WeTried Translations

Translator: Hydrogen B

Editor: Hydrogen B

Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried

Chapter 526: Beyond the Mountain, the Mountain King

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Gruel was like a bolt of lightning.

He darted in and out like lightning itself, never missing the briefest opening as he pierced through the span of an instant. His two fang-like daggers flashed as they ruthlessly tore into his enemy's weaknesses. With those weapons in hand, Gruel feared no opponent.

"A principle that can only be used with prior preparation? That's half-baked."

Yet neither Gruel's proud principle nor his favored weapons worked against Marquis Lapaeno.

Leaving trails in the air, Marquis Lapaeno approached at a leisurely pace, as though nothing Gruel did mattered in the slightest.

"So you can only move as far as you've pushed the ground with your feet beforehand? You grow stronger according to how much you prepare... Weak. Your principle is far too weak."

Every time Gruel used his principle, he dragged his feet across the ground. Marquis Lapaeno immediately discerned that trigger and pressed him hard. Whenever Gruel tried to level the ground even a little, the Marquis targeted his legs. Gruel felt as though he could barely breathe.

"The energy art you learned. The elixirs you took. The skills you polished. Those are preparation, Gruel. Have a little more faith in yourself."

"Don't act so high and mighty!"

"I'm not acting. I simply am."

Marquis Lapaeno stepped forward without his breathing growing the least bit ragged.

The Vulcan Combat Manual was an energy art designed for duels. When the Marquis leaned forward and extended a leg, his body stretched long like a spear. To Gruel, it looked as though the Marquis were flying toward him like an arrow.

‘He's faster than me...!’

Without using his principle, Gruel was inferior in both strength and speed.

Was it because of talent? No. Before that could even be discussed, the two stood at entirely different levels.

The Marquis's energy art was more refined. His energy was more abundant. He had not even neglected his training. He planted his feet like great trees, then exploded his energy in an instant to propel his body forward. At the same time, he stretched his entire body, devoting all that force to movement.

‘And that's not all. Every technique is so precise! Not a single motion is wasted!’

These were techniques created and refined over decades, even centuries, by people called geniuses.

Having witnessed their peak, Gruel had no time to admire them. He bent backward as a trail of light swept past his eyes. As he tried to rise with the recoil, he recalled the Marquis's principle. Gruel stuck out his foot and deliberately fell.

If he raised his head, the blade would cut off his neck.

Losing one's stance was fatal. The Marquis's rapier curved down at Gruel. Watching it descend toward his stomach, Gruel used Ground Leveling while lying on the ground.

It was a gamble he had never attempted before, but his principle worked properly. His body slid roughly two meters away. The rapier, having lost its target, dug deep into the ground.

"A principle is a new kind of strength. It gives you another hand that can move freely. Yet your principle is only an extension of Earth Qi Art. Moving quickly with energy arts... isn't that something you can do without reaching a principle?"

That was true, yet the Marquis took two more steps and pursued him in an instant.

Earth Qi Art was a technique that used qi to grip and push off the earth. Ground Leveling, a principle, allowed movement close to teleportation. Still, Marquis Lapaeno's footwork was so fast that ordinary people could barely see it.

His footwork made up for the difference between having a principle and not having one.

"Because you relied on that principle and never learned proper footwork, you cannot be my opponent."

Slice.

Gruel's side split open, spraying blood. He used energy to seal the wound and gritted his teeth.

He could not win.

If he had thoroughly leveled the ground while at full strength before fighting the wolves, things might have been different. In his current state, he could barely defend himself. Considering Marquis Lapaeno's principle, Gruel probably could not have won even with a fully prepared battlefield.

No matter how quickly he moved, if he crossed the trajectory of the Duet Sword, he would only wound himself.

"That is because you failed to learn. For a warrior as savvy about profit and as talented as you to make such a poor choice. Tsk, tsk."

Gruel was breathing heavily, while Marquis Lapaeno's breath had not grown rough at all.

"Gruel. Do you truly not know why you have remained safe until now? Do you think no one else considered bringing elixirs from the Kingdom of Ten Thousand? There was simply no need to advance into the empty Enger Plain while accepting the danger of wolves. Even if they sent a large force, they would suffer losses from beast and wolf attacks. In times like this, it is better to leave the work to civilians such as adventurers."

