Paradigm Parasite

Chapter 136: "Conference"

Shudras Castle.

This is one of the rooms in one of its corners.

The room is luxuriously furnished, well cleaned and kept clean.

In the centre of the room is a huge table.

Four chairs lined up around it are occupied.

Seated are representatives of four races: goblins, orcs, trolls and dwarves.

The king of the goblins - Abdullah.

His body is two times larger than that of an ordinary goblin, and he wears dull-coloured, magic-enhanced armour and a bright red cloak with magic stones sewn on in places that appear to be of high quality.

His eyes are half-open, creating a lazy atmosphere.

King of the Trolls - Azide.

The man with the largest and strongest body of the four present here wears armour made of monster skin and a special club with a large number of magic stones called Makana embedded in it at his waist.

His expression was fierce, but there was certainly a spark of intelligence in his eyes, and he watched the movements of the other kings carefully.

King of the Orcs - Radib.

He is not as big as Azide, but he is huge compared to the others and wears yellow full-body armour.

Two huge axes hang from his waist.

He was wiggling his legs in frustration and gnashing his teeth repeatedly.

A representative of the dwarves - Bedzif.

He is short in stature, characteristic of his race, but his well-trained body is second to none.

This one is not particularly armed, wearing only sturdy-looking armour instead.

He rubs his beard and waits for the conversation to begin.

"Whew. Well, let's get started. There doesn't seem to be anyone else available, so I'll speak on behalf of the others."

Abdullah was the first to open his mouth.

The others did not object or say anything.

Abdullah nodded and continued.

"Let's start with a simple story. Bedziff. Are there any problems with the supply of armour?"

"Yes. We have received the materials, so there is no problem in making them, but the supply cannot keep up with the demand. At the moment we have enough, but if it continues any longer it will be hard. Can't you guys take better care of it?"

Bedoujev replies, touching his beard, but his expression is bitter.

"We take good care of them. The people who took them out. They've all been killed and robbed. Nothing important."

Azide cowered as he said this.

"It doesn't matter! They've entered our territory! If you've got time for idle chatter, why don't you come up with a plan to deal with them!"

Radib slammed his fist on the table and raised his voice.

"Whew... I don't know how you feel, but this is not the place to rant. If you can't talk calmly, why don't you go home?"

As he said this, Abdullah exhaled 'whew' and pointed to the exit.

Radeeb sat back deeper in his chair, fists shaking but silently.

"I'll continue. Next, we'll talk about food supplies. We have no problem here for the moment, but like the armour, if it goes on any longer, it will be difficult. It doesn't matter how many elves die, but they are still labour. There's a limit to how much we can crush them and turn them into meat."

Abdullah added: 'It's time to get it over with.

"Whew... Next on the agenda, the one you've been waiting for, Radib. What do we know about them? Or how to deal with them?"

"I can't say, because we don't come forward. I'd rather you tell me."

Bedzif shrugs his shoulders.

"...reports from those returning from the front. Not to the point. It's clear. It seems they are using plants to control the dead. That's all. Beyond that, I don't know."

"That's right! That's why my people are their war cadres!"

Radeeb is irritated all the way to Azide, who speaks without hesitation.

Abdullah exhales.

"Nothing new? Hmm... let's get what we've learned so far straight. First of all, what happened was that part of the wilderness turned into a forest. The people who had ventured into it had been killed and taken over, and they were coming at us, and that's when we realised something was wrong."

Abdullah exhaled.

"The first thing that comes to mind is that the forest is a forest of sorts, but when the humans started attacking amongst the dead, it became clear that they were behind it. I have no idea how they are controlling those plants, but the dead ones are still coming towards us in increasing numbers."

The other three men do not speak.

Abdullah continues.

"...and. This is the only information that is clear. The rest is just the general composition of the enemy? In short, we have no idea except that they are attacking us."

Ha-ha-ha, Abdullah laughs, as if he is out of his depth.

Radib slams his fist on the table again.

"It's no laughing matter! I know you are gathered here to do something about it!"

"Whew... Having said that, Radib. I have no idea what they're attacking for. If I knew that, I could try to negotiate with them..."

"Come to think of it, did you send peace envoys to try it out?"

Abdullah looks at Azide and exhales.

"What, you knew about this? ......Hmmm... we sent one a long time ago to try things out, but he came back with weird weeds growing out of his body. At that point I realised they weren't interested in negotiating."

"What? What? They did that too? It would be good if you could tell us about that too."

"After all, they have no intention of sitting down to negotiate, do they? Then we'll have to use force! Now is the time for us to combine our forces and twist them over!"

