A Regressor's Bucket List

Chapter 221 : Enthronement Ceremony (5)

A fallen kingdom.

Shattered and scattered across the land, its once-proud, time-honored traditions and brilliant honor had vanished without a trace. All that remained was the tattered, torn word 'Beastkin'.

‘…….’

The Enthronement Ceremony and the crown were fine in name, but...

Ultimately, for Valencia, this succession to the throne was about taking on the crown of a 'fallen nation'.

It was not an easy task.

Succeeding the throne was never a simple matter to begin with, but at least the Beastkin Nation in its prime had a proper system.

There were plenty of personnel to assist a lacking king, and countless tribal elders to consult on unknown matters.

Unlike then, however, no such system existed now. The only suitable personnel to help her were Tom and Jerry.

All she was given were the wounded Beastkin, not yet capable of fulfilling the role of a single whole person.

But she couldn't turn away from it now.

She had managed to look away until now, but this was the Destiny given to Valencia.

She looked at the crown before her.

‘…From the very beginning, you must rebuild the Beastkin Nation.’

It was as if she could hear her father's voice in her ears.

“……”

Her father.

Her grandfather.

Her great-grandfather.

The ancestors before them.

The duty of the Royal Family, passed down for a very long time from the generations above.

It wasn't something maintained merely by a sense of mission or responsibility.

If it had been carried on half-heartedly by such things, it should have been severed long ago.

The fate of one born into the royal bloodline of the Beastkin Nation.

Therefore, Valencia had no choice but to fulfill it.

Whining with emotions like 'I have to do it' or 'I don't want to' was enough until now.

Among all beings currently standing on this land, she was the only one who could perform the duty of the 'Throne of the Beastkin Nation'.

It wasn't something she could simply ignore because she didn't want to inherit the duty.

A bitter smile formed on her lips.

The past years, where she had struggled to run away knowing it would one day come to this, flashed before her eyes like a revolving lantern.

The time had now come.

‘…….’

Honestly, she wasn't confident.

She may have been young, but the brilliant memories of the former Beastkin Nation still remained in Valencia's mind.

Zero.

No, to be precise, she had no confidence at all that it would be possible in her generation to start from 'minus' and build it all back up again.

To be blunt, she felt it would probably be impossible with her strength alone.

However.

‘…With him, it would be possible.’

“……”

‘That's what I think.’

Seo U-jin.

A human who, while exuding an inscrutable aura, gave off a strange sense of trust.

Just as her father, 'Allen Tigris III', had said, she felt that if he shared the same goal, it might somehow be possible.

Until she received the complete Succession, it had remained just a vague guess.

But upon seeing U-jin with her fully awakened golden eyes, she was certain.

‘…With him.’

It seemed possible.

Step-

Taking a step forward, Valencia reached for the crown.

* * *

Boom- Boom- Boom-

Bwooo-

The highlight of the Enthronement Ceremony.

Valencia, having ascended the dais, lifted the crown and placed it on her head.

“……”

At that moment, something incredible happened.

The countless Beastkin filling the seats, still unable to shake off their naivete, all knelt on one knee as if on cue.

That wasn't all.

Valencia, wearing the crown, turned to face the audience.

Simultaneously, the sounds of the instruments that had been building the atmosphere fell silent.

How could one describe that mysterious atmosphere?

Would 'military discipline' be the right term?

The entire venue was enveloped in silence by the atmosphere the Beastkin created.

After sweeping her gaze over the audience, Valencia opened her mouth, exuding the full grace of a monarch.

“…I, Valencia la Bael Tigris, in accordance with the will of the late King Allen Tigris III, hereby declare the Resurrection of the Beastkin Nation.”

Her low voice rode the wind and spread in all directions.

In truth.

It was closer to a 'proclamation' than a 'speech'.

The short, single sentence contained no unnecessary additions.

It didn't contain the strong will typical of other enthronement speeches.

It didn't contain her future plans.

Nor did it contain any new form of ideology.

…However.

The message contained within that single sentence was incomparably powerful compared to any other enthronement ceremony ever held by The Order.

It wasn't just about a new country and a new king being born. It was about the leading nation of the neutral zone, which had once stood shoulder to shoulder with the Church Allied Forces and the Demon King's allied forces without falling behind.

Signifying that it was now, once again, being resurrected.

- …More than I thought.

Amidst the silence, someone's low murmur was heard.

Naturally, it was not the voice of a Beastkin.

All the Beastkin present here were only kneeling and showing their loyalty upon Valencia's enthronement.

No other action was permitted to them.

It was the voice of a distinguished guest who had come to witness the Beastkin Nation's Enthronement Ceremony with their own eyes.

It was impossible to tell if they were a noble from a nearby Order Territory, a royal, or perhaps a High Priest from The Order.

