Chapter 171
Chapter 171
After pouring every last ounce of strength into the blood duel with Colbus and falling unconscious, Yuwon’s aftermath was handled entirely by his reliable allies, Hastings and Bern.
In the process, a small dispute broke out between the two, and beyond that, there was even an armed clash with the enemy that signaled the beginning of this war. Still, in the end, things somehow worked out. Just as originally planned, Yuwon rescued the Marquis and returned safely to the Great Jungle, bringing the incident to a close.
Thus, Yuwon returned to his rightful place and focused on recovering his body. One might have thought he deserved some rest, but he had no such luxury. The moment Yuwon regained consciousness, people began flocking to find him.
It was as if his awakening had been anticipated. The first to arrive was Bhalsar, the hidden sage of the Great Jungle, who borrowed the form of a bird to come see him.
“Perhaps, if the opportunity arises again, we may meet once more.”
“Yes. When all of this is over, let’s sit down properly and have a cup of tea while we talk things through slowly. Now doesn’t seem like a very good time.”
“Tea… yes. That was a custom you humans had. There was even a time when you humans lacked enough food to immediately fill your hungry bellies… seeing things like this, it seems I truly have lived a very long life.”
Instead of giving any particular reply, Yuwon merely drew a faint smile at those words.
“…It seems guests seeking you are on their way. I’ll be going now. I won’t go far. Take care.”
As if he had said all he needed to say, Bhalsar flapped his wings and disappeared deep into the forest before Yuwon’s reply could even reach him. Afterward, Yuwon’s low voice lingered in the air.
“Yes. Let’s meet again someday.”
Thus, the two exchanged a brief farewell. It was time for each of them to return to their own place.
Yuwon remained seated astride a thin tree branch, so flimsy it was unclear how it was even supporting him, and waited for the guests who would soon come looking for him. Before long, another visitor arrived at his side.
“I heard you had awakened, and here you are. Are you getting some fresh air?”
A familiar voice rose from beneath the tree Yuwon was perched on. Its owner was the venerable elder Herran, the spiritual pillar of the southern natives. Yuwon welcomed him with a rare bright smile.
“Yes. I was laid up for two straight days, so my body felt stiff. The view from up here is quite nice. Why don’t you come up as well, Tribal Chief?”
“Haha. I appreciate the offer, but I’ll have to decline with this old body of mine. If someone my age climbs a tree and happens to fall, that wouldn’t even be an accident—it’d just be natural death, wouldn’t it?”
Though he spoke thus, Herran was hardly someone who would fall simply from climbing a tree. Though he now carried himself with calm dignity, he had once been the greatest warrior representing the natives of the Great Jungle.
Yuwon knew well that Herran’s achievements were not something that would vanish overnight just because he had grown older, but he played along with the old man’s humor.
“Haha. Is that so? Then I suppose I should come down.”
“No need to trouble yourself on my account. My body may not be what it once was, but my hearing is still sharp. Please, speak comfortably from there.”
“If you insist that much, then I won’t refuse. The scenery from up here is quite worth looking at.”
“Please, go ahead.”
Soon, Herran leaned his body against the trunk of the tree Yuwon was standing on.
“In any case, I’m glad you recovered right away without any major injuries. King of the River. Or rather… perhaps King of the Great Jungle suits you better now.”
Just as he was getting used to being called the King of the River, now he was being called the King of the Great Jungle. Yuwon let out an awkward smile at the unfamiliar title attached to him.
“It’s thanks to your concern. Thank you. Has everything been peaceful here in the meantime?”
Herran answered with a playful question of his own.
“Does it look like anything has happened?”
“No. You all look well.”
“Just as you see. Everyone’s getting along fairly well. Ah, would you like to hear something amusing?”
“…Something amusing?”
As if the thought alone was entertaining, Herran chuckled heartily even as he spoke.
“Hoho. Our natives and those shaman friends over there have been fighting orcs for a long time, so things are still a bit awkward between us. But the people from the Empire are different when they look at the orcs. They don’t hesitate at all. Watching them, one almost wonders whether orcs don’t frighten them at all.”
At least a head taller than an adult human male, with thick arms and grotesque tusks jutting out of their mouths—people who were not afraid of orcs like that. Yuwon quickly inferred the reason.
“That’s probably because… they’ve never suffered harm at the hands of orcs. Ever since it was established, the southern defensive line of the Empire, stretching out with Valaris at its center, has thoroughly protected the Empire so that civilians never once had to see orcs or monstrous beasts. As a joke, it’s probably even more so because, in the heroic epics their parents read to them as children, the ones who died most often were orcs.”
“…I see. In any case, thanks to that, we’ve also been able to see a new side of the orcs and are getting along with them quite well.”
“That is good news.”
Their conversation paused briefly. In the distance, familiar faces began to enter Yuwon’s field of vision. Small groups were approaching Yuwon and Herran.
