Chapter 228: Chapter 195: Such Great Evil
However, when it came to such esoteric knowledge, he was truly clueless.
"Back then, the Half-Beastman Kingdom was composed of various Races: Behemoths, Beastmen, the Fox Race, the Wolf Race, and so on. These particular Beastmen were the Military Nobility of the kingdom, its main Warriors. The Berserk ability was the very foundation of their status as the Half-Beastman Kingdom’s top Military Nobility," Ash revealed, divulging a piece of forgotten history.
That era was so long ago that many Races and their stories have since been lost to the mists of time, fading into obscurity.
Only a long-lived race like the Elves could recall such history with such clarity.
"Many things disappeared during that period, including the Beastmen’s innate Berserk ability. What is known, however, is that the Beastmen of the Wilderness more or less possess a trace of the Bloodline of those Beastman Berserkers."
"Your two subordinates definitely went Berserk just now. And their appearance after going Berserk was identical to the descriptions of those Beastmen from the old Half-Beastman Kingdom in our historical records. I think it’s highly likely they’ve awakened their Berserker Bloodline."
"After all, there are precedents for awakening the Power hidden within a Bloodline."
"I heard that the Half-Beastman Shaman Priests in the Wilderness can also cast the Frenzy Technique."
Levi recalled the information he’d gotten from Sam.
That old fellow had been extremely proud of knowing two kinds of Magic and had mocked other Half-Beastman Priests, like the Minotaur Shamans, saying most of them only knew the Frenzy Technique, a Low Tier Magic. He called them complete one-trick ponies.
"Those Wilderness People must have heard the name somewhere and just slapped that impressive-sounding title onto their own Magic," Ash said, waving a delicate, jade-white hand. "In reality, the two are completely different things. A Berserker’s self-induced Berserk state is far more powerful; it’s an extremely advanced Talent and a form of Magic. What those Shamans cast should more accurately be called Bloodthirsty Magic, a spell that causes its target to completely lose their sanity."
The importance of heritage and civilization was on full display. Even though the history being discussed was about the Beastmen of the Half-Beastman Kingdom, all the Beastman Barbarians present could only scratch the backs of their heads, a clear look of stupidity in their eyes. In contrast, the Elf and the human were discussing it eloquently.
"Levi, you might not know this," Fulina chimed in. "Back when the Half-Beastman Kingdom fell, the Beastman Berserkers mysteriously vanished, but their Berserk Bloodline was passed down. It’s said that these Minotaurs possess a portion of that Berserker Bloodline, which is why they can use this Low Tier version of Berserk."
"I just don’t understand why the Beastmen, the supposedly direct descendants, can’t go Berserk, while a bunch of Minotaurs inherited the Bloodline’s Secret Technique for it."
Fulina looked regretful.
If modern Beastmen could also go Berserk, they’d surely be doing as well as the Panda Warriors, instead of how they are now, with most Tribes still deep in the Wilderness, worrying about their next meal.
The discussion about the Berserkers came to an end. It didn’t matter whether these simple-minded Beastmen possessed the same Berserk ability as the Beastmen from the ancient Half-Beastman Kingdom.
But even the Half-Beastman Kingdom of old had perished. Even if it were true, the discovery held more symbolic than practical value.
After all, even the Glowing Holy Word Treasure Manual, which was all the rage in its era, had become an obsolete antique. Now, Combat Qi reigned supreme, alongside the ever-enduring presence of Magic.
Compared to the huge enhancement the Beastmen received upon advancing to Tier Six Berserkers, the Feder Commoners’ promotion to Tier Six Feder Rangers seemed much more subdued.
Their Attributes, Skills, and Martial Arts—the same old three—were further enhanced.
’The Lord guessed that to obtain a special advancement Tier, one’s ancestors must have included some prominent figures.’
Don’t look down on the Beastman Barbarians for being down on their luck now; their ancestors included quite a few Legendary figures.
That Legendary Beastman with the title "Hellish Roar" was a renowned figure back in the day.
As for the Feder people?
To be honest, their Kingdom had only risen in the last few centuries, and the entire nation was destroyed in less than two hundred years.
In the grand scheme of history, they were practically a footnote.
During that time, there were no particularly memorable figures worth mentioning.
...
With the Wilderness Alliance Army watching menacingly from the side, an attack on the castle could come at any moment.
So, the Elf Race set up tents in an open area behind the city walls.
A section of High Cliff Castle was also allocated to them, but due to a shortage of tents, ten or so people had to squeeze into a single one to sleep.
But this was nothing to the Beastman Barbarians. They had all come from hardship, so having a place to shelter them from the wind and snow was enough.
The Lord, however, was in a different situation from the struggling Beastmen. At this moment, he was surrounded by a bevy of beauties.
It was a sizable tent. A thick woolen carpet covered the ground, and a simple conference table sat in the middle.
This was clearly the Wind Speech Tribe’s simple conference room, but now it was being used as an interrogation room for prisoners.
The four captured Zor Elves had been brought here by the Lord for interrogation. Fulina and Ash were also present.
Originally, Levi hadn’t wanted to call Ash over, since Zor Elves and High Elves are naturally at odds with each other.
Levi was afraid Ash would be like the previous Elf, tactlessly interfering with his decisions.
That would have been a difficult situation, but to his surprise, the beauty insisted on coming along, promising just to watch.
Seeing he couldn’t dissuade her, the Lord could only reluctantly agree.
The four Zor Elves still had their hands and feet bound, but the smelly socks and handkerchiefs had been removed from their mouths.
"Let me give you a piece of advice in advance: don’t even think about Casting in front of me. I’m sure you don’t want to find out whether your Casting is faster than my sword."
The Lord rested a hand on the sword at his waist, propped a foot on the table before him, and looked directly at the four female Zor Elves, who were tied to their chairs.
If someone were to ask him now whether a blade or a gun was faster within seven paces, the Lord would say without hesitation that he could slice them into eight pieces before they could even pull the trigger.
Let alone Magic that requires chanting.
He’d probably slit their pretty necks with his sword before they could even utter the first syllable.
"My Lord, no one would dare display their own ridiculously meager Power in front of someone so formidable."
One of the female Zor Elves was the first to speak up.
She was one of the Zor Elves who had escaped the smelly sock and had her mouth stuffed with the Lord’s handkerchief instead, so her impression of the Lord was relatively decent.
Besides, they were prisoners now. She had no intention of being stubborn to the end; after all, Zor Elves were the ultimate egoists.
If betraying her companions meant she could survive, she wouldn’t hesitate to sell them out a hundred times over. She’d even gift-wrap them and deliver them herself.
Although the two Zor Elves who’d had the smelly socks stuffed in their mouths looked resentful, when faced with this question, they followed their instincts and nodded silently.
"Very good. Your sensibility is an excellent choice," the Lord said with a snap of his fingers.
He always preferred the carrot to the stick. If someone acted tough in front of him, he would definitely make an example of them.
"Now then, on to the questions. If I find out any of you are hiding something or lying, well... I’m sure you have no desire to experience having a smelly sock stuffed in your mouth a second time."
"Levi, these Zor Elves are utterly evil. Do you really believe what they say?"
Fulina, however, frowned and looked at Levi.
"Oh yes, a great evil indeed!"
The Lord lamented, looking down at the four bottomless abysses before him.
’He never understood it. Did these female Zor Elf Priests dress so scantily to make their Magic Power flow more smoothly, or did it make their Magic more powerful?’
This was one point he could never figure out.
"But no matter how great the evil," Levi countered, "it doesn’t mean they’re incapable of telling the truth."
Comments