Rebirth: I Became a Maggot 2

Chapter 167 The Profound War

I finally made it back, and luckily I followed a fly inside to scout out the situation.

But just when we were feeling uneasy, a large number of flies suddenly appeared and surrounded us. We hadn't noticed anything when we came in, but suddenly so many flies appeared.

It really gave me a fright. Those flies were really something; they rushed up and grabbed all the flies around me, leaving me completely unscathed.

Luckily, they all recognized me, so I didn't need to explain much. I looked at the fly with a smug expression and asked, "Weren't you very smug before? Are you still smug?"

I looked at the fly with a smug, self-satisfied expression. Damn, no wonder so many people like the feeling of a petty person getting ahead; it feels so good!

"What kind of fly are you? How come you're with them?" the fly asked in surprise.

"Me? Who am I? You're asking me that? Weren't you so arrogant before? Come on, show me how arrogant you are." I continued smugly.

"Your Majesty, the Imperial Advisor requests your presence." I was just about to tease this fly when it spoke up.

"Imperial Advisor? What Imperial Advisor?" I asked curiously.

“It’s that old imperial advisor who spoke to you earlier,” the fly beside me explained.

"Oh, you mean that old fly? I know, I was just about to look for him. Come on, lead the way," I said quickly.

I do have something to discuss with him; after all, I still need to talk to that old fly about how to fight this battle.

Just as I was about to leave, the fly we had caught barked angrily, "What kind of fly are you anyway?"

"What kind of fly am I? You'll find out soon enough." I casually replied to the fly, and then, led by the other flies, flew towards the so-called national advisor.

I didn't realize it before, but led by these flies, I felt like I had entered a maze, flying among the seemingly chaotic roots of weeds. I even had the feeling that I wouldn't be able to get out without the flies leading me.

After flying for a short while, the view gradually became clearer. A huge ditch appeared in front of us, with a lawn inside where a large number of flies had gathered.

Perhaps my arrival startled them, or perhaps they were waiting for news of me. As soon as I appeared, I was immediately spotted, and a large number of flies buzzed toward me, calling out, "Your Majesty."

Being buzzed around by so many flies made me feel a little embarrassed. I've been through so much before, it's hard to accept, so I just casually waved my forelegs as a greeting.

Then he flew quickly towards the imperial advisor.

"What should we do about His Majesty?" the fly behind him asked.

When I got here, I remembered that there was still one fly I hadn't dealt with. That fly that was so arrogant before, now that it's been caught, it's not saying a word, as if it's just waiting to die.

"What do you usually do with the people you've caught before?" I asked curiously.

“Kill it,” the fly replied.

The fly we caught seemed to already know its fate, and showed no sign of panic whatsoever.

They didn't seem surprised, but I was shocked. Aren't prisoners of war supposed to be kept in check? Why were they killed?

So I asked curiously, "Why were they killed? Does that mean prisoners of war are killed in battle between the two sides?"

"Kill them! This guy is enemy territory, he must be killed. Also, the method to control the fly population needs to be eliminated as well," the fly replied.

"Control the number of flies?" I asked in surprise. How could such a thing exist?

"Your Majesty is unaware of the truth," said the old, fly-like imperial advisor who walked over from behind me.

I immediately looked at the old national advisor with a puzzled expression. I saw the old national advisor casually beckon to the flies, and the flies obediently walked outside.

I couldn't very well stop them. Why would I risk offending so many flies for the sake of a fly I didn't even know? That was clearly unrealistic.

I looked at the old imperial advisor, waiting for his explanation. The old imperial advisor did not hesitate and slowly explained to me: "Food is limited here, so in order to control the population and for food, there was war, which led to this killing of prisoners of war."

"Why don't you go to the city? There's a gas station not far away. Don't you have enough food in the city?" I asked, feeling frustrated.

"This is where we live. Why are we so willing to leave? Besides, even if we go to the city, do you think the flies there will accept us? Do you think it's so easy to establish ourselves in a strange city?" the old fly said sadly.

Speaking of this, I can't help but think of my experience of working away from home for so many years. It's really not easy being away from home. Not only are we bullied in all sorts of ways, but we also often can't understand the local dialect. It's hard to find a job, and even if we do, we suffer all kinds of hardships due to workplace unspoken rules.

It turns out that living is not only painful for humans, but also for other creatures. I never imagined that as a fly, without hard work, you can't even get a hot meal of poop, or even a cold one.

"Haven't you thought of other methods? Like going to the countryside? Or other places? Or changing to another mountain?" I suggested constructively.

“We’ve tried everything you suggested. After the female flies are pregnant, they fly off to other hilltops. Firstly, there aren’t many animals on the nearby hilltops, let alone animal carcasses. Secondly, there are very few suitable places for them to survive. Basically, those that leave never come back, which is why both sides are now concentrated on this one hilltop,” the old strategist explained to me.

"Does that mean it's a dead end? Are you really that good at fighting? Is there no other way but to fight?" I asked doubtfully.

"There's no other way but to fight. There's no other path but to fight. We have nowhere to retreat, and war just happens to drastically reduce the number of flies," the old national advisor said sadly.

This is the tragedy of ordinary people, the tragedy of the common fly, and the tragedy of those in power.

In order to live more comfortably, both sides have to sacrifice their people, and the people have to fight for their homes, thus creating a vicious cycle.

It's an unsolvable vicious cycle, but there's one question that I really don't understand: this time, the mountain bandit king charged over with such a fierce momentum, clearly intending to annihilate the forces on this side.

What does that mean? Don't the higher-ups on both sides understand? If one side becomes dominant, it will put even more pressure on the already resource-scarce hillside, making it even harder to find food in the future.

Or is there something else going on?