Anagin Chronicles

Chapter 122. Flow (1)

Hellas.

The center of the world, the only land of civilization in a world filled with barbarism.

Above all, a special land chosen by the Great Twelve Gods.

Those born and living in that special land were called Hellenes, and they regarded themselves as chosen, exceptional humans.

Just looking at how they called everyone other than themselves Barbaroi—barbarians—made it clear how immense their pride was.

However, even among the Hellenes, there were ranks.

They divided classes even under the same roof, so in a way, it was only natural.

At the very bottom among the Hellenes were, of course, the common folk. Lives spent farming without any notable achievements.

Above them were the nobles. Most nobles inherited the blood of honorable heroes and preserved their prestige over long periods by producing new heroes. Or else, they held their positions through politics.

But the most noble of all were, without question, the royal families.

Beings who had received the gods’ command to rule the human world. Among them were even those who had inherited the blood of the gods themselves.

Through the mouths of priests, the gods decreed that all Hellenes must obey their kings, and so not only commoners but nobles, and even practitioners who had accumulated rank, were required to comply.

That was the order.

The only beings permitted to harm a king were other kings.

Anyone else would not even dare to think of harming a king. To do so would invite the gods’ curse.

Even so, there were cases where kings were assassinated.

The first was when kings committed tyranny or grew arrogant and incurred the gods’ wrath. In such cases, killing a king was not a problem.

It was merely carrying out the will of the gods.

The second was when kings fell to impious beings who did not follow the gods. Arrogant monsters or villains were examples of this.

Of course, even combining both cases, such incidents were few enough to count on one hand.

That was why the beheading of Isos, King of the Kingdom of Arcadia, was such a shocking and unprecedented event.

One that might even bring about a great flow.

* * *

Despite having defeated Hippomenes, a bishop-rank member of the Barbaroi Cult.

When the sun rose the next day, the atmosphere was nothing but gloomy.

So heavy it felt as if it had sunk past the ground and was drilling into the earth itself.

Regardless of defeating Hippomenes, immense damage had already been inflicted.

The guests who had come to watch the Groom Tournament, the suitors who participated in it, and the attendants who followed them were the prime examples.

Hippomenes had scattered cursed gold like a madman, and as a result, at least eighty percent of the people at the Groom Tournament had died.

They were swallowed by the gold and into Hippomenes’ maw.

It was a figure that could effectively be called total annihilation

And considering that many of them were high-ranking figures such as foreign nobles, officials, and practitioners, the scale of the damage was beyond imagination.

After the commotion, the officials who came out to the palace fainted with foam at their mouths just by hearing the circumstances, which allowed one to guess how serious the situation was.

Explaining the situation to each nation was already a task, and providing compensation befitting it was an even greater one.

The officials who had collapsed foaming at the mouth sprang up and ran themselves ragged the moment they recovered, and Meleager, Tramachus, Thyreos, and Lynceus had to roll up their sleeves to help.

But that wasn’t the end of the problem.

The damage caused by Hippomenes had spread even to the common people, and the Royal Guard responsible for palace security had also suffered heavy losses—enough that holes were riddled throughout the palace defenses.

If one were to add the repairs of the broken and collapsed palace and other minor issues, there would be no end in sight.

It was clear that the blood loss was far too great to be happy over cutting off a pig bastard’s head.

However, the biggest problem of all was the death of Isos.

The King of the Kingdom of Arcadia, and the father of Atalanta and Irida.

They had barely managed to recover his head, which had been half crushed when the woodcutter rampaged through, and the atmosphere at that moment was beyond words.

Among all the sights Anagin had seen since becoming a practitioner, it might have been the most depressing.

Well, he could acknowledge Atalanta and Irida grieving.

Whatever the case, he was their father. It made sense that they would be sad.

But he couldn’t understand why everyone else looked so utterly deflated.

‘It’s because you don’t know how serious this situation is.’

Those were the words spoken by Ponytail five days ago, before leaving.

