VOLUME 11: CHAPTER 17

VOLUME 11: CHAPTER 17

As the ruler of the United Grakas Alliance, the Beast King had access to all kinds of herbs and medicines available in their nation. He’d tried numerous potions before, and he was certain that the potion King Lark had given him had effects comparable to the Life Elixir of the Goat Tribe.

“The two of you,” said the Beast King. “Examine my body.”

The goat beastmen snapped out of their stupor. They immediately moved and quickly examined the Beast King’s body.

“H-How could this be!”

“Even the gaping wounds on his chest….”

The goat beastmen were stunned by their findings.

All of the Beast King’s wounds had fully closed and healed, leaving not even a single scar. Had it not been for the large patches of dried blood on the Beast King’s skin, they would have found it hard to believe that the Beast King was heavily wounded in battle.

“Impossible! Y-Your Majesty! How do you feel?”

“No, before that… how did you get injured in the first place!”

“For you to suddenly leave, then come back critically injured!”

“You should have taken at least some guards with you!”

The two goat beastmen started nagging the Beast King, but their words simply went out in one ear and out the other. Among the Beast King’s vassals, the healers were probably the only ones who were courageous enough to reprimand the White Lion like this.

The Beast King opened and closed his hands, then flexed his arms. His mana was nearly depleted after going all out in that battle. It seemed that the potion was unable to replenish his mana reserves. But that aside, his body felt perfectly fine, as though the wounds he’d sustained were a lie.

“All the pain is gone,” said the Beast King.

Seeing the flustered expressions of the goat beastmen after examining his body, the Beast King confirmed that he’d been truly healed by a single potion. Not only did Lark save him from the trap of the Pathfinder, he also gave him a potion akin to the Life Elixir.

It was embarrassing, but the human king had ended up giving him too many favors since the time they’d met each other in the Magna Coliseum.

“King Lark, thank you,” said the Beast King.

He had a lot of questions regarding the potion, but first, he decided to utter words of gratitude to the human king.

“But… is this fine?” said the Beast King. “…For you to give me such a precious treasure.”

Although Lark still had a few more of them stored inside the compartment underneath the golden throne, he decided not to mention this. He felt no need to correcting the Beast King’s perception that he’d been given a rare potion.

Potion Making and Alchemy were still underdeveloped in the present, thus it was only natural for them to have such preconceptions.

“As I’ve said before, we’re here to prevent the collapse of the United Grakas Alliance. And to achieve that, I can’t afford to let you die,” said Lark. “A single potion is nothing, Your Majesty. This much is natural.”

The goat beastmen were deeply moved upon hearing those words. Like the Beast King, they knew how precious that potion was after seeing its effects.

“Ohhh!”

“S-Such magnanimity!”

“I’ve never met such a human before!”

“To readily give away such precious potion!”

The goat beastmen became so emotional that they once again started crying. One of them even took out a cloth and blew their snotty nose with it.

“I will repay this debt someday, King Lark,” said the Beast King.

Lark smiled. “Let’s continue to get along from now on, Your Majesty.”

With just this incident alone, it should be possible for them to prevent another war between the United Grakas Alliance and the Kingdom of Lukas. Although Lark planned on abdicating the throne later on, as long as Gaorux remained as the Beast King, albeit temporary, there should be peace between their two nations.

Lark looked around and noticed that the Red Dragon was nowhere to be found. He could feel his mana signature, but it was so faint that it was hard to pinpoint his exact location.

“I don’t see Agnus,” said Lark.

Chryselle and Anandra looked at each other. They’d heard of the bet made between Blackie and Agnus. They’d also heard of its outcome, but they couldn’t find the proper words to explain it to Lark.

After all, it was absurd.

A Dragon became the slave of a Scylla?

Even they couldn’t believe that Agnus agreed to such an outrageous wager when they heard of it. Why did the young Dragon fight against the same creature that defeated his father in the first place?

Even if ten years for a Dragon was akin to a year in human time, what he did was no longer courageous but outright stupid.

“Ummm…” said Chryselle.

“—The Dragon went into hiding,” said the Scylla’s third head.

Lark lightly tilted his head. “He’s hiding? What happened?”

“He lost the bet, God Evander,” said second head.

Several heads grinned sinisterly.

Mockingly, the first head added, “And now he’s become our cute, little slave.”

