The day after the ox and horse demons ca to my cell in the basent, where I was locked, more and more demons were brought down to the underground cells. However, my cell was the only one where multiple individuals were placed, while all the others had only one each. The reason was that all the other demons, except for us, had grown completely violent.
“Hmm, so this is what happens when we use the souls of non-human species… This is a bit unexpected,”
Orvo murmured to himself as he observed the demons from outside the cage. From Orvo’s murmurs up until now, I understood that if he doesn’t use the souls of human species, the demons cannot keep up with the changes in their own bodies and end up panicking. And when they panic, the demons go into a frenzy and beco uncontrollable.
So far, there hasn’t been a single beast who has recovered from the state of frenzy. So even hurt themselves while going on a rampage and ended up dying. Witnessing the pitiful end of these demons, I couldn’t help but feel sympathy.
Among the few exceptions in the group were , the cow, and the horse. In my case, I knew from the beginning that I was going to be synthesized with the human species, so I didn’t panic…yet why did the other two remain calm?
“Mooo”
“Hihin”
Now, the ox and horse demons were in my cage, munching on hay with gusto. It’s hard to believe, but these two have displayed incredible adaptability and have grown accustod to their new bodies.
They were both sound asleep, snoring away, when they suddenly woke up to find their bodies changing. However, they didn’t panic or make a fuss. Instead, they went back to sleep for a second ti.
When they woke up again, it was because Mika had brought them food. He had brought a large amount of hay for the ox and horse, and so bread for with so ingredients inside. I took the food with my small pair of pincers and started to eat it. The ox and horse were munching away on the hay.
At first, the ox and horse were eating on all fours and using only their heads, but they seed to have realized the convenience of using their hands. They began to grab the hay with their hands and bring it to their mouths.
Now, they have mastered their transformation abilities. They transform into their demon forms when they eat, using one hand to scratch their bellies while munching on hay, and into their beast forms when they sleep, lying face down. They were completely different from the other demons, who would scream and rampage while transforming, unable to calm down.
“Moo-moo.”
“Neigh-hee-hee.”
For so reason, these two have grown attached to . They still offer hay from outside the cage and urge to eat it with their four round, sparkling eyes.
At first, I ignored them, but they looked so sad with their heads hanging low. I couldn’t bear to watch, so I reluctantly accepted the hay and started eating it. Both of them happily wagged their tails. Since then, they have been competing with each other to offer hay. I just ate it silently.
Although hay was not particularly delicious, it seed that my body could handle it. I never felt sick after eating it. I still received hay from both sides and chewed it with the small pincers on my jaws, swallowing it down.
“However, when I designed the creature to transform into a complete beast form using the soul of a human, it imdiately rejected the idea and died. The sa thing happened when we tried the opposite process. Ultimately, it’s best to use the human soul as the main material in order for the made creature to transform into both human and demon forms. Let’s consider these three specins as special since they didn’t reject the transformation. That’s good enough for now! Tomorrow is the big day, so let’s get so sleep!”
Orvo ca to that conclusion and left the underground basent. Taking a cue from my example, he devised the synthetic beasts to possess two forms. As for myself, I had always been aware of my two distinct forms—the first being my natural state, while the second was when I was completely encased in an exoskeleton. Orvo aptly referred to these forms as the human and demon forms, respectively.
In the surrounding prison cells, including the ox and the horse, there were various demons who were designed to transform into two different forms—their beast and demon forms. The idea was to trick their prey into a false sense of security by appearing as wild animals or livestock, only to strike with a sudden transformation into their true demon form.
However, the results were far from desirable, as most of these creatures tended to go berserk and lose control. Thus, it seed that from now on, only demons created from human souls that can assu human form and demon form would be created.
I wasn’t sure how many demons Orvo and the empire were planning to create, but there was one thing I knew for certain—the demons to co would all be forr humans… and they would be a different kind from us.
With this knowledge, I couldn’t help but wonder if these new demons would accept us as comrades. I was plagued by a vague sense of unease.
