Chapter 526: One Mountain After Another
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 526: One Mountain After Another
The Beast King represents beasts; he does not rule them.
But beasts that form packs are bound to follow a strong individual. And the Beast King is a powerful being with innate leadership. It was only natural that some packs would take the Beast King as their alpha.
The wolf pack was formed in this way. Led by the Wolf King, an innate enemy of humanity born of ferocity, the pack was hostile to all humans.
But the Wolf King was now the true king of his kind. The gentleness of dogs, the ferocity of wolves—both now belonged to Fenrir. Having become an ordinary Beast King rather than an incarnation of malice, Fenrir lost his reason to burn himself out fighting humanity.
And if there is no absolute reason to fight, then fighting is not a good option. The human army was far too powerful to fight at the cost of one's own life. The wolves had been an exception; beasts would typically rather flee than see their entire pack annihilated.
A wolf howled. It threw its head back toward the sky and let out a mournful cry, filled with pain and fear, again and again.
The wolves began to retreat. The ones isolated by the collapsed earth heard the cry as soon as they dug their way out and immediately fled.
It was the dog’s victory.
Blanca Baskerville also heard Fenrir’s howl. Being a dog beastkin, she had a rough idea of what had happened to the Wolf King.
“…Oh, dear. It seems our king has been defeated. I suppose even in lands close to the wild, the wolf is ultimately a dying breed.”
As she lamented, the Regressor stood before her, holding Chun-aeng. She had only minor injuries and kept her weapon aimed.
The Regressor had dropped Jizan to use her earth-shattering technique. Just as she, drained of her Qi, was about to join the hunt for Fenrir, Blanca Baskerville had intervened.
The Wolf King was powerful. It would be impossible to kill him without a potent Axiom or a relic. And the Regressor, wielding Chun-aeng, was the enemy to be most wary of.
Blanca, along with the Baskerville elite, had charged in, aiming for the Regressor who had just been weakened by using a major technique.
But a Regressor dedicated to defense is like a mountain. Thanks to the invincible defensive Qi Art, Heavenly Counter Domain, and Chun-aeng, which controlled space itself, the Regressor was able to fend off the Baskerville family’s coordinated attacks and protect Loop.
As too much time passed, Blanca Baskerville sensed her defeat.
“I should have at least killed you. Ah, I’ve failed again. What should I do now?”
“What do you mean, what should you do? Fenrir is dead, so the king you’ve been waiting for is gone, isn’t he? Just go hide somewhere and save your own skin.”
“I can’t do that. I threw my life away long ago. If I don’t use it for something, won’t it just vanish in vain?”
“Fine! Let it vanish in vain! Just stop messing up the world!”
Even a heartfelt cry cannot reach those who stand on opposite sides. They were in far too different positions to communicate with words.
“You wouldn’t understand. The wish for the world to just end.”
“Understand? Understand? How am I supposed to understand you?!”
Even if she was always wounded, always escaping the brink of death, only to be defeated by a great enemy and meet a miserable end, the Regressor, who would return to save the world, could not even begin to try to understand Blanca.
“Were you abandoned by humans? Fine, that must be sad! Were you betrayed? Fine, that must hurt! You want revenge? Fine, I get it! But why do the people of Ende have to die?! Why must your despair lead to their deaths?!”
“Have you ever buttoned a shirt?”
Blanca Baskerville asked an out-of-the-blue question, fiddling with the buttons on her blouse.
“Sometimes when you’re buttoning a shirt, you realize too late that you’ve done it wrong. You didn’t put the first button where it was supposed to go. Then, even if it’s a hassle, you have to unbutton everything and start over from the beginning.”
Blanca’s hand, which had been toying with a button near her neck, slowly moved down.
“It’s not the button’s fault. But what can you do? It was buttoned wrong from the start, and you can’t fix it until you undo it all. In that case… you have no choice but to undo everything.”
Pop, pop, pop. Blanca unbuttoned her shirt from the bottom up. The tightly fastened blouse opened, revealing the skin that lay dormant within. Her vibrant white skin was exposed, along with the horrific scars drawn upon it like a canvas.
No one could dismiss those wounds as an accident. The scars, etched one by one, were clearly the work of someone with deep, lingering malice. Blanca clutched her shirt closed again with one hand and murmured.
“The world is the same. If the result of all our building, this so-called pinnacle of civilization… turns out to be fundamentally wrong, then you have to tear it all down and build it again from the start.”
“Even if the people living inside get hurt and die?”
“I haven’t thought about it that seriously. But even if everyone died… I don’t think I’d feel particularly heartbroken. Woof.”
