CHAPTER 11: FIGHTING FEAR WITH FEAR

***Navaren***

“Boat coming in!”

The village port of Navaren had received its second set of visitors from the mainland in a short period. However, unlike the rowdy, happy first batch composed of Chief Kuro and his ‘tribe’ of orphans, these visitors were a grim, serious pair of fox-men.

“As the elder of the Eagle tribe,” Chief Gislaine received them in her hut, “I bid you welcome to the lands of the Avinus.”

“Greetings, Chief Gislaine!” one of the fox-men replied, “Her Holiness, Ruro of the Wolf, sent us here.”

“Oh! And what is it that Her Holiness wants from our humble tribe?”

“I’ll get to the point, Chief Gislaine. I’m sure you have heard of a traveling one-armed human who had a bear-woman as his companion. We track that human, see?”

“You mean the Chief Lawrence of the Orphans?”

The fox-men exchanged stares before they answered, “We’re sure that he changed names to hide his identity, but his true name is the Lord Kuro of Arles, the human hero known as the ‘Commoner General’.”

Chief Gislaine fell silent upon hearing that. The first fox-man was quick to notice her reaction.

“I believe he came to this place, Chief Gislaine. Your face shows my hunches are correct.”

The elder of the Eagle tribe sighed, “Alright, yes, I don’t intend to hide that fact from you, anyway. That human you’re pursuing is not here anymore. If you’re trying to look for him, you better search in this place…”

----------

***The Cauldron***

A fox tribesman could be seen running towards the entire hallways of the Beastman Saint’s cave-palace and then bursting into the throne room of the Saint.

“…”

Ruro and Kashca Telis were surprised by his sudden appearance; however, it was Ruro who quickly came to her senses. “You have news for me?”

“Yes, Your Holiness!” the fox-man kneeled and stretched out his hands, offering a scroll of parchment, “The spies have sent this letter for you!”

Telis took the letter for Ruro, opened and read its contents. “Your Holiness, we’ve reached the lands of the Avinus in search for the Lord Kuro. The Eagle tribe’s chief, Gislaine of the Eagles, confirmed that he came to this region along with new companions.”

“That’s great to hear,” the wolf-saint commented.

But, Telis wasn’t done yet, “However, the Eagles also told us that the Lord Kuro returned to the mainland after they were told that the food in Navaren wouldn’t be enough to support his group.” The fox-woman then closed the scroll, “The Lord Kuro was looking for a place to stay, Your Holiness.”

“Hmm…”

“Anything in your mind, milady?”

“Knowing my beloved master’s mind, I highly-doubt if that Eagle chief is telling the truth.”

“What do you mean?”

“My Kuro would always think against common sense,” Ruro smirked, “If this Eagle chief claims that he went back to the mainland in search of a place to stay, I don’t think that’s what he really did. The land of the Avinus is filled with monsters, and its islands presented a formidable obstacle to our armies, should we try to head there.”

Telis remained silent.

“Here’s what I’m thinking, my sweet Telis! The Eagle chief might be telling the truth, but I’m sure that Kuro is in those lands, hiding in someplace somewhere. After all, the lands of the Avinus consist of several islands.”

“Should we try sending a search party to capture him?”

“No, don’t do that, Telis,” Ruro caressed her face, “Tell those spies to remain in Navaren for the time being. I’m sure those Eagles won’t mind their presence there, or else…”

----------

**Kuro**

I was really dejected when I came back to our hut. And here I think this tribe was different from Ursura’s group; as it turned out, they were even worse than the former. I could now understand why Minahaba was that stubborn in pushing her kin forward.

She has to do it, or they’ll die out.

“…”

Good thing the others were playing with the chicken-children, and so no one saw me slam a nearby table. I’m really annoyed with that kind of attitude, see? They hadn’t even tried those proposals and yet they were quick to give up.

Damn it! Maybe I should just sleep away from this stress.

“Hey there! Welcome back!”

Jules’ face greeted me the moment I opened my eyes. If I remember, I was in the hut, sleeping out my stress. My transfer was so sudden, I could not speak for a moment.

“…”

Looking around, I was back again at his beautiful garden, and—as usual—I saw he was playing another visual novel on his laptop.

“Ah, I just bought it from Ste*m. It was on sale, see?” Jules explained; maybe he saw me staring at his game.

