Chapter 148
Episode 44/Chapter 1: The Great War (1)
TL: Tsubak
ED: Ren
While Tae Ho was executing the guerrilla tactic in Asgard, Odin roamed the several small realms that were inside of Asgard.
Svartalfheim, Nidavellir and Alfheim.
The fairies of the three worlds answered to Odin’s call.
Odin kept sending away his crows. He transmitted his voice to the Vanir, who were going to Asgard through a long roundabout path, and also to Hraesvelg’s people, waiting on the highest branch.
The most important thing was getting the time right.
It was important to gather forces before the seal of Valhalla broke but there couldn’t be a mistake in the infiltration of the forces.
What they were aiming for was the moment after the seal broke.
The forces waiting in Valhalla weren’t enough.
The forces Odin gathered from the small realms also weren’t enough.
They had to gather to become one. They had to make a force that could face even the great army of the magician king. They couldn’t be defeated one by one.
Odin, who manifested in Midgard, called and gathered the kings of the humans as the king of Gods.
The dwarf king Vanter, Arianmina the representative of the alliance of the dark fairies and Talles, the diplomat of the light fairies, accompanied Odin.
The king of the humans didn’t doubt Odin’s words.
They were in a world that knew that the warriors of Valhalla existed. In addition, they had already experienced the invasion of the giants and evil spirits.
Gods and Valhalla existed and now that the giants were threatening Asgard, they didn’t hide their forces. They swore that they would lend their strength to Odin.
The forces gathered in Midgard and Niflheim, and the crows flew back to Odin and transmitted the news; the performance of Idun’s warrior, the state of the barrier and the time left until it broke down.
Odin sat on the head of Ratatsork and glared at the sky of Midgard with his only eye.
The thing only Odin could do.
The thing that could be done only because it was him.
And the time had finally come.
Right before the seal of Valhalla collapsed…
When Freya stood in front of the barrier while determining herself to die…
Odin gave the order.
And the doors of the Great barrier opened up.
&
The dwarves of Nidavellir were small creatures.
However, they had never-tiring stamina, extraordinary manual dexterity and a tough mental power, like the tendon of a cow that was hard as steel.
The dwarves held axes or hammers in one hand and shields in the other and advanced as a solid wall. Part of the wall broke down because of the attack of the evil spirits but still, the entire wall never broke down.
The hammer of a cow-headed monster smashed the top of the shield of the dwarf Randor. He pulled his arm and raised his shield solidly at the moment of the attack but it wasn’t enough. Randor’s arm was twisted at a weird angle and he was sent flying away.
However, the cow-headed monster wasn’t safe either. The moment Randor was sent flying away, the other dwarves attacked the knees and thighs of the monster with their hammers and axes.
The dark fairy, Celine, notched her bow and the arrow of darkness that flew from her fingers pierced the eye of the cow-headed monster.
The monster let out a howl and collapsed and Celine could feel her chest beat. The accomplishment of having hit her target and the fact that she was standing on the battlefield made her excited. That was why she couldn’t see her surroundings.
An arrow came flying towards her from a distance. It was a trajectory that would have certainly pierced through her long slender neck.
But fortunately, such a thing didn’t happen. The light fairy, Lulu, called her wind elemental and sent the arrow flying away.
Celine looked at the arrow that was stuck in the ground and turned to look at Lulu. Celine was a beauty that gave the impression of a really mature woman with her long white braided hair. On the other hand, Lulu looked like a kid with her short hair.
Their races were different and even their temperaments were different. If it wasn’t for this place today, they would have never met each other in their entire lives and even if they did, it was a fate that would have passed.
But they turned to look at each other. Lulu laughed first and Celine also did the same. The dark fairy expressed her thanks with a silent bow and glared at the battlefield once again. She notched her bowstring once again, to help the charging dwarves.
The dead spirits charged.
They had already lost their lives once. They didn’t have a mortal body, like the warriors of Valhalla and few of them had the honor of a warrior.
