WeTried Translations

Translator: Hydrogen B

Editor: Hydrogen B

Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried

Chapter 500: Even a Dog at a Village School Learns Qi Arts After Three Years

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Oberli Plaza.

A solemn mood had settled over the place, which had been noisy ever since Orcma occupied Oberli. Not because Orcma had withdrawn, but because news had arrived that could silence even Orcma.

Even Gruel, who normally never showed himself, was standing watch with a grave expression.

The regressor stepped forward.

"The wolves have appeared."

The regressor did not like standing before crowds. Not because she was timid, but because she found it bothersome. So if she was pressing people in the plaza like this, something had happened that outweighed even that annoyance.

"Everyone stationed at the outpost was bitten to death by wolves. We heard about it late because the wolves carried them off without leaving so much as a bloodstain behind. Apparently, shepherds raised the alarm a few days ago after seeing wolves."

The southern outpost's guards had been wiped out. Several shepherds had died. Half a flock had been consumed to fill wolf stomachs, and the wolves' arrival had not been discovered until they attacked settlements on Ende's outskirts.

Having learned that the enemy had reached their doorstep, the regressor glared sharply at everyone gathered there.

"And yet none of you reported anything. Don't you have something to say?"

The crowd's attention turned to Urukpaing. Faced with all those eyes, Urukpaing awkwardly darted their gaze around.

'Why are they looking at me? I'm not Orcma. I'm the commander of Fang, a mercenary company allied with Orcma. Sure, we mostly took jobs from pig beastkin in Ende, and I helped Orcma quite a bit. But don't act like it's natural for me to take on the role of the city's general! You won't even treat me like a real general!'

Still, mercenaries lived on reputation. With the regressor and Gruel both watching, no one seemed likely to listen if they complained. Urukpaing answered obediently.

"...When we heard wolves had appeared, the mercenary company went out to investigate."

"And?"

"We found neither wolf fur nor even tracks, so we tentatively concluded the shepherds had been mistaken."

An even heavier silence settled over the plaza. Those who recognized the problem stared at Urukpaing with wide eyes. Expecting that reaction, Urukpaing squeezed their eyes shut.

"Are you idiots?"

The regressor started laying into them.

"I told you the King of Wolves was coming, didn't I? You said you would fight the King of Wolves. Shouldn't you at least have paid attention to the wolves' movements? How could you dismiss a sighting as a lie without even investigating properly?"

"We went there, but there was nothing..."

"Nothing? There was a report that wolves had appeared! If you didn't know, you could have at least told me or Gruel!"

The regressor was not the only one criticizing them. Even fellow orcs whispered as they looked at Urukpaing. They said Urukpaing had been too complacent and asked who would take responsibility. Faced with harsher condemnation than expected, Urukpaing grew indignant and shifted the blame piled on them onto others.

"What did you expect us to do? My men and I have been worked to the bone every day! We guard Oberli, track the fleeing recognized human all night, and now you want us to watch Ende's vast outskirts too? Do we have ten bodies each?"

"The Obelisks were already doing that work."

"We're a mere mercenary company, not the Obelisks! No, things are worse because we don't even have the dog guards! You were the ones who locked up the Obelisks and drove out the dog guards in the first place!"

Oh, there it was. Until now, it had been us. Now it was you. This was the moment a crack formed in Orcma, which had been united in purpose.

"You? It's thanks to Orcma that you have that position at all!"

"I need guards and Obelisks under my command for it to be a position worth bragging about! What kind of position is this? My grave? You're working me like a pig!"

"Watch your words, Urukpaing! You have the freedom we fought for! This isn't like the old days when you were exploited!"

"I'm being exploited right now!"

Their voices rose. Worried that this might turn into a clash, Poina shouted.

"Stop! This isn't the time for us to fight among ourselves!"

Poina, Orcma's chairwoman, did not actually possess remarkable skills or experience. Still, her loud, compelling voice alone could quell Orcma's clamor. That was enough for her to fulfill her role as Orcma's chairwoman and spokeswoman.

"Urukpaing, please wait a little longer. I will gather the orcs of Ende as quickly as possible and organize a new guard force."

Urukpaing, who seemed to have calmed down somewhat, let out a deep breath and grumbled.

"Those people won't be useful right away. They'll need to be put through the wringer for a long time first."

"It's necessary. Our orcs never even had the chance to do that. They need to learn and train until they can earn a place in Ende."

"We don't have the leeway..."

I had no idea why they were only recruiting orcs for the guards to begin with. Urukpaing, who had nothing to gain by arguing further, sat down, inwardly relieved.

'Whew. At least they won't only blame me now, right? Still, it's been settled for the moment.'

They had practically become a politician.

Once Urukpaing sat down, Poina addressed the regressor.

"Nothing will be solved by assigning blame for past mistakes. Let's discuss countermeasures from here."

"I agree, but it sounds shameless coming from you."

"...Ahem. In any case, experts have come to stop the King of Wolves, so I would like to hear your wisdom."

Poina pretended to settle Urukpaing down, then subtly shoved responsibility in our direction. It was already fine politics, even if not as complicated as human politics. Orcma must have been gradually learning politics too. The problem was that they seemed to be adopting its worst aspects first.

"It's a hunt."

Gruel slowly rose from his seat.

A pressure unlike anything that had accompanied Urukpaing's rise weighed upon the plaza. The orcs caught in his gaze instinctively shrank back in fear.

Gruel spoke with a heavy presence.

"Wolves are beasts that hunt in packs. Each has a role. Scouting, intimidation, herding, hunting. They torment prey, circle it, drive it forward step by step, then bite its neck at the final moment and cut off its breath."

Ende's citizens might have been accustomed to wild beasts, but they could not compare to the Beast Faction, who lived in the wild.

