novelraw Chapter 129
Chapter 129
Chapter 129
Beastman tribes each had their own proper names.
For example, the Lion Tribe’s official name was ‘Golden Mane Tribe’.
Similarly, the catfolk’s name was ‘Dancing Tail Tribe’, and the apefolk were called the ‘Nimble Hand Tribe’.
Most often, a tribe’s name came from their physical traits, personality, or specialties.
‘The catfolk’s tails were always dancing, and the apefolk were very skilled with their hands. The Lions’ blond manes were their pride.’
The Cow Tribe’s name was ‘Burning Horn Tribe’.
True to the name, they were friends who were always on fire.
They were extremely hot-tempered and fiercely bold.
“Honestly, they gave us a bit of trouble. I got pretty worn out trying to stop them from just charging in.”
“Was it that bad?”
“It was that bad. I thought they might hold back at least until you showed up….”
“So it wasn’t that kind of situation?”
“There must be something going on — if they needed so much but didn’t send an envoy, something’s definitely up.”
True to their hot-headed, fiery nature, they tried to grab their weapons the moment they learned the Empire had invaded.
Rudelrof had stepped forward and tried to stop them somehow, but they were unpredictable, so he said we needed to be careful how we treated them.
‘Surely they wouldn’t actually charge in?’
We were planning to fight the Empire too, but we had absolutely no intention of charging Levelium head-on.
If that had been their plan, they would have rushed in before the enemy had even taken their positions.
My goal was to gather the beastmen, build up our numbers, and when they attacked us, intercept them with minimal losses.
I didn’t want anything to do with a siege — winning in name only was the last thing I wanted to think about.
‘Well, for the Cow Tribe’s caliber, maybe they had the nerve for it?’
From what I’d heard, the Burning Horn Tribe — the Cow Tribe — had three groups each boasting over ten thousand. Thirty thousand beastmen was definitely no small force.
Their picked-for-combat troops alone would number in the thousands.
I had flinched when I first heard the Cow Tribe had thirty thousand.
I hadn’t expected a single beastman tribe to boast so many heads.
I could understand, to some extent, why the Cows were taking the Empire lightly.
‘But we’re going all-in too, aren’t we?’
Still, even if they charged in and wiped out the Empire, there wouldn’t be much to gain.
Given beastmen temperament, they wouldn’t stay and govern Levelium after taking it; even if they won, more than half the spoils would fly off to Bestia’s side.
In the end, what the Cows would get was a paltry sense of satisfaction.
Blood would be spilled by the Cows, and some unrelated party would scoop up the fruits — a ridiculous outcome.
‘Maybe the two territories that had stubbornly held on would benefit the most? If we were unlucky, the Vines side like hyenas might snatch it up.’
In any case, the Cow Tribe would gain nothing useful.
So this was a gamble that brought ruin if they lost, and only a fleeting good feeling if they won — utterly worthless.
No matter how hungry for dopamine, doing something like that would be problematic.
‘There wasn’t much in it for us either.’
Of course I wanted to keep good relations with the beastmen to oppose the Empire, but that wasn’t the whole reason.
Every faction was forming blocs and playing politics; adding a reliable beastman ally made sense. If the Cow Tribe went wrong, it wouldn’t be good for us either.
Especially because the Cow Tribe was the only beastman group with vast farmlands, they were extremely important.
The food self-sufficiency of the two regions other than Vines was already flashing red, which made them even more critical.
And the same applied to Johnson Territory.
Thinking not only of us but also the people of Hawrun Territory, the situation was pretty severe.
‘We harvested wheat, but the amount wasn’t that plentiful. The population had grown a lot. If potatoes did well, that could help, but that was still far off.’
But if the Cow Tribe acted rashly here, it could trigger a really troublesome problem.
I felt we needed to go and check what was actually going on.
A delegation to visit the Cow Tribe’s domain was hastily assembled.
First, we urgently called Leisha back from Hawrun.
“You should take at least Leisha. They’re very rough folk. It’s probably nothing major, but you never know.”
That was Rudelrof’s recommendation.
Leisha was a well-known great warrior among the beastmen, and Rudelrof said that when opinions clashed fiercely, Leisha’s presence would calm the atmosphere a bit.
In particular, to pacify a rampaging Cow Tribe, you’d need someone of Leisha’s level.
Was she some kind of suppressant?
Or a rage-control device?
‘I remember their reaction was a bit strange when they met the Dog Tribe before.’
Even among the Lion Tribe, Leisha’s reputation felt somewhat odd.
I became quite curious about what kind of existence Leisha represented among the beastmen.
People half-treated her like a berserker.
‘And if they needed someone like Leisha that badly, how messed up was the situation over there?’
And one more thing: if Leisha had to be sent in to calm the Cow Tribe, then the Cows themselves didn’t seem to be in their right minds.
They were ready to go fight, and the fact they’d need Leisha to calm them down made it sound extremely belligerent.
‘Since when were cows this violent? Aren’t cows herbivores?’
-‘Cows were violent by nature, master. With a mad cow, even carnivores couldn’t take them lightly.’
‘If only she could shut up.’
Could she be the type who refused to listen to someone weaker than herself?
Come to think of it, all the beastmen I’d met so far had been docile.
