In Ark Simulator, why do I always get a tough start?

Chapter 48 Those who disobey the imperial edict, get out of my country!
"you--!"

Zarro watched warily as Hildergard suddenly became powerful, and the destructive purple flames she wielded were enough to make it suffer.

Zaro, who had spent years playing "Game of Thrones" in Syracuse, was unable to comprehend this sudden turn of events and could only roar in disbelief.

"This is impossible! How could such a powerful beast as you exist among humans?"

"And why would someone as powerful as you submit to a weak 'alpha wolf'?"

In the years that Syracuse and the other "Lords of Wolves" had been playing a game of "who can raise the strongest fangs," Zaro believed he had mastered the secret to victory.

That is to cultivate a strong, intelligent, and capable "fang" to serve as the alpha wolf of the pack.

The surest way to ensure victory is to have the alpha wolf do its utmost to train and gather more strong wolves, thus forming a powerful wolf pack.

But there is an unchanging ironclad rule for getting the other wolves to obey the alpha wolf's commands.

The alpha wolf must be the strongest member of the pack.

If the alpha wolf is not strong, it cannot suppress the other strong wolves, let alone manage the wolf pack.

For Zarro, Bellone was the most powerful and best managed alpha wolf he had ever nurtured.

The reason it can dominate Bellone is simply because it is powerful enough.

But the combination of Hildegard and Chen Qi before it was beyond its comprehension.

In its eyes, why would Hildergard, who was as powerful as a monster, submit to this weak man?

But due to the lack of information and Zaro's limited knowledge, he was unaware of this.

His words had just struck a nerve with Hildergard.

"—Foolish beast."

The power of this man is something you, a beast, could never understand even if you wandered the wilderness for thousands of years!

Seemingly trying to make amends for her failure, Hildegard glared at Zaro through gritted teeth, and surprisingly began to speak well of Chen Qi:
"During the time my power was sealed, I understood this more and more..."

"The strength of the individual is never the most important thing for this land."

"Even if you possess power strong enough to destroy the world, so what? Who would want to see a lifeless land? Who would enjoy ruling over ruins?"

"Only when millions of people are united, constantly changing, surpassing, and moving forward... can such people and such a nation be truly invincible."

"And this man... although I'm very unwilling, I have to admit, this man did it!"

"That's why I said this man is the real strongman!"

"And you, you are nothing but a false sense of power!"

Hildegard pointed her gun at Zaro, who was poking at her sore spot, her cold eyes seemingly already contemplating how to dismember this giant wolf.

"Moreover, in my eyes, even your individual strength is quite limited."

"I'm giving you one last chance. Quickly take your other brothers and sisters and leave here."

"Otherwise... I'll let you all experience how I defeated the Witch King."

Hildergard thought that once she had demonstrated enough strength, the "Beast Lords" led by Zaro would naturally leave Syracuse.

However, perhaps she underestimated the pride and persistence of these "beast lords".

Zaro showed no fear at the sight of Hildergard, who possessed the power to "kill" him.

On the contrary, its tone sounded as if it were fearless.

"Woman, you do indeed possess power greater than ours."

"But, so what?"

A smile appeared on Zaro's wolf-like face.

"We are immortal. No matter how many times you kill us, we will be reborn on this land."

"And you? Woman? How many times can you hold out until you kill us?"

"A thousand times? Ten thousand times?"

"You need to recover, you need to rest, but we are immortal and tireless beings."

"Can you stay on this land forever and focus solely on eliminating us?"

"You will be born, grow old, get sick, and die, while we have almost endless life."

"Even after you die, we can still return and continue to rule over everything in this land!"

Zarro's words plunged Hildegard into silence.

This was indeed her biggest fear.

The cost of governing a region that is prone to instability is extremely high.

In particular, these "beast lords" who caused the unrest are not weak. It would be very difficult for ordinary armies to suppress them, and they would suffer considerable casualties.

And she could never remain in Syracuse forever just to suppress a group of beast lords.

Faced with land that is of low value but has a high cost of governance.

Hildergard made almost the exact same judgment as the Witch King.

Syracuse's independence might be the best, easiest, and cheapest option.

In any case, the Syracuses didn't have a strong sense of belonging to Letania, and it had nothing to do with them as they were left to fend for themselves and perish in their backwardness.

