Building A Human Empire By Creating A Clan [EN]: Chapter 127

Koahmic suppressed his mounting anger.

He felt his pride wounded by what he considered mere livestock.

‘How dare a human.’

He had suspected something when Sumon Thema so readily opened the way, that the human before him possessed some hidden strength or advantage. But Koahmic hadn’t easily acknowledged it.

The only humans he remembered were those raised on the farms, fit only for labor or slaughter.

How dare livestock threaten him?

He wouldn’t tolerate such insolence.

‘Damn it.’

But now, he was forced to acknowledge it.

Because failing to acknowledge it would only lead to greater losses.

‘That I should yield to livestock.’

What course of action should he take now?

Koahmic saw two choices before him.

The first was to fight to the death as things stood.

‘If I fight as things stand, the odds of winning are…’

The odds were discouragingly low.

He only needed to look at the martial prowess of that human woman.

She had neutralized a sandworm with a single, devastating kick.

This was an overwhelming display of martial skill that Koahmic couldn’t hope to match.

‘There are a hundred royal guards inside the palace. By now, the defense forces must be on standby around the palace. No matter how strong that bitch is, she can’t overwhelm the numbers, but the losses will be enormous.’

Koahmic felt the chilling danger that he himself might die before killing Edar and Calliope.

A danger that felt close to certainty, not just a simple premonition.

‘Did he plan for this from the start?’

Koahmic recalled Edar’s earlier words.

– You gave me distance, believing you seized the opportunity to kill me. But consider this: Do you truly believe I can’t kill you at this distance?

It was as Edar had said.

If Edar killed Koahmic, he wouldn’t escape unscathed, but conversely, if Koahmic tried to kill Edar, Koahmic’s own survival was far from guaranteed.

‘Did he use this same trickery to deceive Sumon Thema?’

He glared at Edar, cursing him inwardly.

‘Even so, I don’t want to yield to a human.’

The second choice was unacceptable to his pride.

Koahmic was fundamentally different from Sumon Thema. Even if he desired to eliminate the other two incarnations and become the sole ruler, he wouldn’t achieve it in this manner.

He refused to admit that he had to rely on the power of humans, who were, in his eyes, no different from livestock, beneath even other races.

‘I don’t need the help of livestock to catch the other two!’

From the beginning, there was no trust between them.

Edar had offered negotiations to Sumon Thema and Koahmic, the two incarnations.

What if he played another trick on Kuirau?

Koahmic had no faith that a human who had manipulated the Council with his silver tongue would produce a result that would benefit him.

‘Sumon Thema, you moron.’

If Sumon Thema hadn’t so readily opened the way, there would have been no need for such complicated calculations.

If he had even a little spare power, if the Imperial Army had appeared anywhere other than the capital, he would have settled it without negotiation or any other concessions.

He gritted his teeth, suppressing his anger.

‘You should have asked me for help instead! Then Kuirau or I would have helped—‘

Suddenly, he stopped his train of thought.

‘Help?’

Yes.

There was another method.

A third choice besides the first two.

Pretending to accept the offer and colluding with Kuirau.

‘That’s it.’

He would promise to hand over the humans, but in exchange, demand Kuirau’s death and the dispatch of the Imperial Army to Kuirau’s territory. While recalling the expeditionary force sent to the Mikena Empire, he would pursue the Empire.

Even if he allowed them passage, he would have to monitor them to prevent them from doing anything foolish. While pretending to monitor and chase the Imperial Army, he would gather his own troops and then collude with Kuirau?

It was simple, yet there was no more certain method than this.

‘Of course… this assumption requires the prerequisite that Kuirau fights the humans. But Kuirau will definitely do that. He’s the most hot-headed of the three of us.’

His personality was one factor, but the situation also favored such a response.

If Koahmic conveyed the news to Kuirau ahead of the Imperial Army, there would be ample time to prepare, and Kuirau’s kingdom had no easy bypass to raid the capital.

‘I was ambushed in the capital, which is like the heart, and suffered this humiliation. But not Kuirau. It’s futile to mess around at the border fortress with less than ten thousand troops. It’ll be difficult to even occupy one fortress. Is Kuirau the type to be discouraged by having one fortress occupied? It’ll only provoke his anger.’

Koahmic and Kuirau were both incarnations [beings considered as physical manifestation of a deity].

As beings revered as gods, incarnations possessed immense pride.

Would they tolerate being coerced by livestock?

Sumon Thema, who bent his pride and gained profit, was a unique and, in Koahmic’s eyes, contemptible fellow.