“Heh…is it the summer sale?”

“No, it’s the winter one.”

“Oh…” So it is December back in my world, huh? I was hit by another round of nostalgia; back in my Earth days, I’d always set a part of my salary for the games I’d buy from Ste*m, which I didn’t play, anyway. “Well, what did you call me out here for? I just went to sleep, and I’m kind of tired.”

“Eh, sorry about that,” Jules chuckled, “Well, I got a notification from my laptop, see?”

“Notification?”

“Yeah. It says that you’re about to do some miracle.”

“Ha? What are you talking about?” I stared back at him in confusion, “In this world with magic, there’s a possibility of a miracle?”

“There is!” Jules shook his head while smiling, “I guess you’re spurred to action when that falcon-woman asked you to help the Chicken tribe?”

“Oh, that!” I could only sigh, “Yeah, but even before our talk I was already planning that.”

“And when you gave your ideas, it was turned down, right?”

“Not really; more like, they want to do it, but they are always doubting themselves that nothing is done.”

Jules let out a slow laugh, “Just as I expected! It’s the old Chicken tribe, alright.”

“Well, it’s as if the word ‘weak’ is engraved in their bones that they won’t fight, even if they want to live. They claim it is the mandate of heaven for them to be like that!” I sighed in exasperation, “Did you really created them to be like that?”

“Are you daft? No existing god wished for their creations to be that pathetic, of course not! However, you mortals were given the gift of free will, and so you decide on your own fates. Don’t blame us for your misfortune!”

“I see…well, it figures.”

“You know what, you better quit it.”

“What?”

“You heard me, you should quit it.”

“W-Why?”

“Ahh, you don’t know how much of a headache the Chicken tribe is, even in the past,” Jules elaborated, “I mean, I tried helping them before, but…”

“But?”

“Those guys just won’t listen. They think they’re weak and so weak they shall become!” the former god sighed, “Honestly, dude, you’re just wasting your time and efforts on them. You already saved those people; no one’s asking you to do everything for them.”

“They’d die out if I did that.”

“Uh…I don’t know about you, but don’t say I didn’t give a warning,” Jules shrugged, “You’re better off helping the Eagles; their chief will always listen to you.”

“Ah, they’re just like my students at school. Pretty stubborn kids, but I think I can manage.”

There were a few moments of silence between me and Jules. He just looked at me, as if staring deep into my soul, that it became too awkward. I had to avert my eyes from him when that happened. And then, he gently closed his laptop and focused his attention on me.

“I see…” he smiled and sighed. “Well, that’s a good answer, Kuro. Just what I wanted to hear.”

“Eh? What do you mean?”

“I could see your concern for the world I created, as well as those who live in it,” the former god nodded and gave me a pat on the shoulder, “I think that’s a good precedent since you’re aiming to be a god—”

“I don’t!”

“Tch. You’re really boring, you know,” Jules smirked, “Anyway, because of your answer, I’ll give you another help this time. As someone who created them, my heart goes to the Beastmen, now under the tyranny of that saint, Ruro. You and I have the same goals, see? I also wanted the Chicken tribe to survive. But—”,

“Hm?”

“Though I tested you, the warning earlier is true. The Chicken tribe is really stubborn, and they see themselves as ‘weak’, though every Beastman race is with their own potential to be great. I’d say it’s impossible to change that kind of mindset, now that it is ingrained into their system.”

“I see where you’re coming at.”

“Yes, and here’s a hint: fight fear with fear.”

“Fight fear with fear?”

“You know, like the Soviet NKVD did to their soldiers in World War 2? Or how about the officers of the European armies did to their deserting men in World War 1? You love history right, I’m sure you know what I’m talking about.”

----------

Back in the hut after that vision, I remained in my seat for a while, pondering on what happened. Well, yes, I’m aware of what Jules was trying to say. The fear of dying was something every mortal heart possessed, and when a leader gives their men no other option but death, the result would be an act of courage like that of lions.

“…”

And to be honest, what Jules said was something that occupied my mind for a long while now.

If there’s a will, there’s a way.

That saying back in my old world came back to my mind. Leaving the divine element on this one, the Chicken tribe’s main enemy was not the harpies, but themselves. Sure, those monsters were powerful and scary, but they could be killed. If they wanted weapons, we could create alternatives as a stop-gap measure, until we wrested back the control of their mines.

