Ch.110110. Alliance

I was leading my party toward an unnamed village on the outskirts of the border.

A village established by those who fled to avoid taxes and conscription. It was a community of people who somehow maintained a neutral identity even amid fierce conflicts between beastkin and humans.

At the same time, it was also where I had captured Gwon Heejin and cut off her wrist.

“Come to think of it, I dealt with some beastkin around here. About fifty of them. I was fighting like a madman back then.”

“I think there are still sword marks on that tree stump over there?”

Listening to these old men chatting, you’d think we were going on a picnic with sandwiches and beer, but the situation wasn’t exactly relaxed.

That’s because we were on our way to meet someone far stronger than Gwon Heejin could ever compare to.

I had attempted to communicate with the Beastkin King at dawn yesterday.

It was possible because of the crystal ball I had given him along with Cordana in the past. Though I hadn’t contacted him since then, the Beastkin King agreed without dragging things out.

I had informed him concisely:

– I want to discuss ways to develop our truce agreement. I’ll hear your answer when we meet. The location is where we made our oath before. It’s no one’s territory, so there should be no reason to break our oath.

The reason I insisted on meeting in person was simple.

If I mentioned an alliance beforehand and things went wrong, I’d have to penetrate deep into the border region to fight. The oath made with the Geas Scroll would penalize me, and the Beastkin King would likely be fully prepared.

‘I could still kill him that way, but there’s no need to waste energy unnecessarily.’

I planned to attack immediately if he refused my proposal when we met.

It was a situation where I might end up in a bloody battle with the Beastkin King. Yet the party members following me didn’t seem particularly afraid.

“Last time we came here as the Hero’s pursuit team, but now we’re the Hero’s party.”

Someone made this obvious statement. It was my junior, Katie.

In the past, when we were hunting the Hero, she had anxiously asked, “How will we survive on our own after we catch the Hero?” But now she was completely different.

She even occasionally talked to and looked after the Saintess. They seemed to get along well, probably because they were around the same age. It was fortunate that the Saintess didn’t have to feel awkward among all these middle-aged people.

Of course, Katie wasn’t just being cheerful with her head full of flowers. She made some rather pragmatic comments.

“Even if we form an alliance, I don’t think it will last long, but buying time itself is meaningful. We just need to defeat the Demon Lord in the meantime.”

“You think it won’t last a few years? Why do you think that?”

“Well, there’s precedent… Actually, this is a secret, but there was a dog-kin tribe living in our territory. We had exchanges until 10 years ago, but eventually things went sour. Even though they weren’t beastkin under the Demon Lord’s command, there were many conflicts for various reasons.”

“That’s common.”

This was something that happened in many territories.

Beastkin and humans inevitably clashed in various areas. In regions where beastkin settled, game rapidly decreased, and livestock was often stolen. They couldn’t understand why humans kept livestock without eating them.

It was impossible to teach farming to a race accustomed to hunting, and it was difficult to donate food for free.

While it wasn’t entirely impossible to tame them since they were intelligent beings, the beastkin I was going to ally with weren’t such a docile group.

‘A temporary alliance. That’s probably the most realistic prediction. Relations with beastkin have always been like that.’

But I wasn’t trying to form a temporary alliance. I needed to establish a relationship that could be maintained for at least 10 years, if not a permanent alliance.

I wasn’t suddenly feeling compassionate toward the beastkin. It was because the Beastkin King wouldn’t agree to anything less.

A being who had mastered high-level magic despite being a beastkin, with decent intelligence and magical aptitude.

He lacked common sense having never lived in human territory, but he seemed well-read. Even during our previous conversation, he understood the concept of an “open-pit gold mine.”

“To persuade him, we need to guarantee the safety of the beastkin race. He’ll only agree to my alliance proposal if he’s confident that beastkin won’t be treated like garbage or enslaved after we defeat the Demon Lord.”

“That’s true, but… is it possible?”

Katie tilted her head as if she couldn’t quite figure it out, then looked at the Saintess beside her with expectant eyes, asking, “How are beastkin treated in your world?”

The Saintess made a troubled expression and answered that there were no beastkin in the world she lived in.

“Surely not…?”

“We didn’t exterminate them. They just never existed.”

“I’m sorry, Saintess. I heard your world is extremely brutal.”

“…Yes. It is brutal.”

The Saintess answered with a somewhat enlightened expression. I was glad she seemed to have adapted fairly well. Come to think of it, I had never encouraged her.

And it seemed I wouldn’t have the luxury to do so now either.

That was because several large figures standing in the distance had entered my field of vision. A situation where a second Tetrad subjugation might begin just days after the first. From this point on, both my party members and I fell silent and continued forward.

Soon, I was face to face with the Beastkin King.

***

Beastkin were lined up behind Leoneo.

Eighteen of them in total.

