and most of his companions would be there reading and organizing them. Priests existed to protect and record the history of their people. They might not be able to tell their people where to go, but they clearly knew where they came from.

Power? How could it merely be the strength seen by the youths? This was not just an answer; it was a prophecy.

The reaction of the Pool of Foresight must have a deeper implication. He needed to uncover the hidden meaning behind it. He would find the answer together with his companions.

…

Aisa’s wife—Heavy Axe—stood guard at the cave entrance with several others, blocking the swarming insects outside. They had been a bit careless on this trip, bringing only a few White Wolves and one young Snow Falcon. They brought the Snow Falcon more for training than as a helper. This journey to borrow food should not have been dangerous.

But the weather is unpredictable…

Their luck was not exactly good, but it was not the worst either. On the way, they encountered a small passing Insect Swarm. This encounter was somewhat sudden for both sides. Under Heavy Axe’s lead, the Insect Swarm was quickly killed and scattered.

At that moment, Heavy Axe didn’t think much of it. She merely chose a new route for safety’s sake. Before dark, they reached a cavern with a vast interior space. In the deep of night, they noticed a few insects had arrived here, but they paid no mind, thinking they could just drive them away at daybreak. However, before they could act, more insects swarmed in. They had not expected the Insect Swarm to be so numerous, countless beyond measure.

Now they didn’t know whether to feel fortunate or to lament. The fortunate part was that everyone was inside the cavern, so they wouldn’t be attacked from front and back. The unfortunate part was that this huge cavern also had a massive entrance.

Taking advantage of the insects’ brief pause before attacking, she released the Snow Falcon, hoping the young bird could bring back reinforcements for them. But just as the Snow Falcon flew out, an insect lurking on the cave ceiling pounced down. The Snow Falcon nimbly twisted its body mid-air, then rapidly flapped its wings and soared high, losing only a few feathers.

Heavy Axe sighed. It seemed like they had narrowly passed each other, and the Snow Falcon had flown away successfully. But in that moment, it hadn’t completely dodged the attack.

…

Insect Swarms were no strangers to the Northlanders. They knew how to deal with the Northlanders. Once the attack began, it could not stop; they could not give the Northlanders a chance to catch their breath. They kept surging forward and falling down. At the same time, another group of insects fearlessly cleared the bodies of their comrades, dragging them away from the entrance.

Numbers were their greatest weapon, and they were not entirely defenseless. They were agile predators; their attacks also posed a threat to their opponents. Most importantly, they also had elites.

Although the Northlanders split into several groups to take turns fighting, the constant slaughter began to wear them down. Their reactions gradually grew sluggish.

Now, after suffering heavy casualties, the Insect Swarm finally saw its chance.

Their elites quietly made their appearance. One insect charged straight forward without dodging. This suicidal style of attack was nothing new. A flash of blade light passed through its body without obstruction, yet it had no effect—it was merely an illusion. The sinister and deadly attack hidden behind the illusion followed. A sharp claw sliced open that Northlander’s neck, and blood sprayed out.

Heavy Axe, who had been sitting and resting at the back, jolted and leaped up instantly. She rushed to the entrance, becoming like a whirlwind. Countless axe shadows swirled around her, sweeping back and forth across the entrance several times. The entrance was instantly cleared, leaving only shredded flesh on the ground. As for this hefty woman, although she gained a few more wounds from this, for her sturdy frame, it probably only amounted to scraping through a rather thick layer of skin.

At this moment, Heavy Axe stood like a mountain of flesh before the entrance. Breathing slightly heavily, she loudly warned, “Be careful! A Magical Beast!”

At her warning, everyone became alert. The appearance of a Magical Beast meant the most dangerous moment had arrived.

Heavy Axe now regretted deeply. If they had been more careful before the trip and brought two adult Snow Falcons, they would have spotted these insects earlier and could have avoided them. If she hadn’t been so greedy and abandoned the food supply after noticing something amiss, she would have already led her people out of danger.

She sighed deeply. All of this was because of—herself. Ever since she married Aisa, ever since she had Angie, she was no longer the Heavy Axe of the past. She had stayed in Sancha Town, stayed at home, for too long without venturing out. She was no longer fit to be a leader.

But death was just death! At this moment, she decided to correct her mistake with her life. The fierce nature of the Northlanders finally erupted. The frustration of being confined at home for years turned into ferocity.

She took a deep breath and suddenly burst out from the cave entrance. To the shock and astonishment of everyone and all the insects, she once again became a whirlwind of axe shadows, churning through the Insect Swarm before the entrance.

She only sought a swift, clean fight, to unleash her power completely. Leaping alone into the Insect Swarm also allowed her to fight with abandon, without any restraint.

The pair of Battle Axes, ceaselessly hacking, no longer seemed like cold, heavy weapons but rather her hands and feet. They propelled her massive body, spinning and whirling. At this moment, this hefty woman appeared incredibly agile.

Agile, but only relative to herself. Any insect she ran over felt only heaviness in its final moments—an indescribable heaviness.

The momentum of the attack was actually broken by her alone. She danced on the edge between life and death, as if performing a bizarre solo dance, a dance that ended in death.