Chapter 503: An Inverted Pyramid?
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 503: An Inverted Pyramid?
The word “desolate” is used for land when it is empty, but for the sky, the word is “clear.” Both were fitting descriptions for the Enger Plains. In a corner of the plains, in Ende, where even the clouds flying across the sky seemed to grow weary and fall to the earth, the night sky was so clear you couldn’t possibly count all the stars that glittered like jewels. It was a night where a beast, yearning to voice its heart to the brightly risen moon, howled in the distance.
“Hmph, those ungrateful piggy bastards…!”
In a stuffy safe house with no yard to gaze at the night sky and no windows to hear the sounds, a man was spewing his rage.
“I took them in, gave them shelter, fed them, and they don’t even know the meaning of gratitude, turning on their own master? And now look at them, strutting around as if they’re the lords of the city. When in fact, they borrowed Grul’s power for everything!”
As his voice rose, Welsh, the dog beastkin watching by his side, pricked her ears nervously.
“My lord. Someone will hear you. Please, lower your voice…”
“Shut up! Don’t you dare interrupt me!”
Huffing, he paced around the room and kicked a desk violently. The desk flipped, and a water bottle that had been sitting on it lost its balance and fell.
Just before the bottle hit the ground, a soft tail wrapped around it. Moving just like a hand, the tail saved the bottle from its fall.
Watchdogs learn Qi Arts to protect their masters. Unlike other beastkin, dog beastkin were given the opportunity to learn specialized Qi Arts, which they continued to develop in their own ways. Some among them even manifested their own Unique Magic, and even the furred Saintess had been a dog beastkin. Dog beastkin enjoyed a status virtually equal to that of humans.
A family of watchdogs? Humans used other humans as servants. The fact that dog beastkin held that position was, conversely, a testament to how close they were to humans.
She supported the desk with her knee, snatched the glass with her hand, and caught the water bottle with her tail. Displaying incredible concentration, Welsh returned the table, along with the glass and bottle, to its original state before it could topple over. The feat was so impressive that it silenced even the boisterous Lord Erectus for a moment.
“If only those piggies were half, no, a quarter as good as you.”
It seemed he had forgotten his anger, but only for a moment. Lord Erectus quickly recalled his fury and continued to seethe, his rage unabated.
“Should I contact the homeland? No, if they find out I couldn’t even control a city like this, I’ll just become a laughingstock. But I can’t, the ruler of Ende, hide like a criminal! I have to retake it. But how?”
Connections, power, money, people. He had lost a significant amount during the revolution, but he still had more than he could count. Lord Erectus began to rack his brain, trying to figure out how to retake the city with his remaining resources.
Welsh, who had been waiting patiently, spoke up cautiously.
“My lord. When a storm is raging, it’s sometimes wise to lie low for a while.”
“Are you giving me orders now?” Lord Erectus shot back, his eyes flashing.
When Welsh fell silent, as if accustomed to this, Lord Erectus continued on his own.
“You want me to hide like a coward? That’s even more absurd. This city belongs to my ancestor, Saint Enger. It is blessed by his grace, he who drove out the piggies and beasts to expand these plains. Naturally, I too must drive out the beasts and expand this land! Your job is not to advise me, but to assist me…”
“Shh. A moment.”
Welsh quickly reached out and covered Lord Erectus’s mouth. It was an incredibly disrespectful act for a servant, but Lord Erectus, sensing the unusual atmosphere, did as he was told and kept quiet.
“I hear a strange noise outside. My lord, prepare to escape.”
Lord Erectus was displeased at the thought of abandoning the safe house he had acquired with such difficulty, but he prepared to leave without a word. Emotions aside, when it came to his protection, Welsh’s judgment had never been wrong.
When they pushed a wardrobe aside, a hole leading down was revealed. Welsh held her master tightly and slid down. They reached the first floor from the third in an instant, opened a small shutter, and slipped out of the safe house.
Behind them, Lord Erectus heard the muttering of orcs.
“Sniff. Are you sure this is the place? We’re not just wasting our time, are we?”
“It’s the spot the magician found. We’ll find something if we search.”
“Even if he is a magician, how would he know the lord is hiding here? Neither magic nor sorcery should be able to do that.”
“I heard from Mr. Gulta that he performs real magic. Maybe he found the lord with his magic?”
“Magic, my ass. You poke around enough, the rat’s bound to pop out. Let’s go.”
Lord Erectus, who had been trying to stay quiet, reacted furiously upon hearing the word “rat.”
“Rat? You filthy piggies dare…! Welsh, kill those bastards!”
“Control yourself.”
They were outnumbered. Defeating them wouldn’t be a problem, but if their location was revealed, they would be relentlessly pursued. Welsh coolly ignored Lord Erectus’s command and, a bit roughly, dragged him away to flee.
Long after Welsh had taken Lord Erectus far away, a commotion erupted near the safe house.
“Wait! There’s a secret passage here!”
“He was here just a moment ago!”
“Search the area! Comb through it like you’re hunting rats!”
But the lord and his servant were already long gone. The flustered orcs belatedly sent up a report. Their reporting chain was far too slow for a pursuit team, but this too would be a good experience for the orcs, who had never done anything in an organized fashion.
Hiding in Ende was no difficult task. The city, a melting pot of all kinds of beastkin and humans, made no one seem out of place; even the most peculiar person was rendered ordinary.
Furthermore, there were far more people in Ende who feared change than those who welcomed the lord’s downfall. Welsh used this to her advantage, always managing to find a place for her master to stay.
“Something’s strange.”
“What… is it,” Lord Erectus replied, exhausted from the continuous flight. Realizing her master’s stamina was at its limit, Welsh paused and looked around.
