Chapter 833: An Unexpected Conversation
Lorgar’s heart sank at Roland’s unguarded stare.
She knew what she looked like. Back in Iron Sand City, she had heard the whispers — lycanthrope monster, half man, the Abandoned One — spoken behind closed hands, never directly. Fear of insulting the third daughter of the chief had kept those words at a careful distance. But she was not in Iron Sand City now. She was no longer the princess sheltered by the Wildflame clan, and whatever was said here, she would face it alone.
Roland hesitated for a long moment. Then: “Are your ears… and tail both real? Do you have to use magic power to maintain this shape, or have they become part of your body?”
Lorgar bit her lip. Instead of answering, she pushed her hair back, exposing the side of her face where her human ear had once been — and was no longer. “I can’t tuck them back, Your Majesty. I know they look very strange, but this is what I actually look like. I don’t want to hide my imperfection.” A breath. “If you insist, I’ll try to avoid public places so as not to frighten people.”
She had resolved, long before this moment, to embrace herself as she was. The resolution held. But being directly questioned still had a mean way of finding the seams in it.
Divine Ladies were held as powerful and beautiful beings by the Mojin clans — favored, admired by every young warrior. She was the exception. After her awakening, she had been overlooked rather than celebrated, her legitimacy questioned even by her own clansmen — which was precisely why her father had named her heir. She had thrown herself into physical training and pretended not to care about the rumors. Sometimes it was simply hard not to care, when so many fingers pointed and so many voices dropped to murmurs at her approach.
She had anticipated this. She had chosen her path anyway. The endless sand road from her dream had shown her where she was meant to go. At the thought, she straightened herself — trying to look audacious rather than braced.
Roland smacked his lips. “Strange? Why would you say that?”
Lorgar, prepared for something far worse, blinked. “Huh? Isn’t it because…”
“They don’t look like human ears?” He shrugged. “Ordinary men don’t have magic power either, and these ears aren’t affecting your hearing or your mobility. How could that be called a defect? They’re simply a unique feature — a very interesting one.” He tilted his head slightly. “Don’t you think they look pretty?”
From somewhere behind the chief, a woman’s voice cut in — low and soft, barely above a murmur, but Lorgar caught it. “Ahem, Your Majesty, please mind your language.”
But by then, Lorgar was no longer processing anything else.
Pretty.
She had never in her life associated that word with herself. For a moment she could not form a response. Her cheeks burned. The audacious posture she had been holding nearly collapsed entirely.
How is a half-man pretty?
“Anyway,” Roland continued, “I don’t require you to conceal your face or wear a hood in public. You can do whatever you like. Someone may point and stare at first, but they’ll get used to it soon enough. One solution would be to ask Soraya to make a picture-story book about you — or you could join the Star Flower Troupe and appear in a play, become a kind of idol. That’s the fastest way for the public to get to know you.”
Lorgar stood rooted to the spot, drowning in unfamiliar words. Picture-story book. Star Flower Troupe. Idol. She could not even begin to assemble a reply. Fortunately, Roland steered back to their original subject before the silence became painful.
“Right — Ashes told me you came here to fight against demons?”
Relief loosened something in her chest. “And to train myself, Your Majesty. I’ve heard there is a witch here called Miss Nana who can treat any battle wound. That matters enormously to a warrior. It is every warrior’s dream to fight and build experience without living in fear of injury. I’ll not only fight your enemies — I’ll cover all medical expenses myself.”
Roland nodded slowly. “I see. If you’re willing to join the Witch Union, there would be ample opportunity to fight—”
“But I prefer to act alone, Your Majesty.” She kept her voice quiet. “Like a mercenary. I don’t want to be distracted by anything other than fighting.”
She knew it was a partial truth. The fuller reason: she needed to understand the northern kingdoms before pledging anything. She was still, at her core, a daughter of the Sand Nation. If Roland failed to keep his promises from the Land of Fire, those Sand Nation people migrating south would eventually sever every tie with Graycastle. If that day came, the King of Graycastle would be her enemy. She could not commit without thinking it through.