‘I might even be able to harm Kuirau in the process.’

If he played his cards right, could he eliminate Kuirau after dealing with the humans?

Being used by humans was anathema to his pride, but he relished the idea of using humans as pawns.

“I will hand over everything as you proposed. But bring me Kuirau’s head. I will hand over the humans after you bring me the head.”

“So be it.”

Edar replied in the same way he had to Sumon Thema.

“When do we depart?”

“In ten days.”

“You’re staying quite long.”

Koahmic smiled inwardly.

Ten days was ample time to inform Kuirau.

It wasn’t enough time for the expeditionary force to fully return, but it was sufficient for Kuirau to grasp the situation and summon the troops remaining in his territory. He also had to consider the time it would take for the Imperial Army to reach Kuirau’s domain.

‘If I send a messenger through the familiar [a magical creature bound to a witch or wizard], at least some of the expeditionary force will be able to join him before he crosses the border.’

But the smile was short-lived.

“Because the rear guard hasn’t arrived yet.”

Rear guard?

Ten thousand wasn’t the entire force?

The number of Imperial Army soldiers who arrived in the capital was ten thousand.

Koahmic, who had assumed that was all of them, was taken aback.

“How many are crossing the mountains?”

“Who knows.”

Edar twisted his lips, deliberately avoiding a direct answer.

The true strength of the Imperial Army was revealed three days later.

“50,000?”

The rear guard was five times the size of the advance party.

Unlike the advance party, which numbered less than ten thousand, didn’t even wear proper armor, and carried simple spears, the rear guard was a large-scale unit equipped with heavy armor and superior weaponry.

“···That must be the main force. Has contact been made with Kuirau?”

In the meantime, Koahmic sent messengers to the expeditionary force, ordering a retreat, and also informed Kuirau of the appearance of the Imperial Army to prepare for war.

“Yes. Lord Kuirau has also decided to immediately turn back the expeditionary force. He has requested that we periodically inform him of the human army’s heading.”

“Hmm. It was a good thing I informed Kuirau.”

But he wasn’t relieved.

Because the humans he had known so far were livestock living on farms. Among them, the better livestock were the arena fighters and war slaves, but even they were, to put it coldly, nothing but trash.

But what about the Imperial Army?

‘It’s hard to dismiss them as merely numerous, considering their armament and military discipline. The fact that they crossed the mountains is also proof that they are not just conscripts.’

Koahmic was more shocked than when Edar revealed his soul.

Even though this was the first time he had seen Edar in person, he wasn’t that surprised. Each of his actions in the Council was significant, so he had already thought of him as an unusual human.

To cause trouble in the Council, he had to be at least that capable.

The Imperial Army was different.

An expeditionary force of 60,000?

Looking at the numbers alone, it was no less than the expeditionary force sent to Mikena.

‘The substance won’t be great compared to the number. It’s only been a few years since that guy conquered the peninsula and usurped the title of emperor.’

The problem was that his power had grown so much in those few years. If he could grow his power to this extent in just a few years, what if he was given more time?

That brought a sense of crisis to him.

“Maybe… I should have targeted the humans before Vlad’s Mikena Empire.”

He had to kill them now, Koahmic decided.

When the expeditionary force returned, Koahmic and Kuirau would be the numerically superior side. If they fought a battle, the damage would be great, and it would be like being played by Sumon Thema’s tricks, but Koahmic was convinced that he couldn’t let them return like this.

“Keep a close watch on the Empire’s movements. He’s a guy who played with the Council in his hands. He might be up to something else. If you see any strange behavior, report it immediately!”

The Imperial Army departed as scheduled on the tenth day.

Koahmic said he would send a guide, but Edar refused.

“I don’t need a guide. It’s a road I’ve been on a few times.”

“A road you’ve been on?”

When exactly?

Koahmic asked, but again Edar didn’t answer.

‘Yeah, go ahead and show off. The result won’t change just because a guy like you pretends to be great.’

Edar led the army from the front.

Koahmic observed the Imperial Army’s route and laughed.

Of the many roads available, they were going to cross the river.

He boasted that he knew the way, but he was going to cross the river?

“He said he knew the way, but he doesn’t know at all. Was it all a bluff?”

Koahmic nodded at his subordinate’s ridicule.

“Going around and around to the Guadarahara River… If it was like the way he’s shown so far, I thought he would do something a little novel, but it was all a bluff.”

Guadarahara.

The river that flowed between the Uahkan Kingdom and the Sochitlak Kingdom.