The nights in Ende were chaotic and loud. The clatter of hooves, cries, and all sorts of noises brushed past them. Normally, it was nothing but irritating noise, but now, while being chased, it helped conceal the identities of the lord and his watchdog.
“The sounds are all flowing in one direction tonight.”
“Perhaps they’ve finally learned how to form a line…”
“That’s impossible. I think they’re controlling the streets, keeping people from coming out, in order to catch us.”
“Hmph. As if those disobedient bastards would listen to any controls. The piggies clearly don’t understand why we created Obeli.”
A quick glance around confirmed that their attempt had already failed. They seemed to be setting up barricades and blocking passage, but beastkin in a hurry were already leaping over rooftops. The attempt at control only led to more chaos.
“The problem is that they’re doing this to catch us. They haven’t given up. They will definitely try to capture us… and they seem to have a good sense of our direction.”
“These ungrateful wretches… It’s not enough to bite their master, now they’re trying to drive me out completely?”
Lord Erectus trembled with rage.
It was one thing to be bitten by an animal you raised. Animals have poor self-control. But to be bitten and then dragged out of the house and abandoned, or locked up somewhere—that was a rebellion. It had reached a point where heads had to roll.
“I must inform the vassal states.”
“Can we guarantee your safety until then, my lord?”
“Safety? They’re the ones who should be guaranteeing it. If they don’t want to be wiped out for treason!”
Welsh’s expression darkened. But Lord Erectus, paying no mind to his dog’s mood, continued.
“Who expanded these plains? Who spread civilization? Who raised the flag in this city, Ende, which mercifully accepted even the beastkin, and led everyone? It was my ancestor, the great Saint Enger!”
A saint of the Sanctum, the man who brought civilization to the Enger Plains, and a historic strategist who held back the vampires. Saint Enger.
Lord Erectus’s body shook as he invoked the name of Ende’s founder.
“He himself said it. Beastkin are like livestock; as long as their temperament is gentle, they can coexist with us. It is thanks to that grace that piggies and cattle alike could live in Ende! How dare they attack his descendant?! I will show no more mercy. A beast deserves to be treated like a beast!”
Whether Saint Enger had said that to persuade people, or whether that was considered enlightened by the standards of his time, I didn’t know. But. Yes. That’s right. Beasts should be treated like beasts.
Just as I nodded and gauged the right moment to step forward, Azzy darted out ahead of me. She saw Welsh, wagged her tail, and spun in circles.
“Woof! Hello! Hello!”
“The King?”
Welsh, who had been wary of the unfamiliar intruder, recognized Azzy and relaxed her guard. Wagging her tail in greeting, she suddenly realized that Azzy wouldn’t have come alone.
“The King… if you’re here, then who?”
I wanted to make a more dramatic entrance, but Azzy ruined it. I slipped out from the alley as well and waved a hand.
“Hello. This is our first time meeting face-to-face, isn’t it?”
Lord Erectus’s eyes first darted to the top of my head and behind my waist. Confirming the absence of ears and a tail, his expression relaxed as he asked.
“A human? Who are you?”
“He was the guest who came to Obeli with the Dog King back then.”
“Was there such a human?”
“He stood there silently, just watching us. At the time, I thought he didn’t step forward because he was a servant like me…”
“I am being worked like a servant. You saw right. I guess it takes one to know one!”
Unlike Lord Erectus, who had paid me no mind, she remembered me. I’m touched.
Meanwhile, Lord Erectus saw me, straightened his clothes, and approached.
“I didn’t expect to meet a human here. If you guide me out of this city, I will reward you handsomely.”
Lord Erectus showed a certain degree of courtesy to humans. That didn’t mean he was polite, though.
I’ve been pretty active in Ende, and he doesn’t know who I am? He’s really out of the loop. Or maybe he just doesn’t care.
As Lord Erectus strode forward simply because I was human, Welsh stopped him.
“Don’t go, my lord.”
“Welsh. Do not interfere when I am speaking with a human.”
“You mustn’t. That man is the one they call the magician. He is not your ally.”
Ah, I get it. He’s grown complacent because he has someone to do his thinking for him. Welsh held Lord Erectus back and glared at me.
“He’s the one who helped Okma occupy Obeli.”
“He occupied Obeli? How?”
“He arrested Okma’s key figures and imprisoned them in Obeli’s jail. Then, while Obelisk was out to greet Grul, he released them. From the inside, the orc mercenaries took the lords hostage and seized Obeli.”
She seems more competent than her master. Well, horses are faster than humans so they’re used as mounts, and oxen are stronger so they’re used for farming, right? I guess you use a servant who is more polite, sociable, has a better memory, and is more competent than you are.
“He is on the orcs’ side. He’s probably the one who found us now, too.”
“You’re wrong. I’m on the side of humans. I just happen to think orcs are human, too.”
“Human?”
It was a statement that should have been obvious, but for some, it was not an obvious truth. For Lord Erectus, the idea that a pig beastkin was a human was one such thing.
“Human? Do you see them as the same kind of human as you and I?”
So this is how flimsy common sense can be. I was so dumbfounded that I retorted.
“Of course. We’re the same kind of human.”
“Those filthy, stupid beasts who don’t even know gratitude… are human?”
He knows them well. I nodded and affirmed his words.
“Of course. We’re the same kind of beast.”
“Beast? Humans are beasts?”
“Then what are humans? Noble, superior beings like gods?”
My words were dripping with sarcasm, but Lord Erectus’s expression didn’t change one bit as he replied.
“Isn’t that obvious? Humans are the chosen beings, molded by the Sky God in his own image. We are the dominant species on this earth, the lords of all creation that all beasts look up to. It is only natural for such humans to rule over other beasts.”
Wow. Incredible. Seeing Lord Erectus, who genuinely believed this, I was momentarily at a loss for words.