Chapter 289
Chapter 289
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 289
Chapter Title: Dogs and Wolves (14)
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Horus's expression hardened.
Horus trailed off, his gaze averted.
Riak glared at Horus with ice-cold eyes.
"I... I..."
Just as he tried to squeeze out an answer.
"Lord Horus!"
A hysterical voice pierced his ears.
Caliche, who was still fighting Oh-jin, glared at Horus, her eyes wide with fury.
"What in the world do you think you're doing?! Didn't I tell you to kill them?"
"..."
"Use the hostages, do whatever it takes, just kill them already! ...Ugh?!"
Caliche grimaced, parrying Oh-jin's ferocious spear thrusts.
Horus bit his lip and glanced back at Caliche.
"The hostages... are useless."
Riak had already steeled his resolve.
Even if they killed the captive Silver Mane Tribe members, he wouldn't stop.
"Ha! Can't you see it's just a bluff? Stop talking and make an example of one of them!"
"..."
Horus clenched his fists and looked toward his Royal Guard.
Thanks to Riak's efforts, a few of the captured Silver Mane Tribe members had been freed, but that was it.
Most of the Silver Mane Tribe were still in the hands of the Royal Guard.
Not even Riak could save so many people at once.
"What are you hesitating for!"
"I..."
"Lord Horus!"
His clenched fists trembled.
Just as Caliche said, if Riak saw his kin die right before his eyes, his attitude might change.
No, even if it didn't, it would at least shake his resolve.
"I..."
It was a simple task.
Just like always.
All he had to do was follow orders.
"Lord Horus!"
"Give the order!"
Horus's Royal Guard pressed their sharp claws against the necks of the captured Silver Mane Tribe.
The moment the order was given, the necks of dozens of Silver Mane Tribe members would be torn open by those sharp claws in less than a second.
*'Right.'*
If he didn't kill the Silver Mane Tribe as Caliche ordered, she would activate the 'leashes'.
If the leashes were activated, he would lose even his Royal Guard, the only ones in the kingdom who still trusted and followed him.
*'I've made this choice countless times before.'*
To protect the lives of his kin, he had to obey Caliche.
He had to be her loyal dog.
No matter how miserable.
No matter how wretched.
All I have to do is kneel.
All I have to do is submit.
Then I can save them.
All of them.
-You were just scared to fight.
Riak's words stabbed into his chest like a sharp blade.
"Who... is the Khan?"
And this was coming from someone who had done nothing for a hundred years.
Now he had the audacity to cry out about the pride of a wolf?
"You could just turn a blind eye!"
But he couldn't.
He had to watch his kin die before his very eyes, crushed by his own powerlessness.
"I don't want excuses. I want an answer, Horus."
"I!"
*CRASH!*
Horus stomped his foot violently.
He glared at Riak with wide eyes.
Even in a situation where a single word from him would mean the death of their kin.
Riak's eyes didn't waver in the slightest.
*'It's a bluff.'*
Yes.
Caliche was right.
Not a single one of the captured kin had died yet, so he was just pretending to be unfazed.
Riak wasn't a wolf.
He was just a cowardly dog, same as him.
"Ugh! If you don't give the order right now, I'll activate the leashes on your men's necks!"
Caliche's voice rang out.
The voice that had bound him for a hundred years.
Nothing had changed.
His knees were already worn from kneeling so many times.
What would change if they wore down just a little more?
So.
"Damn it! What are you hesitating for!"
The answer.
"Just tell them to kill them already!"
Was already decid...
"...up."
"What did you say?"
Horus's eyes turned to Caliche.
"I said shut up, Caliche."
Even if his knees were worn to nothing.
Even if his pride had been burned to ashes.
-That is the weight a 'Khan' must bear.
Horus looked at the old friend standing before him.
That cowardly bastard.
He let out a dry laugh and muttered softly.
After hearing those words.
How could he possibly remain a 'dog'?
"Royal Guard, listen to me!"
Horus turned to his Royal Guard and shouted.
He looked at each of their faces, faces he might never see again.
He carved the weight of the lives he must carry into his heart.
"In my name, 'Horus Khan', I command you!"
The name he had shunned for a hundred years.
It was time to bear it.
"Release the members of the Silver Mane Tribe!"
"...Lord Horus."
The eyes of the Royal Guard gathered on Horus.
They gently touched the leashes around their necks and lowered the claws they had held to the napes of the Silver Mane Tribe.
*Thud, thud.*
The Royal Guard walked toward Horus.
Lining up before him, they stood straight, made a fist, and struck their left chests three times. *Thump, thump, thump.*
It was an old custom, long since vanished.
An oath of loyalty performed only for the 'Khan'.
"We obey the Khan's command."
With those final words.
*Rumble!*
Black clouds erupted from the collars around the Royal Guard's necks.
Their faces turned black as they trembled violently.
Their eyes rolled back into their heads, and they collapsed, tongues lolling out.
"Hah, hah. Dogs that dare to bare their fangs at their master deserve to die."
"..."
"I left half of them alive. If you want to save the rest of your men...!"