For a long time, that river was treated as the natural border between the two kingdoms.

The current was calm and the depth was not deep, but the river was a river. To cross the river, they had to launch a boat or build a bridge, but there was no port where the Imperial Army was heading, and there was only one bridge.

“Crossing the river itself is not a problem. There’s a bridge, so there’s no need to make a raft, just cross it.”

“But there’s no need to cross the river in the first place.”

“That’s right. From the capital of Uahkan to the capital of Sochitlak, there’s a road that’s almost a straight line. To leave this road and detour to the south where the river is? It’s a stupid thing to go around a distance that would take twice as long in terms of time.”

Why did the Imperial Army cross the mountains?

Wasn’t it to not give Koahmic time to respond?

But now the Imperial Army was doing the opposite.

“At this rate, I wouldn’t have needed to inform Kuirau.”

Koahmic tilted his head several times and followed the Imperial Army. But no matter how much he thought about it until Edar’s Imperial Army arrived at the river, he could only conclude that Edar was bluffing and took the wrong road.

“Maybe.”

Just as he was about to guess and move on, the chief warrior said.

“Surely he’s not thinking of foolishly fighting a battle with Kuirau, is he?”

Koahmic laughed at his guess.

“There’s no way he would.”

“But you never know, do you? He promised to bring Lord Kuirau’s head. Therefore, isn’t there a possibility that he gave Lord Kuirau time to summon troops so that he could fight a battle?”

“Time? Do you see the reason for the detour as buying time?”

“Yes. You could say that he pretended to know the way because of his pride, but he didn’t, and that’s how it turned out… but it’s too different from what I’ve heard about him so far.”

Koahmic frowned and thought.

The reason why he had been thinking about it several times was that.

Edar’s record was so brilliant that it felt reasonable to think that he was doing something incomprehensible because he had a different plan.

“Then why did he choose the river? Wouldn’t it be better to choose the plains without incident? If things go wrong and he has to retreat, it will be difficult to retreat on a narrow bridge.”

If the bridge were to break, it would be impossible to cross at all, and they would be trapped in Kuirau’s territory.

The chief warrior seemed to know the answer, but hesitated.

When Koahmic urged him, he finally answered in a hesitant voice.

“…Isn’t it because of Your Highness?”

“Because of me?”

“If he predicted that Your Highness was aiming for collusion with Kuirau. To ensure safety by placing the river in the rear…”

“……”

Koahmic swallowed.

No way, that’s ridiculous.

“No! That can’t be! From the beginning, the assumption that he would fight a battle with Kuirau doesn’t make sense. Even if he wins and kills Kuirau, will his forces be intact? Would I or Sumon Thema leave a battered guy alone?”

Edar clearly promised.

That he would bring Kuirau’s head.

Koahmic didn’t believe the promise. Because he made the promise falsely. How could a liar believe the words of others?

“There will be no battle. He’s going to use that tongue of his again to make an agreement and try to deal with it vaguely. He’ll definitely do that.”

He muttered as if hypnotizing himself.

The chief warrior didn’t say anything more and stepped back.

In the meantime, the Imperial Army began to cross the bridge.

Thud— Thud—

And taking advantage of that moment, Kuirau’s army appeared.

Because there was no more vulnerable moment than the moment they crossed the river.

‘They’ve already crossed the bridge. They can’t retreat now.’

Koahmic, who was watching from the hill, clenched his fist.

“The time has come!”

Koahmic turned around and shouted.

Before him, the army of Uahkan was lined up.

30,000 Lizardmen warriors, including the expeditionary force that had urgently returned from the Mikena Empire and conscripts gathered from the provinces. About half of them were cavalry and dismounted infantry from the expeditionary force.

Looking at the numbers alone, it was only half of the Imperial Army, but the Imperial Army was dispersed because they were crossing the bridge. They couldn’t gain numerical superiority, and they wouldn’t even be able to respond properly.

“The livestock from that distant land told me! To break my fence and liberate the livestock I raised! Do you think this makes sense!”

The warriors shouted no.

“Yes! It’s nonsense! So I called you. To stop the war with the vampires and to punish the livestock who dare to threaten us and are not even slaves!”

Koahmic gestured towards the bridge.

“Go! Catch them all! The livestock you catch will soon be yours!”

The armies led by the two incarnations rushed in from both sides of the Imperial Army.

‘Show me if you’ve really done something stupid, or if you have a good plan! I’ll show you that nothing can overcome our anger.’

Koahmic glared at the two humans standing at the rear of the Imperial Army.