kscans

CHAPTER 5 WARS OF NATIONS – Episode 5 The Queen of Manuno (Part 1)

1

Something fell from above, aiming straight for Bard’s head. Without hesitation, Karz unsheathed his magic sword and slashed the falling object. It was a Togemutsude. Thanks to Karz, Bard was spared from being drenched in the creature’s corrosive fluid. However, the scattered bodily fluid had splattered onto his shoulder. The See of Trees is truly a vile place.

They had reached the forest from Lordvan Castle in about thirty days. Bard’s health was better than expected, and the journey with Karz had progressed surprisingly smoothly. Above all, Yueitan and Satra showed tireless speed. At the port of Try, new residents had already settled in, and they were unloading cargo from a ship that had just arrived from Himaya across the river. Since no one seemed to recognize Bard, they took the opportunity to buy some food and continued north along the river.

The Togemutsude was a name Bard had arbitrarily given, not knowing its real name. It looked like a giant’s six-fingered hand cut off at the wrist, covered in brightly colored thorns, hence the name (t/n: toge is thorn). At first glance, it looked like a thorny fruit growing on a tall tree. In reality, it was a creature, and its resemblance to a fruit was a form of camouflage. If prey passed underneath, it would drop down, open its body wide like a giant unclenching its fist, and attach itself to the prey with its slimy body. It would then slowly secrete a fluid that dissolved the prey and consumed it. It seemed like you could shake it off, but the Togemutsude’s dissolving fluid seemed to have an instant paralyzing effect. Bard had witnessed a large monkey being eaten alive, convulsing but unable to move. The thought of being dissolved and eaten alive was horrifying.

The forest was filled with such grotesque creatures. The footing was damp, and in places, you would suddenly sink. Even now, they had to dismount from their horses and walk. It was said that no one who ventured deep into this unexplored area had ever returned alive. However, few people would visit such a remote and eerie place. Bard was relentlessly advancing deeper into the forest. He didn’t have a clear target. No one knew the exact location of the Queen of Manuno.

2

Unlike many other demi-humans, the Manuno did not seem to have tribes. They were all part of one group. The entity called the “Queen” governed this group. If the documents researched at the Parzam Royal Palace were to be believed, all Manunos were children of the Queen. The Queen, through some hideous act whose details are kept secret, would wrap herself around the giant tree of Yambakarpa and lay countless eggs. That’s how Manunos were born.

All Manunos were female. No, that’s not the right way to put it. They appeared female to humans. Manunos didn’t marry or have children, so they didn’t need males, but then again, they didn’t need females either. However, the appearance of Manunos, with organs that looked like breasts and heads that looked like long-haired women, appeared female to humans. That being said, Bard had only seen Manunos for the first time during the defense battle at Lordvan Castle, and he had seen them from a great distance, so he didn’t know their exact appearance. (t/n: sounds like Isis from Ragnarok Online)

According to the documents, the Queen could issue commands to the Manunos, no matter how far away they were. There must have been some incidents that led to this conclusion.

The reason humans despise and fear Manunos is not because of their bizarre ecology. All living creatures, when stared at by the evil eye of Manuno, become immobilized. They then become puppets that move according to Manuno’s orders. Yet they are unaware that they are being controlled and believe they are making decisions and acting as usual. This bizarre ability, which has been spoken of since ancient times, has kept humans away from Manunos. Fortunately, Manunos do not antagonize humans unless their territory is invaded. Therefore, humans and Manunos have been able to coexist without interfering with each other for hundreds of years. At least, that’s how it was supposed to be.

But this time, the Manunos attacked humans. The scene Bard saw on the battlefield could only be interpreted as Manunos controlling demonic beasts to attack humans. According to Count Grismo’s testimony, Manunos were organizing an army of demonic beasts. Why did the Manuno do such a thing? Bard wanted to know, he felt he had to know.

And again, if it’s true that Manunos have a mysterious power to control living creatures, would it also work on humans? The physician who poisoned the king of his own volition, yet couldn’t explain why. The count who attacked Julelan, yet claimed he hadn’t lost his respect for him. It was as if their wills were being controlled and their memories manipulated by someone. Could Manuno’s eerie ability be involved in their actions?

And again, that overly large horde of demonic beasts. Where did they bring them from? Is there a similar horde lurking somewhere?

Bard couldn’t ignore these questions. That’s why he decided to meet the Queen of Manuno. If there was someone to ask, it had to be the Queen of Manuno.

3

Bard thought it was April 12th, but Karz said it was the 11th. This kind of thing happens often when you’re traveling. In the frontier, it’s not uncommon for an entire village to get the date wrong. Karz was probably right. Bard still felt a little dizzy, and his head was slightly foggy. He trusted Karz more than himself.

Jurchaga wasn’t here. Bard had given Jurchaga a different order. To investigate Thula and Seion. He had sent him to find out what was happening in the capitals of both countries. It might be a bit of a stretch for a mere thief. Bard had asked him to investigate as much as he could. There was simply too little reliable information.

