That day was the day dogs and wolves fought a proxy war. It was a day when the will to kill humans and the will to save them clashed. It was the day a continuously missed promise was finally fulfilled after a long wait.
Even such a historical day began like any other. The sun rose in the east, the rooster crowed, and humans waking from sleep rose while cursing the morning. If there was a slight difference, it was only that their curses were much deeper and lasted longer than usual.
Against the swift wolves, Ende had delayed its response for too long. The trap-laden frontlines had repeatedly retreated until they were nearly touching the city.
However, retreat is not always bad. Narrowing the frontlines and drawing the enemy in is a shameful but helpful tactic. Even though countless generals have died in dead ends because they failed to admit this fact, people are still fixated on the two letters of 'retreat' and point fingers.
"The casualties were heavy. But, thanks to that... our forces have gathered."
Another word for freedom is indulgence. Ende, lacking any established system, merely handed beastmen a weapon when conscripting them and called it done. The beastmen, clustered by clan, lined up carrying equipment they were each familiar with.
Some didn't want to fight, and some wanted to flee. However, because the wolves attacked Ende, the option of not fighting disappeared. It was better to fight alongside the city than to encounter a wolf pack on the plains.
"If I hide behind the ramparts, at least someone will protect me... That's the kind of expectation they have, right?"
Even freedom couldn't give up the sense of security provided by the ramparts. Grull nodded at Sapien's words and said.
"It is regrettable. That we must betray that expectation."
"Grull. Are you really going to choose such a ridiculous strategy? His strategy isn't even a strategy. There's no clear plan, and no reason to follow it."
Sapien gave Grull earnest advice, but Grull laughed it off casually.
"It seemed fine to me, what's the problem?"
"What's the problem? How is 'I will leave it to the discretion of the field commanders' a strategy in any way?"
Sapien recalled the absurd strategy meeting from yesterday.
'Everyone. Unfortunately, we do not know the details of their plans or their strength. We are not particularly stronger, nor faster, and we even lack preparation. If we try to pull something off here, we'll just gradually lose our stakes and face ruin.'
A not-very-helpful truth. Sapien fumed. Sapien also knew they were unprepared. But if they had to fight anyway, a commander's role was to come up with a slightly better strategy rather than dampening morale.
'So, other than the most crucial parts, I will leave it to the discretion of the field commanders. Until an incident occurs, do your best to survive on your own. Just maintain communication with each other.'
However, the magician who had somehow volunteered for the role of staff officer offered no strategy at all. Offended, Sapien retorted.
'If there is no strategy, is there any reason we should follow your command?'
'Just one. Because I hold the only advantage we can choose.'
'And what is that?'
'When, where, and how Aji will fight. Only I can decide that.'
Sapien couldn't argue back. After all, they were the ones who brought the King of Dogs, and they seemed much closer to him. If orders were to be given, it was better for the side familiar with him to do it.
Nor was the opponent easy enough to take the King of Dogs away from them by force.
'This battle will be a fight of moving our respective pieces until the King of Dogs and the King of Wolves face each other. Please move well on your own. I will contact you frequently.'
That wasn't a strategy, merely a notification. To follow it, one had to move as they pleased, and if one ignored it and did as they pleased anyway, it was considered following it. Caught in an unpleasant forced mate, Sapien complained, but Grull liked it.
"Isn't it fine? Rather than coming up with a trash strategy or following one and complaining, it's better to do as I please."
"A trash strategy? Then is your better plan just 'charge'? What if things go wrong?"
"I am the strongest in Ende. If so, whether it goes well or poorly, it's my responsibility. If it's going to be my responsibility anyway, it's better to do as I please."
Persuading him wouldn't yield any clever solutions. Unable to offer an alternative, Sapien decided to respect Grull's judgment. Temporarily setting aside the thought that this also meant following the magician's intentions.
"I will stay here. Leaving the base empty only increases the danger with no advantages to be gained."
"I will move. Sitting heavily on my ass will only get my flesh torn off and get me hunted."
The two ultimately headed in the direction they thought was right. Watching the Beast Faction warriors moving with the Orc mercenary group, Sapien was pondering whether to build more guard posts.
"Lord Sapien. A group of dog beastmen has arrived from outside the city. They say they fled from the wolves and want to fight alongside us."
At the sudden report, Sapien furrowed his brow.