But they still charged forward. It wasn’t because Hela hadd used an evil conjuring and manipulated their minds and also not because they had the huge consciousness of fighting for Asgard and the nine realms like the warriors of Valhalla.
Midgard was their hometown.
Their families and friends were still in this place.
The majority of the army of the dead weren’t warriors. Even the ones that were warriors were the ones that couldn’t enter Valhalla.
But it didn’t matter. Their feeling of wanting to protect it was similar.
The dead spirits were swept away and got stepped on by the giants. The ones that were already dead experienced death once again.
The warriors of Midgard cried out to Valhalla. Advancing and retreating; they didn’t turn back in a battlefield in which only the front and the back existed. They just looked forward and advanced and shared the same place with the ones that were already dead and with the ones that lived in the same time, although in a different place.
The princess of Kataron, Helga, roared at the front. Her body had become messy because of the blood and flesh of the evil spirits and monsters but she didn’t mind it one bit.
She could see a golden apple tree from far away. Just looking at it gave her strength.
The battle cry of the warriors was heard from next to her. They didn’t step back, even though they were in a place where death spread like fire.
“For Asgard and the nine realms!” Helga yelled with the voice she managed to squeeze out.
The Valkyrie that was next to her got her chest pierced by the spear that an evil spirit thrust forward. Helga didn’t scream and the same went for the Valkyrie. Rather, she grabbed the spear to immobilize her opponent.
The Valkyrie laughed with her lips, which were dripping blood. She released her magic power and Helga swung her sword and cut off the head of the evil spirit.
“March forward,” the Valkyrie said.
She pulled out the spear and used recovery magic on herself. A water elemental, that came flying from somewhere, treated her injury.
Helga followed the order of the Valkyrie. She took one more step, instead of looking back…
…Towards Valhalla.
Helga swung her sword one more time.
&
Odin looked at the battlefield and the magician king also did the same.
It was a battlefield where hundreds of thousands clashed. A great number of deceased appeared the moment the two sides clashed.
But the two kings weren’t planning to stop, even a little.
The giants started to move earnestly as the magician king gave the order. They crossed the battlefield to crush down the army of the dead.
Freya, who was using all kinds of magic from the highest tower of Valhalla, didn’t miss the changes in the battlefield. She looked at the place Ragnar was at and he understood her meaning even before she used message magic. The Viking king, who received the supreme command over the warriors of Valhalla, made a decision.
“Open the gates! Join with the brothers that are outside of Valhalla!”
They had to join with the forces that were fighting at different places.
Going out only with the warriors of Valhalla was a crazy thing but the story changed if they could join with the alliance Odin had brought.
They wouldn’t just focus on defending the fortress by being stuck in it. They would join their forces and face the army of the giants.
Thirty of the 540 doors of the fortress opened up and the Steel warriors charged forward from all of those doors.
“Val-! -ha! -lla!”
They were warriors that couldn’t use their sagas anymore but they still had their steel bodies, and also the soul of a warrior that didn’t fall behind to their solid body.
The front broke down and crumbled. There was no next time for the Steel warriors that had already died once but they didn’t feel fear or regret. They just ran while looking forward and didn’t cower at all in front of the great army of the evil spirits.
“Go, go, go! Warriors of Valhalla!” Freya yelled with all her strength. It was actually close to a howl and actually, she was even crying.
[Saga: Son of a God]
Bracky released his power of a God. Siri, who was next to him, transformed into a wolf Goddess and subsequently pulled the trigger of her crossbow.
The arrows of light became a rain and annihilated the enemies in front of them. At that moment, Bracky charged and joined with the Steel warriors.
A change occurred in the flow of the battle. The warriors that had gotten out of Valhalla started to face the giants and the alliance of the small worlds turned to the sides and set up a line.
And right at that moment…
No, a bit earlier than that…
Tae Ho took a deep breath. He could feel Idun and Heda. He heard her voices.
‘My warrior Tae Ho.’
‘My warrior Tae Ho.’
Idun repeated the same words. He could feel a corner of his chest become sour at her crying voice.
‘Hello once again?’