Did Thula and Seion really succumb to Shinkai’s military power? If they did, why are they so compliant under Shinkai’s rule, even though Shinkai doesn’t seem to have left much military power? No matter how powerful Shinkai is, it’s impossible for them to leave a large army in Thula or Seion while waging invasions on three fronts: Goriora, Gaineria, and Parzam. They probably wouldn’t even try. Invasions can be carried out by a small elite force. If you can exploit the enemy’s weakness, it’s possible. But to suppress rebellion and maintain control, a large number of troops are needed. Even more so if you’re going to implement new politics, collect taxes, and manage residents. What’s going on there? Without investigating the current situation, it’s impossible to predict future developments. Accurate predictions based on correct knowledge enable effective responses. Knowing the truth about Thula and Seion is the first step.

4

As he peeled off the leeches stuck to his body and tried to pass by the swamp, Karz stopped and looked at the center of the swamp. Noticing this, Bard also stopped.

Something slowly emerged from the murky water. A human head. The head surfaced, followed by the eyes. They were small eyes, looking straight at Bard. It slowly approached, creating ripples in the water. It stopped when it got close to the shore.

Rustle. Splash.

The creature lifted its body out of the water. It had a small, small face. The face of a young girl. Her long hair was wet and stuck to her face. Her nose was small. Her mouth was small too. Where Bard expected to see a chin and neck, his prediction was off. There was a slight indentation, but the flesh-colored body continued straight down. Then two breasts appeared. There were no nipples. They were strangely voluptuous bulges.

The resemblance to humans ended there. Below that, a long, long body continued, covered in scales like a snake. It was a Manuno.

The Manuno lifted its head to about Bard’s belly height and stopped lifting its body out of the water. The distance between Bard and the Manuno was no more than ten steps. Looking at it up close, Bard could see that the Manuno’s face was much smaller than a human’s. It was more like a young girl than a young woman. Bard wondered how such a strange creature came to be, but perhaps that’s what they would say about him.

Where a human would have arms, the Manuno spread something wide. It looked like wings, or perhaps fish fins. It might also resemble a bat’s wings. Thin vein-like structures ran through the semi-transparent membrane like leaf veins. Where there would be bones in a fish’s fin, there were strange tentacle-like structures, with the thickest tentacle at the top branching out into several smaller ones that writhed and squirmed.

“Humans.”

Bard was startled. The voice was in his head. Inside, he heard something like a voice. The only sound audible to his ears was a creepy rustling, and this voice was not spoken words.

“Human. I know you.”

Bard voiced out, “Are you Manuno?” It seemed to understand, and the strange snake-woman demi-human replied,

“Yes.”

Bard continued, “Are you the queen of the Manunos?”

“No.”

It answered and continued,

“You have broken the curse placed upon me and my comrades. You may be able to break the queen’s curse as well. Therefore, I will allow you to step into our kingdom. I will allow you to head towards the queen’s chamber.”

Then, it folded its right fin and pointed in a certain direction with its left. Bard looked in that direction. There was nothing but a dense forest. Was he supposed to go in this direction? When he turned around, Manuno was already beginning to sink into the swamp. Bard exclaimed, “Wait, I have questions!” But Manuno said,

“Hurry. I can’t hold on for long.”

Leaving those words behind, it sank. Its figure disappeared into the water in an instant, and only the ripples left on the water’s surface told him that their encounter was real.

Bard and Karz proceeded in the direction they were told. Even after that, whenever they passed by the water’s edge, Manuno would appear and guide them. As they walked, Bard pondered over Manuno’s words.

“You have broken the curse placed upon me and my comrades. You may be able to break the queen’s curse as well.”

Bard had broken the curse on Manuno and the others. He remembered a scene that came to mind when he heard this. It was when the torrent of light flowing from the ancient sword struck down the horde of demonic beasts. After that, in his fading consciousness, he felt like he saw a strange sight. From the bodies of the Riverbear’s demonic beasts, something like a mass of light flew out and soared high into the sky. He felt like he had seen something like that. It was a hallucinatory sight on the verge of mental exhaustion amidst headaches, ringing in his ears, and pain and fatigue throughout his body, so he couldn’t be sure. But he felt like he had seen it. Hundreds of living lights dancing in the sky.

But how did that connect with breaking the curse on Manuno and the others? According to Jurchaga, the light overflowing from the ancient sword had also reached Manuno and the others. Bard remembered the words of the late Zendatta. The ancient demonic sword is a sword inhabited by divine beasts. Each divine beast has a different form and ability. Therefore, it is said that the true demonic sword has its own unique power. That’s what Zendatta said.

This ancient sword. The hatchet sword that he call Stavros. Does it have the power to break the curse of the demonic beasts and the curse binding Manuno and the others? He pondered this as he made his way through the forest.

On the twelfth day since entering the forest, or April 16th, Bard and the others arrived at the Queen of Manuno’s place.