[Vol. 8] Chapter 53: The Seed of Rebellion
The shouting between the two sides was loud and clear, neither tried to hide anything. Many people who were fighting or watching nearby heard every word. Tairnak turned his head slightly and met eyes with the blonde Saintess. Her serious and slightly angry gaze made him hesitate.
Things had gone too far now, there was no chance to talk it out anymore. That bastard Norris had already killed members of the envoy, and the people from the Holy Empire would never just let it go. Don’t be fooled by how the Goddess Church always preaches peace, love, and unity. Once they label someone as an "enemy" or a "heretic," they can kill them without a second thought.
Their deep faith in their goddess makes their will incredibly strong. Even if only one of them was left standing, they would rather die than surrender or run. That kind of fanatical belief is scary. It was one of the reasons Tairnak had chosen to let them leave earlier without hesitation.
Now, on the battlefield above, the two angels had clearly joined the fight seriously. Whether Norris or his private army won or lost was no longer a question. They would lose, and it was only a matter of time. Now, Tairnak faced only two options.
One, follow Norris’s order and lead the fortress army to wipe out the envoy. But unless a god personally stepped in, there was no way they could kill them all. And if he did this, they would officially become enemies of the Holy Empire forever.
Or... do the complete opposite?
The moment this frightening thought appeared in his mind, even someone as strong and brave as Tairnak couldn’t help but shudder a little. He wasn’t a deeply religious man, but he was still a descendant of the Behemoths. Their bloodline was strong and sacred. In some ways, even more connected than dragons and the dragonkin.
If he really chose this path, the level of betrayal wouldn’t just be equal to leading his people away from their homeland in the past, it would be far worse. He might be remembered forever as the greatest traitor in Behemoth history.
But...
For some reason, the memory of his old friend, Soren, the chief of the Elephant Tribe, being killed by the God suddenly flashed in his mind.
Tairnak actually knew why [Wild] had killed Soren.
To make an example.
That casual conversation and a few words of doubt outside the flesh-chamber room between him and Soren, there was no way a god hadn’t heard it. Soren had questioned and disagreed with the god’s commands. So [Wild] killed him.
It was that simple.
Even though the Elephant Tribe was the most loyal to the Ancient God after the Behemoths, even though Soren had followed every order, even when his conscience was troubled, even though he ran back and forth across tribes to convince them to join the alliance and serve the god...
Even though the other tribes were afraid or disgusted by the job of collecting and transporting corpses for sacrifices, Soren still sent his entire tribe to do it, and that’s why everything ran so smoothly.
To be honest, out of all sixteen tribal chiefs, Soren was probably the most faithful to that god. He gave the most, believed the most, and worked the hardest. That’s why he felt so much pressure, and sometimes vented his feelings privately to Tairnak.
But in the end, all that loyalty meant nothing. The god didn’t reward him. The title of divine messenger wasn’t given to Soren, it went to a worthless fool like Norris instead. And just for a few honest complaints made in private, the god killed Soren without hesitation. Not even his body was left behind.
The Behemoth ancestors taught that warriors should die with honor on the battlefield, not kill each other. So why did the god crush the soul of his most loyal follower?
A god like that... is it even worth following or believing in?
What a sinful, blasphemous thought... But from the moment Tairnak began to think of [Wild] not as a god, but as a fake god, the shining image of the Behemoth’s god broke apart in his heart. It became something ugly and monstrous.
And from that moment on, the fire of rebellion started burning fiercely inside him like a wildfire.
But along with it... came deep confusion.
Can it really be done?
Even if he decided right here and now to completely betray the evil god and side with the Holy Empire… would they really have any future?
To a god, human armies mean almost nothing. Tairnak could still remember the terrifying sight of the Dragon God slicing off a mountain with one strike. Although [Wild] didn’t seem to be in full form yet and still needed to absorb life energy to grow stronger, Tairnak had no doubt. If [Wild] truly wanted to, he could easily wipe out their army of a hundred thousand warriors.
The Behemoths and Dragons were ancient enemies. The Dragon God would never help them. And could they really count on the mercy of the Holy Empire’s great Goddess of Light? Were they supposed to bet that she actually existed? Bet that she had the power to fight [Wild]? Bet that she would even care enough to fight for a group of refugees and challenge another god?
What a joke...
Did they really have no choice?
The Chieftain slowly raised his hand. Behind him, the Behemoth warriors led by Tyrent sensed something and began to narrow their eyes, becoming alert. A few other tribal leaders who were close to the Behemoths were still unsure. But once a battle began, they would be dragged into it whether they wanted to or not.
Just like what was happening right now.
The tribal warriors didn’t know anything about international politics, but they had understood the earlier shouting match well enough. They knew who was in charge. Earlier, the Chieftain had ordered everyone not to attack the Holy Empire’s group, so they let them leave the fortress without a fight. It was the same now, if Tairnak gave the order, they would immediately charge and help tear the envoy’s army apart.
“Joint forces, get ready to atta—”
“I say… are you really sure about that~?”
A soft, playful voice of a young girl suddenly echoed near his ear, interrupting Tairnak’s deep thoughts and shocking him to the core. His fur stood on end, and he instinctively jumped backward. His pupils shrank sharply, and he let out a low, beast-like growl of warning.
“Who’s there!?”
That voice had come from right beside him, just half a step away! And he hadn’t sensed anything at all!
Tairnak, as the top warrior of the Behemoths, understood very clearly what that meant.
Even someone like the Judgement Saintess Frederica, the two angels, or Norris himself, the divine messenger, couldn’t possibly sneak up to him like that. As the strongest warrior of his tribe, with the naturally sharp senses of the Behemoth people, there was only one person who might be able to do that, the Sword Saint, whose skills were like a mythical being.
Yet the voice he had just heard wasn’t even quiet. It sounded clear and close. But when Tairnak turned his head and scanned the area around him, he found nothing suspicious. Instead, the warriors nearby looked startled by his sudden strange reaction, some of them even showing puzzled expressions.
“Chieftain, what’s wrong? Should we attack? The Divine Messenger’s side… doesn’t look like they can hold on much longer.”
Looking at Tyrent’s confused face, Tairnak felt a chill in his heart.
“…Wait… just a bit longer.”
He shook his head slightly and turned away, trying not to draw attention.
“May I ask… who are you?”
He said the words very quietly, so quietly that no one but himself could hear them. And yet, almost immediately, that same clear, almost musical voice of the girl returned to his ear.
“Oh~ You’re clever, and quick to catch on! I’d heard before that you were a wise leader, too smart for a Behemoth, they said. Looks like they weren’t exaggerating.”
“……”
Tairnak took a deep breath, trying to calm his racing heart. He glanced at the sky, where the two angels were still beating back the divine messenger of the Black Crow Tribe, who was now shouting angrily at him for help. Tairnak quickly sped up his speech, still keeping his tone neutral.
“Who are you really? And why have you suddenly chosen to speak to me?”