Level up with swords (151)
Not only the four tribal leaders who expressed their position as members of the Juhwa faction, but also the tribal leaders belonging to the Jujeon faction or the neutral faction, their eyes widened.
The head of the faction that had been at odds so far had to retract his words and then turn them around. The faces of several tribal leaders who could not accept the momentary change in situation became comically distorted.
Is this a joke?
For something like that, Hati’s expression was too serious.
Bulls, the chieftain of the main battle group, could not bear the question and asked a question in a cautious voice.
“Miss Hathi?”
“Why are you doing that?”
“Didn’t you keep insisting on peace with the nomads? “Why are the words suddenly turning around?”
The audience nodded their heads in unison, waiting for Hathi to answer.
In front of everyone, she clenched her fists.
“Because what Chief Totuga says is not wrong.”
It was clear that the nomads had crossed their ‘line’ several times. If such an invasion continued within the beastman tribe, it would not be surprising if a fight broke out to wash away the blood.
Because the fight against external forces cannot be fought carelessly, and because the desert environment is so harsh, they did not retaliate.
The cause of the war clearly belonged to them.
“As Chief Alice said, nothing will be gained from this war.”
Let’s imagine that the allied forces of the 12 tribes marched into the desert, killed all the Bedouin warriors, and conquered the land.
The territory will probably increase by nearly double.
But the expansion meant nothing.
The barren environment of the great desert cannot grow enough vegetation for the herbivorous beastmen to consume, and it cannot even cover one quarter of the amount of meat that the carnivore beastmen eat in a day.
Even if you gain it by shedding blood, it is useless land.
That was the value of the Great Desert.
“As Chief Basil said, there would be no advantage if we marched into that desert.”
The beast people require several times more drinking water and food than humans. No matter how well you prepare your supplies, you will soon reach your limits once you leave the steppes.
Local supply was bound to be an even more difficult task for the beastmen who were not familiar with the environmental changes in the desert and did not know the habits or habitats of desert monsters.
They will have to fight against hunger and thirst more than the Bedouin.
“but!”
After pointing out several reasons for not going to war, Hati raised his voice as if to deny them.
“Since when did we fight over this land being invaded, weighing the gains and losses! Since when did we get our fangs kicked because we were at a disadvantage even when what was ours was taken from us!”
It’s not reasonable.
The logic of the Juhwa School ultimately stemmed from one sentence.
However, since time immemorial, wars have been started more often for irrational reasons than for rational reasons.
Because of my unreasonable ambition.
Because of the grudges of my ancestor whose name I don’t even remember.
Because my pride was hurt during the process of diplomacy.
There were more than one war that was too lame to be recorded directly in history, so it was covered up with various justifications. Hati took his eyes off the chieftains and shouted to the audience.
“The hooves of the camels brought by the rude invaders trampled the grass of the meadow where we were now standing. As Chief Totuga said, this begging that has gone too far must be ended by tearing the gourd into pieces!”
A beautiful and strong woman’s voice sometimes has a charisma that surpasses that of men.
Some people feel a rational attraction to that look, while others can’t get enough of that brave appearance. Every time Hati’s voice resounded majestically, the meeting place became more and more heated, and the fighting spirit swelled as if it would explode if pricked once with a needle.
“It’s war!”
As Hathi cries out, the audience goes to war! War! He said and closed his eyes. If this had been a speech just before the sortie, they would have quickly become a demoralized army.
The Jujeon faction, deprived of anything to say to her, applauded blankly, while the Juhwa faction, who had been hit in the back so violently, were trembling with their mouths wide open in bewilderment.
Squall, and even Barg, blinked with a bewildered expression.
Will the bloody battle between the nomads and the beast people begin like this?
“–but.”
At some point, the audience, who had been fascinated by Hathi’s words and gestures, fell silent at the sound of her soft voice.
The same was true for the tribal leaders.
Unpredictable words and actions in themselves attract attention.
That was also what Hathi was aiming for from the beginning.
“What if this war, the struggle we must fight with our pride and honor at stake, is someone’s base game?”
The hostility that had swelled up with several fanning changes direction according to the voice.
“If those who do not even have the courage to fight face to face want to defile us with the blood of the hungry and thirsty! How could you fall for their dirty tricks and pile up the blood and corpses of your compatriots like puppets they control?”
no! shouted Hathi, raising her palms.
“I can not do it. No, you won’t! We will never be slaves again! “Rather than being used as a footstool for some bastard I don’t even know who he is, I’d rather give shit to that rip-off!”
