Chapter 225

One monster left us without a care in the world, as if it had no interest in worldly affairs. The other, confident in its strength, provoked us and ended up losing its life.

Finally, I could breathe a sigh of relief. I had the time to go around and undo the petrification of those turned to stone. The world regained a moment of quiet.

As I freed the petrified, the first place I headed was where Sir Leon was. Covered in blood, he slumped down and started shouting when he saw me.

“Ouch, it hurts! Ouch, I think I’m going to die! Priest, if I don’t see the sun tomorrow morning, make sure to tell Anna I fought hard.”

It didn’t look like he was exaggerating. I quickly used divine power to heal him, and only then did he look like he might survive.

I glanced at the Princess and Yanid, but they were unharmed. It wasn’t that Sir Leon was lacking in skill; it was just a difference in approach.

They hunted, while Sir Leon fought head-on. He could have taken more time to defeat them steadily, but instead, he charged in with all his might.

So, it’s no surprise he came back so badly injured.

‘Maybe he had a grudge.’

I was about to scold him for being reckless, even as a master, but I stopped. He probably knew the risks, yet he still chose to fistfight a cockatrice. Better to have a body in pain than a heart in pain.

“Still, I feel relieved. It’s like I’ve lifted two boulders off my chest today. Epirna is gone, and one monster has disappeared.”

“Liar.”

Grinding her teeth, Roka finally approached us. She held a new sword, forged with her own power techniques. It had no name yet, but it had the strange ability to devour other weapons. She looked at Sir Leon with a lingering displeasure.

Even with the sword, she was still angry.

“She was completely insane! What kind of logic made you think she’d back down if you showed her strength? If I had listened to you, things would have gone terribly wrong!”

Sir Leon, with no words to defend himself, avoided her gaze. He had confidently claimed Epirna was power-hungry, but looking back, that didn’t seem to be the case. At the very least, her pride outweighed her desire for power.

“That woman was completely out of her mind. You should have seen her eyes. For the first time, I understood what it meant to be truly insane.”

The child sighed and then started rambling about their exploits. I had seen it with my own eyes, so there was no need for them to explain, but I didn’t stop them.

“Look, really. If I hadn’t pulled back quickly, I wouldn’t have even been able to pick up my bones. She was completely insane.”

Roka pointed to where the training ground used to be. Now, it was just a field of craters. Compared to how clean it was before, it was like the difference between heaven and hell.

When Epirna self-destructed, fragments of steel energy scattered like shrapnel, destroying everything in sight. If anyone had been there, they would have been turned into mincemeat in seconds.

Of course, Epirna’s body was nowhere to be found. At best, we could gather a few pieces of her tail that had flown far away. As we buried the tail, all I could do was sigh.

Did it really have to be this way? She could have just admitted defeat and walked away, but instead, she charged in, ready to die.

“Perhaps she was more afraid of losing than dying.”

How much pride must one have to choose self-destruction over defeat? I doubt she hesitated even at the end.

If I had known this would happen, I would have opposed Roka’s participation in the Beast King Tournament. After all this trouble, we gained nothing.

Well, actually, we gained two things.

One was the sword Roka was holding so dearly. The other… well, I’m not sure if it’s something to be happy about. Sir Urban walked over, patting his waist.

“My goodness! That sword, let me see it. Your own power techniques have sublimated into a weapon! The devouring technique’s properties have carried over, making it a weapon that devours other weapons. I can’t refine this any further. It’s already a weapon woven from your heart. If I tried, I’d only ruin it.”

He reached out excitedly toward the sword and shouted.

“Originally, I planned to forge a new weapon to commemorate the birth of the new Beast King, but now it’s unnecessary. This sword is perfect as a symbol of a new era. Perfect. I’ll name it. The weapon that devours weapons, Weapon Eater. How about it?”

No doubt about it. Ascalon wasn’t named by him.

Even Roka didn’t like the name. She shook her head vigorously, her eyes wide. She even refused Sir Urban’s request to see the sword.

“No. I won’t. I won’t give it to you. And I won’t name it that.”

“Hmm, if the new Beast King says so, I can’t argue.”

Sir Urban surprisingly backed down easily. Of course, it was because of the spoils Roka gained from this battle.

The position of the new Beast King. Originally, she didn’t want it even if she won. Roka had no interest in the position from the start.

She had said she would leave the position to Epirna even if she won, but Epirna self-destructed. So, unexpectedly, the position fell to Roka. And all the beastmen present saw it!

