Omniscient First-Person’s Viewpoint-Chapter 487: Ruling Without Reigning

Beastkin were born as slaves to humans. After the arrival of the Furred Saint, slavery was abolished, but society did not change overnight. The system remained, only with different names and forms.

If I exaggerated, I could say I benefited from it too—like the delivery system. You paid for it, sure, but using horse beastkin as couriers had a long-standing tradition.

Regardless, time had changed many things. Among the most striking changes was the status of dog beastkin.

Dog beastkin had been popular even in the days of slavery. Loyal, friendly, useful, and cute. Any household of means would have at least one or two dog beastkin.

Even after slavery was abolished, demand for them remained high. Butlers, guards, attendants, laborers—their roles and titles changed, but they continued to exist closest to humans.

That was true even in Ende, a city of beastkin.

A well-dressed human entered the plaza, accompanied by a dog beastkin servant. Their arrival was not warmly received—most of the elder beastkin present displayed clear signs of unease.

“Duke Erectus. We are in the middle of a meeting. All officials of Oveli have already been formally notified.”

“I don’t read those. Besides, does a formal notice mean you can all bark as loudly as you want? And here, in the solemn Oveli of all places?”

Oveli was built by the first human settlers in this land. Their descendants inherited not only the city but also the privileges that came with it. While some had fled back to the principality in fear of the Wolf King, others still held onto their power.

Duke Erectus was one of them—a man whom even the clan leaders had to acknowledge. In this city, he ruled.

“A guest has arrived from beyond. It would be best to show decorum, if only for Oveli’s sake.”

Even the mention of a guest did not humble him.

“A guest? Someone I should care about?”

“We do not know the full details, but they are said to be a benefactor of the Violet Merchant Guild and personally recommended by its leader.”

“A patron of the principality’s trading guild?”

Even someone as arrogant as Duke Erectus could not afford to be completely reckless when dealing with those outside his territory. Clicking his tongue in annoyance, he scanned the area.

Then, something caught his interest.

“What’s this? I don’t recognize that beastkin.”

“Woof?”

His eyes landed on Azzy. Meeting his gaze, Azzy extended the same open-hearted goodwill she showed to everyone.

“Woof! You’ll keep your promise too, right?”

“You? Hah. Do you even know who I am?”

“You. Human! Know!”

Even I found Azzy’s speech hard to decipher at times. Duke Erectus, who was brimming with nothing but self-importance, likely understood none of it. He scoffed in disbelief.

“You really are nothing but a mutt. I like your energy, though. Perhaps I should take you as my servant.”

His words made the surrounding beastkin stiffen. He was unaware that Azzy was the King of Dogs, but even so, claiming a Beast King as a servant was a shocking statement.

Even his own servant, the dog beastkin who had accompanied him, hurriedly tried to intervene.

“Master, please! That one is—”

“Welsh. Who said you could interrupt?”

Duke Erectus lashed out with a whip, but Welsh, his dog beastkin servant, remained steadfast.

“That one is the King of Dogs. They have come to fight the Wolf King. They cannot serve you.”

“The King of Dogs?”

At last, it seemed like the words had reached him.

Around them, the gathered beastkin let out deep sighs of relief.

Even for Duke Erectus, claiming the King of Dogs as a servant had been too much.

But they had relaxed too soon. Instead of backing down, his interest in Azzy only grew.

“Oh? So even the King of Dogs isn’t all that different from dog beastkin. Welsh, is the King of Dogs strong?”

“Yes. They are a Beast King.”

“Stronger than you?”

“I wouldn’t even dare compare.”

“But they must be docile, aren’t they?”

“Yes. The King of Dogs never harms humans. No matter what kind of human they are.”

“I like that. A shame they won’t attack my enemies, though.”

With a smirk, Duke Erectus picked up the ball Azzy had been playing with and tossed it. Instinctively, Azzy bolted after it, grabbed it, and quickly returned.

Seeing her act no different from an ordinary dog, his interest deepened.

“Hmph. Just a dog in human form. Ears and a tail, but none of that annoying backtalk like normal beastkin. This is much better.”

“I apologize, Master.”

“Good. Then I’ve decided. I’ll take care of them at my estate until the fight with the Wolf King.”

Despite Welsh’s efforts, Duke Erectus had gone too far. The gathered beastkin shot to their feet in protest.

“Hold it, Duke Erectus! The King must go where they choose!”

“Why?”

“Because...!”

Duke Erectus tilted his head, picking at his ear with a finger before responding in a childish tone.

“What, would you rather have them stay at some shabby inn? My estate is far better, don’t you think? There are dogs, there are beastkin. More importantly, there are humans. Dogs like humans, don’t they?”