◆◇◆◇◆◇
About a hundred years ago, the empire was nothing more than a small kingdom located in the eastern part of the Enzo continent. However, it won a war that arose from a succession issue in a neighboring country and annexed it. The king, who relished in the victory, aggressively invaded and either annexed or dominated neighboring countries as vassals.
As the empire expanded its territory smoothly, it eventually changed its na to an imperial one. However, its expansion policy ca to an abrupt end. The reason was that the first emperor of the invading empire passed away.
At the sa ti as the emperor’s passing, disputes over succession between the prince and princess erupted. Furthermore, people from the annexed regions rebelled in various parts, causing frequent dostic issues that made it impossible to continue with invasions.
It was fortunate for the empire that at that ti, it was not in a war with other countries. The empire negotiated with the neighboring countries while hiding the news of the emperor’s passing and the dostic situation, and bought ti until the rebellion was suppressed and the succession dispute was resolved.
The prince who had the worst relationship with the first emperor succeeded the throne after winning the succession dispute. He was the farthest from the throne and never expected to sit on it. However, as a result of the murders, mutual killings, and accidental deaths of the other more powerful princes and princesses in the dispute, he was left with the throne.
The second emperor, who beca known as the “Cold-blooded Emperor” after this, changed his policy from territorial expansion to focusing on dostic affairs to strengthen the country’s power. As a result of the empire’s efforts in dostic affairs and its vast territory, its productivity and industrial power improved dramatically. Having accumulated military power through repeated wars, the empire established itself as a country worthy of being called the strongest on the continent.
Although the second emperor was a key figure in consolidating the empire’s current foundation, he was not praised but feared and given a nickna that suggested it. This was because he was a thorough rationalist and relentlessly pursued policies that were ruthless and involved great sacrifices, as long as they were necessary for the empire.
He implented various policies, all of which were in the empire’s best interest, indicating his outstanding talent as a ruler. However, he did not consider the feelings of others, and thus, the people feared him as a cold-blooded ruler.
There are many episodes associated with the Cold-Blooded Emperor, but the most famous policy was the “Class System for Subjects.” The Emperor established a hierarchy of citizens in the empire, including nobles and aristocrats. The highest-ranking imperial family mbers were classified as first-class citizens, while the remaining citizens were divided into grades, with nobles and commoners occupying the second to sixth grades, and the seventh to fifteenth grades allocated according to the amount of tax paid.
At the ti, intentional differences were made in the treatnt of subjects from vassal and annexed regions. Areas that beca vassals without resistance received treatnt similar to that of the holand, while areas that rebelled were clearly mistreated.
The degree of mistreatnt was also differentiated based on the damage suffered by the empire during the conflict. Later, the thod known as “Divide and Conquer” prevented regions from banding together and rebelling.
Despite the establishnt of a class system for citizens in the empire, there were actually two groups of people outside that hierarchy. One was the absolute authority figure, the Emperor himself. The position of Emperor was above that of first-class citizens and was considered a sacred and inviolable existence. The Emperor was not a subject, but a being that stood above everyone.
Then, there was another group of people in the empire, completely different from the ones who have been classified into the various ranks. These are the “Outsiders,” who are beneath all the other subjects and are not even recognized as belonging to any rank. They are the descendants of those who fiercely resisted the first emperor’s conquest or the rebels who rose up upon his death. They were treated as slaves in other countries.
In particular, the descendants of the leaders who opposed the first emperor were called “Atonent Soldiers.” They were battle slaves who were treated like disposable goods and forced to fight on the front lines under harsh conditions. Each of the units is nad after their respective country or region, and they fight desperately, enduring humiliation just to survive.
“Hey head, what’s going to happen to us once we’re transported back to the holand? This is the perfect chance for them to use us up, isn’t it?”
The Lugall squad was one of the atonent units, composed of descendants of the long-extinct Lugall Kingdom from nearly a century ago. They were known for their exceptional combat skills, honed through surviving brutal battlefields, and were among the most experienced atonent soldiers. Currently, they were being transported on the flatbed of a large carriage with a total of approximately thirty mbers, including children who were not yet old enough to fight.
