WeTried Translations

Translator: Hydrogen B

Editor: Hydrogen B

Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried

Chapter 469: Watch Your Step

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There was nowhere to hide on the broad plateau. Sunlight shone down from the sky, striking the high ground first, and on land without shadows, everything stood exposed. Those who found the world beautiful would probably like the plateau. They could see more of it that way. Those who did not would feel the opposite.

Many of Lungken's bloodkin were beastkin. Their fur protected them from the sun. If I had let my guard down just because it was daytime, they would have chased me down immediately.

But I had Azzy.

"Woof woof! Woof woof woof!"

"Baaaaaa!"

Meyang, one of Collie's Yeilings and a sheep beastkin, cried out and fled. Thick, fluffy hair from their head wrapped around their body, and they had gained a vampire's undying strength, but a sheep was still a sheep. The moment Azzy barked and charged forward, they bleated and shut themselves inside the guard post.

Collie had gone out in pursuit with her hunting dogs and Yeilings. Only one Yeiling remained to guard the foggy outpost. A sheep beastkin Yeiling could withstand sunlight, but they were no match for Azzy.

The sheep beastkin cried out at me.

"Baa! Get that thing away from me!"

"What? But Miss Collie told me to look after her."

"Baaaa! I know! Just go somewhere I can't see you! Baaaa!"

"Okay. I'll go, then? I'm really leaving?"

"Baaaa!"

Huh. It wasn't as though I had been desperate to leave. Still, I had no choice.

I took a ball from my pocket. Azzy had been baring her instincts at the sheep beastkin vampire, but the moment I raised the ball, she immediately lowered herself and wagged her tail.

"Come on! Don't take it out on an innocent sheep. Let's go! Fetch!"

"Woof!"

When I threw the ball, Azzy shot off like an arrow. Good. By throwing the ball, I had naturally crossed the guard post's boundary. If I followed her, I could cross the border just like this...

"No, Azzy. Don't come back! I'll come to you... You already fetched it?"

"Woof!"

"Bring it back a little slower next time. Here!"

I threw the ball and crossed the border very, very naturally.

Borders were rarely marked by a clear line. It was even harder to define one where mountains stood. Nobody lived in places like that anyway.

So when mountains lay along a border, it was usually drawn along the highest ridge.

Once I passed the summit and crossed the ridge, the world hidden beyond the mountain spread out before me. It was a view I could rarely see in the foggy Duchy. I had only crossed one ridge, yet a landscape completely different from anything I had seen before lay before me. Absurdly easily.

Still, I had only reached this point after crossing dozens upon dozens of mountain passes. I could be proud of that. Of course, it had only been possible because not a single Elder had come looking for me.

"Why did Hilde leave? If she had stayed with me, escaping would have been this easy."

"Woof!"

"No, Azzy. Can you stop fetching now and just walk normally?"

Now that I had crossed the border, the vampires were no longer my enemies. Even if Collie saw through my trick and came after me, it would probably take her a day. Until then, I should get as far away as possible.

Going down was easier than going up. I made a sled with cards, leaped over rocks with my strengthened legs, and raced down the mountain. I pushed through sand, jumped valleys, and passed through thickets for a long while.

How many hours had I run? No matter how far I descended, there was no end in sight. The towering mountain range was like a wall, and even climbing down took forever. When I turned around to catch my breath, the ridge I had descended was visible far in the distance.

I had come this far, yet I still had so far to go. Hoo. Could someone invent teleportation magic already?

Grumbling to myself, I picked up the ball and lazily threw it.

"Azzy. Find us a path."

"Woof!"

Azzy bolted off and disappeared into the thickets. Rustle, rustle. The brush scattered with terrifying force before closing again. In an instant, Azzy returned with the ball in her mouth and dropped it in front of me.

"Here!"

"It's safe. Okay."

You had to test even a stone bridge before crossing it. How was I supposed to know what could be hiding in those bushes? Earlier, I had stepped forward thinking the ground was solid and almost tumbled down.

Sigh. It was far. The thickets were gradually growing denser. Since nobody traveled here, there was no path. Anywhere that might conceal something, I had Azzy check first.

Still, nobody was chasing me. I only had to watch what was ahead. I had just decided to appreciate my improved situation when...

"Awooooooo---!!"

A wolf howl sounded from somewhere. Before I could even process what it meant, I was already lying flat on the ground. The wolf might have already spotted me, but I desperately did not want to see it.

