VOLUME 11: CHAPTER 7

VOLUME 11: CHAPTER 7

When Vaungur, the Beast King’s right hand, saw the Scylla wound the white lion, he immediately summoned the Royal Guards. The Royal Guards were comprised of renowned warriors from different tribes.

Each of the Royal Guards was massive, and they all wore iron helms, chain mails, and spaulders with iron straps and rivets. The majority held large spears, while there were those who held glaives in their hands.

“Royal Guards!” roared Vaungur. “We’re moving out!”

“As you command!”

With Vaungur at the lead, eighteen Royal Guards descended on the arena. Immediately, they moved in front of the Beast King, as though shielding him, and pointed their weapons at Lark and the Scylla.

This turn of events made the audience in the Coliseum even tenser. Above them, the massive formation cast by the human threateningly glowed. While below, a fight between the beastmen and the humans was about to break out. It felt as though everything would escalate further at any time now.

“Your Majesty! Are you alright!” said Vaungur.

The Beast King replied, “You are too noisy, Vaungur. Stop making a fuss. That attack hardly did anything to this body.”

Hearing those words, the Scylla looked at the wound on the Beast King’s stomach, and snorted.

The Beast King didn’t take the Scylla’s condescending gaze kindly.

“You damn lizard,” growled the Beast King. “If not for your master, I would have cut off all your heads by now.”

The Scylla cackled, “Then try it!”

“Blackie, that’s enough,” said Lark. “Stop provoking him. We didn’t come here to fight against the beastmen.”

The Scylla backed down. “We apologize, God Evander.”

Lark said to Gaorux, “Beast King, have you come to a decision yet?”

The Beast King spat, “You damn hypocrite. You speak as though you’re doing this in a peaceful manner, human king. You dare threaten me with the lives of my people?”

“You can think of it that way,” said Lark. “But time is running out. You need to make a choice, Beast King.”

The Beast King looked at the large magic formation above and at the terrified faces of his kin in the arena. He didn’t know what kind of spell it was, but he knew that he couldn’t risk the lives of these innocent beastmen just for the sake of his pride.

Eventually, the Beast King sighed and said, “Very well. I will hear out your story.” He said to the Royal Guards, “Move to the back and put down your weapons.”

Although hesitant, the Royal Guards did as they were instructed.

After the Royal Guards lowered their weapons, Lark kept his part of the promise. Immediately, he stopped his spell. The massive magic formation above the arena quickly disintegrated, eventually disappearing from sight.

Sighs of relief from the spectators were heard after the magic formation vanished.

“Coliseum Master,” said the Beast King.

The snake beastman flinched upon the sudden mention of his name. “Y-Yes, Beast King!”

“We’re canceling the tournament this year.”

“Eh? Yes? P-Pardon? What do you mean by canceling the tournament, Your Majesty?”

“Don’t make me repeat myself,” said the Beast King coldly. “There will no longer be any tournament this year. You heard what the human king said, didn’t you? If his words are true, a massive demon horde is probably invading the southern part of the Alliance right now.”

The Coliseum Master resisted a groan from leaking out. He wanted to protest. He wanted to say that it was an unfair decision. After all, the Snake Tribe had been preparing for the tournament for the past three years. Since most of their tribe’s income comes from the Magna Coliseum, particularly the War of the Three Gods, the cancellation of the tournament this year would deal a blow to the treasury of their tribe. They would feel the repercussion of this decision for the next few years.

Still, the Coliseum Master didn’t dare utter a single complaint. He knew of the Beast King’s temperament, and the words “don’t make me repeat myself” might as well be his last warning.

The Beast King wouldn’t hesitate to cull a mere Coliseum Master like him for insubordination.

“I-I understand, Your Majesty,” said the Coliseum Master.

The Beast King amplified his voice with mana. In a firm, commanding voice, he said to everyone, “We are ending the tournament here. All of you, get out of the arena.”

Buzzes of confusion and complaints filled the Magna Coliseum. The gates opened, and the bear beastmen started escorting the audience out of the Coliseum.

“That pet lizard of yours is too big, so let’s just talk here,” said the Beast King to Lark. “Now, King Lark. Tell me everything.”

Lark nodded. He cast a silence spell on the arena, preventing anyone from the audience seats from hearing their conversation.

“First,” said Lark. “Let’s start with the existence of the demons.”

