Chapter 170: Creating an Opportunity - 11
Chapter 170: Creating an Opportunity - 11
Daytime.
The penthouse suite of Waris's most luxurious hotel.
Narsha sat on the bed, her brow furrowed.
She had just woken up.
"What."
Seeing liquor bottles scattered on the floor, she'd evidently passed out drinking.
"Hmph."
A slight hangover. Narsha roused her Mana to shake it off and sighed.
She hadn't eaten anything since last night, but she had no appetite anyway.
"Ugh, so annoying..."
The sheets were a chaotic mess, her clothes tossed haphazardly across the floor, but once she went out and came back, everything would be tidied up.
"...Shall I make a weapon."
Not that she particularly enjoyed it.
Unlike other Dirga, Narsha didn't particularly like manufacturing weapons.
No matter what weapon she made, men would just swing it around however they pleased and spill blood.
What meaning was there in endlessly crafting tools for killing?
She didn't exactly value human life, but sometimes it all felt so futile.
"Funny. So damn funny..."
She only made weapons because the intrusive thoughts disappeared while working.
She merely created the weapons; she never really cared who used them afterward or how.
There was an escort guard who'd used one of her weapons to cut down innocent civilians and wound up losing his head for it. Fights breaking out among her own guards where they'd draw blades on each other were common, too.
Weapons were deadly instruments. In the end, they only ever served violence and crime.
Wasn't she bound by the same karma?
She wasn't above using weapons herself, nor above seeing blood. It was simply the nature of this world.
Narsha, scoffing, looked down at her arm and grimaced.
The deep cut had been healed cleanly with healing arts.
She'd even received cosmetic treatment afterward, so her fair skin was left without a single blemish.
Her cheek? Lungtao hadn't even struck her seriously.
He'd only hit her with the base of his palm, so not even a scratch remained.
"That bastard..."
But the anger hadn't subsided.
Jiha? She could just kill him and move on.
Her sense of betrayal over Lungtao weighed on her far more.
"Why, Lungtao? What's the big deal if I kill one little—... Even if he's a Common, I could easily have it covered up, so why..."
She had struck Lungtao countless times, but this was the first time Lungtao had ever laid a hand on her.
She didn't understand it. She couldn't accept it. She wouldn't forgive it, either.
The tiger who had guarded her since before she became a Unique, who had always steadfastly protected her in place of her murdered mother...
"Using my name to gather underlings and you still dare side with someone else? I won't forgive you. I will never forgive you..."
He'd hit her, and now he was apparently too scared to even show his face.
"I'll have to beat him a thousand times, ten thousand times. He won't come to his senses until I beat him half to death. No, I'll kill him. I should just kill him."
Narsha got up, changing her clothes right then and there.
Her eyes swept over the whip hanging on the wall, then to even more powerful weapons, but she grabbed the whip.
"This won't be enough to calm me down. How dare he get ideas..."
Knock, knock.
At the sound, Narsha turned around, thoroughly annoyed.
To dare come to her without being summoned first.
"What?"
"It's Getereu. I have something I wish to discuss."
"...Come in and talk."
Narsha was irritated but held it in for now.
Lungtao must have sent a subordinate because he lacked the nerve to apologize himself.
Seeing the mouse beastman enter, Narsha didn't bother hiding her revulsion.
"What, you. What is this thing doing here?"
Had something like this been among her guard detail?
Narsha didn't bother to remember her escort guards' names or faces.
She had delegated all selection authority for her guards to Lungtao.
Still, her guards were the men who could assist her in childbearing—candidates who might become a Helper.
A Helper obviously needed to be an outstanding male, but she also wanted to be somewhat picky about looks.
"What's with that face? It's revolting."
"..."
Getereu looked like he'd bitten into a bug, but he swallowed it down.
Narsha's vicious temper was well-known.
"You. Quit being a guard. Turn in your weapon and—"
"Matters like that are for Lord Lungtao to decide. Shall I inform Lord Lungtao for you?"
"..."
Narsha lashed out with her wrist.
Crack!
The mouse-headed beastman staggered, blood streaming from where the whip struck his head, before glaring at her with yellow eyes.
A defiant stare. Narsha snorted and swung again.
"Seems I've been neglecting my exercise lately. Did you just talk back to me?"
Slap! Craaack!
She swung just short of killing him, so skin split open and blood streamed down.
Getereu belatedly bowed his head.
