Obelli Square. Solemnity descended upon this place that had been noisy for a while since Orcma occupied Obelli. Not because Orcma had retreated, but because news arrived that would silence even Orcma.
Grull, who usually did not appear, was heavily holding his seat right now. The Regressor stepped forward and spoke.
"A wolf appeared."
The Regressor does not like standing in front of people. Not because he is passive, but because it is bothersome. Therefore, the Regressor pressing the issue in front of the square meant something had happened beyond mere bother.
"Everyone at the outpost was bitten to death by wolves. The news was late because the wolves bit them away without leaving a single bloodstain. Hearing the story, a shepherd sounded the alarm saying a wolf appeared a few days ago."
The news that the guards at the southern outpost were annihilated. The news that several shepherds lost their lives. Half the flock of sheep was consumed as food to fill the wolves' bellies, and it was only after the residential areas on the outskirts of Ende were attacked that the wolves' appearance was discovered.
Having learned that the enemy had reached right before their noses, the Regressor sharply glared at everyone here.
"Yet none of you conveyed any news. Do you have anything to say?"
The crowd's gaze turned to Urkpang. Urkpang rolled his eyes awkwardly under the pouring attention.
'Why are they looking at me? I'm not Orcma. I'm the captain of the Tusk Mercenary Corps that was in a cooperative relationship with Orcma. I mainly took requests from the pig beastkin in Ende, and yes, I helped Orcma quite deeply, too. But don't assign me the role of the city's general as if it's natural! Especially when you won't even treat me like a real general!'
But mercenary corps live on face. With both the Regressor and Grull watching, it didn't seem like voicing complaints would be heard. Urkpang answered obediently.
"...There was a time the mercenary corps dispatched upon hearing that a wolf appeared."
"And?"
"Not even a wolf hair, let alone footprints, remained, so we tentatively concluded it was the shepherd's misunderstanding."
And an even heavier silence enveloped the hall. Those who found the problem glared at Urkpang with wide eyes. At the expected reaction, Urkpang closed his eyes tightly.
"Are you guys idiots?"
And the Regressor pressed further.
"Didn't they say the Wolf King is approaching? That you'd fight back. Then shouldn't you at least pay attention to the wolves' movements at the very least? How can you dismiss the story of a sighting as a lie without even proper investigation?"
"We went there, but there was nothing..."
"Nothing! There was a story that wolves appeared! If you didn't know, at least tell me or Grull!"
The Regressor wasn't the only one pressing the issue. Even fellow orcs muttered while looking at Urkpang. Saying it was too complacent, asking who would take responsibility. Urkpang, feeling unjustly treated by the criticism beyond expectations, deflected the responsibility poured upon him onto others.
"So what? My subordinates and I have been overworked every single day! Guarding Obelli in their stead, tracking the public offender all night, and now you want us to monitor the vast outskirts of Ende too? Do we have ten bodies?"
"The Obelisk was something you were already doing."
"We are a mere mercenary corps. Not the Obelisk! No, we don't even have the guard dogs, so the situation is worse! In the first place, you're the ones who locked up the Obelisk and drove out the guard dogs!"
Oh. 'You guys' came out. Until now it was 'we'. Still, a moment where a crack appears in Orcma, which was united with one heart and one mind.
"You guys? It's thanks to Orcma that you could be in that position!"
"I need the guard dogs and the Obelisk under my command for that position to be worth showing off! What kind of position is this right now? My grave? You guys are working me like a piggie!"
"You're going too far, Urkpang! You have the freedom we won for you! It's different from the old days when you were overworked!"
"I'm being overworked right now!"
Their voices rose against each other. Worried that a clash might occur at this rate, Poyna shouted.
"Stop! This is not the time for us to fight among ourselves!"
Poyna, the chairwoman of Orcma, actually doesn't have great abilities or experience. However, her large and appealing voice can silence Orcma's noise single-handedly. With just that, Poyna, who secured the position of Orcma's chairwoman and spokesperson, had fully demonstrated her ability.