“Is that so.” Roland considered her for a moment, then spread his hands with what looked like genuine regret. “Then I’m afraid I can’t fulfill your request.”
“Why?” The word came out sharper than she intended. A skilled independent fighter, available free of charge and willing to pay her own medical costs — who would refuse that? No sensible person, she had thought.
“Because this is a full-scale war,” he said. “Not a dispute between clans.”
The blood rose to her face. That dismissal — clans, as though the battles of the Sand Nation were children’s quarrels — lit a hot flame behind her ribs. Her tail rose. She was already forming a retort when Roland switched course entirely.
“You’ve fought Ashes, yes? What did you think of her?”
Lorgar swallowed the anger. “Very powerful,” she said, clipped. “She would be a first-class warrior even in the Southernmost Region.”
“That is the power of an Extraordinary,” Roland said slowly. “There are Transcendents far beyond even them — beings who have passed beyond every physical limitation of the human body, who possess strength that the word inconceivable was made for. Nothing constrains their improvement.”
“Tran… scendents?” The word stopped her entirely. She had heard Ashes speak of someone like that — in tones that could only be described as reverence.
“Even so,” Roland went on, each word landing with quiet precision, “three Transcendents, dozens of Extraordinaries, and thousands of combat witches were not enough to stop the demons. A great empire collapsed overnight. Now it is our turn.” He held her gaze. “The reason I declined your offer is simple. This is not a duel. It is a war between two civilizations — a war for survival. No matter how strong you are individually, solo operations will accomplish nothing here.” A pause. “More importantly, I don’t want you to die for nothing.”
Chapter 833: An Unexpected Conversation
Translator: TransN Editor: Meh
Lorgar’s heart sank at Roland’s unscrupulous gaze.
She knew what she looked like. Back in Iron Sand City, she had heard many people call her lycanthrope monster, half man or the Abandoned One secretly behind her back. Fearing these names would hurt the self-esteem of the third daughter of the chief, nobody had ever dared openly address her in that way.
But she was currently not in Iron Sand City and was no longer the princess shielded by the Wildflame clan, so she had to face these venomous comments on her own.
“Are your ears… and tail both real?” The chief hesitated for a long time before eventually blurting out. “Do you have to use magic power to maintain this shape, or they’ve become a part of your body?”
Lorgar bit her lip. Instead of answering the question, she pushed her hair back, revealing her one side of her face where her normal ear had disappeared. “I can’t tuck them back, Your Majesty. I know they look very strange, but this is what I really look like. I don’t want to hide my imperfection… If you insist, I’ll try to avoid going to public places so that I won’t scare people out.”
Although Lorgar had resolved to embrace herself long before, she still had a mean opinion of herself on such an occasion when being directly questioned. Divine Ladies were viewed as powerful and beautiful beings by Mojins, who were favored by all the clans and admired by all young warriors, but she, unfortunately, was an exception.
She had been ignored after her awakening. Her legitimacy had been questioned even by her own clansmen, which was the reason her father had
decided to name her as his heir. Lorgar dedicated herself to physical training and pretended that she did not care about those floating rumors, but sometimes, it was just hard to remain indifferent when so many people pointed finger at her back.
She had certainly anticipated these scenarios, but since she had chosen her path, she would not easily cede to her fate no matter what difficulties were awaiting her. The endless sand road in her dream had pointed where she should go. At these thoughts, the wolf girl erected herself, trying to look audacious.
The chief smacked his lips. “Strange? Why did you say that?”
Lorgar, who was prepared to receive any vicious remarks, stunned for a second. “Huh? Isn’t it because…”
“They don’t look like human ears?” Roland shrugged. “Ordinary men don’t have magic power either, and these two ears aren’t affecting your hearing or mobility. So, how can you say they’re defective? They’re simply a unique feature of yours, a very interesting one indeed. Don’t you think these two ears look pretty?”