‘They came early.’
Standing out from afar was the massive figure of the Great Orc Chieftain Mukwiam, and beside him floated the shaman Kahaad, stubbornly maintaining a position slightly higher than Mukwiam.
A step ahead of them was Terrien, who had been busy strengthening Yuwon’s forces while Yuwon was away, and just to his right stood Renania Valaris.
Hastings and Bern, still seemingly unable to resolve their quarrel from the Colbus incident, were deliberately standing far apart, and between them walked Marquis Carson.
‘They say that as bonds increase, so does pain… Have the number of those tied to me really grown this much without me realizing it? Something the old me would never have done….’
At those familiar and welcome faces, Yuwon unconsciously drew a gentle smile. It was a bright smile, different from the relaxed smile he usually wore as a pretense.
With work at hand, there was no more room for leisure. Yuwon soon brought his conversation with Herran to a close.
“Tribal Chief.”
“Yes. Please speak, Your Majesty.”
“It seems my time to rest ends here.”
“That would appear so.”
Whoosh—!
With those words, Yuwon lightly leapt down from the tall tree he had been sitting on. At his descent, the approaching group greeted him in their own ways—waving, bowing their heads, each offering their respects.
“So you didn’t die and came back alive again, Emperor.”
Kahaad, who had gradually begun speaking casually to Yuwon at some point, spoke first.
“Kuhoo—!”
Mukwiam waved his enormous hand in greeting, as if he had learned human manners from living among them.
“Your Majesty…! I had been counting the days awaiting your return, but when you came back injured, I worried myself sick. Are you unwell anywhere?”
“Hey, Yurion. You feeling okay now? You collapsed and went to sleep like that, so it was a real pain bringing you back. You heard the news, right? I pulled off something big.”
“…You’ve awakened, my lord. That is truly a relief. Ah… the enemy you faced before, I was unable to finish him off. I apologize.”
“Why bring that up now? Let’s talk about it later, the three of us.”
Terrien, Bern, and Hastings spoke in turn. Of course, there was a faint discord mixed in between Bern and Hastings.
After them, Renania and the Marquis also offered Yuwon brief greetings. With everyone gathered together at last, Yuwon stood at the center as their representative.
“You all must have been quite comfortable while I was laid up sick. Everyone looks well. Unfortunately, it seems some rather troublesome matters are about to begin now….”
In a casual tone, Yuwon spoke of the war that had already arrived right before them. None of those standing before him could fail to understand his meaning. After gauging each individual’s resolve from their expressions, Yuwon continued.
“Hastings, Terrien, Bern. And Sir Valaris, Marquis Carson as well.”
At Yuwon’s call, the five stepped forward one by one, drawing closer to him.
“Yes. Please command us.”
“Yes, Your Majesty!”
“A siege battle, then. Is it finally my time to shine?”
“Yes!”
“Please command me. I shall gladly offer what little life I have left for Your Majesty.”
If the lips are gone, the teeth grow cold. Valaris, Yuwon’s steadfast ally, stood with the enemy right at his doorstep.
Even if the Great Jungle Alliance were to remain still, Yuwon had no intention of doing so.
“Before I am the King of the River, I am the Emperor of the Empire and the one responsible for this war. I will head to the battlefield. The five of you will accompany me, so make your preparations. As for the rest… I will not force you. Will you come with me?”
Perhaps he wished to avoid placing pressure on them. His eyes, shining coldly like a winter sea, turned not toward those who needed to answer, but toward the northern sky—the direction he would advance.
Those standing here had already been moved by Yuwon. Was it not Yuwon himself who had united the Great Jungle, where they once sought to kill one another?
Just as Herran had, Kahaad and Mukwiam also glimpsed hope along the path Yuwon gazed upon. If Yuwon said to go, where could they not follow? The answer had been decided from the start.
“I have to go, if only for the sake of teaching my disciple. I can’t really force the kids under me, but I’ll help as much as I can.”
Kahaad, a master of magic and shamanism worth a hundred men—no, far more—confirmed his participation.
“Children deserve to live in a better world. It won’t be easy to send our tribe’s warriors into the battles of the continent’s people, but I will do my part as well. I trust you will keep your promise.”
The aged yet vigorous Herran, as if forgetting his years, filled his eyes with fierce resolve.
“Kuuooo—!”
There was no need to ask the orcs. Great Orc Chieftain Mukwiam and the orcs he led had no intention of staying out of the war.
Even now, they were at the forefront of fighting the countless monstrous beasts threatening the alliance, but that alone was not enough to cool their green blood.
“…Thank you.”
Yurion Aphahiel, the man bearing the responsibility of this war upon his shoulders.
A monstrous beast that had once crouched in abandoned lands, waiting for its time—now reborn as a human and crowned King of the Great Jungle—turned his steps back toward the lands of mankind.
The Emperor of the Empire marched toward the battlefield.