Early the next morning before sunrise, Denuchi led the party out of the fort to the proposed dig site. Upon arrival, the soul trainers with Burrow Mole-Rats, summoned their monsters, and then instructed them to begin drilling a large, underground tunnel.

Rao Wu watched with fascination as the Burrow Mole-Rats, jumped and then ‘dove’ into the earth, churning up sand and dust. The Burrow Mole-Rats, despite being expert drillers, carefully took their time to ensure the tunnel’s stability. Watching the Mole-Rats work, Rao Wu understood why the mission had a two-week buffer.

“Alright. Dinma, Chilu. Your squads will keep watch and escort the drillers,” Denuchi said as he looked at the two vice-captains. “We will scout the target and hunt down some soul cores for cultivation.”

“Yes, Boss!”

“Good.” Having assigned the roles, Denuchi led his squad and Rao Wu on a journey through the wasteland. Along the way, the party encountered numerous soul monsters. Fortunately, none were above the third stage, so the party made quick work of them with minimal effort.

During this period, Rao Wu chose to perform some experiments. In the first test, he killed just over one hundred Bugbears (most Bugbears died to clan battles), but the system only awarded forty-something kills. Rao Wu guessed it had something to do with the traps he created with the Sprites’ help.

Some traps either bound or severely injured the Bugbears, making it easy for Rao Wu to get the kill. Others only served as barriers, forcing Rao Wu to fight the Bugbears head-on. It didn’t take a genius to realize which method Rao Wu used more often. Rao Wu hypothesized that the system only awarded the kills where he fought head-on, but he needed to test that theory.

So, Rao Wu and Lu Lin would sometimes fight alone, no matter how bitter the battle. Other times, he would provide support, binding the monsters with Lu Lin so another soul trainer could get in a cheap shot. At other times, he took the lead, and let Olek assist.

Rao Wu mentally kept track of how many monsters he killed with each method. That way, he could double-check against the final result to get an idea of how the scores were weighted.

Due to the constant fights, the trip took a bit longer than expected. It was already past noon by the time Denuchi announced that they had reached their destination.

“Woah.” From the cliffface, Rao Wu and the party marveled at the massive mountain range beyond. From where he stood, Rao Wu spotted hundreds of humanoid shapes shuffling about in a rural, wooden settlement just outside the range.

“That’s Lazuli Cave,” revealed Denuchi with furrowed brows. “The village is the beastkins’ first line of defense. We can’t get any closer, or they might sniff us out.” Denuchi pointed at a cave mouth hewn into the cliff a few dozen meters behind the village. “That’s the one and only known entrance to Lazuli cave. The main force will storm the entrance, while we infiltrate from the tunnel.”

Rao Wu’s heart seized as he looked at the distant figures. He could not see them clearly due to distance, but many had large imposing frames. “There’s so many. We’re going to fight those?”

“There’s even more inside, kid,” revealed Akeme. “But, fighting won’t be our priority. Our job is to steal the Orb and return to camp as quickly as possible.” Akeme noticed Rao Wu’s brows shift, and lightly teased, “You scared, kid? It’s understandable.”

Rao Wu, however, shook his head. “Scared? Maybe a little, but I’m much more excited! Think about it. It’s not everyday you get to fight beastkin, right? I bet they’re really strong.”

“This child,” murmured Denuchi as he looked at Rao Wu with concern. But, before jumping to conclusions, he decided to probe further. “I’ve been meaning to ask. Rao Wu, what do you think about this human-beasktkin war, and our roles in all this?”

“What do I think?” Rao Wu looked at the boss in confusion. Why was Denuchi asking him this question?

“Yes. What do you think about the war.” Dencuhi glanced at Olek, Ramy and Akeme. “It’s a question I ask every member of my squad. We’re half-beastkin, but we’re helping to slaughter one half of our ancestry.”

Rao Wu scratched his head. “But you said you don’t have a choice, right? You’re contracted to the humans, so it’s not like you’re doing it cause you want to.”

“Oh?” Akeme’s eyes brightened as he happily remarked, “So you agree that the humans are the bad guys, right? I’d kill them all if I could get rid of my contract.”

“Akeme! Don’t influence his decision.” Denuchi strictly reprimanded Akeme and then turned back to Rao Wu. “Go on, Rao Wu. I want to hear your thoughts.”