"Awooo! You tricked meee!"

The howl of a dog beastkin echoed through the mountains. I had no idea how, but my lie had been exposed.

"Woof! Friend!"

"Not anymore!"

"Woof? But we are?"

"Then go play with her! Hold hands and roll around together!"

"Okay!"

"Don't jump around so happily! You're giving away our location!"

I snapped at Azzy, but it was already too late. Five beastkin appeared over the ridge: Collie, the human-herding dog, and the border patrol's Yeilings. A mobile vampire unit composed entirely of beastkin, free from the sun thanks to the protection of their fur, charged down the slope with hunting dogs in tow.

They looked ready to tumble down the mountain if they slipped, but it did not matter. They were beastkin and vampires.

"Grrrrr!"

"Rrruff!"

"Baaaa!"

The five dots soon became a landslide sweeping down the slope. A cloud of dust quickly turned into thick mist pouring down the mountainside. At the very front was Collie, her black fur flying as she tore at the ground.

That was a vampire weakened by sunlight? Tch. No wonder humans could not escape them.

The sun was still out. I could deal with the Yeilings, but Collie was beyond my strength. I needed Azzy's help against her. I really could not trust this.

"Azzy. Do you know what tag is?"

"Woof! I do!"

"Then this will be easy to explain. We're the prey, and they're the hunters! We have to run before they catch us!"

"Woof woof! Understood!"

"Then run! Before they catch us!"

As I ran in the opposite direction, I checked my card deck. I spread out the deck, now so thin it looked pathetic, and quickly scanned it.

I had used almost all my weapons too. All I had left was one skewer, four Demon God cards, a few one-use clovers, and Hearts. I still had plenty of potions stored in the Hearts, but they put strain on my body, so I wanted to avoid using them if possible...

No, my body was made of Demon Gods now. Maybe they would not be much of a burden. I should try one in an emergency.

Holding Demon God cards in both hands, I began the long chase.

"Awooooo--!"

Collie was the first to attack. She practically fell down the slope before charging at me from the side. Faithful to the order to bring me back alive, she did not even extend her claws. She simply tried to grab me.

"Woof!"

That was when Azzy threw herself forward. In midair, a beastkin and the Beast King collided. Their limbs tangled together, and the dull impact seemed to reach me in slow motion. A moment later, the beastkin and the Beast King rolled down the slope as one.

"King...! Don't interfere!"

"Woof! Let's play! Let's play!"

"This is not a game!"

Collie flipped Azzy over and slammed her into the ground. She retained a beast's instincts, but used human technique. Broken branches flew from the spinning attack, and dust rose like clouds. Collie shook off the Beast King in one move and kicked off the ground again.

But overwhelming physical strength could crush technique itself. Azzy was already on all fours, biting Collie's hind leg. Collie had not even managed to lunge forward before she fell flat on the ground.

Collie, her face smeared with mud, turned her head. Azzy, still biting her leg, barked once with a bright expression.

"Woof!"

"Awoo--!"

Azzy could not use her strength properly against humans because she was afraid of hurting them, but vampire beastkin were different. At least she seemed willing to properly hold Collie back.

The problem was...

"Baaaa!"

"Grrrr!"

They were sheep, dog, cat, and goat beastkin. They were only Yeilings, slower than Collie, but they were still rushing straight at me.

Vampires grew stronger when their liege was nearby. They were under the sun and away from home, so they would be weaker than Village Chief Biritear, but they were still troublesome for me.

Under Collie's command, they scattered in perfect coordination and pursued me closely. Azzy raised her fur and growled at the scent of vampire blood. She might have considered dog beastkin Collie a friend, but she had no reason to be kind to the other vampires. Azzy kicked off the ground.

"Awoo!"

This time, Collie grabbed Azzy and clung to her. She tried to seize the back of Azzy's neck and throw her, but Azzy's momentum was too strong, and Collie was swept along. The two rolled down the slope as one body.

I wondered if it would be okay. Not Azzy. The slope.

Leaving them behind as they rolled down in a storm of dirt and branches, I glanced at the charging Yeilings.

"Baaa! Stop! Or you'll get hurt!"

Was that the sheep beastkin from the guard post? The hair on their head had grown so thick, like a cloud, that it looked as though it would absorb any impact, but the speed of their charge was no joke. Every step dug hoof-shaped holes into the ground.

