Chapter 159: The Man - 16
Chapter 159: The Man - 16
The dining hall. Jiha and Lungtao sat across from each other. No one else was present—just the two of them.
Only hours before, these two men had been fighting to the death. Now they faced one another with perfect composure.
"Have you eaten?"
Jiha broke the silence.
"A light meal beforehand. You?"
"I'm fine. Shall we just drink?"
Instead of answering, Lungtao pointed at the triangular bandage on Jiha.
Pouring alcohol onto a body with broken bones was a terrible idea.
In place of a reply, Jiha pointed at Lungtao's head.
He was wearing bandages too.
Tiger beastmen were said to have excellent recovery, but a skull fracture was a major injury.
And he'd probably been whipped on the back as well.
"Let's drink."
"Good."
Jiha was about to get up when neat footsteps approached the table.
Lijin came pushing a cart laden with alcohol and food.
"Excuse me."
"......."
She's taking care of things without even being asked.
She must have heard from Uben and prepared it, but isn't she still far too perceptive?
Jiha was impressed. Lijin politely set everything on the table and withdrew.
Her manner must have struck Lungtao as well, because he nodded.
"A decent young lady."
There was a wide variety of alcohol, and Jiha could see that several bottles matched his tastes.
The others had likely been prepared because she didn't know Lungtao's preferences.
A drinking session between two men.
Jiha and Lungtao poured for each other, clinked glasses lightly, and drank.
After three silent rounds, Jiha spoke.
"You plan to keep getting beaten for the rest of your life?"
"This is nothing serious. From her standpoint, it's even a necessary action."
Lungtao's face showed acceptance.
"Narsha hates dealing with trifling matters. In exchange for handling those, the occasional lashing is simply her way of reminding the other escort guards whose word is final."
"...That's not the—"
That's from Narsha's perspective. From the one on the receiving end, you'd be grinding your teeth.
Watching it was making Jiha's blood boil, yet Lungtao remained completely unruffled.
"I endure because there's something to gain."
"You and your men might become much stronger with Dirga weapons, but in the end, you're still subordinate to Narsha. At the decisive moment, you wouldn't be able to defy her will, would you?"
No matter how many followers Lungtao gathered, no matter how much he built a private army, the moment Narsha decided, the weapons would lose their power.
Narsha herself likely thought the same, which was why she let him do as he pleased.
"She partially agrees with my intentions."
"You're planning to topple her even though she's a Unique?"
Jiha asked outright.
The reason Lungtao sought power while enduring such humiliation was that he had ambition and a purpose.
Lungtao nodded.
"You'll hear the details from her directly."
"I'll pass. If I see her again, it won't end amicably."
For the first time in a long while, Jiha felt irritation that was entirely uncalculated.
He'd seen plenty of arrogant women since coming to Warsland, but Narsha Russellarms was beyond his imagination.
"She's not that bad."
"You sound like a battered spouse making excuses. What? When she's sober, she's a good husband, right?"
At Jiha's retort, Lungtao shook his head.
"Think about it without preconceptions. She controls an organization with minimal effort. With thousands of escort guards, she'd normally have to deal with countless issues. To minimize that, she puts me forward and whips me occasionally to reinforce that she is in charge."
He had a point, but Jiha refuted it.
"Then the only thing left in your subordinates would be resentment. No matter how many weapons she makes, who'd genuinely feel loyalty to a woman who just lashes people? Where's the carrot?"
"Narsha never expected anything like that from the start. She has no intention of building organizational cohesion."
"......."
"Her goal is singular: meet a man who catches her eye and create the ultimate weapon."
Jiha frowned.
"So she doesn't care if the organization becomes utterly fragmented? She's fine with internal strife or external conflict as long as it lets her find an exceptional man?"
"You've grasped it precisely. You really are sharp."
"...Wow."
Jiha was astonished.
"What a spectacular bitch."
"Don't be so harsh. Just as you and I have our own goals, Narsha acts according to hers."
"......."
Jiha shook his head in disbelief.
But from Lungtao's explanation, Narsha Russellarms truly had zero reason to treat the men flocking around for her weapons with any special kindness.
She'd just keep working them hard, and if she kept at it long enough, eventually one would meet her standards—that seemed to be her attitude.
"She treats men as completely disposable... because she knows they'll keep coming for her weapons anyway."
"And that naturally breeds resentment, so the number who follow me grows."
"......."
So Lungtao and Narsha operated on a mutually beneficial alignment of interests.
Lungtao tolerated the occasional beating and his influence grew. Narsha dumped all the underling management on him and just swung a whip when she felt like it.
"It's absurd. So why did you come to find me?"
This was Lungtao's way.
Jiha didn't like it, but he could simply smash it to pieces after taking control.
Lungtao smiled.
"Our last drink got cut short. I came to finish it."
"What makes you so sure I'll let you leave here in one piece?"
"Because I would, if our roles were reversed."
At Lungtao's words, Jiha raised both hands in a shrug.
Killing Lungtao here would be completely pointless.
'First, I'll break Lungtao on a stage where everyone is watching and make him submit... then I'll bring over the men who follow him. Then I'll take over Narsha as well and seize the entire armed group.'
A rough plan was forming.
For a long while, Jiha and Lungtao continued drinking in silence.
Jiha could use his Mana to burn off the intoxication, but he didn't. Lungtao showed no sign of doing so either... and it felt like the first one to do it would lose.
"Do you have a family?"
"Why is everyone so eager to marry me off?"
When Jiha responded with annoyance, Lungtao answered calmly.
"Take a wife, have children, build a home. That'll change you a little."
"Not happening. You and I both live dangerous lives. What home?"
"I had one."
Lungtao said it as if in passing.
"Not anymore, though."
"......."
Jiha didn't ask what happened.