Heda spoke while crying. Tae Ho was curious as to how he could hear Heda’s voice but then understood. It was because he had noticed it somewhat it from before.
“Idun, Heda. Heda, Idun,” he whispered playfully one more time and Idun and Heda cried while laughing.
“Only calling the two of them,” Nidhogg pouted and mumbled in a low voice. Adenmaha glanced sideways, as she was feeling the same.
Tae Ho felt a bit embarrassed but it wasn’t the time to ponder about these things.
Idun gave strength to Tae Ho and the golden apple tree amplified Idun’s divine power.
Tae Ho ordered with the abundant feeling. The five dragons employed their right as kings and erased the monsters that were running towards him.
“For Asgard and the nine realms!”
Tae Ho hit his chest twice. He then moved to the heart room of the black dragon and placed his hands on the keyboard and mouse. He embraced Nidhogg and ordered, “Roll.”
It was the most effective strategy that had already been proved before.
“Yes! I will roll!” Nidhogg answered brightly, and at that moment, Nidhogg and the fake black dragon threw themselves to the ground.
An overwhelming result was made as the two of them rolled together.
The evil spirits that were inside a radius of 400 meters were swept down by the black catastrophe without even being able to flee. It seemed like a shower of hail had fallen down on the battlefield.
In addition, it didn’t end with only that.
Nidhogg clenched her chest. She blinked with a perplexed face and didn’t know what to do.
“Tae Ho master, I feel weird. A corner of my heart keeps beating. I feel really weird.”
Tae Ho hurriedly used ‘The One That Controls Dragons’ and checked on her state and then laughed. He understood why her heart was beating that way and why she was acting like that.
“Idun’s Valkyrie.”
Nidhogg wasn’t a seed of destruction that was only stuck in the roots of the world tree. She was a black dragon and at the same time, a Valkyrie of Valhalla.
Tae Ho lead her. Nidhogg gulped saliva down a dry throat and followed Tae Ho’s order.
[Saga: Rolling Catastrophe]
Nidhogg’s saga.
Something everyone in the battlefield could only remember.
A change had occurred in the roll of the black dragon. The earth had started to boom with the beat she was rolling. It wasn’t simply because of the weight of the black dragon. A strong shockwave had spread through the ground and a dragon’s fear was transmitted.
The poison had also changed. It spread to the places the rolling disaster didn’t reach, as if it had become a living being, and exterminated the enemies.
Adenmaha, the fake Adenmaha and Rolo guarded the black dragon from the sky.
“Indeed, the fated enemy of fire,” Hraesvelg said while standing at the highest place of the battlefield.
Actually, it was unsightly to look at, but the story changed when the scale was that big. The dragon roll had already reached the level of being a wonder.
Hraesvelg laughed and looked at another place. He looked at the black frost dragon Balcazar, which had pulled back but was preparing to charge once again, and also at the monsters and giants charging towards the dragon from the ground.
He didn’t give her a warning or help her. It was because there was no need to do so.
The warrior Gods that were in Valhalla moved.
The messenger God, Heimdall and the God of the Sea, Njord.
The two Gods went ahead of the black dragon and they faced the monsters and giants with their divine power. The warriors and Valkyries followed their backs.
It was a disaster.
Just looking at the number of forces, the giants were more numerous but rather, the giants were the ones that were getting pushed back.
The magician king had to gulp down his rage. He gave an order instead of losing his mind and charged towards the battlefield.
The giant kings moved to face the black dragons and battle Gods. The evil spirits widened their ranks to overwhelm their enemies with numbers.
The evil spirits weren’t the only ones that were plummeting.
The warriors of Valhalla and Valkyries were also dying and the Steel warriors were breaking apart and crumbling.
Crush down all the dwarves. Tear apart the fairies.
Balcazar charged towards Hraesvelg from the sky. The flying-type monsters and Valkyries crashed down from the sky.
It was a nasty war of attrition.
…A war where you killed and got killed.
The scale moved. The scale, which had a tight balance started to lean towards the side of the giants little by little.
