Drifters

So, you are the Black King and his subjects.

You said you would destroy the humans. You boasted so boldly.

You tamed the winged dragons that we ruled,

and treated them like your own pets...

You are underestimating us.

I am the Black King.

If you intend to join my alliance, you may take your place in line.

How dare you speak in such an arrogant manner to this Bronze Dragon?!

Who the hell you think you are?!

I don't care who you are.

It matters not to me whoever or whatever you are.

To me, you are no different from a single starving Goblin child.

Look over here, you ragged fool!

We shall tear you into rags to match your robe.

Stop!

Will you follow us, or will you die with them?

You may no longer stand on the fence, Bronze.

Respond to me, Bronze!

Cease! Stop! Stop it!

All right, the alliance...

I will join your alliance.

I welcome you, Bronze.

You have now become one who is scorned rather than one who is feared.

Hence, you have the right to join my alliance.

Such dreadful power.

That is high praise coming from a quiet man like you, Hijikata.

The power of our Black Lord is the replication of life.

His healing power is one derivation of it.

However, uncontrolled reproduction could result in cancerous growth, leading to death.

--B-Black Lord! --Black Lord!

Black Lord!

You don't need to prostrate yourselves before me.

Allow me some room to make use of my power.

He can replicate anything that is animate ad infinitum...

....cells, even food...

To those who stand against the Black King,

recognizing him as the commander of the opposing force,

his power must be nothing short of a nightmare.

He can instantly cure those who are injured.

Even those who would be beyond recovery or facing death under normal circumstances

could return to the front lines in no time.

He can create food and firewood infinitely.

The concept of logistics falls apart.

Then, why does he have them cultivate the earth?!

Why can't he just create food himself?!

That's because...

...I am not God, who possesses eternal life.

Our Black Lord...

Rasputin, is it completed?

I was a professional, so...

The system is extremely simple, but the simplicity should work better for them.

I chose an eye for our symbol.

Starting with the concept of fire worship, and mixing in other ideas

from Varuna, Egyptian and Celtic mythos.

I combined the best parts of these ideas to compose this system.

Also, these were...

...copied from the Latin alphabet... Well, actually, this is the Latin alphabet.

Even so, it may take a long time to make them understand.

What do you have planned?

We are a multi-racial community.

Kobolds. Goblins. And we will become even more diverse in the future.

We need to unite these races.

We will create our own writing system, unify their religions, and educate them.

Primitive agriculture, a new writing system, unified religion...

They, who have been teased by being called monsters,

will take the place of humans and forge their own civilization in this world.

"Act 10 Baba Yatu"

We gather all the soil collected from villages, store it in the former administrative office first...

...or if each village can bring it to us...

...then we have this many horses and this much wheat...

Why am I doing this?

Oh my God!

Oh my God! Cherry Boy!

--Oh my God! --Well, it's true, but...

Don't call me that, idiot!

A strange carriage is approaching here.

A strange... carriage?

That is Count Saint-Germi...

...a powerful aristocrat from Orte!

Elven boys, go hide now!

You Elven girls, no need to hide.

What is going on?!

Stop!

Hm?

Stop!

Wh-Wh-Who are you?!

This place looks incredibly dull.

It certainly does.

This really isn't what I was expecting.

I imagined some place more twinkling and glittering...

Brilliant sunlight filtering through the leaves of trees.

A forest where a hidden, holy spring is gushing.

There, the naked Elven boys playing with the spirits of dead,

frolicking and laughing.

Shut your mouths!

"Dreamy" "Dreamy"

Count Saint-Germi...

Why did you personally come to a place like this?

Who on earth are you? A Drifter?

No... my lord.

I am Mills, the former tax accountant of the Elven colonies.

Now, the Elves have locked me up and...

Hmm, you look like a virgin.

I came to see the Drifters.

They must be here, right?! Bring them here... Bring the Drifters!

That's right. That's right. Bring them to us!

Why are only a few Elven boys here?! You must be hiding them.

Bring them out!

Well... actually... they are not here at this moment.

Huh?

What do you mean by that?! Where are they?!

You must confess. Or else, I will eat you alive!

I'm sorry. I'm sowwy.

Th-They told me they were going to

free the Dwarves and took the Elven men with them...

...and, um... that the Dwarves... would make them

firearms, machine guns, and the like.

Wh...?!

Di... Di... Did you say they were going to have the Dwarves make firearms?!

Wh... Wh... What... What about black powder?!

They already have black powder.

They are continuously making a large quantity.

It's over. Orte is finished.

What?! Muket? What the heck is a muket?

Is it edible?

Musket! It's called a musket!

Have you been doing anything besides eating?!

We can fight as well.

Bring us more booze and food!

Also, you guys recovered way too quickly after you ate!

--Huh?! --You wanna fight, idiot?!

There should've been tons of food in this arsenal...

Wh-What happened?!

Olminu, we just got an additional order.

Soup for a hundred people!

What kind of place do they think this is?! Just serve them water!

The more they eat, the more muscular they become.

Scary... Dwarves really are scary.

Yeah.

What's with that? Why are you smiling, Shara?

Hm?

The Dwarves are back. The Dwarves from our bedtime stories are back.

Ahhh...

Don't "Ahhh" me.

So... hey, listen to me.

You know that guy Yoshitsune? He's a horrible person.

Are you listening, old man?

I am... I am listening.

So here is the thing...

Suddenly, he was like, "Shoot the fan!" That didn't make any sense!

No way in hell I could hit the target.

Did he really think I could shoot a sailor?! He's got to be out of his mind.

I can't take that crap anymore.

That's some nasty booze.

Put your clothes back on. You may give them the wrong idea.

All right... Show me this "musket" thing.

D-Don't break it.

We ain't gonna break it.

What is this? It's an iron cylinder.

It looks like it's made of rolled iron.

The trigger mechanism seems to be similar to that of a crossbow. Simple enough.

Does the spring cause this iron bit to drop down onto the metal pan?

What does that do? Is this some sort of projectile device?

The base is made of just regular wood.

So, what on earth is this for?

Ah. It's a weapon called a musket.

Gunpowder is ignited in the cylinder, propelling a lead bullet.

Are you saying this is a weapon that...

...launches a lead bullet?

I don't have any idea about the gunpowder or that sort of thing, but...

...why go through so much effort for such a thing?

Aren't bows and crossbows just as good? What is so special about this?

On that point, I don't fully understand either.

Bows won't make any sound or require any development.

So, why a musket?

Well... umm...

...both sound and smoke are necessary. How should I put it...

The roar of the musket is its battle cry.

A musket has a voice of its own when aimed at you.

On top of that, it is quick to train with.

In the span of a day, a peasant can be trained to kill veteran soldiers.

Mm... It is as I thought, he is no fool.

However, battle is the only thing he knows.

A musket has long range and commanding power,

but that's not the only real advantage it holds.

It also simplifies killing, soothes murderous intent, and relieves guilty emotions.

In any case, with only a single pull, anyone can be a warrior.

It is a path for all civilians to become warriors.

I can't tell them that. No way... I can't.

Where...?

At last you have awoken.