NOVEL NEXT Chapter 103
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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: FusionX
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Why was I fighting, losing limbs, in an erotic game?
The thought briefly hit me but I pushed it to the back of my mind, thinking about the upcoming meeting. That was a topic I didn’t want to dwell on, ever.
Most of the vampires were women. They looked like young girls, but they were dressed in outfits that seemed like a mix of gothic lolita and bondage. That was why I was having an existential crisis.
This was clearly an erotic game world. I could just fool around and not think too much about it. But I had already lost an arm and an eye, and I couldn’t afford to lose anything else.
“I thought I smelled something foul. Turns out it was the stench of filthy bats,” a voice boomed.“…Huh?”
The words came from none other than the Dragon Lord himself. My heart almost stopped for a second. My existential crisis instantly vanished, but I couldn’t say I was happy about it.
[T/N: adding these little tidbits at the end of spoken sentences so yall know whos talkin]
“Your mouth is still filthy, even after all this time,” the vampire snarled.
“What else would you expect from the likes of you?”
“You better watch your tone…”
“Hey, wait a minute…!!”
Why were they fighting the moment they saw each other? There was a common enemy right in front of us!
I tried to stop them before things escalated, if only my foot hadn’t gotten caught…
I instinctively drew my sword, still in its sheath, and used it as a cane to support myself. Thanks to constant training, wielding a sword had become second nature to me.
The problem was, I was stuck between the vampire leader and the Dragon Lord. To put it simply, I was standing between them, holding a sword.
I was screwed.
Really screwed.
I was just trying to keep myself from falling, but how did this happen? I swallowed nervously and gauged their reactions.
Thankfully, I hadn’t drawn the blade.
“Both of you, quiet. This is a place for an alliance,” I said, trying to sound as neutral as possible.
Honestly, my legs were shaking so badly that I felt like I might collapse, but I endured.
“I’ll let you off this time, for the Commander’s sake,” the Dragon Lord growled.
“You’re one to talk, you filthy lizard,” the vampire hissed.
“…”
Thankfully, they seemed to have heeded my words, at least for now. The vampire and the Dragon Lord both stepped back. I sighed in relief and finally managed to retreat.
But this was unexpected. I never thought dragons and vampires would get along so poorly. In my memory, dragons were known as the Benevolent Race, loving all.
Then again, now that I thought about it, the lore book mentioned that they loved all of the races existing at the time. Back then, I thought they loved all races, period.
But what if it only referred to the races that existed during the original storyline? That would make sense, since vampires were already slaves to the demons by that point.
“Commander, the orcs have arrived. That’s everyone,” Cluna reported.
“Good. Let’s head inside.”
“Yes, Commander.”
“Phew…”
The unexpected situation overloaded my mind. On top of the other problematic races, I hadn’t anticipated any trouble from the dragons.
To think I’d be blindsided like this…
But now was the time to focus. This was the Multi-Racial Alliance meeting, revived after a year since the Royal Knights’ collapse.
It was like starting in the middle. If we didn’t get this first step right, everything would be a mess.
At least this was better than the original storyline, where it took 17 years for the alliance to be re-established.
So, now was not the time to worry about mediating between races. This meeting was about more than just keeping the peace. I headed for the Table of Equality.
The sight of the leaders of each race taking their seats around the table was magnificent. Of course, the elves were openly hostile towards us…
“How dare you act like that to Teacher…!!”
“Calm down, Helia.”
I stopped the furious Helia. Somehow, she ended up beside me, acting as my escort. And it wasn’t just her.
All the Royal Knights were glaring at the elves with undisguised hostility. Even Clara and Cluna, who were elves themselves!
I sighed and said,
“Set aside your personal feelings. The future of the alliance is what matters most now. Focus on that.”
“…Understood, Teacher.”
“My apologies.”
As much as I disliked the elves, I couldn’t let my emotions get the better of me. Not when there were more important matters at hand. I’d deal with them directly after the meeting.
At least they were civil enough to attend the meeting. That meant there was still room for conversation.
I took my seat. The only seat left was, fittingly, the head of the table. As I sat down, all eyes turned to me. It was incredibly nerve-wracking.
“…”
“…”
“…”
“…”
“…?”
I slowly looked around. No one spoke. They just stared at me blankly.
What was this? Why were they acting like this?
“Commander, if you don’t mind, when will the meeting begin?”
The human king finally asked after a long silence.
I finally understood.
They were waiting for me to speak.
I quickly racked my brain. As I had always emphasized, staying quiet would at least get me halfway there. Especially on a stage this big.
I was the leader of the Royal Knights, but this wasn’t my show. It was up to these seven races to decide how they would work together moving forward.
“Silence is not golden in this situation. As the Commander of the Royal Knights, show them what you are made of.”
A middle-aged elf with green hair, Elder Makenis, said sarcastically.
That gave me an idea.
I replied, still with my arms crossed,
“The Royal Knights will do nothing.”
“What do you mean by that?”
“You know why the Royal Knights were annihilated, don’t you?”
“…”
It was a lame excuse, but it worked. After all, everyone here was responsible for the Royal Knights’ fall.
“Under constant pressure, the Royal Knights were forced to prepare for an expedition. And as a result, we were utterly destroyed. We still haven’t recovered from that.”
At least that part was true.
Sure, we had rebuilt the Royal Knights to some extent. But did we have the same influence as the Royal Knights in their prime?
No.
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› This text was ripped off from arcanetranslations.com.
› Please only read it on the official website.
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In their heyday, the Royal Knights wielded immense power. To exaggerate a bit, there wasn’t a single corner of the world untouched by their influence.
However, the reason for their downfall was simple. It began from within. They were divided, each member prioritizing the benefit of their own race.
And that led to the collapse of the Royal Knights, and subsequently, the fracturing of the alliance. Right now, we were just barely holding things together with a band-aid.
It would be difficult to regain the influence the Royal Knights once held. And that was my point. Surely they understood, especially someone like Makenis, who held the prestigious title of elder.
“Therefore, we declare that we will maintain political neutrality.”
Of course, political neutrality wasn’t always the right answer. Political maneuvering could be used to gain an advantage. But that assumed I was good at politics.
Just look at who was sitting in front of me: the ruler of the 12 Tribes, the king of humans, the ambassador of the Dwarves, the elf elder, and so on. Did I stand a chance against them in a political battle?
The answer was a resounding no.
Politics? I was in over my head just dealing with the current issues. The last thing I needed was to get caught up in their political games and end up paying the price.
“Political neutrality, you say? An interesting proposition,” the elf elder said.
“You should know better than anyone the disgrace you all showed when the Royal Knights fell.”
“…”
“Therefore, the continued existence of the Royal Knights is our top priority. At least we have the achievements to back it up.”
Look at what happened immediately after the collapse of the Royal Knights, the dwarves and beastmen started fighting over territory, and the vampires and dragons were still at each other’s throats.
So, while we might have said we’d remain neutral…
The truth was, we were just leaving everything to them because we didn’t know any better.
After all, avoiding responsibility was the leader’s prerogative in a group project.
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[Translator Notes]
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