"A group of dog beastmen? In these times of crisis? Who are they?"
"I do not know. Unfamiliar faces. Could they be from the Beast Faction?"
"How would I know? If they are from the Beast Faction, Grull would know."
Had a tribe chased by the wolf pack washed all the way into Ende? Conjecture alone couldn't tell him anything. Sapien moved his steps and said.
"Were there no other distinguishing features?"
"They all had short, glossy black fur. Their ears were sharply pointed like triangles, and their tails were very short."
A description heavily focused on fur, ears, and tail, typical of beastmen. If a fellow beastman described them to that extent, it must be very distinctive. As Sapien pictured them in his mind, a sudden memory surfaced, and he muttered.
"Just like the Baskerville Family."
"The Baskerville Family?"
"You wouldn't know. It's the most famous hound family in the Empire. They are dog beastmen born solely for hunting, and they say that as soon as they are born, a groomer comes and cuts their ears and tails short."
The beastman who had reported this hastily covered his own ears and tail.
"Ugh, it hurts just thinking about it! Why would they do such a thing!"
"Drooping ears and tails can become weak points in a fight. The intent is to cut them in advance."
"Huh? Then do humans shave their heads bald because they're afraid someone will grab their hair when fighting?"
"I've heard there are actually humans who do that. It's probably the same... But that's an old story. Nowadays, it's just that the nobles favor short ears and tails."
"Are you saying they cut their ears and tails just to look good to humans? Why on earth do they cut them, and why do they like it?"
"It's the Empire's taste. How would I know?"
"I'm telling you I absolutely can't understand it!"
"Don't try to understand it, just accept it. That's the Empire for you. Still, I hear the situation has changed a little lately..."
Indulging in the wild fancy that it would be truly reassuring if the Baskerville Family had come to help, Sapien soon let out a scoff.
'That's impossible. Am I so cornered that I'm relying on delusions?'
It was just some dog beastmen tribe from somewhere coming to Ende for help. Sapien walked, guided by his subordinate, lost in thought.
'Come to think of it. They said blue eyes that seem to hold a will-o'-the-wisp were their characteristic. I'd like to see them once. If I still have the chance...'
However, Sapien did not know. That the chance would come in the worst possible form.
Grull and the Beast Faction advanced slowly. The Beast Faction warriors walked across the plains calmly, as if out for a stroll. After crossing a couple of hills, the familiar shaped land disappeared and an unfamiliar field appeared. And around them, wolves began to gather one by one.
One Beast Faction warrior, who had briefly tensed up, looked around.
"Hmm, they're not pouncing on us."
"They know we aren't prey they should deal with. They're probably just acting as watchers until a larger pack arrives."
"I know, but... Even when wolves form an army, their way of fighting is the same. A wolf is a wolf, I suppose."
Wolves don't form tight formations. They always keep their distance from each other while hounding their prey. They apply constant pressure, draining all the spirit of the beast, and then tear out its throat at the most lethal moment.
An all-out assault on the city. Instilling fear to split the herd and tearing apart the stragglers. That was certainly the way of the wolf.
However, Grull denied the warrior's assumption.
"They are different."
"Pardon?"
"Wolves are no longer a pack, but an army. The prey is not a beast, but a city. The scale has changed, but you think they just applied the exact same combat tactics? That itself is proof that they aren't wolves."
...However, deceiving the shepherd and striking the guard post in a single blow when their guard was down—that would be impossible without an understanding of the city.
"There is someone behind the wolves. We just couldn't discuss it further because we didn't know who... But now I know."
Shadows flickered around the wolves, and someone appeared. Humans wearing tunics walked through the wolves like shepherds. The wolves, which should have been biting humans, instead wagged their tails obediently and stepped aside.
Humans with dark, tanned skin stood before Grull under the sun. Among them, a bearded old man thumped his staff and pointed at Grull.
"Grull! You ugly bastard. Even you, who should have become the glory of the beastmen, have ultimately chosen to side with the hypocrites?"
"Why are you pointing fingers as if we're close, you ghosts of a ruined nation."
Just as they knew Grull, Grull knew who they were.
The Beast Faction is used with a meaning similar to barbarians. But the reason it is specifically called the Beast Faction is not only because they are beastmen, but also because they were a faction of a nation.
Manguk. A barbaric land alongside wild beasts, and the nation of sins committed by Wuhou Agartha.
