Ubermensch – Chapter 150

Chapter 150

Nodens asked in a calm voice.

“Where in Erin should I send you?”

Mason’s destination was already decided.

“Where Cú Chulainn is.”

Nodens paused for a moment. It seemed he was searching all of Erin with the perception of his main body, not his avatar.

“I found him.”

Nodens said to Mason.

“Something feels a bit strange.”

“What do you mean?”

“There are traces of mixed space. It seems like there’s an external force.”

Mason frowned.

“The Destroyer?”

“I don’t think so.”

“…It’s not monsters, is it?”

“I didn’t scatter Life Seeds there.”

Mason shrugged.

“Well, alright. I guess I’ll find out when I get there.”

“I warned you.”

Nodens opened the dimensional gate.

Mason passed through the gate.

๑ஓ๑๑ஓ๑๑ஓ๑๑ஓ๑๑ஓ๑๑ஓ๑

Ulster was in a blizzardy winter.

Mason shivered at the penetrating cold.

‘What kind of cold is this?’

He had a body temperature regulation function. Even if it wasn’t at the level of Murim warriors’ immunity to heat and cold, it was rare for his physical abilities to be weakened by temperature.

That meant this was a supernatural cold.

Mason looked around.

‘Where am I?’

He was standing in an ancient castle tower. It was a tower of an old fortress built in Celtic style.

The problem was, he had no idea which fortress or which tower it was.

The horizon was covered in snowstorms, and all he could see were snowflakes.

Mason gave up on figuring out where he was and moved inside the castle.

Then, the guard who was guarding the entrance was startled and pointed his spear at him.

“Giant! It’s a giant! A giant has appeared!”

Mason grumbled.

“Ah, yeah… A giant is a giant…”

Was this what it felt like to be racially discriminated against? Mason grumbled but stood still. Beating down the guard would only increase their vigilance. It was better to wait patiently until the person in charge, like the lord of the castle or the captain of the guard, appeared.

And, the person who opened the door and came out was startled to see Mason.

“…Oztalon?”

He was tall, with scars all over his body and face. He had a stern face with sad eyes, and he was wearing leather armor and thick furs as a coat.

And, in his hand was a long spear familiar to Mason’s eyes.

“The person is unfamiliar, but the spear is familiar.”

Mason looked at the person who came out of the door.

“Lugh’s son, Cú Chulainn. Right?”

“That’s right. Oztalon, the Guardian Deity.”

Cú Chulainn spoke politely and gave an order to the guard.

“Stand down. This person is not a giant, but a god from another land. He is not an intruder but an honored guest, so do not be disrespectful.”

“Yes, my lord.”

Mason looked at Cú Chulainn and said.

“You’ve changed a lot.”

“I made friends. And I lost friends.”

Cú Chulainn said with a melancholy expression.

“I became the greatest warrior of Erin, but the name isn’t as valuable as I thought it would be.”

Mason gave a bitter smile.

“That’s how it is for most things. Most of what you desperately desire… tends to disappoint you.”

“Anyway, it’s been a long time. It’s too cold to talk here, let’s go melt the cold.”

“Alright.”

Mason followed behind Cú Chulainn.

He had built a fire in the middle of the fortress, and there he had made a place for the warriors to rest.

Cú Chulainn sat on the bare floor and offered Mason a seat as well.

“Sit down.”

Cú Chulainn handed him a bottle of alcohol and said.

“This will help you warm up.”

“It doesn’t seem like ordinary cold.”

“That’s right. It’s the chill of the Shadowland.”

“Shadowland?”

Mason thought for a moment and said.

“You mean where Scáthach’s fortress is?”

“That’s right.”

Cú Chulainn nodded.

“Erin is a land of light. But shadows are covering Erin, and our Ulster border has also been invaded. I am here as the champion of Ulster to stop the army of shadows from pouring in.”

Mason knew exactly what the sternness and sadness Cú Chulainn was showing were.

“Are you losing?”

“…That’s right.”

It was the face of a general fighting an unfavorable battle. A man who knows that lives are at stake with every word he says, every action he takes. A responsible man’s face, knowing that he must pour out lives like bullets for the duty of victory.

But it was also the face of a man suffering because he had nowhere to shift the blame for the responsibility of his actions, because he was losing.

“You were a boy when I saw you before.”

“And now?”

“You’ve become a man.”

Cú Chulainn made a bitter expression.

“The greatest man in Erin.”

“Yes. The greatest man in Erin.”

Cú Chulainn’s self-assessment was mixed with self-deprecation and sorrow.

He took a swig of alcohol with a bitter expression.

“It’s sheep’s milk ale brewed by a druid. It will help you get rid of the chill of the Shadowland, so drink up.”

As Mason drank the alcohol, his body’s functions returned to normal. It seemed the power of the alcohol drove away the magical chill.

“A druid.”

Mason suddenly remembered a name.

“Speaking of which, what about Edrid?”

“Emain Macha. I left her in the royal capital of Ulster. She wasn’t in a state to come to the battlefield.”

