novelzi Chapter 604: A Chance.
Chapter 604: A Chance.
"You fear that tribes won’t gather if you tell them to go to War against the Velmourn Alliance, correct?"
The Stormcallers nodded.
"Then gather them for this instead."
"For what...?"
"For only killing the Outsider Kael and forever being free from the pressure of a War."
The Cloaked Being announced in a generous, noble tone and the Stormcallers couldn’t understand.
"Killing just the Flying Man...? Then what about the Velmourns...?"
"You kill that man, the Velmourn Alliance will fall on its own, then we will give you five years of resources to recover your losses, grow even further, and align other tribes to your side and defeat the Velmourns."
The Cloaked Beings announced and those words only made the Stormcallers frown even more.
This was... too good to be true...
While they had been in contact with these people for a long while and had received quite a bit of resources for a while now, they only started fully supporting them a few weeks ago.
But now...
Now they were promising the same support for five years only if they killed one man...?
The more they thought about it, the more obvious it started to become...
If they gave it some thought, the time when these people offered their full support aligned with the time the Flying Man came to the Heights, and now they were willing to pay such a huge price for the Flying Man’s life.
Didn’t that make it clear that they were never after the Velmourns from the beginning?
They were after... the Flying Man.
But why?
The Stormcallers couldn’t help but question in their heads.
Was it because the Flying Man truly was a God? Were they trying to... slay a God...?
But at this point—
The Stormcallers didn’t have the luxury to care.
This was... easier.
Dealing with the Flying Man together with the army he had gathered was difficult, but if it was just the Flying Man...
That could be done.
Or... could it...?
"How are we... supposed to face him...?"
The Female Stormcaller Leader questioned with a difficult look on her face.
She hadn’t forgotten what the Flying Man had done, no one had.
So the question she had was genuine. How were they supposed to defeat a being who controlled the Storm itself?
But—
"He is not a God."
The Cloaked Being shook his head.
"He is a supposed Hero who is now moving for selfish reasons and misusing the Powers he was granted."
"What...?"
The Stormcallers frowned.
"A... Hero...?"
"Yes, he is a human who has only been in this world for a few months. He may be strong, he may appear to be undefeatable—
But he is a Human.
Even his powers have limits.
And...
He can be killed."
The Cloaked Beings spoke as suddenly the air around them turned even colder.
And at this point, the Stormcallers were sure.
These were the same beings who still did not know any of their names, neither did they know the names of any of the Velmourns simply because they always deemed them to be beneath them.
But for them to know so much about the Flying Man, combining it with every other thing they noticed before—
It couldn’t be more obvious.
"The Northwest Shore."
The Cloaked Being spoke in a solemn tone.
"That is where you will attack, how to attack, how many men you take, what you do, none of it matters.
We only want one head.
And if we do not get it by the Night, do not bother returning."
He declared.
The Stormcallers nodded.
This was the best possible option in front of them right now, they couldn’t ask for anything else and they knew it.
So they stood up, prepared to take advantage of the information they had.
The Goal was now simpler.
The War no longer mattered, at least not for the next five years. What mattered was the Flying Man’s head.
That was all they needed to... survive the winter.
And that was what they were going to get.
The Stormcaller Leaders gathered together, this time, without the Cloaked Beings intimidating them and they came up with a plan.
They called it the Hunt of the Flying Man.
Yes, they made it very obvious.
What they needed were three simple things.
A narrow path.
A short window.
Enough hands to make sure the Flying Man couldn’t simply fly away.
The Stormcaller Leaders didn’t waste time, they gathered their people, all this while, obviously, their people were scared, they had every right to be, they were attacked and their confidence was shaken.
But the instant the Stormcaller Leaders used the word revenge, the Stormcaller Warriors’ eyes changed.
The Warriors who seemed like they had given up all hope were now different, their eyes were shining with rage, especially those who had lost their families or loved ones.
They wanted revenge.
They wanted to kill the man responsible for the destruction around them.
So they moved.
And everywhere they went, they carried two things.
Resources like food, warm hides, dried meat strips and—
Threats.
The meaning was clear.
The Stormcallers were following the Cloaked Ones’ words.
They were going to use Force if all else did not work.
They didn’t try to gather everyone, that was foolish, they did not need that many people for this mission, especially since they needed to move quickly and secretly. The fewer people knew about it, the better.
So they chose only a few select tribes.
First were the Shadowstalkers.
They were already half-involved in everything, they sold information, they stalked the edges, all this while, even though they had taken Stormcallers’ resources in exchange for information, they had stayed neutral simply because they did not wish to be part of this War.
But—
This time—
Staying neutral was not an option.
They were given a simple choice.
Join the Stormcallers and help them hunt.
Or the Shadowstalkers Village gets burned today.
A direct threat.
Together with food that was now placed at their feet.