Chapter 289: Dogs And Wolves (14)

Horus’s expression stiffened. He averted his gaze, unable to finish his sentence.

Riarc stared him down with cold, deadly eyes.

“I-I...” Horus tried to force out a response.

A shrill voice pierced through the air. “Lord Horus!”

Kalike, locked in combat against Kwon Oh-Jin, glared daggers at Horus.

“What the hell are you doing?! I clearly told you to kill them!” Kalike said.

Horus didn’t respond.

“Use them as hostages or whatever, just kill them already—!

Kugh?!

” Kalike grimaced as he blocked one of Kwon Oh-Jin’s fierce spear strikes.

Horus bit his lip and turned toward Kalike. “Hostages are useless now.”

Riarc had already made up his mind. He wouldn’t stop even if they captured and killed the Silver Mane Tribe.

“

Ha!

Can’t you tell he’s just bluffing? Stop flapping your mouth and show him what happens when he crosses you!” Kalike shouted.

Horus silently clenched his fists and looked back at his personal guards.

Thanks to Riarc’s efforts, a few of the captured Silver Mane Tribe had been freed. However, the guards still held most of them. Not even Riarc could save all of them at once.

“What are you hesitating for?!” Kalike urged.

“I—”

“Lord Horus!”

His clenched fists trembled.

Kalike could be right. If Riarc saw his kin being killed before his eyes, maybe he would waver. Even if he didn’t change his mind, it could still shake his resolve.

“I-I...”

It was simple like always. All he had to do was obey.

“Lord Horus!”

“Give us the order!”

His guards pressed their sharp claws to the throats of the hostages. If Horus gave the order, it would take less than a second to tear out the throats of dozens of Silver Mane tribe members.

That's right.

If he didn’t carry out the order, Kalike would just activate the collars. If that happened, he would lose even the last of his loyal guards who trusted and followed him.

I’ve made this choice many times before.

To protect their lives, he had to follow Kalike. He had to be a loyal dog. No matter how pitiful and disgraceful it was, all he had to do was kneel. Just him and no one else. If only he submitted, he could save them all.

“You were just afraid to fight.”

Riarc’s words pierced his heart like a blade.

“What right do you have... calling yourself Khan?” Horus asked.

The very man who said that had done nothing for a hundred years and now dared to preach about a wolf’s pride?

“You had the luxury of turning away!” Horus shouted.

He never even had the chance to look away. He had to watch his people die and be crushed by his own helplessness.

“I’m not asking for excuses, Horus. I want an answer.”

“I—!” Horus stomped violently.

Boom!

His eyes burned as he glared at Riarc. Even though all it would take was one word to slaughter the Silver Mane Tribe, Riarc’s gaze didn’t waver in the slightest.

He’s bluffing.

Just like Kalike said, no one had died yet. Riarc was only pretending for now. He wasn’t a wolf. He was just another cowardly dog.

“Damn it! If you don’t give the order right now, I’ll activate the collars on your subordinates!” Kalike demanded.

The threat that had chained him for a hundred years echoed in his ear. Nothing had changed. His knees were all worn out from kneeling so many times. Would kneeling once more really make any difference?

So...

“Damn it! What the hell are you hesitating for?!”

My answer has...

“Hurry up and kill them alreadyyy!!”

Already been decided.

“... Up.”

“What did you say?” Kalike asked.

Horus turned to Kalike. “I said shut up, Kalike.”

Even if his knees had been worn to nothing, even if his pride had burned to ashes...

“That’s the weight a Khan must bear.”

Horus looked at his old friend standing before him and hollowly chuckled. “Cowardly bastard.”

After hearing such words, how could he remain a dog any longer?

“Guards, listen to me!” Horus turned to his personal guards. One by one, he engraved their faces in his heart—faces he might never see again, carrying the burden of a life that must be borne. “In the name of Horus Khan, I command you!”

It was time to carry the weight of the name he had avoided for a hundred years.

“Release the captured Silver Mane Tribe!”

“Lord Horus...”

The guards all looked at Horus. They gently touched the collars around their necks and withdrew their claws from the hostages.

The guards walked toward Horus and stood in formation before him. With their backs straight, they clenched their fists and struck the left side of their chests three times.

Thump, thump, thump.

This ancient custom had long been forgotten—a pledge of loyalty reserved only for the Khan.

“We will follow the Khan’s command.”

With those words, dark smoke burst from the collars around their necks.

Rumble!

Their faces turned pitch black as they trembled violently. Their eyes rolled back white, and they collapsed with their tongue sticking out.

“

Haa, haa.

Dogs that bare their fangs at their master deserve to die,” Kalike said.

Horus remained silent.

“I spared half of them. If you want to save what’s left of your men—!”

As Kalike turned to shout at Horus, Kwon Oh-Jin’s spear pierced straight through his solar plexus.

“

Kugh!

