8. Alpha> Sian and Steel slowly walked toward the tree trunk, surveying their surroundings.
The closer they came to the body of the Kiculus from the roots, the thicker the roots became. And the closer they got to the trunk, the stronger the people living there were.
“Goodness… So the districts are divided here as well.”
Sian murmured as he recalled the days when he had played garan-tia in the El-Rua District. The closer one got to the trunk, the harder and thicker the roots became—so much so that it would be difficult to dig out a home without being at least as strong as Grang-Vander.
Even aside from that, this place clearly seemed more comfortable to live in than the lower regions. Even if enemies invaded, this area would be the last to be attacked, and the amount of energy here was greater than in the fine roots below, making it far more advantageous for cultivation.
“Well… They’re strong here, but they’re still humans, I suppose. The way they behave is quite similar. If anything, they seem even more uncivilized.”
Worshiping strength was not necessarily uncivilized, but they certainly did not seem interested in culture or the arts. Yet when one considered that such things had originally developed as a means for nobles to display their leisure, it seemed only natural that such things would not need to develop here. They always had to focus on cultivation, after all.
One thing was certain: there was not much to see. Sian did not know what the larger protectorates were like, but this place did not seem to possess any particularly distinctive culture.
As they continued upward and drew close to the trunk, the homes built by digging into the tree roots gradually disappeared, leaving only a neatly cleared road atop the roots. Following that road, they came upon a door made by hollowing out a huge section of the tree trunk. It was presumably where the nobles responsible for protecting this area lived.
Sian did not know what material it was made from, but it even had a proper door attached to it.
“Hmm… Should I knock…?”
Since he did not know the customs of this place, Sian briefly wondered what he should do to call someone out from inside. But there was no need. The enormous door opened smoothly. It ought to have creaked, but somehow, the door slid open with a gentle, almost unbelievable silence.
A man with a mild expression stood inside. His aura, however, was anything but mild. Sian could sense the power faintly leaking from him. Judging by that aura, the man seemed to be around the same level as Mr. Ragaofe. Ragaofe had once said that he was a baron, so this man was surely a baron as well.
“Pleased to meet you. My name is Gestalt.”
“Ah… It’s a pleasure. I’m Sian.”
“The viscount is waiting for you inside. Please come in for now.”
“Uh… Yes, all right.”
Taken aback by the other man’s unexpectedly gentle attitude, Sian followed him inside with a bewildered expression.
The interior was quite spacious. Then again, the tree itself was so enormous that hollowing out a space of this size in its bark did not seem likely to cause any problems.
There were decorations inside that appeared to have been made from the wood that had been excavated. From the furniture to the peculiar carvings hanging on the walls, everything had a different appearance, but their common feature was immediately obvious.
They had all been carved by hand.
They were neatly and skillfully made, but it was difficult to call them artistically exceptional. Thus, they were not enough to satisfy the discerning eyes of Steel and Sian, who had encountered all kinds of culture and art on the La-Sian Continent.
After passing through those decorations, they arrived at a fairly enormous cavern. Three men and one woman were standing inside.
‘The three men are barons… And the man standing in the middle must be the viscount.’
They said that it was difficult to identify superhumans when they concealed their auras, but that only applied when there was a certain gap in their levels. Although Sian could not sense the resonance of Akra, his eyes could roughly tell what realms they had reached.
Based on that, Sian could also make a rough guess as to Steel’s realm.
‘She should be at the level of a count, too.’
There was quite a gap between Steel’s strength and that of the man called the viscount, who was supposedly the strongest person there. Sian had never seen anyone at the level of a count, but judging by the difference between the barons and the viscount present, that seemed about right.
While Sian was lost in thought, someone from the other side spoke first.
“Greetings. I am Viscount Locke. I am responsible for protecting this place.”
“Ah, I’m Sian.”
“I’m Steel. Hehe.”
Upon seeing the man in front of him, Viscount Locke fell into confusion. The woman appeared even stronger in person than he had expected. But he could not understand what the man accompanying that noble was supposed to be. Still, the two seemed close, and there was no reason to create trouble by mistreating the man. Thus, Viscount Locke put aside his curiosity and focused on the conversation.
“What brings you here? Have you come to settle down, perhaps?”
He was uneasy, but that was the most likely possibility, so Viscount Locke asked cautiously. There was every chance that this woman, who had become a noble without Akra, had learned of its existence and come to obtain a supply of it. From the look of things, the seed inside her body had only recently begun to grow, suggesting that she had not practiced Akrata for long. If she had learned of Akra’s existence, it would be only natural for her to covet it.
The protectorate under his protection was relatively well populated with commoners, as he had managed it with considerable care despite being a viscount’s protectorate. That was why four barons had gathered beneath him.
But it would be a little lacking for someone at the level of a count to make a living from. And yet they had come all the way here. If he had to split it with that man, hardly anything would be left for them.
‘Damn it… Should I hand it over and move somewhere else…?’
But he had worked too hard to develop this place. As Viscount Locke anxiously fretted inwardly, the woman opened her mouth.
“Hmm… I hadn’t thought of that at all, but it sounds like a pretty good idea.”
‘Oh no…’
Viscount Locke had brought up something unnecessary and stirred up trouble. As he cursed inwardly, the man spoke.
“Miss Steel, please don’t tease him. We came here because there is something we would like to find out. We thought we might need to speak with someone of a certain rank to learn about it.”
“Ah… Is that so?”
“I was serious, though. You’re too much, little brother.”
“…”
“What is it you wish to find out?”
Locke deliberately ignored the woman and decided to focus on speaking with the man. He found it more comfortable to converse with the man before him, since his pride had already been wounded by the thought that he ought to show respect to a woman who seemed stronger than himself.
“Well… We are looking for someone.”
Sian then described the man he was searching for: his appearance, his name, and a few simple characteristics.
After listening quietly, Viscount Locke asked with an incredulous expression,
“Is that all? Do you have no more information? For instance, perhaps the baron had settled in a certain protectorate… Or perhaps he possessed a distinctive supernatural ability…”
“…”
“How are you supposed to find him across this vast continent with only that? Perhaps it would be possible if he held a high rank, but a baron… Besides, dozens of barons are born and disappear every year. The fact that he appeared recently is of no help at all.”
The baron was both the easiest rank to attain and the rank with the most people dying after acting as though the sky itself had no limits. It seemed that this man was looking for someone named Ragaofe, who was a baron, but there was no way to find him with that amount of information.