“Is she sick?”

“No, not that. It’s just… she’s pregnant.”

“Is it your child?”

“That’s right.”

Cú Chulainn’s gloomy eyes warmed up for a moment. His wife, and the baby in her belly, would be a warm presence in the heart of a man shivering on the battlefield just by thinking of them.

“Alright. Then… I have no choice but to ask you.”

Mason looked at Cú Chulainn.

“Did you use Geas?”

“I did.”

Cú Chulainn lifted his fur clothing and showed his chest. In the middle of his chest, a strange pattern was engraved like a tattoo.

“The Geas of not refusing hospitality from someone of lower status than me, and the Geas of not eating dog meat. Two.”

“What are the rewards?”

“The Geas of Hospitality made it so that no beast’s teeth can pierce my skin, and the Geas of Dog Meat doubled my strength while my stomach is full.”

Mason made an interested expression.

He noticed an archer who was sharpening arrows.

The wooden arrow had a bone tip attached to the end.

Metallurgy in this era was limited, and metal was also precious. For those who didn’t wear iron armor, bone arrows were enough to be lethal. There was no reason to waste iron on consumables like arrowheads.

In other words, not being hurt by a beast’s teeth also meant… not being hurt by ordinary arrows.

“It’s a well-designed Geas.”

If he didn’t have to fear arrows, it meant he had to be defeated in close combat. On top of that, Cú Chulainn, who was already a demigod, had his strength doubled through Geas.

An ordinary person would have no way to fight against him.

“Druid spells deal with the power of contradiction. So, the more contradictory the situation, the more powerful the strength you can draw out.”

“Well, alright.”

Mason looked at Cú Chulainn.

“Nodens, the main god of our pantheon, wants the power of Geas. If I take you with me, his wish will be fulfilled.”

“Wherever it is, I can’t go.”

Cú Chulainn tapped the floor with his spear.

“This castle. And my soldiers. And above all, as long as the war with the Shadowland continues, I will not leave this place.”

“I’ll take you by force if I have to.”

When Mason said that, Cú Chulainn gave a bitter smile.

“If I had heard those words twenty years ago, I would have definitely dueled you.”

“You mean you won’t now?”

“An unavoidable fight lurks outside the walls. I will avoid a fight that can be avoided.”

“But I have to take you with me.”

“And I’m fighting a war.”

Cú Chulainn looked at Mason.

“So, let’s make a deal.”

“What kind of deal?”

“Help me fight the Shadowland. Help me prevent their icy shadows from reaching the people of Emain Macha. Fight alongside me against them. The day we send a victory report to Emain Macha, I will go with you to your land. Without any complaints or dissatisfaction.”

“You’ve become eloquent.”

“Druid spells start from contradiction. So, I have no choice but to get used to resolving contradictory situations.”

Mason nodded.

“I can help you, but let me make one thing clear. I never kill people.”

“Is that your Geas?”

“No. It’s just a decision.”

“If that decision makes you righteous, it will be no different from Geas.”

“Maybe so…”

Mason sipped the sheep’s milk ale.

It was then.

Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang!

A metal bell rang urgently. The watchmen in the distance were shouting.

“Shadows! The shadows are pouring in!”

Mason grabbed his hammer, and Cú Chulainn grabbed his spear.

“Any advice?”

“Shadows don’t have any vital points. You have to scatter them completely.”

Mason gripped his hammer tightly.

“Finishing things decisively is my specialty.”

From afar, shadow monsters were rushing towards them. The monsters, whose entire bodies were made of shadows, didn’t even flinch when hit by arrows. They charged like wolves or tigers, stood up like bears, and attacked.

“Chahat!”

Cú Chulainn pierced a head with his spear, kicked a stomach, and once again scraped a belly with the blade of his spear.

It was a series of attacks that were beautiful to behold.

On the other hand, Mason raised his Lion’s Great Hammer high above his head…

“Heup!”

Crack!

He crushed a shadow monster in one blow.

‘Slime?’

The shadow monster was a monster made of sticky slime. At least it was definitely not a ghost.

Mason and Cú Chulainn slaughtered the shadow monsters with gusto.

However, ordinary people, who didn’t have the monstrous strength of Mason or Cú Chulainn, didn’t have the power to completely crush or cut the bodies of the shadow monsters. They could inflict wounds, but wounds alone couldn’t disable the shadow monsters.

“My lord!”

They struggled with the shadow monsters, panting, with their shields and axes. All they could do was hold out until Cú Chulainn or Mason finished off the shadow monsters.

Cú Chulainn roared.

“Hold on! Just hold on! Until the time of the God of Light comes!”

He bravely stabbed and pierced the shadow monsters, protecting his subordinates.

It was at that moment when it seemed like a somewhat even fight was taking place.

Thump… Thump…

Unlike the shadow monsters that were like agile beasts, a giant shadow monster resembling a huge giant began to walk slowly.

Its height was similar to that of a watchtower, and its shoulder width was about the same as its height.

‘Is it trying to tear down the castle itself?’