Only then did the tribal leaders, who had read her intention, change their countenance once again.
Third force intervention.
Humiliation and anger at being ‘used’ by someone.
Hati’s speech precisely delved into what the beastmen could not tolerate, creating an opponent they should hate more than the nomads. It was a method that the main battle faction had never expected, not denying the war itself but changing the enemy.
“for a moment!”
In an atmosphere that was changing beyond control, Squall urgently intervened.
“Is the war against nomads the work of ‘someone’? What evidence can prove that? “My sister, you must not dare to tell lies in the meeting hall!”
“It’s evidence.”
Hathi took a pause and confidently shouted.
“There is no such thing!”
“What?!”
“In the end, neither stories told from trustworthy people nor circumstantial evidence can serve as physical evidence. “The only thing I can claim as evidence is the blood flowing through this body and the pride I inherited from my great-grandfather!”
“What an absurd act… !”
Squall was about to reply to that, but closed his mouth.
——————
faqwiki.us
Join our Discord for new chapter updates!
https://discord.com/invite/xr7SxG5T6V
——————
They were one and only twins.
Desecrating her blood and pride was tantamount to denying the bloodline that flowed through my body.
“… “You have a little hair that is unbecoming of a sister.”
Maybe that’s why my feverish head cooled down.
If the other person used blood and pride as their shield, what you could aim for was also similar.
Squall, who returned to his calm face, opened his mouth.
“Blood and pride, will you risk your lineage to guarantee the truth?”
“Yes.”
“You will move the prairies and all your fellow countrymen with just your life? Have you ever thought of that as arrogance?”
This time, it was Hathi’s turn to show her face.
“Even if you, who are neither the chieftain nor the beast king, guaranteed it, is there any price you could pay other than your life? Answer me, sister. “The reason why we should believe and follow your claims.”
“… … .”
“Did those humans blow wind into you? Or did you at least make a friend in that desert?”
“Are you trying to insult me now!”
Hati, whose eyes widened at Squall’s sarcasm, growled.
The meeting room became quiet as if it had been doused with cold water again. The heat rose and then cooled down, and this was repeated several times, so the audience had some time to think calmly.
The balance of the scale has not yet collapsed.
Whoever makes this trend their own wins. The tribal leaders, who sensed this, were about to ask for the right to speak.
“―I am Leon.”
Leon pulled out a sword from his waist and plunged the blade into the center of the round table.
“I am willing to prove that what she says is true through a fair fight! “With my sword and my teacher’s name, I will prove anyone who doubts the truth with this blade!”
It was a story I had already heard from Hathi last night.
The most basic rule of a tribal leader’s meeting.
When clarifying an unclear story, adopt the words of the side that won through a just struggle.
“For someone like a human to say that… !”
“That’s not even funny.”
“Did an outsider mention the rules of the grassland?”
The chieftain of Urs, Totuga, snorted decisively.
“I don’t know how great your sword and teacher are, but they cannot compare to the oath that you pledged to your bloodline. “Please stop making clumsy imitations.”
“hmm?”
It was then.
The Beast King, Barg, who was quietly watching the fight between the two forces, intervened with a question.
“I’m sorry, but I can’t ignore that, Totuga.”
“W-what are you talking about?”
“He is the same door as me. “Not acknowledging his teacher is no different from denying my grandfather.”
“omg!”
The tribal leaders’ eyes changed at Barg’s remarks.
Shock, confusion, disbelief.
And only one man was looking straight at the same person.
“Hahaha! Good! “It couldn’t be better!”
Huracan, the chief of the Tigris and renowned as the strongest of the main battle sects, looked at the three people one by one and spoke.
“If you are the King’s alumni, you are worthy of the name. Since the king acknowledged his participation in the meeting, it would be unseemly to run away with the excuse that he was a foreigner. So, is there a composition I would like to suggest?”
“Tell me.”
Varg nodded his head as if in agreement.
“It just so happens that the number of people is similar. This is Master Skoll and the three tribal leaders, and this is Lady Hathi and the three guests. Isn’t this a perfect situation to settle the issue through a fair fight? “Let’s fight four times and go with the winner.”
“… That’s right. “What are you going to do?”
“I will accept it.”
Hathi also did not back down from that heinous proposal.
4 to 4.
He proves his words with four duels. Squall looked shocked by Huracan’s intervention, but his face soon changed to a relaxed one, probably because he thought there was no way they would lose.