“Hmm… Then have you perhaps heard any of these names? Livias, Lovanoton, Karakal, Groin…”
Sian proceeded to list the names of the twelve superhumans he knew. As he listened to the names being recited one by one, the viscount realized that one of them was familiar.
“Con-Rad?”
“You know him?”
“Hmm… I don’t know whether the Con-Rad I know is the same one you mean, but… I do know Duke Con-Rad.”
The viscount then told them what he knew about Duke Con-Rad.
Duke Con-Rad.
A newly emerged noble who had appeared on the continent like a comet five years ago. In recent times, he was one of the two names heard most frequently.
A duke was difficult to find even across this vast continent, unlike the commonplace barons. They were beings who appeared perhaps once every few decades—those who had grown stronger and stronger, broken through their barriers, and risen to the highest position among the human race.
They were explorers of the limits, people who had been blocked by the wall that represented the limit of the human race.
Of course, even among those who had reached the limit, there were differences in strength, since they pursued power in different directions. But they were all undeniably mighty beings whom ordinary nobles could scarcely dare to look up to.
Con-Rad was one who had seized the title of duke. Having appeared on the continent five years ago, he was rapidly expanding his influence. He was based in the eastern region, an enormous distance from Locke’s domain at the very western edge of the continent, yet his name had reached even Locke’s ears.
There was nothing particularly surprising about Con-Rad rapidly building up his influence from nothing. It was only natural for a powerful being to establish a vast faction. If necessary, he could simply invade a marquis’s domain and place them all beneath his feet. If enough marquises gathered, they could put up some resistance against a duke—but why would they oppose one? It was far more convenient to submit and divide the Akra among themselves.
Furthermore, dukes were beings who had been stopped by the barrier. They could no longer grow stronger through the energy of Akra, and therefore pursued strength in other directions. If one remained beneath a duke, one received his protection while keeping all the Akra for oneself, so everyone wished to enter a duke’s service and receive his patronage. From the duke’s perspective, however, there was nothing to gain, which was why no duke had ever built up a faction before.
Except for House Lorval.
What had astonished the continent was not that he had rapidly built up a faction, but that he had appeared so suddenly.
There was no way for an immensely powerful duke to simply appear out of nowhere. By the time beings capable of becoming dukes were still marquises, they already protected an enormous Kiculus tree in one region, commanded countless commoners, and ruled over a great number of counts, viscounts, and barons. Their scale was incomparable to Locke’s viscount’s domain. Once a domain reached the level of a marquisate, the Kiculus tree grew so tall that it covered the sky and so vast that it devoured mountain ranges. The marquises who established themselves there continuously cultivated using its energy until they eventually became dukes. Then, upon becoming dukes, they left that place like birds leaving their nests. Dukes had reached a realm where they no longer needed Akra’s assistance.
Yet Con-Rad had gone against that order. He had been a duke from the moment he appeared, and was expanding his influence on the strength of his overwhelming power.
That was why the nobles across the continent looked upon him with such fascination. A duke was expanding his influence. Locke did not have much information, since he was so far away and had little interest in the matter, but of course he knew the name of the man who was shaking the continent.
Still, it was only natural for Viscount Locke to be surprised when the seemingly uninformed man suddenly mentioned the name of Con-Rad, the new sovereign of the east.
After hearing the viscount’s words, Sian’s face lit up with excitement. He had not expected much, since he himself possessed so little information about Ragaofe, but he had finally found a lead.
“Oh! Then can we learn more information about him?”
“Well… The thing is…”
Sian could not hide his disappointment when he heard the viscount’s reply. He had learned that there were not many people who knew of Con-Rad’s whereabouts.
“I hear that he is constantly moving from one domain to another. Even for a duke, it must be quite exhausting to travel endlessly through so many domains. Since no one can know where a duke will go, nobody can determine his location until he appears. I hear that the most recent place he visited was Count Levadan’s domain… Would you like to try going there?”
“Then…”
Just as Sian was about to ask about the nearby count’s domains, two people hurried into the rear of the meeting room and called out to Viscount Locke.
“My lord!”
Locke looked over to see who it was. One of them was Baron Gerahim, who had not been present at the meeting. The person beside him was someone Locke had seen once before.
‘Raul… Was that his name?’
Baron Gerahim should have been out on patrol, so why had he rushed here in such a hurry…? Viscount Locke suddenly felt uneasy. Looking at Baron Gerahim, he opened his mouth.
“What is the matter?”
He asked Gerahim, but it was the baron beside him who answered.
“It is a serious matter.”
“Hmm? Baron Raul? What do you mean, a serious matter?”
“An Alpha has appeared.”
“…
“An Alpha? Damn… What species?”
At the word Alpha, Viscount Roke’s expression turned grave. Seeing that expression, Sian and Steel forgot what they had meant to ask and looked at Viscount Roke with curiosity.
“It is… the Gran, who live near the western forest among the hostile species.”
“…
“An Alpha among the Gran? Hah… Now that is something……”
After hearing the story, Viscount Roke made an ambiguous expression.
Sian and Steel, who had been watching that expression, also looked curious.
“What happened?”
“It was during a patrol… We discovered this man running toward our protectorate. We heard about the Alpha from him.”
“Is that so? You said you were Baron Raul? Tell us what happened.”
Viscount Roke asked while looking at Baron Raul, who opened his mouth now that he seemed to have calmed down somewhat.
“It happened a few days ago……”
☆ ☆ ☆
Baron Raul, who governed the Raul Baronial Domain, let out a rough laugh as he thought of those people who had insolently left his territory not long ago.
“Arrogant commoners… If I protect them, of course they should pay a price of that magnitude. What could possibly be more precious than their lives……”
Born a commoner, Baron Raul possessed usable talent and was able to transform into a noble around the age of eighty. Trembling at the immense power he felt for the first time, Baron Raul ran wild without knowing that there was anything higher in the world. With such immense power, he felt as if he could truly do anything.
Of course, it did not take long for him to learn that this was an illusion. Even as a commoner, he had lived while crossing the boundary between life and death, but the world of nobles was no easy matter either. No, because he had been among the stronger commoners, he had walked around with his chin held high. But the moment he became a noble, he found himself at the very bottom of the hierarchy and had to constantly watch the moods of other nobles.
The protectorates of the powerful nobles were already crammed full of people around his own level, all carving up Akra among themselves, leaving no place for him. On top of that, Raul hated having someone above his head.
