Alien world

Chapter 1689, Section 322: You Become the Rat King

"That Annamese thing! The High Priest is a white-skinned rat who acts as a god's representative. All rat people are his servants, including us gray-haired rats. It's impossible for us to replace him!"

"Is this so..."

Annan felt a pang of regret; he truly believed this was a golden opportunity to take their place. Race wasn't an issue; a change of skin color would suffice. However, the rat-man elder was clearly terrified and refused to agree under any circumstances.

"Then let you and the council of elders behind you get moving and find out exactly what the high priest is doing in the far north and what he is talking about with the demons."

Previously, the rat-man elder would never have dared to make any underhanded moves under the high priest's nose. But after being startled by Annan's words, it began to think that Annan's new idea might not be so unacceptable after all.

“Annan bastards, we can’t attack the High Priest.” The ratman elder was still somewhat hesitant.

"Do as you please, don't blame me for not warning you. Even if that high priest knows something, he won't harm my interests because of my human identity. He might even try to win me over. As for you, the fact that he followed the Rodent Clan behind your back means he no longer considers you reliable. Who knows if he'll remove your elder status with just a few words?"

Annan's few words made the already emotionally unstable rat-man elder even more flustered, and he said he would go and think of a solution.

How did a rat-man elder end up teaming up with a human to fight the high priest...?

Watching its hurried retreating figure, Annan shook his head and canceled the spell, suddenly feeling a surge of disappointment towards the ratman elder.

It's not that the Rat Elder isn't a good partner; in fact, he understands the stakes better than most Rat People. If it were any other Rat People, they would probably try to take advantage of him every few days.

By cooperating with it, Annan would at least avoid facing too many messy troubles.

But it lacks ambition.

Without ambition, one cannot be swayed by benefits and break principles. Without breaking principles, one cannot be corrupted by Annan and become like him. Without becoming like Annan, one cannot control the Stoun ratmen through him.

The Ratman Elder was a businessman, not a politician.

Or...did you nominate one yourself?
He thought of a rat-man.

It's not Maria or Gale; the rat colony is a strict and cruel hierarchical pyramid, and a brown rat couldn't possibly be the leader. Jerry's girlfriend, though, might be a more likely candidate.

Annan thought of the Rat King.

When someone was sent to contact the outpost, Little Smo replied, "Lord Annan, I was just about to say the same thing. Sending the Rat King back to his tribe for revenge is clearly a waste of his talents."

It seems that the destruction of his tribe made the Rat King realize many things from the past, or perhaps revenge is the most powerful motivation for a living being, as the Rat King showed remarkable talent in his studies.

Of course, one could also say that "it wasn't a waste of such a big head."

"It seems we've thought of the same thing."

Annan told them about the rat-man elder's incompetence: "Maria, could you support him and give the rats a foothold in our territory?"

Maria replied, "Its clan is gone. If it goes back, it will only be ostracized, and might even be thrown into the bloodbath."

"A bloody scene?"

“Those who have committed a grave mistake and are not from a clan will be thrown into the bloodbath to fight and perform for the privileged rats.”

"Is it the Rat King?"

Have the clan king perform for the "noble rats"? What noble is more powerful than the rat king?
We can't possibly come up with some new setting at this point, like "the Rat King is just a henchman in the group, and there are real powerful figures behind him," can we?
"The rule for entering the Bloodbath is that if you make a mistake, you become a wild ratman without a clan. If the Rat King loses his clan, he becomes a wild rat."

"Isn't it true that wherever the Rat King is, that's where the clan is?"

Annan had preconceived notions, assuming that the structure of rat tribes was similar to that of humans, and that the key to a territory was the lord—in reality, the rat mother was the key to a clan. Without a rat mother, a rat-man clan would die one by one, essentially becoming defunct.

Even if the Rat King, Elders, or Priests are alive, it's useless; at most, they won't be dragged to the bloody arena to be used as playthings.

"Understood……"

As for the mighty Rat King being sent to the bloodbath... the neighboring Empire is also sending Blackwatch to be hanged, so let's not judge each other.

The thought of Blackwatch's trial cast a shadow over Annan's heart.

He needs to resolve the matter with the North and the King in the North as soon as possible, and then he will set off to rescue the Blackwatch Legion.

"Then let it become the wild rat king and gather its power?"

Maria reiterated that without the Rat Queen, the Rat King is essentially a wild rat-man, his status roughly equivalent to the roaming rat hordes in the north. While escaping the bloodbath and possessing the Rat King's strength should allow him to attract a considerable number of wandering rats, establishing a clan is out of the question…

“What about usurping the throne?” Annan suddenly asked. “Let it take over the clan that lost its rat king, and thus control that clan.”

"It is a Macken rat, and can only replace the Macken clan, not the Stunn clan."

The boundaries between the thirteen clans of the Rat People are not so clear-cut, but only at the bottom. The Gray-haired Rat, especially the Rat King, has changed its clan; since the Big Horned Rat split into the thirteen clans, there has been no precedent for this.

"Then let's set this precedent!"

Let's make a big splash and establish a force of our own within the Stoan Ratmen!

The best solution would be to have the Rat King replace the head of the Stunn clan, thereby helping Annan further seize control of the Stunn clan.

The second option is to have the Rat King return to the Macken clan and reclaim his throne. The advantage is that Annan will have his own informants in the North, able to keep a close eye on the Macken ratmen's movements. The disadvantage is that Annan's plan to gain influence over the Stunn ratmen will have to be put on hold again.

The last option is to send the Rat King into the wilderness to wage guerrilla warfare, recruit ratmen, and build his own ratman force.

With the support of Liberty City, it's not impossible for a new Skaven city-state to be formed.

The only question now is whether the Rat King is up to the task.
Small said that he did not tame its wildness, but rather taught it how to tame that wildness.

The world of wild beasts is simple: if the enemy is too strong, they run; if the enemy is too weak, they become food. Even those with intelligence are limited to running away when the enemy is too strong and chasing when the enemy is too weak.

The reason why the intelligent beings on the continent of Allen were able to create civilization is because they could use this intelligence to do more. If the enemy was too strong, they would use their intelligence to bridge the gap; if the enemy was too weak, they would create traps.

"Can it be done?"

Annan remembered that they had previously said that the rat king was not very smart.

"That's enough."

They weren't trying to raise a clever mouse with great wisdom, but rather a clever mouse that knew what it was supposed to do.

It just so happens that it is plotting revenge, so it naturally stands with them.

"I'll leave the Rat King to you; I'll find my chance."

First, you need to be able to take down a Stunn clan rat king without anyone noticing.

(End of this chapter)