WeTried Translations

Translator: Hydrogen B

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◈ Omniscient First-Person's Viewpoint

Chapter 483

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Rule and Reign

Strength is fair. But it is relative. What is an unavoidable disaster for one person is, for another, an attack they can just barely answer.

Welshi, the dog-kin, was an energy practitioner who had mastered even energy-sensing ability, and she kept a particularly close watch over her master's safety. She read the killing intent in the regressor and threw herself in front of Duke Erectus.

"Master!"

Of course, the regressor's attack was close to a natural disaster. Even a powerful being who had mastered energy-sensing ability could do no more than save herself. Trying to shield someone else would only get both of them killed for nothing, a senseless death, and not in any racially charged sense, just a plain, literal dog's death.

But even if Welshi could not block the regressor's attack, she did block the killing intent behind it.

"Tch."

Heavenly Mirror, Formless Stance.

A technique that dissipates force already released.

The tip of Jizan twisted. The storm shot upward into the sky. A single blow loaded with energy and authority flew off toward empty air.

The shockwave barely grazed Welshi's back. The unleashed storm swept through, and Welshi and Erectus, tangled together in its path, tumbled a long way before coming to rest.

The middle of the plaza where the storm had torn through. The regressor drew a long breath, then turned to Azzy and made her excuse.

"I wasn't trying to kill him. I just wanted to teach him a lesson."

"Woof!"

Azzy barked loudly, as if in protest.

Before Welshi could even move to block Duke Erectus, Azzy had already kicked off the ground and shoved the two of them out of the way.

'Seriously though. I was only planning to give him internal injuries bad enough to keep him bedridden for about a month. And she stopped it.'

That's a lie! The way she swung, she looked perfectly fine with him dying! "Fine with him dying" isn't the same as "planning to kill him," but still!

That regressor is frightening. Once she stamps someone with "no reason to keep them alive," if killing them seems more convenient, she will. If Welshi hadn't blocked her, he really would have died.

Duke Erectus, his life spared through sheer luck, glared wide-eyed and shouted.

"G-guards! Bring the guards, no! Call the Obelisks!"

What a mess. Still, Duke Erectus was a recognized figure in Oberli. A person of real influence over the city. Killing him would have been a problem, but failing to kill him is a bigger one.

What are you going to do now, regressor.

"That will be enough."

The one who stepped in to mediate was Triber, the market administrator, who had returned alongside the regressor. The moment Duke Erectus spotted Triber, he rushed straight over.

"Administrator Triber! I was just attacked! A recognized citizen of Oberli!"

"...I will summon the Obelisks, but Duke Erectus, dealing carelessly with a stranger is unwise."

"The Administrator is right."

Clack, clack. Behind the administrator, a group of people walked in. Different in height and build, but all wearing matching brass-scaled armor that ran seamlessly from head to toe without a single gap or seam.

The Obelisks, Oberli's elite force formed to fight beastkin and beasts. The guardians who wore scaled armor to fend off sharp claws and fangs had sensed the burst of power moments ago and come running.

The person at the very front of the group walked toward Duke Erectus. Duke Erectus called out to him with visible relief.

"Sir Sapien!"

"Welshi. You protected your master. Thank you. As for injuries..." He looked her over. "By some miracle, it seems there are none."

He had checked Welshi for wounds before even glancing at Duke Erectus. He let out a short breath and continued.

"Erectus. I won't tell you to watch your behavior. But at least keep some basic wariness about you. When you see an unfamiliar beast, the first thing you do is lower your stance and observe. That's how you stay alive."

"What kind of wariness do I need in Oberli! This is our land!"

"There is no such thing as our land. If you're under the sky and on the ground, wherever you are is the wild. You'd know that in your bones if you'd spent even a moment in the scouting units."

There seemed to be a hierarchy even among recognized figures, because Sapien spoke his criticism openly and Duke Erectus didn't breathe a word back. Sapien turned to face the regressor, his cloak sweeping with quiet authority.

"The same goes for you. Adventurer."

"I was only trying to scare him."

"And that's all Erectus was doing too. If you're going to ignore rules and conventions and do whatever you please, what exactly makes you different from him?"

He stood at the head of an elite force and was himself a powerful being who had mastered energy-sensing ability. Not quite at the level of the Six Generals, but close enough to brush the bottom rung, and one of the foremost figures among Oberli's recognized powers.

Someone who had lived side by side with beastkin warriors through hardship and earned the respect of many. And yet even against him, the regressor scoffed and answered.

"Save that both-sides nonsense. He started it, he was more reckless, and on top of all that he was weaker. Don't whine at me to look after him just because he's someone you know. If this weren't Ende, it wouldn't have ended at a warning."