That was why he had come all the way down to this rural backwater and settled among a suitable group of commoners. Since there were not many of them, the supply of Akra was small, and the other nobles had not put down roots here. But that did not matter to him. No matter how hard he tried to grow stronger, there would always be someone above him. In that case, he chose to rule here, fulfill his desires, and live out the remainder of his lifespan. Since the commoner group was small, no nobles came charging in to demand a share, which made things more convenient.
The ones who left were amusing as well. Since he had little interest in the supply of Akra, it did not matter if a few of them disappeared. In fact, merely imagining the sight of them dying and crawling back to the protectorate in desperation put him in a good mood.
“Heh-heh… They have lasted longer than I expected……”
Baron Raul, who had been laughing pleasantly, hoped that the daughter of one of them, a man named Parhum, would definitely return alive. She was quite pretty, after all. And if Parhum could not contain his anger and attacked him, it would be even better if Raul could seize the opportunity to kill him. The man’s talent was greater than Raul’s had been as a commoner. It would be good to kill him while he had the chance.
As he was lost in various thoughts, something was caught by Raul’s sense perception. An ominous aura wafted from the forest to the west of his territory.
Baron Raul, who knew what lay there, pulled a displeased face.
“Surely nothing has happened to Apental, right? Tsk……”
Though nothing would happen as long as one did not enter Apental, Raul was still deeply uncomfortable knowing that such an abomination existed near his domain. He rose from his bed, leaving behind the woman he had been holding, and shot out through the window. He intended to see what was happening.
But when Raul saw a vague shape in the distance, he snorted. Familiar dwarves and insects.
They were the Gran who lived in the forest, along with their subordinates, the Antain.
They were still very far away, but those bastards had crawled out of the forest without a shred of fear and were marching toward the territory where he, a noble, resided.
“Hah. They must be insane. Those mere Narija trash……”
Thinking that this was a welcome development, since he had been bored anyway, Raul drew the sword he kept in his quarters. But just as he was about to charge forward, he stopped short.
As they drew closer, the creatures looked somewhat different from those he normally knew.
Where had their bluish, usually bruised-looking skin gone? They now looked as if they had been drenched from head to toe in bright-red blood.
The Antain at the front had discarded the frail-looking shells they usually wore and apparently equipped themselves with new gear, for their armor was unimaginably thick.
But compared to the final change, that was trivial. Their savage eyes seemed ready to burst from their sockets, and a chilling aura radiated from their entire bodies, creating a filthy, unpleasant sensation.
Raul caught all those changes, and a chill ran down his spine. He realized what had happened.
“Damn it… An Alpha has appeared!”
A revolution of the species. The birth of an Alpha, something nobles were so wary of. Judging by the state of those creatures, it seemed to have happened without his knowledge.
This was not a problem he could resolve at his level. As Raul searched for somewhere to request help, he thought of the Roke Viscountal Domain—the largest and nearest protectorate in the vicinity.
Then, seeing the Antain charging toward his protectorate at tremendous speed, he began running toward the Roke Viscountal Domain without even looking back.
☆ ☆ ☆
“That is what happened to me a few days ago. Then I met Baron Gerahim and arrived here.”
Seeing Baron Raul’s proud expression, as if he had accomplished some great deed, Sian made a strange face. From the sound of it, he had thrown all the commoners under his protection to the enemy as bait and fled, yet judging by his expression, he seemed to think he had successfully played the role of an exemplary scout.
‘No wonder that man Parhum decided to run away…….’
With an attitude like that, it was obvious how he normally treated the commoners. Sian clicked his tongue.
‘More importantly, an Alpha…….’
Sian did not know what an Alpha was, but after seeing the grave expressions of the gathered barons and viscounts, he decided to ask once everything was over.
“An Alpha among the Gran… We did not detect any such signs during our regular patrols……”
“No… More importantly, given the characteristics of the Gran, even if an Alpha were born… it should take an extremely long time for the entire species to change… How could it happen so quickly……”
Unless the man named Raul was lying, the Gran had already undergone a considerable degree of change. That was what troubled Viscount Roke. Even if an Alpha had been born during a gap between regular patrols, the characteristics of the Gran meant that it should take an immense amount of time for the entire species to change.
Unable to join their conversation, Sian eventually gave in to his curiosity and opened his mouth.
“Um… What is an Alpha?”
“……?”
“You do not have to look at me like that. If there is something I am curious about, I can ask, can I not?”
“Hah… Well, that is something.”
When some insignificant wretch who had been shoved into a corner suddenly opened his mouth to ask a pointless question, Raul clicked his tongue with an incredulous expression. He could not even sense the resonance of Akra from him; he seemed like the lowest of the low among commoners, and yet he had suddenly decided to speak up.
Already irritated at having lost his entire domain, Raul considered taking out his anger on this eyesore. But since everyone was watching, he decided to hold back for now. He could not cause trouble in someone else’s territory.
‘That bastard……?’
Steel had roughly noticed what that squid-like man was thinking as he stared at his dear younger brother Sian, and was already considering how to crush Raul. Unaware of this, Raul continued glaring at Sian.
Seeing the standoff, Viscount Roke deliberately ignored it and opened his mouth to answer the question.
‘Well… If he causes trouble, that will be to my benefit. I might as well find out who that man really is.’
“I am surprised you do not know about Alphas. I will explain them to you.”
And Roke began explaining Alphas.
☆ ☆ ☆
The limits of a species are clear.
This was a fact known to everyone living on the continent.
Some species could never obtain the strength of the noble class, which allowed its members to alter their external parameters. No matter how strong they became, no matter how much time passed. Regardless of their traits or numbers, such species were classified as Narija-rank species.
Species in which the noble class never arose, and which therefore posed no threat whatsoever to nobles. Hostile species might threaten commoners because of their numbers, aggression, and dangerous traits, but they posed no threat at all to nobles. The difference in strength between nobles and commoners was absolute.
Above them were the Rotan-rank species.
These were species whose individual members could steadily grow and, if they continued striving, easily surpass commoners and obtain strength on the level of nobles. The human species also belonged to the Rotan-rank species.
Naturally, species whose individual members could reach the Rotan rank were sufficient threats to nobles, regardless of their numbers or aggression.
