The eyes of all those in this fortress had changed. No longer were they looking down on the dark blue-haired man or saw him as food.
It was fear. Fear to the unfathomable.
Fear… of how strong he truly is.
The same thought arose in all their minds: Why does this man, who has reached the pinnacle of martial arts and entered the realms of demigods, not misuse his overwhelming power and crush people as he pleases?
Understand that they've been living around those who are astronomically weaker who abuse their power simply because they are considered "strong". strength is subjective so depending on who you ask, not everyone would give the same answer if you ask them what they think of a certain individual.
Lesser beings like them could never comprehend just what kind of strength lies in the realm of demigods so they can't even fathom a level beyond this man.
**
Razor and his soldiers knelt before Arnold, offering him the truest gesture of respect.
If they showed him any offense, their lives would be forfeited.
He didn't really care what an army of beasts thought of him but since he's already fulfilled the condition the Beast Lord suggested, a deal can be made without bloodshed.
He wants to avoid bloodshed if he can help it. Not because he's kind, but due to their hivemind mentality. He'd rather avoid fighting the unified tribes' armies as this will put his citizens in danger for no reason.
"Peerless Warrior, please tell us your name so that it may be immortalized in the tales we tell the next generation." Razor said with a deeper bow.
Arnold took a moment to look around. Besides the humans in the cages watching him silently, there were only kneeling demihumans as far as the eye can see.
"This is Arnold Valtraak, one of the heroes who slayed the Demon King who terrorized the empire not too long ago." Selia answered in his stead, like a loyal subordinate showing off her lord.
Well, that's basically their relationship if you take into account that she was serving under him when he was a guild master. Even now she refers to him with honorifics. It's not too bad as that's a sign of her loyalty to him.
"Then… could it be… the demon who shook the skies!?"
"T-To think he fought that terrible monster and lived…!"
"I-I remember hearing its roar. I almost ran away from the outpost, thinking it was nearby but where can you even hide from something that powerful when it can just wipe everything out?"
The shock spread like wildfire when they heard he faced the Demon King, an unstoppable foe that just appeared out of nowhere.
"W-We received news from many of our spies that six or so heroes fought a Kaiju… To think it was you, Your Grace…." Razor bowed deeper, "Your might knows no equal."
Arnold's eye twitched at the smug Selia who seemed to enjoy the praise even though it wasn't meant for her.
Maybe this is just pride in her mentor…?
"Let's forget about me and talk about why I came here."
"Of course! I shall do whatever you ask, Peerless Warrior!" Razor jumped up as if on command, hitting his chest with his right fist and his back straight. An almost endless echo reverberated when the other demihumans did the same, clearly pledging they will do whatever he says.
"I am an adventurer who received an important quest which involves me going to the Wood Elf Country. I came here today to ask that you move all your soldiers further east so that we don't have unnecessary troublemakers in our way. While there is no deadline for the quest currently, and we can rest if we need to, I don't want to risk any of us confronting individuals that may injure us."
There may be strays like the group that destroyed that village but they're just nomads who had nowhere to return to and are typically only in small groups.
He was mainly thinking of the two juniors who would be joining them and Lucia as they're the weakest of the group. Lucia is a very competent magic caster that they'll need on this quest.
Razor's expression hardened (or so he assumed as he's not very good at reading the expressions of demihumans).
A troubled and small voice answered Arnold: "…I-I am sorry, Peerless Warrior but we can't do that…"
Arnold's eyes narrowed which made him flinch and hurriedly elaborate. "T-To avoid conflicts and keep this coalition of the five tribes intact, all of us put in our votes to decide certain things that impact our clans and tribes. We communicate directly and maintain a close relationship to ensure all of us are on the same page—"
"So, did the majority of you vote in favor of this war, that gave you the right to murder, kidnap, enslave and rape my kind?" many gulps resounded, as if they feared the consequences of their actions. One of the beasts, who had been groping his human "slave", instantly stopped and gained distance from her.
"…"
"Before I ask you to elaborate, I'm curious about something: Why are the unified tribes the only ones involved in this war? Why doesn't the Lion King involve himself despite the convenient excuse of this land belonging to you even after it was taken away from you during the Holy Crusades? Did you even bring the matter up to him or did you act with your own interests in mind?"
"…W-We acted on our own."
"Why now?"
"We would have kept the peace if they did not cleanse their holy land of my kind." The bitterness could almost be tasted in his words, "They killed every non-human villager living in their country, from criminals in their prisons, children in their schools, to innocent villagers who work hard and paid taxes to their government."
It was a sad thing to hear but Arnold knows Razor doesn't give a damn about that. They're just using that to take over the Holy Kingdom. To beasts like them, they would fight even if there isn't a good reason.
This is why he doesn't have an ounce of respect for them and would kill them without batting an eye.