"The reason I might seem to treat Narsha a little specially is because she reminds me of my daughter."
"Must have been a terrifying household."
"But I was happy."
Jiha spoke abruptly.
"Lungtao, just come under me right now."
"I thought that matter was already settled."
Jiha shook his head slowly.
"You coming under me right now would cause the least bloodshed. Even if I break you, Narsha won't just stand by and watch. Among the men who follow you, some will still obey Narsha because of their Dirga weapons. Things will spiral out of control."
"That won't happen if I win."
Lungtao said it with composure.
It was a final appeal, and he'd rejected it.
Jiha nodded, though with regret.
"Fine. Then I'll choose the stage for our third fight. Come face me in the Summoning War, Lungtao. It's been a while."
Jiha explained slowly.
The alcohol made his tongue a little clumsy, but he refused to show signs of being drunk first.
"If there's a big audience and other Uniques as witnesses, not even Narsha can force the issue."
"I'll agree to that."
Lungtao readily accepted, a grin lingering on his lips.
"You seem to find Narsha rather untrustworthy. Your first impression of her must have been truly terrible."
"Why should I look kindly on a woman who acts like a queen bee?"
Even if she did nothing, men who wanted weapons would hover around her.
So she looked down on men, tossed them a few weapons, and used them like cheap disposables.
The way she'd sprawled across the chair and table earlier said everything about how she normally behaved.
"Then why don't you tame her a little?"
"Why are you trying to dump that mess on me?"
When Jiha recoiled in disgust, Lungtao gave an amused laugh.
"I've seen many men, but you seem the best. And as I said, Narsha is like a daughter to me... if possible, I'd like to pair her with a good man."
"Does this Dirga know about this? She'd beat you to a pulp if she did."
"She does that anyway."
Lungtao's expression was that of a man who had magnanimously accepted Narsha's lashings.
'He's got a serious blind spot of his own...'
Jiha kept the thought to himself.
Lungtao hadn't said it, but his daughter was clearly no longer in this world.
"It would be a fine sight to see you and Narsha start a family."
"Aren't you ashamed to spout bullshit just because you're drunk? What about your tiger dignity?"
Lungtao smiled.
"You're both strong-willed. You'd soften each other out while adapting. I guarantee it."
"And you'd be the father-in-law?"
"Who else would do it but me?"
"Did you come here to play matchmaker?"
"You're a dog beastman, so your culture even promotes polygamy. There'd be nothing to worry about."
He was referring to what Jiha had brushed off earlier—Lungtao was still mistaken about the relationship between Jiha and Mayan.
Jiha frowned mid-drink.
"What? Was this your goal?"
His head cleared in an instant.
Lungtao was a hero.
Hadn't Jiha thought the same? A man like that wouldn't have come without any intent at all.
He was manly, but he was also ambitious.
'I let my guard down because this is my home base...'
Jiha chided himself inwardly and collected his thoughts.
Lungtao was smiling.
"What would you even gain if I married Narsha?"
"The Dirga don't have a culture of marriage. They simply call the man they pair with their Helper."
"Then what do you get out of something like that?"
Lungtao replied smoothly.
"Control over the weapons."
"......."
Jiha gave a bitter smile.
"The one who overcomes Narsha gets control over all the weapons she's made?"
"Shared control, to be precise, from what I hear. It's a Dirga secret, so almost no one knows."
"......."
The one who bonded with Narsha would gain the authority to command her weapons and armor.
Then Lungtao and his men would no longer have to be pushed around by her.
Jiha asked quietly.
"Why not do it yourself?"
"Because when I said Narsha reminds me of my daughter, I meant it."
The tiger's yellow eyes burned quietly as he answered.
"But my daughter is gone now."
"......."
A quiet fury, steeped in hatred down to the marrow.
"And Narsha needs to keep making excellent weapons and armor. There's going to be an even greater war ahead."
"So you can't force things either. Look at you."
Jiha laughed too.
Yeah, seeing a man he liked getting beaten by a woman had rattled his mood a little and thrown him off.
But no. This guy wasn't what he'd seemed.
This one was also a predator biding his time, sharpening his fangs while waiting for the sweetness after bitterness.
The part about his daughter was likely sincere, but that wasn't slowing him down.
"So your plan is to match me, your subordinate, with Narsha, and bind me to you in permanent cooperation?"
"I thought of it while we were fighting today."
Lungtao extended his hand again.
With bold confidence.
"What do you say, Jiha? Follow me. Take Narsha as your wife and help me overturn this damn world. If you pledge loyalty to me, I'll respect your ambitions as much as possible. Besides, I have no children anyway. If I die, the next seat of power will naturally be yours."
"Beastmen live longer than humans."
"I'm older than I look."
Lungtao pressed with satisfaction.
"This is my final offer."
"Lungtao, up until this very moment, I liked you..."
Jiha let out a bitter laugh.
"Right now, not so much."
"Is that a refusal?"
"Do I look like a man who can be moved by dangling a woman in front of me?"
Jiha didn't hide his disappointment.
He'd never had the slightest intention of submitting to Lungtao, but to think those were the terms.
Lungtao answered a little sheepishly.
"She may be short, but isn't she beautiful? I've traveled the world, but there can't be many as beautiful as that girl."
"...Enough. Just drink."
Jiha tsked.
It was true Narsha was a beauty, but Lungtao's objectivity was clouded—he really was superimposing his daughter onto her.
Jiha and Lungtao tilted their cups again without speaking for a long while.
At some point, Jiha said,
"One thing is certain."
"What's that?"
"Next time we fight, it'll be settled for good. And whoever wins... this world will be overturned."
Lungtao smiled with satisfaction.
"That much is certain."
Both men intended to throw everything they had into crushing the one before them.
And the victor of this contest would flip the world on its head.