Thus, the nobles joined forces and wiped out all Rotan-rank hostile species between their domains, leaving behind only Narija-rank hostile species. That was the only way to ensure their safety while maintaining a smooth supply of Akra. If the Lorval Ducal House had not protected the commoners’ rights to Akra, they would have wiped out even the Narija-rank species and bound the commoners like slaves. But once the Lorval Ducal House had proclaimed that right, this was the best arrangement. Even the Lorval Ducal House did not interfere beyond that point.
Then a question arose. Why did the nobles want to wipe out the Narija-rank species, which posed no threat to them whatsoever?
The reason was the Alphas—beings that were occasionally born among the species.
Mutant individuals of a species, born among the insect-like Narija-rank species that normally posed no threat at all.
No research had yet determined what kind of environment was required for such mutant individuals to form. As a result, they could not be prevented. No one knew the conditions.
An Alpha was an individual that broke through the limits of its species and opened the path to the next stage. An individual that could become a sufficient threat to nobles.
In truth, a single Alpha was nothing special. Even if it broke through that wall, it had merely reached the realm of a baron. A single baronial protectorate was more than capable of wiping out something of that level.
Nevertheless, nobles were always wary of and vigilant about the birth of Alphas. Commoners might think that nobles did nothing but cultivate, but they regularly inspected and patrolled the Narija-rank species between their domains. This was so that if an Alpha were born among the Narija-rank hostile species between their territories, they could crush it while it was still weak. The number of Alphas killed by Viscount Roke alone exceeded several dozen.
Commoners did not know this, but among nobles, who lived for a very long time, stories had been passed down for thousands of years about what kind of catastrophe occurred when the traits of a dangerous species combined with an Alpha.
The birth of the dangerous, powerful hostile species that swept across the entire continent thousands of years ago: the food-beast
It was so long ago that no one even remembered the exact era.
The human factions were gradually weakening as the commoner population dwindled, but they were still powerful. The nobles who represented the military might of the human species continued to flaunt their strength.
The Lorval Ducal House argued that the commoner population had to be increased to preserve the human species, but the arrogant nobles merely pretended to listen and never took the warning to heart.
The things living in the Forbidden Lands were frightening, but the Forbidden Lands were, as the name suggested,
Under such circumstances, there was no way Duke Lorval’s claim that they would be overtaken by other races if things continued like this could get through to anyone. Rather, the other nobles even mocked him, wondering whether the duke’s reputation had been inflated, when they saw him anxiously fretting. He was probably stronger than them, but seeing him act like that made them think he was nothing special.
Naturally, Alpha was not particularly worried either. Even if creatures called Alphas appeared, they were merely variants, and monsters barely at the Baron level—ones that had only broken through the Wall—were nothing more than toys. In fact, many nobles would wait until an Alpha appeared and its race had grown to a certain degree before beginning the hunt. After all, prey had to be somewhat strong to be entertaining.
Then an accident occurred. More precisely, an Alpha born among the two monstrous races living in the eastern part of the continent caused a disaster.
Many hostile species, including Rotan- and Narija-level races, lived at the eastern end of the continent, but the race that gave birth to the Alpha who became the beginning of the Great Calamity was one of two species.
The beast race Murakan, which lived on a peninsula at the northeastern tip of the continent.
And farther south, on the peninsula divided by a long, narrow sea, lived the Swarm, a colonial parasitic race.
These two races were Narija-level species in which Alphas were born with bizarrely low frequency, and even without humans driving them out, they had naturally been pushed back in terms of influence until they were confined to two peninsulas in the northeast.
The two races possessed strange traits.
Murakan. A peculiar beast-like race that devoured anything and everything. The reason they were merely called beast-like was that their forms were not fixed. They grew stronger by absorbing the strengths and appearances of the races they consumed—a grotesque species. At a glance, their traits made them seem incredibly powerful, but the nobles had only one assessment of them.
What was the use of absorbing strengths and evolving, when no nobles were ever born among them? In the end, no matter how strong they became, they were nothing more than pets. The nobles even had a hobby of capturing them, feeding them by hand, and raising them into handsome forms through evolution.
And then there was the Swarm. In some ways, they resembled the Murakan, but were slightly different. Resembling tiny—truly tiny—silver insects, they traveled in groups numbering in the thousands, hundreds of millions, or tens of billions, crawling across the ground like a silver slime. They devoured any species caught in their wave, then clung to its body and lived there. Those swept up in the wave ended up looking as though they had been covered in silver slime.
Their method of growing stronger was also simple. They parasitized the species they absorbed. Then they absorbed and assimilated information about its essence—the source of that species’ strength—and sent it to the strongest mental entity ruling the colony. From then on, any creature parasitized by the Swarm would accept Swarm that shared all the colony’s information and could display that strength in its entirety. But the nobles’ assessment of this race was equally harsh.
To begin with, the Swarm could not even invade the bodies of nobles. Moreover, the species they devoured and strengthened through remained unable to escape the limitations of the Narija level. The creatures were not even treated as pets.
That was why, one day, an Alpha was born among these two races, which had been driven back by the surrounding Rotan-level races and humans until they were huddled away in the corners of their peninsulas.
And what that Alpha did was very simple.
No sooner had those words ended than the Murakans nearby rushed forward and devoured the Alpha.
Rather than melting down and eating the Alpha, the Swarm made it the colony’s dominant mental entity.
At that very moment, a change occurred. It was not merely that single individual; every member of the races that had devoured the Alpha began to evolve into Alphas. Both the Murakans and the Swarm.
After that, it became an endless cycle. The ordinary Murakans around one Murakan that had become an Alpha devoured it in turn, and then other Murakans devoured yet another Murakan that had become an Alpha…
The Swarm was even faster. The moment the dominant mental entity became an Alpha, every Swarm beneath it shared the Alpha’s secret, immediately opening the path to evolution into Alphas.
In an instant, every member of the Murakans and the Swarm began transcending their limits at an astonishing speed, transforming from Narija-level species into absurdly powerful Rotan-level races composed of Alpha-class individuals. Then, with a mad momentum, they devoured the surrounding races and expanded their territory. They left the peninsulas and stretched outward to enlarge their domains. The Murakans went west, while the Swarm went south.
And humans were among the Rotan-level races lying along their paths.
All the nobles, including the marquises, were horrified. Naturally, individual strength still fell short of that of the dukes and marquises. But their numbers were simply too great.
