509 – First Boil The Hounds
If the opponent is a human, Aji is powerless. As the king of dogs, Aji has no choice but to resist most passively without hurting the other party.
However, if the opponent is not a human, Aji is more reliable than any king of beasts. Because he will bite everything with beastly violence, but he will not harm only humans.
“Awoooo!!”
Aji, who ran like a shot, knocked down a wolf. The wolf desperately twisted its body to survive, but Aji accurately bit the wolf’s nape and threw it sideways. The wolf, which rolled on the ground, twisted its body a few times and collapsed.
While one was sacrificed, the rest of the wolf pack ran away far away. Aji threatened the wolf in the distance with blood on his lips. The wolf pack, unable to even dream of revenge, lowered their heads like a defeated soldier and ran away to the other side of the plain.
Aji, who glared at him with his fur raised until the wolf disappeared, soon relaxed his expression and barked cheerfully. Towards the human he had protected.
“Woof!”
The king of dogs is friendly. Even with blood on his lips, it is difficult for humans to feel fear towards Aji.
However, now, the humans who were collecting the bodies that had been bitten to death by the wolves were looking at Aji with resentful eyes.
Aji, who is sensitive to human emotions, tilted his head, feeling the strange hostility hidden in his gaze.
“…Woof?”
“What are you laughing at… My son is dead…”
The old woman who was crying over the body covered with straw clenched the hem of her skirt. Aji lowered his ears and tail to the emotions that were not visible but were conveyed.
“In the first place, the wolves shouldn’t have come… Why do we have to fight the wolves?”
“Woof.”
“It’s you! It’s because you’re here…!”
The old woman glared at Aji and shouted in a trembling voice.
“If only you weren’t here! The wolves wouldn’t have come here!”
“Hey, brother-in-law! Calm down!”
“That’s enough. The king came to help us!”
“What help! There was no problem until a while ago! I was happy with my child! But now it’s all over! It’s all over!”
Resentful people, people who stop them, people who watch the situation, people who strangely take sides and provoke them. Amidst all the humans chattering, Aji gradually crouched down. The fur that had been standing up lay down again, and the tail that had been shaking vigorously was tightly closed, and he only watched the people’s eyes.
Ego, so you have to live a little more flexibly.
I, who had barely caught up after Aji had chased away all the wolves and was being pointed at by the people, said, panting.
“Huk, huk. Oh, I’m out of breath. Aji. Are you done with your work?”
“Woof…”
“Okay. Good job. Let’s go back. There’s an important meeting to attend.”
Aji nodded and moved right away. I, who had just arrived, had to go back the way I came without even having time to catch my breath.
“Hey, hey, hey. Go slowly. It’s hard for humans to walk.”
Although my stamina had increased quite a bit, it was not as difficult as before, but I could not keep up with Aji’s speed. Aji suddenly stopped and said as I followed him in a hurry.
“Woof. I, hate?”
“No. Why?”
Aji, who was squatting down, said without looking at me.
“Woof woof. Humans, hate me. I, wish I wasn’t there.”
“Well, that could be the case. Not everyone in the world can like dogs.”
“I, like humans.””You should also learn how to hate. There are many bad people in the world.”
“There are no bad people in the world.”
“Somehow, it seems like that should be said the other way around.”
There are many bad people to trip over. But there are no bad dogs. Because all the bad dogs are either dead or have become wolves. Dogs can only be good, and Azin, the king of such dogs, is like the incarnation of goodness.
“So the people who treat you badly are the really bad ones.”
“Huh? You?”
“What about me? When did I ever treat you badly?”
“Promises! You don’t keep them!”
“Did I not keep them because I didn’t want to? And in the first place, is that what promises originally felt like? Didn’t something change in the middle?”
“Meanie!”
Yes. What do you know? You and I are just beasts.
But a promise is a promise. No matter what problems arise, you have to keep it, and you’ll know what problems arise if you don’t. There’s only a difference between keeping it and postponing it, there’s no option to break it. When you can’t die, you have no choice but to pay it off little by little.
“Don’t worry too much. I’ll finish it quickly.”
“Huh.”
I have planted seeds in their hearts. They will make cruel choices that feed on anxiety, fear, and fear.
But they are also making one big mistake.
That the world can change by their choice.
The tournament announced by Okma was held in Ende, not Obel. Ende did not have enough space for people to gather, so the tents in the outskirts were cleared away to make room. Nevertheless, the open space was crowded with people as most of the citizens of Ende gathered.
On that stage. In front of everyone in Ende, it was none other than Okma’s Poina who appeared.
“We are now facing a great disaster.”
Originally, Mayor Trever or Sapien would have spoken and someone with a loud voice would have relayed the message through a loudspeaker. However, Poina said that if she just wrote the script, she would say it herself, and Mayor Trever thought about it for a while but respected her will. Poina had a loud voice, so she was able to speak loudly with just one loudspeaker.
