Chapter 349

348. The Immortal and the Mortal (17)

Torches lined the dark road as if setting it ablaze. The beastmen marched forward proudly, as if fear no longer existed for them.

They advanced down the road, each holding gleaming spear blades and iron tools, their eyes shining brightly. The citizens of the city trembled in fear, closing their shutters and drawing their curtains.

A civil war had broken out. Even the citizens most sympathetic to the beastmen could sense the gravity of the situation. Now, their only concern was hoping that these ferocious rioters wouldn’t turn into bandits.

“Stop!! Have you all gone mad?!”

A night watchman shouted, his face pale and trembling. Partak, who was leading the rioters, slightly pushed back his hood and looked at him. The face beneath the watchman’s helmet was human.

Partak smirked bitterly. There was no need to hold back anymore. He whispered softly and flicked his finger.

“Kill him.”

-Crrack!!

A beastman lunged at the watchman like lightning. The watchman couldn’t even put up a proper fight. Blood splattered across the wall, and the beastman warriors, with their keen sense of smell, began to grow more frenzied as they caught the scent of blood.

The remnants of Yekaset. The magic that amplified their beastly nature was spreading thicker, agitating the beastmen.

-Screeeech!!

-It’s a riot!!!

The screams and shouts of the watchmen erupted from all directions. The alarm bells rang loudly, and soon the sound of horns echoed from the direction of Castle Sephor.

-Booooom!!

Partak continued walking without stopping, laughing. Since the Great Northern Campaign, the Imperial Army stationed in Bülrang had been scattered across the territory to eliminate the remnants of Karadskar.

The only forces currently stationed at Castle Sephor were Hearttaker’s personal guard, the so-called ‘Heartseekers.’ They were young, hot-blooded idealists. Few in number and not particularly elite, they were nothing more than foolish fanatics.

They were idiots who relied solely on the authority of the Chieftain. If the Chieftain’s authority was broken by tradition, all the beastmen near Bülrang would inevitably fall into his hands.

“Partak— Blackfang!! What on earth are you doing?!”

A beastman warrior on horseback rushed over and shouted. Castle Sephor was just ahead. At the entrance, soldiers hastily gathered, forming a crude defensive line and preparing for a siege.

Due to the emergency summoning, their equipment was pitifully lacking. On the other hand, Partak’s side was nearly fully prepared. With the Blessing of the Great Demon at their backs, Partak decided to humor them for a moment.

“I challenge the Chieftain based on tradition!”

“Tradition?! You bring all your subordinates under the moonlight to discuss tradition? If you respected tradition, you could have sent a message through the council tomorrow!”

“Does our tradition care about day or night? Huh?”

Partak sneered and turned around. The beastman warriors lined up behind him let out a unified howl. The maddening cries echoed throughout Bülrang at dawn.

“Chieftain!! I, Partak Blackfang, hereby declare my challenge! A young warrior here seeks to challenge your position! Accept the duel according to tradition, or run away like a scared rat!!”

Partak shouted, mixing his voice with magic. Tradition, duel, and declaration. The emphasized words echoed throughout the city. This ensured that the Imperial Army could not rashly intervene in the duel.

The Federation of Beastmen Nobles had saved the Empire twice. Empress Carvelier had to recognize the Federation as an equal nation.

From this moment on, Partak’s challenge was no longer an illegal rebellion against the Duke’s regency but a traditional duel for the position of Chieftain.

The guards at Castle Sephor murmured in agitation. They trembled with anger at Partak’s words but couldn’t recklessly attack.

Partak smirked bitterly as he watched the scene. Just one more step. If he took just one more step, the vast domain stretching from the Great Wilderness to Bülrang would fall into his hands.

He thought his luck was insanely good.

* * *

“Shouldn’t we stop this?”

Abel whispered quietly from behind Fernandez. They were on the rooftop of a building overlooking the entrance to Castle Sephor. Fernandez, with his arms crossed, was focused on Partak’s actions.

“Do we really need to?”

“Didn’t we come to meet Kirhas? The situation looks quite dangerous.”

“You don’t trust her?”

“That’s not what I mean. She’s alone, and they outnumber her. That mage is also a threat, and I can smell the stench of demons from those soldiers.”

“If I intervene directly and resolve the situation, Kirhas will lose the trust of the Federation.”

No matter how much groundwork had been laid, on the surface, this was a legitimate duel. Even if Fernandez stepped in and dealt with Partak, in a situation that had escalated this far, there would inevitably be backlash.

And there was one more reason he hesitated to intervene.

“Kirhas wouldn’t want it.”

“Your help?”

“Yes. She’s not a fool.”

Though her political sense was almost nonexistent, Kirhas’ instincts were nearly precognitive. Not just in battle, but in almost every aspect.

Fernandez quietly observed Castle Sephor. Bülrang was a mess. They had handed over security and administrative duties to humans while making the Chieftain’s rule an open fact.

This was the worst policy, breeding discontent among both humans and beastmen. Humans wouldn’t welcome beastmen’s rule, and beastmen were fully exposed to the discrimination of human administrators.

Why had they made such a move? If Kirhas wasn’t a fool, she must have anticipated the potential for conflict. Those who foresee conflict and let it happen fall into one of two categories.

‘Either they’re too kind-hearted and always want to remain the good guys… or they’re setting a trap to completely root out potential threats.’

Fernandez’s gaze remained fixed on the castle, his thoughts racing.





The partnership between Partak and Kirhas was bound to end in disaster someday. The only leash restraining Partak’s ambitions was the presence of Fernandez.