Blanca Baskerville turned away. The Wolf King. A king of endless ferocity, and a useful tool. But Fenrir had been defeated, and Blanca had failed.
It was an outcome she had somewhat foreseen. The Wolf King was so hostile to humans that only beastkin could get close to him in the first place. Moreover, a pack of beasts was too strategically limited; they could easily be routed even when fighting a weaker army. Just like now.
But… it was a job Fenrir had to do. He had spread the ferocity of the wolf well enough.
“Let’s not see each other again. Looking at you makes me so sick, I feel like all my fur is going to fall out.”
Blanca Baskerville departed with a lonely air. The Regressor, having caught her breath, offered a reply that would never be heard, watching the spot where the Baskervilles had vanished.
“The feeling’s mutual.”
Fenrir, now possessing the complete crown, had disappeared somewhere. Grul seemed a bit disappointed, but he didn’t argue further about a matter that was already concluded. After consulting with me, he went to manage the situation, proclaiming that he was the one who had defeated the Wolf King.
The situation had now shifted from war to dealing with remnants and relief efforts. Kito’s unique magic had saved human lives, but it hadn’t granted them freedom. The Obelisk and the Beast Faction warriors worked together, pulling away rocks to rescue the trapped humans.
I went down below the trap to retrieve Jizan and spoke to Azzy, who was standing there blankly, having lost her crown.
“Azzy.”
“Woof?”
“Hey, are you okay? You won, but you ended up handing over the crown.”
As if woken by my voice, Azzy answered energetically.
“Woof! I’m okay! Me, up! Wolf, down! Passing the buck!”
“Is being king a chore you can just pass on?”
“Woof!”
Right. You of all beings could. Fenrir was your other half, after all.
Being the Beast King isn’t as great a position as it sounds. The Beast King is a conceptual being. Whether they like it or not, they must follow the stereotypes of their kind. Of course, there were few Beast Kings as bound by promises and concepts as Azzy. Perhaps she wanted to be free of all those restrictions and promises.
But… what is a conceptual being that has lost its concept?
“So what happens to you now?”
“Woof? Roo?”
“Right. How would you know if I don’t.”
Will she disappear? No, seeing as she’s still here, that doesn’t seem to be the case. Does she just lose the crown and its duties and remain as she is? That’s too convenient a story.
Will she become like me? Hmm. That seems the most likely possibility.
Wait a minute. In that case?
“You little rascal. You’ve been strutting around just because you were a little strong, haven’t you? Throwing tantrums when I don’t play with you. Running off and taunting me from a distance when I try to scold you.”
“Woof?”
“A gentleman’s revenge is never too late, even after ten years. Now you’ll get a taste of how oppressed and tormented an ordinary being is.”
I had been pushed around because I was the weaker one, but now that Azzy was weakened, this was my chance. I would establish a clear hierarchy. I gave Azzy a light thump on the head.
“Mmph!”
“Haha. How do you like that? Now you know my pain… Gak!”
In that instant, Azzy balled her fist and smacked me on the head. She didn’t use her claws, but being hit by what felt like a giant furball left my head ringing. Coming to my senses a moment later, I yelled.
“Hey, now the dog is hitting people!”
“You get a taste of it too!”
“Even if I hit you, you’re not supposed to hit me back! You’re a dog!”
“Reciprocity!”
“Don’t start talking about international treaties!”
Huh? Wait a second.
Azzy had always been strong. And she had used that strength to act as she pleased, but she had never directly hit or bitten me. The strongest force she’d ever used on me was pushing me out of the way to save me.
But now, she hit me, even if she wasn’t serious?
“Hughes!”
The Regressor’s face popped up from the edge of the pit. I wondered what took her so long, but still, seeing a friendly face in this mess brought a surge of relief. To think I’d ever miss the Regressor. So this is what they mean by comrades-in-arms.
“You defeated Fenrir, right?”
“Yes. While you were busy playing around, Sir Shei.”
“I wasn’t playing! I was stopping the Baskervilles from helping! More importantly, what happened with Fenrir and Azzy?”
The Regressor landed lightly at the bottom of the pit and looked at Azzy as she asked. I answered in Azzy’s place.
“After we got Fenrir to a near-death state, just as we were about to finish him, Azzy gave him the crown. Fenrir took the complete crown and ran.”
“The wolf and the dog became one?”
“That’s about right.”
“Hmm…”
The fact that the crown had become one didn’t seem to surprise her much. The Regressor looked at Azzy, who was sitting there perfectly fine, and fell into thought.
