BXBX NOVEL Chapter 538-439: In the shadow
Chapter 538-439: In the shadow
In the present at least — Wratharis was Cheering or rather, Lupus, King of Wratharis, was cheering.
His laugh filled the sky, like the rumbling of thunder, reaching the ears of all citizens. The news of the victory in the plains had reached the capital and there was a weird tension hanging in the air.
The citizens could understand why the King was happy.
From a strategic standpoint, this was undoubtedly a victory. The plain may not be a direct road toward Lustburg but it had opened more ways and allowed the Beast to protect their border better.
Furthermore, in history, those plains once belonged to Wratharis before being absorbed by the humans. One could say they were getting back what was there.
Despite this — Few people were actually happy.
The victory had been disastrous.
There was a saying about how killing 1000 enemy soldiers by sacrificing 800 of your own soldiers could never be seen as a true victory.But in Wratharis\' case, this was the worst. They didn’t exchange 800 for 1000. Such a result, albeit bad, would have been relatively acceptable.
They sacrificed ‘800 to kill only 400’. Perhaps not even so. It wouldn’t be a mistake to say that the vanguard was entirely wiped out all to recuperate some ancestral land that didn’t have much value in the grand scheme of things.
This was a victory but this was also an empty victory and the citizens were starting to get angry.
“Hey. Did you know? They say the King is sacrificing people for an evil ritual.”
“Talk less. But indeed. Though In my case, I heard he is simply useless.
Murmurs of citizens filled the streets while some people were simply walking in black. Mourning for their losses.
“Did you know? They say the King does not care about all our sacrifices.”
“I heard that the soldiers who died in Lustburg were all given titles and their families would be taken care of until death.”
“Really?”
The voice was complicated. Soldier\'s life in Wratharis was complicated.
In the first place, they didn’t really have much unified control and the rewards for the soldier could not even be compared.
Few things hurt more than comparison.
Lustburg may have lost but —
They had far fewer casualties.
They gave better rewards.
The king was magnanimous and didn’t kill his subordinate because of anger.
The more they listened to those strangely accurate rumors, the more angry people became.
The laugh of Lupus at this moment was like a cold shower on the vast majority of citizens
They were angry.
But they were helpless.
—And it was then that they started to remember that Setsuna existed.
Perhaps…It was time to change king.
.
.
.
Sitting on his throne, Lupus looked paler and more emaciated. But a calculating light filled his eyes even as he exploded in laughter.
“It seems like a few rats are acting in the capital.”
He knew. He knew that the citizens hated him and despised him.
He knew. He knew very well that even though he became the King through rightful means of power. He would never be more than a tyrant in their eyes.
He knew all that and yet — He did not care.
Would someone mind the cry of ants on the road?
Obey or Die.
For every day he was alive, it would be one more day with him as the King and he would let them all understand that this would not change.
He was the Tiangou. The Celestial Wolf.
He was someone above and beyond the masses. They could never hope to even try to understand him.
Something flashed in his eyes as he looked at the entrance of his palace. It was an unknown person. An intruder.
“Who dare!?”
Lightning flashed from his hand, but the intruder simply shattered the lightning with a wave of their hands.
“I have come in peace. King, I wonder if you are ready to hear my proposal.”
It was a man. One wearing a tuxedo with a gentle smile on his face and a small monocle on his eye.
Standing here, his presence seemed rather weak, as if it was barely moving and breathing.
“Begone!”
The man who appeared kept a smile as he nodded before stepping away. His voice though, still filling Tiangou’s ears.
“Dear king. This is my second visit. I believe that on the 3rd, we will finally be able to talk.”
Tiangou snorted and chased away the residual voice as he watched the man slowly become faint as if his existence was vanishing.
Tiangou gritted his teeth,
“I remember now.”
Stolen novel; please report.
“Indeed. My power is yet to be perfect. But you will soon forget.”
“Beast!”
He stood up, ready to rush and tear apart his opponent but by the time he did so, the monocle-wearing man completely vanished. Leaving nothing but an empty hall.
A fierce struggle waged in his Tiangou’s mind, fighting, resisting, and finally — Surrendering.
A few seconds later —-
He was the Tiangou. The Celestial Wolf.
He was someone above and beyond the masses. They could never hope to even try to understand…
Tiangou stopped, tilting his head. He had a weird feeling of deja vu. But in the end, he simply shook his head and started walking toward his room.
There was a reason he didn’t try to appease the resentment of the citizens at this moment beyond simply not caring.
This resentment was useful to him at the current moment and he would use it without the slightest hesitation.
None of Lustburg’s plans mattered as long as he was strong enough.
.
.
.
Outside of Lustburg, a tall woman with two large horns above her head gave a curious look at the sky above.
“Are you not worried about being noticed by the goddesses?”
Standing next to her, a man wearing a monocle gave a smile full of indifference as he adjusted it before taking it off and cleaning it.
“I am a very fearful man. I need to always be sure and certain about everything before acting. I am scared of dying, you see.”
As he said so his finger traced his neck slightly, as if scratching away some phantom pain.
“But even though I am a scaredy cat who fears his own shadow — I do not fear them.”
He laughed and placed back his monocle, and looked at the sky.
The sky in the left eye was normal. A blue sky with a few white clouds and the sun hanging high.
But the sky in his right eye. The one covered by a monocle was different.
He could see a large river, one branching out many times with so many small streams that it seemed like they were infinite.