I did not stop, and the sheep beastkin kicked off the ground as though they had made up their mind.

One, two. Now.

Thud. The ground beneath the sheep beastkin gave way. The sheep beastkin who had been about to ram me sank into the earth. They had failed to notice the trap hidden beneath twigs and fallen straight into it.

"Baaaaa?"

The sheep beastkin looked around in confusion after falling into the trap. Naturally. The place they had fallen was where I had just stepped while running.

'When did he...? He didn't have time to dig a trap.'

The power of the Demon Gods could do even this. I made a hole the instant I stepped on the ground, then sprouted grass and branches over it to make a simple trap. Unless they looked carefully, they were bound to fall in.

Because the area around me was already full of traps.

"Urk!"

"Meow!"

"Damn...!"

The beastkin vampires stumbled over the traps I had made, slowing down a little. I kept running in one direction regardless.

"We can chase you without sleeping! Give up!"

I had to sleep. So I needed to shake them off before then. I moved the thickets aside to open a path and ran without looking back. The sheep beastkin looked at my back and shouted.

"Baaa! You'll regret this!"

"Meyang. We have to bring him back alive."

"I know! He can get a little hurt, can't he?"

"That's true."

What did they mean, that's true? I was a concubine! Getting hurt would be a big problem!

But the border Yeilings had no way of knowing that. The Yeilings closed in on me from every direction. I gripped Spade 9 in my hand again and folded it with one hand.

Tree of Origin, Grass Knot.

Within a radius of roughly five meters, every blade of wild grass beneath my feet found its partner. The grass, which had been swaying delicately, gently entwined itself around other blades. Druids were called sages in the era when the world had been covered in grass. Their authority was reproduced by the movement of a single card.

"Awooo!"

...Though a fair amount of time had passed since then.

Snap, tear. Even grass that had clung stubbornly to life could not withstand the Yeilings' charge. Stalks snapped, and roots were torn out. The wild grass paid dearly for following my command. I advanced, honoring their sacrifice.

"Slow!"

"You're just too fast!"

No matter how much I caught at their ankles, it was hard to escape Yeilings charging without fear of death. They trampled the traps, tore through the Grass Knot, and the four Yeilings gradually drew closer. If they had intended to kill me, they would have had several chances, but they could not do that. Instead, they tried to overtake me and cut me off.

Good. Now.

Empty air appeared through the scattering brush. It was the cliff I had spotted earlier. A cliff hidden by thickets was surprisingly hard to notice until you got close, especially while running.

I threw myself down and slid. I pushed through grass and branches to slow down. I had built up quite a bit of speed, so I only barely managed to stop after sliding a good distance across the ground.

"Baaa! Stop! There's a cliff ahead!"

The pursuing Yeilings made an emergency stop a beat later. They braced themselves, leaving long trails of dust behind them. The goat beastkin, who had stopped just in time, spat out a twig and shouted.

"Such a petty trick! Did you think we would fall off a cliff over something like that?"

"I think one of you fell."

Baaaaaaa-. The sheep beastkin's cry echoed for a long time. The goat beastkin turned to see his comrade falling, then answered right away.

"We don't die from a fall like that anyway! Give up and surrender quietly!"

"Thanks. I feel a little less guilty now."

I would not have felt too guilty even if they were not vampires. Clutching my cards, I slammed both hands hard against the ground.

I was not even at a general's level. I could not destroy the earth with qi arts. Only those who had mastered Earth Qi Arts to their limits could do that.

But I could speed up what was already breaking.

I pulled up and severed the roots stretching through the ground. I broke apart the packed earth. With earth arts and druidism, I cut away the cliff that had been barely holding together.

"The ground...!"

Even dull vampires could clearly feel themselves falling. The dog beastkin, who had been in the worst position, scratched at the ground with their claws before slipping. The goat and cat beastkin sensed the danger sooner and quickly climbed up the collapsing slope.

Naturally, I was not about to watch quietly. I swept the ground with Spade 8, the Elixir card. One layer of the crumbling earth turned into cards and slid downward. Even the cat beastkin, whose claws had dug into the cards, could not withstand the cards flowing like a waterfall and fell.

"You won't get away with this!"

The goat beastkin at least held on with their sturdy hooves and climbed the slope. They charged toward me at a speed hardly different from running on flat ground. The bearded goat beastkin reached out for me.