"The ones that came now are scouts. They creep close from afar, watch, and provoke prey to see how it responds. Sometimes, when a herd of beasts is sick and its response is weak, the scouts take a few first. It seems Ende has been underestimated by the wolf pack."

"But the orc mercenaries said they found no wolf tracks when they went there. Unless wolves can use qi arts, how could that be?"

"Qi arts."

Gruel stated it with certainty. The orcs who understood the implication began to murmur.

Qi arts were human power. Beasts lacking intelligence could not wield them. Even pig beastkin knew that as common sense, yet Gruel had just contradicted it.

"What? But beasts can't use qi arts..."

"Long-lived beasts acquire spiritual energy. You have heard of Lobo, the wolf lord who terrorized a territory within a vassal state, the lion of Nemea that devoured a whole city, and Bengal's man-eating tiger."

"But that only means they grew a little sturdier from living long lives. Isn't it impossible for them to systematically manage their vital energy like humans and use qi arts?"

"Why do you think it is impossible? I have seen many humans stupider than wolves. Especially lately. There is nothing strange about wolves using qi arts."

"Even so... How could wolves understand the Heaven, Earth, Water, and Li branches of qi arts?"

An orc who at least vaguely understood qi arts asked the question. Gruel answered.

"Because the Beast King is there."

"You mean the King of Wolves? A Beast King in human form?"

"You seem capable of thinking a little. Yes. A Beast King is a bridge between humans and beasts. If the King of Wolves teaches the qi arts according to that understanding, the wolves could learn at least part of that insight."

"To think that was possible. I've never heard of such a thing."

"Naturally. This is probably the first time anyone has said it."

"What?"

The orc who had been listening carefully let out a hollow sound. Gruel continued regardless.

"Our Beast Faction had felt the changes in beasts keenly. They were dangerous to begin with, but after we gathered together, casualties became rare. Then, at some point, wolves began overwhelming us and taking tribe members. We even found traces of warriors who had trained in qi arts being torn apart by claws and teeth."

"You mean...?"

"Someone is training the wolves. That is my conclusion."

Having finished, Gruel looked around Oberli Plaza and issued a warning.

"That means someone is using wolves to attack Ende. Even we, who fight beasts as part of daily life, came here after hiding our tribe members somewhere safe. With half-hearted resolve, all of you will be eaten."

The other orcs might not have noticed. But did people not say that a position made the person? Poina sensed deep displeasure in Gruel's words. She protested.

"W-we are prepared too!"

"What have you done to prepare for a fight against wolves?"

"We have Kito, a trap designer, setting traps. With her innate arcane, she can lay and maintain countless traps without any cost. The wolves will have to cross a field of traps before they enter Ende!"

"...Hmph. I don't know how useful they will be, but I look forward to it."

Gruel did not know the city's circumstances. The regressor, who had seen Kito's ability several times, swallowed her dissatisfaction.

'They will be completely useless. Kito's innate arcane, Rabbit Trap, is called a trap, but its essence is maintaining instability. It has the power to keep a tightly pulled thread taut for a moment. It might work in a complex city, but on the plains, it's not even as effective as tying knots with grass.'

She remembered insignificant things well while struggling to remember other things. Still, that was knowledge from before her regression, and the current regressor had no connection to Kito. If she acted like she knew, people would grow suspicious. Since there was no need to spoil their plan to lay traps, she kept her mouth shut and returned to her seat.

Neither Gruel nor the regressor spoke further, so Poina felt pleased as though she had solved a difficult problem. In truth, she had only put off a problem she could not handle, but with every day already a struggle, she had no time to worry about that.

"Then, starting today, I will gather orcs from all across Ende and have them train to fight the King of Wolves. Mr. Gruel, please serve as their instructor."

"It's better not to have a bunch of nobodies. They'll become wolf food. Call the guards instead."

"It's better to gather pig beastkin than guards who won't listen. This is necessary for our people to stand on their own..."

"What you need is to calm this chaos as quickly as possible and gather the strength of other beastkin. Don't force me to clean up after you."

Gruel drew a firm line.

Even Poina's compelling voice did not reach Gruel. He had attacked the Obelisks because several circumstances aligned, not because he had been moved by Orcma. Even now, Gruel occupied part of Oberli with various kinds of beastkin, watching the increasingly unruly pig beastkin with disapproval.

"Then..."

"Call the guards and send them to me. Wolves must be dealt with by dogs. I will teach them how to fight wolves."

"But they are under disciplinary restriction for helping the recognized human escape."

"Will you do nothing but keep watchdogs tied up?"

"That..."

Poina trailed off.

Orcma's power came from occupying Oberli. The citizens silently accepted Orcma's rule over Oberli because of Gruel, who had defeated the Obelisks. It was only natural for the glory of a pig beastkin to lend pig beastkin strength.

Yet Orcma itself knew. Gruel was not on Orcma's side. He was only an ally against the King of Wolves.

And now he was telling them to arm the guards and send them to him? What if the guards decided to return the city to Ende's original owners before they even fought the wolves?

"Do it."

Gruel declared it as though he would not yield in the slightest. Poina had no choice but to nod.

The meeting gradually reached its end, but no problems had truly been solved. Instead, a heap of new problems had piled up. Looking at the endlessly accumulating issues, everyone there realized that Orcma's government had formed through a delicate balance, yet it was not functioning properly.

The sweetness of victory gradually faded, and the reality before them weighed heavily. Anxiety began to swell in the orcs' hearts as they wondered whether things could go on like this.

Then that anxiety became reality.

An orc came running in and shouted without even taking time to catch their breath.

"Poina! It's an emergency!"

"We are in a meeting. Unless it is urgent, please come back later."

"The horse beastkin are scrambling to flee Ende!"

Footnotes:

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