526 – Mountain Beyond Mountain
The king of beasts does not represent the beasts, but rules them.
However, beasts that form herds tend to follow strong individuals. And the king of beasts is a being that is both powerful and has natural leadership. It is only natural that a herd with the king of beasts as its leader would be formed.
The wolf pack was created in this way. The wolf king, a natural enemy of humans who was born with violence, led the pack and made all humans their enemies.
However, the wolf king is now the king of dogs. The kindness of a dog and the violence of a wolf are both Fenrir’s. Fenrir, who has become an ordinary king of beasts rather than an incarnation of evil, has lost his reason to burn himself and fight humans.
And if there is no reason to fight unconditionally, fighting is not a very good option. The human army is too strong to fight to the death. The wolf was special, but beasts tend to run away rather than kill their entire herd.
The wolf howled. It raised its head towards the sky and let out a pitiful howl filled with pain and fear several times.
The wolves began to retreat. As soon as the wolves that had been isolated in the collapsed land escaped by digging a hole, they ran away after hearing the howl.
It was a victory for the dog.
Blanca Baskerville also heard Fenrir’s howl. As a dog person, she roughly figured out what had happened to the wolf king.
“…Oh my. It seems our king has been defeated. Even in the wilderness, will the wolves eventually die?”
In front of her, who was lamenting, the regressor who was holding Cheon-yeong was aiming Cheon-yeong at her with a minor injury.
He dropped Jijan to use the earth-shattering technique. When the regressor, who had exhausted his energy, was about to join the battle to hunt Fenrir, Blanca Baskerville intervened.
The wolf king is powerful. Without powerful teeth or relics, it would be impossible to kill him. And the regressor with Cheon-yeong is the most dangerous enemy.
After using a great technique, she aimed at the weakened regressor and rushed in with Baskerville’s elite.
However, the regressor who is dedicated to defense is a great mountain. Thanks to Cheon-ban-gyeong, an invincible defensive technique, and Cheon-yeong, which controls space itself, the regressor was able to protect Loop while dealing with the Baskerville family’s combined attack.
As time passed, Blanca Baskerville sensed defeat.
“I should have killed you too. Ah, I failed again. What should I do now?”
“What do you mean, what? Fenrir is dead, so don’t you have the king you’ve been waiting for? Hide somewhere and save your life.”
“I can’t do that. I gave up my life a long time ago. If I don’t use it somewhere, will it just disappear?”
“Yes! Just disappear! Don’t mess up the world!”
Even a sincere cry does not reach those who are opposed to each other. It was because they were in such different positions that they could not communicate with words.
“You won’t understand. I’d rather the world end.”
“Understand? Understand? How am I supposed to understand you, you?!”
Even though he was always injured, overcame the crisis of death, and eventually defeated his opponent and met a miserable death. The regressor, who returned to save the world, could not even try to understand Blanca.
“Were you abandoned by humans? Yes, that must be sad! Were you betrayed? Yes, that must hurt! Do you want revenge? Yes, I understand! But why do the humans of Ende have to die? Why should your despair lead to their deaths?!”
“Have you ever tried to button something up?”
Blanca Baskerville asked an unexpected question and fiddled with the buttons on her white shirt.
“When you button something up, sometimes you realize too late that you buttoned it wrong. You didn’t button it where the first button should have been. Then, even if it’s annoying, you have to unbutton it all and start over.”
Blanca’s hand, which had been fiddling with the buttons near her neck, slowly moved down from top to bottom.
“There’s nothing wrong with the button. But there’s nothing I can do about it. It was buttoned wrong from the beginning, and I can’t fix it until I unbutton it all. So… I have no choice but to unbutton it all.”
Thud, thud, thud. Blanca unbuttoned her shirt from the bottom up. The tightly buttoned shirt opened, revealing the flesh that had been sleeping inside. Vibrant white skin and the terrible scars drawn on it like a canvas were revealed.
No one could ignore those wounds. The scars, which had been carved one by one, were clearly made by someone with deep malice. Blanca muttered as she closed her shirt with one hand again.“The world is the same. If the golden tower of civilization is built, built, and built again… if it is fundamentally wrong, it must be torn down and rebuilt from the beginning.”
“Even if the people living in it are hurt or die?”