But I could beat a lone Yeiling.

I knocked away their hand and stomped on their head. They tried desperately to hold on, but when I kicked hard with both feet, even those rough hooves could not endure it. Their balance gradually tipped backward.

"Kh, aaagh!"

As they swung their arms to keep their balance, I generously offered them a branch.

"Here. Grab it."

Perhaps they could not believe my sudden kindness. The goat beastkin reached out uncertainly and grabbed the branch. It was probably because there was nothing else to grab.

That was enough to draw their attention. I gave the branch a light shove. Having lost their balance for a moment while grabbing it, they fell backward. Like their other companions, the goat beastkin plummeted down the distant cliff.

"You bastard-!"

"Bye-bye. Let's try not to meet again."

"Don't think this is the end of us-!"

After delivering a line worthy of a villain, their face vanished behind the earth pouring down after them. Hanging onto a tree root, I looked down the cliff. A thick mound of dirt covered the Yeilings who had fallen first.

It was still daytime. Since regeneration took time now, injuries like that should keep them from pursuing me... but nighttime would be another matter. Tch, what a pain. This was why vampires were annoying. Not dying was cheating.

After climbing back up the cliff, I took a ball from my pocket and threw it. The ball flew in an arc and disappeared into the thickets. A moment later, Azzy appeared with it in her mouth.

"Woof!"

"Did you have fun playing?"

"Woof woof!"

Unlike Azzy, who looked excited, Collie did not look pleased as she pushed through the brush toward me. Covered in dust and broken branches, Collie looked like a walking patch of earth.

"...Awoo. I don't know why the Progenitor wants you, but stop playing around."

Vampire blood was cold. Collie was not tired, but she was not reckless enough to keep attacking without her Yeilings. It was already difficult to restrain Azzy. If she attacked while I was with Azzy and ended up subdued, she and her Yeilings would be incapacitated for quite some time.

Having decided to return and restore her Yeilings first, she glared at me and growled low.

"Vampires don't die. No matter how long it takes, I will chase you and find you. If you don't want to be pursued forever, surrender now."

"No matter how long it takes? What's the point if it takes too long? Tyr might change her mind by then, or I might not even be alive anymore."

Maybe vampires did not understand human hearts. Our feelings were not eternal. We were fickle, you know.

"If you meet other vampires, tell them this for me. Things that are hard to get are more precious. So I'm becoming precious."

"I'll see whether you can stay so relaxed until the end. Awooo!"

Collie let out a wolf howl and disappeared into the thickets. She would probably go down the cliff, use blood energy to restore her Yeilings, then come looking for me again at night.

Yeilings were weak in sunlight. Put differently, they were much stronger at night, when they had nothing to worry about. Meanwhile, I would have to struggle through mountains where I could not even see my feet. I would not be able to deal with them as easily as I had today.

Rather than running, I should make traps and incapacitate them completely before leaving. Fortunately, only one Ain and four Yeilings were pursuing me. If no pursuer stronger than an Ain appeared, I could shake them off.

Well. No new pursuer was going to appear here, right? Good. I would use every bit of my earth arts and druidism to show these animal-blooded beastkin what human wisdom could do.

* * *

Yeilings were also undying, but they were not truly immortal. Yeilings with relatively weak bloodcraft often died and were replaced, making the name vampire seem almost inappropriate.

It was especially fatal for them to be injured or subdued during the day, when the sun was up. The longer they were left unattended, the more blood energy they lost and the weaker their regeneration became.

Numbers were everything in a pursuit. If she delayed any longer, she would not be able to use the Yeilings she had gone through so much trouble to bring. Collie ran down the cliff and rescued the Yeilings buried beneath the earth. They were incompetent servants who could not even carry out their assigned duty properly, but blaming them could wait. Restoring the Yeilings came first.

Collie was digging through the mound of dirt and pulling out her buried servants one by one when it happened.

Rustle. The sound of brush being pushed aside came from somewhere, and a boy with short black hair and an androgynous appearance emerged. He held a bee tied to a string.

Watching the bee dance in a figure eight at the end of the thin string, he muttered.

"That's strange. The Pursuit Scent I planted on Azzy is pointing here."

Shei looked back and forth between Collie and the bee several times, then tilted his head.

"No matter how I look at it, Azzy doesn't seem to have turned black. What are you?"

Footnotes:

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