“The wolves have appeared. A pack of wolves that were wandering outside Ende have bitten through the fence and are eating sheep and people. The cruel and ferocious wolves are not satisfied with that, and they are trying to bite everyone inside to death. To those beasts, we are nothing more than prey.”
Poina was surprisingly good at speaking for a pigman. She read the script without stopping in the middle because of her snorting. Mayor Trever slowly nodded his head as he compared the script to Poina’s words.
Mayor Trever believes that all pigmen are equal, and that they can become equal to some extent if they have the opportunity to learn. Pigmen need opportunities. It was a coincidence, but Mayor Trever didn’t think it was bad. If the pigmen win this war, they will gain pride.
“But they are just beasts.”
However, this is not in the script. Poina glanced at Mayor Trever for a moment, then took out an extra piece of paper she had prepared under the script.
It was a new speech written by Okma.
“Wolves do not kill all the sheep. Their goal is to fill their stomachs, not to wipe out the sheep. It’s the same. The wolves’ goal is not to kill us all. Beasts do not attack cities for such reasons. Wolves have a different purpose.”
“…Poina?”Poina believes. All beastmen are equal, and the pig beastmen deserve to be treated the same as the others. She believes that if given the chance, they can show the same capabilities. That is why she attacked Obel and took power.
And now, she had to protect the chance she had earned. Even if she had to throw everything else away.
“The wolves are after the king of the dogs.”
Poina pointed at Aji. Aji, who had been suddenly singled out, flinched and widened his eyes.
“Why did the wolves attack the mighty city? Why did the wolf king come to Ende? It’s all because the king of the dogs is here. In other words, if the king of the dogs were to leave this city. The wolves would retreat from the city and chase after the king of the dogs.”
“Poina-nim. This is…! Ugh!”
Urkpeng restrained Mayor Triber, who was about to stand up. The orc shaman, who had silenced Mayor Triber, continued his speech without a hitch.
“We can overcome this threat. But there is a way to minimize the damage, and there is no reason to turn our hometown and territory, Ende, into a battlefield.”
There were murmurs, but no boos. She had already spread rumors through the pig beastmen. It was easy to stigmatize Ende, which was already in chaos due to the raids and looting.
Poina shouted louder than ever.
“I will issue an order of exile for the king of the dogs.”
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The orcs. The wind callers summoned by the pig beastmen. And the beastmen who had heard the rumors and believed them without question cheered. Everyone in the crowd in Ende, except for the dog beastmen, cheered for the decision.
“Ende will not fight the wolves. The king of the dogs, please leave the city before the day is over.”
“Huh? Me? You mean me?”
Aji, who had just realized that he was the subject of the story, pricked up his ears and asked back. Before I could answer gently, the voice of the crowd was heard.
“Get out!”
“Get out!”
The guys who usually couldn’t find order even if they washed their eyes could keep time well when it came to this. The chanting shouts of the crowd gradually sounded like one voice.
Aji is the king of the dogs. He is sensitive to the emotions of the crowd, not just humans. Aji gradually cowered at the collective hostility sent by the humans who rejected him. His bewildered gaze turned to me. It was as if he was asking what to do now.
Sorry, I don’t have an answer for you right now.
‘….’
The regressor did not react even when this situation came. It was because he already knew my plan. But he must have been so offended that his murderous intent was now flowing out in droves.
It’s a good thing he let me know in advance. If he hadn’t given me a heads up, some of them might have lost their right arms.
“Wh, what?”
“Stop this farce!”
It was then. Mayor Triber, who had escaped from Urkpeng’s restraints, jumped onto the platform. The bewildered orcs tried to stop him, but Poina quickly waved her hand to dissuade them.
‘Shouldn’t we stop the mayor?’
‘Triber is a prestigious dog beastman. If we stop him, there will definitely be repercussions.’
‘But if we let him speak….’
‘I have a way.’
The orcs, who had quickly exchanged opinions, left him alone, and Mayor Triber gasped on the platform.
“This is a covenant! We must fight the wolves! If we run away or abandon them, we will all lose our pride!””-The dog-kin will say that, won’t they? I will not dissuade them. The dog-kin, take up your weapons and go defend the dog king. You have the freedom to choose.”
Poina said sarcastically.
If you want to fight the wolf king, then fight. I will not dissuade you. It is a common figure of speech to force one’s own opinion by pretending to give a choice, but the orcs who use it in politics are now no different from humans.
“It is not because of a promise to the dog king! It is because of the treaty with the principality!”
However, can they really accept a truly equal fight?
Why did Ende become a free city of the kin? Although the public reigns, it has only seized power, and it has become a city where few humans actually live.
What must we fight against to truly become equal?
Mayor Trever shouted, spitting blood.
“Ende’s autonomy was obtained on the condition of fighting the wolves! Ende is the shield of the principality. It is a bulwark against the growing wolf threat!”