WeTried Translations

Translator: Hydrogen B

Editor: Hydrogen B

Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried

Chapter 210: A Rigged Game

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"Nyaaaak! Kyaaaak!"

"Urgh...! A cat!"

"That's it, that's it! Good girl, Nabi!"

Sharp claws flashed. Historia met Nabi's fierce assault with her weapon, the blade gun.

Screeeech. Claws collided with blade. Naturally, the claws had the advantage. The blade gun's edge chipped, and scratches appeared along the barrel. It was Level-4 alchemical steel, the pride of the military state, but her opponent was simply too strong.

Nabi was a Beast King, the famous and powerful King of Cats.

No one could defeat a Beast King through brute force alone. Not even the military state's daughter. Historia held out for a moment, but then her arm trembled and she was pushed back.

'What's your plan, Hui? If you make a Beast King go berserk, you'll be in danger too. Are you trusting that armor?'

Yet Nabi paid me surprisingly little attention. The threatening blade gun shining before her was far more pressing, so she had no reason to turn her gaze toward me.

Whenever Nabi had a spare moment and turned her head, I froze upright and pretended to be a mannequin. Nabi would eye me suspiciously for a moment before turning back to throw herself into fighting Historia again.

'Beasts are sensitive to stimulation. If I make a loud noise or hurt it, it'll retreat.'

The blade gun slid past Nabi's claws and scratched her paw. Her fur-covered forepaws were both weapon and shield. The wound was shallow.

Historia accepted the risk and put more strength into her thrust. At the same time, she focused energy into the opening, drove the weapon in, and fired.

Explosive Shot, Air Break.

Compressed air burst from the muzzle as a close-range impact round. It roughly parted Nabi's fur and tore her skin. Startled by the blast, Nabi's fur stood on end all over her body.

But she did not retreat. Instead, her hostility burned even hotter as she pounced on Historia.

The fierce force knocked Historia away. Her whole body creaked like a doll.

Historia flew back, then immediately regained her footing with astonishing balance.

'She's not retreating... This is strange. Nothing is going according to plan. Hui, is this your doing too?'

No. The Lords of All Creation made her that way. You should have rooted them out sooner.

'Haah. This is dangerous. I was hurt earlier, and I've been firing all day since morning... I'm completely exhausted.'

Her swaying body looked unsteady. Historia barely pulled herself together despite her body constantly defying her commands, keeping both eyes on the charging Nabi. Unafraid to use her forepaws, Nabi relentlessly pressed Historia with claws and strikes.

Historia's figure wavered amid the storm of fur and claws. She tried to exploit openings with kicks, fired surprise shots, and used chains and blades to confuse her opponent.

Nabi either dodged with a beast's instincts or endured the attacks before striking back.

Historia was a technician, a combat specialist who could pull off every trick with her natural sense. But again, she had the wrong opponent.

A Beast King with overwhelming strength, one who could evade killing intent and threats through beastly instinct. Given more time, perhaps Historia could have won. But not yet. And unlike dogs... cats had no hesitation when attacking.

'I'm going to die.'

For an instant, the word death crossed Historia's mind. Then her thoughts turned toward me with resentment.

'You really mean to kill me, Hui.'

With a bitter feeling, she turned her gun toward me.

Huh? Why me all of a sudden? Was she planning to take me down with her?

'Put up with this much... This is my last complaint.'

She had no room to attack me while fighting Nabi. This was, quite literally, an attack that threw away her life. Something close to mutual destruction.

I hurriedly twisted my body, but Historia's muzzle clearly followed me. My thigh appeared in the sight.

Bang.

The bullet flew straight at me. Yet just before it fired, a shadow stepped in front of me.

It was Azzy, holding a cloth bundle in her mouth.

"Woof!"

Azzy, declaring that she would protect me, swung her head and knocked the bullet away.

It was a fight between humans, and it was not an attack that would take my life anyway, so she did not have to block it. Still, Azzy had protected me of her own will.

Historia had failed to accomplish what she wanted at the final moment because of the King of Dogs. She let out a brief sigh.

"...Ah."

Nabi pounced on her.

Historia was nearly rolling on the ground now. She could no longer even regain her stance. Her hair and clothes were a mess, and even her consciousness had grown hazy.

Nabi strode toward her like a dignified victor, intending to finish her off. Perhaps drunk on victory, she looked rather refreshed. Her fully extended claws gleamed chillingly.

'Is this... the end?'

Just as both Nabi and Historia sensed the end, Azzy moved.

"Woof woof."

"Nyahak! Nya, nya?"

Azzy stepped in front of Historia in an instant and stopped Nabi. Nabi hissed irritably, but when Azzy bared her teeth and growled, Nabi flinched in fear and backed away.

Nabi meowed in defiance.

"Nya! Nya! Nya!"

"Woof, woof. Grrrr."

