Chapter 226
Chapter 226
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 226
Chapter Title: Pursuit and True Names
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Etimo Trading Company, top of the tower.
Bulko Pallet, the head of the Pallet family, tucked the generator patent into his bosom and spoke.
"Has everyone escaped?"
In response to Bulko's words, another orc replied.
"Yes. There are no stragglers hiding anywhere."
Bulko looked at his family's orcs.
They all looked awkward holding weapons.
Even though they had trained in secret within the family, these were people who had never held a gun in their lives before.
A fair number had died or been injured in the Etimo family's counterattack.
Orcs were suited to be soldiers, but the Pallet family had always kept its distance from such matters.
But in the end, they had taken up arms and seen blood.
If the previous family heads saw this, they would lament it bitterly, but Bulko had no choice.
'This might be the fate of those who follow the Wrathful One.'
Now that things had come to this, the Pallet family could no longer operate in Polybia.
'The Wrathful One won't abandon us, and I've made some arrangements to operate outside Polybia...'
Even so, the sacrifice for just one patent was far too great.
If this weren't essentially a religious war, Bulko—who always prioritized profits—never would have done such things.
'But now, I need to look toward profits again.'
Bulko spoke.
"The war isn't over yet."
The Pallet family's orcs accepted his words calmly.
"To gain greater profits from the patents we hold, we must deal with the Etimo family's inventors. Hurry."
"...Yes!"
The Pallet family's orcs quickly descended.
It was already known that the Etimo family was heading toward Polybia's western gate.
They knew there was some mysterious mercenary with the Etimo family, but no matter how exceptional a mortal was, they would die to gunfire.
Even during the war with the Empire, the Union Kingdom had taken down a number of dragons.
'No matter how impressive that guy is. If we wipe out the Etimo family like this, the Pallet family can recover as much as we want.'
Above all, since they had followed the Wrathful One's will, abandoning everything, they wouldn't face punishment even in the afterlife.
'Once we finish off the Etimo family, we prepare to escape... Hm?'
Bulko Pallet, at the top of the tower, saw a massive shadow falling over his face.
"...H-How can this be?"
"They're still chasing us."
At Owen's words, Philina Etimo replied.
"The carriage isn't far. If we keep going like this..."
Owen cut her off.
"They already know we're heading to the western gate. It won't be many, but breaking through them will take time."
"We can combine our strength."
"Hm... It might be time to part ways."
"Pardon?"
Owen, who had been peering around the alley corner, turned to look at the Etimo family's elves and Surotl Simo.
"Little inventor, go with these fine elves."
"What about you, sir?"
"If we fight at the western gate, it'll give the pursuers behind us time to encircle us. Someone has to buy time."
"But..."
"Think rationally."
Owen said.
"I could clear the path with you all, but it wouldn't save much time. On the other hand, this alley is narrow. If we take down the ones coming this way, they'll be stuck here or have to detour, buying us a lot of time. Understand?"
Philina answered.
"Logical like a scientist and sharp on profits like a merchant."
"Seems I've picked up a few things while traveling with you lot."
Philina grabbed Simo's wrist and said.
"We'll take Miss Simo and go. Good luck, wandering lizardman."
Owen raised one eyebrow in surprise at the unexpected title.
"Who wouldn't think of the legends while by your side, sir?"
Simo said.
"Sir, don't get hurt!"
Owen smiled.
"See you again."
Owen confirmed that Philina, Simo, and the others had left and felt relieved.
As Owen lit a cigarette and waited, the Pallet family's orcs appeared.
There were six in sight, but Owen noticed a considerable number more waiting out of view.
They knew he was there and were positioning for a surprise attack from afar.
'Individually, they're nothing special.'
Owen thought he could easily handle them if it came to fighting with cold weapons alone.
None of them looked like they could properly wield a sword or spear.
But he didn't let his guard down.
'These firearms have become plenty dangerous now. Even rabble with poor skills can challenge the greatest heroes.'
The leader of the pursuit squad spotted Owen.
"Lizardman! Finally, I see your face!"
Owen tapped the ash from his pipe with his finger.
"Heh... Lacking confidence in your skills, so you swarm like this. If you value your lives, turn back now. No need to thank me for sparing you."
The leader had a properly orcish trait.
He flew into a rage immediately.
"This time, that lizardman is... Hm?"
The orc's gaze turned to the sky.
Owen, about to swing his sword, did the same.
A massive shadow enveloped them from above.
The orc leader muttered.
"Airship?"
The airship was hovering much lower than usual flight altitude, dangerously close to clipping Polybia's tall buildings.
If it wasn't stopped, it might as well be crashing.
Owen thought.
'...It's stationary?'