Gruel had built a business alongside the Beast Faction that wandered the plains, bringing them wealth and strength. His abilities were certainly exceptional, but the opportunity had also arisen because of the King of Wolves.

"But once the vassal state decided to act directly, you should have joined us. It would have benefited both you and us. Yet... if you insist on fighting us, we will have no choice but to remove you."

To Gruel, that was utterly unacceptable.

He had rejected the proposal because Marquis Lapaeno had said he would drive the beastkin out.

"If you're so sharp about profit, why are you trying to drive out the beastkin?! What do you expect to do on the Enger Plain without them?!"

Their differences became clear.

Marquis Lapaeno looked puzzled.

"...Hm? If you remain here, it becomes difficult to send settlers to this land."

"They are the settlers!"

"That is not for you to decide."

"No! We decide it ourselves. We decide what we can do!"

"Regrettably, Gruel, that is not something you get to decide."

The two daggers shot forward.

The advantage of wielding two weapons was, naturally, their number. Just as one hand could not stop two, it was difficult to block daggers moving along different paths with a single rapier. In such a situation, one would normally attack the wielder instead of the weapons to stop the assault, but the Marquis chose a slightly more troublesome path.

"Strength decides."

He cut one side before Gruel reached it, then followed the other and knocked away the dagger.

The slash from the past stopped Gruel's left hand, and the slash from the present stopped his right.

The slash from the future would cut Gruel.

The rapier reflected the sunlight and gleamed coldly.

"Without strength, you cannot convey your will to the world, Gruel. Return when you are stronger. If you can manage that."

"Stop!"

The regressor intervened.

A gust of wind crossed space and flew toward Marquis Lapaeno. Sensing its unusual force, the Marquis clenched his other hand into a fist and struck the air.

Volcanic Art, Explosive Shatter.

The energy packed into his fist seized the wind.

Heaven Qi Art was a qi art that could act upon all things in the world. An energy artist who reached a certain realm could infuse not only steel, but even air itself with energy. The Marquis gripped the wind in his hand, poured energy into it, and swung it.

Boom.

Skywarbler's sword strike collided with Marquis Lapaeno's fist and vanished. Feeling numbness in his hand, the Marquis looked at the regressor who had barged in.

"Not a principle. A relic? Then you must be the adventurer hired by the Purple Merchant Guild."

"That's right. You suddenly show up, and what do you think you're doing?"

Even with the regressor before him, Marquis Lapaeno showed no sign of tension. Instead, he sighed as if it were regrettable.

"Are there only half-baked people here? A relic is someone else's strength in the end. Those who cling to it can never reach a principle... Such a shame to waste talent at that age."

Without Jizan, the regressor was objectively a little below a Master. She had lost to Absolute Spear and had not gained a clear advantage even in her battle against Jiseon.

Even if she used Jizan, victory was not guaranteed. She had almost no chance against Marquis Lapaeno.

Still, the regressor did not care much.

She was a regressor.

"What a waste of talent you are! If you're so great, why didn't you fight the King of Wolves? Are you only trying to take the credit after everyone else finished fighting?"

Marquis Lapaeno was annoyed by this unwelcome intruder's constant interruptions, but he restrained himself once.

"This is an internal matter of the vassal state. Do not interfere. Well, if you insist on being unreasonable, I will not stop you. You will need to show enough strength for that, though."

‘Relics are troublesome to deal with, and I do not want to create a situation where the Purple Merchant Guild gets involved. Annoying. It would be nice if this could be settled with words...’

Naturally, the regressor snorted and shouted.

"You keep talking about strength, strength. What about you? You're just a thug throwing your weight around in a vassal state. Only someone like the Sword Saint gets to say things like that, and you're nothing more than a frontier Master by Imperial standards!"

"..."

As expected of the regressor.

She dropped a bomb far greater than anything Duke Erectus had said. The remark was so serious that not only the Obelisks and beastkin, but even the army Marquis Lapaeno had brought, watched the Marquis cautiously.

In the suffocating silence, his mustache trembled slightly. Anyone could see that he was seething with rage.

"Right. Since when did we fight with words? I have been trying too hard to settle this through conversation."

Shing.