The reason nobles of one rank were said to be unable to defeat nobles of the rank above them was not because of an absolute difference in strength. It was simply that the nobles below could not band together in sufficient numbers to defeat an upper-ranking noble. Nor did they have any reason to unite and risk their lives opposing a noble of a higher rank.
But both the Swarm and the Murakans possessed staggering numbers. That was also why Apental was forbidden. The monsters within it were likewise Rotan-level creatures, but there were simply far too many of them.
They numbered several dozen times more than the human nobles, and as humans were swept away and devoured, their forces rapidly multiplied.
Then, when the entire continent was being swept away by those creatures in a state of utter chaos, the House of Duke Lorval stepped forward.
They then displayed their insane strength, driving back the Murakans and the Swarm at an incredible speed.
The other noble houses trembled at the power of the ducal house. Only then did they realize just how much strength belonged to those who had broken through the Wall.
But the battle must not have been easy even for them. After frantically driving the Murakans and the Swarm back into the peninsulas, the ducal house did no more than move its headquarters between them and block the creatures from emerging.
Then they added one more proposal to the ones they had made before.
What happened afterward proceeded as everyone knew. Through this incident, the nobles realized what would happen if a race with dangerous traits were to unite with an Alpha. They cast aside their arrogance and began unifying the entire continent around Akrata and the Kiculus trees.
Then they completely eradicated the Rotan-level races between their territories, along with any Narija-level races deemed to possess dangerous traits. They would have liked to wipe out the Narija-level races as well, but if they did, there would be no commoners left. Who would offer Akra and request protection if they were safe?
They would have preferred to bind them all as slaves, but the nobles who had witnessed the power of the House of Duke Lorval with their own eyes had no confidence to reject the laws it had established. Later, the nobles also realized that this arrangement was more profitable. Commoners with the path to strength open before them trained harder, and as a result, more Akra could be obtained than by forcibly extracting it.
Having acknowledged the necessity of Narija-level hostile species, the nobles constantly conducted patrols, wary of the possibility that an Alpha might be born. They had eliminated races with threatening traits, but one could never be too careful.
☆ ☆ ☆
“Hm… So that’s what happened.”
“That is so. The Gran were clearly not a race with dangerous traits. That is why we allowed them to live until now. But for the number of Alpha individuals to increase so suddenly…”
By their nature, they were not a species in which Alpha traits could spread over a short period. Besides, it had not even been a month since the last regular patrol. But what good was it to argue over the details? The result was already there.
From what they had heard, the Gran were no longer a Narija-level race. They had already grown powerful enough to require reclassification as Rotan-level.
“Damn it. Did they eat something good… Those dwarf bastards…”
Raul spat out bitterly.
“More importantly… this is no time for this. We should notify the surrounding protectorates as well.”
From what they had heard, this was not a problem a single Baron-level protectorate could solve alone. They needed to warn the surrounding protectorates, scout the area, then pool their forces and annihilate them.
“Kagera, how many twins are there in our protectorate?”
“All the twins corresponding to the three Baron-level protectorates and two Baronet-level protectorates nearby are present.”
“Send word through those children at once.”
“Understood.”
Twins born on this continent were naturally endowed with the ability
“And the remaining barons are to follow Baron Raul, confirm the location of those races, and determine their direction.”
“Eh…? Me?”
Baron Raul, who had been standing there blankly before suddenly being dragged into the matter, stared at Viscount Rok.
“Yes, you. You should guide them, should you not? There are no Kiculus trees over there.”
Viscount Rok’s eyes flashed as he looked at Baron Raul. Seeing that gaze, Baron Raul lowered his tail. The look in the viscount’s eyes suggested he would smack him if he refused to go.
Grumbling inwardly about how he had been dragged into this through sheer bad luck, Raul was forcibly taken away.
After all the other barons had left, Viscount Rok looked at Steel and Sian. He pondered for a moment before speaking. If they intended to leave, he could not stop them. Steel was a count, after all. Besides, if they fought alongside the protectorate, they could hold out until support arrived from nearby.
“You may leave if you wish. This is a matter the protectorates must resolve. You may not know this here, but if you go to a count’s domain, you will probably be able to obtain information about Duke Kon—
Rad. I would ask through the twins, but there are no twins here connected to Revadan.”
Sian pondered Viscount Rok’s proposal for a moment, then decided to accept it, assuming that the viscount must have some plan in mind to make such a suggestion.
“Excuse me…”
“What is it?”
“Do you happen to have something like a map?”
Viscount Rok stared at Sian with an expression that seemed to ask what he was talking about.
“What do you mean? You are nobles, are you not? Then you can simply follow the direction of the Kiculus through Akra.”
“……?”
“Ah… You do not have Akra…”
Only then did Viscount Rok understand the situation and let out a hollow laugh.
“…”
“Do all the nobles here find their way using Akra?”
“That is so. We sense the Akra resonance of the Kiculus trees that make up the protectorates and follow it. Commoners cannot do so, of course…”
“A map…”
“Where would you find such a thing? It is unnecessary.”
“……”
“To reach the Revadan County, follow the Kiculus of Viscounty Kokul, then follow the resonance of the Kiculus in Revadan County. I am afraid I cannot help you due to the circumstances. What will you do?”
They were on the verge of being attacked, and Sian could not ask any of them to guide him while they were busy with that. It seemed he would be trapped here with no choice until Miss Steel’s Akra grew enough, so he scratched the back of his head.
Perhaps thanks to Baron Raul’s wishes, the scouts did not venture far and were able to return soon.
“My lord!”
“Gerahim, what is it?”
“They… They are coming straight through here. Judging by their momentum, they should arrive within a few days. Moreover… the number of Alphas is considerable.”
Fortunately, not every Gran had transformed into an Alpha and obtained noble-level strength. It seemed that only those of the rank of chieftain or great warrior, whom they had observed a month ago, had transformed into Alphas. But this was by no means a situation in which they could let down their guard. Their overall strength had risen tremendously. The feeble dwarf bastards had grown two or three stages stronger across the board.
“…”
“Damn it.”
Viscount Rok glared at Baron Raul, his eyes flashing. He had behaved himself in front of Steel, a count, but Viscount Rok was not a particularly mild-tempered man either.
Baron Raul flinched at that expression, but believing that he had done nothing wrong, he straightened his shoulders again.
