Episode 801
Chapter 198: A Losing Deal (Part 1)
“Heh, that crazy chunk of meat had a sharp instinct. I was watching him up close, but he recognized me immediately.”
At the Garden of Swords in Runkandel.
Yona described the appearance of the Great War King Rakiman with gestures as she spoke. Jin and the entire leadership of Runkandel listened intently to her explanation.
“In less than a day—no, not even thirty minutes—he wiped out one of Kinzelro’s main branches.”
The leaders nodded at the words of the Tona brothers.
The beastmen’s territory was where Kinzelro’s original headquarters had been. Although after the Sword Emperor War most of their forces and commanders had relocated to the new main base, the destroyed branch had clearly been a critical stronghold within Kinzelro.
Naturally, high-ranking Kinzelro troops had been stationed there, and when the Red-Eyed Tribe attacked, Berakt and Badrey were even on standby.
Yet, despite that, the entire force was wiped out by a single group of Red-Eyed Tribe warriors. Only Berakt and Badrey barely escaped.
“Not only did he recognize me, but he even had the nerve to taunt me to deliver a message. I almost killed him on the spot, but I held back because I didn’t want to get tired.”
“Wait, so this Great War King was someone you could kill, sister?”
“Hehe, don’t be scared to ask, Heytona. The youngest is the strongest, but lately, watching you guys, I think you’re kind of cute too.”
“Thank you, sister!”
“There’s nothing to thank me for. You’re only a little cute.”
“Yes, ma’am.”
“Heh, I probably could have killed that meat. The red one looked pretty unhealthy just by the way it moved. But something felt off. Even though it was clearly weaker than me, I had this feeling that if we fought, I’d get seriously hurt.”
[That’s probably because of the Great War King’s aura Rakiman possesses, Yona.]
“Huh? The Great War King’s aura?”
[Yes. You have a keen instinct, so you subconsciously sensed Rakiman’s unique power. Unlike the Clear-Eyed Tribe’s War Kings, the Red-Eyed Tribe’s Great War Kings aren’t just strong because of their own abilities.]
According to Ameris, the Red-Eyed Tribe’s Great War Kings were beings fused with their fortresses.
[The Red-Eyed Tribe’s ranks go from regular warriors to second and first-class War Kings, then Great War Kings, and finally War Gods. Among the first-class War Kings, only those strong enough to endure fusion become Great War Kings.]
“What kind of abilities do Great War Kings fused with their fortresses have?”
[It varies by fortress, but all Great War Kings share the abilities of summoning and fortress transformation. Summoning means calling forth troops from within the fortress, and fortress transformation is a combat form change. Despite the name, fortress transformation is basically a beast form. The threat you felt was probably from the fortress transformation. He likely hasn’t recovered enough to summon troops yet.]
“Heh, so the meat just becomes a bigger piece of meat.”
“But even with those abilities, it’s strange that Berakt couldn’t put up any resistance. He once fought the Linpa brothers and wasn’t so easily overwhelmed. He showed pride as a warrior.”
[That’s probably due to Rakiman’s fortress’s unique power. If I recall, his strength ranks around third or fourth among the Great War Kings, but even the Clear-Eyed Tribe’s regular warriors couldn’t keep their wits when facing Rakiman. These were warriors who fought well against stronger Great War Kings without flinching.]
In other words, Rakiman possessed a special ability that instilled exceptional fear in other beastmen.
[The Red-Eyed Tribe might have called that unique power the Beast Slayer… Anyway, that’s likely why Berakt and Badrey were more intimidated than before. Only Clear-Eyed Tribe War Kings could fully overcome it. Berakt and Badrey could still fight because they were close to that level.]
“Sounds like an ability specialized for slaughtering the weak. Kind of like me and Heytona, huh? Low-level thugs and weaklings probably fear us more than Jin.”
[There you go again, Tenth Cavalry. It’s not Jin, it’s Sogaju. Are we at a family gathering or a meeting of the Garden of Swords?]
“Oops. Sorry, Chief Butler! What a stupid mistake.”
[Make sure to submit a written apology after the meeting. It wouldn’t have ended this lightly in the old days.]
Leet’s remark tightened the atmosphere among the leaders, except for Jin. Even the boisterous Valkas cleared his throat nervously and glanced around.
“Yes, sir.”
[Well, you can’t exactly call the Clear-Eyed Tribe’s regular warriors weak, but there are similarities to what Daytona said. The Red-Eyed Tribe had that reputation in my time. Their average strength was definitely lower than the Clear-Eyed Tribe’s, but they were feared more. They were unimaginably cruel and violent. From the Great War Kings upward, you couldn’t say they were weaker than their Clear-Eyed counterparts.]
From Kinzelro’s perspective, Rakiman being the first Great War King to awaken was nothing short of a nightmare.
From now on, wherever Rakiman went, beastmen alone wouldn’t stand a chance. Even without Rakiman’s direct involvement, not even regular warriors could handle the enemy without Berakt and Badrey.
