Ch.151Chapter 151

Dencan’s clan let out a silent scream as the whole world seemed no different from the Wendigo.

One might argue that it was strange for humans—who would likely rank among the five most pitiful races in the world—to look down on Djin.

But the clan felt wronged. With all the monsters, beasts, and Djin their ancestors had faced until now, why should they fear Djin?

As befitting a clan that had made its living for ages hunting beings that ordinary people couldn’t handle, such shameful behavior was unacceptable.

They laid out letters across a wide round table and began a heated discussion.

“Is this, is this how a Djin operates?”

“They can’t all be duplicates. Surely only a few are real and the rest are just for show—”

“I’ve never heard of a Djin that can create more than one duplicate. Not once in our clan’s ancient texts…”

“Are you saying they all collectively brewed and drank hallucinogenic mushrooms?!”

Aside from their strange philosophy, Dencan’s clan weren’t complete fools.

They had at least noticed that the Wendigo was creating and utilizing duplicates.

However…

“They might be duplicates that only look convincing on the outside. According to records of our campaign against the Fog Djin, it deceived opponents with duplicates that merely appeared authentic.”

“Good point. Since it has claimed the position of king, perhaps it’s capable of that much.”

No one considered the duplicates to be genuine. Years of hunting Djin had inevitably created certain biases.

In truth, it seemed unfair to criticize these as mere biases. How many Djin in the world could do something similar to what the Wendigo was doing?

Even if some could, few Djin would waste precious mysteries on humans who could reproduce with just a male and female pair.

“Don’t act rashly. Stay calm.”

Perhaps seeing hope that the situation might not be as desperate as they thought, one of the clan elders stroked his beard with a solemn expression and warned the younger members.

He discussed the situation with insight gained from years of experience.

“The northerners who make up the king’s army are subordinates with fiery temperaments, unlike us who follow pious intentions.”

This was laughably ironic considering they themselves were originally northerners by birth.

They had clearly forgotten that the reason they started this war was due to their leader’s impulsive behavior.

The elder ordered attendants to bring a map, which was spread across the round table. He tapped his finger on the territories of the lords who had sent letters and continued speaking.

“When they realize the king they follow is merely a shell, they’ll determine that attacking castles is difficult. Then they’ll reveal their true nature and start plundering the region. They need to at least break even.”

“Wouldn’t it be disastrous if they act impulsively? If they scatter to plunder, they might find us.”

Five or six people nodded at a young man’s question.

While northerners were skilled at creating wealth from others with minimal investment in swords and armor, they were also surprisingly good at traveling.

If thrown into an unfamiliar forest, they could find their way to populated villages and communicate—what an impressive skill!

If northerners with such remarkable abilities violated the clan’s territory while moving south, they might accidentally discover this location if the clan wasn’t careful.

But the aged elders clicked their tongues, reproaching such limited insight.

“This is why young ones… they hunt a few Djin, get called knights, and think they understand the world.”

“It’s just their youth. They’ll change after serving the clan and understanding our ancestors’ profound intentions.”

“I-I’m sorry.”

Crushed by the irresistible dual forces of age and status, the young man who had asked the question quickly bowed his head and begged forgiveness.

The clan’s stubbo—no, elders generously forgave the young man’s rash behavior and decided to fill his lacking insight with their experience.

“If they scatter to plunder, it means they’ll be easier to defeat individually. Moreover, once the lords assess the situation, they’ll send word.”

“When information is relayed, we can determine the king’s main force’s location, making it easier to annihilate the stragglers focused on plundering with our army waiting in the rear.”

“B-but there’s no guarantee they’ll plunder just because the king is absent…”

“How dare you!”

The young man flinched.

When the elder frowned and raised his voice, the young man who had tried to raise a question hunched his shoulders and lowered his head. The elder rebuked the young man’s foolishness with a stern voice.

“We have served to establish human greatness and Dencan’s righteous will in this land against these northern bumpkins since before you were chosen for the clan. Yet you dare mock us with your limited insight!”

“That’s not what I—”

“I don’t want to hear it. Remember my face, for I will speak to Lord Dencan about you next time I see him!”

At this threat—essentially saying he would report the offense to Dencan—the young man turned pale and begged forgiveness. But for the sake of clan order, these old men averted their gaze, enduring their sadness.

As the young man was dragged away by other knights, a civil official carefully bowed to the clan elders and asked:

“Should we inform Lord Dencan about this matter as well?”

“Tsk, tsk, how can you say such things when Lord Dencan is so busy? He is practically the center of our grand plan. Don’t make him uncomfortable unnecessarily—tell him when new information arrives.”

Unlike the knights with only battle expertise in their heads, the civil official smiled pleasantly, admired the elder’s insight, and withdrew.

The elder and the old clan members following him smiled with satisfaction. The fulfillment of maintaining clan order flowing through their bodies made them feel 2-3 years younger.

* * *

The clan’s judgment wasn’t entirely wrong. As they predicted, within days, terrible news arrived that the Wendigo’s army was plundering everywhere.