‘The crown became one before my regression, too. But back then, I heard that Fenrir… ate the Dog King. Does the outcome change depending on who won?’
The crown became one? If something similar happened in a previous timeline, I need to hear what happened then.
Only the Sanctum could directly meddle with the concept of the Beast King. And the Regressor possessed an ability similar in nature to the Saintess, and in her previous life, she had a close relationship with the Sanctum.
Ultimately, to find out what happened to me and Azzy, and what became of my power, I had no choice but to ask the Regressor. She was likely the only one who could tell me the answers the Sanctum held.
A moment of silence passed before Grul’s voice echoed down into the pit.
“Hey, you lot. You can use Earth Art with that club, can’t you? Give us a hand! It’ll take more than a week to clear this debris without hurting the people trapped inside!”
Right, I suppose we have to finish things in Ende first. I handed Jizan to the Regressor.
“Here, Sir Shei. Go move some rocks. You’re the one who broke the ground, after all.”
“You use Jizan. I’ll use Chun-aeng.”
“I was injured fighting Fenrir, so I don’t even have the strength to lift Jizan.”
“You’re injured? You look fine to me.”
“I only look fine. For an ordinary person like me, an injury like this is a near-death experience, you know?”
‘Is he hurt? He seems to be faking it. He’s just got some dirt on him and a little blood, that’s all.’
That’s because you’re looking at my clothes. Underneath, it’s a total mess. Stretched ligaments, creaking bones, elongated arms—I’ve practically become a new species of human.
The Regressor, who had been looking at me dubiously, sighed and took Jizan.
“Sigh. Fine. You can rest… Kyaaaah!”
The Regressor’s body sank as if she’d fallen into a trap. Jizan, which had lent her its power just a short while ago, was now refusing to be held by her. The Regressor stared at Jizan, which had fallen unceremoniously to the ground, with a look of disbelief.
“Why, why are you doing this, Jizan? Is it because of the ground-breaking technique? I had no choice! It was to protect people!”
“Tsk, tsk. This is why you should have treated it with more care. What did you expect, asking the Divine of Earth to break the ground?”
“It was a plan you agreed to!”
“That’s just how it is. The mastermind stays hidden while the one who does the work takes the blame. Just like how the Sanctum has a good public reputation despite all their scheming in the shadows.”
In any affair, the one who steps forward takes the beating, while the one who follows a step behind reaps all the rewards. That’s why the world praises pioneers—because they need someone to step up in their place.
“Hehehe. It’s alright, Sir Shei. I’ll put Jizan to good use. You can just hold Chun-aeng and watch.”
“Jizan…!”
Wow. Her eyes are welling up. She’s genuinely sad about Jizan’s betrayal. I really, really want to tease her about this.
Just then, Grul’s impatient voice came from above.
“Are you a magician? Enough talk, get to work! At this rate, hundreds of people are going to be eating dinner underground!”
“…Hey, Jizan. You wanna just make up?”
Jizan or not, I really didn’t feel like working.
Jizan would probably cool down eventually, but it seemed like it would reject the Regressor’s hand for the time being. I had no choice but to work as well. Without even a decent rest after a historic battle, the Regressor, Azzy, and I struggled out of the pit.
But an unfamiliar guest was waiting for us.
“Sir Shei. There you are.”
A man in a purple cloak glided forward. He was draped head to toe in luxurious furs I hadn’t seen in Ende, and wore so many accessories there was hardly any space left on his body. It was as if his color palette was from a different world. Looking like he was wearing several houses on his person, he bowed deeply to the Regressor.
“I am Manager Moore of the Violet Trading Company. I congratulate you on your victory in Ende, and as per our contract, we will begin opening the ‘route’ to Ende.”
“Make sure you honor the contract.”
“A trading company does not betray trust. The contract will be fulfilled in truth.”
There were seven trading companies in the Empire permitted to cross its borders. From Red to Violet, the seven companies named after the colors of light operated under the Empire’s protection, wielding enormous wealth and organizational power to control the economy.
And each of these companies ‘sponsored’ a vassal state.
Logistics, economy, currency, and more—they managed all sorts of things for the vassal states, making them equal to or even more powerful than the states themselves. They were the toughest, yet most comfortable, leash the Empire had placed on its vassals.
And the manager of such a sponsoring company had come in person.
“…However. Before that, there is one matter I must inform you of.”
Manager Moore revealed the reason why a man of his stature had made the journey himself.
“One of the Five Tiger Generals of the Lilac Vassal State is marching on Ende.”