Marquis Lapaeno drew another sword from his waist. It was a mains gauche slightly shorter than his rapier. Its black blade swallowed the sunlight as it gave off an ominous ring.

"There are two of you, so you will not mind if I use two swords, correct?"

Fighting spirit rose like smoke.

If this continued, someone would die. Sapien urgently stepped in and shouted.

"Stop, Marquis Lapaeno! Otherwise...!"

To stop the battle, Sapien made his final choice.

"I will appeal to the Empire and the Sanctum!"

Those words made not only Marquis Lapaeno, but even his army hesitate. Having confirmed that the threat worked, Sapien took another step forward.

"The Enger Plain is land where Saint Enger planted a flag! We, Saint Enger's descendants, are the indisputable owners of this land, nobles who have defended it with all our strength! Justice will not forgive this attempt to seize land sanctified by a Saint as you please!"

If it were merely vassal state land, it would have been an impossible attempt. Yet a Saint's name crossed even national borders, and the claim had clear legitimacy. The Empire would not refuse an excuse to intervene, either.

"You should not have done that."

But it was also a terrible move for Sapien.

Marquis Lapaeno gave a quiet command.

"Everyone, prepare for battle."

Clatter.

The army raised their weapons in unison. The mage corps began chanting, while the guard unit formed ranks.

It was a war army led by the Black Tiger Corps.

Warriors stronger than the Beast Faction's fighters advanced in formation, supported by mages. Their target was not only Gruel and the regressor, but every beastkin who had finished fighting and was resting.

"Eliminate the traitors."

"...What?"

"Official Sapien, Gruel of the Beast Faction, and that adventurer. I designate all three as traitors. Anyone who helps them will be slaughtered. This is an execution order from the Black Tiger General."

The vassal states were subjects of the Empire. As such, their citizens stood one rank below Imperial citizens.

It was a fate decided at birth.

Naturally, no one liked a fate that disadvantaged them. Some people tried to overcome it.

Marquis Lapaeno was one of those people.

The regressor stared at him in disbelief.

"You're starting a war? Are you really going this far?!"

"Does it feel unjust? What can be done? That is how the world works. When we eventually clash, we have no choice but to compare strength."

The pig beastkin fought humans to resist injustice. Yet the pig beastkin who stood in the place of rulers created another injustice. The beastkin of Ende condemned their foolishness and cowardice.

But were only the pig beastkin cowardly and foolish?

The pig beastkin had simply done it a little later.

Such foolish revolutions had occurred dozens of times already. Even after successful revolutions, the same injustices continued, merely hidden behind their splendor.

Humans had also been pig beastkin.

The vassal states inflicted upon Ende the injustice they had received from the Empire.

"Obelisks! Prepare for battle!"

"You bastards! Take up your weapons!"

Lightning and flames poured down upon their heads as they hurriedly rose.

It was white magic fired by the state mage corps. The Obelisks and Beast Faction warriors were thrown into panic by the preemptive attack meant to crush their fighting spirit. Ende had no mage corps capable of facing them.

Even in energy arts alone, the Black Tiger Corps was far stronger. With mage support, they advanced against soldiers exhausted from fighting wolves and rescuing people buried beneath the rubble. The beastkin fell helplessly.

The rescue efforts were not even over.

Regardless of the advancing army, workers were still clearing rocks and rescuing the buried when disaster suddenly struck.

"Toeeeng. I barely got out.... Now I can finally rest..."

"Aaagh! Fire!"

"Toeeeng?!"

They had been ambushed by humans they thought were allies, with neither system nor plan. Before they could even consider victory or defeat, they had to wonder whether they could escape.

Their one stroke of luck was that Ende's only mage had just been freed.

The state mages firing magic indiscriminately at the beastkin sensed that something was wrong.

"Mage Algios. Our triggers have been blocked."

"What is it? An innate arcane?"

"It seems so. The wands we use as catalysts are not functioning. Changing the triggers produces the same result. It is as though they are caught by some sort of rule. However, if we channel mana directly, the spells work normally."

"An innate arcane that controls triggers? The effect is weak, but the rule is simple and the range is broad. It would be troublesome to encounter on a battlefield."

"Wait. You said it controls triggers?"

"The rule may be different, but that is what the effect appears to be."

"Then couldn't it do the opposite... and activate the triggers?"