Zaro keenly noticed Hildegard's momentary hesitation.

Feeling he had gained the upper hand once more, Zaro became even more fearless against Hildegard and roared in triumph:

"Humans, you have built cities, locked yourselves in them, and think you are the masters of this land."

"But you've only learned how to use some tools, so don't be too arrogant."

“You have never conquered the wilderness, much less the wolf lord of the wilderness.”

"Syracuse is our land, our hunting ground!"

"I've had enough."

However, just as Zaro started shouting again, trying to make Hildergard back down.

Chen Qi, who had been silent for a long time, finally lost patience with continuing to argue with Zhalo.

He took the initiative to approach Zaro.

“Zaro, I thought that as a beast lord, someone who has lived for thousands of years, you should be a little more intelligent.”

"But I never expected your stupidity to be so much greater than I imagined."

"Human, what did you say?!"

Chen Qi's undisguised contempt was a devastating humiliation to the pride of a proud beast lord like Zhalo.

However, no matter how much Zaro bared its fangs, Chen Qi remained completely unfazed.

He simply stood proudly before Zaro, gazing at its massive size, and calmly said:
"I'm too lazy to waste my breath on you. You don't deserve to listen."

"—Secret police, imprison it."

"!"

As soon as Chen Qi finished speaking, Zhalo's beastly instincts alerted it to the danger, and it turned into a cloud of black smoke.

But this time, Zaro miscalculated.

Just as Zaro turned into black smoke and tried to escape, an invisible "barrier" descended from the sky, trapping its body in a semi-circular space.

The moment Zaro's body, now transformed into black mist, crashed into the "barrier," the resulting magical repulsion caused it to almost instinctively let out a painful howl.

"what?!"

Zaro, having reverted to his original form, stared at the "barrier" that had tightly bound his body, his eyes revealing disbelief.

It instinctively resisted this fact, howling as it crashed into the "barrier" once more.

But the next second, a strong repulsive force pushed it back to its original position.

The intense stinging sensation from the spell made it even more miserable, and it could only wail incessantly within the "barrier".

It was only at this point that Zaro and the others gradually noticed that a group of well-equipped secret police officers had somehow gathered around the dilapidated roof of the Grey Hall.

It was the magic they unleashed that imprisoned the arrogant beast lord, Zaro.

"how can that be?!"

"How could a mere human possess such power!"

“...That’s the difference between humans and you beasts, Zarro.”

Looking at Zhalo, who was in great pain inside the "barrier," Chen Qi, who had long anticipated this outcome, simply stated the facts calmly.

"Perhaps thousands of years ago, humanity was a symbol of weakness in your mind."

"But on this day, we will have progressed and become strong enough to drive you beasts out of our home."

“Look carefully, Zaro.”

“These secret police officers are all the elite of my Leitania. Each of them has the strength to rival the champion knights of Kazimierz.”

"They know how to cooperate and how to use tactics. Each of them, if taken individually, could defeat a beast lord like you."

"And in the future, we will have many more such elites."

Chen Qi recounted the facts that were difficult for Narang Zhalo and even the other family heads to accept.

So, while they were engaged in endless internal strife, had the fighting power of other countries become so terrifying?
What they feared so much, the legendary "Lord of the Wolves," was, in this emperor's eyes, as harmless as a little dog.
"Moreover, in the future, we will have even more mechanized weapons and armies."

"Imagine that scene, Zaro... the weak humans in your eyes will be clad in steel-like defense."

"We will no longer fight you with crossbows and spears, but with cannons, bombs, and Originium Arts to grind you to dust time and time again."

"Until you leave this land that belongs to us."

"Moreover, even if you temporarily hide or are lucky enough to defeat an army, it won't be a big deal."

"Because we have a vast empire that provides us with a continuous source of resources."

"We also have a united community that can work together to perpetuate hatred forever."

"We will be driven by this hatred to keep moving forward until we find a way to destroy you forever."

Every word Chen Qi spoke sent chills down the spines of all the family heads present.

It was as if Chen Qi's threat was not only directed at Zhalo, but also a warning to them.

As for Zhalo, under Chen Qi's repeated threats, he gradually lost his previous arrogance.

Even its enormous body began to tremble slightly with fear.