"Urkpang. Please wait just a moment. I'll gather the orcs of Ende as quickly as possible and organize a new guard unit."
Perhaps having calmed down a bit, Urkpang, exhaling deeply, grumbled.
"You can't use those guys right away. They need to roll around and learn for a long time."
"It's necessary. Our orcs didn't even have that chance. They need to learn and practice enough to at least secure a place in Ende."
"We don't have the margin for that..."
I don't know why they only recruit orcs as guards in the first place. Urkpang, seeing no benefit in fighting further, sat down. Inwardly breathing a sigh of relief.
'Phew. They won't just blame me now, right? Still, it's been settled for now.'
Totally a politician, really.
After Urkpang sat down, Poyna said to the Regressor.
"Nothing is solved just by holding them accountable for past mistakes. Let's discuss countermeasures from now on."
"I agree, but it feels shameless coming from your mouth."
"...Sniff. Anyway. Since experts to stop the Wolf King have arrived, I'd like to hear your insights."
Pretending to organize things, Poyna sat Urkpang down and subtly shifted the burden to this side. Even if it wasn't as complex as humans, it was already excellent politics. Orcma must be gradually learning politics too. The problem is that they're introducing the bad parts of politics first.
"Hunting."
Grull, who had been sitting, slowly stood up.
A different sense of pressure than when Urkpang stood up pressed down on the square. The orcs caught by his gaze shrank their bodies unconsciously from instinctive fear.
Grull exuded a heavy aura as he spoke.
"Wolves are beasts that hunt in packs. Each has a assigned role. Scouting, threatening, driving, hunting. Tormenting the prey, prowling, gradually driving them, and in the final moment, biting the nape to end their breath."
Even if the citizens of Ende are familiar with wild beasts, they cannot compare to the Beast Faction that lives in the wild.
"The ones who came now are the scouting party. Those who creep up from afar, watch, and stimulate the prey to see its reaction. Sometimes, when a beast herd is sick and its reaction is poor, they come forward and bite a few away like this. It seems Ende has been looked down upon by the wolf pack."
"But even when the orc mercenaries went looking, no wolf footprints were visible, right? If they're not using qigong, what on earth is going on?"
"It is qigong."
Grull declared. And the orcs who caught the meaning of those words muttered.
Qigong is the power of humans. Beasts lacking the five natures cannot wield that power. That's common knowledge even pig beastkin know, yet words denying that popped out of Grull's mouth.
"Huh? But beasts can't use qigong..."
"Spiritual ki dwells in long-lived beasts. You all must know the stories of the wolf lord Robo who made a vassal state's territory tremble with fear, or the man-eating tiger of Baenggeo, the lion of Neima who ate an entire city."
"But that's merely becoming a bit sturdier from living a long time. It's impossible to systematically handle ki like humans and use qigong, isn't it?"
"Why do you think it's impossible? I've seen many humans more foolish than wolves. Especially recently. There's nothing strange about wolves using qigong."
"But... how could wolves understand Qiankun Ganli?"
An orc who vaguely knew what qigong was asked. Grull answered.
"Because the King of Beasts is there."
"You mean the Wolf King? A Beast King in human form?"
"Seems like your head is rolling a bit. Correct. The Beast King is the bridge connecting humans and beasts. If the Wolf King passes down qigong as he understands it, they could at least learn a fraction of that enlightenment."
"I can't believe that's possible. This is the first time I've heard such a story."
"Of course. It would be the first time I've told it."
"Huh?"
An orc who had been listening carefully let out a hollow sound. Whether they did or not, Grull finished speaking.
"We of the Beast Faction have felt the change of beasts to our bones. Originally they were threatening beasts, but since they gathered and lived together, the damage was small, but from some point on, we lost tribesmen swayed by wolves. We even found traces of warriors who had learned qigong torn by claws and fangs."
"Does that mean...?"
"Someone is training the wolves. That's the conclusion I've reached."