Just as Caliche turned to Horus and was about to shout.
*SQUELCH!*
Oh-jin's spear pierced through Caliche's solar plexus.
"Ku, cough!"
"That's enough out of you, bitch."
Caliche, having unleashed the power of a Cheonma, was strong.
So strong that even Oh-jin, with Vega's blessing, had struggled against her.
If they had fought properly, it probably would have been impossible to defeat her before Vega's blessing wore off.
"Did you really think you could run your mouth like that and still survive?"
Thanks to Caliche's attention being diverted, he was able to shove his spear into her solar plexus before Vega's blessing ended.
"Keuk, keok, kruk!"
The blue will-o'-wisps in Caliche's eyes gradually faded.
Clutching the gaping hole in her chest, Caliche coughed up blood and collapsed forward.
"Hoo."
Oh-jin let out a deep sigh and pulled his spear from Caliche's chest.
The brilliant silver light enveloping his body gradually faded, revealing an exhausted Vega.
[Is... is it over now?]
Vega clutched her chest, gasping in pain as if the constraints of the law were taking effect.
Oh-jin gently laid Vega in his palm and nodded.
"Yeah."
[But that man, Horus, is still lef—]
"That's not my fight."
Oh-jin shook his head slowly, looking down at Horus's men, who lay on the ground with dark, discolored faces.
"..."
A bitter taste filled his mouth.
He had wanted to kill Caliche before she could activate the leashes, but even with Vega's blessing, he had only managed to push her back slightly.
If Caliche had known Vega's blessing didn't last long, he might have been the one lying dead with a hole in his chest.
*'So this is the power of the Demon People.'*
He could understand why they had become the rulers of the Demon Realm.
Oh-jin sighed deeply and turned his head toward Horus.
Horus was staring blankly at his dead men.
"..."
Horus looked down at his fallen men with bitter eyes.
As Caliche had said, half were still alive.
In other words, the other half were dead.
Because of his choice.
For the sake of his worthless pride.
"...So this was the weight you had to bear."
*Khhh.*
Horus's shoulders shook as he laughed.
"It's so damn... heavy."
No.
He was crying.
"Grrrrr."
*CRACK!*
Horus's body grew larger as a black mane covered his entire form.
Caliche was already dead.
But he still had unfinished business.
"Come, Riak."
The black wolf's eyes turned to Riak.
"Let's settle this."
"...Horus."
"Surely you're not going to say it's over just because Caliche is dead, are you?"
Riak clenched his fists with a bitter expression.
Just as Horus said, it couldn't be over just because Caliche was dead.
"If you want to reclaim the name of Khan!"
The corners of Horus's mouth curled up fiercely.
"Kill me!"
*BOOM!*
The black wolf charged.
A fist carrying terrifying power cut through the air and struck Riak across the cheek.
Blood trickled from Riak's mouth.
Wiping the blood from the corner of his mouth, Riak grinned.
"Ha! Is that all you've got?"
"What?"
"Looks like you've gone from a dog to a cat!"
"All talk, aren't you!"
Spitting blood and talking about cats.
Horus grabbed Riak's shoulder with a look of disbelief.
He raised his knee like lightning, intending to slam it into Riak's stomach.
"Grrrowl!"
Riak slammed his palm down on Horus's knee and brought his own head down like a hammer.
*CRACK!*
Blood splattered as Horus staggered backward.
"Ugh... Your head is as hard as ever."
"That's because I've got a lot in here."
"More nonsense. Who was it that used to run off to the forest whenever class started?"
"Didn't you ditch with me?"
"That's because you dragged me along!"
Their reckless youth.
Recalling memories of a time when peace still filled the Khan Kingdom.
Contrary to the warm reminiscing and chuckles, the two wolves' fists were swinging mercilessly at each other.
Fist met fist.
Blood and sweat flew as the two wolves tangled fiercely.
"Hup!"
*BAM!*
Riak's fist dug into Horus's solar plexus.
As if anticipating the attack, Horus slid back and grabbed Riak's arm.
"Grrrrrr!"
Holding his arm, Horus slammed Riak to the ground.
The immense impact caved in the earth, sending dust flying in all directions.
Pinned to the ground, Riak gritted his teeth.
Riak snapped his hips up, kicking Horus with both feet.
As if he'd been waiting, Horus grabbed both legs and began to spin.
Horus spun so fast that the kicked-up dust formed a small whirlwind.
Spinning like a top, Horus let go of Riak's legs when the centrifugal force peaked.
Thrown like a shot put, Riak's body crashed into the fountain in the royal garden.
*CRUMBLE!*
The statue in the center of the fountain collapsed, showering Riak with debris.
"Ughhh..."
Groaning, Riak staggered to his feet amidst the wreckage.
"Weren't you saying something about a cat earlier?"
Horus grinned at the groaning Riak.
"Has it been so long you've forgotten, Riak?"
His claws grew long, like knives.
"That in all our combat training classes, you never once beat me."
The black wolf bared its fangs fiercely and kicked off the ground.