Fighting fear with fear…

Honestly, I didn’t like that idea. If possible, I’d like to appeal to someone’s reason, their common sense. However, if the Chicken tribe was this obstinate, I didn’t think I could talk to them in a level field.

“Help them with everything you can…”

Minahaba’s words replayed in my head. If I tried to take the diplomatic course, it’d surely take time to convince them to fight for themselves. Time was running out; the food supplies that the Eagle tribe sent to us wouldn’t last for long.

But, if I resolved to ‘iron-handed’ means, their attitude might be fixed, though I had to be a villain to achieve my ends. Not that I care about my image as a person; my concern was the children with me, as well as the others in this village. I wanted to set a good example to them, for only Time could tell about their futures. Some might end up as leaders of their people…and I didn’t like to lead them down the path of a despot.

“…”

I stood by the window and watched the orphans playing with the other kids from the village. Minahaba’s plea to me and Jules’ word remained in my heart. The images of the dead villagers being eaten by the harpies flashed through my mind at the same time.

“…”

Well, a leader has to make difficult decisions to save his/her people…

Taking a deep breath, I went back to my things and grabbed my dagger and matchlock pistol. I guess it’s time for me to take control of the situation.

I’ll fight the Chicken tribe’s fear with my own fear…

----------

**Ursura**

“Bear-woman, quick, help me!” the falcon-woman suddenly burst into our hut with a pale face and sweat forming on her forehead. Her shouting interrupted my sleep, which she further dissipated by shaking me awake.

“W-What? What’s happening?”

“It’s the Chief! He’s heading out of the village!”

“Huh? What?” all the sleepiness in my head disappeared upon hearing that. I immediately got up from my bed, “Isn’t there’s a nest of harpies at the foot of this hill?”

“There is! Quick, help me stop him!”

When we got out of the hut, there was already a commotion around the village as the chicken tribesmen were hurrying towards the gates of their palisades. The chicken-children were also up and excited, shouting, “The human chief! The human chief is attacking the harpies!”

The falcon-woman and I exchanged frantic glances and raced to the entrance. We had difficulty in squeezing ourselves through the crowd that gathered there; however, when we eventually reached the gates…

“Let me go! The Chief is in trouble!”

“Teviki will come with the Chief and bite the harpies!”

I saw the mantis-girl and the tiger-girl being restrained by some of the Chicken tribesmen from venturing far from the palisade walls. From a distance, we saw the figure of Kuro slowly walking down the hill complete with a dagger strapped to his right arm, and a smoking demon weapon on his left.

“Kuro, what the hell are you thinking?” I called out to him, “Come back here!”

“Stay back!” he answered, dismissively waving his hand, “I’ll show these cowards how a true coward fights!”

“What the fuck are you saying?” I took a step forward, “Snap out of it!”

“Don’t stop me!” Kuro turned and pointed his weapon towards us, “Either we die of starvation here, or I’ll die showing these chickens how to fight!”

I was taken aback by his gesture. It was a foolish decision, challenging the harpies alone. And damn it, he’s a human! We Beastmen were having difficulties in killing those monsters; what could he do? Even though he’s got the god-powers, it’d take time to cast it against his enemies.

“Bear-woman, we have to stop him,” the falcon-woman tugged on my arm, “I’ll fly and carry you towards the Chief; you restrain him.”

However, while we’re talking about our plan, Kuro lost his mind and charged towards the harpy nest. Everything happened so fast that we could do nothing for the first few moments.

----------

**Kuro**

Who says I’m not scared? I am!

“Aaaaaaaaarrrrrggghhhh!”

In my attempt to inspire the Chicken tribe, perhaps this was the most foolish decision I made in my life.

“…”

This would be easy if I used the god-power over the weather. But no, these guys needed to know how to fight these monsters with no help of magic.

“Guoh!”

Besides, I might end up destroying the entire village if I cast the god-power spell…

The harpies quickly emerged from their nests and engaged me. A usual harpy nest would contain around two to five monsters, depending on the size of their territory. For this one, four harpies took flight, and with their usual speed, tackled and threw me off the ground.

“…”

Good thing I got my dagger tied to my right arm and my matchlock pistol to my left. Otherwise, I’d be disarmed right at this moment. One thing I noticed about the harpies when they fight was that they’d fly high, and then, do a diving attack.