“I didn’t think about it that seriously. But even if everyone dies… I don’t think I’ll feel sad. Idiot.”
Blanca Baskerville turned around. The king of wolves. A king with endless violence and a useful tool. But Fenrir was defeated and Blanca failed.
It was somewhat expected. In the first place, the king of wolves was hostile to humans, so he could not be around them unless he was a human. In addition, the pack of beasts was too strategically weak to be easily defeated even when fighting against a weaker army. Just like now.
But… it was what Fenrir had to do. The violence of the wolf was enough.
“Let’s not see each other again. When I see you, I feel so bad that I feel like I’m going to lose all my hair.”
Blanca Baskerville left sadly. The returnee, who had caught his breath, looked at the place where the Baskervilles had disappeared and gave an inaudible answer.
“Me too.”
Fenrir, who had the complete crown, disappeared somewhere. Grull felt a little sorry, but he didn’t want to talk about it anymore. After discussing with me, he went out to clean up, shouting that he had defeated the king of wolves.
Now the situation has changed from war to aftermath and relief activities. Quito’s unique horse saved human lives, but did not give them freedom. The obelisk and the beast warriors worked together to pull out the rock and save the trapped humans.
I went under the trap and retrieved the javelin and spoke to Aji, who was standing blankly without the crown.
“Aji.”
“Idiot?”
“Are you okay? You won, but you gave up your place as king.”
Aji, who seemed to have woken up to my voice, answered vigorously.
“Idiot! I’m fine! Me, up! Wolf, down! Time to eat!”
From Noble mtl dot com
“Is the king a meal? Who can you pass it on to?”
“Idiot!”
Okay. You can do it. Fenrir is also Aji’s other half.
The king of beasts is not as good a position as it sounds. The king of beasts is a conceptual being. Whether you like it or not, you have to follow the stereotype of the beast. Well, there are few kings of beasts who are bound by promises and concepts like Aji. Aji might have wanted to break free from all those constraints and promises.
But… what is a conceptual being that has lost its concept?
“Then what happens to you?”
“Idiot? Lou?”
“Of course. How would you know what I don’t know?”
Will it disappear? No, it doesn’t seem to be the case, judging from the fact that it still remains. Will you just stay the same without the crown and duty? That’s too good a story.
Are you going to be like me? Hmm. That’s the most likely possibility.
Huh? Then?
“You bastard. You’ve been acting tough because you’re strong? You’re going to get your ass kicked if you don’t play. When I try to scold you, you run away and act like a jerk.”
“Idiot?”
“A gentleman’s revenge is never too late. See how much an ordinary being is oppressed and suffering.”
I’ve been weak until now, so I’ve been used in all sorts of ways, but now that Aji is weak, it’s my chance. I’ll make sure to establish a clear superior-subordinate relationship. I gave Aji a chestnut on the head.
“Ouch!”
“hahahaha. How is it? Now you know my pain…Ouch!”
At that moment, Aji clenched his fist and hit me on the head. He didn’t show his claws, but he hit me with something like a big ball of fur, and my head felt numb. I came to my senses belatedly and shouted.
“Hey, now the dog is beating the man!”
“You try it too!”
“Even if I hit you, you shouldn’t hit me! You’re a dog!”
“Reciprocity!”
“Don’t talk about international treaties here!”
Wait a minute.
Aji was originally strong. And he acted recklessly with that strength, but he never hit me or closed the door on me. The most violent thing Aji did was to push me away to save me.
But now, even if it’s not sincere, he’s hitting me?
“Hughes!”
The returnee suddenly appeared from above the trap. I wondered why he came so late. Still, I was glad to see a friendly face in this mess. I never thought I’d miss the returnee. That’s why they call it a comrade.
“Did you defeat Fenrir?””Yes. While Mr. Shay was playing.”
“I didn’t play! Baskerville prevented me from helping! More importantly, what happened to Fenrir and Aji?”
The regressor, who had lightly descended into the pitfall, asked while looking at Aji. I answered on Aji’s behalf.
“After nearly killing Fenrir, Aji gave Fenrir the crown when he was about to finish him off. Fenrir escaped with the complete crown.”
“The wolf and the dog became one?”
“That’s right.”
“Hmm…”
It seemed that the fact that the crowns had become one was not very surprising. The regressor looked at Aji, who was sitting still, and fell into thought.
