If the Dog King is offered as a sacrifice, the calamity of the wolves can be avoided. With just one person. No, with the sacrifice of just a single beast, Ende's safety is guaranteed.
Orcma heard that information from Urukfang. Urgently summoning the elders, Orcma began an uncharacteristically secretive meeting.
"If we make the Dog King a sacrifice, we can avoid the wolves...? Is that really true?"
Taemo Halpana answered, scrunching his already wrinkled face even more.
"Sniff. They say the Wolf King seeks out the Dog King. So humans who wanted to avoid fighting the wolves used to drive out the Dog King. The last time the dogs and wolves fought... was around the time your mother was born, so I think it's been about half a century."
"Which country fought the wolves 50 years ago?"
"That would be the Holy Imperial Court. The Empire and the Holy Imperial Court do not avoid fighting the wolves. With their power, they can trample wolf packs in an instant. However... Sniff. Other countries are not that relaxed. Their circumstances are complicated, too."
Taemo Halpana is an elderly man who has seen his sixtieth birthday twice over. He is quite long-lived even among those who practice Qigong, and considering he doesn't even know the character 'Ki' in Qigong, it can only be called a miracle.
He didn't have a lot of wealth, nor did he have the blood of an old chieftain, nor did he practice Qigong or magic. However, Taemo Halpana firmly occupied the position of an elder with his experience, years, and connections. As the very archetype of the 'Elder' among the elders.
"Since then, human nations have avoided fighting the wolves. I forget exactly when... but I remember hearing a rumor that the Magenta Principality drove out the Dog King. They say the Empire's envoy even went there over that incident, so it was quite an enormous uproar. In those days..."
The old man's words were like a tidal flat; even if they looked muddy, filtering them well could yield all sorts of useful things. Poina, who listened to Halpana's words through a filter, brightened up.
"...Then. If we drive out the Dog King or let him be killed by the Wolf King. The wolves will have no reason to attack Ende."
The method that everyone had thought of but couldn't dare bring themselves to say came out of Poina's mouth. Some orcs looked at Poina, terrified. But Poina, not even noticing such gazes, blurted out the idea that had just occurred to her.
"We can't send an envoy to the wolves to make a treaty, right? Then, we must use the Dog King as bait and drop him far away. So that the Wolf King can hunt the Dog King without any interference."
"I-is that really okay?"
Hearing someone's murmur, Poina whipped her head around and snapped.
"What else wouldn't be okay?"
"No, well. Doing that to the Dog King who came asking for help is a bit..."
"Spring hasn't been in the city for long. We need time. Right now, we keep going astray because we're not used to it, but we orcs will definitely be able to do it. We can do what humans have done. Better..."
However, for the future she envisioned, she had to discard something.
"But we cannot shed blood in a fight that is not ours."
"A fight that is not ours?"
"That's right. This is a fight between dogs and wolves. We orcs have no debt of gratitude to either dogs or wolves. We cannot waste precious lives being swayed by a promise arbitrarily made between the beast kings in the past."
Poina had never seriously thought about the fight between dogs and wolves even once before today. But right now, she felt like she could give over a hundred reasons why they shouldn't fight the wolves. Poina looked at the elders of Orcma and continued speaking.
"It's a promise that even human nations like the principality easily discard. Asking a single city on the border to keep it is unfair from the start. Let alone a city that recently found true equality, even more so."
"The Dog King is merely a symbolic beast. If you compare a beast's life and a human's life, of course, the human's life comes first. And if you weigh one life against tens of thousands of lives, naturally, the tens of thousands of lives are more important."
"And are you the only ugly ones? The Dog King is just as shameless. If he truly fights for humans, he could just fight alone without letting any human get hurt. Why is he looking for humans to help? It just looks like he's asking them to die together, doesn't it?"
"Bringing the Dog King to Ende in the first place was an impure intention. He probably intended to use us as a meat shield to subjugate the Wolf King. Even fitting that intention is unfair. Why must we be sacrificed?"