In any case, the meaning contained in that voice was more important than who they were.

- …….

Whether it was an unconscious thought that slipped out or a voice that swallowed its following words, everyone participating in the ceremony could easily grasp the meaning it held.

The reason was simple.

From the scene of the Enthronement Ceremony unfolding before them, all the outsiders visiting this place were thinking the same thing.

‘…….’

Although they didn't say it out loud, all the distinguished guests who came to the ceremony knew just how absurd the 'construction of the Beastkin Nation' was.

They knew how the Beastkin had been treated by The Order until now, and it was hard to believe that a race that had been slaves until just the other day could form a single, significant force just by gathering in numbers.

Of course, since The Order was showing a friendly attitude by helping with the abolition of slavery and the Enthronement Ceremony, it was impossible to know how the Beastkin Nation would fare over time, but reclaiming their past form immediately was a difficult task.

In the first place, the reason they had recently garnered attention throughout the Order Territory was due to the exceptional event of a race, synonymous with 'slaves', gathering together, not because of any greatness the Beastkin themselves possessed.

Therefore, the reason most had come all the way to this remote region to see the ceremony wasn't to congratulate the future, resurgent Beastkin Nation or to get on their good side, but was born out of pure curiosity, to 'see how they'd manage'.

As such, most of the seated guests held similar thoughts.

'In their past days in the neutral zone, the Beastkin were a powerful force, enough to be a symbol of greatness and fear in themselves, but it will take a 'very' long time for this nation, declaring its 'resurrection' here, to truly achieve that same prestige.'

That was the thought in the minds of most guests who had arrived here.

Indeed, the shoddiness of the venue set up for this 'Enthronement Ceremony' had only reinforced their thoughts.

But.

'More than I thought… they have the right form.'

Participating in the ceremony firsthand, the guests had no choice but to change their minds.

They had surely thought it would be tens of thousands of a race who were slaves until yesterday, gathered together to play house.

In reality, while the outward formalities were just as shoddy as they had guessed, without a hair's breadth of difference.

Strangely, in the appearance of the Beastkin, they could see the image of the once-mighty Beastkin Faction.

‘…….’

That scene, of countless Beastkin gathered and bowing their heads before a single being, while not exactly the same, certainly resembled that of the past Beastkin Faction, which had wielded immense power based on its formidable organization and unique combat strength.

…Of course.

One couldn't say their thoughts were completely wrong based on that alone.

Certainly, the current Beastkin were incomparably weaker than in the past, their combat power not even reaching the level of a single anti-demon soldier's grunt.

In terms of power and combat strength, the difference was so stark that even bringing up the past Beastkin Faction was an insult in itself.

However.

Despite that, the reason they were reminded of the past Beastkin Faction at today's ceremony lay precisely in that 'organizational power'.

The unique organizational power of the Beastkin, moving in unison without a single flaw, even without explicit commands.

This created the absolute sense of unity unique to the Beastkin.

That much, at least, had not changed from the glory days of the past Beastkin Faction.

And that organizational power could only.

Be explained by the golden eyes within Valencia's own.

‘…….’

The Master of All Species.

The Royal Family's Authority, which exerted powerful control over all bloodlines of the Beastkin.

The fundamental reason the royal bloodline had been maintained for well over hundreds of years without a single coup, and the only ability that could explain the unique organizational power of the Beastkin, who moved as if they were a single body without any special commands.

Along with the 'Eyes that Pierce Through Essence', granted to the White Tiger bloodline, this ability was compensating for the Beastkin's shortcomings and astonishing the people.

This was also the very reason why U-jin had gone through all sorts of difficulties to persuade Valencia.

If not for the Royal Family's Authority, 'The Master of All Species', what the guests would be seeing here would likely not have deviated one bit from what they had expected.

To reclaim the past prestige of the 'Beastkin Nation', the Royal Family's Authority was absolutely necessary.

There was no need for an explanation.

One only had to see the suppressive power of the 'Master of All Species' controlling all the Beastkin in the venue to understand its importance.

Clap-

It was then.

The sound of applause began to ring out from somewhere.

Clap- Clap- Clap- Clap-

It wasn't planned.

One of the guests, who had been sitting in silence, had simply clapped unconsciously.

That was the beginning.

Starting with the guests, the sound of applause grew one by one, and the crowd of Beastkin also began to join in.

- Waaaaah!

Soon, the entire venue was filled with the sound of applause and cheers, marking the finale of the Enthronement Ceremony.

However.

Even while the entire place was engulfed in applause and cheers.

There were those who were conversing amongst themselves, as if paying no mind to any of it.

.

.

.

“…Is it true, Mr. Seo U-jin?”

“……”

“…The story that you heard the Saintess's voice.”