But Odin didn’t lose his composure.
The giant king, who was thinking only of offense, started to think of pulling back at one point.
The reason for that was simple.
Tae Ho saw it from inside the black dragon, which had stopped rolling.
Bracky and Siri also stopped fighting and looked into the distance.
From the east of Valhalla, another army was approaching.
As soon as they had reached Asgard, they crossed the space with their martial arts and were now advancing forward with the clouds they were riding on.
“Go, Flying Nimbus, with all your strength! The monkey king has entrusted this battle to me,” the one at the front said.
Witacheon. (TL: There’s no actual translation for this name or I couldn’t find it. I will just leave a description here took from korean wikipedia. He’s one of the buddhist heavenly Gods. Originally the Indian God of war. His native Sanskrit name is Skanda is derived from Iskandar with the name the king Alexandros gave him.)
The God of Speed who crossed the wind.
One of the twelve protectors of the Temple!
The magician king glared at the advancing golden cloud and let out a roar and Cuchulainn roared as well.
It had been a hundred years since the Great War.
The Temple hadn’t turned its back on Asgard.
< Episode 44 – The Great War (1) > End
TL note: Thanks for reading~
Episode 44/Chapter 2: The Great War (2)
TL: Tsubak
ED: Ren
Asgard was currently confronting the giants of Jotunheim.
Olympus was fighting against the titans of Tartarus.
The Temple was in the same situation. The three worlds which were at the front lines were currently in a continual war against the ones hoping for the destruction of the world.
The sun archipelago.
It was the base of the ones hoping to destroy the world and the enemy of the Temple. The Temple was still in a fierce struggle against them.
The elders of the Temple showed disapproval when Valkyrie Kaldea notified them of the urgency of Asgard. It was because they didn’t have the leisure to dispatch their forces to another place when they were also in a war. In addition, they had already assisted them once in the Great War.
The Temple had suffered considerable losses in the Great war. Only half of the ones that had gone to the battlefield had returned alive.
But they were told that they should face those losses once again?
Just what did Asgard do for them the in the past hundred years?
However, there were more people that wanted to assist them earnestly than those showing disapproval.
The Sword King of the Heavens, who was the representative of the martial artists, claimed that they would dispatch forces immediately. He, who had also participated in the Great war, organized the situation to the ones claiming that it wasn’t of benefit to them with one sentence.
“That is harmony.”
If they considered whether they should help or not by pointing out the gains and losses, that wasn’t harmony anymore. It was only business logic.
The divine warrior, who was the strongest among the martial artists of the Temple, backed up the Sword King. He didn’t hold what the martial artists usually named the word of harmony in his mouth. What he spoke about was a much simpler and easier to understand logic.
“You should keep justice.”
The Temple and Asgard were allies, because they were from the same side.
The Battle King, who was ranked at the top even among the Twelve Protectors of the Temple. Son Wukong laughed at that claim. He giggled and tried to support them.
“Let’s help them. That Palgye completely fell for the Valkyrie that told of us the urgency. Well, it happens all the time.”
“Hey hyung-nim, why are you saying that here?”
Juh Palgye flushed and protested but Son Wukong just picked his ear.
Sha Wujing, who was behind the two of them, shook his head and meanwhile Son Wukong told the elders of the Temple that they should help once again. It wasn’t only because of Juh Palgye and also not because of the military way of thinking that they should help their allies.
One world was at the verge of destruction.
Then, wasn’t it obvious for beings wanting to maintain the world, no, as humans to help them?
As most of the martial artists that had actually fought said that they should help them, the elders that were against it could only place their hopes on the strongest people of the Temple.
But they also expressed the same thing as the martial artists.
“We can’t send a lot of forces in this instant, however we will send strong people.”
The Captain of the Pure Ones, Yuanshi Tianzun, spoke to Kaldea while representing everyone. One of the Twelve protectors, Witacheon, was selected to be the one that would lead the troops and the strongest followers of the Sword King and Battle King stepped up to help Witacheon.
