Chapter 196 : The Beastman Alliance
Chapter 196: The Beastman Alliance
After holding a brief departure ceremony in Haken, we immediately marched toward Saint.
This battle would also serve as an event to demonstrate Haken's influence.
Messages had already been sent to the surrounding territories, urging them to mobilize their troops.
Fortunately, since nothing had been decided yet, the neighboring territories each sent at least a small force.
As a result, including Haken's knights and those from the surrounding territories, we had gathered over a thousand knights.
Adding the soldiers brought the total force to more than three thousand.
'The soldiers are basically reserve forces for post-war management. The real core strength lies with the knights. A thousand knights is unquestionably an impressive force.'
To be honest, the soldiers mostly just consumed supplies.
Wars in this world revolved around knight forces.
From that perspective, gathering a thousand knights was certainly remarkable.
It proved that Haken's influence hadn't faded.
Considering the enemy's strength, a thousand knights was more than sufficient.
–Hmph. Watching them puff up their chests over merely a thousand warriors is laughable. The dogs alone can mobilize two thousand warriors, can't they?
'That's a different matter.'
People often casually said Beastman warriors were equivalent to human knights.
Strictly speaking, though, that wasn't entirely true.
When factoring in equipment and armament, human knights still held the advantage.
Of course, exceptional warriors like the Black Lions completely ignored such calculations.
But if we used the Dog Tribe as the standard, there was no guarantee that two thousand Dog Tribe warriors could defeat a thousand human knights.
'Not that I'm looking down on the Dog Tribe.'
The Dog Tribe's military strength was certainly impressive.
After all, Haken had gathered forces from a Grand Lordship along with neighboring territories just to assemble a thousand knights.
Yet the Dog Tribe alone possessed comparable strength.
Of course, if a Grand Lord truly mobilized everything it had, it could field far more troops.
Still, merely being comparable to a Grand Lordship was already extraordinary.
After all, the Dog Tribe was only one of several Beastman tribes.
More importantly, now that the Dog Tribe had joined us, even those calculations would soon begin to change.
–Through Master, the Beastmen have finally begun receiving equipment equal to that of humans. The war against the Imperial Army proved the results. I believe the Rabbit Tribe truly demonstrated the Beastmen's potential.
Exactly.
Johnson Lordship had compensated for the one area where humans overwhelmingly surpassed Beastmen—equipment and technology.
As a result, the Beastmen's military strength was no longer what it used to be.
Fully equipped Beastman warriors now possessed combat power comparable to human knights.
And equipment distribution would continue in the future.
The Rabbit Tribe.
The Dog Tribe.
The Demon Tribe.
And the Lion Tribe.
Adding up all their warriors...
Did they already exceed eight thousand?
As a race born for battle, Beastmen possessed an incredibly high proportion of warriors compared to their population.
As the Beastmen population continued growing, so too would the number of warriors.
And once all of those warriors were equipped with human-grade equipment...
They would become a force no one could ignore.
That was just how powerful the Beastman Alliance led by humans had become.
'Give it another generation, and the atmosphere will be completely different from today. Whatever happens in the south, we'll be able to deal with it.'
Perhaps that was my true mission.
To create an environment where the Beastman Alliance could sustain itself.
Maybe that was why Bestia had gathered all the Beastmen around me in the first place.
–Look over there.
'The High Priest. But beside him...'
When the Haken allied army arrived at Rubina, the first thing I noticed was the High Priest comforting the refugees from Saint.
The moment the Imperial bastards began expelling Saint's residents, I'd immediately informed the High Priest.
It was to calm the anxious people who had been driven from their homes.
Once word spread about the High Priest's whereabouts, the refugees traveling elsewhere would naturally gather here as well.
That would make rebuilding Saint much easier.
So seeing the High Priest comforting the refugees here was perfectly natural.
–Dog Tribe warriors.
'No, why are they all gathered here? And so many of them?'