Radib stands up with a snort.

The other three look at him blankly.

Abdullah lets out a sigh.

"Whew... Radib. Let's be clear, if we go on like this, we will lose."

"Nah! What are you saying? It's true that they're a tough opponent, but if we hit them with the whole army..."

"You've been pushing us this far with that kind of talk, haven't you?"

Abdullah inwardly wonders why these orcs keep saying the same thing every time.

Orcs, who are supposed to be as smart as or smarter than they are in terms of their race, are so far to the side of an assault....

Even the troll Azide is thinking straight, but when it comes to this guy...well, let's cut him loose.

Azide had already given up on Radeeb and was completely deaf to his words.

Abdullah and Bedzif are still worthy partners, so I'll listen to them.

On the surface, Bedziff has maintained a relaxed attitude, but deep down he knew it was time for him to take the risk of teaming up with these people.

I don't care how many other people die, but I don't want to get involved.

We are thinking that we have to negotiate with those people somehow, but we are beginning to feel impatient because we can't find a contact point.

He had an idea that the messenger sent by Abdullah had probably just not found anyone with whom he could have a conversation, and he thought he had to get them on board somehow.

Radeeb, who only wants to get rid of the people who are tearing up his territory as soon as possible, has no time to guess what the other three are thinking and is getting frustrated, telling them to stop talking rubbish and get on with it and send reinforcements.

"It's simply because we underestimated their power! We're not conceited now! That's why we're going to bring all our forces together. ......"

The others all let out a sigh in unison as Radib still insists.

"Whew... Radib. I won't say anything bad. Take up defensive positions and buy us some time. In the meantime, you should gather information on them and look for weaknesses."

"You've had your day, Abdullah! While we're doing this, they're raiding our territory!"

'Your territory, not ours,' everyone else thought, but no one pointed it out.

"What's the alliance for? We said we formed this alliance in the first place in the name of eliminating foreign enemies, but what are you people? All you do is talk nonsense about intelligence, and nothing gets done!"

"Are these talks crap?"

Abdullah said in his usual tone, but his gaze was cold.

But Radeeb, who hadn't noticed that, says it's obvious.

Seeing this, Abdullah nodded, 'I see.

"Hmm... I understand your point very well. I will give you the troops as you wish."

"Right. From this side. Let's get them out."

"We'll also give you armour as a priority."

The three suddenly turned their palms, and Radeeb was surprised, but immediately smiled.

"Wow, you just have to know! Now for the location of the decisive battle..."

"The Orc capital will do."

"Yes. Right."

"That's a fair place."

"What? Why, in my capital ......."

Abdullah exhales to a bemused Radeeb.

"Of course it is, isn't it? The place where they are now is small. To make use of their numbers, we need to take them into the field. The only place in the area where we can do that is your capital."

"It's settled. I'll have the armour brought there."

"We don't want any losses. Take them on as you see fit. Lure them in."

After saying this, Bedziff and Azide got up from their seats and left.

"Well... that's why. Now go home and tell them what to do."

"You, ......."

"What? I gave you what you wanted. What's wrong with that?"

"My capital is on the line!"

"Then give me an alternative now. If you don't have one, why don't you get ready?"

Radeeb moved his mouth to say something, but the words failed to come out, so he clicked his tongue and left the scene.

"Whew. ......"

Abdullah exhales and leans deeply against the backrest.

The Radeeb is in trouble, but he has to be good and get the main force of these people under control.

In the meantime, we must manage to cross over to someone who can talk to us.

If the main force comes deep into the country, their commanders may also come forward.

We have to make contact somehow at that time...

I could tell that the other two were thinking similarly.

That is why we must make contact before the others.

We will lose this battle.

We have four races working together, so we have a very large force.

But since the other side can use our dead as an army, the more our soldiers fall, the more their strength can be replenished.

There is hope if we can find a way to cut off the main source of the problem, but that too is a long shot.

Then we have no choice but to gamble on peace with the other side to make our wounds less severe.

There is a high possibility that we will be blown out of the water, but that's why we need to be the first to surrender.

If we sell information on the others, we should be able to extract some concessions.

We can get through this war with shallower wounds than the other three races.

Abdullah clenched his fists tightly.

If Radib is right, we may have to defeat them in the worst case.

If that happens, the entirety of the Tierdras will be crushed in the opposite direction and he will die.

Even if I die, it is still too early.

At the very least, I would give my life just to dispose of the elves - that traitor who calls himself the Fairy King and others...

Abdullah exhaled deeply and left the place.