Chapter 509: Boiling the Hunting Dog First
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 509: Boiling the Hunting Dog First
When her opponent was human, Azzy was powerless. As the Dog King, the most she could do was offer the most passive resistance, never enough to injure them.
But if her opponent was not human, Azzy was more dependable than any other Beast King. For with all her beastly ferocity, she would tear everything apart, yet never harm a human.
“Awoooo!!”
Azzy shot forward like an arrow and knocked a wolf to the ground. The wolf twisted desperately, fighting for its life, but Azzy precisely bit its nape and flung it aside. The wolf tumbled across the ground, twitched a few times, and then went limp.
While one was being sacrificed, the rest of the pack had already fled to a safe distance. With blood around her muzzle, Azzy threatened the distant wolves. Without a single thought of revenge, the wolf pack lowered their heads like defeated soldiers and ran off toward the far side of the plains.
Azzy glared, her fur bristling, until the wolves had vanished. Then, her expression softened, and she barked cheerfully toward the humans she had protected.
“Woof!”
The Dog King is a friendly creature. Even with blood staining her muzzle, it was difficult for a human to feel fear toward Azzy.
But now, the humans gathering the corpses of those bitten to death by the wolves were sending resentful gazes her way.
Azzy, sensitive to human emotions, sensed the strange hostility hidden in their stares and tilted her head.
“…Woof?”
“What are you so happy about… My son is dead…”
A woman, weeping over a body covered with straw, clutched the hem of her skirt. Though she couldn't see the emotion, Azzy could feel it, and her ears and tail drooped.
“In the first place, the wolves should never have attacked… Why do we have to fight them?”
“Woof.”
“It’s you! It’s because of you…!”
The woman glared sharply at Azzy, her voice trembling as she cried out.
“If it weren’t for you! The wolves would never have attacked this place!”
“Hey, calm down!”
“That’s enough. The King came to help us!”
“Help? What help! Until a little while ago, there were no problems! I was happy with my child! But now it’s all over! It’s all over!”
People blaming, people trying to stop them, people watching cautiously, and people strangely taking sides and egging them on. Amidst the clamor of all sorts of humans, Azzy gradually shrank back. Her bristling fur lay flat again, and her vigorously wagging tail tucked tightly between her legs as she watched the people’s faces.
Aigo, this is why you need to be more flexible.
Having finally caught up just after Azzy had driven off the wolves and was being pointed at by the people, I panted for breath.
“Pant, pant. Phew, I’m out of breath. Azzy. Are you done here?”
“Woof…”
“Good. You did well. Let’s go back. They said there’s an important meeting.”
Azzy nodded and immediately started moving. Having just arrived, I had to turn right back around without even a moment to catch my breath.
“Hey, hey, hey. Slow down. It’s hard for a walking human.”
Perhaps because my stamina had improved, it wasn't as tiring as before, but I still couldn't keep up with Azzy’s pace. I hurried to follow, but Azzy suddenly stopped dead in her tracks and spoke.
“Woof. Do you… hate me?”
“No. Why?”
Squatting down, Azzy spoke without even looking at me.
“Woof woof. The humans… they hate me. They wish I wasn't here.”
“Well, that can happen. Not everyone in the world can like dogs.”
“I… like humans.”
“You should learn how to dislike people, too. There are a lot of bad humans in the world.”
“There are no bad humans in the world.”
“I feel like that should be the other way around.”
Bad humans are a dime a dozen. But there are no bad dogs. Because all the bad dogs are either dead or have become wolves. Dogs have no choice but to be good, and Azzy, as their king, is a being akin to an incarnation of goodness.
“So, any human who treats you badly must be a truly bad person.”
“Woof? You?”
“What about me? When have I ever treated you badly?”
“Promise! You don’t keep!”
“Did I not keep it because I didn't want to? And in the first place, was the promise always like this? Didn't something change in the middle?”
“How would I know!”
Right. What would you know? You and I are just simple beasts, after all.
But a promise is a promise. No matter what problems arise, it must be kept, and only by keeping it will I understand what went wrong. The only choice is between keeping it now or postponing it; breaking it isn't an option. In a game where I can't die, I have no choice but to keep making moves, little by little.
“Don’t worry about it too much. I’ll finish this up quickly.”
“Woof.”
The seeds have been planted in their hearts. They will make a cruel choice, one nurtured by anxiety, fear, and dread.
But they too are under one great delusion.
That their choices can change the world.
*
The great assembly announced by the Okma was held not in Obeli, but in Ende. Since Ende lacked a space large enough for people to gather, they cleared out the entire tent village on the outskirts to make room. Even so, with the majority of Ende's citizens gathered, the open space was packed so tightly there was no room to stand.
On the platform, the one who appeared before all of Ende was none other than Poina of the Okma.
“We are now facing a great disaster.”
Normally, Mayor Triver or Sapien would have spoken, and someone with a loud voice would have relayed it through a megaphone. But Poina had insisted she would speak if they just wrote her a script, and after a moment's hesitation, Mayor Triver had respected her wishes. Poina’s voice was powerful enough that with just a single megaphone, her words boomed across the area.
