Chapter 354: Interim Check
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 354: Interim Check
We fled for our lives and hid in a corner of a cornfield. The field was vast enough, and the Golden Lord wasn't skilled at searching. Thanks to that, we got a moment to catch our breath.
But we couldn't relax. The atmosphere surrounding this cornfield had clearly changed.
The sound of trudging footsteps passed above us. The search party had found its way here. I held my breath until the footsteps faded, then spoke.
“Ugh. Sounds like they're swarming all over the place out there.”
“They won't be homunculi. They can't wander outside the Golden Palace. Probably the Dominarch's soldiers.”
“If we attack them, the homunculi will show up, so it's pretty much the same thing.”
Fortunately, they didn't even spot our shadows. Because we were hiding underground.
Once we were far enough from our pursuers, the Regressor expertly dug into the ground with Jizan. Usually, the excavated dirt would be a problem, but the Regressor's Jizan displayed a remarkable power, compacting the soil further down. Thanks to this, we had a comfortable hiding spot, quite unlike a typical hole in the ground.
Animals plagued by the dangers of the wild instinctively prefer dark, narrow spaces. The darkness hides them from the eyes of predators, and the tight space protects them from external attacks.
The same goes for humans, the lords of creation, so I lay down in a corner and savored the comfort.
“Haaah. This is nice.”
“Do you think so as well? I am in agreement. To confess, I have been somewhat displeased with your recent insistence on wandering about in the daytime.”
“Hey, if we're going to be out and about, it has to be during the day. We can't live here for a thousand years.”
…Though I guess not as much as a vampire would.
“Besides, look at Peru. She's coughing. The air in here must be bad.”
“…Cough. It's… because of you…”
Peru said in a dying voice, her face scrunched in a frown.
She's exaggerating. As I've said time and again, I'm just an ordinary guy. So no matter how hard I hit her, a punch without any Qi is just an ordinary punch. She could take that much.
If you want to get technical, it was the price for saving your life. If that's what it costs, I'd take a hundred punches myself.
“Well, while we're at it, let me ask again. Are you willing to cooperate with us?”
“…Cough, cough. If you mean cooperation… I've done enough.”
“Hmm. You're too stubborn for words to work. Shei, a knife.”
I casually held out my hand to the Regressor.
“What, did you leave something with me? Why are you so demanding?”
The Regressor grumbled but handed over a sleek dagger from her pocket dimension. It wasn't some legendary treasure, but it was a dagger made from the fang of a rare beast. It's the kind of thing you can't easily buy with money; if you haggled well, you could probably buy a house in a major city with it.
…To just hand something like this over without a second thought. How much money does she have? I should just keep it instead of giving it back.
Ahem. Anyway. I squatted down like a thug and pointed the dagger at Peru. I had no intention of stabbing her, but a sharp blade is a threat in itself. She wouldn't be able to hold out for long.
“You don't seem to value your life. Even with a knife at your throat, you won't cooperate…”
The moment I feigned a thrust, the tip of the blade turned pitch black and crumbled into dust. In an instant, the dagger made from a beast's fang vanished, leaving only the leather hilt.
“Huh?”
My money, turned to dust? The power of Wither can crumble even a beast's fang? What in the… How did someone with this ability emerge from the Fallen Dominion?
Worried something else might crumble, I tossed the leather hilt aside and hastily backed away. Just then, the Regressor, who had been watching us, gave a sharp warning.
“Witherarch. Don't use your power recklessly. You could die.”
She was serious. Her killing intent was aimed at Peru's neck. Chun-aeng and Jizan were immune to her power, so even Peru wouldn't be able to block the Regressor's attack.
But Peru remained calm, even in the face of such killing intent.
“…Kill me. I'm… cough… worse than useless anyway.”
‘…If I use my power, the materials the Golden Lord needs will disappear… Even if a war breaks out, I can't participate. A power that only destroys has no value…’
She was stubborn, even in the heart of enemy territory. It felt less like loyalty and more like despair, which made it seem even harder to change her mind.
The Regressor clicked her tongue.
“Tch. Hughes. Threatening her with a knife isn't working.”
“Then should we try threatening her with money? Peru, if you cooperate with us, we'll give you half of the Fallen Dominion. You'll be rich.”
“…Cough! I don't… need it.”
Come to think of it, even if she had money, it would just crumble, so she couldn't use it, right? Hmm, this is tough. They say the one with nothing to lose is the most fearsome. Neither knives nor money work on Peru, who practices a kind of acquired non-possession.
No matter how much I read her mind, there's no answer. A normal person would be swayed by either a knife or money. I grumbled in frustration.
“Knives don't work. Money doesn't work. What has the Golden Lord ever done for you to be so loyal? It doesn't look like he even pays you a salary.”
“…It's not a matter of good or bad. This land, the food we eat, the truth of alchemy… Everything in the Fallen Dominion comes from the Golden Lord. He is everything to the Fallen Dominion… You wouldn't understand.”
Though the Golden Lord himself seems to live in the Golden Empire, I guess that's all part of the Fallen Dominion. Hitting a wall, I scratched my head.
Peru has no greed. The problem is that, unlike faith or conviction, this is a logically rational conclusion for her.
For Peru, who crumbles everything, the concept of ownership is faint. It's always more beneficial for her to gain favor by giving to others than to possess things herself. If she carelessly uses her unique magic, everything she owns could turn to dust.
It's a valid and rational survival method based on human social dynamics. Therefore, I can't deny or correct her way of thinking. In other words, in this situation, I have no way to persuade Peru.
