Chapter 235: The Seal of Air and Ice
"Greetings, Your Majesty," said Kellar, standing tall. "My name is Kellar, and I am the shaman of the Overlord tribe."
As he introduced himself, the movement beneath the snow multiplied around them. From fissures, snowdrifts, and rocky outcrops, dozens of tigers with pristine white fur began to emerge. They were camouflaged with the frozen environment so well that even Kellar’s sharp instincts hadn’t detected the pack until they were surrounded.
The great white tiger stepped forward, sniffing the air with disdain.
"Well now... I can understand what this thin, hairless monkey is saying..." rumbled the beast in a cavernous voice, ignoring Kellar’s presence to lock its golden eyes onto the bird. "Either way, I am not speaking to you, but to her. What are you doing in my territory? Do you bring a message from the Eagle King?"
Little Green did not answer. Instead, she folded her wings, tensing her talons and preparing to take flight at a moment’s notice if the situation turned lethal.
"If you are talking about a giant eagle whose head I ripped off, no, he no longer exists in this world," interjected Kellar, stepping forward with a smile. "You are speaking with the new Eagle Queen."
The Tiger King stopped in his tracks, a flash of surprise washing over his eyes. Had the Eagle King died? In his youth, the feline had fought him on numerous occasions. That bird was strong, possessing the advantage of the skies, which routinely forced the tiger to retreat. It was impossible to strike him while wind bombardments rained down endlessly from above.
"You killed the Eagle King?" asked the feline, baring his fangs. "Prove it."
At that moment, Little Green puffed out her chest and spread her wings wide. An emerald glow burst from the base of her feathers, causing ancestral mana runes to flare across her wingspan.
"So you truly killed the Eagle King and took his core..." muttered the white tiger, taking a step back.
Kellar was unaware of it until then, but within the hierarchy of this world’s magical beasts, absorbing the core of an ancestral leader did not merely grant power and memories—it acted as an imperial seal. The core proved to the system’s ambient energy that the creature held the territorial authority granted by the Greater Guardian of the Skies.
Recognizing the mark of the core upon Little Green, the Tiger King raised his head and unleashed a roar that shook the surrounding rocks.
"Get lost, all of you! Back to the cave!" commanded the feline sovereign his pack.
Upon hearing their alpha’s order, the dozens of tigers surrounding Kellar retreated in silence, melting into the shadows of the snow drifts. It was one thing to slaughter a lone eagle straying into their domain, but quite another to slay a creature possessing the explicit backing of the Great Dragon. If he killed the new Eagle Queen, he would have to answer to the valley’s supreme entity. And after witnessing long ago how the Great Dragon had annihilated his former master, the mighty Leviathan, the Tiger King had zero desire to provoke its wrath.
Taking advantage of the de-escalated tension and the Tiger King’s recognition of Little Green’s status, Kellar stepped forward calmly, maintaining a respectful stance.
"I see you are a leader who understands the balance of this valley," began Kellar, drawing the feline’s focus. "We have not come to claim your lands nor to hunt your pack. My tribe requires the white stone and clay resting beneath the snow at the edge of these cliffs."
The Tiger King narrowed his golden eyes, studying the human with curiosity. Although Kellar did not possess the form of a beast, he emanated an aura of power and mana that the feline could not ignore.
"Stone and dirt?" rumbled the beast, huffing a cloud of icy vapor from his snout. "We beasts have no use for the rocks on the ground. But passage for your people through my domain is not something I grant for free, Shaman. My pack needs to secure prey during this harsh winter."
Kellar offered a smile. He had precisely what a pack of carnivorous beasts would desire in the midst of the Great Snowfall.
"I propose a pact of passage and extraction," stated Kellar. "In exchange for permission for my workers to extract limestone and clay from this area unmolested, the Overlord tribe will deliver a supply of cured, salted meat from our stores, along with basic healing potions brewed by our healers to tend to your hunters’ wounds."
The Tiger King pondered the offer for a moment. Cured meat and healing alchemy were assets during the frozen season, when prey was scarce and minor injuries could prove fatal to his cubs and hunters.
"I accept your terms, Shaman of the Overlord tribe," declared the Tiger King with a roar of agreement. "Your men may dig the stone from the cliffs undisturbed by my claws. But if a single monkey attempts to hunt one of my kind, the truce will be broken in blood."
"Agreed," nodded Kellar, satisfied with the deal.
With the territorial treaty sealed and access to the vital resources secured without shedding a single drop of blood, Kellar climbed back onto Little Green’s back. Spreading her wings, the giant eagle took to the skies, flying high past Mentz’s caravan as it steadily forged ahead through the steaming path cleared by Ignis, and heading straight back to the village.
Upon seeing him land in the center of the settlement, Lennis rushed out of the blacksmith workshop, wiping his hands on a rag.
"Did something happen, my lord?" asked Lennis, concern in his voice. "Mentz has already set out with the caravan and the work crews toward the cliffs."
"Yes, I saw them along the way, but I didn’t return for them," answered Kellar, leaping down from the eagle’s back. "Go find the chief hunter immediately. We need to catch dozens of the giant fish from the river, package as much cured and salted meat as we can spare from the storehouses, and construct a heavy transport basket that Little Green can carry in her talons."
Lennis blinked in confusion at the urgency of the order.
"What is happening, Shaman?" asked Lennis, stepping closer. "Did something go wrong out there?"