Chapter 303 – Chapter 29 – Soon
For several days, Ferdinand wondered what the hell was going on.
It reminds me of Klaus, who said something more serious and more fun would happen.
At first he wondered what the hell that meant, but now he knows what it means.
The human aristocrats dragged along screaming all kinds of screams to save them.
It was clear that when the kingdom collapsed, they took a few knights, soldiers, and family members to live on their own, and fled across the empire to the territory of the fairies.
Those who fled not only their land and property, but also their nobility and king.
Even if you lose this war, you will die, and even if you win, you will never have a place to stand.
Most of the demons and humans laughed at those who gave up everything just to live and gave up.
If you look that far, it’s clear that they are lousy idiots.
However, in any case, they were the actual ruling class of the kingdom and had their own legitimacy.
At the very least, the nobles who originally ruled over the demons who attacked them by force would have been superior in terms of justification, so they could have used them as a base to regain the west.
‘Since they are nobles in their own way, since they were the ruling class of the kingdom, I thought the fairies would keep them until the end in order to use them for justification.’
However, the fairies use all the remaining human nobles’ soldiers as bait from the previous battle.
This time, they handed over all the human nobles they had to the demons.
While knowing for sure what fate would unfold for the aristocrats who fell into the clutches of the demons.
Ferdinand, wondering what the hell this was all about, soon secretly received a letter.
Some fairies still burn the will to resist, but not all.
If that side makes a gesture of reconciliation first, then there will be a reason to respond on this side.
So, why don’t you hand over the army for a while and give me a little bit of time?
The moment Ferdinand received the secret letter, he had a hunch.
That the fairies were divided more seriously than expected.
Even though the enemy was right in front of their eyes, they were so divided that they couldn’t concentrate on it.
Even the fairies were considerably weaker than they expected.
In fact, it was the situation of the fairies that had no choice but to do so.
Unexpectedly, the kingdom collapsed so quickly, and the beastmen who believed it became difficult to block even their own lands, losing most of their warriors.
The human aristocrats hiding among themselves are nothing more than a burden.
In other words, they could no longer ask for help from anyone.
“I told you. It will get even worse.”
Klaus, who came to the command barracks and had tea, opens his mouth.
He looks so relaxed, as if he was certain that this would happen.
He wanted to ask how he knew, but it was clear that he would not understand the answer, so Ferdinand gave up asking the question.
It’s surprising that fairies, the self-proclaimed noblest race in the west, abandoned humans to die.
Something even more amazing than that happened just a moment ago.
“… I really did not know that the prisoners would secretly request surrender.”
“Because they are beasts who have never surrendered?”
“Yes. Didn’t you say that the prisoners that you and His Highness the Demon King captured in the previous battle, not to mention in the 1st Continental War, were all captured because they were unable to move due to injuries? That’s why it’s a rare race to let go of the will to fight and admit defeat. That’s the prisoners we knew.”
As Ferdinand said, the beastmen never voluntarily gave up fighting at any moment.
If the beastman warrior doesn’t fight anymore, the victory is already decided, or the opponent is dead.
If it wasn’t him, he was injured to the point where he couldn’t move anymore, so that could be the reason.
Of course, not all warriors, in all circumstances, do this.
Occasionally, there were times when he surrendered after admitting that he was an enemy he could never overcome.
But it can be said that it literally goes very occasionally.
And there were few people on the continent who had tremendous skills enough to take submission from beast warriors with a certain level of skill or more.
“But those prisoners secretly requested surrender. What the hell is this…”
“Should I have said it again? There will be fun things.”
Prisoners never surrender, that’s true.
Actually, when it comes to ‘force’, not only the fairies, but even the demons are a race that is slightly ahead of them.
In particular, the beast warriors boasted tremendous skills comparable to the elite soldiers on the Asmodian side.
However, the elite among them were all exhausted in the previous battle.
Afterwards, the warriors who gathered again were attacked in reverse, despite the strategy of surprise, and achieved the feat of literally being robbed cleanly.
Even the enemy was only one, and that wasn’t even a demon, but an extremely ordinary human male.
The beast warriors could feel a common emotion in that human.
Fear, or fear. Something foreign that I had never felt before.
It is the beast warriors who fight to the end even if they die.
It’s because their instincts are set to fight until their bodies are torn and broken.
However, within that instinct, something else exists together.
As a beast, the instinct you have as an animal is to submit to the strong.
Even after fighting, fighting, and fighting like that, if you recognize that the other person is a strong person who can’t be defeated, all that fighting spirit disappears and the tendency to follow the leader of the new group becomes stronger.
It was also because of that part that Kaela abandoned even her own people and followed Klaus.
