NOVEL NEXT Chapter 40
Chapter 40: The Priestess’s Thoughts
Fire has always been the greatest enemy of the Beastmen. In this hollow among the mountains where there are no rivers or valleys, the moment the supply cart was set ablaze, it signaled the failure of Kunier’s operation.
Flames roared, and the acrid smell of burnt flesh filled Kunier’s nostrils as the armored Tiger-Human leader stood beside the fiercely burning supply convoy, looking ashen-faced.
The ground was strewn with the bodies of Beastmen soldiers—both Tiger-Humans and Lion-Humans. To ensure speed and combat power, this convoy was comprised entirely of the most elite troops from the two main combat branches, not even a lumbering Bear-Human in sight, but now they were all dead.
There was no hope left. The food, enough to feed a million troops at the front for a week, would all be reduced to ashes.
What puzzled Kunier the most was that he had set the best warriors to guard these supplies; why were they so easily defeated, unable to even give a warning before being killed?
Kunier’s force included three thousand Beastmen—fifteen hundred Lion-Humans and fifteen hundred Tiger-Humans—yet a third of them had already perished here.
Why, why?! Who is it!?
The Tiger-Human leader’s large eyes gradually turned blood-red, the glimmer of wisdom overshadowed by rage and bloodlust. He slammed a massive paw down on the burning supply cart, shattering it into pieces as he let out a roar!
“Pass the order to the entire army! Gather! We must hold those bastards back; we can’t let them escape!”
Kunier didn’t think he could wipe out the unknown enemy with just his troops.
But they were not far from the main Beastmen army, and the lookout tower over there must have seen the towering flames by now.
Assuming the High Priest reacted quickly, if the most mobile Wolf Riders and Bird-Humans hurried over, they could arrive in one to two hours. With two thousand troops left, if they could latch onto the enemy, at least they could avenge this loss.
But… silence.
No one responded to Kunier’s orders.
The Tiger-Human’s pupils constricted, and he hurriedly turned around, only to find the few tribesmen who had rushed to inform him were now lifeless on the ground, dead as could be, with fatal wounds identical to those of the guarding troops.
A cut throat, or an arrow through the forehead.
“!!!”
At that moment, Kunier’s sense of crisis surged to its peak. Almost instinctively, he raised his paw in defense just before the attack was executed.
Clang! Zzzz…
The deafening sound of metal scraping and the searing pain flooding Kunier’s paw horrified him. Despite making the correct defensive move, he was forced back several steps by a tremendous force, his back slamming against another burning supply cart, singeing him black in the process.
But he had no time to care about that.
In the darkness, a group of a dozen or so figures clad in tight night gear and black cloth masks slowly approached, some wielding swords and others short knives, dripping with bright red blood. A few appeared slightly injured, but nothing serious.
These people were dangerous.
Kunier could sense the feeling of death from any of them, especially the red-haired woman in a purple dress holding a short bow at the front, who made even this powerful Tiger-Human warrior want to flee in fear!
“Humans… I see, you want to ambush my supply line and make our Beastmen army collapse without a fight, don’t you? That really fits your cunning nature…”
Kunier adjusted his breathing and slowly began to retreat while probing the enemy with words. He wasn’t a fool; in a situation where victory was impossible, retreat was the best option. At the very least, he needed to get the message back to High Priest Chaharit.
No one paid attention to his provocation, including the red-haired woman. All were watching Kunier with cold, deadpan expressions as they slowly raised their weapons.
“Grr…”
The Tiger-Human warrior let out a low, beastly growl, akin to a cornered beast. At this moment, Kunier dared not consider gathering his troops for a counterattack.
All this time, not a single soldier had arrived to support him, and the situation on the front line must be dire as well.
Damn… How many human troops have infiltrated? Why hasn’t our lookout reported anything?
The red-haired woman aimed her bow at Kunier, an arrow igniting with a flame like that of a red lotus, as if the Grim Reaper was calling him.
“One, Fiery Flame.”
The woman spoke softly for the first time as the bowstring blossomed with a splendid scarlet flower; this was the last sight Kunier would see in his life.
Swish.
The arrow pierced through the Tiger-Human’s resilient paw, passed through the plundered helmet, tore through his skull and brain, igniting crimson petals at the center of Kunier’s forehead.
Thud, the Tiger-Human warrior collapsed heavily, his still-open eyes holding a fierce unwillingness and shock, but this world is cruel; those who are outmatched must meet their fate.
After a while.
“Looks like that’s sorted, huh? This Tiger-Human was quite strong; it’s my first time seeing you use your true abilities… Was that just now the Red Lotus Archery Technique?”
Miss Vilyric strolled casually out from the shadows of the night, glancing at Kunier’s corpse with an arrow through its forehead, and at the icy-faced Miss Fiery Blossom, smiling.
“What are you doing here? Weren’t you supposed to be by the Princess’s side, protecting her?”
Hua sheathed her short bow, seemingly a bit discontent with Vilyric’s appearance.
“Oh, don’t be so tense! The elites of this convoy have all been taken care of by you and the Shadow Guards. There are only ordinary Beastmen left with Liliya, along with the troops and other Shadow Guards nearby. There won’t be any issues.”
“Nonsense! The Princess is just an ordinary person, even though… But real battles aren’t a joke; every Beastman is a lethal threat to her!”
Hua glared angrily at Vilyric, and with a few leaps, she disappeared from sight. The Shadow Guards remained silent, only slightly bowing to the Priestess before vanishing into the shadows as well, presumably returning to the Princess.
“Hey, their relationship is clearly something special. They know Liliya has already learned some techniques from me, and now your average Beastman isn’t a match for her. Hmm… there’s still a bit of suspense with this one.”
Vilyric crouched down to inspect Kunier’s lifeless body.
Hmm, all good; definitely dead. Hua’s arrow completely shattered this Tiger-Human’s brain tissue.
The Fiery Flame? I remember seeing her use that once at Wanku Fortress, though that was just a demonstration; its true power wasn’t fully displayed.
Looks like that’s her signature skill; it’s interesting, performed in a way totally different from game skills, not conventional magic or martial arts.
Interesting, but now isn’t the time to delve into that.
The reason for coming here is, on one hand, to give the Princess room to grow and experience real killings, and on the other hand, Vilyric has something she’s been eager to experiment with.
Reviving the dead.
That’s right; Vilyric intends to resurrect this big tiger before her.
She doesn’t harbor much deep animosity towards the Beastmen. Besides, despite the fighting, the United Kingdom and the Beast Kingdom have quite a bit of trade going on, particularly outside the Autumn War.
The routine wars every year aren’t because the Beastmen hate humans that much; it’s just their means to better survive the winter. It’s just unfortunate that the United Kingdom is adjacent to the Beast Kingdom.
Not saying who’s right or wrong, but at least from Vilyric’s higher biological perspective, she doesn’t plan to kill every single Beastman she sees.
Moreover, this one called Kun… what was it again? Anyway, he’s quite interesting.
Since Liliya discovered the whereabouts of this supply convoy, she’s been quietly tailing them for a while, and in the meantime, she captured a few stray Beastmen to gather intelligence.
While observing, Vilyric discovered that this Tiger-Human was surprisingly learning to read like a human, wear armor, and even mimic human lifestyle and etiquette, completely shattering her views on the Beastmen race!