The real issue was that the ones guarding the High Priest were none other than Dog Tribe warriors.
Since the High Priest had evacuated to Hound, receiving the Dog Tribe's cooperation wasn't strange.
But there were far too many of them to merely serve as an escort.
Dog Tribe warriors filled Rubina Castle like a swarm of bees.
There had to be around a thousand of them.
Moreover, they were all fully equipped.
It looked as though they'd prepared for war from the very beginning.
And through Yuria, I immediately learned why.
–We didn't have a choice.
“What do you mean you didn't have a choice?”
–The Beastmen found out. About the Imperial bastards establishing themselves in the south. We barely managed to stop the Rabbit Tribe and the Demon Tribe. Otherwise, the Beastman Alliance Army would've formed all over again.
“Ha……”
Information from the south was first reported to me.
But it also reached Yuria, who oversaw the intelligence network.
And she could immediately contact every Beastman.
The Imperial Army attacking Saint wasn't exactly classified information.
Too many people already knew about it.
Naturally, the news spread to the Beastmen as well.
Being Beastmen through and through, they reacted exactly as expected.
They immediately declared that the remaining Imperial forces had to be exterminated.
The Dog Tribe had been dispatched here as their representative.
Things had escalated so quickly that only the Dog Tribe managed to come.
If there had been more time, the Demon Tribe and Rabbit Tribe would've marched south as well.
“You still should've tried stopping them.”
–Even Priestess Elline actively supported it.
“Elline? Why would Elline?”
–We're also devout followers of Lady Bestia, aren't we? We naturally have something in common with the High Priest. How could we refuse when the High Priest personally asked for help?
“The High Priest? Ah... well, I suppose that makes sense.”
Taking revenge on the Imperial bastards and reclaiming Saint was a prize both Haken and New Level desired.
But the High Priest couldn't possibly know about those political considerations.
From his perspective, he simply wanted Saint reclaimed somehow.
So he naturally requested help from the nearby Dog Tribe.
The Goddess of Compassion had always maintained good relations with Bestia.
So it wasn't strange that Elline, Priestess of the Dog Tribe who served Bestia, couldn't refuse the High Priest's request.
Perhaps Bestia herself had conveyed the same will through the Holy Spirit of the Dog Tribe.
The only problem was...
“Why am I only hearing about this now?”
–Hehe. Leon said this. He said matters like these should be handled first and reported afterward.
“That brat?”
–And he told me to pass this message along. He said it was absolutely necessary for the Beastman Alliance. Besides... you were going to refuse anyway, weren't you?
“Well...”
That was true.
There had been no reason to mobilize even the Dog Tribe.
After all, Haken was already going to reclaim Saint.
There was no reason for us to bleed in someone else's war.
But that had only been my way of thinking.
Apparently Leon had calculated things differently.
And after meeting the High Priest personally...
I immediately understood what Leon had been aiming for.
“To officially recognize the Beastman Alliance……”
“If the Beastman Alliance contributes to liberating Saint, what reason would there be not to acknowledge them as friends of the faith?”
“Well... that's true. But the Beastmen don't worship the Goddess of Compassion.”
“Aren't the Beastmen also creations of a god beloved by the Goddess of Compassion? The Beast God is a Neutral God. As I understand it, the two deities enjoy a very close relationship.”
“That is true.”
“I've also heard that the temple in Johnson Lordship houses statues of both the Beast God and the Goddess.”
“That too is true.”
“Then there is no problem.”
Well...
That was exactly it.
Just as I intended to use the High Priest to strengthen Haken's position...
Leon, who genuinely cared about the Beastman Alliance, intended to use the High Priest to strengthen the Beastman Alliance's standing.
'Is this simply a difference in perspective? I was only thinking about Haken's position.'
Honestly...
I was a little surprised.
I'd merely hoped Haken would remain New Level's rival and preserve the balance of power in the south.
But Leon had already taken things one step further.
