The Deer King (鹿の王) is a Japanese fantasy novel series written by Nahoko Uehashi. Kadokawa published the original novel in two volumes in September 2014, and then republished it in four reprinted volumes between June and July 2017. A manga adaptation with art by Taro Sekiguchi was serialized online via Kadokawa Shoten's Young Ace Up website between July 2021 and March 2022. It was collected in two tankōbon volumes.[1] An anime film adaptation produced by Production I.G premiered on February 4, 2022.
Plot
In the years following a vicious war, the Empire of Zol now controls the land and citizens of rival Aquafa-except for Aquafa's Fire Horse Territory, where wild dogs that once carried the deadly Black Wolf Fever continue to roam free. When a pack of dogs race through a Zol-controlled mine, Van, an enslaved former soldier, and a young girl named Yuna are both bitten, but manage to escape as the sole survivors of the attack. Finally free, Van and Yuna seek out a simple, peaceful existence in the countryside. But as the deadly disease once again runs rampant, they find themselves at the crossroads of a struggle much larger than any one nation.