Chapter 166 : Chapter 166

Chapter 166 : Beastkin Conference (2)

Starting with the Tiger tribe led by Balua, other Beastkin kings began to gather one by one in the Lizardfolk's territory.

The Wolf King arrived with Pasion and the White Dragon Knights, and the Rat King arrived with mages such as Mumbel and Eidon.

Rabbit, Snake, Cow, Bear, Cat, and so on…….

As Urseca had guaranteed, numerous individuals participated in the Beastkin Conference hosted by the Lizard King.

Among them, the Cat King spoke with irritation as he looked around the Lizard territory.

“Why are there so many humans at a Beastkin Conference?”

“Is it just humans? There are elves too.”

The Snake King also agreed, flicking his tongue.

As they said, the Lizard territory was crowded not only with the Beastkin kings and their subordinates who had flocked from all over, but also with many humans.

Thanks to this, the spacious territory was bustling.

Urseca and his royal guard unit appeared from among the gathered crowd.

After receiving the Blessing of the Sea, halos floated behind their heads.

Seeing this, the Beastkin kings swallowed their saliva.

It seemed they were curious as to why the already powerful Lizardfolk, who had now even received the Blessing of the Sea, had opened a Beastkin Conference.

The king of the Bear tribe, Goldin, stepped forward.

“Urseca. Why did you call us?”

The Bear tribe had a particularly small population, so they were not a major power among the Beastkin.

But Goldin was different.

He was known as the strongest among the powerful Beastkin kings.

When he, who was much larger than the 2-meter-tall Urseca, asked with sharp eyes, a tension filled the air.

“Conference. Right away. Proceed.”

But Urseca spoke without being intimidated at all.

“We. King of the Inoe. Need.”

Urseca's words caused great confusion.

The King of the Inoe.

Urseca had spoken a name that existed only in legends.

Of course, the voice calling for a King of the Inoe had been quietly circulating among the Beastkin, but it was merely a wish.

Urseca had pinpointed and mentioned that wish.

But Goldin did not back down either.

“We don't even have a king of the Beastkin, and you're saying we need a King of the Inoe?”

“That is right.”

“Haha, right. The king of the Beastkin would be the King of the Inoe. It makes sense to discuss that at a Beastkin Conference.”

Goldin laughed, his huge body shaking.

But the atmosphere did not lighten at all.

Because no one felt any cheerfulness in his laughter.

On the contrary, with the tension heightened, Goldin stopped laughing.

Then he stomped right up to Urseca's nose and growled.

“Who can become the King of the Inoe? You, with a disc floating behind your head?”

Goldin blatantly pressured Urseca.

But Urseca answered calmly.

“No. Me. Not.”

Urseca gestured to me.

“That person. Polarin Adjak. King of the Beastkin. And. King of the Inoe. He will become one.”

The eyes of all the Beastkin gathered here turned to me.

Not just Balua and the Tiger tribe, but many Beastkin had watched the sparring sessions between me, Soler, Everchen, Bea, and Keldric.

It wasn't because all the Beastkin kings came to the Lizardfolk territory on the same day.

It was just that we repeated sparring of incredible intensity every single day until all those invited to the Beastkin Conference had arrived.

Thanks to that, no Beastkin could easily dismiss me.

That being said, opinions did not immediately converge on the plan to install me as the King of the Beastkin and the King of the Inoe.

This was because the Beastkin were also beings with pride in their own race.

“I know that person is very strong, but is he not still a human?”

The Goat King, Olru, who was stroking his beard, looked at me.

The Goat tribe was a small power, but they were a particularly intelligent race among the Beastkin.

“If being strong was all it took to become the king of the Beastkin, humans would have subjugated us long ago.”

“Olru, watch your mouth! Are you saying we are weaker than humans!”

“We are weak.”

“What? There must be a ton of Beastkin kings here who could tear you to shreds right now!”

Several Beastkin kings immediately retorted.

“Look at this. The Beastkin can never unite as one. Just like right now.”

“……”

“Do you think humans are the same? You are wrong. Humans can at least unite if they recognize someone as an ally. But what about the Beastkin?”

The Goat King Olru was small in stature, but he rebuked the Beastkin kings who were much larger than him.

“We cannot unite with anyone outside of our own tribe. Our participation in the Lizardfolk's conference was not to cooperate with the Lizardfolk, was it? We probably came because we could not ignore their power.”

Olru's words were captivating. Before I knew it, I was listening intently to his words.

“The Beastkin must unite. For that, we need a king with absolute symbolism.”

Olru, who had been shouting at the Beastkin kings, turned his gaze to me.

“But a human cannot be the king of the Beastkin.”

He was a formidable one.

He provoked the Beastkin by bringing up humans, whom they disliked, while shaking the board so that their anger would be directed entirely at me.

I had incurred the wrath of the Beastkin without saying a single word.

But I had no ill feelings towards Olru.

He probably hadn't done it because he had any ill feelings towards me either.

I gestured to stop Urseca, who knew my situation and was about to step forward. Urseca gave a small nod and stepped back.

After that, I opened my mouth for the first time in front of the Beastkin kings gathered at the conference.