An everlasting hatred, an endless cycle of revenge...

Such a level of intimidation is an endless torment that even an immortal beast lord would absolutely not want to experience.

Zaro had to admit that it was scared.

Its only thought now is no longer how to continue its "game" in Syracuse.

It just wants to escape as soon as possible, to find a new haven, and to start its life anew.

For any beast lord, getting tainted with endless hatred for a mere "playground" is absolutely not worth it.

"Now, do you understand?"

Chen Qi slowly stood up and scanned his surroundings.

Although there seemed to be nothing in these dark places.

But Chen Qi could still sense that many pairs of "eyes" were watching everything here, and many beast lords were lingering around them.

He chose to announce his decree as king to everyone present in the loudest voice!
"Syracuse is now my territory, the land of Letania!"

“Everything that does not belong to this city, anything that does not submit to my rule.”

"I, the Emperor of Letania, grant you one last chance."

"--roll!!"

Chen Qi's deafening voice crashed down.

A moment later, plumes of black smoke appeared from every corner of the gray hall.

And these plumes of black smoke, under the stunned gazes of all the family heads, rushed toward the sky and into the distance.

Only when the last wisp of black mist fled under everyone's watchful eyes did all the Syracuseans present feel a strange sense of relief from the bottom of their hearts.

That feeling of constantly being monitored and having my life threatened at any moment has finally disappeared completely.

They had assumed that this was a skill from the civilization of Syracuse that they were forced to learn.

And now they realize... that from the very beginning, the "Beast Lord" had been secretly observing and manipulating them.

But now, that feeling has finally disappeared.

The people of Syracuse are finally free!

Now, only the last beast master remains, and has not yet left.

"I am willing to leave Syracuse."

Seeing his fellow tribesmen fleeing one after another, a hint of panic finally appeared on Zaro's face.

As Chen Qi approached aggressively, Zhalo finally felt fear. Not wanting to experience the pain of death, it had no choice but to give in.

Unfortunately, it had already lost its last chance.

“I’ve already said that, Mr. Zarro.”

Standing tall, Chen Qi looked down at Zhaluo, who was bowing his head and adopting a submissive attitude, his voice still completely calm.

"According to the laws of Letania, those who disobey orders are disrespectful."

“Kill, none, pardon.”

"I hope that after you are resurrected, this pain will be etched into your very bones, serving as a constant reminder that you should never again approach the land of Syracuse."

Chen Qi's words, which sounded like a judgment, ruthlessly extinguished the last glimmer of hope in Zhalo's heart.

The next second, it heard a snap of fingers.

The "barrier" surrounding it, filled with intense magical energy, began to shrink smaller and smaller...

“Roar, roar, roar, roar, roar, roar——!!!”

The agonizing howl of the wolf, powerful enough to shake the ground, echoed throughout the entire city of Vorsini, allowing all the residents of this mobile city to hear the earth-shattering, ghost-weeping lament of the "Lord of Wolves."

And this painful howl of the wolf lasted for several minutes.

In the end, Zaro's body, within the ever-shrinking "barrier," in a manner of immense pain, completely transformed into a cloud of black mist and vanished.

From then on, Syracuse no longer possessed the aura of a "beast lord".

"—All forces that attempted to oppose the return of Syracuse have been completely wiped out."

"From this day forward, Syracuse officially returned to Letania's rule and became the Syracuse Autonomous Region."

After Zaro's figure completely disappeared, Chen Qi once again turned around slowly in the manner of a monarch and issued his decree to the "former" heads of Syracuse.

"I hereby appoint the Lady of Sicily as the Supreme Representative of the Syracuse Autonomous Community."

"The remaining former heads of the family were appointed as members of the regional council."

“I give you fifteen days to disband your respective families and adjust and fill the cadre structure in the Syracuse region.”

"We strive to bring an end to the conflict in Syracuse and restore its operations as quickly as possible."

"Do you all understand?"

In the end, the few remaining family heads, after exchanging glances, all showed expressions of no longer hesitating.

The next second, they raised their right hands high before their king in the most standard Letanian ceremony.

"I will obey Your Majesty's decree!"

This is the first chapter today! There will be another update tonight!
*Sobbing* Please, dear readers, give me your support!
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(End of this chapter)