Having finished speaking, Grull looked around Obelli Square once and warned.
"It means someone is using wolves to attack Ende. We, whose daily life is fighting with beasts, also hid our tribesmen in a safe place before coming. With half-hearted resolve, everyone will be eaten alive."
The other orcs might not have noticed. But as they say, a seat makes the person. Poyna sensed a deeply uncomfortable feeling from Grull's words. Poyna objected.
"W-we are prepared too!"
"What are you doing to prepare to fight the wolves?"
"We're having the trap designer Kito set traps. If we use her inherent demon art, we can lay and maintain plenty of traps without any cost. The wolves will have to break through a trap field before entering Ende!"
"...Sniff. I don't know how useful it will be, but I'll expect something."
Grull doesn't know the city's circumstances. However, the Regressor, who had seen Kito's ability a few times, swallowed his words in dissatisfaction.
'It'll be completely useless. Kito's inherent demon art, Rabbit Trap, is only a trap in name; its essence is the maintenance of instability. The power to maintain a tightly pulled string in a momentarily pulled state. Let alone the plains, even tying a knot with grass wouldn't work, unlike in a city full of complexity.'
He can't remember other things well but remembers trivial things well. However, this is pre-regression knowledge, and the Regressor currently has no connection with Kito. If he acted like he knew, he would arouse suspicion, and since they were going to set traps anyway, there was no need to deliberately pour cold water on it, so the Regressor kept his mouth shut and returned to his seat for now.
When neither Grull nor the Regressor brought up anything more, Poyna felt a sense of accomplishment as if she had solved a difficult problem. In fact, it was nothing more than temporarily putting off an unmanageable problem, but with each day being urgent right now, there was no time to worry about that.
"Then, starting today, I'll gather the orcs from all over Ende and train them on how to counter the Wolf King. Grull, please take on the role of instructor."
"It's better not to have half-hearted ones. They'll just become wolf food. Rather, call the guard dogs."
"It's better to gather the pig beastkin than the disobedient guard dogs. This is necessary for our kin's independence..."
"What you need is to calm this chaos as quickly as possible and gather the strength of the other beastkin. Don't dump your cleanup work on me."
Grull drew a clear line.
Even Poyna's appeal didn't reach Grull. He attacked the Obelisk because various circumstances aligned, not because Grull was moved by Orcma. Even now, Grull is occupying a spot in Obelli, bringing various types of beastkin. Watching with dissatisfaction as the pig beastkin's misbehavior gradually worsens.
"Then..."
"Call the guard dogs and send them to me. Wolves must be dealt with using dogs. I'll teach them how to fight wolves."
"But they are... under house arrest for the crime of aiding a fugitive, the public offender."
"Are you just going to keep the dogs that guard the house tied up?"
"That's..."
Poyna's voice trailed off.
Orcma's power comes from occupying Obelli. And the reason the citizens tacitly accept Orcma's rule over Obelli is because of Grull, who defeated the Obelisk. The glory of the pig beastkin naturally adds power to the pig beastkin.
But Orcma themselves know. Grull is not on Orcma's side; he is merely an alliance to deal with the Wolf King.
Yet they're told to send the guard dogs to Grull with weapons in their hands? What if the guard dogs decide to return this city to Ende's original owners before even fighting the wolves?
"Do it."
However, Grull declared as if he would never yield. Poyna had no choice but to nod.
The meeting was gradually reaching its end, but no problem had been practically solved. Rather, only newly created problems piled up in abundance. Looking at the endlessly piled problems, everyone here felt it. A subtle balance had meshed together to establish the Orcma government, but it was not running properly.
The sweetness of victory gradually faded and the reality facing them approached heavily. When anxiety about whether things would be okay like this blossomed in the orcs' chests...
And the anxiety soon became reality. An orc who had rushed over in a hurry shouted without even time to catch their breath.
"Poyna! It's an emergency!"
"We're in a meeting right now. If it's not an urgent matter, please do it later."
"The horse beastkin are competing to flee outside Ende!"