Dragon Genesis: I Can Create Dragons - Chapter 531: Zul nar’vak me.
Chapter 531: Zul nar’vak me.
The winds became different the moment Kael left the Velmourn territory, almost as if they were telling him that he had entered another, different territory.
This was the territory of the Stonefangs; the wind here didn’t flow around walls and streets, it moved freely across open snowfields, cutting through forests, slipping between mountain ridges, carrying the smell of pine, old stone, and beasts.
By the time Kael got here, the clouds above had thickened again. The snow had stopped, but the world still looked buried in white. For a moment, Kael slowed in the air and looked down.
The Stonefang territory wasn’t a city.
It wasn’t even a proper village.
It was a hard place built for hard people.
Their settlement sat inside a wide valley surrounded by jagged cliffs, they were using the mountain’s curve to protect themselves. Snow covered everything, but the Stonefangs had carved paths through it—wide, packed trails that ran between stone huts and thick tents made of beast-hide. Fires burned in pits dug into the ground, the flames protected from wind by walls of stacked rocks. Smoke rose in thin gray lines and vanished into the heavy sky.
There were no decorations.
No banners.
No statues.
None of this mattered to the Stonefangs; the only thing that mattered was survival.
Kael nodded at the sight; this matched what Imperia had told him before. Then, he descended slowly and the moment his boots touched the snow, the world shifted.
Movement exploded.
Stonefang warriors appeared like shadows from behind tents, from behind rocks, from between huts.
They didn’t rush him wildly.
They moved like trained hunters, spreading outward, surrounding him in a half-circle. Axes, spears, heavy clubs, and curved blades gleamed faintly in the pale morning light.
As for Kael, he didn’t react.
He stood calmly with his hands relaxed at his sides, looking around with a curious look on his face. The warriors muttered to each other in their rough language. Their sharp eyes were full of suspicion, but there was also something else in them…
Nervousness.
And Kael saw that; this was the reason he didn’t react to their sudden movement. Plus, he also knew nothing was going to happen to him; after all, Cirri, who was with him in her Sky Form, had already told him that a few warriors had already gone to bring their chief without appearing in front of him.
And just as he expected, after about a minute, the crowd parted and the chief walked in. Kael’s eyes fell on the familiar face, and together with him was Zakaar, the Stonefang Translator. He looked tired, just like his chief; it was clear that the two of them had spent quite a difficult night.
“Chief Gruumak,”
Kael nodded lightly.
Zakaar translated quickly, turning his words into the Stonefang tongue. Gruumak’s gaze didn’t change, but he responded, and Zakaar translated back.
“He says you came early.”
Kael glanced around the camp.
He could see movement everywhere now.
Warriors were gathering. Beasts were being prepared. Women were tying supplies into bundles. Older men were securing straps and checking harnesses. Children were clinging to cloaks, eyes wide, staring at Kael as if trying to decide whether he was a savior or… a monster.
“Is everything ready?”
He asked after he turned his gaze back to Gruumak.
Zakaar translated.
Gruumak answered immediately and Zakaar translated again.
“He says… yes. The tribe is ready.”
Kael’s eyes moved past the Chief again.
He could see it clearly.
Even with “ready” spoken out loud, the tribe didn’t look… ready.
Their bodies moved, but their minds… it was clear that they were unwilling to follow him.
The warriors were muttering constantly to each other, throwing glances at Kael, then back at the Chief, then back at Kael. The elders stood near the fires, silent, watching like they were memorizing the land before they left.
Kael couldn’t understand a single word they said.
He considered asking Zakaar what the muttering meant.
But before he could speak again, Gruumak said something, his tone rougher this time. His brows pulled together slightly.
Zakaar turned toward Kael.
“He asks,”
Zakaar began,
“how we are going to move?”
And Kael knew just how important that question was. After all, it wasn’t just the normal Stonefangs who were nervous; their Chief was no exception. In fact, his nervousness was far more complicated than his men’s.
The Chief looked… strained. He was forced into something he couldn’t control. He had convinced his people, even those who hated the idea of leaving their land and joining the enemy to fight a seemingly impossible battle. They all gave in to his words and were prepared to follow Kael just because the Chief said so.