His expression was resentful, but Narsha didn't care in the slightest.
What did it matter if one little rat resented her?
She could just kill him whenever she felt like it.
"What's your business?"
Getereu, his head a mess of blood, managed to stand and speak.
"...Lately, there have been frequent clashes among the guard. We're running into trouble—picked fights on the streets—and losing more and more."
"Useless. Discard the ones who lost and recover the weapons."
Narsha answered flatly, then shot back.
"What's Lungtao doing that you're coming to me directly?"
"...I thought you should be made aware."
"..."
She had indeed left guard-related matters to Lungtao.
But watching Getereu roll his eyes, Narsha had a good idea flash through her mind.
"So? Do you have some kind of plan?"
"If you permit me to move... about fifty men, I will handle it myself."
"Fine. Handle it yourself."
Getereu bowed his bleeding head and left.
She had no idea what scheme he was cooking up, but it didn't matter.
Escort guards were replaceable anyway.
She'd heard before that staying in Waris brought a flood of men showing up, begging to become her guards.
More than that, she liked the idea of subtly warning Lungtao that his authority could be stripped from him.
"Need to show him who's in charge..."
Lungtao was strong.
A Normal Grade, unable to use Mana, but she'd outfitted him with weapons and armor she made, so he displayed extraordinary ability.
But Narsha had never once considered Lungtao as a man who could become her Helper.
Lungtao, in turn, had never once looked at her as a woman.
They'd been together, but their relationship was decisively not that of a man and a woman. It couldn't be explained through such terms.
The way that tiger looked at her could be gentle, and sometimes stern, but she could always trust it.
He had always been by her side, always on her side.
She didn't know what to call this, but...
"Hmph..."
Narsha shook off the thought and rose.
As a Dirga, she intended to simply make weapons.
Someone would grip one, someone else would die—none of her business.
***
Afternoon, at a café terrace.
Jiha looked down over the street, lost in thought.
Spread before him was a map of downtown Waris.
Uben, seated across from him, checked a message and spoke.
"Squad 5 clashed with some escort guards causing a disturbance at a clothing shop on 32nd Street. With Squad 6 joining in, they completely subdued them."
"Good..."
Jiha moved a piece on the map, updating the situation.
Right now, Jiha was overlooking Waris city, deploying and moving his Commons to instigate clashes with Narsha's escort guards.
Dozens of local engagements had erupted. Every single one had been a crushing victory.
Two or three guards would get dogpiled by five Commons, and if things got rough, another five would join in. How could they possibly fight those numbers?
"Swap Rugin of Squad 2 and Calon of Squad 11."
"Calon is performing well. Wouldn't it be better to leave him where he is?"
"If we swap them, their combat strength is roughly the same. But I'm using this opportunity to shuffle them." He turned. "Squad 2 leader goes to Garaon. Keurambul is too fixated on charging headlong."
Uben belatedly caught Jiha's intention and looked impressed.
"You also have a secondary goal of eliminating the awkward distance between the Blue and the Purple Commons."
Jiha hadn't organized the Common squads with only combat strength in mind.
His aim was to blend individuals who'd naturally be ill at ease with each other into a single unit.
Fighting shoulder to shoulder against a shared enemy—the escort guards—would inevitably wear away old resentments.
Comradeship forged in battle.
Jiha planned to use this moment to carve into the Commons not a sense of belonging to a camp, but a unified identity as subordinates who followed him.
"What about public opinion among the citizens?"
"It's obviously improving. We're the ones stepping up to handle the troublemakers that even the security officers couldn't touch. The citizens like us now. They often give us food for free."
"I'll say it again: be careful not to cause harm to civilians. This city is our base. We have to win their hearts."
"I'm repeating it constantly."
Jiha nodded, then cut to the core issue.
"Lungtao and Narsha?"
"Narsha Russellarms is reportedly holed up in the forge."
"So she doesn't care if her forces get whittled away..."
The number of escort guards Jiha had deployed his Commons to take down had already exceeded 300.
By now, she should realize what he was thinking, yet Narsha wasn't paying any attention at all.
To her, the guards were likely nothing but dust—things always lying around the room, not worth a thought.
"That bitch is one thing, but Lungtao?"
"He's doing nothing."
Jiha gave a wry smile.
"That's trouble. He's holding firm."
"Aren't we the ones with the advantage?"
"Holding your ground is the hardest thing to do. And Lungtao is doing it. He's making a silent appeal to me."