"Nya...! Nya!"

I could not understand what they were saying, but it would have been strange if I could. Taking the most detached position possible, I quietly watched the dog and cat converse.

"Nyaaaaaaa! Every little thing stresses me out, nya! This stupid dog...!"

Having ultimately given up on finishing Historia off, Nabi narrowed her vertical pupils further and sharply turned her head toward me. Her indiscriminate aggression was now aimed at me.

I could not read a beast's mind, but I knew enough to be afraid of one.

Nabi, she was planning to attack me now!

Nabi crouched as if to leap at me. Then, just as she stretched out her coiled body like a spring and prepared to jump, Azzy, who had approached without me noticing, clamped down hard on Nabi's ankle.

Nabi was yanked down in her leaping pose and slammed her head into the ground. Nabi, now a mess, cried out irritably.

"Nyahak! Again! You're getting in my way again, nya!"

"Woof. Munch munch."

"Nyaaaaa! Nyaaaaaa! Don't bite me, nya!"

Azzy's bite was stronger than most bear traps. Nabi struggled in irritation and indignation, but perhaps it hurt and frightened her. All she could do was let out pitiful little meows.

Good. Nabi, you served your purpose well. Time for your reward.

I took out a spare mana cigarette and lit it. The moment its familiar scent spread, Nabi's expression visibly brightened.

"Tired? Here, be good again."

"Nya? Nya!"

Even with her ankle caught, Nabi stretched out her body to snatch the mana cigarette. I signaled to Azzy, and she quietly let go of Nabi's ankle. Either way, Nabi toddled after the mana cigarette.

I held it in my hand and gently lured her toward the box. When I tossed the smoking mana cigarette into the box, Nabi swiftly slipped in after it.

Smoke rose from inside the box. Apparently uncomfortable with something, Nabi smacked the box's walls with her paws.

I nodded and promptly closed the lid.

Then silence returned. The smoking cat went back into the box, and peace returned to the world.

Completely drained, Historia stared blankly at the box.

"...Heh. Right. I forgot. A Beast King would never fully take anyone's side..."

She was right. Beast Kings were conceptual beings.

I was not even a beastman, so an excited Nabi would never ignore only me. I had only slipped out of her target list for a while because I stood there like a steel mannequin.

The same was true for Azzy. For some reason, she was especially cooperative with me, but she was still the King of Dogs. She would not tolerate a mere cat trying to kill a human. If Historia had given up all resistance, Azzy would have protected her.

The military state knew that too. That was why they had not counted the Beast Kings as part of our fighting strength. A beast might turn hostile toward the Progenitor, who reeked of blood, but they would not take our side and fight the military state.

Still, as with me, there were ways to use them a little better.

That's because you're pointlessly strong. Try being frail like me. If you had given up resisting from the start and left it to Azzy, you would not be exhausted now.

In any case, Historia was battered from her consecutive battles with Nabi. I, still in perfect condition, rattled my iron armor and spoke proudly.

"Give up. It looks like they're pushing themselves pretty hard over there because of you too."

While the regressor and Prelvior faced off, as did Tyr and Absolute Spear, the Musketeer Corps and the generals were trying to cross the battlefield and reach this side.

For now, Tyr and the regressor were holding them back thanks to favorable matchups. But if even one of them got through, I would have to face a general enraged over the military state's daughter being in danger, one-on-one. Unfortunately, without any preparation, I could not even stall for time.

It was time to make her give up.

"...Heh. After beating me half to death, you're telling me to give up here?"

"Honestly, you can run away whenever you want, can't you? You only need to jump off the belt."

That must have been clearly written in the military state's operation manual. If they blocked the front of the meta-conveyor belt and could no longer endure it, they threw themselves off the belt. Then our smaller force would have trouble pursuing them.

If we chased them, the distance to their main force would close much faster, using up time we could spend escaping. They would gain a far greater advantage.

"If you, in that state, jump off, the Musketeer Corps and the generals will retreat with you. You'll be safe, and we'll be safe. Isn't that a win-win?"

"...No. Not at all."

Historia rejected my proposal and painfully rose before me with her body at its limit. She pointed at me with a trembling arm.

"Do you know how hard it was to find this clue...? You want me to let you go? If I lose you here, the military authorities might give up the pursuit entirely. I can't allow that."

Stubborn as ever.

Still, it was roughly the answer I had expected. Naturally, I had prepared a proposal for this moment too.

And for me, it would be much better if she accepted this one.

"Then there's another way, Ria. Want to hear it?"

"...None of your proposals have ever been proper."

"You won't listen?"

"Stop testing the waters and say it."

'I knew and still got fooled, and you noticed that and still fooled me. Why act like this is new now?'

I knew she would say that. Like a salesman recommending a fine product, I made Historia an offer in a very gentle tone.

Footnotes:

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