The nation where beasts and humans lived mixed together split and scattered. But its remnants still remain. After Agartha died, the ghosts of the ruined nation barely maintaining their lineage in the southern jungles where it is harsh for humans to live.
The descendants of the high priests were trying to expand their power, even going so far as to form an alliance with the wolves.
"I suspected as much. You're the only ones who would pull off such crazy acts, but you're too weak to actually pull anything off. Though acting without even knowing your own circumstances is the real madness."
"Kuhahaha! Sometimes only a crazy act can pull you out of the swamp of life!"
"Crazy acts are crazy acts. It didn't pull you out of the swamp; the swamp spat you out."
"Whether spat out or pulled out, as long as we got a chance to end our miserable lives, isn't that enough! Whether it's misery or life!"
In the past, Wuhou Agartha committed a crazy act. Just from the fact that the result of that crazy act was the beastmen, one could roughly guess what they had done.
It was long before Grull was born. He didn't know what happened. However, one thing was certain. Even if the beastmen inherited Agartha's bloodline, they were never particularly well-treated.
"You're the same. How long are you going to live as pork? Join us. Then I'll spare you from the fate of being meat!"
The high priests who adhered to the orthodox lineage of Manguk saw beastmen as tools. The reason there are so many beastmen in the Beast Faction is that the beastmen who remained in that land even after Manguk fell couldn't endure the discrimination and joined the nomadic tribes.
Naturally, Grull also detested them. He had only been tolerating them, following the plains' teaching to not incur enmity carelessly, but now that enmity had been incurred, it was time to follow the teaching to crush them so they could never take revenge.
"Do you think you can defeat the vassal states and the Empire just by having the King of Wolves on your back?"
Grull lightly rubbed the ground with his foot. The movement was so small it only looked like he was pondering. The high priests answered without any particular vigilance.
"Of course not. The power of beasts has its limits."
"Who is behind you?"
"The Archdruid guards the forests and plains. The Grand Witch whispers the most wicked knowledge. The Progenitor vows blood vengeance. The Beast King reveals brutality to humans. All these wills collide, and they will lead that arrogant civilization to ruin!"
It was such a massive story that it even sounded absurd. Grull asked, continuing in a calm manner. While still leveling the ground with one foot.
"Did they all promise to lend you their power? What are you trusting in?"
"You fool. You're not making any sense, and your vision is too narrow. Where the hell do you think they will use that immense power they've gathered?"
"So they didn't particularly promise you anything."
"Can you trust a promise? We believe in the natural order rather than promises!"
"True, such great figures wouldn't make grand promises to you. You were turned away, and now you're just grabbing at their coattails."
"...It's best to grab at coattails when you can, Grull. No matter what you do... the ears and tail attached to you will never disappear."
A beastman is always a beastman. They can never become the same as humans. Grull inwardly agreed with his words.
But what the pig beastman wanted was not the collapse of order. Climbing the ladder of order to rule over others was what the pig beastman truly desired. Grull had realized that keenly after coming to Ende.
Even Grull himself, whether he wanted it or not, was currently playing the role of Ende's commander. To create a result that satisfied him.
"Do I really need to take someone's side? I just need to kill the bastards like you who keep trying to attach ears and tails to us first."
Grull stopped leveling the ground.
Qian Qigong is the power to grasp the world. Kun Qigong is the power to push and pull the earth. Since both are about controlling something outside the body, Qian and Kun are usually grouped together.
However, there is a huge difference between Qian and Kun.
Qian moves the world centered on the 'self'. Kun moves the 'self' centered on the world. The two are actually the same, but they feel as if they are different. That difference may seem trivial at first glance, but it remained a massive wall for a long time.
Grull remained stagnant in that realm for a long time. For a pig beastman who had lived a simple life, enlightenment was far too difficult.
But... thanks to his struggling to break free from there, he gained an opportunity. Grull, who gained inspiration from seeing a rhinoceros he met by chance and its overwhelming stomping, attained enlightenment and reached the Dao.
Earth Leveling.
The earth he leveled fell under his control. As much as he leveled the earth in advance, he could push and pull his body freely.
And during their conversation, Grull had leveled exactly the distance needed to reach the high priest.
The moment Grull shook off his Qigong and unleashed the Dao, the world pushed forward, and the high priest's body was torn into hundreds of pieces and scattered.