“The reason why the beastmen fought and resisted so damn well. It’s simple. Because I thought I could fight like this and live long enough. Right now, in the First Continental War, the war was over in the kingdom, and the fairies must have been sugar-coated that if they resisted this war, they would eventually admit their strength and end with negotiations.”
“But it’s not like that now, is this what you mean?”
“What would they think when such proud warriors were literally ‘annihilated’ by a single human? Imagine that on your own, Ferdinand.”
“…”
Come to think of it, Ferdinand also toured the site where Klaus had fought.
It was so brutal that even the adjutants who had been around the battlefield turned their heads.
Klaus, who was holding the neck of a dying prisoner in the midst of it, was truly terrifying.
As I remember, I’ve never seen anything like that in the 1st Continental War.
Of course, there were times when he stepped forward and fought, but I can assure you that he never showed such a terrible appearance.
Rather, I remember him as having a very benevolent and rational side even though he was an enemy.
He pretended to be crazy and accepted himself who asked for a meeting.
Also, wasn’t there a record of freeing the prisoners of Palatina?
‘I didn’t hesitate to see blood, but I don’t think I’ve ever been this cruel.’
While Ferdinand tilted his head, Klaus smiled and emptied his glass.
That man must be thinking about how he changed while thinking about his past, but in reality, it can be seen that he is completely wrong.
He himself was like this from the beginning, the hero of the Continental War and the one who saved the kingdom, it was all just a camouflage to pave the way.
At that time, it was necessary to be seen as a person of great ability and personality in the West.
At the same time, he had to leave a positive result for himself in the east so that the work could proceed smoothly without much opposition even when it was passed on to the demons in the future.
But now it’s different, there’s absolutely no reason it should look that way.
Beasts follow their nature more than fairies, and that nature comes from ‘respecting the strong’.
Still, they say that they have endured so far because the group of warriors has been stronger than the individual.
Klaus personally stepped forward and imprinted in their minds that no matter how many warriors came, he could destroy them by himself.
‘A beast will fight to the end if it sees even the slightest gap in its opponent, but if it acknowledges that it is a strong being that it can never overcome, it becomes more obedient than anyone else.’
The reason why Kayla remains loyal to her even after bumping into her a few times.
There are, of course, many factors, but one of them can be attributed to the nature of beastmen.
Once you admit that you are a strong person, whatever it is, compliance with it precedes everything.
Up to this point, neither fairies, humans, nor demons had been able to show such strength.
Because of this war, the prisoners now know about it. Now the trend has completely passed on them.
In addition, there is a strong person among them that they dare not even put into words!
“Shouldn’t you send an answer soon? Hesitation would look similar to being frightened to beastmen. It’s a request for surrender, but you’re not going to repay it, are you?”
“… Could it be a trick?”
“The chances of that happening are extremely low, but if you get cornered, it might be, right? Whether or not you believe in the surrender of the beastmen is your decision. The current commander is not me, but you, Ferdinand.”
Even at this moment, a warrior who came as a special envoy for the beasts must be waiting for an answer while enduring humiliation.
Those who chose to surrender at best had to make a decision before they changed their minds.
After thinking for a moment, Ferdinand suddenly remembered the new warrior chief next to Klaus, Kaela.
Absolute loyalty to the human, Klaus, and to the demon, Yulia, despite being a beastman who disregarded humans and hated demons as much as the fairies.
“… The special envoy who is said to have come from Suin’s side. I will have to see for myself.”
“Do whatever you feel like. Go.”
Watching Ferdinand stand up and walk away from the command barracks, Klaus smiled with satisfaction, as if he was happy that things went according to plan.
Beastmen take obedience to the strong man for granted, but at the same time react quite sensitively to how the strong man treats them who have sworn to obey.
If a strong person treats them harshly, they end up endangering their own survival guarantee, so they may change their mind and betray them later.
It is natural that the desire for survival is stronger than the instinct to obey the strong.
That said, on the contrary, if you treat them well enough and convince them that they can survive here, then those ferocious beasts will soon become docile animals that guard the house very well.
‘Now I only feel sorry for the fairies. To be precise, should I say that only the proud dwarves who rebelled against Natasha became pitiful?’
Of course, when it is known that the prisoners who believed that they would resist with them surrendered.
Since Natasha said she would take her own path, she would naturally ask for surrender and the moderates would follow suit.
It was literally just stupid dwarves who were just taking a strong stand without any reason left.
‘It’s really not too long now.’
When the fairies are organized, they will have to return to the kingdom as soon as possible.
If you’re late, I’ll bet you, because Yulia will definitely come.