Ah, as of now, it had been five days since they defeated Hippomenes and were attacked by the woodcutter.

Ponytail had left around evening once daylight broke to write an article, and before that, he had said this to Anagin.

Of course, Anagin had replied.

That he knew how grand an existence a king was.

But Ponytail had merely shaken his head and said, ‘You still don’t really get it.’

The death of Isos himself wasn’t the big deal, but the death of the King of the Kingdom of Arcadia was.

A part of the structure called “order” had collapsed, and naturally, that structure would be rebuilt.

‘With blood.’

‘......Explain a bit more.’

‘All the nations of Hellas are going to attack the Traitors. A king has died, and if they take no revenge, then they’ll be next.’

‘That makes sense. But how do they even know where they are?’

Anagin asked, recalling how little was known about the Traitors.

‘Of course they don’t. Maybe someone has investigated and found something, but let’s skip that.’

‘Then how do they attack?’

‘First, they’ll target what’s exposed. Like the Forest Brotherhood.’

Anagin let out an “Ah.”

The Forest Brotherhood was sponsored by Erysichthon. The woodcutter was part of it too.

If they struck the Forest Brotherhood, it really did seem like they could inflict damage. Maybe even uncover a lead on the Traitors.

‘Even if the Forest Brotherhood is large and spread wide, if everyone joins forces, they could probably wipe them out without issue.’

Anagin judged this while recalling his past fights with the Forest Brotherhood.

Just by the New Argonaut Expedition Team and the Anapik practitioner family alliance joining forces, they had smoothly subjugated the bandit coalition in that region.

There might be variables, but still, it seemed manageable.

Whether they succeeded or failed, the Forest Brotherhood would suffer heavy damage either way.

Anagin wasn’t currently at war with the Forest Brotherhood, but if asked whether the relationship was good or bad, it was definitely closer to the latter.

If the Kings of Hellas took care of them, there was nothing bad in it for Anagin.

‘They’ll probably go after the thieves’ guilds that cooperate with the Traitors, too. Maybe even the Brokers’ Guild.’

‘The Brokers’ Guild?’

‘Ah, you don’t know? It’s literally a guild of brokers. They do anything that makes money. Mercenary placement, intelligence gathering, searches, deliveries. Rumor has it they even deal with monsters, the Barbaroi Cult, and the Traitors. They’ll do anything if it pays.’

That was surprising.

Putting aside the Barbaroi Cult and the Traitors, dealing with monsters too—didn’t they have an excessively strong professional spirit?

‘Ah, this might even get bigger. The kings could take the opportunity to wipe out the ones they’ve found annoying all this time as well?’

It was a reasonable point, but Anagin let it go in one ear and out the other. It wasn’t a topic he cared much about.

However, Ponytail shook his head as if to say otherwise.

‘Not just the Kings of Hellas, practitioners obsessed with achievements are going to run wild too.’

‘Why?’

Anagin asked, even though he roughly expected the reason.

Surely, to receive blessings. Mysterious power granted by the gods.

If they killed the Traitors who had murdered a king protected by the gods, the chances of receiving a blessing would increase.

Anagin’s guess was correct, and Ponytail gave a similar answer.

To obtain blessings, practitioners would kill suspicious figures first and ask questions later.

‘And you might be included in that. You were offered recruitment by the Traitors.’

’I refused, though?’

’They might think you refused on the surface, but accepted behind the scenes. Imagination is free, after all.’

‘Damn, that’s messed up.’

Anagin cursed outright, but even Sphinx expressed concern over the matter.

‘Ah, but really, you don’t know who it was? The one who tried to recruit you?’

‘I don’t.’

Anagin answered immediately that he didn’t know, and he gave the same answer when others asked.

Among the Traitors, the only one he knew was Erysichthon.

‘I’m not exactly the sociable type.’

Everyone seemed to accept that explanation to some extent. Anagin felt an inexplicable surge of irritation, but for now, he let it slide.

After that, nothing much happened.

Even after Ponytail left, similar days simply passed by.