“A human cannot be the king of the Beastkin, nor the King of the Inoe. The words themselves are a contradiction.”

Since Urseca had already introduced me, there was no need for me to introduce myself now.

I quickly got to the main point.

“But I am not human. I am half-human, half-dragon.”

At my words, those gathered at the conference began to stir.

It is not so difficult to find those with mixed Beastkin and human blood.

The current king of the Tiger tribe, Balua, was also half-human, half-tiger.

But the Dragonkin are different.

The Dragonkin, the most reclusive race among all Beastkin, rarely form ties with humans.

“No, you are not half-human, half-dragon. Do not deceive us.”

Olru said as if he was certain.

“Just because Adjak was half-human, half-dragon, we cannot assume that all descendants of that family are also half-human, half-dragon.”

And I soon realized why Olru was so sure that I was not half-human, half-dragon.

“Moreover, I was able to find out without much difficulty that both of your parents are human. You may have said you were half-human, half-dragon several times, but that is no different from deceiving everyone.”

“You've investigated me a lot. But you are wrong. I am indeed half-human, half-dragon.”

I am both human and dragon.

The Dragon Heart that proved it was beating fiercely inside my body.

The heart that once tried to tear my body apart and kill me was now serving as my most powerful weapon.

I pointed to my chest with my fingertip and said.

“A Dragon Heart beats in my heart. Can you still say that I am not half-human, half-dragon?”

There are many symbols of a dragon, but if there was one that was the most representative, it was the Dragon Heart.

The heart of the Dragonkin, which stores a near-infinite amount of mana and can convert it into a much denser form before releasing it.

The Beastkin kings seemed surprised at the words that the Dragon Heart, called the source of a dragon's power, was beating inside my body.

Even Olru, who had been pressuring me, fell silent.

“Can you prove it?”

Before Olru could capture the audience, the Bear King, Goldin, who had overwhelmed Urseca with frightening momentum, stepped forward.

But Goldin's words could not continue.

Because the sunlight was suddenly obscured.

I looked up at the sky.

A huge dragon floating in the sky was blocking the sun.

I grinned.

‘Lady Hike.’

Hike landed in the middle of the conference hall.

Then, she scanned the Beastkin kings with a cold gaze.

She was not the king of the Dragonkin, so she had no right to participate in the Beastkin Conference.

But no one here could question her right.

The continent's strongest Tuner and hero, Adjak's close friend.

No matter how much of a Beastkin king one was, none were brave enough to question Hike's right to participate in the conference.

“He is indeed half-human, half-dragon.”

Hike said softly.

Soon, Hike's mana began to fill the Lizardfolk's territory.

She had merely released her mana, but everyone was crushed by Hike's presence.

“However…… According to Olru, Polarin's parents are both human…… sir.”

But Goldin was a proud Beastkin king.

He continued to speak even while trembling under the pressure.

Hike looked at me instead of Goldin, who had spoken bravely before her.

I returned Hike's gaze and released my mana.

Mana flowed out of my body along with a white light.

The energy, completely different from that of a human's, had a resemblance to Hike's power.

But there was also a crucial difference between my mana and Hike's mana.

While Hike's mana had an overwhelming and oppressive aura, my mana embraced the Beastkin kings participating in the conference.

Thanks to this, even the Beastkin kings who had seemed to have difficulty even standing began to let out rough breaths.

Although Hike had single-handedly pressured everyone, those gathered here were Beastkin kings.

They would have noticed that my mana and Hike's mana were fundamentally of a similar nature.

Hike withdrew some of the energy she had released for pressure and said.

“A Dragon Heart beats in Polarin's chest. Who dares to say he is not a dragon?”

Goldin could no longer refute Hike's words.

“Will you believe it if we cut open both our chests and show you?”

At that moment, Urseca stepped forward.

“No. Sir. ‘Silent Lake’. Lady Hike. Ma'am. Polarin Adjak. Half-human, half-dragon. That fact. I believe.”

Then Balua knelt on the ground and carved letters on the floor with his sharp claws.

– I believe that Polarin Adjak is half-human, half-dragon and I agree with his appointment as the King of the Beastkin.

Everyone saw the words that the king of the Tiger tribe, one of the most powerful Beastkin races, was slowly carving.

Soon, the Wolf King also spoke up.

“I too believe that Polarin Adjak is half-human, half-dragon and I agree to his appointment as the King of the Beastkin.”

The Rat King also added.

“The same goes for me. Let's appoint Polarin Adjak as the King of the Beastkin.”

The Beastkin kings who had been persuaded by those on my side were the first to express their agreement.

After that, other Beastkin kings who shared the same opinion appeared.

“Me too.”

“If Polarin Adjak is half-human, half-dragon, he is qualified enough to be the King of the Beastkin.”

As opinions supporting me were being expressed one by one, a being appeared, tearing through space.

“That's not a bad idea.”

It was the Dragon Lord, ‘Youngest God’ Baden.

Did this mean even Baden agreed to me becoming the King of the Beastkin?

My heart swelled, and I let out a slight smile.

“Let's do as Hike says. I will tear open Polarin's chest and show you all the beating Dragon Heart.”

My smile vanished in an instant.