Gunshots rang out.
Bang!
The shot came from overhead.
Owen saw an orc collapse.
The leader orc quickly realized.
"A-Airship! The airship is attacking us!"
The orc group hurriedly sought cover, but there weren't many spots shielded from the sky.
Owen stared intently at the airship's railing, but no one aimed at him.
The leader orc made a swift decision.
"Take out that lizardman first! We'll pass through this alley and escape the airship's range!"
"Waaah!"
The orcs charged through the hail of bullets, shouting battle cries.
Owen dodged the shots aimed at him and waited for the leader orc to rush in.
"...Master!"
"Hm?"
Someone shouted from the airship and leaped down.
Even at low altitude, it was about thirty meters.
But it was no accident.
The figure who jumped landed squarely on the leader orc's back, then rolled backward and stood up.
The startled orcs aimed and fired, but he had already drawn his sword, slicing the bullets apart. With a spin, he slit the throats of the shooters.
Then, ropes dropped from the airship, and soldiers rappelling down fired at the orcs.
The orcs—who were neither soldiers nor warriors—finally realized their losses were heavy and fled in disarray.
The one who had jumped approached Owen, removed his hood as he entered the dim alley.
"Master!"
It was the vampire, Ramin Solrostuel.
Owen said.
"Heh, well now. I've been caught up to."
Pantheon, outdoor training grounds.
This place, where the towering Pantheon building was visible, was where the many mortal souls who had arrived trained their bodies.
There were no specific instructions, but the trainees varied by section.
This was because, even if they all followed the Pantheon's will equally, affinity was divided by which god they believed in, where they believed, their race, and most importantly, 'when' they believed.
For example, many thought it largely meaningless for modern-trained soldiers to train alongside the ancient Blackscale warriors from long ago.
Of course, through cross-training, they gauged each other's skills, grew accustomed to weapons, learned new combat methods, and helped one another—but generally, they divided into several groups.
Among them, the highest spot in the outdoor training grounds was undoubtedly held by the black-scaled lizardman warriors.
The Cocatu warriors, who could be summoned at Apostle Rakrak's call, were a unit prepared not just for simple combat, but to counter creations or apostles—and perhaps even a manifestation one day.
Renowned for relentless self-training, they did have rest periods.
One lizardman warrior said.
"...The gods' true names?"
"Yeah."
Another lizardman warrior replied.
"The 'true names' the gods have."
At the mention of true names, the other gathered lizardmen looked puzzled.
The lizardman warriors began pulling out bits of knowledge they knew.
"Ah, Lord Yacheon was originally called the Blue Insect God."
"Doesn't everyone know that?"
"I heard the young ones these days don't."
"Really?"
"That's not the true name."
"Before that, he was called the Nameless Beetle God."
"Isn't that common knowledge for warriors here?"
"Not the true name either."
"Then what is the true name?"
The lizardman who started it cleared his throat and said.
"We still don't know Lord Yacheon's true name, but we figured out Lord Mankyeol's."
"What is it?"
"Runda."
He said it with gusto, but the other lizardmen's reactions were lukewarm.
About an "Oh well" level.
"Hard name to pronounce."
"I've heard it before too. Last time, Lord Danyeom called Lord Mankyeol that."
"Ah, so... true names are what the gods call each other?"
The Cocatu warriors were among those who had been in the Pantheon the longest, so they had fairly frequent contact with the gods.
It didn't hold great significance in the Pantheon, but they mainly handled escorts.
Gathering the talk, they seemed to know quite a few true names among themselves.
Then a shadow approached from behind.
"What are you all talking about?"
"Ah, Lord Tatar. We were discussing true names."
"True names?"
The lizardmen explained, and Tatar nodded.
"Ah, the names the gods call each other. I think I know most of them roughly."
"Ah, then do you know Lord Yacheon's true name by any chance?"
"Of course."
"Then..."
Tatar smiled and said.
"But the gods don't particularly like being called by those names in front of us. Do you really need to know them?"
"...Ah."
"It's fine if you overhear by chance, but if you're gossiping like this, it might make the gods uncomfortable."
The lizardman warriors agreed with Tatar's words.
They scolded the one who first brought up true names, and that warrior shot back that he couldn't help being curious.
Tatar watched fondly as they dispersed to resume training.
A familiar figure approached beside him.
"Lord Rakrak?"
Rakrak, unlike the other lizardmen, wore simple clothes and was unarmed.
"What were they talking about?"
"They were discussing what the gods' true names are."
"Oh. ...What is it?"
Tatar explained again.
"So Lord Yacheon's true name is Nebula?"
"That's what they say."
Rakrak chuckled for some reason.
"Why is that?"
"No, that lord has a different real name."