Viscount Locke, seeing their condition, gave Baron Raul an order and assigned him a room. This was no time to concern himself with trivial matters. Of all places, they had come to his dominion…
Viscount Locke had gone down to hold a conference with the nobles of the surrounding protectorates through the twins. The Rottan species had to be wiped out by the nobles of the surrounding protectorates before it could sprout.
☆ ☆ ☆
Raul, staying in the room Viscount Locke had prepared for him, was seething over the treatment he had received from the viscount.
‘A subjugation campaign against the Rottan species before your eyes will be carried out soon, so you are included. Take part.’
He had no particular complaint about that. In fact, it was what he had expected when he came here in the first place. If he fled from this place and earned the ire of the higher nobles, life would be difficult for him for a long time to come. And if the nobles joined forces, those dwarf-like creatures would hardly pose much of a threat.
The problem was the treatment given to the other two. More precisely, the treatment given to one breathtakingly beautiful woman and one half-baked fellow. Both of them looked like commoners, yet Viscount Locke had treated the pair excessively well—unfairly so. Apparently, he had even offered to let them leave whenever they wished.
Raul could not complain openly to Viscount Locke, but when he voiced his dissatisfaction to Kagera, another baron, Kagera had said something unexpected.
‘You can do whatever you like to them. Nothing will come of it. Do as you please.’
Of course, Raul did not take those words at face value. His fists might fly faster than expected, but he did possess some common sense. There had to be a reason why a noble of viscount rank would give commoners a room in the pillar and allow them to stay there.
What irritated him even more was that they had been given better rooms. Besides, he could not sleep without a woman, yet he was wary of laying a hand on the viscount’s people. He was driven nearly mad.
‘Damn it… I don’t know.’
He did not know how much of Kagera’s words were true, but even if those two were important figures, surely they would not choose such beggars over him with an important battle approaching.
Unable to bear it any longer, Raul rose and set out to find the commoners.
☆ ☆ ☆
Sian and Steel had come outside because they were bored after spending time in the room Viscount Locke had prepared for them. As they rested, they suddenly sensed the presence of an unwelcome visitor searching their room and exchanged puzzled looks.
“Isn’t that the one called Raul?”
“Indeed. Why is that half-baked fellow acting like that?”
“Hmm… Judging by his aura, I can more or less guess why.”
“Little brother.”
“Yes?”
“I haven’t been here very long, but… there seem to be a lot of deficient people here.”
“Well… rather than that, let’s say they’re simply being faithful to human nature.”
It was a strange world without laws, born from the enormous differences in individual martial power. There was only the right of strength, and those judged weaker than oneself were treated without mercy. Viscount Locke had probably become compliant after watching Miss Steel beat four half-baked fellows senseless. Even without Akra, he could have understood from observing her movements.
The man called Raul had opened the room, realized that the two were absent, and was now searching here and there among the tree trunks. His intention of bickering with them before attempting something ethically unacceptable was so obvious that Sian sighed.
He could sense how much Steel was enjoying this. Whether that Raul fellow knew it or not.
“Miss Steel…”
“Yes, yes. A club. But he’s technically a Superhuman too. I’m not sure this will be enough. What if he gets hurt? Little brother, can you heal him?”
“…”
Come to think of it, that man was also a Superhuman. A club that did not leave wounds seemed a little inadequate for beating him, so Sian took out the gloves he had stored inside Karnain and put them on Miss Steel’s hands.
“Hehe.”
“Well, do as you please.”
Since it was obvious what the man had come here intending to do, Sian had little desire to stop her.
Before long, Raul appeared in the clearing beside the trunk, huffing and puffing. Judging by his appearance, he seemed to have become even more heated during his search.
“He looks like a wild boar from here.”
“…”
The moment Raul spotted them, he came striding over, breathing heavily. Sian ran through the possibilities in his mind. Since this was a viscount’s domain, the baron probably could not pick a fight carelessly. Thus, Sian could think of roughly three options available to a man who did not seem overflowing with intelligence.
1. Bump into them and pick a quarrel, provoking a preemptive attack and establishing self-defense.
2. Suddenly sexually harass them, provoke a preemptive attack, and establish self-defense.
3. Insult them personally, provoke a preemptive attack, and establish self-defense.
‘What will it be…?’
The result was predetermined no matter what he chose, but Sian was still curious about the man’s imagination.
He had underestimated Raul.
4. Punch the man without a word, take the woman along, and spend a happy night.
That was the conclusion Raul had reached after wandering through the trunk for quite some time.
Wham-wham-wham!
Seeing the fist flying toward him, Sian was so dumbfounded that he let out an involuntary hollow laugh.
“Huh?”
Clack.
“Mm!”
Yet no one was as surprised as Baron Raul, whose fist had been caught.
“Gaaah! What is this! You bastard—”
When the fist caught in his hand would not come free, Raul was startled and threw a punch with his left hand. But the bookish bastard holding his right hand while quietly contemplating something simply twisted his head this way and that, dodging every punch without moving from where he stood.
‘What…?’
Only then did Raul realize that something had gone terribly wrong. When he looked at the woman beside him, she was smiling brightly as she took something out.
Clack.
“Mm? Miss Steel? What is this…”
“Little brother, what are you hesitating for? You’re not planning to just massage his fists a little and call it a day, are you?”
What the woman handed the man was a metal rod. The moment Raul saw the club, gooseflesh rose all over his body.
“Urgh!”
He no longer swung his fists, focusing solely on escaping while channeling his power with all his might, but it was already too late.
“Well… I suppose there have to be days like this. I’m sorry. I seem to have left too much to Miss Steel until now. Still, I am a man.”
“Hehe, why apologize? I did it because I enjoyed it. Don’t worry about it. I’ll yield to you today.”
Seeing the man swing the arm holding the club round and round, Raul wore an expression of despair.
☆ ☆ ☆
“…
What happened to your face?”
“Nothing.”
“…
It looks like more than just your face.”
“I’m fine.”
Viscount Locke wondered what had happened to Baron Raul during the night, but he decided to proceed with the meeting.
“The creatures are advancing straight toward us. After contacting the surrounding protectorates… fifteen barons and five viscounts from the neighboring territories have agreed to take part. It is best to burn them out at the earliest stage, after all.”
“Oh.”
Raul stopped rubbing the corner of his eye and exclaimed in admiration. If that many nobles participated, wiping out an enemy species born at the level of the Rottans would be as easy as scooping cold porridge. His chances of survival would rise dramatically.
“The counts will probably take some time to arrive… We will defend ourselves with the Kiculus and look for an opportunity to strike them down.”
