Chapter 66: Chapter 66: Eren’s Sacrifice (2)
Chapter 66: Eren’s Sacrifice (2)
"Yeah... eventually..."
"Your majesty...?"
What he said was a low whisper which only Shaka and a handful of others head.
"But not now."
Then he looked at them almost as if he was looking one last time.
"Accept him."
And then another pause before saying, "Now go."
No one moved at first.
Then slowly, one by one, they began to turn.
They were reluctant and there were half who were unwilling, but they still followed his command.
For it was his last command.
"Erst is to be the leader who will replace me."
He looked at everyone once more.
"These are my words. And my words are promise! They are a command!"
"We will follow your condition Your majesty!"
"Your majesty!"
"Your majesty!!!"
Every wolf who had begun to move, paused, bowed and resumed their movement.
Erst stayed where he was for a moment, his mind still catching up to what had just happened.
Then he stood.
The pain in his body hadn’t disappeared, but it no longer stopped him.
As the pack moved, he found himself at the center. Some walked ahead of him. Some behind. Around him were wolves of the clan, and he could feel that their gazes were heavy with emotion.
Some of them had doubts, and others surprised. Some were simply angry. But at the core of it, they all believed that Erst wasn’t fit to be the leader.
But they obeyed the command.
Erst’s chest welled up as he thought his dream was finally achieved.
A sense of proud sat on his face as he said, "Let’s Return home!"
A very low reply from all came, "Yes... your majesty..."
It lacked energy, but at the moment, Erst was in a world of his own.
This feeling topped everything...
...except, a sudden thought struck him.
’Wait, the large Banyan tree and the dense around it was a perfect shelter for us... why send us away all of a sudden?’
’And why make me the leader all of a sudden? What does he gain by doing something so idiotic?’
He couldn’t help but turn back and keep glancing but all he saw was a wolf, someone who idolised Eren, follow closely with anger in his eyes.
Erst turned back forward.
’I don’t understand. Why...?’
There was Shaka in the front who kept looking back and she too had a gaze that exuded killing intent.
Erst didn’t know where to look at now...
Except, he did look at the starry sky.
’Its... beautiful...’
And just as he had thought this mucu, a howl echoed behind him.
"Awooooooooooooooooooo."
It was a loud howl, yet due to their distance, it had lost its intensity.
But it was easily recognizable. It was Eren’s howl...
This howl seemed distinct from usual call. It was almost like...
’Farewell...?’
Shaka’s gaze had turned soft and everyone around Erst had begun to just move on.
The howl had somehow... just somehow calmed them down. And everything would have gone fine if they continued...
But, nothing ever goes as planned in this accursed world. And nothing ever goes as one thinks it should have.
A distant explosion tore through the forest.
The ground trembled faintly under their feet, and the sound lingered just long enough to make every single wolf stop in place.
Erst froze.
His eyes widened slowly, and something tightened deep in his chest in a way he couldn’t ignore.
’...Eren could see future!!!’
This thought struck him hard.
Before anyone could react properly, Shaka turned and ran toward the source without a second thought, her body cutting through the forest as fast as she could move.
That was because the sound of explosion was from the direction where Banyan Tree was and where Eren stayed back to do some work...
Others followed immediately, especially those who had always stood closest to Eren.
In seconds, order broke apart.
Wolves rushed forward, some pushing past others, some nearly colliding as they tried to move faster than the rest. Smaller wolves stumbled under the sudden movement, and the formation they had maintained until now collapsed into chaos.
"Stop... you guys!" Erst shouted.
His voice rose as he tried to pull control back, but no one listened.
He howled.
"Awoooo!"
"Awwwwooooo!"
He howled a couple of times but there was nothing!
Even if he managed to grab attention, they simply glanced once and continued their run!
He was in a direct situation and in this moment, his eyes fell on one certain individual who was contemplating running back but then decided not to.
It was Elder Liik.
"Sire... Elder!" he called out.
Elder Liik was already moving. He did not need Erst to say anything.
With the help of a few older wolves who had long stepped away from battle but not from authority, they forced a portion of the pack to stay back, preventing the chaos from spreading further.
Erst didn’t waste time. Noticing how the Elder controlled the situation here, and how he wanted to prove he wasn’t incompetent, he declared, "I’ll bring them back!"
And then he ran.
The forest blurred past him once again as he pushed his body harder, ignoring the strain, ignoring the pain, ignoring everything that told him to slow down.
And when he arrived...
He couldn’t help but stop. It was not because he wanted to, but because he saw a scene in the front that he couldn’t describe so well.
The ground ahead was stained dark.
Bodies lay scattered across it, some twisted, some torn apart so badly that it was hard to tell who they had been moments ago... all the wolves...
Half of the warriors who had rushed ahead...
...were gone.
The smell of blood was thick, heavy enough to settle in the throat and refuse to leave.
For a brief moment, Erst didn’t move.
His mind struggled to process what he was seeing.
Instinctively, his eyes scanned the surrounding and then, among the few who stayed alive, including Shaka, he noticed something red moving.
And as he looked carefully, he found beasts almost twice the size of the warrior wolves, with red fur and similar red glowing eyes staring back at all.
There were five of them.
"B... Bloodhounds!?"
Erst gulped hard. He gulped a chunk of dry saliva as he further noticed a man walking out with a head in his left hand and a sword in his right.
Tears came before Erst couod even realize and his vision had become blurry.
But despite that, he could still tell...
...the severed head with lifeless eyes belonged to his brother, Eren and the many carrying it was the infamous butcher...
"BLOODHOUND BLAKE!!! YOU BASTARD!!!"