Blackie proceeded to explain everything to Lark. How it taunted Agnus back when they were fighting against the demon horde. How the hatchling furiously accepted their wager, and how it foolishly used up all of its mana by firing powerful spells one after the other.

They also told Lark how the twin-headed wyverns managed to pierce through the Red Dragon’s scales, after the hatchling ran out of mana.

Just by listening to the story alone, Lark realized how humiliated Agnus was. Not only did he lose the bet against the Scylla, he was also injured by the wyverns and sky demons.

It was a shameful defeat for the young Red Dragon.

This event had probably already become a core memory Agnus would remember for the rest of his life.

“Kakakaka! How stupid is that gecko anyway!” said the fifth head.

“I can still remember the face he made when the fangs of the wyvern cracked his scales!” cackled the fourth head.

“How is it, God Evander! We have a Dragon as a slave!” said the seventh head.

The third head averted its gaze, afraid of looking Lark in the eyes, while the rest of the heads were laughing excitedly as they reported their achievements to Lark.

“As for where he is,” said the second head. It looked in the direction of the stone tower, “He should be somewhere in the stronghold, hiding, afraid to show his face after all that humiliation.”

“But don’t worry, God Evander. His stupid pride wouldn’t let him run away,” the first head smirked. “He’ll be back, we’re sure.”

The fourth head snorted, “That hatchling! Maybe he’s crying right now? Kakaka!”

As though those words were the funniest thing in the world, all of heads, the third excluded, laughed raucously. For a moment, Lark was reminded of hyenas laughing in the wild.

Lark palmed his face and groaned.

He could imagine how devastated Agnus must be right now. Back in his previous life, he’d met numerous Dragons. And despite the differences in their attributes, all of them had one thing in common: they were prideful creature that wouldn’t readily submit to anyone.

Although Vulcan had entered a Dragon’s Oath with him, Lark was still uncertain how the leader of the Ancient Fire Dragons would react to this news.

“Blackie,” said Lark in a cold voice. He realized that the Scylla had become too bold and unruly.

“Yes, God Evander! Please give us your commands!”

“We’ll have a long discussion regarding this once we get back,” said Lark. “I’m starting to regret not severely punishing you after you nearly destroyed the Elven Kingdom. This is my shortcoming as your master.”

“G-God Evander…”

Blackie was visibly shaken.

Although the beastmen near them couldn’t read the expressions of a Scylla, they were certain that the seven-headed creature was utterly terrified right now.

“D-Did, did we do something wrong?” said Blackie. “Did w-we displease you somehow?”

The arrogant voice of the Scylla vanished entirely. Its voice trembled, and it looked at Lark pleadingly.

“We’ll talk about it later,” said Lark.

After sighing, Lark turned to the Beast King. “Your Majesty, could you summon all of the military officials in Talverton Stronghold for me?”

It was a strange request, but the Beast King agreed regardless. “Do you want me to prepare a room for you?”

“Yes, if possible,” said Lark.

“Hmmm,” said the Beast King. “Vaungur.”

The Beast King’s right-hand man placed his hand on his chest, lightly bowed his head, and replied, “Yes!”

“Gather all of the military officers of Talverton,” said the Beast King. “Is the Assembly Hall in the Fourth Defensive Tower still intact?”

“I believe so, Your Majesty.”

“Then we shall convene there. Relay the message to everyone.”

“As you command!”

“With the current state of Talverton, it’ll take some time for the military officers to gather at the Assembly Hall,” said the Beast King. “King Lark, could you tell me what this is all about?”

“Remember the mark I’ve told you before, Your Majesty?” said Lark.

Although the Beast King was surrounded by demons from all sides back then, he still saw how Lark’s bracer transformed into a bow and how he struck the Skinwalker with a mana arrow.

“The mark… the one you’ve shot using the arrow,” said the Beast King as he nodded. “I remember.”

“Through the mark, it should be possible for us to pinpoint the current location of the Skinwalker. And through it, the Pathfinder,” said Lark. “And once the Skinwalker returned to the Iron Mountains, we should be able to see the current state of that region.”

“Such magic exists….” mumbled the Beast King.

Even their shamans shouldn’t be capable of such long-distance surveillance magic.

After hearing that they should be able to see what was currently going on in the Iron Mountains through that spell, Van’s body stiffened in anticipation. He had the urge to tell the human to hurry up and cast the spell already, but he knew that there must have been a reason why he wished to do it in front of all the military officers. In the end, Van decided to patiently and silently wait for the meeting to commence.