Barg stood up after confirming the agreement of both sides.
“The establishment of the duel has been confirmed. The side with more wins will carry out that opinion, and if the number of wins is the same, the winners will compete once again to decide the outcome. Do you agree?”
“yes.”
“yes.”
“If that’s the case, that’s fine.”
Varg raised his voice and declared so that the audience could hear everything.
“Prepare for a duel!”
* * *
Preparation for the duel was instantaneous.
The round table installed in the middle of the vacant lot disappeared somewhere, revealing an empty space with a radius of at least 50 meters. There was no doubt that it was a space left from the beginning for the purpose of being able to fight if the situation arises.
While looking at the battlefield that was being prepared in just a few minutes, Hati spoke to Leon and the others in an impertinent tone.
“sorry. I tried to win verbally if possible… .”
Squall, who was thought to be only a stooge of the main wave, had outstanding speaking skills in many ways. Not only did she not disturb the mood she had raised to the fullest, she went so far as to completely provoke him.
Could it be that his speaking skills come from his cunning personality?
In any case, it was all the same for Leon and his group.
“no it’s okay. As the Beast King said, it is easier to establish one’s position by showing one’s strength.”
Leon smiled and comforted her.
“Rather than that, let’s think about who will fight first. “I want to get together with that tiger beast, a person named Huracan.”
“I don’t care about anyone.”
“Me too.”
Ellahan and Karen were of the opinion that any of the four would be fine.
Hati felt like he would deal with Squall directly, so the four’s opponents were quickly decided.
The party came to a tentative conclusion and looked at the battlefield.
Before we knew it, a clean vacant lot was waiting for the two warriors.
Kuung-. Kuung-.
And then, across from Leon and his group, a cow-headed giant walked out with heavy footsteps.
Chieftain of the Taurus, Bulls.
He was the first duelist, holding a large ax in both hands.
“uh? “It starts with me.”
According to the decided bracket, Karen jumped into the vacant lot. Bulls seem to be the type that relies on their physical abilities and the weight of their weapons, so they were good prey for Karen, who specializes in agility and stealth.
However, since you cannot tell its strength by looking at it, Bulls made a strange sound from its nostrils, which were bigger than a coin.
“Heheheung! You are a female as thin as a reed. Are you prepared to turn my double axes into rust?”
“Have you plowed all the fields? “I guess the owner is kind because he doesn’t even do anything.”
“W-what? “W-What did you just say!?”
For those living in the back alleys, arguments were a daily occurrence, and asking about the well-being of parents who did not exist was common.
Bulls lost his patience with just a few words and his face turned red.
Fury.
The special ability of the Urs tribe, the power to amplify their already powerful physical abilities several times, burst forth from the very beginning. Suppressing the urge to swing at any moment, Bulls looked back at Barg, who was standing on the edge as referee.
Did he even understand how he felt?
“Start!”
The moment Barg shouted that, the Bulls ran out.
“■■■■■■■■――!”
The double axes whipped around with an inexplicable scream.
Up Down Left Right.
It strikes, strikes, swings, and pulls hard in all directions as if tearing apart. It is so powerful that a mere swipe, let alone a direct hit, will cause the rock wall to explode. The Bulls had no doubt that they would be able to slaughter the cocky female with this attack.
For some reason, I didn’t have a good feel for it, but I thought it might have been because I was such a light opponent.
‘Make sure you regret it when you die, you arrogant bitch!’
The wind pressure of the successive strikes reaching the 50th inning caused the dust on the floor of the vacant lot to rise, forming a whirlpool centered on the Bulls.
Bulls soon felt pain in his forearm muscle and stopped his arm.
This should be enough.
<Fury> is an efficient and powerful ability, but it places a huge strain on the body. There was no way I could destroy my body in anger.
however.
“-no way.”
A deflated voice was heard from the blade of the ax that Bulls had stopped after swinging with all his might.
“Are you done already? “I was just trying to have some fun.”
This is ridiculous.
Thinking like that, Bulls rolled his eyes.
The female, who was sitting on the ax blade without any weight, was looking down at him as if mocking him.
What you don’t know is medicine?
Unfortunately, Karen didn’t have the heart to give Bulls the medicine.
“What, didn’t you know?”
It was from the moment he first struck down the ax as he rushed forward fiercely.
“I’ve been here from the beginning.”
Karen smiled as she looked at his wide eyes.