As concise as possible, Lark started telling the Beast King all of the crucial information he had regarding the demons and the portal – their strengths, their types, their characteristics, their numbers. He even told them of the existence of the High Demons and the Immortal Demon.

When Lark was nearing the end of his story, the Royal Guards and the four semi-finalists, particularly Van, were aghast from terror.

They realized that if Lark’s words were all true, then a war capable of destroying numerous nations would soon befall this continent. A war that far surpassed everything they’d seen and experienced.

And the invasion currently happening in the Iron Mountains was merely a prelude to this battle.

“The ancient records left behind by our ancestors mentioned the existence of demons,” said the Beast King. “But to think that they would appear during my lifetime…”

The Beast King turned to his right-hand man, “Vaungur, any news from the Shifters?”

The Shifters were beastmen capable of completely transforming into their animal form. They were composed mainly of shamans, and most of them were responsible for relaying information across the United Grakas Alliance. The Shifters capable of transforming into falcons, in particular, were integral during times of war.

“We haven’t received any news from the Shifters stationed in the South, Your Majesty,” said Vaungur.

The Beast King stroked his mane. “They’d been trained to prioritize the relay of information, no matter what, even at the cost of their lives. Although it takes three weeks by cart from here to reach the Iron Mountains, if it’s a Peregrine Falcon Shifter, the news should have reached us by now.”

The Beast King remembered what Lark had just told them. Based on the human king’s story, there existed a group of demons capable of flying in the sky.

Did the Sky Demons hunt down all of the Shifters?

As the Beast King thought of this, he noticed something flying toward them from above.

It felt as though the Three Gods were listening to their conversation and decided to answer their prayers.

The one they’d been waiting for – a messenger Shifter – had just arrived.

“One of them is here,” said the Beast King as he gazed at the sky. “Finally.”

A two meters large peregrine falcon swooped down toward them. It shrieked, announcing its arrival. With a loud thud, it landed on the ground, sending a small cloud of dust flying about.

“Y-Your Majesty!”

The peregrine falcon quickly shifted back into his beastman form, turning into a humanoid beastman with the head of a falcon. Clumsily, he ran toward the Beat King and knelt before him.

“Your Majesty!” repeated the Falcon Shifter.

Now that everyone had a closer look, they realized that the Shifter had numerous injuries throughout its body. Its left leg was bent in a weird direction, and a chunk of flesh was bitten off its right arm. It was amazing that it had managed to still fly all the way here despite its current state.

“Monsters! Monsters started coming out of the Iron Mountains!” cried the Shifter. “And against the monster horde, the Rocky Fort didn’t even last a single day!”

Silence befell everyone.

Chills crawled down the spines of the beastmen.

The Rocky Fort was a military camp located at the foot of the Iron Mountains. It served two purposes: First was to ensure the peace and order of the Iron Mountains, particularly to keep the slaves in check, and second, to prevent the advance of any monsters coming from the Wasteland to the United Grakas Alliance.

There should be around fifteen thousand beastmen warriors stationed in that Fort.

How did it fall in just a single day?

The faces of the beastmen who heard this news turned grim.

The messenger’s words just now corroborated the words of the human king. Although the messenger called them monsters, according to the human king, they were demons who’d come out of the portal that had just opened in the Iron Mountains.

Van ran to the Shifter and grabbed one of his hands. Forget the Fort, what he wanted to know right now was whether or not his little brother was still alive.

“The slaves!” said Van in a desperate voice. “What happened to the slaves in the Iron Mountains!”

The Shifter found the question odd. Moreover, those words came from a mere rabbit.

“Slaves? Why should that matter! Over a hundred thousand monsters appeared in the Iron Mountains! Even a burning colossal monster appeared! Those slaves are all definitely dead by now!” said the Shifter angrily. He shook off the hands of Van and turned to the Beast King.

Van’s legs wobbled. Slowly, he fell on his knees. He couldn’t accept that his little brother was probably dead by now.

“Your Majesty!” said the messenger. “I’m the only Shifter who managed to escape from those monsters flying in the sky! Please, I beg you! Help us!”

The Beast King fell silent for several seconds. He said, “General Thaorrok should be there. What happened to him?”