‘The crowns became one before the regression too. But at that time, I heard that Fenrir ate the king of dogs… Does the result change depending on who wins?’
The crowns became one? If something similar happened in the previous round, I should hear what happened then.
Only the Holy See can directly touch the concept of the king of beasts. And the regressor has the same ability as the saintess, and in the previous round, he had a close relationship with the Holy See.
In the end, I have no choice but to ask the regressor what happened to Aji and me and what happened to my power. The regressor is the only one who can tell me the answers that the Holy See has.
While there was a brief silence, Grull’s voice echoed into the pit.
“Hey. You guys. Can you use the great magic with that staff? Help me! It will take another week to clear the debris without hurting the trapped people!”
I should finish Ende’s work first. I handed the staff to the regressor.
“Here. Mr. Shay. Go and clear some rocks. It’s the ground that Mr. Shay destroyed.”
“You use the staff. I’ll do it with Cheon-ae.”
“I’m injured from fighting Fenrir, so I don’t have the strength to hold the staff.”
“Injured? You look fine.”
“I may look fine. But for an ordinary person like me, this level of injury is life-threatening?”
‘Injured? That’s nonsense. You just have some dirt and blood on you?’
When I looked at her clothes, it was true. But underneath, it was a mess. Her ligaments were stretched, her bones were creaking, her arms were getting longer, and she had become a completely new human being.
The regressor, who had been looking at her with suspicious eyes, sighed and took the staff.
“Ugh. Okay. Take it easy… Kyaaat!”
The regressor’s body sank into the ground as if he had fallen into a trap. This was because the staff, which had lent its power to the regressor until recently, refused to be held in the regressor’s hand. The regressor looked at the staff that had fallen to the ground indifferently and made an expression of disbelief.
“Why, why are you doing this. Staff? Is it because of the earthquake? I couldn’t help it! It was to protect the people!”
“Oh my. That’s why you should have cherished it. You asked the earth spirit to break the earth.”
“You agreed to the plan!”
“Originally, the mastermind doesn’t show up and the executor gets the blame. Just like how the Holy See has been so active, but they have a good reputation in the world.”
Whoever takes the lead gets beaten up, and whoever follows one step behind gets everything. That’s why the world praises pioneers. Because I need someone to stand up for me.
“Hohoho. It’s okay, Mr. Shay. I’ll use the staff well. Mr. Shay, just hold Cheon-ae and watch.”
“Staff…!”
Wow. She’s on the verge of tears. She’s genuinely sad about the staff’s betrayal. I want to tease her mercilessly.
At that moment, Grull’s urging came from above.
“Magician? Stop talking and work! At this rate, hundreds of people will have dinner underground!”
“…Hey. Staff. Do you want to just make up?”
I don’t want to work, whether it’s the staff or whatever.
Someday, the staff will feel better, but for the time being, it seems that it will refuse the regressor’s hand. I had no choice but to work too. After a historic battle and without a decent rest, Aji, the regressor, and I struggled to get out of the pit.
But a strange guest was waiting for us.
“Mr. Shay. You were here.”
A man in a purple cloak walked out smoothly. He was wearing luxurious fur all over his body, which I had not seen in Ende, and he was wearing so many accessories that there was no room left on his body. Should I say that the color alone is different? He seemed to be wearing several houses on his body, and he bowed deeply to the regressor.”I am the purple-ranked merchant, Moore. I congratulate you on your victory in Ende, and as per our agreement, I will now begin the ‘course’ leading to Ende.”
“The agreement will certainly be kept.”
“The merchants do not betray trust. The agreement will be fulfilled with truth.”
There are seven merchants in the empire who are allowed to cross borders. From red to purple. The seven merchants, named after the color of light, are protected by the empire and control the economy with their enormous wealth and organizational power.
And each merchant ‘protects’ a vassal state.
The logistics, economy, currency, etc. of the vassal state. They manage everything and are equal to or greater than the vassal state. The toughest and most comfortable leash the empire has given to the vassal state.
The merchant of such a guardian has come in person.
“…But. Before that. There is one thing I must tell you.”
The Moore merchant told the reason why such a big shot came in person.
“One of the five generals of the Lilac vassal state is advancing into Ende.”