With her father dead, Atalanta took the lead in restoring the chaotic Kingdom of Arcadia.

The officials tallied the damage, classified it, and devised countermeasures.

Meleager and the New Argonaut Expedition Team directly helped with restoration and calmed the anxious people.

Their efforts truly bore fruit, reassuring those who had lost their king overnight and were gripped by fear.

It was thanks to Meleager personally stepping forward to declare that he would guard the Kingdom of Arcadia until it stabilized, and to the news that Chiron Tower would also provide assistance.

Apparently, he wasn’t called a great hero for nothing.

In any case, once everyone, led by Meleager, joined forces, even the despair that felt like it would drill into the ground began to ease, and hope returned one by one as the damage was gradually repaired.

Ah, what about me?

It felt wrong to eat free meals, so I helped out moderately whenever everyone was working.

Of course, I focused far more on my personal time in the forest than that.

“Oh.”

Anagin exclaimed in admiration as he looked at the burning pigs that appeared after he infused Energy into the Beast Devourer.

He had tested it, wondering if the Beast Devourer could really use Hippomenes’s abilities as Ponytail had said, and by sheer luck, it succeeded on the first attempt.

When he infused Energy, the red patterns engraved on the blade of the Beast Devourer reacted, and soon, multiple pigs engulfed in flames were summoned.

Four pigs by default. The problem was.......

Oink oink

They were only the size of piglets.

A rather shabby result compared to the amount of Energy used.

Apparently, Anagin wasn’t the only one who felt that way, as Sphinx, watching beside him, commented as well.

“Is there really any value in summoning these?”

Oink?

The baby pigs made expressions as if their feelings were hurt.

But Sphinx wasn’t wrong. The pigs Anagin summoned didn’t even come close to the level of the ones Hippomenes had summoned.

If there was any improvement, it was that they had gained a fire attribute.

It was a bit disappointing. If they were at least on the level of Hippomenes’s pigs, they would be easy to use, like for tripping enemies up.

Honestly, Anagin himself doubted whether this could really be put to use.

However, admitting defeat meant losing. Anagin rejected Sphinx’s opinion.

“Anything can be useful depending on how you use it. They’re great as thrown projectiles.”

Kkuiik—!?

The summoned baby fire pigs stared wide-eyed at Anagin, who was casually saying terrifying things, as if they had wills of their own.

Sphinx was just as shocked, but perhaps because she had spent so long with Anagin, she seemed to be handling it fairly well.

Anyone would panic if a flaming baby pig came flying at them. You could call it catching them off guard.

“Wait, this isn’t right.”

Sphinx, who had almost unconsciously gone along with the terrifying idea, reflected belatedly.

Anagin gave the summoned fire pigs some simple commands, confirmed that they followed them, and then recalled them.

Thanks to continuous practice, the initially awkward summoning and unsummoning had become somewhat familiar.

It was said that a blessing felt like handling a new body, like a third arm, and the Beast Devourer felt similar.

Even if it was just baby pigs.

“Still, don’t be too disappointed, brother. There might be a hidden ability.”

Sphinx comforted Anagin while watching his expression.

It was a fairly convincing opinion.

Indeed, it might have been a bit early to be disappointed already. Being disappointed didn’t solve anything.

For now, he checked the remaining functions.

“Pinku-Pinku, are there still no animals nearby?”

“......Yeah, none.”

Sphinx pricked up both ears and checked whether any beasts were approaching Anagin.

Not even small animals came near.

At first, Anagin thought it was just his imagination, but after repeatedly encountering no beasts, he checked just in case.

It seemed that as long as the Beast Devourer was drawn, most beasts couldn’t approach.

As if they recognized the sword itself as a predator.

‘It really lives up to its name.’

Anagin pondered whether this trait could also be put to use.

And after finishing his thoughts to some extent.

“Why don’t you come out now? As you heard, there are no animals to hunt here.”

Anagin spoke toward the forest.

A brief silence settled.

Then Irida appeared from between the trees.