Chapter 50

Darius, who had been ordered by the King of Holmea to suppress the slave rebellion in Bornis, went straight to the military base on the outskirts after descending from the castle.

The general in charge of the base was surprised. Even though he was of the same rank, the other party was a former grand general. Not only in terms of his career, but also in terms of lineage and age, he was far inferior. The startled general, trying to at least make a good impression, hastily put on a ceremonial cloak and rushed out to greet Darius, but Darius said, "You're in the way," and walked into the base, ignoring the generals.

Realizing that the barracks where the common soldiers slept and lived were ahead, the generals tried to stop him, but Darius dismissed them with a single word: "No interference."

Darius opened the broken door of the barracks and entered the dimly lit room.

"Is Bogus here!?"

Darius's voice echoed through the barracks, where simple beds were lined up. Among the soldiers who were startled by Darius's sudden visit, a middle-aged man with a scruffy beard and a short-cropped head stepped forward. If this were not a military barracks, he would look like the leader of a band of mountain bandits.

He was a veteran soldier who had once led the common soldiers under Darius.

"Well, General, what brings you to this pigsty?"

The reactions of the soldiers in the barracks were divided. The relatively young soldiers, who had never expected a noble general to visit their barracks, which they themselves acknowledged as a garbage dump, were frozen in shock. However, the veteran soldiers who had fought under Darius's command in the past were shouting, "Are we pigs!?" and "A pigsty would be better!"

"I'm no longer a grand general. —But it's good to see you haven't changed."

"I apologize, General. Well, people don't change that easily."

"That's true."

Darius, who had relaxed his expression for a moment, quickly turned serious again.

"Have you heard about Bornis?"

"Well, yes..."

Bogus, who had understood what Darius meant, continued.

"Are you going to make us do something?"

"I'm going to form a punitive force, and I want you to lead two battalions."

"I don't mind, but the noble young officers won't be happy."

From Darius's tone, it seemed he was forming a special unit and wanted Bogus to lead it. However, such a special unit was a prime opportunity for the noble officers to gain merit. If a commoner took it, they would never be pleased.

"It doesn't matter. There's no need to cater to the whims of children who think they can fight just because of their bloodline."

"Yes, but the dissatisfaction will be directed at us."

"That's why I'm asking you. You know how to deal with such ignorant fools."

Darius had always favored Bogus, even when he was a grand general. It wasn't just because Bogus had the courage to speak frankly to the noble Darius and was respected by the common soldiers. Most importantly, it was because Bogus had the cunning to deftly avoid the harassment from the noble superiors who were jealous of Darius's favor.

"Well, that's true. —But why did you come all the way here? If it's just about that, couldn't you have waited until the formation was complete?"

"It would be too late. I want you to do it immediately."

Darius then spread out a map of western Holmea, which he had his attendant carry, and explained the details of the mission. Bogus made a face that said he understood the content but was not convinced.

"I see. But will Zuan go that far? I've never heard of such a thing."

"If it's a waste of time, so be it. Then it will just be a matter of crushing them."

If Darius was aware of this, Bogus had no objections. He bowed his head slightly and said, "Understood."

"The selection of the soldiers you will lead is up to you. I'll arrange the equipment and provisions with the military affairs department. Do as you please."

"Thank you."

Bogus turned to the soldiers who had been listening to their conversation and shouted.

"Did you hear that, men! We're going to decorate the former grand general's last stage with victory!"

A chorus of approval shook the barracks.

◆◇◆◇◆

On a plain east of Bornis, the sound of drums echoed.

In response, several angry shouts and the sound of footsteps like an earthquake thundered. The ones making these sounds were nearly a thousand Zuan.

A little distance away from the Zuan, dwarves and dinosauroids were watching the scene.

Garam, addressing them, raised his voice.

"Listen! Now, beat the drums intensely, boom, boom, boom, boom, as a signal to charge. Next, beat the drums for standby!"

Following Garam's words, the drum held by Shishur was beaten, boom, boom, boom. The Zuan, who had been running, immediately stopped.

"This is the signal for standby. —Now, everyone, join in!"

The dwarves and dinosauroids, following Garam's words, began to walk into the ranks of the Zuan. After confirming that everyone was in place, Garam shouted.

"Let's start!"

Shishur began to beat the drum.

What they were doing was training to unify their commands.

Until now, Soma had only led the Zuan. However, after capturing and liberating the slaves in Bornis and incorporating them into his forces, it was necessary to quickly unify their commands.