"What?"

Boom!

The catalysts carried by the mages activated, firing spells in completely random directions.

Unlike black magic, which used the caster's own body as a catalyst, white magic used gems or tools as catalysts. Draw mana circuits into precise alchemical tools and pour mana into them, and spells could be cast with only an activation word. There were also many magical tools fitted with triggers so they could be used in combat without separately filling them with mana.

There had been.

It was past tense because Kito's innate arcane activated every last one of them.

Flames erupted from the wands and spread in every direction. The mage corps, accustomed only to attacking and not defending, ran around screaming.

"An ambush?"

"No, it's an innate arcane!"

The state mage corps was a valuable force even to the vassal state. As the unit went out of control, attention turned toward them for a moment.

The regressor did not miss that opening and swung Skywarbler.

"Heavenly Sword Technique, Plantain!"

Skywarbler was a relic that symbolized space itself.

A storm swept through, stopping the legion's advance, while the rampaging magic spread through the wind. The legion paused briefly to identify the attack.

Having created a short but precious opening, the regressor looked behind her and shouted.

"Everyone, run... Ghk!"

"Futile effort."

A sharp sword strike rushed toward the regressor.

Two swords targeted her. It was a powerful, swift surprise attack, but the regressor unleashed Heaven-Reversing Boundary and threw her upper body back to avoid it.

In terms of pure energy, the regressor was no weaker than the Marquis. She had drunk elixirs obtained through knowledge of the future as though they were water and absorbed their power through the peerless energy art called Heaven-Reversing Boundary.

No matter how fast a strike was, the instant she recognized it, she evaded it all.

In avoiding attacks, she was no less capable than Gruel, who had reached a principle.

‘Tch! I can't counterattack...!’

Yet she could never call herself advantaged, even after dying and coming back to life.

The cuts Marquis Lapaeno drew remained behind and continued to pose a danger. Most principles were like that, but this one was too absurdly powerful to fight head-on.

There was another problem as well.

‘How long are those things going to remain?! There are slashes left in every direction! There's nowhere left for me to retreat!’

The true value of the Duet Sword lay in its control over space.

Any space touched by the sword even once belonged to the Marquis. Unlike Gruel, whose principle was consumed with use, Marquis Lapaeno grew more advantaged the longer the battle continued.

She could retreat in a direction untouched by his sword, but safe places were usually where her allies stood. Her allies would be caught in a Master's sword strikes.

‘This is absurd...!’

"Does it not feel absurd?"

Marquis Lapaeno spoke as if he had seen through the regressor's heart.

"It is the same. Injustice comes to everyone at any time. Whether one can overcome it depends only on strength. That is why... we struggle to gain that strength."

"Is that why you want to drive out every beastkin?! If you do, that injustice will come for you someday too!"

The regressor shouted as she recalled the King of Sin, but Marquis Lapaeno calmly replied.

"No matter what I do, the injustice that will come for me will come. If gaining the strength to overcome it requires it, I will personally become that injustice."

But that was not injustice.

It was simply a natural result of humans acting out of selfishness. They called it injustice, but in truth, the savagery hidden beneath the mask of order had simply revealed itself.

The only reason it felt unjust was because they expected something from the other side. They felt wronged because they wished the other person, another human like them, would think and act as they did.

True injustice did not happen like that.

It arrived so suddenly and intensely that one did not even have time to feel wronged.

Yes, like...

"Roar. You are the highest-ranking human here."

Like the girl who suddenly appeared before the Marquis, swishing a striped tail beneath her jacket.

The girl who had torn through a gap in the war seemed relaxed despite the spreading flames and spraying blood. Amid the steel and screams, there was not the slightest fear in her, only boredom.

Her eyes held faint curiosity along with arrogance.

Appearing even more absurdly than the absurd situation itself, the girl spoke slowly.

"I ask you."

I could not read her thoughts.

If that were all, I would not have felt anything.

But my instincts were warning me of danger.

My entire body trembled, and cold sweat ran down my back. At some point, my clothes had become soaked through. Even Azzy healing people no longer mattered.

There might not be anyone left for Azzy to heal!

The tiger king, Mountain Lord.

The Beast King, truly called the king of the mountains, gave her command to the human.

"Where is the wolf?"

Footnotes:

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