Omniscient First-Person’s Viewpoint-Chapter 497: The Spring of Ende (5)

The riot of the pig beastmen shook the entire city.

From the outskirts of Ende to the gates of Obeli, the sudden blaze of rebellion ⊛ Nоvеlιght ⊛ (Read the full story) sent waves of heated air through the streets.

Sapien, leading Grull toward the city, was abruptly called aside by an Obelisk soldier.

Seeking permission from Grull, he stepped away and listened carefully to what had happened in Ende.

“Orcma has started a riot and is threatening Obeli?”

Some details were missing, and the context was unclear, but one fact was certain—the city was in chaos.

Sapien’s eyes immediately darted to Grull.

The pig beastman chief was joking with his subordinates, who were grumbling in irritation.

Grull, too, was a pig beastman.

But he had just arrived today.

There was little chance he had orchestrated this revolt.

And yet—

The timing was far too convenient.

Ende had already taken a huge risk by inviting the Beast Faction into the city—and now, this happens?

A storm was brewing.

Sapien, careful to keep his voice unheard, used Qi transmission to issue an order.

[“Take two units and move ahead. I will stay here and keep him occupied.”]

“Oh, come on,” Grull suddenly grumbled, annoyed.

“You invite a guest, then whisper behind his back? I’m starting to feel left out.”

His ears twitched.

Sapien quickly gestured for his men to leave, then turned back to Grull.

“There has been... a small incident. I must ask you to wait here for a moment.”

“Wait?” Grull snorted. “When I arrived early, you scolded me for being out of place. But now you want me to wait? You ‘civilized’ people have no shame.”

“I ask for your understanding.”

“Understanding?”

Grull’s face twisted into a sneer, his voice mocking.

“Well, since a high noble of Obeli is asking so nicely, how can I refuse?”

He shrugged dramatically, then turned to his warriors.

“Everyone, break time! Stretch your bodies and get comfortable!”

The Beast Faction warriors laughed roughly, shaking out their limbs in exaggerated, aggressive movements—a clear show of dissatisfaction.

The Obelisk soldiers stiffened, feeling the rising tension in the air.

Grull, however, remained completely at ease, stepping closer to Sapien.

“Since we have time, let me share something interesting with you.”

Sapien kept his expression neutral.

“What is it?”

Grull grinned, tapping the side of his head.

“You know, beastmen have four ears. Two human ears, two animal ears.”

The thick fur on his head shifted, revealing the hidden shape of his human-like ears underneath.

“It’s proof we’re not pure creatures. We are a mix—something blended together.”

Sapien remained silent.

“But having four ears?” Grull continued. “It’s not as good as you’d think. Our animal ears are sharper—far better than the human ones. These pathetic human ears? They just get in the way.”

Sapien narrowed his eyes.

“I am aware of this.”

“Of course you are.”

Grull leaned in slightly, his voice lowering.

“But you also know that Qi cultivation enhances the senses.

Humans like the Obelisk soldiers—who cultivate Qi to the extreme—can sharpen their senses even beyond ours.

Unlike beastmen, who cannot turn it off, they can adjust their senses at will.

That makes them... superior.”

Grull was talking—but none of it was the real point.

Sapien felt a cold unease settle in his gut.

“...What exactly are you trying to say?”

Grull’s grin widened.

“So tell me, Sapien—what happens when a Qi-enhanced beastman hones his senses?”

“...”

“What happens when a beastman chief, a pig beastman, listens to every breath you take?”

Sapien’s blood ran cold.

“Wait—”

Grull laughed loudly, his voice carrying across the field.

“Oh, so Orcma started a riot? And now you’re stalling us here?”

The moment he said it aloud, Sapien froze.

His secret plan—exposed.

Grull had heard everything.

How?

Sapien’s mind raced.

“I used Qi transmission...! There was no way he could have heard—”

Qi transmission worked by controlling air itself, preventing any outside interference.

It was impossible to eavesdrop on.

Unless...