”

“That’s enough already, you bastard,” Kwon Oh-Jin said.

Kalike was strong, having been empowered by the Heavenly Demon. So strong that even Kwon Oh-Jin, who had been blessed by Vega, had struggled. If they had fought properly, he probably wouldn’t have won before Vega’s blessing wore off.

“You really thought you could keep babbling on like that and still win?”

Because Kalike had been distracted, Kwon Oh-Jin managed to drive his spear into him before Vega’s blessing ran out.

“

Kugh, agh!

”

The ghostly blue light that glimmered in Kalike’s eyes began to fade. Clutching the gaping wound in his chest, he coughed up blood and collapsed forward.

Thud.

“

Phew.

” Kwon Oh-Jin deeply sighed as he pulled out the spear from Kalike’s chest.

The radiant silver glow that enveloped Kwon Oh-Jin gradually faded.

Vega looked visibly tired.

“I-Is it over now?” she asked, clutching her chest in pain as the restrictions took hold.

Kwon Oh-Jin gently laid her in his palm and nodded. “Yeah.”

“But there’s still that man, Horus—”

“That’s not for me to handle.” Kwon Oh-Jin slowly shook his head and looked down at Horus’s fallen subordinates.

A bitter taste filled his mouth. He had hoped to kill Kalike before the collars activated, but all he could do was barely corner Kalike even with Vega’s blessing. If Kalike had known that Vega’s blessing wouldn’t last long, it could’ve been his own chest getting pierced instead.

This is the power of the demonkin, huh.

He finally understood why they ruled the Demonic District.

Kwon Oh-Jin sighed and turned to Horus, who blankly stared at his fallen subordinates with a bitter look.

Just as Kalike had said, half of them were still alive. That also meant the other half had died because of his choice for the sake of his worthless pride.

“Was this the weight you had to bear?” Horus shook his shoulders as he laughed. “It’s so... unbearably heavy.”

No, he was crying.

“

Grrrr

.”

𝚏𝕣𝐞𝗲𝐰𝕖𝐛𝐧𝕠𝕧𝚎𝚕.𝐜𝚘𝗺

Horus’s body expanded as black fur entirely engulfed him. Kalike had already died, but Horus still had to finish something.

“Come, Riarc.” The black wolf's eyes turned to Riarc. “Let’s settle this.”

“Horus...”

“You’re not seriously thinking this ends just because Kalike is dead, are you?”

Riarc clenched his fist with a bitter expression.

Just as Horus said, Kalike’s death didn’t mean it was over.

“If you want to reclaim the name of Khan!” Horus shouted with a twisted grin, “Then kill me!”

Boom!

The black wolf charged forward. His terrifying fist ripped through the air and slammed into Riarc’s cheek.

Blood gushed from Riarc’s mouth. He wiped his lips and grinned. “

Ha!

Is that all you’ve got?”

“What?”

“Looks like the dog has turned into a cat now!”

“You bastard!”

He was running his mouth about cats when he was bleeding pathetically from his mouth?

Horus grabbed Riarc’s shoulder, looking utterly dumbfounded. He raised his knee as fast as lightning to strike Riarc’s stomach.

“

Grrr!

”

However, Riarc slammed his palm down on Horus’s knee and drove his head down like a hammer.

Wham!

Blood splattered as Horus staggered back.

“

Gugh...

You’ve still got a thick skull as always,” Horus said.

“There’s just so much in this head of mine, you know?”

“Still spouting nonsense. Who was it that always ran off into the forest when class started?”

“Didn’t you ditch with me too?”

“That’s because you dragged me along, idiot!”

They recalled their youth when the Khan Kingdom still knew peace. Laughing and bantering, they reminisced about the old days while their fists spoke a different language. Blood and sweat sprayed as the two wolves tangled in a savage brawl.

“

Hmph!

”

Smack!

Riarc’s punch landed squarely on Horus’s solar plexus. As if anticipating it, Horus slipped back and grabbed Riarc’s arm.

“

Grrrr!

”

Still holding his arm, Horus slammed Riarc to the ground. The impact caved the ground, sending a cloud of dust flying in all directions.

Gritting his teeth, Riarc lay embedded in the ground. Then, he bounced his waist up and kicked at Horus with both feet. As if he had been waiting for it, Horus grabbed both of Riarc’s legs and began to spin at an incredible speed. When the centrifugal force reached its peak, he released Riarc’s legs.

Riarc flew like a shot put and crashed into the castle garden’s fountain.

Boom!

The fountain statue collapsed onto him.

“

Ghh...

” Groaning, Riarc struggled to rise from the rubble.

“Didn’t you say something about cats earlier? Did you already forget, Riarc?” Horus grinned down at Riarc and extended his claws. “You’ve never, not once, beat me in combat training.”

The black wolf bared his fangs in a feral snarl and charged forward with a thunderous stomp.