Chapter 176: Provocation

Leman Russ looked at the crowd and spoke.

"For the second hunt, your target is the ice dragon Witherwing, which dwells at the summit of Fenris's highest peak—Et Peak."

"Witherwing is the aerial overlord of Fenris; only a true Hunter, a true warrior, can kill him."

Jorin's murky yellow eyes flashed with sharp light as he looked at Sanchez, who had just leaped down from the back of a thunderwolf, and spoke.

"The winner will surely be me; I will cut off the dragon's head and decorate my battle-axe with his claws."

The "Provocateur," surrounded by Fenrisians, said calmly and composedly.

"The results will speak for themselves."

The Reaper Lord bowed slightly to Leman Russ and spoke.

"Primarch, my battle-brother, and an excellent hunter as well."

"Fenris is a world that belongs to hunters; I want to let them come here to be tempered."

The Wolf King looked at Sanchez with appreciation and laughed heartily.

"You have already passed the first hunt, proving yourself a great hunter."

"I welcome your brothers to Fenris."

Before leaving, he said to the Reaper Lord.

"Sanchez, you are more polite than your father."

"He didn't even report to me before taking people out to hunt in the sea."

Upon hearing this, Sanchez frowned; even alone, he could not accept Leman Russ's accusation against the Primarch.

"My lord, please forgive my bluntness, but you have not yet conquered the oceans of Fenris, and the island tribes have not yet submitted to you."

The words of the "Provocateur" enraged all the Fenrisians; their hair and beards stood on end, fluttering in the wind.

Jorin drew his axe and roared loudly.

"Sanchez, shut your mouth!"

"If it weren't for the arrival of the All-Father, the Wolf King of Fenris would have unified this world."

Sanchez placed a hand on his sword hilt, "It hasn't happened yet... so the Gene-Father has committed no transgression."

Snow and wind swirled, but under the Wolf King's fierce gaze, sweat seeped from the Reaper Lord's forehead; he spoke with difficulty and persistence.

Sanchez felt as if an illusory star had exploded within him; he was one big step closer to becoming a true "Provocateur."

The power leaping within his body made him strain to keep his neck straight, refusing to lower his head.

The eyes of the Fenrisians were filled with fury; they could not accept anyone provoking Leman Russ.

Jorin raised his axe first and charged at Sanchez.

Other Fenrisians also drew their weapons and charged toward the "Provocateur."

The Wolf King flashed forward, blocking Jorin's path.

"Stop!"

He said to the Fenrisians: "If you strike him down now, Jorin will never be able to win it back."

"Tell me, do you want to let an old Fenrisian hunter curl up in a wolf pelt and lick the wounds of failure?"

"We do not!"

The Fenrisians let out a roar of unwillingness; the Wolf King stared fiercely at the "Provocateur," who was sheathing his sword.

"You have guts; I hope you are as capable as your mouth is sharp."

"If you win the next two hunts, I will tolerate your provocation today."

"I will certainly win."

The "Hunter's" body was soaked in cold sweat; he did not wipe it away, letting the cold wind freeze the sweat on his forehead into tiny ice shards.

It seemed as if something had melted within the "Provocateur"; he felt he was not far from fully mastering the power bestowed by the Gene-Father.

"Good," Leman Russ withdrew his aggressive gaze, "the second hunt competition begins now."

The "Provocateur" keenly sensed that he was unwelcome in the Fenrisian camp; no one was even willing to invite him to eat meat or drink.

Sanchez leaped onto the back of the Thunderwolf King, and six thunderwolves carrying wolf cubs followed behind their leader.

After leaving the camp, he pressed the Communication Bead in his right ear and sent a message on the dedicated communication channel to the other "Hunters" and Candidates in the Chapter.

A moment later, the Reaper Lord handed the six thunderwolves to the veteran "Hunters" and the seventeen wolf cubs to the newly promoted "Hunters."

Sanchez shouted to the twenty-three "Hunters": "Take your wolves and hunt in the Fenrisian wilderness."

He then said to the forty-nine Candidates: "If you want to prove you have the potential to enter the Royal Court, go hunt in the ice and snow of Fenris and bring the prey back to offer to the Primarch."

While the "Provocateur" and the "Hunters" were hunting on the ice sheet, the hunt in the sea was also underway.

Szczesny and Jorginho each led a fleet to hunt in the Sea of Storms.

When Sanchez arrived at the foot of Et Peak, Jorginho's fleet encountered a storm.

The air pressure plummeted, dark clouds hung low like an iron curtain, the anemometer needle spun wildly, and the gale whipped seawater against the portholes, making a crackling sound.

Surges over ten meters high smashed into the bow like collapsing glaciers; the sea dragon's steel hull groaned like breaking ribs, and the entire ship shook and vibrated.

In the captain's cabin, Jorginho did not call for orbital support.

The "Sailor" took the helm himself; even as the ship was tossed up and down by the wind and waves, rising and falling by over a hundred meters, and the Fenrisi Buluo had to hold tightly to masts and other objects, he, possessing the extraordinary ability of "Balance," stood steadily on the deck.

The "Navigator" intuitively felt that about seventy nautical miles to the northeast, a warm current and a cold tide were tearing open a new vortex.

As a scholar of astronomy and geography, the "Navigator" completed the calculation in an instant.

The "Navigator" hooked his fingers into the helm and began to turn it, while simultaneously issuing orders to the "Storm Folk" on the other two Dragon Boats via the communication channel.

"Hard to port! Furl the mainsail by three sections!"

The "Navigator," also known as a "Storm Priest," saw the three Dragon Boats commanded by Jorginho leaping through the storm.

The Fenrisians looked on in terror as the churning cumulonimbus clouds, accompanied by hail, violently lashed against the Dragon Boats.

The "Navigator" showed no fear; relying solely on intuition, he predicted the trajectory of the ocean currents and guided the ships to use their thrust to break through the storm.

The Fenrisians endured the tossing and turning, and after an unknown amount of time, they were astonished to discover that the fleet had actually broken out of the storm without losing a single ship.

The Fenrisians, having regained their senses, knelt before the "Storm Priest" and shouted in Juvik.

"Messenger of the All-Father! Priest of the Storm!"

The "Navigator" felt as if an illusory sphere had shattered within him, with water flowing around his body; his slightly weary frame felt as comfortable as if it had been immersed in a hot spring of the Cradle of the Sea.

【Closer to becoming a true "Navigator".】

Just as Jorginho was feeling completely at ease, his Communication Bead beeped; after he connected, the voice of his subordinate "Storm Folk" came through.

"Company Captain, a fjord has appeared ahead; it is a U-shaped deep valley formed by glacial erosion, with towering cliffs on both sides."

"A group of sea dragons is swimming within it, likely having come here to escape the storm."

Jorginho's deep, pitch-black eyes flashed, and he shouted into the communication channel.

"Brothers, we have just survived a storm, and now it is time to hunt."

The Order Shadows leaped from the Dragon Boat and led the Fenrisians to begin hunting the sea dragons.

Every Fenrisian no longer used primitive bone and stone weapons; in their hands, they held iron weapons manufactured by Legion Servitors.

While Jorginho organized his men to hunt the sea dragons, Sanchez also climbed to the summit of Et Peak.

(End of this chapter)