“I didn’t hear the words.”

Grull’s grin turned cruel.

“I heard you.”

“You fool. Your heartbeat quickened.

Your breathing changed.

You reacted before you even spoke.

I listened to you, not the message.”

Sapien had underestimated him.

To reach the pinnacle of Qi, one had to find their own unique truth.

And Grull’s truth was this—

He had used Qi to enhance his beastman senses to their absolute peak.

He had not listened to Sapien’s message.

He had listened to Sapien himself.

Sapien clenched his jaw.

“...Then you already know the truth. Ende is in chaos. Until the situation is under control, we cannot allow outsiders into Obeli.”

He had no choice but to reveal everything.

But—

It was too late.

Grull’s face darkened.

“Oh, you’ve got to be kidding me.”

CLANG!

At that moment, swords were drawn.

The Beast Faction warriors and the Obelisk soldiers pointed weapons at each other, the air thick with hostility.

The atmosphere crackled with the imminence of battle.

Grull exhaled deeply, his breath coming out as thick, white vapor.

Not from the cold.

From sheer intensity.

“So.

Our brethren have risen in anger.

And what do you do?

Instead of calming them down, instead of negotiating, you hide the truth.

You trick us.

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You stall us.

You keep us outside, while our own kind are slaughtered inside.”

Sapien stayed silent.

He had no excuse.

Grull nodded slowly, his expression grim.

“I get it.

You’re afraid.

You don’t want a fight.

Because you know—if we fight, both sides will bleed.”

“But listen well, Sapien.”

Grull straightened, his voice thunderous.

“If fear of battle is a wound—

Being underestimated is death.”

If they lowered their heads even once, they would forever be seen as prey.

In the wild, there were only two choices—

Fight.

Or die.

Grull raised his fist.

“ARE WE AFRAID?!”

“NO!”

“DO WE FEAR BATTLE?!”

“NEVER!”

The Beast Faction warriors snorted, stamped their feet, pounded their chests—

The wind from Orcma’s rebellion had reached them.

“We march on Obeli.”

“We fight for our kind.”

“If you want to stop us—”

Grull’s eyes locked onto Sapien’s.

“Then fight me.”

Obeli had no choice.

No matter who the enemy was—pig beastmen or the Beast Faction—

If they threatened the city, they were foes.

No matter the odds.

No matter the cost.

Sapien tightened his grip on his sword.

Battle was inevitable.

***

The enraged pig beastmen surged toward Obeli’s walls.

At first, they had only pounded on the gates with their protest signs.

But when the doors refused to open—

Their anger burned hotter.

Now, they weren’t just using signs.

They had somehow procured logs and were slamming them against the gates.

“Agh, agh! What a mess this is!”

Kito, a rabbit beastman and a trap engineer, blinked her large eyes in fear.

Though the Five Great Livestock Beastmen made up most of Ende, there were plenty of other beastmen minorities as well—especially cats and rabbits.

And among them, rabbit beastmen were always the weakest.

“Do something!”

“B-but that’s the Obelisk’s job...! I-I work in engineering...!”

“Exactly! Use that precious engineering to stop them! You can do it!”

Kito had been permitted to live in Obeli for one simple reason—

She had awakened a Unique Magic Art.

The noble pointed a trembling finger at her.

“They’re just a bunch of Qi-less trash!

Turn whatever they’re holding into a trap!”

“I’ve never changed something someone was holding before, though...”

“This is an emergency! Do it!”

Before Kito could respond, a massive ladder crashed down near her feet.

A solid wooden siege ladder was now leaning against the wall.

Kito gasped and clutched her head, collapsing into a terrified crouch.

Below, the pig beastmen cheered as they began climbing.

The few Obelisk soldiers present managed to push the ladder over, but—

More were appearing.

This translation is the intellectual property of Novelight.

Among the pig beastmen, there were even non-pig beastmen joining the charge.

“You think they’ll spare you just because you’re a beastman?”

