"Hmph! When you all are eating the meat from those poultry and livestock, have you ever considered the feelings of their companions?" Iri snorted and said.
"This… this! This is different! We! We have a greater cause!" The captain was somewhat speechless.
"Greater cause? Hehehe! Don't make me laugh. You say? How is it different? Is it that those poultry and livestock don't seem as noble as us humans? Or is it that they don't have a 'role' like the Six Great Gods who could save them from being devoured by humans?" Although Iri was smiling, it was a smile of disdain.
"This… this…" Now the captain had nothing to say.
"When the Six Great Gods we revere had not yet descended upon this world, what was the difference between the status of humans and that of current poultry and livestock? Did humans at that time ever consider such a problem? Why are you, standing here now, able to think about such a problem?" Iri continued to spout nonsense. Looking at those people who couldn't retort, Iri couldn't help but laugh inwardly. The people of this world are still too naive!
"The strong prey on the weak is an immutable law; it was so six hundred years ago, and it is still so now. The only difference is that six hundred years ago, humans, who should have been the prey, have now become the predators. So, you can't stand it when the Beastmen, who were originally predators, once again treat us noble humans as prey, right? Therefore, humans are truly a very pretentious species!" Iri spread her hands and said. Elizabeth's first technique of talking nonsense: changing the concept.
The soldiers and Adventurers didn't know how to retort. The captain who spoke up looked like he didn't know how to respond. So many soldiers were looking at him, and there was also a Dragon Queen behind him. He must be under a lot of pressure!
"Well! Even if we don't talk about this greater cause or not, just looking at the present, I have no reason to take Big Cat's life. To be honest, I quite like him. Oh! The 'like' I'm talking about is not that kind of like! To be precise, it should be respect, whether as a warrior or as a king." Iri said, while shifting her gaze towards the Dragon Queen hiding behind the soldiers.
"At least this Big Cat, knowing there was no chance of victory, still resolutely challenged me to a duel, wanting to sacrifice himself alone to preserve the lives of his troops, no, his people. You should know that if this Big Cat hadn't jumped out, not a single one of these Beastmen would have escaped!" Iri even deliberately explained, fearing that those brainless humans wouldn't understand.
"A king who can sacrifice himself for his people, and a general who can sacrifice his life for his king, this is indeed worthy of my respect." Iri said this, but the foot on Big Cat's face didn't loosen at all. Elizabeth's second technique of talking nonsense: impression 'manipulation'.
"I also understand your feelings. After all, the Big Cat under my foot is the culprit who slaughtered your relatives and friends. I can understand your desire for revenge." Iri continued, naturally, she couldn't give them the impression that she was completely biased towards the Beastmen.
"I always act logically and with reason. I don't make judgments based solely on my subjective consciousness. So… Middle Cat, was the only reason you repeatedly invaded the Dragon Kingdom for food?" Iri turned her head and asked. Elizabeth's third technique of talking nonsense: forced induction.
"Yes, only for food." Middle Cat answered directly, without hesitation.
"I warn you, lying in front of me is useless, you know." Iri said, while lifting the eye patch on her left eye, 'revealing' her red pupil.
"My ability, True Magic Eye, can see through all lies!" Iri said.
Uh… this made-up setting is indeed very chuunibyou, but it doesn't matter, since chuunibyou will be taken seriously in another world anyway.
"I didn't lie!" Middle Cat roared emotionally.
"Of course, I know. However, although I don't quite understand the situation in your Beast Kingdom, has the food shortage in your country reached the point where you need to invade the Dragon Kingdom extensively for plunder?" Iri continued to ask.
"Hmm… Ever since the Lion King unified the various tribes, all wars between the tribes have been forbidden, so… so…" Middle Cat looked like he didn't know what to say.
"So that's how it is… I didn't expect your Beast Kingdom's technological capabilities to be so poor." Iri immediately understood what this Middle Cat wanted to express.
"You understand?!" Middle Cat was very surprised. He was still thinking about how to explain the current predicament of the Beast Kingdom, but the human stepping on his boss's head actually understood.
"Of course, didn't I say so? My True Magic Eye can see through everything, including what you're thinking." Iri continued to spout nonsense.
That Middle Cat stepped back several paces in surprise.
Of course, she was fooling him. Her body didn't have such convenient functions; she merely deduced it from the information obtained from Middle Cat.
Earlier, that Middle Cat jumped out wanting to exchange his life for Big Cat's, just to save Big Cat and prevent the Beast Kingdom from returning to the era of fragmentation. So, that means the Beast Kingdom was in a state of internal strife before this Big Cat appeared.
Then that Big Cat unified the Beast Kingdom and also forbade private fights between the Beast Kingdom's tribes. Forbidding war meant no casualties, and with no war casualties, the population increased, leading to a food shortage, right?
And coupled with the fact that the Beast Kingdom's neighbors, the Dragon Kingdom and the Holy Kingdom, generally don't think highly of Beastmen, and they don't expect these rough Beastmen to engage in foreign trade with these two countries, so the most suitable way for them to act is to rob, which also indirectly suggests that the Beast Kingdom's technological capabilities are indeed very low.
The above was purely Iri's own wild guess, without any basis. So, next, she had to extract more information from this straightforward Middle Cat's mouth to correct her deductions. This was Elizabeth's fourth technique of talking nonsense: detail correction!
"Indeed… the Beast Kingdom can do nothing but plunder. Most of our tribes cannot raise livestock or grow crops like humans; we can only rely on hunting and plundering other tribes to survive. Ever since the Lion King unified the Beast Kingdom, conflicts and plunder between tribes have been forbidden. We can only rely on hunting to survive. Although some tribes have breeding technology, they refuse to share it, and other tribes are helpless due to the prohibition of private fighting." Middle Cat said with a complicated expression.
Hmm! Her deduction was basically correct. Before coming here, Iri had carefully studied the map. Most of the Beast Kingdom consists of gentle grasslands. If Iri thought about it with a normal person's mindset, wasn't it very suitable for grazing?
However, the Beastmen only hunt and don't engage in animal husbandry or grazing. The few tribes that do have this skill refuse to share it, and the other tribes can only stare helplessly. So, after finding it difficult to hunt prey in their own territory, they set their sights on neighboring countries.
When she communicated with the people of the first two cities, she also learned that in the past, Beastmen used to make small-scale raids, basically just grabbing a round and returning. But this time, a large army invaded and directly took down three cities of the Dragon Kingdom in one go. Although Xiao Di, the mastermind behind the scenes, also played a part, it felt more like they were 'forced' into a desperate situation, right? Iri thought.
Then! In the end, wasn't it all your fault! Iri lifted her foot and stomped hard on Big Cat's face a few times!
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