General Thaorrok was the highest-ranking official in the South. Not only was he responsible for overseeing the Iron Mountains, he was also responsible for keeping the Alliance safe from the monsters of the Wasteland. Moreover, he was one of the most powerful warriors in the United Grakas Alliance. By strength alone, he should be as strong as Vaungur.

The Falcon Shifter closed his eyes in agony. “He’s dead, Your Majesty. Before the Fort fell, General Thaorrok and his men charged deeper into the enemy lines and valiantly perished in battle.”

The Beast King clenched his fists. General Thaorrok was not only a loyal subordinate, he was one of the Beast King’s closest friends.

It was surreal that he’d met his demise suddenly, moreover, in such a manner.

“You’ve done well delivering this message.” The Beast King said to the Royal Guards, “One of you, take him to the infirmary.”

“Yes, Your Majesty!”

One of the Royal Guards carried the wounded falcon Shifter out of the arena.

By now, all of the audience had already left the Coliseum. And all that’s left in the arena were the Beast King, the Coliseum Master, the Royal Guards, Lark’s group, and the four-semi finalists of the tournament.

For several seconds, the Beast King stared at Lark. He closed his eyes, breathed in deeply and said, “It seems that your words were true.” The Beast King lowered his head. “First, allow me to apologize for what I’ve done to your pet lizard.”

“Y-Your Majesty!”

“W-What are you doing!”

“P-Please raise your head!”

Vaungur and the Royal Guards panicked upon seeing the Beast King bow his head to a human. Although all of the audience had already vacated the Coliseum and they were the only ones to witness this, they believed that it still wasn’t proper for the king of a nation to lower his head before anyone.

Moreover, he was bowing to the king of the Lukasians.

“Be quiet, Vaungur. You heard the Shifter’s story, didn’t you? This matter already surpassed the issue of the Aden Region and the prior wars against the Kingdom of Lukas,” said the Beast King. “And if we are unable to discern between right and wrong, what makes us different from the abominations of the Wasteland?”

How surprising.

After the Beast King confirmed that Lark was indeed telling the truth, he immediately uttered words of apology without minding his status. Moreover, after realizing the scale of the upcoming demonic invasion, he immediately forewent their nation’s enmity against the Lukasians, let go of his pride, and accepted Lark’s helping hand.

Although the Beast King was known to be a brute, it seemed that he was a wise beastman.

“I accept your apology, Beast King,” said Lark in a natural manner. “We are also at fault for suddenly coming here without informing the Alliance. Now, please raise your head.”

The Scylla nodded its heads approvingly. It cleared it throat and said, “Not bad, lion. But do remember, I’m not a lizard.”

The Beast King raised his head and frowned at the Scylla.

“We shall give you an appropriate reward once all of this is over,” said the Beast King to Lark. “You mentioned a plan before? Tell me about it.”

After that exchange, the hostility within the voices of the two vanished completely.

Lark said, “It’s quite simple. Since the demons come out of the portal, we’ll just have to close it to prevent more of them from coming out. And after that, we’ll thoroughly clean up the Alliance for any demons hiding in its land.”

“Closing a portal connecting two different realms,” said the Beast King. “Is that even possible?”

Although the Beast King wasn’t as knowledgeable regarding magic as the shamans of the Alliance, even he was aware of how difficult it should be to close a portal—

—if it was even doable.

Just the mere thought of closing a massive rift connecting two different realms felt impossible.

“If it was the original portal,” said Lark, “even I would have a hard time closing it on my own. It’ll be a nearly impossible task without several months or years of preparation. But it’s different for the one that appeared in the Iron Mountains. Since the demons forcefully replicated and relocated it, the portal should be unstable.”

Lark even added that there was a chance that the portal had already closed by now due to its instability. And this was the best-case scenario they should hope for.

“If the portal is still open by the time we arrived, I need you and everyone else to buy me enough time to close it,” said Lark.

It was a simple yet logical plan that needed the cooperation of everyone.

It was no wonder that King Lark refused to further antagonize the United Grakas Alliance.

Had the Beast King not seen how King Lark effortlessly cast that massive spell before, even he would have a hard time believing that closing a portal was possible.

“Very well,” said the Beast King. “But there’s a problem. Although there are twenty-five thousand warriors stationed in the City of Magna, even if we make haste, it’ll take us two days to prepare our arms and rations, and a minimum of three weeks to reach the Iron Mountains.”

The Iron Mountains was located at the southernmost part of the United Grakas Alliance, after all. Before the beastmen conquered it, that region was considered part of the Wasteland.