The distances between the protectorates were vast, so even after receiving word through the twins, it would take time for the nobles to arrive. They could not tell how strong the newly born alphas were merely by watching them from a distance, but fortunately, there were only around fifty of them. That number should be manageable if the barons and viscounts joined forces and fought with the Kiculus.
‘At this rate, we probably won’t need the counts… But just in case…’
After the various discussions ended and he left the room, Steel and Sian were waiting outside.
Seeing Baron Raul flinch, Viscount Locke understood where he had gone and who had beaten him senseless the previous day. The only unexpected part was that Raul was frightened not by Count Steel, but by the man named Sian.
‘So he has another trick up his sleeve after all…’
Whatever it was, if it was enough to frighten Baron Raul, it had to be considerable. Thinking that he had done well to provoke this fool beside them instead of touching them directly, Viscount Locke smiled and greeted Sian.
“Did you sleep well?”
“Yes. By the way, are preparations proceeding smoothly?”
“We have been observing them steadily, but it should end without incident. More importantly… Is your Akra charging properly?”
“It is terribly slow.”
“You are meant to cultivate it over your entire lifetime… It will take time. Take it slowly and give it time.”
As they spoke, Viscount Locke felt somewhat more at ease. The nobles were unidentified, but their martial power was genuine.
‘Surely they won’t refuse to help us?’
The thought that they would help when things came to a head strengthened his confidence.
☆ ☆ ☆
Grrrr…
Kukuru drooled as he stared at the enormous tree visible in the distance. It was a dangerous place they had never been able to invade. But things were different now. They had changed.
He had tried to bring meat out of that strange spring, but for some reason, whenever he passed through the water carrying meat, it all melted away inside. It was not a major problem. He could simply eat it inside and come back out. While he was at it, he had also cracked Antain eggs over the corpses of the monsters within. Nothing strange happened when they ate the corpses and came back out.
All of the kin who devoured those corpses had grown one or two stages stronger. Among them were some who were of the Gran species, yet no longer seemed to be Gran at all.
They were warriors like himself.
He could barely contain the power surging through his entire body. The trees that had once terrified him no longer frightened him. Nor did the monstrous creatures living within them. On the contrary, the thought of devouring them filled him with energy. That was why he had come to where the nearest tree stood. Before arriving, they had overrun several villages, but the monstrous creatures living there had been too busy fleeing at the sight of them to resist.
There was only one strange thing. Ever since he had eaten that meat, a strange reverberation had begun echoing inside his head.
Kill them…>
But Kukuru ignored it and decided to focus on the battle ahead. It was not such a loud resonance, anyway.
☆ ☆ ☆
Viscount Locke let out a low groan as he watched the red army visible in the distance. When he had only heard the scouts’ reports, it had not truly felt real, but seeing it in person, its grandeur was overwhelming.
“I don’t understand… How did they expand their forces so much in such a short time…?”
The emergence of several alphas was one thing, but it was not a trait of the Gran species for the entire race to grow stronger all at once in such a short period. Nobles had mercilessly exterminated species such as the Murakan and the Swarm, which possessed the dangerous trait of growing stronger throughout their entire population under an alpha’s influence. Even if they were Narija. And even if… they were not enemy species.
Yet those creatures were displaying an entirely different appearance from the one they had shown during the regular patrol. No, it was confusing even to call them Gran anymore. Their skin color alone was completely different.
But that was not what mattered now, so Viscount Locke fixed his gaze on the front. Once the battle ended, he would investigate and root out the cause, but for the moment, he had to focus on the battle before him. The count would arrive soon as well, so there should be no problem.
Sitting on a branch halfway up one of the huge trunks of the Kiculus, Steel and Sian were watching the scene too.
“Little brother, you see that army over there?”
“Yes.”
“Those are the dwarf-like creatures we saw last time, right?”
“They seem to be.”
“They look a little different.”
“Well… there are some very slight changes.”
“Right? Other than their color suddenly changing completely and their bodies growing twice as large. Moving up one or two stages isn’t really a change from your perspective, is it, little brother?”
“…”
“And doesn’t their aura seem strangely familiar?”
“It must be your imagination.”
“Looks like they ate something very good. The entire species has changed like that.”
“…”
“Little brother, that thing called the Apen-tal. You didn’t leave the door open, did you?”
“I did not leave it open… Surely I caused another incident?”
“Hehe… Don’t deny it, little brother.”
Sian was unable to say anything, his heart pricked with guilt. He had been planning not to get involved in the battle, since it felt wrong to provoke the Gran, a race that had done him no particular harm. And seeing the confident look on the face of that Viscount Roke, he had thought the man could handle things himself.
But now the situation was a little different. From the looks of it, they had entered Apental, eaten the monsters he had slaughtered, and crawled back out brimming with courage…
“Haah… I’ll just close the gate and come back.”
“Hehe… Have a safe trip, little brother. Still, it’s fortunate you realized it even now. If we had left it open any longer, things would have gotten much worse.”
Steel smiled as he watched Sian rise from his seat.
Sian sighed and vanished from the spot.☆ ☆ ☆<…
It’s him.><…
It’s that fellow…>Kerreuk?
Grolan, chieftain of the great Gran, could not collect his thoughts as a strange reverberation gradually grew within him. Until now, it had been at a level he could ignore, but suddenly the sound began swelling inside his head, forcing his consciousness aside.
Wondering what was happening, he looked around and saw something passing overhead. Then all the other races around him clutched their heads and began turning, one by one, to look in that direction—to look at the something crossing the sky.
Before long, starting with those of weaker mental strength, one after another began walking in the direction the object was heading. At first they wandered about, clutching their heads, but soon they began moving in that direction without a thought. Their pace gradually quickened, until they started running. Some even mounted Antains and began racing after it, since Antains were far faster than they were.
As their numbers increased one by one, eventually every soldier of his who had been lined up before the trees began running in the same direction.
Kerreureuk! Kararak!
Grolan struggled with all his might to stop the rampaging creatures, but it was of little use. Even the reverberation in his own head was growing louder by the moment.<…
Pursue it.>
At last, Grolan, who had been clutching his head, joined the running ranks with a vacant expression. No—in order to make up for the distance he had fallen behind, he mounted his personal Antain and overtook those ahead of him, hurrying toward the front of the horde.
