556 CH 516: THE OTHER SIDE
[Wratharis Republic; High Assembly]
As its name stated, Wratharis, more than the Monolithic Kingdom, was an alliance composed of many races all under the name of Beastmen. A large total of 193 races
Out of all the clans of beastmen, four great clans stood above everything.
The Oni, The Stone Monkey, the Kitsune, and the Blue Wolf. The leaders of those four races formed the security council of the high assembly, with the Wolf and Kitsune holding permanent seats, while the two other seats could be taken if the leader lost to another one.
The ruling systems and the power and right of speaking, while hidden under the guise of a democracy, were more of a meritocracy where the best and strongest races stood at the top while the weakest ones at the bottom could only listen.
Even so, there was no problem in this system and the Beastmen never tried to rebel against it. After all, this was their very nature.
Might made Right.
The simplest truth that one could not go against no matter how civilized they tried to appear. The brutal blood in their body would never accept being ruled by someone weaker than themselves.
.
.
.
In the large amphitheater that served as the place of assembly, sitting at the summit where the leader of the four strongest clans in Wratharis.
Shuten Doji, the current Leader of the Oni clan. The Oni had once been nothing more than immigrants from Invidia around 50 or so years ago but thanks to the business acumen of Shuten Doji, and the prowess of her race, they managed to establish themselves and surpass everyone else.
Shuten Doji was a short woman, not unlike a child, though her outrageous clothes would beg to show a different tale. After all, her long open kimono aside, all she was wearing was something akin to a swimsuit. Her pale skin was so white it seemed she was devoid of blood. Her short purple hair was adorned with silver and golden jewels and two long horns protruded out of her forehead.
As always, Shuten had nothing but a slovenly appearance when out in public but only those who had once been burned by her understood how dangerous she was.
Even so, without a shadow of a doubt, out of the four Leaders, she was the weakest. The other three were much more dangerous.
Sitting next to her was a man of average height with a rather athletic build wearing a black cloak. His black spiked hair aside, what caught his attention was the golden headband around his head what looked like a white tiger skin around his waist, and finally, a long black tail swishing behind him.
He was Sun Wukong, undoubtedly recognized as the strongest existence of Wratharis. The Uncrowned King. A man who, if the law of Wratharis were taken into account should have been the uncontested leader of the country.
Sadly, for all his power and might, he could not surpass the Heavenly law.
Sitting on the other side was a beautiful woman with soft tails moving around and a deep smile. Kiku Inari Patienta. The leader of the opposition and the Supreme Daughter of Patienta. She was also the head of the Kitsune clan.
Finally — The protagonist in this whole scene. The one known as the Usurper or the Tyrants rather than a King. A cruel man who dethroned his brother to satisfy his thirst for power —- Tiangou Lupus Ira
Many hated him, some respected him and the rest were neutral about him. But whatever their emotion was, the might of the King was there for all to see.
Generally, Lupus had an overpowering aura, as if challenging anyone to even dare refuse his words, it was an arrogant show of force but it was also something the other leader did not care about most of the time.
After all, the dogs who bark the loudest generally don’t bite.
This time though. An air of uneasiness filled everyone as they gazed at him.
The current Lupus looked different. Emaciated, a gaunt expression, as if he had been emptied of all his blood.
He looked weak. This was why—
—-He looked dangerous.
Everyone immediately raised their wariness to the highest degree, recognizing that something was wrong.
But Lupus ignored all of them, his eyes fixed in the air as he spoke with a slightly dreamy voice as if he was walking on clouds.
“The force on the shore in Lustburg side have started to build a large teleportation matrix.”
This was one of the advantages of humanity's ability to form a contract. Some humans, rather than chasing after fame and power would contract with a special type of beast known as Nightmare crow. [1]
It was a C-rank beast with little battle power but it allowed the humans to teleport others through long distances.
One of their favorite tactics of Lustburg was to create relay points with those teleportation circles and move large amounts of supplies as well as reinforcement.
Furthermore, since it was two ways, the wounded soldier could be immediately sent to heal in good facilities while more fresh soldiers would replace them.
This was truly an insidious way of battling that was learned from the first era of Lustburg when the witch of Space was working with them.
“Thankfully the witch's relationship with Lustburg is still cold. But in a week or two, all the relay stations will be completed, and destroying them by then will prove to be a challenge. Who dares stand up and fight for the Country?”
Everyone looked at each other, hesitating but one man, or rather, One Tiger, stood up,
“I will be the one, my Lord. The Tiger clan will show its might to the humans.”
A sneer of disdain appeared on the faces of the different representatives. The tiger clan was once one of the four Great Clans. Sadly they lost that title and fell in decline after the Previous Tiger Lord was Killed by Sun Wukong.
Even now, SunWukong wore the Skin of the then-lord. But the current lord, the son of the one who was killed, could only look away and act as if he did not see the blatant insult.
“Hum…What does the Tiger wish in return?”
“Land my lord. We wish to obtain the land near the fortress.”
Hiss!
Everyone sucked in a large breath, while others cursed, wondering if he was crazy. That part of the land was a very strategic resource.
Shuten Doji laughed quietly, throwing a look at the Lord, “They said riding a tiger is a trip filled with danger and one might die at any moment. I guess this also applies to the Tiger itself.”
The Tiger Lord ignored her, he knew better than to try and argue with this woman.
“My King. I await your words.”
Lupus mused for a while, gazing at the Tiger up and down. His instincts were telling him one thing.
This man would fail.
This was why —
“Very well. The Tiger will be at the forefront and will launch the attack. You have three days. Failure will not be accepted.”
“Thank you, my lord.”
Lupus smiled at the look of gratefulness on the face of the Young lord.
No wonder the Tiger clan was in decline with a leader like this.
But it did not matter. Cannon Fodders were always welcomed.
Lupus gently touched the blade on his side.
Victory would be his in the end. No matter what the Price.
[1] They were introduced in CH 13