Maybe they think Arnold is the righteous kind of person who would get mad that they're killing people for simple enjoyment so they're putting up a farce of pain?
"The Holy King was the only one who wanted to maintain the peace and even give us some land that the kingdom had no use for, but he perished not long before the deal could be finalized. Everything else we agreed on collapsed as well."
'Zemminick was that type of king, I guess. He's never liked war and always sought the most peaceful solution. This is why Luke supported him instead of the Pope.' You can't call a man like that a fool. He may have avoided war and wanted to save lives but he wasn't naïve. Unfortunately, he was killed in some political conflict before this war could break out in this scale.
His son, of the same name, will likely meet the same fate unless he becomes the Pope's new political puppet. Zemminick the First wasn't easily broken through discussion but his son, a naïve boy who just recently had his age of coming, was the perfect pawn for Augustus' chess board.
Since the boy is the last remaining royal, the nobles of the Holy Kingdom have no choice but to listen to his instructions, which were given to him by the Pope.
"Was the Lion King involved in this deal?"
Razor nodded, "That was the one thing that both we as the unified clans agreed should need the vote of the king of our people. I may not have any interest in the land, but the majority of the clan leaders and elders do."
"I see. They can keep the land so long as your people were given human rights."
While he knows there are some like Razor who simply desired to rule over the ashes and kill and eat, there were many who joined the cause to overthrow the Juliar Theocracy and take back their ancestors' homeland.
Is this something that can be fixed with brute force? You don't stop hundreds of years of conflicts with a few dead bodies or overwhelming strength. He knows this already, which is why he wasn't arrogant enough to think he can protect the Penston lineage. You could say he's like Holy King Zemminick—always seeking the peaceful solution that carries the lesser risk.
"I think I know why you can't do it—why you can't answer my request. The other lords will think you were swayed by a third party if they find out you abandoned your fortress, which I'm assuming is a strategic point that can block reinforcements being sent from independent lords."
The capital is southeast of this place they set up their fortress. Due to the terrain of mountains and forests, the troops would have to cut through this region, fully expectant of an ambush. Unless they can mobilize airships that can carry thousands of men, they have no choice but to take this route.
"…It is as you say."
"Why not just call a meeting to resolve this misunderstanding?" Selia inquired.
"If that were possible, I would have if you commanded me to, Peerless Warrior. But the Theocracy is tireless in their pursuit to rid this world of us."
Arnold folded his arms, "So, it's impossible to do it now, huh… We agreed to move in about two weeks once I have a route marked out for us. If any of your soldiers spot us and alerts your comrades, things will get troublesome… Just in your forces alone, there are about a thousand soldiers scattered around this region, right?"
Razor nodded.
While he doesn't think there is anyone that can threaten him among the demihumans, it's just there's way too many of them to deal with. Demihumans breed like rabbits—you give them a mate and they can go at it for 23 hours a day, some even dying from exhaustion and hunger.
Not just that, they only need about two years to fully grow up. They were the popular choice for Aether Bombs in past wars due to their high numbers and endurance.
It's a good thing the technique to force out one's Aether vanished with the flames of past wars as that's a headache he doesn't want to deal with.
Just imagine, hundreds of them charging at you with the sole intention of stopping you even if it means giving up their lives. While not common, it's not impossible for adventurers to be hired for a battle between two sides. This is why they would suspect foul play by the Theocracy.
Selia spoke up, "Well then, if a resolution isn't reached by the time you must go through this region with your comrades, we will have to get involved—"
"I'm not fighting a war just for safe passage. And I don't want you to get involved either." He said to Selia.
"O-Okay… I guess I spoke out of turn…"
Selia knows nothing about war as she's never participated in guild wars before. And while you can't call guild wars the same as actual wars with lives on the line, he still learned tactics that he can adopt as Arnold in this world.
Selia would be no different than that toddler with too much power (the phony Lufulur).
He looked back at Razor, "Is it possible to meet with the other lords?"
"None of them will pay attention to anything other than what they're busy with. The Theocracy's forces number in the hundreds of thousands so at least three of the unified clans are busy fighting them to the east." Razor bowed his upper body apologetically, "My apologies, Peerless Warrior… I could not help, after all."
He glanced at Selia and whispered to her, "What do you think I should do?"
"Is it really necessary to be this cautious in how you approach this situation? The side you're dealing with are demihumans. If you establish that this territory belongs to you, you can drive them all out. Then I shall bring my summons and subordinates to guard the area. Nothing in this country will be able to get through them." He could almost taste the pride in her words. Not that he judges her as she's worked very hard to get where she is today so it's fine to be proud.
"There you go again…" he said with a sigh.
"We're not involving ourselves in the war that way, are we?" she was right about that.
However, "We're still taking strategic positions away from them and supplies that would be used to feed the soldiers—"
"Hah! What do these beasts know about strategy?" she harrumphed, "They treat your kind like cattle and toys yet you wish to be gentle with them?"
