Chapter 79

"Are you just going to keep watching like this?"

"We can't leave this to just the Captain of the royal bodyguard! We must hurry! Hurry up!"

Immediately after Elric and his group leisurely left the scene, the ministers and officials of Anthromorph turned pale and jumped in place.

To anyone else, they appeared to be loyal subjects genuinely concerned for the king's safety.

But in reality, they were burning with anxiety inside.

'Damn it! Who would have thought the king was there!'

'If that human dares to say something strange in front of the Captain of the royal bodyguard, I'm finished!'

'What the hell is going on! Agh!'

The ministers and officials who had visited the side palace wondered what King Velence might have heard. If King Velence had learned the whole truth and returned to wield his sword using it as a pretext, they were all doomed.

No matter how young, a Tiger King was still a Tiger King.

There had been more than a few times when the charisma emanating from his small, young body had chilled them to the bone.

Thus, during the hostage situation, either King Velence would 'accidentally' die, or he would...

'Disappear completely….'

Though the two situations might seem the same at first glance, they were fundamentally different.

The former would indeed bring about even greater chaos, while the latter could become a new 'opportunity' for them amidst the ensuing turmoil.

'This must not be exposed!'

'We just need to get through this night safely!'

'.....I will become the new Tiger King!'

The thin booklet that was currently sitting in their arms was instilling ambition in each of them.

The booklets they had purchased from Elric at a very high price.

At that moment.

While the ministers and officials were quietly discussing, Prime Minister Norus, who had been silently listening, casually swept his gaze over them and then threw out a remark.

"Have you all completed your transactions already?"

"…!"

"…!"

"…!"

"Judging by your expressions, it seems so. Ha! To think there are so many beastmen who have obtained Body Strengthening Art."

No sooner had he finished speaking.

Boom!

The ministers and officials, who had the books containing the Body Strengthening Art, leapt apart and quickly used their beast form.

"Damn it! I wasn't the only one who made a deal?"

"Damn human scum! I knew I couldn't trust a human!"

"You traitorous scoundrels! How dare you covet the secret Body Strengthening Art of the Tiger family! Can you still call yourselves loyal subjects of Anthromorph?"

"Shut up! How are you any different! You wanted the Body Strengthening Art just the same!"

"Don't lump me in with you! I only touched it because I had no choice but to protect the royal family's safety!"

"You're talking nonsense!"

Killing intent and hostility surged continuously, with shouts and accusations flying from all directions.

The true loyalists, who hadn't made any deals with Elric, quickly gathered together to oppose the traitors.

The conference hall turned into chaos in an instant.

"What is going on?"

"Why is it so noisy? The king is in danger right now, we should be united!"

"It doesn't seem like that! Something is wrong!"

"Could it be that they were planning to commit treason behind the king's back?"

The citizens watching from outside quickly assessed the situation and surrounded the conference hall with cold expressions.

Anthromorph fell into internal turmoil in an instant.

And

"..."

Prime Minister Norus, who had essentially ignited this situation, sat quietly with his eyes closed.

* * *

"…It must be a mess by now. You didn't just pour oil on an already chaotic place, but you even threw in some fire?"

"I also threw in some wood."

"Are you proud of that?"

Sean had to press his temples with his index fingers as he watched Elric laugh confidently.

"When will you ever grow up…?"

Of course, Elric ignored his close friend's reprimand as usual.

Instead, Mephisto chimed in.

『I don't think that will ever happen.』

[Tap dancing?]

『Growing up means adapting to the common sense imposed by existing society, which isn't good for a magician who pursues mystery and miracles. You are just right as you are now.』

Elric clicked his tongue at Mephisto's increasingly shameless remarks but had no retort.

"Will… it be okay?"

At that moment, King Velence, who was being carried, asked in a trembling voice.

By now, they could see the boundary marker that separated the black snowfield from the city.

"You don't need to worry. The Body Strengthening Art I handed to the ministers is only plausible in the beginning; the latter part is all nonsense."

"That's not what I meant…!"

King Velence glanced back nervously.

He could see Irina still following them with a stiff face. Behind her, the once orderly scene of Anthromorph seemed more chaotic than before.

"Do you want to go back?"

King Velence quickly turned his head forward again, startled.

Elric was looking back at him with a faint smile.

"No, it was me who wanted to leave the city in the first place, and I need to clear the path to the Temple of Flowers…!"

"I'm not talking about those conditions. I'm asking what you really want to do. What are you thinking right now?"

King Velence's eyes wavered for a moment.

"Do you want to go back? Or do you just want to leave everything behind and move on? I'll help you according to your wish."

For a moment, King Velence's mind was a jumbled mess.

He was bewildered, unable to grasp what Elric was really asking. Why ask such a thing when they could simply leave?

Yet, part of him began to reconsider his current thoughts.

The palace was filled with jackals, always lurking, ready to devour him at the slightest opportunity.

Just thinking about it made him feel suffocated.

But what about the city?

'The citizens... are different.'

The citizens always smiled at him. They welcomed him warmly, offering flowers and freshly picked apples, asking if he was hungry.

Even when General Winter came and they ran out of food and clothing, they were the ones who smiled brightly, saying that if they worked together, they would be able to overcome it.