Not villages, but the clan’s castles and fortresses.

The army, which stripped away quality steel armaments, supplies, and even the wealth the clan had accumulated for nation-building, didn’t even bother with mere villages.

Why would they care about such small fry when they didn’t know when His Majesty would return?

The nobles, united in agreement not to harm innocent farmers even without direct orders from His Majesty who accompanied them, burned with loyalty as they sought the next castle.

By the time this news reached the clan, approximately six castles and three fortresses had fallen. In simple terms, they were being thoroughly plundered.

Because of this, the senile old man who had warned against rash action was forced into voluntary “seclusion” by the other elders…

And news of this massive defeat eventually reached Dencan.

“Ho ho ho, so they handled matters on their own without informing me. While I’m always grateful to the clan elders, this is rather uncomfortable.”

Dencan, who was undergoing bloodletting with the help of the clan’s summoners for the grand plan, muttered with a troubled smile.

Though his face wore a smile, the summoners drawing his blood and the civil official who delivered the news trembled with fear.

The blood that had been flowing slowly until now was suddenly gushing out. That volcano-like energy reflected his state of mind.

“L-Lord Dencan. I apologize, but please calm yourself. Becoming excited during bloodletting could negatively affect your health…”

“Ah, I’m sorry. It seems I won’t be able to calm down easily right now, so you may withdraw. Including the brave civil official who delivered this news on behalf of those cowards.”

“Th-thank you.”

The summoners quickly stopped the bleeding before the precious body was harmed and skillfully treated the self-inflicted wound. After the summoners and civil official left, Dencan sighed…

“These damned old men ruin my work with their rigid minds, unable to follow the changing times!”

…and let out a howl of rage that would sound like a sigh to the servants outside. The servants were startled by this intense “sigh” and fled.

If they stayed nearby and suffered misfortune, it wouldn’t be Dencan’s fault but the servant’s for failing to read his mood.

After confirming that no one was around, Dencan clicked his tongue and approached the bookshelf. He pulled out books without even checking their titles, as if familiar with them.

<Where Does Love Originate>

<The Virtues of Ancient Kingdoms>

<The Most Sacred and ■■ Battalion in the World>

After pulling the last book, which Dencan himself had censored, the bookshelf mechanism moved with a clunk. Just hearing that sound made Dencan feel his anger subsiding.

When the door opened, Dario’s face…

“Hmm, I drew it myself, but I did quite well.”

…a portrait with Dario’s face prominently appeared.

Dencan entered his private space with a smile. However, there was nothing special about this secret room.

Except for Dario’s portrait, it was filled with ordinary bookshelves, making one wonder why it was hidden at all.

Dencan ran his hand along the bookshelf and opened the very first book.

[Today I met an unusual fellow. A young and weak one, yet somehow catching my eye. Despite being merely a bastard, his eyes had an interesting mix of ferocity and intelligence—]

“Hehe, at first my interest was only this much.”

The book was a diary that Dencan had written daily since childhood. However, at some point, it had become an observation diary about Dario.

Dencan speed-read through the observation diary, seeking a solution to the problem caused by the clan elders.

Logically, he should have discussed solutions with his servants, but Dencan had his most trusted person with him right now.

[I told you not to trust in past achievements. With your skills, it would have been easy to sweet-talk those guys.]

Dario’s voice echoed in Dencan’s mind. Dencan chuckled and looked at the portrait, defending himself.

“My power may be absolute, but absolute power doesn’t maintain a healthy group. Just look at your family—they maintained their influence despite having an incompetent ruler in power, thanks to you.”

The portrait seemed to sneer with Dario’s characteristic casual expression.

[I seem to recall you once calling them parasites eating away at the clan’s power.]

“That means I can’t eliminate them right now. Even such people are better than nothing when facing an extraordinary being like the King of Manheimr.”

[Then why not deal with both at once? You need sacrificial lambs to stop the advancing army anyway. Have Pious Darius lead an army to stop them.]

Pious Darius was a margrave of the empire who strengthened the clan’s influence over the empire.

His abilities weren’t bad, but as he aged, he became troublesome, insisting that clan elders should be respected like ancestors…

“If he stops the army’s advance, the clan elders might form a faction led by Darius.”

[Ha, if he stops the advance, yes. But do you think he can win against the King of Manheimr? Why are we preparing the grand plan ahead of schedule?]

“If Darius risks his life to hinder the advance, it could buy enough time to complete the grand plan.”

Dencan nodded with a pleased smile, as if agreeing with those words. If Dario had known his situation, he would have said something like this.

Dencan’s thinking wasn’t entirely implausible. Turning crisis into opportunity was one of Dario’s tactics.

Love making people similar doesn’t necessarily have to be mutual. Dencan left the imaginary Dario he had created in the room and went outside.

After operating the mechanism as he had when opening the door, Dencan approached his servants with his usual relaxed smile.

Everything was for the clan’s grand objective… and for his own modest goal.