“They don’t care if you’re not livestock—you’re still part of Obeli’s elite!

Hurry up!”

“Uuuu....”

At this rate, Obeli really would fall.

Terrified, Kito frantically looked around before activating her Unique Magic Art.

Unique Magic Art: Miss Goldberg

Kito’s Unique Magic Art was Collapse.

More specifically—

It allowed her to suspend the moment before a collapse.

A precariously stacked pile.

A tightly stretched rope.

A teetering beam.

Kito’s magic froze all these unstable disasters-waiting-to-happen in place.

They would not fall—

Until she let go.

If she released her magic—

The rope would snap.

The pit would cave in.

The leaning beams would come crashing down.

The ladders that seemed sturdy would suddenly break.

This was the nature of traps—

A disaster that lurks beneath the surface, waiting for one small trigger.

And Kito’s magic—

Forced that trigger into existence.

The battlefield was chaotic.

Countless precarious structures filled the area.

The delayed collapses piled up rapidly.

Kito’s whiskers twitched in instinctive fear.

She turned back to the noble, hesitating.

“D-do I really do it?”

“What the hell are you waiting for?! Do it!”

“I-I mean it! If I do this—people will get hurt!”

“Who cares if those things get hurt?! Do it now, or I’ll make sure YOU get hurt!”

The noble shouted in fury.

Kito squeezed her eyes shut, folding her long ears down over her hands.

It wouldn’t help—rabbit ears were too big to block out sound.

But she desperately wished she wouldn’t have to hear the screams.

“Uuuu. I’m sorry...”

“No need for that.”

“...Huh?”

I had approached Kito unnoticed.

With a snap of my fingers—

I set the first collapse in motion.

A boiling cauldron had been prepared—

A noble had ordered it, intending to scald the pig beastmen.

It had been hastily thrown together, balanced precariously atop a pile of loosely stacked firewood.

But for some reason—

Its balance shifted.

It tumbled forward—

Scalding water spilled everywhere.

The crowd scattered to avoid the steaming metal cauldron.

Among them—

A bovine beastman carrying a net.

The net was meant to be thrown over the fortifications to reinforce them.

Instead—

It got caught on the rolling cauldron—

And dragged toward Kito.

“Eh—?”

Unluckily—

Kito was in the wrong place at the wrong time.

The net wrapped around her ankles.

Before she could react—

She was yanked off her feet.

The cauldron rolled down the wall—

And Kito was dragged after it, dangling upside down from the fortifications.

Her dress and coat flipped over as she swayed helplessly in the net.

Tears welling up, she cried out—

“G-get me downnnnnn!”

The noble’s face turned red.

“What the hell are you doing trapping yourself?!”

A trap is indiscriminate.

Kito was often a victim of her own magic.

This was simply one of its side effects.

Of course—

This time, I had set it off on purpose.

A very amusing Unique Magic Art.

Easy to steal.

Fun to use.

Wouldn’t mind having one like that myself.

The battlefield was so chaotic that no one noticed me at all.

The humiliation of Kito’s predicament drew everyone’s attention—

Even the Obelisk soldiers were staring at her.

They had let their guard down.

After all, it wasn’t like the pig beastmen could be inside Obeli’s walls—

Right?

The noble never saw him coming.

A shadow surged up from behind him.

Thick, muscular arms wrapped around his throat.

“Wh-what?! You—!”

“Everyone. Stop.”

It was a pig beastman.

Someone who was supposed to be outside the walls.

But somehow—

He had already gotten in.

For a moment—

The entire battlefield froze.

The First Fang.

Leader of the Orc Mercenaries.

Urukfang.

He tightened his grip on the noble’s neck—

And growled—

“Open the gates.

Or the noble dies.”

The more elaborate a plan is—

The more holes it has.

The longer you prepare—

The more ways it can leak.

Most great events in history?

They never happen as planned.

More often than not—

Disaster is unintentional.

The gates that once held back the storm—

Now swung open.

Spring had arrived in Ende.