"Provocation" Ignites Public Outrage Among the Fenris

Leman Russ looked at everyone and spoke.

"For the second hunt, your target is the Ice Dragon Witherwing, which resides atop Mount Et, the highest peak in Fenris."

"The Witherwing is the aerial Overlord of Fenris; only a true hunter, a true warrior, can slay him."

Jorin's cloudy yellow eyes gleamed as he looked at Sanchez, who had leaped down from the back of the Thunderwolf, and spoke.

"I will be the victor. I will cut off the dragon's head and adorn my battle axe with its claws."

The Reaper Lord, surrounded by the Fenrisian, spoke calmly.

The results will speak for themselves.

The Reaper Lord bowed slightly to Leman Russ and spoke.

"The Primarch, my battle comrade, and also an excellent hunter."

"Fenris is a world for hunters, and I want them to come here to be tempered."

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

"You have proven yourself to be a great hunter with your first hunt."

"I welcome your brother to Fenris."

Before leaving, he spoke to the Reaper Lord.

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

"He didn't tell me before taking his men hunting in the sea."

Upon hearing this, Sanchez frowned. Even alone, he could not accept Leman Russ's accusations against the Primarch.

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

The words of the "Provoker" enraged all the Fenrisian, whose hair and beards stood on end and fluttered in the wind.

Jorin drew his axe and roared.

"Sanchez, shut up!"

"If it weren't for the arrival of the Allfather, Fenris's Wolf King would surely have unified the world."

Sanchez stroked the hilt of his sword. "Not yet... so the Primarch hasn't overstepped his bounds."

Despite the swirling snow and the Wolf King's fierce gaze, the Reaper Lord, sweat beading on his forehead, spoke with difficulty and unwavering determination.

Sanchez felt as if a phantom star had exploded within him; he was one step closer to becoming a true "Provoker."

The surging power within him made him strain to keep his neck straight and not lower his head.

The Fenrisian had eyes filled with rage; they could not tolerate anyone provoking Leman Russ.

Jorin was the first to raise his axe and charge at Sanchez.

The other Fenrisian also drew their weapons and charged at the "Provoker."

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

"Stop!"

He said to the Fenrisian, "If you defeat him now, Jorin will never be able to win."

"Tell me, do you want old hunter Fenris to lick his wounds of defeat while hiding in a wolf pelt?"

"I don't want to!"

The Fenrisian let out a roar of resentment, while the Wolf King glared fiercely at the "Provoker" who had sheathed his sword.

"You've got guts. I hope you're as capable as your mouth."

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

I will definitely win.

The hunter's body was soaked in cold sweat, but he didn't wipe it away, letting the cold wind freeze the sweat on his forehead into ice crystals.

Something seemed to melt within the "Provoker," and he felt he was not far from fully mastering the power bestowed upon Primarch.

"Alright," Leman Russ withdrew his aggressive gaze, "The second hunting duel shall now begin."

The "Provoker" keenly sensed that he was not well received in the Fenrisian camp, and no one was even willing to treat him to meat and wine.

Sanchez leaped onto the back of the Thunderwolf King, followed by six Thunderwolf carrying their cubs.

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

A moment later, the Reaper Lord handed over six Thunderwolf to a veteran "Hunter" and seventeen wolf cubs to a newly recruited "Hunter".

Sanchez shouted to the twenty-three "hunters," "Take your wolves and go hunting in the Fenris Wilderness."

He then addressed the forty-nine candidates. "To prove your potential and enter the Royal Court, go hunting in the snows of Fenris and bring back your prey to present to the Primarch."

While the Reaper Lord and the "Hunters" hunted on the icy plains, the hunt also took place at sea.

Szczesny and Jorginho each led their fleets on a hunt in the Sea of Storms.

When Sanchez reached the foot of Mount Et, 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-force winds whipped the seawater against the portholes with a crackling sound.

A surge of waves tens of meters high crashed against the bow of the ship like a collapsing glacier, causing the steel hull of the Sea Dragon to groan as if its ribs were breaking, and the entire ship shook and trembled.

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

The "Sailor" personally steers the ship. Even when the entire ship is tossed about by the wind and waves, with a drop of hundreds of meters between rises and falls, the Fenris tribesmen hold tightly to the mast and other objects. With his Beyonder Ability to "balance," he remains firmly standing on the deck.

The Seafarer intuitively sensed that about seventy nautical miles to the northeast, a warm current and a cold wave were tearing apart a new vortex.

As a scholar of astronomy and geography, the "Seafarer" completed the calculations in an instant.

The "Seafarer" flicked the helm, which began to turn, while simultaneously issuing commands to the "Stormfolk" on the other two Dragon Boat via the communication channel.

Hard to port! Reduce mainsail to three knots!

The "Seafarer," also known as the "Storm Priest," refers to the three Dragon Boat commanded by Jorginho that leap and tumble amidst the storm.

The Fenrisian watched in horror as churning rain clouds, laden with hail, violently pounded against the Dragon Boat.

The "Seafarer" showed no fear. He relied solely on his intuition to predict the ocean current's trajectory and guide the ship to use its thrust to break through the storm.

The Fenrisian endured being tossed about and rocked for an unknown amount of time before being astonished to find that the fleet had somehow made it out of the storm without losing a single ship.

The Fenrisian, regaining their senses, knelt before the "Storm Priest" and shouted in Juvik.

"Messenger of the Allfather! Chaplain of the Storm!"

The "Seafarer" felt as if an illusory sphere within his body had shattered, and water flowed around him. His slightly tired body felt as comfortable as if he were immersed in a hot spring in the Cradle of the Sea.

[I'm one step closer to becoming a true "Seafarer".]

Just as Jorginho felt completely refreshed, his Communication Bead beeped. He answered it and heard the voice of his subordinate, the "Stormfolk."

"Company Commander, a fjord has appeared ahead. It's a deep U-shaped valley formed by glacial erosion, with towering cliffs on both sides."

"A group of Sea Dragon were swimming among them, probably fleeing the storm."

Jorginho's deep, dark eyes flashed as he shouted into the communication channel.

"Brothers, we've just weathered a storm; now it's time to hunt."

The Shadow of Order leaped from the Dragon Boat and led the Fenrisian to begin their hunt for the Sea Dragon.

Each Fenrisian no longer uses the original bone and stone weapons; instead, they wield iron weapons made by the Legion's Servitor.

Jorginho's men were hunting the Sea Dragon, Sanchez also climbed to the summit of Mount Et.