And I aim to exploit that flaw.

However…

“You really don’t give a quarter to your victims, eh?” like a pack of wolves that had cornered its prey, the four harpies surrounded me. We entered into a staring contest as if we’re sizing up each other. But well, it’s easily concluded that I’m at a disadvantage at this point.

Well, while I did certainly expected to encounter two to five harpies, I was surprised that they came out all at once. I mean, when we’re fighting those monsters back on the mainland, they’d always fight in pairs. Perhaps it’s because I encroached on their territory that they were forced to defend it with all they got.

Here it comes…the fly-high part before the diving attack!

Without a moment to waste, I made my move. Two of the harpies began their climb in the air, while the two others remained in the level distance against me, standing between me and their nest. Maybe they’re the ones who’d be doing the defense while the diving pair was assigned to take me out.

Of course, I’m not a fool to let them.

I quickly made a wound on my arm and let it bleed for a moment. Then I swung the injured limb around so that the blood would splatter on the grass. Once it was done, I healed my arm and made my evasive move.

The harpies follow the smell of meat and blood.

“We’ll see if the notes that I made are effective then!”

At once, the diving pair headed straight to the spots where the drops of my blood fell, effectively distracting them from my own counter-attack, which was aimed at the defensive pair.

“!!!”

While the ‘offense’ harpies were busy with my ruse, the ‘defense’ harpies noticed my presence and set-off to attack me. Heh, just as what I surmised; they don’t want anyone else near their nests.

Meeting me halfway, the defensive pair charged towards my direction. And it was the moment I was waiting for…

“!!!”

With our distance closing, I shot at the first harpy. The bullet struck its head fair and square, causing its blood to splatter on me. Good thing the explosion startled and disoriented the other harpy; I lunged at it and plunged the dagger on its neck.

“Gah!”

However, just as I took down the defense, the ‘offense’ made its presence known. The lead harpy did its diving attack, enclosing me with its powerful talons before bringing me mid-air. I could feel my lungs being squeezed, and the fast climb rate of the harpy made it like my soul was being sucked out of my body.

Dang, I can’t die here without a fight!

Though the monster’s talons were insanely-powerful, it’s not made of steel. In my desperation to escape, I began stabbing its legs with both my dagger and the small bayonet attached to my matchlock pistol. The harpy struggled with me, trying to stop my attacks by shaking its talons.

But then, though I’m getting violently shaken, I kept on swinging my weapons until I was almost blinded by the flying drops of blood.

“!!!”

Suddenly, I felt myself coming down. In our struggle mid-air, I cut off the monster’s legs. Through the corner of my eyes, I saw the harpy lose control of its flight, and spun down the ground at high speed.

Ew! That sure is a spectacular explosion of guts and gore…

“…”

Meanwhile, fuck, I didn’t prepare for this scenario! I could only close my eyes as the earth was about to receive my body…

“!!!”

“If you think we would abandon you to fall to your death, human chief, then you’re gravely mistaken!” it was Chief Habu, catching me just in time before kissing the ground, “Though, seriously, I’d like it more if it’s the bear-woman who fell into my arms.”

“Don’t even try it!” Ursura countered him as she charged past us—together with the rest of the orphans—towards the last harpy. Even the chicken tribesmen were with them, bearing all sorts of makeshift weapons they could grab, ganging up on the poor monster.

Well, I do find that last harpy to be quite pitiful. It’ll be torn apart, for sure.

----------

***The Cauldron***

The four hooded figures that arrived at the entrance of the Saint’s cave-palace were stopped by the guards of Her Holiness.

“Halt! Who goes there?”

“Are you daft, boy?” Removing their cloaks, they revealed themselves as the lieutenants of Kashca Telis, “Don’t you recognize who we were?”

“Oh, it’s just you, Daru!” the first guard sighed in relief.

“We need to talk to Her Holiness right now,” Daru told him, trying to get past the crossed spears of the guards that bar the way.

“Uh, sorry Daru. But Chief Telis had explicitly told us to keep away people from Her Holiness for now. She can’t be disturbed, even if it’s important.”

“!!!”

And that’s how the fox lieutenants knew they had to improvise with their plans. With Daru distracting the first guard, one of his companions drew his sword and ran it across the second guard’s body. When the first guard realized what was happening, he tried warning the others—but he was silenced with a slit to the neck.