[For now, as you predicted, the Red-Eyed Tribe has started hunting mainly in Kinzelro, but I’m worried. I didn’t expect Hog Rakiman to be able to act this quickly. If there are other fortresses left, he’ll fill his prey in no time and awaken his comrades.]
The Red-Eyed Tribe wouldn’t keep threatening only Kinzelro.
Their greatest grudge was against Jin and Ameris. Once their power was fully restored, the Red-Eyed Tribe would target the Balmel Alliance first.
“We should assume they’ll awaken other Red-Eyed Tribe members faster than we expect and prepare accordingly. Also, Kinzelro’s hidden demonic powers will start to surface.”
Jin said. No matter how many beastmen there were, they couldn’t face the Red-Eyed Tribe head-on, so the demonic powers would inevitably become more prominent.
“But according to Yona, Berakt and Badrey seemed worried about the growing influence of the demons within Kinzelro. And even though a main branch was destroyed, Orgal and Zephyrin haven’t moved directly.”
“That’s true. As Sogaju said, it’s strange that those two haven’t acted. Rakiman even mentioned Sogaju’s name to Berakt, so they should have come immediately to check the situation.”
Mary spoke, and Jin smiled slyly.
“I have a feeling Kinzelro will soon come to us asking for a deal. Let’s wait a bit and think about what we can get from them.”
Kinzelro New Headquarters.
As Joe left the treatment room, the waiting commanders stood and looked at him.
“Joe, what’s the situation?”
Bishkel asked, and Joe nodded.
“Badrey’s arm is beyond recovery, Deputy Commander. But with my and Bubar’s skills, we might be able to attach a master’s arm.”
“A small mercy. And Berakt? Is he still in shock?”
Joe’s expression darkened when asked about Berakt.
He thought he’d feel glad if something happened to Berakt. After all, Berakt always scolded him unnecessarily and treated him like less than a person.
But seeing Berakt come back broken by strange enemies and unable to pull himself together stirred an unexpected desire for revenge in Joe.
“He is.”
“Hmph. The so-called Kinzelro Commander-in-Chief was so proud, but now he’s drowning in defeat. When the Commander wakes, I’ll petition to hand over command to the demons. It was never right for lowly beasts to lead us demons.”
“Shut up, Bracken Bahma. Even Duke Shagal is silent, yet you speak so recklessly?”
Joe snapped, and the demon called Bracken was taken aback.
“Hey, Joe. Didn’t you hate Berakt?”
“Bracken, no matter what, the Commander appointed Berakt as Kinzelro’s Commander-in-Chief. He’s just reviewing the fight after a rare defeat. He’ll rise again and slaughter those bastards!”
“Humans are incomprehensible. Anyway, I’ll suggest to the Commander that we can’t trust so-called Red Tiger Kings or Great Warriors who don’t live up to their names.”
“Get lost.”
“Alright, I’m leaving. But you’d better start currying favor with the demons instead of Berakt. I don’t get why you protect him when he’s always insulted and ignored like a bug.”
Joe glared at Bracken’s retreating back with narrowed eyes.
The other commanders watching exchanged surprised glances at Joe’s unexpected attitude.
“Wow, Uncle Joe! That was awesome. Margiela’s really impressed.”
“Hmph… I just can’t stand seeing demons try to take over and rise.”
“I think Berakt will break through a wall using this defeat as a stepping stone. I can see it clearly, hehe.”
“Oh? Margiela, do you really think so?”
The commanders had noticed Margiela’s growing ‘abilities’ lately. She could see what others couldn’t and sense what others missed.
“Yes. Losing an entire branch is sad, but if it’s the price for Berakt and Badrey’s awakening, it’s not all bad. Still, I feel sorry for the fallen members, so from today on, we should hold memorial rites diligently.”
“I’ll analyze the Red-Eyed Tribe’s techniques and make Kinzelro stronger!”
“Good, good! But before that, if we want to avoid ruin, we’ll need help!”
“…Ruined?”
“Yes, from what I see, we’re truly on the brink of disaster right now. We need the strength to hold out until the Commander and the Grand Duke awaken. Of course, when I say disaster, I mean in terms of our beastmen forces… If all the beastmen die, we won’t be able to wake Lord Xavier later, will we?”
“Are the demons waiting right now not enough?”
“It seems they won’t be sufficient until the Phantom Demon General and his army arrive. But we don’t know when the Phantom Demon General will come, and those Red-Eyed Tribe bastards could attack us again at any moment—even tomorrow.”
Vishkel answered on behalf of Margiela.
“Vice Commander, what do you suggest we do?”
“Like Margiela said, we need strength. Reinforcements with the mobility and firepower to respond no matter when the Red-Eyed Tribe shows up.”
“Who could provide such reinforcements… Ah, you don’t mean—?”
At Joe’s question, Vishkel sighed and replied,
“We’ll make a deal with the Cow Lord of Runcandel. Him.”