In addition, Yuanshi Tianzun provided them with giants that possessed divine power and Gods that possessed their own thrones.
Son Wukong also didn’t stay still, as he was the one that had claimed the dispatchment of reinforcements earnestly. He entrusted his most treasured companion, the Flying Nimbus, to Witacheon.
“You don’t have anything for us, Xi Wangmu?” asked Son Wukong with a humorous expression.
Xi Wangmu laughed as Son Wukong spoke and then lightly clapped her hands.
The celestial maids stepped to the front and then placed five celestial peaches on the floor.
It could be said that Xi Wangmu, who was the commander of the celestial maidens and the administrator of the celestial peaches, had the same role as Freya in Asgard.
Son Wukong became amazed at the generosity of Xi Wangmu and then turned to look at Juh Palgye and requested, “It’s a precious object. Don’t eat it all in the path.”
“Ata, Hyung-nim. Why are you like this? And are you one to speak? Did you already forget who was the one that cleared up all the peaches before at a moment’s notice?” Juh Palgye grumbled.
He used quite a serious speech in front of others but his words became rough when speaking with Son Wukong.
“If you wish, you can stay here and rest. You should be really exhausted after having come a rough and long path.”
Yuanshi Tianzun spoke gently to Kaldea, but she declined politely. She thanked the good will of the Temple deeply and answered that she would return with the reinforcements.
The day after was the day of the dispatchment.
The martial artists who hadn’t gone out to the front lines gathered in one spot and sent off the reinforcements heading to Asgard.
“For Asgard and the nine realms!” Yuanshi Tianzun said, hitting his chest twice
Kaldea became moved at the best of goodwill that one of the most influential people sent. Her eyes reddened and she answered with the etiquette of the Temple.
“Let the light of the Temple be eternal.”
Time passed.
The reinforcements of the Temple, which had advanced day and night, finally reached a place they could see the battlefield.
Witacheon, the God of Speed, comforted the warriors of the Temple.Kaldea looked at Valhalla, which could be seen from far away, and the warriors of the various small worlds that had gathered and shed tears of inspiration.
But they weren’t alone.
Just like the reinforcements of the Temple saw Valhalla and the Temple, the ones standing on the battlefield also saw them. They sensed that they were approaching.
The magician king made a quick judgement. He made a bold decision and the giant kings didn’t resist his order. Hrumbak and the others who could stay next to the magician king had already died or were in another place.
“Hurry up before the guys of the Temple arrive. Deal them a good blow and create some distance.”
Karasipha, who was one of the giant kings and specialized in necromancy and handling the dead, made the dead arise. At the same time, the entire army of the giants started to move, as if it was a single living being.
The front lines itself was really wide as it was a battlefield where hundreds of thousands fought at the same time.
The giants concentrated their power on one point and attacked the alliance of the small worlds that were at their side.
On top of that, it wasn’t a simple attack. The evil spirits charged solely to enter the enemy ranks and self detonated. An empty space could only be formed as thousands of evil spirits exploded simultaneously.
The intention of the magician king was to pull back their forces.
He couldn’t know what result would appear with the warriors of Valhalla that were riding on the momentum and on top of that, the warriors of the Temple had joined the battle.
In addition, they couldn’t know exactly how big the reinforcements of the Temple were. If a huge army was mobilized, contrary of their expectations they would lose disastrously.
He had to call Tauchi and the other giant kings, who had gone outside. He had to first retrieve their forces to secure their survival and come up with a plan to defeat Odin.
The army of the frost giant king, Harmarti, was holding back Thor’s army.
But of course, the magician king also couldn’t use the army of the frost giant king freely because of that. Perhaps, he had made it so that the two armies couldn’t do anything.
He would deal a big blow and open the gap and then calmly retreat.
Odin realized what the magician king was thinking and he was planning to play into his palm for now.
They were riding on the momentum but their damages were also bigger than expected.
The warriors of Valhalla were brave but they still lacked the ability to fight in a battlefield of Gods.
“We will fight with the Temple.”