“Come on!”

At that point, they signaled to the others, and several fox-tribesmen came out of the bushes that surrounded the area to storm the cave-palace.

“Don’t waver!” their leader, Daru, told his men, “We’re saving Cherwind from Ruro and the humans. Kill everyone in sight! Let’s head straight to the Saint’s chambers!”

The guards opposing Daru and his army were overwhelmed and killed. It was a short contest, for they were all taken by surprise. Those who were murdered had no chance to even scream, for their kin were quick to move. The floors of the cave-palace were dyed in red, as the mutineers rushed to their target: the Beastman Saint herself.

Then they arrived unopposed at the Saint’s own chambers, where they were allowed entry by some guards inside that they’d bribed before.

“There she is, at the bed,” the ‘inner room’ guard whispered to the mutineers, pointing towards the Saint, still sleeping soundly.

“!!!”

At that point, Daru and the rest of his companions swiftly jumped on the Saint’s bed and hacked her to pieces. Blood splattered and limbs flew as they released their fury at her.

“For Cherwind and the Beastmen, kill Ruro!”

“Aaaarrrrggghhh!”

When they realized they had thoroughly chopped their victim enough to ensure that she’s dead, Daru and his companions stopped. They raised their hands in celebration.

“Glory to Lady Konka and the Beastmen!”

“Glory!” the others shouted as well.

“Yes, glory, but not to despicable traitors!”

“!!!”

Turning around, the mutineers grew pale when they saw the Beastman Saint all alive and well. Their captain, Kashca Telis, was standing beside her. Behind them were a huge number of the Saint’s guards who remained loyal to Ruro, as well as the ‘inner room’ guards who had their weapons pointed at them.

“I applaud you for reaching this far, Daru,” Ruro smiled while clapping, “Hasn’t it occurred to you I can always read into the hearts and minds of everyone, including those whom you bribed to conspire against me?”

“B-But…the charm!”

“Konka was an idiot for trying to give you a defective charm!” the Saint then gestured for Telis to grab the charm necklace on Daru and crushed it in front of him. “Has she forgotten that only Saints could defeat the spells of another Saint?”

“You!” Daru turned to his kin and captain, “You’re intelligent, Chief Telis, and yet, you’re tolerating this accursed Saint!”

The fox-woman remained silent.

“Your loyalty to Ruro is causing every Beastman alive to suffer! A lot of our kin had already died in the battles in trying to capture that man and against Konka. The other tribes became slaves to men, and when the monsters broke through the ‘sturdy, human-made walls’, the Beastmen were made a bait for those vile creatures! How could you remain silent about those?”

However, Telis’ face was indifferent, “You’re a fool, Daru! You don’t understand the wisdom—”

“Who cares about your Saint’s wisdom? Our people are suffering, that’s what matters!” Daru screamed at the top of his lungs, “And this wolf-woman prefers to play hide-and-seek games with the puny human!”

“!!!”

A flying knife grazed Daru’s face. It was from Ruro, who was clearly enraged.

“Enough of that; you know nothing, fool! You don’t know my master. And certainly, you don’t even know the one you killed in that bed. So how could you say those things?”

“W-Who—”

“Ah, if you’re wondering who’s the one you hacked and killed…” Ruro chuckled, “…while you are on your way to my sacred palace with your fellow mutineers, your beloved daughter disappeared from her bed. I wonder where she went, though…”

Realizing the identity of the person they killed, Daru was overcome by his rage and tried to attack the Saint. However, Telis was faster than he was, and she deflected his killing blow. Then, without wasting another second, the fox-captain countered him with a dagger to his heart.

“Be glad, Daru of the Fox, for I am a merciful Saint,” Ruro patted the leader of the mutineers as he slowly bled to death, “As you killed your own daughter, you won’t have to suffer a slow death, not like your fellow conspirators.”

“Y-You…you’re leading this land…and its people…to its ruin!”

“And who are you to question my wisdom?” the wolf-Saint whispered to him.

Daru tried to reach out to Ruro’s neck in a final bid to crush it. However, the wolf-Saint only played around with him, until he collapsed and breathed his last.

Then Ruro turned to the rest of the mutineers, who were frozen in what they just witnessed.

“My sweet and loyal Telis, please arrest those traitors and feed them to the groundworms.”

“As you wish, Your Holiness.”