Some of them were ones I had previously captured as prisoners and released after receiving ransom. The dog-kin who had been beaten by me whimpered, perhaps recognizing the warhammer at my waist.

They all looked strong, but… the number seemed slightly insufficient if they had come for battle. If the Beastkin King intended to eliminate me and curry favor with the Demon Lord, he would have brought at least a four-digit number of beastkin.

I could understand what this ambiguous number meant.

‘Representatives.’

It seemed he had brought tribal leaders who commanded groups of various sizes. I suspected he had judged this wasn’t something he could decide on his own and simply announce.

Compared to gambling addicts who threw away not only their own fate but also that of their families, vassals, and even territory residents for momentary pleasure, this was an exemplary attitude. It meant he understood that his decisions affected his subordinates.

I wasn’t the only one who noticed something unusual.

The Beastkin King also couldn’t readily open his mouth and growled. I saw his vertical pupils contract slightly before returning to normal.

He seemed to be sizing me up with the instincts unique to beastkin. As a result, he must have concluded he couldn’t defeat me by force.

‘He might be reasonable.’

It might not be an overwhelming difference, but just having a clear advantage was enough. It would allow me to take a favorable position in the negotiation process.

In fact, many humans would grumble without realizing their heads could be cracked open. Even after I had eliminated three counts with my own hands, and even turned one family into scroll slaves, they still acted this way. Sometimes I wondered why they behaved like this.

Compared to that, dealing with beastkin is easier. I looked back at my party members and stepped forward.

“One way or another, the Demon Lord will die soon.”

“……”

“I’m here to explain what will happen to you beastkin afterward. You need to feel the crisis to be willing to compromise.”

“I already know without you telling me. They’ll massacre beastkin indiscriminately out of spite. Or enslave us. But that’s only if you…”

“That would only be possible if I reach the Demon Lord’s castle and capture him. But even if the Demon Lord wins, it’s a foregone conclusion that you’ll be abandoned. By then, he won’t need the help of beastkin to invade the Empire.”

“……”

At these words, several beastkin standing guard behind made thin sounds, but Leoneo himself closed his eyes.

It seemed he had realized he had crossed a river of no return. By now, he must also understand that his fate had been sealed from the moment he defied the Demon Lord to save prisoners.

Having shown him a bleak future, it was now time to open a path to survival.

I deliberately paused before speaking.

“Cooperate with me instead.”

“Are you asking us to open the way?”

“Not just that, you need to cooperate more actively for me to have justification to guarantee your survival. Specifically, I’d like you to shorten the journey to the Demon Lord’s castle. I plan to enter the Demonic Land in the near future, though not immediately.”

“……”

The journey through the Demonic Land.

In some ways, it was even more difficult than defeating the Demon Lord himself. It was a place where all kinds of demonic beasts appeared and strange phenomena frequently occurred.

According to the testimony of a member of the previous Hero’s party, they once reached what they thought was the Demon Lord’s castle, only to find it was just a high-ranking demon’s castle, leaving them disappointed. They also said they had wandered for over a month after unknowingly entering a labyrinth.

‘I can’t afford to do that.’

I had heard that if you survive in the Demonic Land for a few months, your abilities grow remarkably fast. Fast enough for an otherworlder who didn’t even know how to hold a sword to become the Demon Lord’s adversary.

However, I didn’t need that ordeal. I had experience built up before becoming the Hero. Therefore, shortening the time required for subjugation was the best option.

“If I agree…”

“I’ll help ensure beastkin can live safely. I can’t guarantee you’ll live abundantly, but at least you won’t have to hide to survive.”

After this announcement, a brief silence fell.

If the Beastkin King agreed, I would explain the specific methods, but if he refused, all that remained was combat. The procedure was to eliminate a key figure of the enemy if an attempt to recruit them failed.

My party members, mostly experienced veterans, had already inconspicuously taken combat positions. Some of the beastkin standing behind the Beastkin King were also instinctively showing hostility.

Fight, or alliance.

The Beastkin King, who held the choice, was looking at his subordinates.

He was about twice my size, but somehow he seemed small now. It wasn’t just because I had become the Hero.

I could feel the deep anguish of someone who carried on his shoulders the lives of not only the beastkin at the border but also those who didn’t live here.

In fact, I could almost hear the Beastkin King’s concerns in real-time. Is this gold-obsessed bastard really going to keep his promise? What should I do if he betrays his word? Is there perhaps another option besides the Demon Lord or the Hero? He was probably thinking like this.

Amid all this, one thing was certain. If he wanted to cut ties with the Demon Lord’s army, this was his last opportunity.

Fortunately, the Beastkin King wasn’t foolish enough not to realize this.

“…Alright. I’ll hear the detailed terms.”

A declaration that he would switch sides.

The Beastkin King might not want my praise, but it was a very wise decision.