“I heard the Shifter mention that the Rocky Fort had already fallen,” said Lark. “What’s the nearest military camp after it?”

Although King Lark was asking for crucial strategical information regarding their country, the Beast King decided to answer it. He knew that now was not the time to be nitpicky.

“That should be the Talverton Stronghold,” said the Beast King.

According to the Beast King, the Talverton Stronghold was a massive defensive structure located South of the United Grakas Alliance. Although it was called a stronghold, in reality, it was composed of eight large barracks linked together by wooden walls and stone towers, forming a defensive line that prevented the further advance of the monsters of the Wasteland into the Alliance.

The Talverton Stronghold predated the creation of Rocky Fort. Before the beastmen conquered the Iron Mountains and the Rocky Fort was built, the Talverton Stronghold served as the beastmen’s primary defensive structure against the monsters of the Wasteland.

“There are roughly twenty thousand beastmen warriors stationed in there,” said the Beast King. “And most of them are warriors who’d fought with the monsters of the Wasteland before. They should be useful in battle.”

“And how far is the Talverton Stronghold from the Iron Mountains?” said Lark.

The stronghold wasn’t indicated in the map given to him by Secretary Irene. Had the Beast King not mentioned it, Lark wouldn’t have known of its existence.

“Two days away at most by cart,” said the Beast King. “And since the monsters of the Wasteland would sometimes cross over the Iron Mountains and bypass the Rocky Fort, the warriors of the stronghold were trained to immediately move out or fight at any time. It should be possible to rally the warriors stationed there immediately.”

“Twenty thousand warriors,” said Lark. “Time isn’t on our side. They should be enough for now.”

Lark snapped his fingers, and over a dozen translucent winged creatures that resembled eagles appeared before him.

“The warriors stationed in the stronghold would probably never listen to me,” said Lark. “But things would be different if you came with me, Beast King.”

“You want me to ride one of those birds?” said the Beast King.

Lark nodded. “Yes.”

The Beast King was reluctant, but decided to ride one of them regardless.

“Those who wish to come with us to the Iron Mountains,” said Lark, “get on.”

Van immediately stepped forward and rode one of the translucent mounts. “Please let me come with you!”

“We will follow His Majesty!”

The Royal Guards also stepped forward and rode their respective mounts.

While this was happening, Urza, one of the semi-finalists, said to Garkawi, “Boy, if you plan on taking revenge for your father, do it now. After we ride those mounts, it’ll be too shameful to ask that human king for a duel.”

Garkawi was the son of the late General Urkawi. When Lark first arrived in Magna Coliseum, Garkawi was so surprised that he was unable to move or utter a single word. He’d never expected to see the human who’d killed his father here in the Coliseum.

While the Beast King and Lark were conversing with each other, Garkawi even had the urge to charge toward the human king and cut him down where he stood.

“You’ll probably die though,” remarked Hatch. “You’ve seen how fast he’d cast that massive spell before, right?”

Garkawi glared at Hatch. “Shut your mouth, whale. I’m not afraid of dying. What I’m afraid of is sullying the image of my late father.”

Garkawi was conflicted.

Honestly, he wanted to grab this opportunity to take revenge for his father. But a voice within him was telling him that doing so would taint the honor of General Urkawi. Although the Third Legion lost horribly, everyone knew that General Urkawi fought valiantly until his death.

Dying in battle was the dream of most warriors.

Since the Third Legion was the one who attacked Blackstone Town, should he find fault in the humans for defending their territory?

“Boy, we regret the most the things we didn’t do,” said Urza. “This is your last chance to ask him for a duel. The moment we ride those mounts, we’ll be in the debt of that human.”

Urza was the oldest of all the semi-finalists here. He was probably older than even the Beast King himself. And wisdom came with age. Garkawi knew that listening to this veteran had its merits.

After pondering over it, Garkawi stepped forward and said, “Greetings, human king.”

Lark looked at the gorilla beastman and waited for him to continue.

“I am Garkawi, the son of the late General Urkawi,” he said respectfully. “I hold no grudge against you, for I know that my father died valiantly in battle. For a warrior, it is the highest honor.”

Garkawi paused, then continued, “But as his son, it is my duty to take revenge against my father’s murderer. Before we leave, please grant me the opportunity for a duel.”