And this…
This only made it even more difficult for the Stonefang Chief.
His men were loyal.
His men were good.
But…
If his choice to follow Kael turned out to be wrong, his good men would… perish.
And it wasn’t just about the long-term decision. Even now, if the other tribes saw them as they moved and decided to attack them, then their men, who already had numerous uncertainties clogging their minds, would fall apart in an instant.
The doubts would turn into panic. The panic would turn into blame. They wouldn’t even be able to show half of the resistance they would usually show.
Kael could sense all his worries and he didn’t answer immediately. Instead, his lips curved slightly into a small, confident smile.
He didn’t say “don’t worry,” or dismiss their concern, he…
“Can your people move at a uniform speed through the terrain?”
He simply asked something else.
Zakaar frowned at those words but translated them nonetheless. Gruumak was no different; he blinked, surprised by the sudden question, but then answered swiftly.
“We have beasts that carry four.
Children, elders, injured, sick ride.
The rest run.”
The chief then took a small pause, as if unsure if he should say it but then continued anyway—
“When Army moves, takes three hours.
Everyone moving…
Five hours.”
The chief gave his estimate and Kael nodded at those words; this matched his own calculations.
“Good,”
He nodded again, satisfied. Then he pointed outward, toward the snow-covered forest that lay beyond the valley.
“Then you will follow me. Run exactly in the direction I move. Do not split. Do not wander. Do not send scouts ahead.”
The moment he heard those words, Gruumak’s expression tightened.
“Only follow… you?
No scouts?”
The Chief couldn’t understand, and not just him; even Zakaar seemed confused.
“Not hide? No cover? You have magic thing? Artifact? Anything to hide so many people?”
He asked in his rough voice.
The more he spoke, the more apparent his confusion became, but that only deepened Kael’s smile even further.
“You don’t need any of that,”
He answered confidently.
“As I said, just follow me and do exactly what I say and you and your people will be at the Velmourn Wall without any problems.”
Zakaar translated Kael’s words and Gruumak—he stared at Zakaar as if he had misheard. He even signaled Zakaar to listen to Kael and repeat again, but after confirming that Gruumak hadn’t made a mistake, Gruumak’s face turned serious.
“Confidence good.
But there are scouts.
Stormcaller scouts, other tribe scouts.
Scouts spread through forest.
Our movements big. Easy to see, and if they see, Stormcallers would know.
Then they attack.”
Gruumak cautioned.
This wasn’t the time to be reckless; this was too dangerous of a situation to be doing that but—
“I know.”
Kael nodded.
An answer that made Gruumak pause, and Kael continued in a calm, reassuring voice that oozed with confidence.
“I know about the scouts.
I also know about the beasts they are using to watch the forests. I know where they travel, the paths they take, where they rest, I even know where they take a shit.”
Zakaar translated, and Gruumak’s eyes narrowed in suspicion and… disbelief.
As for Kael, he just looked into Gruumak’s eyes and—
“I know everything I need to know.”
He spoke in a low, deliberate tone.
“And as long as you follow me, nothing will happen.”
Gruumak’s jaw tightened at those words; the warriors around looked at each other nervously, not knowing whether they should trust this man or not.
“If you wrong, my men die.
Fight back difficult. Already too many doubts.
Many still do not want alliance but they follow.”
He spoke in his rough tone and Kael’s smile faded into seriousness.
“I understand.”
He nodded, then, he looked past Gruumak, towards the gathered Stonefangs.
A thousand people.
A thousand lives.
A thousand minds filled with… doubts and uncertainties.
Kael raised his voice just enough that the front lines could hear him; even if they couldn’t understand his language, it didn’t matter.
He knew his tone would carry his meaning.
“I can see your doubt,”
Kael said, his eyes moving across faces.
Zakaar hesitated for a moment and glanced at Gruumak, and the instant the Chief nodded, he nodded back and began translating Kael’s words for his people.
But then—
“Zul nar’vak me.”
Kael spoke and the instant he did, the Stonefangs, especially Zakaar, widened their eyes in disbelief.
Source: Webnovel.com, updated by novlove.com