“Wolves have appeared. The wolf pack that roamed outside Ende is tearing down our fences, devouring our sheep and our people. Not content with that, these cruel and savage wolves seek to bite every one of us inside to death. To those beasts, we are nothing more than prey.”
For a pig beastkin, Poina was surprisingly eloquent. She read the script without her words being interrupted by nasal sounds. Mayor Triver compared the script to Poina’s speech and slowly nodded.
Mayor Triver believed that all beastkin were equal, and that with the opportunity to learn, they could all become alike to a certain degree. That beastkin needed a chance. Though the situation was ironic, Mayor Triver didn't think it was a bad thing. If the pig beastkin could win this war, they would gain a sense of pride.
“But they are nothing more than beasts.”
However, from this point on, her words were not in the script. Poina glanced at Mayor Triver for a moment, then took out an extra sheet of paper she had prepared under the script.
It was a new speech written by the Okma.
“Wolves do not kill an entire flock of sheep. Their goal is to fill their bellies, not to exterminate the sheep. It is the same for us. The wolves’ goal is not to kill all of us. Beasts do not attack a city for such a reason. The wolves have another purpose.”
“…Miss Poina?”
Poina believed that all beastkin were equal, and that pig beastkin, too, deserved to be treated the same as them. That if given the chance, they would show the same abilities. That was why she had attacked Obeli to gain power.
And now, she had to protect the chance she had gained. Even if it meant abandoning everything else.
“The wolves are after the Dog King.”
Poina pointed at Azzy. Suddenly singled out, Azzy flinched, her eyes widening.
“The reason the wolves attack a mighty city? The reason the Wolf King comes to Ende? It is all because the Dog King is here. In other words, if the Dog King were to leave this city, the wolves would withdraw from the city and pursue the Dog King.”
“Miss Poina, this is—! Mmph!”
Urukfang subdued Mayor Triver as he tried to step forward. With Mayor Triver silenced, the Okma continued the speech without interruption.
“We can overcome this threat. But when there is a wiser way to avoid it, there is no reason to turn our home, our foundation of Ende, into a battlefield.”
Murmurs rippled through the crowd, but there were no boos. They had already sent the pig beastkin to spread rumors. In Ende, already in chaos from raids and plunder, it was all too easy to brand someone a scapegoat.
Poina shouted with more force than ever before.
“I hereby issue an order of exile for the Dog King.”
The Okma’s people, the shills brought in by the pig beastkin, and the beastkin who had believed the rumors without question roared in approval. The entire crowd of Ende, with the sole exception of the dog beastkin, was cheering the decision.
“Ende will not fight the wolves. Dog King, you are to leave this city before the day is over.”
“Woof? Me? Are you talking about me?”
Finally realizing they were talking about her, Azzy perked up her ears and asked. Before I could offer a more moderate reply, the voice of the crowd answered.
“Get out!”
“Get out!”
These guys, who usually don't have an ounce of order in them, sure know how to keep a beat at times like this. The chanting crowd's shouts gradually began to sound like a single voice.
Azzy was the Dog King. She was sensitive not only to humans but to the emotions of a crowd. Faced with the collective hostility from the shunning masses, Azzy gradually shrank back. Her helpless gaze turned to me, as if asking what to do now.
Sorry, I don't have an answer for you right now.
‘…’
The Regressor didn't react even as this situation unfolded. She already knew my plan. But she was so displeased that streams of killing intent were now pouring out of her.
Good thing I told her beforehand. If I hadn't given her a heads-up, a few of them might have lost their right arms.
“Uh, uh?”
“Stop this farce!”
It was then that Mayor Triver, having broken free from Urukfang's grasp, leaped onto the platform. The startled orcs moved to stop him, but Poina quickly waved them off.
‘Shouldn't we stop the mayor?’
‘Triver is a well-respected dog beastkin. If we stop him, there will definitely be talk.’
‘But if we let him speak...’
‘I have a way.’
While the orcs, having quickly exchanged opinions, decided to leave him be, Mayor Triver stood panting on the platform and shouted.
“This is a covenant! We must fight the wolves! If we run or abandon our duty, we will all lose our pride!”
“—A dog beastkin would say that, of course. I won't stop you. Dog beastkin, take up your weapons and go protect your king. You have the freedom to choose.”
Poina said with a sneer.
If they wanted to fight the Wolf King, they could. She wouldn't stop them. It was a common rhetorical trick, forcing one's opinion under the guise of choice, but the orcs who now employed such politics were no different from humans.
“This isn't about the promise made to the Dog King! It's about the treaty with the vassal states!”
But could they truly accept a fight between equals?
Why did Ende become a city of free beastkin? Why did it become a city where orcs reigned, holding power, yet few humans actually lived?
To become truly equal, what must they fight against?
Mayor Triver shouted as if he were coughing up blood.
“Ende's autonomy was granted on the condition that we fight against the wolves! Ende is the shield of the vassal states. It is a bulwark meant to stand against the growing threat of the wolves!”