To catch up with the being that had vanished above their heads.☆ ☆ ☆
Since he did not clearly remember the location, Sian had worried whether he would be able to find it. Fortunately, he quickly located the lake that resembled that spring.
Green dwarves were endlessly crawling into the lake while red dwarves emerged from it. It would have been strange not to notice. In truth, the creatures coming out of the lake had grown so large that it was questionable whether they could still be called dwarves.
Seeing that sight turned his suspicion into certainty.
“Ugh… I’d better close it quickly and get this over with.”
Sian lightly descended to the ground. Unlike before, when he had landed with a great deal of noise, he could now touch down softly.
‘Hehe… At this point, am I at least managing a passable imitation of Krona…?’
He had found it incredible that Krona could settle down so lightly despite that enormous body, but after crossing one more barrier, he found that he could do the same.
After descending from the sky, Sian unleashed his aura in every direction—as an indication that they should flee on their own. Just as he expected, the green dwarves scattered in all directions and began running away.
‘Hehe, as expected… This makes things much easier.’
But Sian’s expectations were only half correct. While the green dwarves entering the lake fled in every direction, the red dwarves standing nearby trembled all over yet continued staring straight at him.
“Hm?”
Sian wondered how he should deal with this situation.
“Um… friends, you’ll have to move aside if I’m going to finish the job.”
It was only natural that they could not understand him, but faced with the unexpected situation, the words slipped reflexively from Sian’s mouth. Meanwhile, red dwarves were slowly emerging from the lake. No, after sensing Sian’s aura, they were practically leaping out of the lake and running outside. Watching them, Sian almost felt as if an army that had lived in the lake had come forth to conquer the land.
The problem was that the target this army intended to conquer did not seem very far away at all.
Sian sighed as he imagined what would happen to him a few seconds later.
“Haah… Seriously…”
The moment Sian let out his final breath, every red soldier around him began charging toward him.☆ ☆ ☆
“Huh… What happened?”
Viscount Roke stared blankly at the red Grans racing fiercely back into the forest. The barons around him wore the same bewildered expressions.
They clearly had not fled because they were afraid of them. Those creatures had approached with every intention of trampling this place into the ground. And they should have known from experience that nobles would appear if they were provoked.
There was another reason. But as Viscount Roke pondered what it might be, he let out a relieved sigh. Whatever the reason, it was a good thing they had withdrawn. They could now minimize their losses. All that remained was to gather the nobles converging from the surrounding area and go crush the creatures’ base.
Now that they knew the Grans possessed such potential danger, the race would be exterminated. Somehow, they had raised more than fifty alphas in a short period of time… They had to get to the root of it. Even if the Grans were wiped out, the Narijas would fill the gaps between the territories, so there would be no problem.
“For now, do not let your guard down and scout the surroundings. Kagera, follow those creatures and locate their base. Do not take unnecessary risks.”
“Understood.”
After sending the swiftest Kagera to scout, Viscount Roke returned beneath Kiculus to manage the territory. There, he encountered an unexpected person.
“Count Karim, when did you arrive? And why have you come all the way here…?”
“I just got here. Heh heh heh… Is this somewhere I shouldn’t come? Of course I had to help. I heard some mutants had appeared.”
Viscount Roke swallowed a groan as he looked at the man before him. The man was absolutely not the sort to do such a thing.
Count Karim. Among the countless nobles on the continent, he was notorious for being the one most faithful to his instincts. Possessing outstanding talent, he had grown powerful at an astonishing speed, but no one liked him.
Count Karim’s creed perfectly represented his character.
He squeezed the residents beneath his countdom without the slightest hesitation. Normally, a countdom was home to countless nobles. It was necessary to keep other countdoms in check, and having many viscounts and barons beneath one’s rule was more efficient for protecting the residents. That was true even if one distributed a little Akra among them.
But there was not a single noble beneath his countdom. There were two reasons for this.
The first was that he did not wish to share Akra with anyone.
After claiming his countdom, Count Karim drove out every noble who had been beneath him.
The second was that his personality was truly vile. He showed no mercy to those weaker than himself, even if they were nobles. Treating them like slaves was commonplace, and many noblewomen had suffered unspeakable treatment at his hands. Moreover, because he had squeezed the commoners above him so ruthlessly, he was one of the stronger counts, and even other counts tended to avoid him.
Normally, treating other nobles this way led to one’s decline. The viscounts and barons who had grown sick of him would go to another count and attach themselves there, upsetting the balance of power and causing him to lose his protectorates. No matter how strong Count Karim was, he could not withstand the combined pressure of another count and his viscounts and barons.
But Count Karim remained perfectly secure. That was because he was the son of a man who had recently become famous throughout the continent alongside the Duke of Con—
Rad.
The lord of the western region, Marquess Carltonheim. No, he was no longer a marquess. He had risen to the rank of duke.
Duke Con—
Rad in the east and Duke Carltonheim in the west. The two most famous figures on the continent in recent years.
Count Karim was the son of that very Duke Carltonheim.
Even when Duke Carltonheim had still been a marquess, no one could treat his son carelessly. The marquisate of Marquess Carltonheim was renowned for its strength, and Carltonheim itself was one of the most powerful among the marquisates, possessing tremendous military might.
Naturally, after he became a duke, Count Karim’s reckless behavior grew even worse. Becoming a duke made one lose interest in power, but it did not make one lose interest in family.
Until now, he had never once joined forces with them to exterminate the Rotans. That was why Roke had merely informed him of the current situation, without expecting anything. Yet here he was…
“The mutants have withdrawn.”
“Oh, really? Then what are you waiting for? Why aren’t you pursuing them?”
“Well… we were waiting for reinforcements. There are quite a lot of enemies, so we wanted to minimize casualties…”
“What? You can’t do that. What if some precious commoners get hurt in the meantime?”
‘You bastard…’
Roke cursed inwardly. It was true that the man valued commoners. From Count Karim’s perspective, nobles were parasites that stole the food he was supposed to eat, while commoners were valuable livestock.
But Roke could not defy a count, so he nodded. At least if the count came along, the casualties would be fewer.
“Understood. Then let us go together.”
“What? Why should I go? Do I really need to concern myself with such vermin?”
“Then…”
“Go on ahead.”
“……”
“Oh, and I heard a woman who looks like a count has appeared here. Where is she? I hear she is an extraordinary beauty.”
‘Damn bastard…’
Roke cursed aloud. Only now did he understand why Count Karim had come all the way to this distant protectorate.