"This is Ende."

"If you want it to stay Ende, you'd better keep a tighter leash on your people. The wolves' teeth don't pick and choose."

"..."

Wow. She really doesn't give an inch. Was the regressor always this sharp with words?

Calling it sharp is generous, it was more blunt force than anything, but if you had to pick it apart, she wasn't technically wrong. He had started posturing against a guest, pushed on even when others tried to stop him, and in the end showed nothing to back up his authority. His life was saved by Welshi and Azzy.

This is a world where a single powerful being can face hundreds of the weak. When you have that kind of strength, it isn't arrogance. It isn't a bluff.

"You're confident."

"Bold, I'd say. I came here to help, after all."

"Which is exactly why I didn't press further. To protect Ende and Oberli, we need you and the King of Dogs."

Sapien spun around. He signaled the watching Obelisks to fall back, then led Duke Erectus out of the plaza.

Before he left, he turned back toward the regressor and gave a quiet warning.

"But if you attack Ende, you too will become an enemy of this city. Keep that in mind."

Clack, clack, clack. The Obelisks filed out of the plaza in perfect order. The regressor watched them go and held her composure.

'Sapien. A recognized citizen of Oberli who will do anything to protect this city. My impression probably took a hit, but that's fine. The Obelisks will have no choice but to fight the King of Wolves regardless.'

Sapien stuck in the regressor's memory, did he. Which means, put another way, that Duke Erectus was never more than a background prop.

'I scared him plenty, so he shouldn't cause more trouble. I just hope he doesn't make me regret not killing him. We need to form an alliance with the Beast Faction, and if a recognized figure like that starts meddling, it'll complicate everything.'

Compared to how unnerving the atmosphere was a moment ago, this outcome was, relatively speaking, about as good as it could get.

Some cracks had formed, but the regressor's actions satisfied the other beastkin present. They didn't make a show of it, but the dog-kin directed goodwill toward the regressor and chimed in one by one.

"Thank you for stepping in, Mr. Shei."

"Please don't find it too uncomfortable. He's always been like that."

"The response may have been forceful, but if we want to break a bad habit, sometimes that's what's needed."

"Duke Erectus is a recognized figure. Mind what you say."

With gentle but firm words, Triber reined in the beastkin, then turned a steady gaze on the regressor.

"The crisis facing Ende is something we can only overcome if beastkin and humans work together. I ask that you refrain from rash actions going forward."

Even someone as headstrong as the regressor had a soft spot, it turned out, for sound judgment and reasonable people. She shrugged with an air of mock reluctance.

"Don't worry. I pushed hard precisely so we wouldn't have to deal with this kind of thing again."

"If you had that foresight, then I'm reassured."

'The best outcome would be for everything to go smoothly. But if a clash had to happen at some point, now was the best time. She made the best of a bad situation.'

He actually believes her. The regressor doesn't think that far ahead when she acts.

Triber, now carrying a slight overestimate of the regressor born from misreading her, turned it over in his mind before speaking.

"Given how things have unfolded, I'd like to entrust Mr. Shei with one task."

"What task?"

"Ende is not just this city. Beyond the fence, in lands closer to the wild, there are those who live hard lives. We call those who face down the threats of the wilderness and survive out there the Beast Faction."

Unlike beastkin who had been absorbed into civilization, these were beastkin who lived lives closer to the untamed. Beast Faction was the formal term, but outside an official setting, people would have just called them savages, or maybe simply beasts.

"The Beast Faction is rough but powerful. However, they live at some distance from Ende, so when the time comes to fight the King of Wolves, there is a good chance they won't cooperate. We'd be fortunate if they simply didn't fight us."

Triber thought of them and unclipped a single ivory carving from his walking staff. He turned it over in his fingers, that rare treasure obtainable only from an elephant's burial ground, then held it out to the regressor.

"Here. I'll give you the symbol of Ende. Please convince them. Someone as strong and as thoughtful as you, Mr. Shei, will be able to bring the Beast Faction around."

'Perhaps. The King of Wolves could become the catalyst that unites all the beastkin under one banner. This is a crisis, but it is also an opportunity. Before Ende tears itself apart, this may be the last chance we have to save it.'

There seems to be at least one more problem lurking somewhere that hasn't come to light yet. Hmm. Well, that'll become clear in time.

"Fine."

'The Beast Faction. For Ende, they're critical. If things go wrong, they'll throw their lot in with the King of Wolves, that makes them a wild card. Things are falling into place.'

She's right, things are falling into place. Maybe the regressor really does have the experience to pull this off.

Except not a single actual problem has been solved.

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