“Ahem, Your Majesty, please mind your language.” At that moment, Lorgar heard a woman’s voice behind the chief. The voice was very low and soft, but she still captured it.
Yet she was, at that time, too absorbed in the chief’s comment to think about anything else.
Pretty?
Lorgar had never associated herself with the word “pretty”. For a second, she failed to come up with an answer, her cheeks burning, her brooding courage almost gone.
How is a half man pretty?
“Anyway, I don’t require you to conceal your face or wear a hoody in public… You can do whatever you want.” Roland went on, “Perhaps someone will point and stare at you at the beginning, but they’ll get used to it eventually. One solution is to ask Soraya to draft a picture-story book about you, or you can join Star Flower Troupe to star in a play and become an idol. This would be the fastest way for the public to get to know you.”
Lorgar was overwhelmed by a series of unfamiliar words like “picture-story book”, “Star Flower Troupe” and “idol”. She stood rooted to the ground, failing to utter a word. Fortunately, Roland returned to their previous subject just in time.
“Right, Ashes told me that you came here to defend against demons?”
Relieved, the wolf girl answered, “And also to train myself, Your Majesty. I’ve heard there’s a witch called Miss Nana in Neverwinter who can treat any wounds inflicted during a battle. This is very important to a warrior. You must know that it’s a warrior’s dream to fight and gain combatting experience without the fear of getting injured. Of course, I’ll not only fight against your enemies but also bear all the medical expenses incurred.”
Roland nodded. “I see. If you’re willing to join the Witch Union, you’ll have a big chance to fight…”
“But I prefer to act alone, Your Majesty.” Lorgar interrupted him quietly. “Like a mercenary, I don’t want to be distracted by anything other than fighting.”
She knew that was just an excuse. The reason behind her lie was that she wanted to have a better understanding of northern kingdoms before pledging alliance to the chief. Lorgar had not forgotten that she was essentially a Sand Nation. If Roland failed to keep his promise made at Land of Fire, those Sand Nations moving to the south would eventually sever all relationships with Graycastle. If things really got to that point, the King of Graycastle would be her enemy. Hence, she could not make her decision without a thorough consideration.
“Really…” Roland reflected upon her words for a while and then spread out his hands regretfully. “Then I can’t satisfy your demand.”
“Why?” Lorgar was surprised. She thought a mercenary with exquisite combatting skills would be popular everywhere, not to mention that she was willing to provide her service for free and bear all medical expenses. No sensible people would ever decline such a generous offer. How could he refuse her?
“Because this is going to be a full-fledged war, not some minor disputes between several clans.”
Lorgar felt all her blood rush to her head. She was outraged at Roland’s insulting comment where he basically renounced all Sand Nations’ fights as silly jokes. She perked up her tail and was about to shoot back when Roland suddenly switched the topic. “You’ve fought with Ashes, right? What do you think of her?”
Suppressing her anger, the wolf girl replied indignantly, “Very powerful. She would be a first-class warrior even in the Southernmost Region.”
Roland said slowly, “This is the power of an Extraordinary. There’re even Transcendents much stronger than them. The latter has gone beyond all physical restrictions of the human body and possess an inconceivable power. In other words, nothing can stop them from improving themselves.”
“Tran… scendents?” Roland’s words completely had Lorgar’s attention. She wondered how powerful that person had to be when even Ashes admired her.
“However, even with three Transcendents, dozens of Extraordinaries, and thousands of combat witches, we failed to stop demons, and a great empire thus collapsed overnight. Now, it’s our turn.” The chief’s every single word seemed to directly go to her heart. “The reason I declined your offer is very simple. This isn’t a one-on-one duel but a fatal war between two civilizations. No matter how strong you are, individual operations won’t work… More importantly, I don’t want you to die for nothing.”