“The heavens are covered in secret. I guess I have to thank her for helping me. Even if unintentionally.”
He chuckled, “Don’t you find this era interesting? Scheme within scheme happening everywhere. All for things they do not even understand.”
“I don’t really care honestly. I just want to fight.
“Do not worry. Fight you will. Soon even” He turned around, losing interest in the river above, “Let’s go. I still have work to do.”
He was just testing things out recently. Trying to decipher how much the secret covered the eyes of those dunces and he was shocked.
Truly — They were hopeless.
“This is why you guys never won when we played tags. Well — Expect the last party.”
He muttered with melancholy before stepping into a scarlet portal with the woman.
Vanishing as if they had never existed.
***
Still at Wratharis, but on the side of the temple, Kuki watched somberly as people came and prayed for the souls of the dead soldiers who sacrificed their lives for the war and glory of Wratharis.
Kiku was old. Not as old as some of the other supreme daughters but she had lived a very long life. Her heritage as a half-divine beast helped tremendously.
She had seen many wars and observed many such processions. Listened to the heart-wrenching cries of the family and friends who were left behind again, again and again, giving promise that the dead would have a better life in the Kingdoms of the goddesses even though she knew that only a very small percentage would actually be chosen while the rest of the soul would simply enter back the cycle of reincarnation.
Some of them may even be unlucky and fall into Anubis’ territory.
Despite all those years and all the experience she obtained, it never became easier.
“Am I too sentimatale?”
She stopped looking down below and gazed at her old friend who was quietly drinking alcohol with a bowl nearly as large as her head.
“It’s only now you notice this?”
Shuten Douji gave a sneer as she put the bowl back. She knew her friend was uneasy. This was understandable. Kiku had a fierce loyalty and love toward this country and its citizens.
She was a woman who had always been firmly against war and the arguments she gave were not simply filled with idealism.
Wratharis was a republic composed of one mainland and many small islands all around surrounded by the sea. It could be said that the economy of this country, outside of some metallurgy was very efficient and rich in resources.
Wratharis was nearly self-sufficient with more than enough lands, low populations, and booming technology.
In the past, she had drafted a self-isolation plan with the previous King of Wratharis that would have allowed Wratharis to grow exponentially in a few years rather than constantly wasting resources while fighting against Invidia and Southern Pride.
Now though. She could feel that the country was facing its greatest tide yet.
“I hope the next Queen will not be a warmonger.”
Kiku lamented. She was already sure that Setsuna would take the throne. Not because of this war. But because this would be destiny.
She could see the signs and those signs were telling her that Lupus’ luck was slowly dying out and being absorbed by his successor.
In all the history of the seven Kingdoms, Whenever a new Blessed defied an old one for Power — 8 out of 10, the newcomer would win. The same thing happened to the previous King.
He has more power. More support and he even fought alongside his wife. Yet he still lost. This was destiny. This was Fate.
Would Lupus manage to be part of the 20% who did not lose? She did not know. But she seriously doubted it.
‘Well, this is for the future.’
“What do you think of the current situation.”
“A trap.”
Shuten snorted disdainfully. She didn’t even need to make her brain work. Looking at a floating holographic map, she pointed at the different battlefronts and chuckled,
“All our so-called wins were at the price of much death and we only managed to occupy technically good but not really useful. Meanwhile, in the main battlefront, while Lustburg shows signs of weakness, the situation is more of a stalemate.”
She spoke with admiration,
“The young girl in charge. Was her name Athena? Even though she is not a Duke yet, I won’t be surprised if she becomes one. She is a genius from the reports I have seen and she is one of the reasons this subtle balance exists.”
Kiku looked up. In her mind, she didn’t really see how it was obvious that it was a trap. Lustburg had never really won against Wratharis without the help of the powerhouse.
When it came to ground soldiers, defeat was always a given for humans and this trend would continue until higher-ranked Dukes would take the field.
The current situation was not that different in her eyes. But she did not contradict Shouten.
Her friend was professional when it came to intrigue and if she said that there was a trap then she would believe her one hundred percent.
“I guess I should be happy. I was starting to think that our secret alliance would be a joke if Lustburg ended up losing.”
“Heh…”
Shuten did not bother commenting and simply looked at the map. In her eyes, the whole situation was indeed normal. As normal as any war.
But this was because of this normality that she was all the more sure it was a trap. Everything was too uniform. Too clean.
There was no unexpected chaos. The situation flowed as it should with absolutely no deviations. It was as if a maestro was conducting a symphony and directing everyone to move to his tune.
‘How insidious.’
She didn’t know who on Lustburg was making this plan but that person was very insidious. Not necessarily smart but had a vision of the battlefield that was unmatched.
‘A seer?’
This was dubious. Lustburg had never brought a seer up in history. But who knew? This wasn’t impossible.
“Leader”
Her musing was interrupted and her ears twitched, she was receiving and decyphering a coded message.
She immediately recognized it as a message from her liaison with Lustburg. It seemed to be quite important as it was sent on the highest level with code only known by two people.
In the end — The more she deciphered, the more complicated her gaze became.
[Make your subordinate Leave. Soon, blood will truly fall.]
It was a simple yet domineering message. But She did not look down on it.
If her previous deduction had been right and it had indeed been a trap that was being organized, it seemed that —
“ — The hunter is ready to pull the trigger.”
She sighed and stood up.
“Shuten?”
“The war is about to climb a crescendo.”
Her voice was grim. Now serious things were starting.