They would retrieve their forces and devise a plan for the next time they joined forces.
In the first place, it was a huge-scale battle in which hundreds of thousands fought.. The two sides didn’t think that the war would end in one day.
The magician king and Odin didn’t share a word but they agreed with each other. The magician king made his army retreat and Odin didn’t chase him rashly. Hraesvelg, who was looking down at the battlefield, understood Odin’s thoughts because he was also a king. He didn’t chase the fleeing Balcazar.
When the reinforcements from the Temple arrived was when the battle had actually ended.
Victory and defeat also were decided naturally.
The ones that were on the offensive fell back.
This meant that the ones that were on the defensive had won the battle.
Odin, who was sitting on Ratatoskr’s forehead, stood up. He blew the horn trumpet and claimed their victory while the warriors were looking at him.
The magician king granted the victory to Odin with the price of falling back. He sent a small compliment to the warriors of Valhalla cheering in victory as an enemy who hated them.
“Odin! Odin!”
“King of Gods!”
The warriors of Valhalla yelled with all their strength. Part of them called out Heimdall’s and Njord’s names and there were also some Valkyries yelling out Freya’s name.
They were Gods of a high ranking, even among the Gods of Asgard. That’s why it should have ended with just their names.
But a new voice was heard and that made everyone yell in a chorus.
“For Idun!”
“For Idun’s warrior!”
Tae Ho removed ‘The warrior that had a Valkyrie meet him’ and stood on the head of the black dragon with Nidhogg. Adenmaha and Rolo returned to their original appearances and stood by his side.
Tae Ho answered to the cheers of the warriors. He didn’t miss the moment, as expected of the promoter of the legion, and made a golden apple tree illusion.
The warriors of Valhalla, who were already accustomed to it became amazed one more time, and the warriors of the Temple opened their eyes roundly.
Tae Ho laughed and hit his chest twice to express the etiquette and then looked at the army of the magician king, which was retreating. He also looked at the group of the Temple that was coming towards him.
And then he turned once again. He looked at the castle of Valhalla.
It was a really huge wall.
There was a group that numbered more than ten thousand in those walls and it was really disorderly as males and females were mixed in it.
But he could still find her in one glance.
He could feel that their eyes had met even though they were far away.
Idun, who had taken off her veil showed her golden eyes.
Heda, who wore a bright smile.
They hadn’t won the war yet. Rather, it could be said that it had just started.
But Tae Ho forgot about the war in that moment. He thought of the woman that had bolstered him all this time. She was the Goddess who was still transmitting strength to him through his saga.
The black dragon fluttered its wings and flew up.
Idun suppressed her excitement and waited for Tae Ho but Heda couldn’t endure it anymore and flew up to the sky. It was only for a moment but she transformed into a beautiful swan and closed the distance with Tae Ho.
They finally faced each other. They didn’t need any more words.
The two of them embraced each other and shared a passionate kiss. Part of the warriors that were cheering victory started to yell. Bracky laughed and initiated a chant.
“It’s! A! Meeting!”
It was an absurd sound but the ones that understood the legend of Idun’s warrior agreed to it. Siri also yelled out loud. The princess of Kataron, Helga, yelled with a voice mixed with wonder, regret and admiration. Rasgrid, Reginleif, Gandur, Ingrid and even Ragnar and Merlin yelled together.
“It’s! A! Meeting!”
“It’s! A! Meeting!”
The entirety of Valhalla shook. Their voices became one and shook the sky and ground. The warriors of Valhalla were people that went to the end when the atmosphere was good.
[Saga: The Warrior That Had a Goddess Meet Him]
It had ranked up by one stage.
‘The Warrior That Had a Valkyrie Meet Him’ took a new shape.
Heda sensed that the saga strengthened and opened her eyes roundly.
Tae Ho embraced Heda one more time. He gave her a fiercer kiss, as he couldn’t let her go.
Heda didn’t reject it.
Rather, she acted more aggressively.
&
“They are too much, really.”
< Episode 44 – The Great War (2) > End
TL note: Thanks for reading~