Jiha went on, sounding almost relieved.
"He's telling me to cut the nonsense and settle this leader-to-leader."
"If that's what he wants, he could just send someone to say so. Why does he do nothing?"
Instead of answering, Jiha tapped his own arm.
"I was injured by Narsha. It's all healed now, but... He's yielding to me because of it. Letting me decide when we have our showdown."
"Then can't we simply ignore whether Lungtao holds firm or not and keep going?"
When Uben looked puzzled, Jiha shook his head.
"There's a limit. This is ultimately about reputation. It's groundwork for boosting my image and that of the Commons in Waris. It also does a lot to erase awkwardness among the Commons and instill in them a 'we're one' mentality, but—"
Ultimately, the escort guards were men Jiha intended to win over.
What was the point of completely wiping out resources he planned to take for himself?
Lungtao understood that, which was why he refused to play along with the attrition game.
"I didn't know about Lungtao, but I figured Narsha would make a move. I was planning to use that as a springboard, bulldoze through all at once, and wrap this up. But she either trusts Lungtao more than I thought... or she has absolutely zero interest."
"..."
Jiha closed his eyes.
He pictured the tiger beastman sitting calmly, ignoring report after report of his subordinates being beaten.
He was wordlessly demanding they fight again and settle it once and for all.
"A one-on-one showdown..."
"You must not accept it, Chief."
Uben spoke earnestly.
"I've been meaning to say this before: Lungtao is strong. And as Narsha Russellarms's closest confidant among confidants, he may possess weapons we don't know about. We currently have popular support on our side and we're steadily eating away at them with localized engagements. It might take time, but we can completely scatter and dismantle Narsha Russellarms's escort guards."
"That's the worst option."
Jiha answered evenly.
"Lungtao is the heart of the guard force. We can afford to discard everyone else, but we have to secure him. Once we catch Lungtao, the rest will come rolling in on their own. And Lungtao won't submit unless I break him myself."
"Then what about targeting Narsha Russellarms directly? She may be a Unique, but if we stage a surprise attack..."
"The more we do that, the further Lungtao slips away."
Jiha spoke plainly.
"A man wants to fight as a man. I feel it, too."
"...Then are you truly going to fight him one-on-one? Though, as you instructed, expectations are already circulating on the streets that you and Lungtao will settle this in a Summoning War match before long."
"Do you think I'll lose?"
"Anything is possible. And I don't want to follow anyone other than you, Chief."
As Uben spoke so openly, Jiha gave a wry smile.
For his staff officer to speak with this much fervor and sincerity.
"You're running a little hot, aren't you?"
"...Everyone is worried. Lungtao is strong. Everyone who's seen him can feel it."
"I'll be the one to decide."
At Jiha's words, Uben nodded.
Clearly, as staff officer, the do-or-die gamble didn't sit well with him.
'Win and gain everything, lose and lose everything. It certainly looks like a gamble...'
Just then, a young messenger came and delivered a note to Uben.
Uben's complexion changed and he shot up from his seat.
"Fifty guards are targeting Squad 4 and tightening an encirclement. It seems someone among them got clever after getting beaten over and over."
"It's not Bran."
He'd thought that if Narsha and Lungtao stayed still, Bran would move.
"He doesn't have that many men of his own to mobilize fifty at once. If he charged in alone with just one or two others, it'd be hard for the Commons to hold out."
In pure skill, Bran was no pushover, so Jiha had ordered his Commons to avoid confrontation with him.
Just in case, he'd had Bran's movements monitored, but he'd mainly been seen guarding Narsha's vicinity.
"Some fool with no personal power decided to stick his neck out. Who is it?"
"I'll find out. So what will you do? For reinforcements, Squads 7 and 9 are nearby, but even if they all gather, against fifty men, it's a bit... Shall we call the security officers?"
Up until now, his Commons had always fought local engagements with a numerical advantage.
That was how they'd beaten the escort guards easily with almost no casualties, only suffering minor injuries.
The Waris security officers could also be moved according to Jiha's will.
If he acted now, he could bring public authority into play and force the guards to back off.
Jiha answered evenly.
"No need to do anything."
"Pardon? But still..."
"Because the ones who've been dying to prove themselves will have already rushed in. Fifty, five hundred—the situation's already over."
Jiha rose from his seat at a leisurely pace.
"Shall we go see how they handled it?"
This had been a fight fought solely by Commons.
Now, the Uniques would move, too.