They were all good people and good neighbors.

But what would happen if he left them behind and abandoned Anthromorph in its current state of chaos? With the General winter looming, what would become of the city?

If he left just to save himself, it was clear what would happen to Anthromorph.

As if reading King Velence's thoughts, Elric's deep emerald eyes looked at him.

"What is the choice you won't regret?"

"I…!"

Just as King Velence was about to stammer out something, Karl urgently sent a sound conduction to the group.

[Everyone, stop!]

The group, led by Karl, stopped abruptly just before reaching the boundary marker.

"Ho? The atmosphere seems tense," Augustine remarked, lifting his head slightly and sniffing the air with a sly smile.

Gility quickly sent his familiars out into the open.

With a flutter, birds and bats flew into the sky, surveying the scene, which didn't look promising.

"Huh!"

"What's wrong?"

Elric's question made Gility chuckle grimly.

"A black sandstorm is coming, along with frozen poison and gravel. If we go in there, we'll end up as nothing but minced meat."

"It's the General Winter! General Winter is coming!"

"So that's the true form of the General Winter? It's not just an ordinary sandstorm or a whirlwind; it's almost like a typhoon… What a strange phenomenon. I might want to study it later and write a paper on it," Gility mused with a curious smile, but King Velence's face remained pale.

The massive sandstorm not only shredded everything in its path but left behind severe freezing and poison, turning the area into a deadly zone. Only monsters could thrive in such a desolate place, growing more fierce and menacing.

The presence of the General Winter was the very reason why the black snowfield became an increasingly forbidden zone.

And now it was approaching Anthromorph?

The group, needing to escape Anthromorph quickly, had hit a wall.

Moreover, Gility's tone suggested the problem didn't end there.

"Can I borrow your familiars' vision?"

"Go ahead."

Elric, who had learned the Mirage eyes technique from Gility but hadn't used it in a while, activated it. The Mirage eyes was a technique to hypnotize animals, and with enough skill, one could share the vision of familiars.

With Gility's help, Elric could see through the eyes of his birds and bats.

What he saw were thousands of soldiers advancing with the sandstorm at their backs. Riding drakes and horde wolves, the formidable army marched forward.

Above them fluttered a banner that read:

-Fury.

"It seems Fury somehow knew about our situation and has sent an army."

Fury was a city-state formed by the Spirit Fox Tribe who had turned their backs on the Tiger family, an arch-enemy and a significant threat to Anthromorph.

[T/L: A city-state is an independent sovereign city which serves as the center of political, economic, and cultural life over its contiguous territory.]

"What… What do you mean? How could Fury…!" King Velence struggled to comprehend the situation.

How could Fury, so far away, have known about the commotion in Anthromorph so quickly? And more importantly, how could their army move through the sandstorm that even halted the actions of monsters?

It was a crisis situation for Anthromorph.

King Velence, unsure how to interpret or judge the situation, was at a loss.

Then he noticed the glimmer of amusement in Elric's emerald eyes as he continued to watch him.

"Surely, you're not planning to sell me out to Fury…?"

"If that were my plan, I wouldn't have bothered scouting the area. I would have handed you over straight away."

"Then…?"

"I haven't received an answer to my earlier question."

The question about the choice he wouldn't regret.

For a moment, King Velence was speechless. But then he finally spoke.

However, his eyes now sparkled with clarity.

"I don't want to see the city fall apart. I want to go back and stand with my people. I apologize for the inconvenience."

His voice was filled with determination.

Elric chuckled and nodded.

"I expected that. Let's change the plan from here."

"…!"

King Velence was slightly surprised that Elric accepted his decision so readily but quickly nodded in gratitude.

"What's it?"

"We're not running away but fighting instead?"

"This could get more interesting."

The blue hawk's eyes lit up with excitement, while Augustine looked at Elric with a peculiar expression.

"My disciple, you've pulled another stunt, haven't you? There's something 'big' you haven't told us, right?"

"Since 'the enemy' has appeared, shouldn't we prepare to fight together, Master?"

"If you don't explain everything properly, I'll just get in the way. Are you okay with that?"

"…Tch."

Seeing that he couldn't brush things off, Elric set King Velence down on the ground and began to slowly release his mana as he spoke.

"I made a deal with the Prime Minister."

"What? The Prime Minister?"

"With Prime Minister Norus... What did he say?"

"He asked me to save King Velence's life."

"...!"

King Velence's eyes trembled violently as he had always thought of Prime Minister Norus as a traitor.

"What? So that old black wolf pretended to be a traitor?"

Augustine, with his sharp mind, finally grasped the overall situation.

This was all a setup orchestrated by Elric and Prime Minister Norus!

Elric quietly nodded.

He recalled the words Prime Minister Norus had said when he visited the side palace.

-The truth is, what I wish to negotiate for is the safety of our young king. I will spare no cost for that.

-The royal palace of Anthromorph is filled with far too many jackals. Please, protect our king from them... I beg of you.

-Please, I am asking you earnestly.

The old black wolf prime minister had bowed deeply, humbly lowering his head.

[T/L: You can read ahead chapters and support me here: https://ko-fi.com/revengerscans ]