Netori Harem: New life as a hunter and gatherer

The charred body of Ragul was carried away from the arena.

It was apparent that not every warrior was pleased with the conclusion, but from the way they spat toward the charred remains of his body, it was clear that their displeasure was not directed at Ilya. If anything, their contempt was reserved entirely for Ragul.

He was called a coward and a disgrace, and judging by Regath’s reaction, Ilya couldn’t help but believe that the man had thought the same of his own son.

’He clearly had no idea about my magical prowess, or he would have never sent his son against me.’ Ilya muttered under her breath.

Ragul had clearly carried some deep-seated trauma toward flames, and Ilya had exploited that weakness to secure an easy victory.

Physically, he was a challenge to her and most importantly his keen response to her attacks. If the battle had continued the way it was, Ilya knew she would have received more than one injury.

However, once she used sorcery, the battle became one-sided.

"That was a complete disappointment." Regath said as he rose from his seat.

Kalish snickered. "It was a fair win."

Regath scoffed. "I am not denying that. Though your first man lost to mine, I hope you won’t deny that either." His lips curved into a grin, clearly pleased that he had found something to hold over Kalish.

Kalish frowned. It was true that Baldon had left this world before Regath’s warrior, but Baldon had been tricked and killed through an underhanded method. It was hardly something worth boasting about.

However, trying to make Regath understand that was about as useful as bashing his head against a wall. Kalish decided it wasn’t worth wasting his breath.

"That brings the challenge to this final battle!" Regath declared, backing away from his seat before making his way toward the arena.

His men immediately began to roar once again, their voices echoing throughout the battlefield as they demanded another battle.

Regath turned toward Kalish and said, "Send your final challenger. Who would it be upon whom you would stake your own life, as well as the lives of your people? Who would be the final champion you would entrust with the future of so many?"

He was clearly enjoying himself, his eyes gleaming with excitement and amusement as he anticipated what was about to happen.

Kalish gritted his teeth. This was madness.

Just then, his trusted warrior stepped forward. "Let me handle whoever he sends, my Lord."

"If I cannot serve you when you need me most, I would be ashamed of my own existence for the rest of my life." The man added, his voice filled with unwavering devotion as he prepared to prove his worth on the battlefield.

Kalish exhaled a heavy sigh. There was no choice now. If circumstances allowed it, he would have stepped forward himself, but his position made that impossible. The fate of his people rested on this final battle, and he was not allowed to participate himself.

"Father," Ilya suddenly called out, her eyes fixed straight ahead. "Our third champion has already appeared."

Kalish frowned and instinctively followed her line of sight. His expression changed the moment he saw who she was referring to.

A familiar young man was already standing in the arena, facing Regath without the slightest trace of hesitation.

Kalish panicked. "Why is he there?!"

Ilya caught his hand and said, "Wait, Father."

"But Ilya, this is about the lives of the villagers."

"And who could be more desperate to save them than him?" she asked, raising her brows.

Kalish fell silent for a moment, his gaze fixed ahead. "But... we don’t know if he is ready for this challenge. I at least know what Grum is capable of."

Ilya met his eyes without hesitation. "I have fought Grum, and every single warrior standing behind us. And..." Her gaze shifted toward Luke. "...yet I can still say that he is our best chance of winning this."

Her words wounded the pride of a few warriors, but Grum remained unmoved. Instead, he stepped forward and said, "If the young lady deems him worthy, then perhaps we should trust her judgment above all else, my Lord."

Kalish exhaled a long, weary sigh. Looking ahead at the two figures, he muttered, "Well, looking at them, I can barely believe my opinion matters anymore."

...

Luke stood in the middle of the arena, his shirt still stained with Baldon’s blood, as he faced the taller man without so much as a blink.

Regath grinned. "You are an interesting one. Earlier, I never even noticed you entering the arena. But considering you were worried about that man, I was willing to forgive you for crossing the line once. But now?"

The crowd erupted into a deafening roar before Regath raised his voice above them. "You won’t be given another chance to walk out of here alive!"

"Raaah!"

A warrior stepped forward, a battle hammer gripped tightly in his hands, his eagerness to fight plainly written across his face.

Regath’s grin widened. "You want him, Chorum..."

"I won’t fight him."

Regath was interrupted as Luke calmly crossed his arms and made his intentions clear.

Meeting Regath’s gaze without the slightest hint of submission, Luke said, "I want your strongest. Otherwise, I won’t be fighting them."

Regath snickered. "Who cares about your opinion? Chorum! Crush him!"

Hearing those words, the crowd erupted into cheers as the tall warrior tightened his grip on the hammer and lunged forward.

Regath grinned as he looked down at Luke.

"Huh?"

Squelch.

Chorum’s feet continued carrying him forward, but his momentum faltered. His body remained upright for another step before something struck the ground with a heavy thud.

A moment later, Chorum was on his knees, his severed head rolling across the arena floor toward Regath.

Regath’s grin slowly faded as he looked down. There, lying at his feet, was the head of his warrior. Yet what truly caught his attention was Luke, standing exactly where he had been a moment ago, his posture unchanged.

Silence descended upon the arena.

For a moment, no one seemed capable of comprehending what they had just witnessed.

Kalish and the other guards could only stare, their eyes widened in disbelief. Chorum had appeared far stronger than the warrior Baldon had faced, yet the battle had not even lasted more than a few blinks.

No. Calling it a battle would have been an insult to the word itself.

It had been nothing short of annihilation.

Luke slowly crossed his arms, his gaze remaining fixed on Regath.

"Your strongest."

Regath grinned as realization dawned on him. "You are strong... much stronger than anything I have seen thus far."

There was not even a hint of grief in his voice, despite having just watched one of his warriors lose his life.

He stepped closer, studying Luke with newfound interest. "How about you join me? I can give you a far better life than anything you could ever have in this village. You would have everything you want. Just leave Kalish’s side and join me."

Luke stared at him. There was something in that gaze that unsettled Regath, yet the man held his ground and waited for an answer.

"I am not doing this for Kalish’s sake," Luke finally said. "For everything Baldon has done for me and my family, no matter how trivial it might seem, I am simply repaying his kindness by taking down your strongest."

It was not only Luke who had received Baldon’s help. His father had benefited from the man’s kindness as well.

There had been times when Luke could not go out to earn a living and Gustav had already become nearly useless with only one arm. During those difficult periods, Baldon had forgiven their rotation fees on several occasions, giving the family some much-needed room to survive.

Baldon might not have been a great man, but Luke could not forget what he had done for his family.

And for everything Luke held dear, he could at least repay that debt with this much.

Regath chuckled. "Let’s do this way then! My men were getting bored anyway." He backed away and headed back to his chair.

Once he sat, he called out. "Come out." Suddenly, a man stepped forward.

He was standing amongst the group of soldiers within the village.

That stunned everyone, including Ilya since they never noticed a man stepping through the perimeter and blending with them.

Unlike the others, this man was shorter, almost the same height as Luke with lean physique and almost inaudible footsteps.

Regath did the introduction. "This...is my personal guard. Someone I have trained myself and the one you would be fighting."

Grinning, he added. "I present you the black wolf of my tribe, Hel."

Luke looked at the back standing before him.

And in the next instance, he received the warning.

[Host, even in your Moon Warden state...he is stronger and faster than you. Best of luck.]

Luke smiled faintly. Finally, a worthy opponent.

~~~~

A/N:- Thanks for reading.

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