Every time she spoke, her logic became clearer. The orcs owe nothing to the dogs and have never shared a promise with them. Therefore, there is no need to intervene in the fight between dogs and wolves. Rather, involving humans in a fight among themselves is a nuisance. Humans have no obligation to fulfill that fight.
Having instantly woven dozens of logics, Poina gathered her thoughts for a moment and spoke.
"It hurts my heart, but if we make a firm decision, we gain a lot. By driving out the Dog King, we can gain so many things. We orcs are now the race leading the city. We must make a cold choice."
Poina's words were so perfect that nothing seemed able to touch them. No, she was only saying right things from the start, so there was no reason to touch them. Why should the pig beastmen, who had been persecuted until now, step up and fight for the Dog King? Such a struggle is the duty of the humans who reigned at the top of the pyramid or the dog beastmen themselves. Pig beastmen have no need to shed blood for dogs.
It was a logic everyone wanted, so it was easy to accept. Gulta nodded and said.
"Alright. Then let's say that's decided and call Mayor Triver."
It had been nearly a week since Orcma entered Oberlie, but Mayor Triver was still in charge of the major administration. Gulta's suggestion was appropriate, but Poina, remembering something, urgently stopped him.
"No. He is a noble of the principality and a dog beastman. He will definitely oppose our decision."
"Ah, right. Then what should we do?"
Pondering for a moment, Poina soon gave a cold smile and said.
"...First, we must reveal the identity of the Dog King."
Now the wolves were no longer an invisible danger. The wolves appeared from time to time and attacked all over Ende. If one were to compare them to an army, they were merely scout units, but the strong wolves, despite being scouts, were as fast and threatening as mounted knights.
"Wolves! Wolves have appeared!!"
In the huge city called Ende, there inevitably existed an outskirts. Even though an evacuation order was issued, people who couldn't flee in time were scattered everywhere. There were circumstances like having nowhere to bring their flocks of sheep, facing an imminent harvest, or being unable to hand over the beasts they raised to the wolves, but that was none of the wolves' business.
"Everyone, hide!"
With someone's shout, people took their children's hands and hid inside their houses. They locked the doors, carefully closed the windows, and then crammed themselves into the hideouts built underground, holding onto each other.
After the entire city, having spotted the wolves, held its breath.
The wolf prowling outside leaped over the palisade. It was a reinforced palisade, but the wolf jumped to a height far exceeding it. Invading Ende with astonishingly light movements, the wolf bared its teeth and stepped into the village.
Clank.
It was then. As soon as it leaped over the palisade and took a step, steel sawteeth hidden in the sand surged up. Sharp jagged teeth, like a beast's fangs, clamped down on the wolf's front leg.
"Yipe!"
"Yelp, Awoooo!"
While the startled wolves bounded about, Kito, the trap designer hiding in the bushes, suddenly appeared and let out a faint smile.
"Hee, heeeeee. How is it? It's my special improved bear trap that I set up all night..."
The traps enhanced by Kito's ability reacted more powerfully to even more trivial triggers. Although the wolves were intelligent, they couldn't avoid the traps perfectly hidden under the control of the Intrinsic Demon Art. In an instant, nearly thirty percent of the wolves were caught in the traps and rendered unable to move.
"Beasts are just beasts... As long as there are traps, there's nothing to be afraid of!"
Kito shouted triumphantly, as if persuading herself.
However, the wolves paid surprisingly little attention to Kito. After glancing at each other once, the wolves all began the same action.
Crack, crunch.
They stepped hard on their trapped front paws. They hooked their claws on the latch and bit the trap with their teeth. They twisted their heads to pry open the interlocking jaws again. Crack, crunch. The released springs contracted, and the traps returned to their original state.
They understood the structure of the trap. Skillfully dismantling the traps as if they had experienced it before.
"Huh, wha?"
No matter how strong a beast is, getting out of a steel bear trap requires bracing for a massive injury. But the wolves that invaded Ende now dismantled the traps as if they had experienced them beforehand. Just like a human caught in a trap by accident would do.