***

Two hours later, all relevant officers of Talverton arrived and gathered at the Assembly Hall in the Fourth Defensive Tower. The list included even those whose jobs leaned on the administrative side, and those who commanded less than a hundred warriors. Even several high-ranking healers from the Goat Tribe were present.

Although more than half of the officers died during the first wave of the demon invasion, including the Beast King and his men, there were still over fifty people gathered in the Assembly Hall.

The officers fidgeted as they nervously awaited the commands of the Beast King in silence.

They wondered why the Beast King summoned all of them here. Surely, the demons weren’t going to attack again so soon, right?

The officers were anxious, and several of them still hadn’t even recovered from their injuries yet. There were even some who came to the Assembly Hall while wearing crutches.

Under normal circumstances, these officers, who did not even command a hundred warriors, would never be able to meet the Beast King in person. But now, they’d been summoned by the White Lion.

“Your Majesty,” said Vaungur. “As you commanded, everyone has gathered.”

The Beast King scanned the faces of everyone in the Assembly Hall. Whenever his gaze landed on a military officer, they would freeze like a mouse cornered by a predator.

“I don’t see any familiar face,” said the Beast King. “What happened to the other commanders?”

Vaungur replied, “Most of them perished during battle, Your Majesty.”

Unlike the humans, the high-ranking military officials of the beastmen race tended to lead the vanguard whenever they made a counterattack. Due to this, most of the high-ranking officers died just hours after the demon horde attacked the stronghold, leaving only the low-ranking officers behind.

Even the Beast King did this back in his younger years. But due to his powerful body, he survived every ordeal, no matter how perilous it was.

The Beast King gritted his teeth. “Is that so?” He said to the officers gathered in the hall, “All of you – good job surviving this long. I have memorized your faces. Live and continue serving the Alliance.”

It was met with enthusiastic replies.

“Yes!”

“It’s an honor, Your Majesty!”

Those were simple words of praise, but it was more than enough to uplift the spirits of the military officers gathered here today. The majority of the beastmen in the United Grakas Alliance looked up to the Beast King, and there was no greater honor than hearing that the White Lion would remember their faces. Just the mere fact that they were meeting the Beast King in person here today was enough story to tell their grandchildren.

There was always a saying in the United Grakas Alliance: The Will of the Beast King is absolute.

In this nation of beastmen, the Beast King was an entity closer to a deity than a mortal.

“King Lark,” said the Beast King to the young man who’d been silently standing next to him all this time. “This should be everyone.”

Lark nodded. “Then, I’ll start.”

In a calm and confident voice, just loud enough for everyone to hear, Lark spoke, “Since this is the first time for most of you to see me, I believe there’s a need to introduce myself. Lark Marcus, regent King of the Kingdom of Lukas. And these two behind me are my two disciples, Chryselle and Anandra.”

The eyes of the officers moved from Lark to the two humans standing behind him.

Some of the officers murmured to each other. Although they’d heard that the King of Lukas personally came here to provide military aid, hearing of his identity from the personal himself was an entirely different matter.

Although the physique of beastmen and humans differed, the officers gathered in the Assembly Hall were certain that the human king was still young. They even surmised that the two humans behind him were older than him.

It was a strange sight, but the officers chose not to voice their thoughts out loud.

“I don’t know if you’re aware of this, but the Beast King chased after the retreating demon army to find the location of their leader, and I followed after him,” said Lark. “We fell into their trap, but we survived. And in the process, we ended up embedding a mark in the body of a Skinwalker.”

Although the one making the speech was a human, the officers didn’t complain and simply listened. They knew that the human had been given the authority to speak to them by the Beast King himself.

Lark proceeded to explain everything he knew regarding the demons in the Iron Mountains. Lark believed that although these military officers were far weaker than the Beast King, it would still be to their advantage if the beastmen learned more about the demons. Their species, their physiques, their abilities, their weaknesses, their estimated numbers. Through the mouths of these officers, knowledge regarding the demon race would soon spread throughout the Alliance. Of course, this was assuming that they would survive the days to come.

Lark explained the existence of the Pathfinder and its offspring, the Skinwalker. He told them about the demonic tribes and the demon who ruled above all – the Demon Lord.

As Lark continued with his explanation, the faces of everyone gathered in the Assembly Hall contorted. They were horrified upon learning the truth of the matter. At first, they believed that this was simply a monster stampede from the Wasteland, but after hearing about the existence of the portal, they realized that this was a predicament that threatened the entire United Grakas Alliance.