So, Kirhas waited for the right opportunity to justly eliminate Partak. Under Fernandez’s orders, Partak had completely taken control of the Elder Council’s politics, making it impossible to act against him recklessly unless the situation was dire.

Fernandez’s presence here was a curious coincidence, but this event was something that was bound to happen eventually. Whether Kirhas intended it, Partak led it, or something else entirely.

Thus, Fernandez decided to wait quietly. Intervening at the worst possible moment wouldn’t be too late, and he wanted to fully gauge Kirhas’s moves first.

In her past life, Kirhas Hearttaker, the Great Shield of the Wilderness who single-handedly halted Karadskar’s northern advance, was an undefeated legend. He needed a benchmark to see how much of her prime she had recovered.

‘If we compare their primes, she’s about half a step below Daryan.’

Though their eras of glory were entirely different, making a direct comparison difficult, it was roughly around that level.

‘She could become the strongest card I can play in this era.’

That was one of his thoughts when he first pulled her out of the underground sewers. The moment when one of humanity’s greatest heroes would serve under him.

To secure a hero who could buy even a moment against Tyban’s might, whom he would eventually have to face. It was time to prove her worth.

* * *

“Chieftain!! It’s a rebellion! The mob is heading this way!!”

“Shh, the child is sleeping.”

“Chieftain!!”

In the darkness, turquoise eyes glinted. The warrior who had burst in shouting froze under that piercing gaze.

Just the act of being watched felt like flesh being carved away. A chilling aura rose from the shadows in the room. The warrior, trembling uncontrollably, stepped back.

“I told you to be quiet. Our Ana has sharp ears.”

“Chieftain… This is not the time for this. The mob’s momentum is fierce. We’ll buy you time, so please retreat and join Elder Goldentooth in the wilderness.”

“You’ll buy me time?”

Kirhas tilted her head, genuinely puzzled by what that meant.

“Why?”

“Because…! Blackfang, that man surely didn’t bring so many troops just for a fair duel!”

“Yes, that’s right. He must have gathered everyone he could.”

And so it should be. Rustling sounds came from the darkness. “Shh, shh,” she soothed the whimpering child, then slowly walked toward the window.

Dressed in a light nightgown, she gazed at the high moon. Soon, her eyes fell upon the mob marching toward the castle.

Familiar presences made her frown. Moonlit night, beastmen, warriors, demons.

* * *

The day she halted Karadskar’s northern advance. The moon of Yekaset rose, and as dawn broke again.

-Your Excellency…?

Under the cold blue moonlight, she barely opened her eyes, peeling her torn lips apart to utter those words. She saw the twisted expressions of Freya and Abel.

And when she felt the stirring of the child in her womb, Kirhas made a decision. The loyalty she couldn’t fulfill for Your Excellency would be completed through this child. Many worried about her sanity, but after Fernandez’s death, she grew even stronger.

Unlike Abel, who had nothing left to lose and gave up, Kirhas had too much to protect. The legacy Fernandez left behind. The Federation of Beastmen, the title of Chieftain, the peace of the Great Wilderness, the safety of the Empire, and—

Ana Fernanda Sernard. The most precious legacy he left. A token of love nestled in her arms.

In the deep night, the late dawn was the only time she allowed herself to mourn. Since that day, she screamed at dawn, armed herself with the rising sun, and donned mourning clothes after sunset.

Fernandez’s death deeply impacted the politics of the Federation of Beastmen. Partak’s dominance grew, and Goldentooth eventually led the dove factions back to the wilderness. Kirhas remained as the regent of Bülrang and the center of the beastmen, standing alone to counter Partak.

The rebellion was counting down. No matter when or how it happened, it was inevitable. Then, to ensure it never happened again, she had to secure the permanent safety of herself, the Federation, and her daughter.

What would Your Excellency have done? Kirhas pondered this at Fernandez’s funeral in Paltennoia.

If it were Your Excellency, at this moment—

[Among strategists with some wit, the more blatant the trap, the more effective it is.]

‘Why is that?’

[The reason traps are deadly is because you must face the enemy’s full force in a disadvantageous situation. Conversely, to face the hidden enemy’s full force, you must step into the trap.]

Fernandez had once answered Kirhas’s question, ‘Why do the Brothers of Diemonica charge headlong into obvious traps?’ like this.

Not all Diemonica are fools, ‘probably,’ he began his lecture.

‘Step into the trap.’

Make them so confident in my weakness that they believe I can’t even resist a blatant trap. Carefully, over time, arrange for that moment when their full force is exposed—

‘Step into the trap…’

Crush them head-on. The moment they smirk, thinking it’s checkmate, their trap will become the noose around their neck. Chess is a game of one move at a time, but the dead have no next move.

That was Fernandez’s way.

Since that day, Kirhas had whittled away her power through incompetent policies, extravagance, and repeated seclusion due to grief.

And so, she waited for that day. The day when the hawkish beastmen’s discontent would peak, and Partak could no longer hold back.

The moment to lawfully purge them.

* * *

“Chieftain!! I, Partak Blackfang, request an audience! A young warrior here wishes to challenge your position! By tradition, accept the duel, or flee like a frightened rat!!”

Partak’s shout reached the castle. Kirhas stood by the window, listening to the booming voice.

The warrior prostrating behind her flinched at the sound and cautiously raised his head. He saw Kirhas’s face, bathed in the cold moonlight.

“Give me your sword.”

She was smiling. Like a hunter aiming at the prey’s weak spot.