The rhythm of the drums used for the commands was based on the Zuan's. The Zuan, who lived on the vast plains, had the skill to convey a surprising amount of information through the combination of drum beats. Of course, not everyone could learn all of it immediately. For now, they were only thoroughly teaching the signals for charge and standby.

"It's monotonous, but we have to repeat it until it becomes second nature. Eventually, their bodies will move before their minds understand the drum beats."

Garam, explaining this to Soma, who was standing nearby, gave a hand signal. Shishur then beat the drum for standby.

The Zuan immediately stopped. However, the dwarves and dinosauroids, who had not yet understood the drum signals, stopped only after seeing the Zuan's reaction, which was a few beats late. Furthermore, when Garam had Shishur beat the same standby rhythm again, the Zuan did not move at all, while the dwarves and dinosauroids reflexively ran and then hurriedly stopped.

"Well, it's only the beginning. There's no help for it."

Garam, who smiled wryly, was met with a similar smile from Soma.

A rude voice was thrown at Soma's back.

"Hey, kid."

It was Jahangir Hesam Jaluji, a dinosauroid warrior lying on a flat rock a little distance away from Soma.

"Is the battle starting yet?"

Jahangir, who asked in a clearly displeased tone, yawned widely, as if he had lost interest. However, after a while, he called out to Soma again, calling him a kid.

Soma, who thought of himself as a kid, did not mind. However, Shahata, who was serving as Soma's guard, emitted a murderous aura every time Soma was called a kid. Smiling wryly, Soma answered politely.

"What is it?"

Jahangir, who had called out, paused for a moment as if searching for words, and then said abruptly.

"I am strong."

"…Yes, I've heard that."

In fact, Garam and Zugg had warned Soma to be careful of this dinosauroid warrior. If the two of them, whom Soma believed to be the strongest Zuan, said, "Don't get close to him when we're not together," he must be quite formidable.

"Yes, I am strong."

Soma's answer seemed to please Jahangir, who flared his nostrils and breathed heavily.

"Indeed, what is he…?"

Garam, who had been listening to the conversation between Soma and Jahangir, said in a low voice so that they couldn't hear. It was clear that he was angry that Jahangir was just loafing around instead of joining the training with the others.

Zugg, with a wry smile, said.

"He seems to recognize Soma to some extent, but he can't follow him sincerely because of past events. However, he seems to have the will to do something."

"…What do you mean?"

"Watch his tail."

Shishur beat the drum for charge.

The tip of the tail moved violently back and forth.

Shishur beat the drum for standby.

The violent movement of the tail stopped abruptly. Then, it swayed gently, waiting for the next drum beat.

"…I see."

Garam, who muttered this, was next to Zugg, who shrugged his shoulders as if to say, "I told you so." This annoyed Garam, who smiled maliciously.

"Indeed, an experienced one. You seem to understand your former self well."

Zugg, who was reminded of his own reluctance to follow Soma, frowned.

"Don't be ridiculous. I believed in Soma from the beginning. —Hey, Shishur."

Shishur, who was asked for agreement by his uncle, put his finger to his jaw and, after thinking for a moment, said.

"Indeed, Uncle believed in Soma from the beginning. After all, he was looking forward to how much he could make Garam bark if he took Soma from the 'Clan of Fangs.'"

"…Hmm. That's a very interesting story."

Garam glared at Zugg.

"Shishur! You betrayed me!"

"Once I became Garam's deputy, I said that I had to prioritize Garam over my own clan to gain true trust."

"…That's…"

Indeed, there was no arguing with that. Shishur, who had defeated his uncle, puffed out his small chest at Garam as if to say, "What do you think of that?" but Garam, who seemed to have a headache, put his hand on his forehead and said.

"Everyone is waiting for the next command."

Noticing that the comrades were looking up, wondering what was happening because the drum was not being beaten, Shishur hurriedly beat the drum.

Darius, the famous general who did not look down on the slave rebellion and was determined to crush Soma and his men with all his might.

Soma, who, with the Zuan, dwarves, and dinosauroids, was preparing to face him.

The battle between these two great men, who did not yet know of each other's existence and were far apart, had already begun.

Darius, who had already laid the groundwork, was about to propose a bold plan.

Next chapter: "Countermeasures"

The "Battle of Bornis," which would spread the name of the "Child of Destruction" throughout the world, was about to begin!

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