“What's so great about the Golden Lord, anyway?”
Just as I was grumbling, we sensed a clearly suspicious presence above ground. We all fell silent as if by agreement, but the presence lingered around for no reason before heading toward our entrance.
The Regressor gripped Chun-aeng and got to her feet.
“Tch! I think they found us because you were talking so loud!”
“It's all because Peru was coughing! Oh, don't tell me! You were coughing on purpose to give them a clue we were here!”
“…Cough. I'm coughing because of you…”
“Were the three of you not all making noise?”
Everyone bickered as we stared at the hole leading to the surface. We had covered the entrance with dirt and grass, but it wasn't impossible to spot if one looked closely. As we exchanged grim looks, a familiar voice drifted through a crack in the entrance.
“Knock, knock~. Anyone home~? Peace envoys from the Military State~?”
It was Hilde.
Well, I already knew, since I can read minds.
Hilde slipped casually through the opening. Seeing her carefree expression, the Regressor asked with displeasure.
“How did you find us?”
“Why, the cornstalks you pushed through were pointing here like a compass! It was so obvious even my basic tracking skills could spot it! It was so blatant, I was worried it might be a false trail!”
“You're good at all sorts of random skills.”
“You could just say 'That's amazing.' You're not very honest, are you, Shei!”
“I never thought that!”
Hilde chuckled, spun around, and spoke in a theatrical tone.
“More importantly, everyone, we have a big problem~! The Golden Lord is making weapons! It seems he's seriously preparing for war!”
“Weapons?”
“Yes! For example, this!”
Hilde smiled gently and reached her hand toward the entrance. She grabbed something she had left outside and pulled it down with all her might. A pile of dirt collapsed, and a suit of armor with a rough, metallic texture was dragged down.
Greaves, a helmet, a cuirass, and gauntlets. The pieces of armor, made separately for each body part, rolled onto the ground. The clattering of metal was deafening.
“Plate armor.”
“Yes! A full suit of it! It's so sturdy that all I could do with my strength was dent it! Could there be any armor more incredible than this!”
In a fight between armor and bare hands, it's common sense that the armor would win, but it's a different story if the opponent is a master of Qi Arts. When one cloaks themselves in Qi, their body becomes as hard as steel, and there are even techniques to infiltrate and destroy the metal from within.
So, if this armor can withstand an attack from one of the Six Generals—a master who has reached the pinnacle and is the Military State's strongest asset—and only come away with a dent, it would be no exaggeration to call it a treasure of the century.
Still, armor like that can't be common. Considering the high-quality alchemic steel and the refining techniques, a single suit would probably cost as much as a castle… but.
“And yet, suits of this armor are lined up like corn in a cornfield!”
To the Golden Lord, the Divine of Alchemy, they are no more valuable than ears of corn. No, perhaps they're even easier to make.
“And that's not all. Weapons, vehicles... All sorts of nasty things were spread out on the ground. I think the Golden Lord plans to build a massive armory beyond this cornfield. I suppose… he's found a reason to use them, hasn't he?”
Needless to say. Elric had already declared she would start a war.
Hilde picked up a gauntlet, dropped it, and pressed the Regressor.
“Excuse me, didn't 'we' go to negotiate for peace? What happened? As a peace envoy of the Military State, could you give me a brief explanation?”
“I'll explain.”
The Regressor wasn't there from the beginning, so she wouldn't know the full story. Instead, I briefly explained what happened at the Golden Palace. Elric's decision to continue the war. The Golden Lord's agreement. The homunculi that appeared one after another. And finally, our dramatic escape.
After hearing everything, Hilde scratched her head and gave a troubled smile.
“Ahaha~. I guess a truce was too much to ask for~. This is a problem. If the Golden Lord starts preparing for war now, the strategy we drafted will be ruined, won't it?”
“Strategy?”
“Yeees~. A maneuver war using the Military State's Signallers. The plan was to exploit and sever the Primarchs' weak alliances to cause chaos, conquer various regions, and ultimately march on Claudia~.”
Hilde let out a soft sigh, twirling a lock of her hair as she lamented.
“This is a big problem~. If the Golden Lord gathers the Primarchs, the Fallen Dominion's forces will be formidable. If war breaks out like this, it'll be an all-out conflict. Both the Military State and the Fallen Dominion will suffer enormous losses. Haaah. What should we do?”
Hilde's words represented the Military State's position. They sent us as so-called peace envoys, only for us to miss the golden opportunity and even put them on high alert. Hilde made it sound cute, but if you were to quantify the losses, the number would be staggering.
The Regressor, suddenly finding herself being scolded, trailed off.
“Uhh… about that.”
“It's okay. Don't blame yourselves too much, everyone! Because you have a way to make up for this huge failure!”
As if she knew this would happen all along, Hilde replied with a bright smile.
“If a war starts, it has to end eventually, right? And obviously, it's better to end it quickly with overwhelming force. That way, fewer people die and fewer resources are consumed. However, you and Shei have been steadily chipping away at the Military State's strength. You even cost us one of our few advantages, our mobility, by holding a sword to headquarters' throat and threatening them.”
The Regressor had only attacked the Military State to prevent a war that would become the starting point of chaos. But if she failed to persuade the Fallen Dominion, she would have unintentionally sided with them.
This was clearly the Regressor's fault for threatening the Military State under the pretext of a truce.
Hilde emphasized that point as she continued.
“However, if you all were to join the war, that would balance things out nicely!”
You started this, so you have to take responsibility. Hilde pressured the Regressor with a smiling face.