"There might be consequences to this… My opinion of them doesn't matter."
While he doesn't have to worry about Death Flags just yet as he has reached the peak of his martial arts and level, once he takes his body back from Oriel, he'll still just be lower than level 70, unless Gederick's martial spirit stays with him. Having to deal with every Beast Lord aiming for his head would be troublesome as they are way stronger than the Great Nobles individually.
"What about that Guinevere woman? She could…"
He shook his head, "Guinevere is on an important mission right now so she won't be easy to reach."
He could use the system to look for her but he's not interested enough in this war to stop it. Gaining safe passage is all he cares about. And yes, teleportation is off the table due to Elven laws that have been in place since even before the war. Even Freya can't freely teleport there.
The reason for this obnoxious rule? Well, imagine the air of your entire country is filled with certain explosive gasses and someone appears out of nowhere above and drops a Molotov cocktail.
In short, the mana provided by the World Tree is so dense, it can react with any amount of miasma so if someone dropped Miasma bombs on the nation, the damage would be devastating.
He'll just have to respect their laws.
"Hmm…" Selia was deep in thought for a moment, "I have a plan."
"?"
She began to explain what that plan was. It was something he should've thought of before.
…
"Beast Lord, spread word to your comrades and the nomads that a dangerous beast lurks the westside region and forests."
Razor considered the idea for a minute then shook his head, "I fear a rumor will not be enough as there are some fools amongst my people who would want to fight such a beast. If it is revealed to be untrue…"
"I suppose I'll have to summon one." Selia smiled wryly.
"Before you do, Razor, how many nomad tribes accompanied you to this region?"
Upon being asked, he hurriedly replied, "There were three if I remember correctly. But due to infighting over resources, they split up and divided their forces so there are now more than I can remember."
"So troublesome. Selia, have your beast wipe out every single one of them if they get close to the area we assign the monster to."
"Will do~"
"M-Milord, isn't that a bit cruel!?" one of the demihumans shouted, "My friends are among them!"
Arnold glanced at the man with half interest, "An associate of mine has been losing business because of your friends. I made a deal to get rid of these nuisances and since I don't have the time nor care enough to investigate, I'll just have to chase them away or kill them."
Judging by the heavy silence and gritting teeth, some of them had lots to say. But fearing their heads will get blown off, they stayed silent.
Meanwhile, Selia began the summoning chant.
'How many summoned monsters does she have…?'
Maybe it's due to her class and subclasses? Her race being vampire might also be related to it. She's pretty much a jack-of-all-trades, able to fight close-combat, cast a small variety of spells, has long-range and short-range skills. She's the perfect vanguard.
But if she were to fight a true warrior class like Bardolt or Alecs, she would lose every time since they are close-combat experts who would never let her rest.
A dark energy gathered in front of her, twisting and turning as if shaping something like a human would shape clay. The darkness then dispersed, leaving behind a humanoid with black skin, and a single long and thin appendage hanging from the back of its head.
Razor could feel that this was no ordinary summon. It could probably chop off his head before he could blink—just who are these two people that have greater strength than even the Beast Lords? Could the Tiger Beast Lord (considered the strongest amongst them and known to a select few as Hofir's uncle) beat these two?
Razor couldn't see that. It's shocking to see them not use their power to bring fear into those weaker than themselves. Maybe acting that way just because you're a little strong is considered weak and pathetic in their eyes?
"I've never seen this type of summon before. It's leaking demonic energy so it's definitely a demon…" Arnold commented while studying the creature.
"This is a Black Sperm Demon." Selia explained, "It's typically born once a Succubus has a miscarriage and the baby is cut out of the mother's womb. Star-Class items are so convenient~"
He looked at its status:
· Level 100
'This is overkill for pest control. Looking at its stats, it's almost as strong as Sceptim.'
Noticing her grinning from ear to ear as if awaiting praise, he decided not to voice his thoughts. It will do for now.
"If you'd like to test out its capabilities—" noticing the beast lord staring intently at the creature, Selia teased.
"I-I will refrain. Though your presence overshadows it by a thousand times, it still possesses an overwhelming presence…" he didn't even wait for her to finish.
"Okay then I'll send it out Don't forget to tell the Beast Lords, though. It's not a passive summon and will respond to all hostility with deadly force."
Trembling, the demihumans gulped. These powerful overlords could even summon such powerful entities. They should be glad they aren't a target for these personages.
The demon received Selia's mental command, bowed then jumped with so much force that it shot halfway across the region within seconds, leaving a crater behind and a strong wind that blew most away.
"Now that that's settled, our route is secured so—" Arnold was about to turn around to leave but trumpets interrupted them.
Banners of a noble was the first thing they saw among the dust being kicked up and the sounds of hooves approaching.