novelraw Chapter 141
Chapter 141
Chapter 141
Turning back time for a moment—around the time Iron set off toward the Territory of the Horse Tribe—the northern part of Castle Vines, in the Dog Tribe’s residential area.
The atmosphere there was grim.
It was because Elline, the Guide of the Dog Tribe, hadn’t come out of her room for several days.
“This is bad. Is she at least eating properly?”
“We’ve been bringing her meals, but she’s barely touched them.”
“Haah, this is… I wonder if something terrible is about to happen.”
Elline, who had become the Guide of the Dog Tribe at a young age and led her people ever since, was an object of deep respect among all Dog Tribe members.
The reason their numbers had grown back up to ten thousand, after nearly being driven to extinction, was all thanks to her capable leadership.
So the entire tribe couldn’t help feeling uneasy.
It seemed that something big was about to happen.
“Has she lost her mind? Is she seriously thinking of going through with it?”
At that moment—
Elline, whom the whole Dog Tribe worried about, lay in her bed grinding her teeth.
Everything irritated her.
The lords of the Vines Region who kept selling grain to those Empire bastards.
The knights of the Vines Territory who constantly tried to keep the Dog Tribe in check.
And the residents of the Vines Territory, who looked down on beastmen.
But the one she hated most of all—the one who had encouraged and manipulated everything behind the scenes—was none other than Lord Mishel Vines himself.
He used to be a man who knew his place, but as he grew older, he became truly strange.
“A final ultimatum, huh. So that’s how it’s going to be?”
In truth, the rift between the Dog Tribe and the Lord of Vines had started quite some time ago.
When the Dog Tribe first settled in this land, the Vines Territory and its surroundings were far from safe.
From the northern forbidden area, the Swamp of Death, monsters constantly crawled down, and from the southern and western coasts, the Naga tried to advance inland.
It was when the Dog Tribe signed a contract with the Lord of Vines and began working as mercenaries that stability slowly began to return to the region.
The Dog Tribe fought more bravely than anyone, and the Lord of Vines spared no resources to support them.
Thanks to the Dog Tribe’s valiant efforts, the Vines Territory gained time to strengthen itself, and over the next ten years, it grew stable enough to raise a sizable army.
Then, together with the Dog Tribe, they pushed back the monsters to the north—and that was how the Vines region came to enjoy the peace it had today.
It was also during this time that Vines became famous as the greatest granary of the Ribella Peninsula.
That success was achieved through the cooperation of both the Vines and the Dog Tribe.
Back then, everyone believed that harmony between Vines and the Dog Tribe would last forever.
The problem arose about three years after peace had settled over the land.
The supplies provided by the Vines began to dwindle.
The reason was obvious.
As most monsters retreated, there was less opportunity for the Dog Tribe to prove themselves, and with fewer achievements came less support.
Elline didn’t protest this.
From the beginning, their relationship had been contractual, and this change was within what she had expected.
To compensate, she personally began running a merchant group—seeking a way for the Dog Tribe to sustain themselves.
The silk woven by the Dog Tribe workers was quite popular even in other regions.
Though the alliance became somewhat strained, it continued for a while.
After all, no matter how safe the land became, monsters still roamed, and every season of monster surges forced the Vines to rely once again on the Dog Tribe’s strength.
The Lord of Vines couldn’t completely push them away.
Through monster hunts and trade, the Dog Tribe managed to live a peaceful life.
“But that uncomfortable alliance has come to an end now.”
In recent years—
Vines had grown even more powerful and begun exerting strong influence over the surrounding lords.
Most of the lords bowed their heads to the Lord of Vines, and he was now moving beyond the position of a mere Great Lord.
The decisive turning point was the recent trade with the Empire remnants.
After bringing in a large quantity of high-quality Imperial weapons, Vines’ military power had upgraded once again—to the point where no other lord could defy Mishel Vines.
“Don’t overreact, Elline. Trading with the Empire was entirely for the prosperity of the territory. A true lord must be able to deal with anyone for the sake of his land.”
“Isn’t the Dog Tribe also part of Vines in the end? Why not just become official residents of Vines?”
“The choice is yours. I’ll be waiting for a wise decision. The Dog Tribe can’t keep living among us as outsiders forever, can they?”
The Lord of Vines was immensely popular among his people.
Since Mishel Vines began ruling, the region had become wealthier and more prosperous.
And the more distant he grew, the further away the residents grew from the Dog Tribe.
In the past, they might have been comrades-in-arms, but now the Dog Tribe were treated as unwelcome strangers.
So when Elline kept pestering him recently about his deals with the Empire, Lord Vines sent her a final ultimatum—
Submission, or expulsion.
The ambiguous alliance was over.
“What could possibly make me share a boat with Vines?”
At first, Elline had wanted the Dog Tribe to become citizens of Vines.
Back then, they had no means to survive on their own, and since they had already migrated south, she thought it wise to coexist with humans.
But it was Vines—Mishel Vines himself—who rejected that request.
At the time, Vines’ military power wasn’t that strong, and he feared the instability that might come from accepting too many Dog Tribe warriors as residents.