“Uh, well… hehe. Actually, we foxes are related to wolves, so we’re distant cousins, right? The new Beast King might not be familiar with local affairs, so if you entrust it to us, we’ll handle everything with sincerity. Just give us your orders.”

When I freed the petrified fox who had been shouting to attack the monster, he quickly looked around. Seeing one monster gone and the other lying dead, he hastily changed his attitude and wagged his tail. The child, too tired to respond, just sighed.

From afar, Miss Anna of the cat tribe, whom we hadn’t seen in a while, approached Roka, waving. It seemed that while we were preparing for the Beast King Tournament, she had been leading the beastmen in other preparations.

“I heard the news! You really won! But new Beast King, why are you still here? Let’s go and hold the coronation. We’ve prepared everything.”

“I’m not doing that.”

“We don’t have money for a crown, but we made a laurel wreath.”

“I don’t need it.”

Roka responded coldly. It was a firm and cheerful refusal, as if it wasn’t even worth considering. She really didn’t want the position.

But it seemed that in the minds of those gathered here, the winner of the Beast King Tournament was the Beast King. Whether Roka refused or not, they had already decided she was the Beast King. Surprisingly, they easily accepted this young ‘Beast King.’

“A new dawn has broken. A new sky has opened. The era of the tiger has passed, and the era of the wolf has come.”

“Everyone, rise and cultivate the Eastern Plains.”

Was this their way of acknowledging her? As one person started singing, more and more joined in. Roka’s face turned red as she waved her hands, but they sang the song to the end.

No one forced them; they just sang together. At least those gathered here acknowledged Roka as their king.

“Is this really happening?”

Seeing this, the Princess scratched her head, looking confused.

After all, it was similar to someone challenging the Emperor to a fistfight and usurping the throne. It’s just that this was how things worked in the Eastern Plains.

This was their culture and custom.

Sir Leon, who had been silent, started shouting again.

“Hey, new Beast King. Let’s go to Epirna’s palace and hold the coronation.”

“Why me! This is so embarrassing…!”

“Everyone here! Our family! Our beastmen! Today is a joyous day. A new Beast King has been born, and the guardian dragon has declared she will protect us!”

Yanid, who had made no such declaration, widened her eyes. But whether it was true or not, they seemed determined to make it a fact, as cheers erupted from all around.

“Long live the new Beast King!”

“Blessings to the Queen and the guardian dragon!”

“Long live the guardian dragon! The beastmen shall rise again!”

Hearing the cheers, I laughed, and Roka, unable to get angry, froze mid-sentence. She couldn’t bring herself to scold those who were praising her.

Yanid didn’t seem to like it, but she didn’t seem to dislike it either. She scratched her slightly flushed cheeks with her nails. They weren’t as red as Roka’s.

-What are you doing? Hurry and wave. They may be few in number, but we can’t miss this opportunity. Just open your mouth and say, ‘May Oberta’s blessings be upon us.’

At least the evil god next to her was clearly pleased. With the evil god’s urging and the cheers, Yanid looked a bit confused as Sir Leon drove the point home.

“Epirna abandoned the beastmen and joined hands with the Demon King of the North. She sold our land to the monsters! Fellow beastmen, now our new Queen and guardian dragon will reclaim the palace occupied by the usurpers!”

“No, I’m going to the Arctic!”

“Next, they will head to the Arctic to defeat Grimudo, who has invaded our land!”

It seemed they had planted a few agitators in the crowd, as cheers erupted from all around.

The noise was deafening. I had no idea when or how Sir Leon and Miss Anna had prepared all this.

“Long live the Queen!”

“Blessings to the new beastmen kingdom!”

“Queen, please watch over our kingdom. Guardian dragon, protect us!”

“The new Beast King has appointed me as the general to subjugate the monsters. Behold! Look at the cold corpse of the cockatrice! The era of monsters ruling the plains is over. The era of the beastmen has returned!”

I hadn’t noticed before, but Sir Leon had a bit of a thirst for titles. He reminded me of a certain wolf I knew.

Roka was too stunned to respond. Everyone was looking at her with shining eyes. Declining the position here would be pointless.

“There’s a rumor that there’s a gate to the Arctic inside Epirna’s palace.”

Sir Urban coughed and continued.

“I’m not sure if it’s true, but if your destination is the Arctic, it might be better to stop by the palace rather than cross the Kalkanmir Mountain Range.”