No, judging by the number of demons alone, this was something that threatened the entire continent itself. And unfortunately, by some damned luck, the portal opened in the Iron Mountains.

“A-Are you asking us… to believe that?”

One of the officers finally voiced out his disbelief.

“A Demon Lord capable of cutting down mountains with a single strike? Isn’t that already in the realm of legends and Gods?”

Even the Beast King, the undisputed strongest in the entire Alliance, shouldn’t be capable of such a feat.

“You’ve already fought with them,” said Lark. “You need to accept this reality.”

“B-But… Isn’t everything futile then?” said another officer. “Although we’ve managed to repel the first wave of demons, another wave, probably greater in number, will soon attack the Talverton Stronghold!”

“That’s why we need to close the portal in the Iron Mountains,” said Lark. “Otherwise, no matter how many we killed, more demons will simply replace them.”

“B-But how do we do that!”

The frantic voices of the officers were a stark contrast to Lark’s calm voice.

“I’ve already used up quite a large portion of my mana reserves,” said Lark. “At this point, even I’m uncertain if I could close the portal in a single attempt.”

Lark always had the option of going back to the Forbidden Region near Daxton City to replenish the mana stored in the Sword of Morpheus, but he was afraid that if he left, the Talverton Stronghold would have already fallen by the time he went returned.

“It’ll take some time, even for me, to forcefully close it completely,” said Lark. “I need the beastmen’s help and cooperation to achieve this. And this is why I’ve gathered all of you here today.”

A five-meter-large magic formation manifested itself underneath Lark’s feet. It glowed, and the runes inside the circle spun rapidly.

“I’ve left a mark in the Skinwalker’s body,” said Lark. “And through its eyes, it should be possible for us to see the current state of the Iron Mountains.”

The magic formation shattered into numerous particles of light, forming a ten-meter-large crystal that conveyed the images seen by the Skinwalker in real time.

Everyone stared at the crystal bewilderedly.

“Is that… the Iron Mountains?” mumbled one of the officers.

Before the Rocky Fort fell, it maintained contact with Talverton Stronghold. Supplies from the Alliance would need to pass through Talverton Stronghold before it could reach the Rocky Fort. Most of the officers gathered here had seen the Iron Mountains before.

“Good heavens!”

“What, what the hell is that?!”

The officers were horrified upon seeing the images displayed in the crystal. It seemed that the Skinwalker had just arrived at the foot of the Iron Mountains, and from there, they could see innumerable demons: Parasitic Demons, Flesh Eaters, Tormentors, Demonic Ogres, Demonic trolls, Wraiths, Phantasms, Fire Giants, Nests, Lesser Demons, and Sky Demons.

With just a glance, they could see that the number of demons in the Iron Mountains was several times larger than the horde that attacked Talverton.

Although the reality was horrifying, they realized that the human king was telling the truth.

For several minutes, the entire Assembly Hall went silent as they watched the Skinwalker move through the Iron Mountains. The Skinwalker seemed to be injured, as his movements were unsteady and slower than before.

And after almost half an hour, the Skinwalker reached the place where the Pathfinder was.

And to everyone’s surprise – Lark included – an unexpected scenario unfolded before their very eyes.

The Pathfinder was holding a jaguar beastman by his neck. For some reason, he was livid from rage. All of the eyes on his head were wide open, as half of them glared at the jaguar beastman.

They couldn’t hear what the Pathfinder was saying, but they were certain that he was spouting profanities at the jaguar beastman one after the other.

The Pathfinder was so furious that even the Skinwalker halted in its track and kept its distance.

‘The portal.’

When the Skinwalker’s gaze move toward the portal, Lark saw it – for some reason, the portal had become extremely unstable. The mana was moving so erratically that it wouldn’t even surprise him if it suddenly closed on its own.

Did that jaguar beastman cause this?

But how did he destabilize the portal on his own?

With the current state of the portal, it wouldn’t take Lark much time and mana to forcefully close it.

Lark planned on asking the warriors of Talverton to divert the demon’s attention from him as he closed the portal, but with its current state, that would no longer be necessary.

The warriors of Talverton would no longer need to march to the Iron Mountains and die gruesome deaths just to buy Lark enough time to close the portal.

Whoever that jaguar beastman was, the feat he’d achieved had just saved thousands of lives.