Among them was a big man who muttered under his breath just now. His tattered and filthy clothes, which he had patched up countless tis, and the chains around his wrists and ankles might have made him look like soone to be underestimated. However, his muscular body, which seed like it could tear through his clothes from the inside out, and his stern expression would have made most people avert their eyes and run away.
His body was covered in countless scars, which were a testant to the severity and number of battles he had fought through. Blood still seeped from the bandages wrapped around his face, which looked painful. The wounds underneath were deep, and there was no doubt that they would leave scars behind.
“I don’t know, Baldy. Maybe there’s another rebellion going on back in their holand? It looks like they’ve brought in so more disposable rcenaries like us,”
said a tall, blond man in a bored tone. He had a ruggedly handso appearance, but his incredibly nacing gaze made him look terrifying. He was also an atonent soldier, wearing the sa shabby clothes and chains as the others. While he insulted the bald man in a blunt manner, he still gave him a proper response.
“Another suppression mission for a rebellion… are we the evil guys again?”
“Of course. That’s the reason we’re kept alive, you know,”
The role of Atonent soldiers is to fight on the front lines as the Empire’s spearhead. The most common task is to suppress uprisings and rebellions, making it so that what their ancestors did in the past will be prevented by their descendants.
Those who survived after losing to the Atonent soldiers will be forced to fight as new Atonent soldiers. Consequently, Atonent soldiers typically view each other as ennemies, with the exception of their comrades in the sa unit, so they will never be able to unite as one.
“Are you really sure about that?”
However, the one who spoke out against the two n’s assumptions was a black-haired woman standing next to the blond man. As an Atonent soldier, she wore no makeup and dressed in equally dirty clothes as the n. But upon closer inspection, her features were well-defined, and her obsidian-like eyes sparkled with a strong intellect. She was like a raw gemstone of a woman.
As she stroked her sleeping son’s head on her lap, she muttered under her breath. The blond man and the bald man beside him tightened their expressions upon hearing that she was concerned about sothing. They couldn’t ignore her words, after all she was the most knowledgeable mber of the Lugall squad.
“Is there sothing on your mind, elder sister?” asked the bald man.
“It’s not just us who are being transported to the holand. I’ve heard that the Kadaha squad is too. No matter how many rcenaries they bring in, can they really fill the gaps our two squad will leave behind?” she replied.
“I’ve heard there are skilled rcenaries among them… but who knows,”
Objectively speaking, the Lugall squad was strong. For over a century, those who inherited the techniques of martial arts and spiritual arts to prevent the extinction of their clan could not be weak. In particular, the blond man was a skilled fighter who could match the Empire’s finest soldiers if he had the right equipnt. Together with their superior coordination as a unit, they could demonstrate trendous abilities.
Similarly, the Kadaha squad, which had a history as long as theirs, was also being transported to the holand. Despite the Empire’s apparent willingness to exploit such a formidable force, losing two formidable units would deal a significant blow. It wouldn’t be easy to fill that gap.
“Is there sothing they really want us to do, even if it ans having a slightly unfavorable battle situation? It doesn’t seem like just a rebellion. I have a bad feeling about this… I hope nothing happens to the children,” said the black-haired woman.
“Yeah, I agree.”
While embracing his anxious wife’s shoulders, the blond man gazes intently at the sleeping face of his son on her lap. He swore in his heart that he would protect them no matter what happens.
*********
TN: Just a little recap or explanation/ So the mc is a beast that was made to beco a demon, and this thod only worked on him and the ox and horse. So the demons that would be made from now on would all be forr humans. I guess the elent needed here is intelligence, but I could be wrong.
TN: Also, there are two terms I’m using, ‘squad and unit’, they have the sa aning, and I’m just using them to differentiate between the sentences in case of repeating the sa word. In Japanese, it’s Butai and Tai.
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