“The King was brought here by the one recommended by the Violet Merchant Guild!”

“And what if they just wander off and follow someone else? A dog must always have its leash properly held.”

A leash, for the King of Dogs.

I had tried that once and failed miserably. But this bastard just openly declared it in front of everyone, as if it were the most natural thing in the world.

Tsk, tsk. What a twisted man.

It would be one thing if he genuinely thought of Azzy as just a dog, like I did. But no—he didn’t see her as a human, nor did he acknowledge her as a dog.

“If none of you interfere, they’ll follow me naturally. Now then, King of Dogs, come with me. That is what you want, isn’t it?”

“Woof? A promise?”

“Yes. And to put it another way—if you don’t follow, you can’t keep your promise.”

His absurd claim was finally too much for one of the dog beastkin to bear.

Despite Erectus being an official authority, the beastkin of Oveli were not easily intimidated. One of them bristled their tail stiffly and stepped forward.

“Duke Erectus! The decision has already been made!”

“A decision made without me.”

“Then you should have participated! You always stand back with your arms crossed and then try to force your way afterward!”

Under normal circumstances, they might have let it slide. But this was about the Wolf King and the King of Dogs.

All the dog beastkin stood against him.

The resistance was overwhelming.

No matter how much power Duke Erectus wielded, he could not overturn the will of this many people alone.

His irritation boiled over. Unable to contain his frustration, he lashed out with his whip—

—not at the defiant beastkin, but at his own servant, Welsh.

Crack!

The whip sliced through ➤ NоvеⅠight ➤ (Read more on our source) the air, producing a sharp, skin-crawling sound.

Welsh knew full well what was coming, yet they gritted their teeth and stood firm.

“Too much noise! Too much! Too much talking! Too much disobedience!”

Crack! Crack! Crack!

Each strike echoed through the plaza.

Welsh endured the pain in silence, but the beastkin around them flinched at every crack of the whip.

Most importantly—Azzy saw it all.

She saw a dog beastkin suffering right in front of her.

“Woof! Woof!”

“What? You, the King of Dogs, are worried about a mere dog?”

Duke Erectus, breathing heavily from exertion, smirked, reveling in his momentary sense of victory.

“Yes! If you listen to me, I’ll stop—”

“What’s going on here?”

A voice cut through the tension like a blade.

From above, the regressor descended, landing lightly on the ground.

They had just arrived, but their heightened instincts picked up on the stench of wrongdoing instantly.

Duke Erectus frowned at the sudden appearance.

“And who the hell are you? Oveli sure is crowded today.”

“You tell me. What’s going on here?”

“What else? Ah... you must be the one. The one recommended by the Violet Merchant Guild?”

Though the regressor did not appear particularly wealthy, their aura was anything but ordinary.

Duke Erectus lifted his chin, maintaining his arrogant demeanor.

“You’ve come at a good time. I’d like to take charge of the King of Dogs. You’ll be busy with other matters, won’t you? It would be best if we got used to working together beforehand.”

“Azzy?”

“Is that their name? Yes.”

The regressor’s gaze flicked from the whip in Erectus’s hand to Welsh, who was covered in red welts.

Their expression grew colder by the second.

“And how exactly does whipping a beastkin relate to any of this?”

“Oh, don’t mind that. My servant was being insolent, so I was just correcting their behavior.”

If Erectus had been a beastkin himself, he might have recognized the regressor’s growing bloodlust.

But blinded by his own arrogance, he remained oblivious.

“You?”

Duke Erectus’ eyes widened.

“What did you just say? Did you just call me ‘you’ like I was some lowly peasant?”

“The fact that you’re human—is that supposed to be enough to save your life?”

Even among the most reckless of humans, there were levels.

The regressor was at the extreme end of the spectrum—a man who simply did not care about the established order.

Erectus’ only mistake was failing to realize this sooner.

"Inciting division. Discriminating against beastkin. And now you’ve even set your sights on Azzy?"

"Not worth keeping alive."

No more words were needed.

The regressor acted.

With a flick of their foot, Jizan was kicked into the air.

As it spun, they caught it on their shoulder, wrapped it in a burst of compressed air, and swung it in a single motion.

A ripple of compressed space shot forward like a comet, streaking directly toward Duke Erectus.

There was no hesitation.

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The regressor had already decided—this man was an obstacle.

And obstacles were meant to be removed.

Jizan, wreathed in its violent storm, was death itself.

The instant it neared him, Duke Erectus saw his life flash before his eyes.

At that moment, he understood.

Human or not, power ruled all.

Gender, race, status—none of it mattered in the face of absolute force.

And so, in a single strike, the regressor cleaved through the very foundation of a racist tyrant.