That kid really was something else.
Unlike the other Beastmen, who showed little interest in southern affairs...
Leon seemed remarkably perceptive about matters like these.
–There's really nothing to lose, is there?
'I suppose not.'
Would this officially establish the Beastman Alliance's existence across the Levela Peninsula?
The High Priest also seemed extremely favorable toward us, so there didn't appear to be any real problem.
How people would react, however...
That was impossible to predict.
As I'd mentioned many times before, Beastmen were still quietly looked down upon by humans.
–To be honest, Beastmen really are rather simple-minded.
'Personally, that's exactly what I like about them. But other people may see it differently.'
What's done was done.
All we could do now was make the best of it.
The Dog Tribe had to distinguish itself in this battle so thoroughly that no one could ever look down on us again.
The overall objective hadn't changed.
That was the very reason I'd decided to deploy Leisha.
The only difference was that instead of just Leisha...
It would now be Leisha and the Dog Tribe together.
'Still... I should give Leon a proper warning later. "Handle it first, report afterward"? This wasn't the kind of matter to treat that way.'
–That insolent brat would probably say he'll make up for it with results.
'What is he, some athlete trying to make up for causing trouble? Is that really his plan? Though... it's true that he's built up incredible achievements so far.'
What in the world was I supposed to do with that kid?
'All right. I'll tell Leisha.'
–...Isn't that a little too cruel?
'If not Leisha, who else can keep that brat under control?'
Leisha adored the kid.
But when she became strict...
She was truly strict.
Whether it was Rimond or Leon, the moment Leisha let out a growl, they all immediately shut their mouths.
So I'd leave disciplining Leon to Leisha.
–News has arrived. A large force has departed from New Level.
“As expected.”
Around the time we were reorganizing our forces in Rubina...
News arrived that New Level had mobilized a large army.
Apparently, the moment they learned the Imperial bastards had expelled Saint's residents, they hurriedly set their forces in motion.
They clearly had no intention of letting Haken monopolize the liberation of Saint.
“Advance immediately!”
And Haken had absolutely no intention of allowing New Level to swoop in and take credit.
Under Ulrison Haken's command, the forces assembled in Rubina began marching toward Saint.
It was a massive army consisting of Haken's three thousand allied troops along with another thousand Dog Tribe warriors.
Our objective was simple.
Drive the Imperial Army out of Saint before New Level reached the battlefield.
We hastened our march and soon arrived outside Saint.
“Their morale isn't bad.”
Thanks to the refugees, we already had a rough understanding of the situation inside Saint.
They intended to repel us first from the city walls.
And if the walls fell...
They were prepared to fight street by street before resorting to suicide attacks.
Cornered as they were, the enemy wouldn't be easy to defeat.
–Still... it's rather pathetic.
'Very pathetic.'
The mere fact that refugees were spreading such stories already made them look pitiful.
It almost sounded as though they were begging us not to attack.
'Wait... doesn't that mean Saint only contains Imperial troops now?'
–That's right.
'Then wouldn't it be easier to simply shower the place with Fire Bombs? Suicide attacks and everything else would become meaningless.'
–You're planning to throw those monstrous things over there? Has dopamine completely fried your brain, Master? Pull yourself together.
Yeah...
That was probably too much.
Though personally, I wouldn't mind giving Octosia a taste of her own medicine.
She was the one who'd used Fire Bombs against me in the first place.
That bastard certainly seemed to enjoy playing with fire.
So why not let her burn properly for once?
Unfortunately...
That would only complicate our relationship with Saint.
If Saint burned down, it needed to be because of the Imperial bastards.
If we were responsible instead, people would inevitably complain afterward.
Maintaining a good relationship with Saint was important.
Besides...
I wasn't particularly eager to reveal Fire Bombs to the southern lords either.
“Prepare for battle!”
While I was lost in thought...
Haken's soldiers had already lined up in perfect order, waiting for the command to begin the battle.