He had refused their joining, citing unrest among the people due to differences between beastmen and humans.
The Dog Tribe had become mercenaries only because of that rejection.
And now that same Vines was suddenly suggesting they join?
Considering how the public sentiment toward beastmen had worsened lately, his true intention was painfully obvious.
He wanted their military strength, but not their influence.
If absorbed by Vines now, the Dog Tribe would end up as nothing more than expendable shields.
That was precisely why Mishel Vines sought to absorb them.
“And above all, the political situation here is far too chaotic.”
“What? Johnson Territory? Isn’t Iron Johnson Uldea’s son-in-law? And Sir Irene Haken is there too. Selling grain to Johnson is the same as selling it to Haken. Why on earth would I do that?”
The Lord of Vines’ own words summed up the situation perfectly.
He could trade with the Empire—but not with Haken.
Having practically conquered the entire southwest of the Ribella Peninsula, Mishel Vines was now aiming for an even grander scheme.
To conquer Haken and New Level, and rule the whole Ribella Peninsula.
If the Dog Tribe stayed here, they’d end up fighting humans more than monsters.
“That would be far too miserable, wouldn’t it?”
They had fought the Empire to survive.
They could even fight them again to settle old grudges.
But killing humans—killing other intelligent beings—for someone else’s greed? That was something else entirely.
Whether beastman or human, taking the life of a sentient being who could think and speak—it wasn’t easy.
“Fine then. Let’s go. He’d never imagine the whole Dog Tribe would withdraw. But we’ve thought this through too.”
Mishel Vines would never see it coming.
Elline had been preparing for this day for a long time.
Having dealt with humans for so long, she understood their politics to a certain extent—and she had come to believe that if things continued this way, a conflict among humans was inevitable.
And when that time came, she knew that they needed to step aside.
There was no reason for beastmen to get caught up in battles born from human greed.
“The Holy Spirit has always warned us about that as well, hasn’t He?”
Having experienced migration once before, the Dog Tribe always knew that it could happen again at any time, so they had been stockpiling supplies.
They weren’t well-off, but they tightened their belts and endured.
And lately—
After several recent trades, they had managed to stockpile an amount of supplies incomparable to what they had before.
It was all thanks to the Johnson Territory.
Iron Johnson, the lord of Johnson Territory, had been more than generous in every trade.
He was far more considerate and fair than any other partner they had ever dealt with.
“He’s not someone who would betray us. As a fellow Guide, I feel a sense of kinship with him.”
As she gently stroked the white Puppy Spirit, Elline thought—
There could be no better ally in this world than Iron.
He got along well with beastmen, and he had enough food to feed the entire Dog Tribe for years.
And on top of that, he was generous.
“He’s the perfect new employer for us.”
She thought to herself—
She was tired.
It had already been over twenty years since she began leading the Dog Tribe.
If she managed to safely guide her people north again, wouldn’t that mean she had done all that she could?
Given the Dog Tribe’s nature of preferring to follow rather than lead, finding a good employer was the most important thing.
Just like how the Black Lions had sought refuge in the Johnson Territory, the Dog Tribe could do the same.
If they accepted Iron as their new employer, she could finally rest.
“Alright. I’m feeling energized again.”
She wanted to return to her homeland in the north as soon as possible.
She had grown utterly sick of dealing with humans who said one thing and meant another.
“We’re going back home!”
“Yeah!!! Everyone, pack your things!”
“Don’t leave anything behind!”
“Don’t forget to sneak in what’s yours, either! Mercenaries should take what they’ve earned!”
Once the Dog Tribe began their migration, Vines would surely react.
But Elline wasn’t afraid at all.
Even if they couldn’t destroy Vines, they could at least take off two of its limbs.
Maybe if Vines were still allied with Haken and New Level, she’d have worried—but under the current circumstances, would they really risk such a move?
If they had been that kind of people, the Dog Tribe would’ve already been residents of Vines long ago.
When they had first migrated here—when their population barely exceeded two thousand—the Lord of Vines could have accepted them as citizens.
“That’s the difference in character. Lord Iron immediately welcomed those fierce Black Lions as residents.”
After giving orders to the warriors to prepare their belongings, Elline tightened the straps of her helmet.
The Dog Tribe’s village might soon become a battlefield.
Until her people safely escaped and joined the Johnson Territory, she couldn’t allow herself to be harmed.
She was determined to bring as many of them as possible safely to the north.
In the midst of the chaos, she momentarily forgot one important fact.
The Dog Tribe, having long interacted with humans, were fluent in the human language—but few could actually read it.
They had cooperated in joint military operations before, but they had never lived long-term in a human territory.
Only Elline and her merchant staff who traveled with her knew how to read and write.
Even the Dog Tribe warrior who brought her meals didn’t know human letters.
And since she made the decision not in her office but in her private quarters, what followed was inevitable.
While handing her the meal, the warrior received a simple order—and just as Elline instructed, he left a message on the Shamanic Message.
The message read: “The Dog Tribe is leaving this place.”
“So then, what exactly is this supposed to mean?”
Of course, for Butler Harold—who received the message that featured a picture of dogs running wildly—it was impossible to figure out what it meant.