The Lion Tribe was about the only exception, and they’d been very favorable toward us because of how much they were entangled with us.
Maybe this time I’d finally get a read on the beastmen average.
“Leisha and the Black Lion guard, ten of them. And… Crimson Comet, right?”
“Brother!”
“Huh? Why you again?”
I was pondering how to arrange the remaining troops around Leisha when Rudick burst into my office.
He was asking to be taken on this mission too.
I was a little taken aback — he’d been holed up in the territory until Celine gave birth, so this sudden behavior surprised me.
“No, I need to breathe too. Let me come this time.”
When I asked why, he scratched his head sheepishly and answered like that.
Caring for Celine was, of course, his duty, but handling a pregnant woman’s stress alone was just too hard, he said.
Was this the sorrow of a married man?
I had to nod along — married men often preferred business trips or outings, or at least welcomed a break from the household.
Besides, he’d been stuck in the territory for months; it was only natural he was itching to get out.
“I thought I’d be the one going. Lord Rudick, you should be looking after Celine.”
Irene didn’t at all sympathize with Rudick’s motives.
Unable to join the Henil expedition, Irene had assumed she’d be put on this operation.
I’d thought similarly.
But Rudick suddenly barged in, and Irene opposed him strongly using Celine as the reason.
“Hey, let’s not do this. So—”
“Hmm, are you serious?”
“I’m not a man who contradicts himself.”
“Alright then. Fine. But when it’s a mission to the Demonfolk’s territory, I’ll be the one to go.”
“Of course, of course. You should be the one.”
That lasted only a moment.
Rudick whispered something to Irene, and they reached a compromise.
It seemed they agreed that Rudick would go on this mission, and when the Demonfolk’s territory required a dispatch, Irene would be pushed forward.
‘Well, the Demonfolk’s territory had a lot of horses, didn’t it? Irene would prefer that area. It’s farther, and the goats would be good to ride there too.’
-Not necessarily, I thought.
I tilted my head at that, and Rudick gave a thumbs-up while nodding.
“Brother, I like horses. Beastman sisters are fine, but a human sister-in-law is necessary, don’t you think? This is, after all, a human territory, isn’t it?”
-So that was it. The muscle-male actually used his head for once.
What nonsense.
Anyway, Rudick really did seem out of his mind.
“If you say that out loud here—”
“Ahhh, be gentle. I’m only loyal to my sister-in-law—”
“Shut up!”
What a mess.
Watching Rudick being dragged out by Irene while his ears were tugged made the situation pure comedy.
‘I don’t get what kind of stupid things he’s doing.’
-If you don’t, aren’t you the fool, master?
‘What? Me?’
-The lionesses might not know, but that vehicle-obsessed human female is understandable. She’d been flirting all along, hadn’t she?
‘Me? When?’
All I’d had with Irene so far were really funny incidents.
She’d knocked me down twice, and she’d given me a giant war hammer as a birthday gift.
There’d been some noise in the Haken territory too, but that was mutually agreed mischief, right?
‘Recently she sent potatoes to Haken. Well, that was for the territory’s sake.’
What flirting?
If there was anything romantic about that, Irene’s tastes were weird.
‘So you should step aside. We’ve got enough to think about with the Cow Tribe issue—no need for you to add to it.’
I brushed the thought off under my shoulder — I couldn’t understand this beast’s sensibilities.
My head was already full with how to handle the Cow Tribe.
The delegation members were finalized.
The Johnson Knights formed the core escort, commanded by Rudick.
To support me, Leisha and her personal unit of Black Lion warrior women — ten of them — followed.
Three Lion Tribe warriors accompanied us as guides, and Yuria came along to smooth trade negotiations.
“Camilla might be able to be dispatched.”
“No, that’s fine. Don’t we have plenty to guard here? We’re not going to fight; three master-class people is overkill. Leisha and I should be enough.”
Camilla had been among the Lion warriors sent as guides.
Rudelrof seemed intent on asserting dominance, but I refused — that felt excessive.
Since Leisha and I would both be out of the territory, I wanted our forces here to be solid.
With the tunnel opened, Rotsy to Johnson Territory was just a single stride away.
“Heh, again with that black kitty?”
“Tch, so the fox is coming too.”
Irene missing from Leisha and Yuria’s company stung a bit.
I’d painfully learned how annoying the dissonance between those two had been during the Henil trip.
At least Rudick was coming along.
Like Irene, Rudick also had pretty good relations with the two.
“Why are you two fighting again? If the sisters-in-law act like this, won’t you be the only one exhausted, brother?”
“Hmph. When have I ever fought? There’s no way a fight could be established with that black kitty.”
“Ahem. I had no intention to fight. I merely found the smell this vixen gave off unpleasant.”
The atmosphere wasn’t great, but it calmed down enough.
He was openly spouting nonsense, and I couldn’t understand why that made things settle, but whatever.
‘I honestly don’t want to know.’
-No matter how you grit your teeth and ignore it, the conclusion won’t change. At least that lioness seems sincere.
I heard nothing.
“Alright. Is everyone’s gear packed? Yuria, check the wagon. Rudick, confirm troop status. We depart immediately.”
Seizing the moment of brief calm, we launched a surprise departure.
It was quieter on running goats, so leaving first was the best plan.