And the leader just chewed and tore off the entire spring. Broken metal fragments flowed down along with saliva. The wolves, having neutralized the traps, swept through the village without hesitation.
"Uwaaaaaah!"
"Save me..."
"Woof! Woof!"
Grey fur roamed all over the streets. People and dogs who couldn't hide in time were bitten and killed by the wolves. The wolves chasing their prey didn't stop there; they broke down house doors, scratched the floors, and searched for hidden humans. The basement was a bit cumbersome for the wolves to find, but it was only a matter of time. The persistent and cruel wolves moved with the intention of annihilating an entire village.
"Heek, heeeeeeek! Please save meeeeee!"
Suddenly chased, Kito fled to avoid the wolves. Three wolves chased behind her. Kito was fast too, but she couldn't match real wolves, and the distance gradually narrowed. Looking back briefly, Kito saw the wolves and cried.
"Waaaaah!"
If there's a characteristic of rabbit beastmen, it's their perky standing ears and rapid change of direction. The chasing wolves bit at the air several times as Kito momentarily vanished right before their noses.
Even as a magician who had awakened the Intrinsic Demon Art, Kito's essence was that of a rabbit beastman. Her career of playing chase in Ende since she was young was quite effective even against wolves. Besides, Kito also possessed the Intrinsic Demon Art.
The ropes she dropped while fleeing were tied into knots by the Intrinsic Demon Art, and the roughly thrown traps set themselves up. On the other hand, even when Kito stepped over a trap, the trap didn't react at all. Within her Intrinsic Demon Art, only enemies could activate the trigger. Having bought time using every possible method, she stood with her back against the wall, panting.
"Ahue. Ahueee. I shouldn't have come alone without a guard...!"
Why did Kito, who was supposedly a major fighting force of the city, end up like this? Why was she setting traps in the border region where wolves might come? Calmly retracing the reasons, Kito recalled the culprit of everything and mumbled.
"This is all because of those damn piggies!"
Orcma ordered Kito to set traps. Actually, she accepted it because it was originally her job.
But she didn't know they would tell her to set up traps without any guards or strategy, even taking out the old-fashioned traps and telling her to just make them. Telling her to cover every village with traps without even informing her where the battlefield was or how long they would be used. It was an ignorant thought that only pig beastmen could have.
"But why am I paying the price for their ignorance?!"
Kito is a rabbit beastman. She can shake off the wolves for a while, but she can't run forever. It wasn't long before wolves began to flock to her side.
Terrified, Kito trembled as she wielded her Intrinsic Demon Art. But no matter how much she fumbled, there were no more means left to use in this village. With tears brimming in her eyes, Kito squeezed her eyes shut.
"Waaaaah... Is this the end..."
However, the event Kito expected did not happen.
As her neck remained safely attached, Kito slowly opened her eyes. In front of her was an unfamiliar beastman touching the ground on all fours. Stiffly raising his tail, leaking a fearsome aura. The Dog King bared his teeth at the bad wolves.
"Grrrr, woof!"
Azi made his move.
Ende is vast. No matter how keen Azi's senses are, he cannot perceive the entire sphere of influence of a city.
But when the wolves invaded, the humans fled to Ende, naturally compressing Ende's sphere of influence. Azi tries hard to ignore fights between humans, but he is endlessly threatening toward enemies of humans. Azi, who burst out of the mansion in an instant, shot down the wolves attacking humans one by one. The wolves stopped their raid and gradually began to surround the city.
Azi's existence, which was already known secretly, surfaced. All citizens of Ende recognized the existence of the Dog King who ran out like lightning and bit the wolves. The dog beastmen cheered at the King's performance, but the other beastmen were not as happy.
Part of it was jealousy because the Dog King showed such an overly friendly demeanor, but above all...
-The reason the wolves invaded is because of the Dog King.
It was because of a single rumor spreading in secret.