Rao Wu looked doubtfully at Denuchi, wondering if the older man had picked up on something strange in his behavior. Due to his paranoia, Rao Wu chose to be truthful. For now, he needed Denuchi to trust him, or else the mission could become a million times more difficult.

Rao Wu took a moment to think, and then said, “If I’m being honest, I don’t particularly care. Unc—I mean, I feel like the strongest always win, right? If the beastkin were stronger, humans would be the ones about to go extinct. It does suck that they’re contracting hybrids against their will though.”

Denuchi’s lips curled in a slight smile. “Interesting. So, what would you do to change it?”

“Change what? The way things are?” Rao Wu chuckled as he waved his hands. “No way. No way. Unless the beastkin become stronger there’s no saving them.”

“Really? Cause I think there’s a way.”

“Hmm?”

“Humans, Beastkin and hybrids living together in harmony.” Denuchi glanced at the distant village with a forlorn gaze. Hybrids lie in between beastkin and humans. I don’t know what started the war, but hybrids are most likely the best chance of ending it.”

Akeme shook his head. “If I’ve said it once, I’ve said it a thousand times. As long as they can contract us, humans will never see Hybrids as anything more than extra monster slots.”

“There you go again, being all pessimistic,” chided Ramy. “You never know. Boss’ dream could come true.”

While Ramy and Akeme argued, Rao Wu looked at Denuchi and asked, “Why do you want to live peacefully with humans? Aren’t they the ones that forcefully contracted you?”

Denuchi sighed. “Keep this in mind, Rao Wu. Hybrids cannot exist without a human somewhere in the bloodline. Most importantly, not all humans are bad. In my case, my mother was human but she raised me with love in a small village with many more hybrid families.” Denuchi paused for a moment, and the air grew heavy as he glared at the village below. “But, consummating with humans is just as forbidden amongst beastkin as it is among humans. No, actually its worse. Our village was raided by angry beastkin who killed all the humans and hybrids. A few of us managed to escape, but we were then captured by a human squad. The rest, you can imagine.”

Denuchi looked at Rao Wu. “To humans we are a powerful tool, but to the beastkin, we are abominations that must be destroyed. It is precisely because of the latter that many hybrids do not feel bothered about slaughtering beastkin. But, things weren’t always this way.”

“They weren’t?”

“Many decades ago, beastkin actually welcomed and promoted consummation with humans,” Olek said with a sad smile. “Specifically, the kafu clan pushed hard for it, hoping it would bridge any animosities between humans and beastkin.”

Rao Wu cocked his head to the side at the strange name. “Kafu clan?”

“It’s the official name for the fox-beastkin clan. By the way, wolf-beastkin are called lycans.” Olek paused and then continued, “Humans took advantage of the beastkins’ trust and launched a deadly attack out of the blue. Hybrids, caused the most damage since they were embedded deep among the beastkin and regarded as family.”

Denuchi continued, “The losses were so terrible and devastating that beastkin needed years to recover. Since then, they’ve viewed all hybrids as potential weapons, and so seek to destroy us whenever they can.”

Ramy crossed her arms over her chest and sighed. “It's hard to hate either side, ‘cause I’ve lived among good humans and kind beastkin.” She then glanced at Akeme. “Not all of us are so lucky, though. Akeme’s father was a hybrid soldier that forced himself on his mother. He was brought up in the army with the role of being a war tool. You can imagine how they treated him. That’s why he hates humans more than us.”

“Bah! Tell my whole life story, why don’t you.” Akeme raised his hand and shrugged. He then placed his hand on Rao Wu’s shoulder and said, “Listen, kid, I’d like to wipe out all of humanity if I could, but that would likely kill some kind lady like boss’s mom. So, I satisfy myself with planning how to end every soldier I come across. I can’t do it because of the soul contract, but I’ll be damned if I don’t dream of it every day.” He then patted Rao Wu’s back as he added, “It’s easier to convince someone who hates you, than change someone who sees you as a useful tool. We’re too useful to humans to ever reach a place of peace with them. Nothing can change that fact.”

“Not even the Emperor?” Rao Wu asked with a raised brow. He’d always heard the Emperor was the most powerful person in the world. “What if the Emperor banned contracts between humans and hybrids.”

“Pfft! That’ll be the biggest civil war, ever!” Akeme’s eyes glowed as he laughed. “Thousands of humas killing each other. Now, that I would pay to see!”

“What? Why would they kill each other?”

Denuchi answered, “Too many humans have vested interests in ensuring we remain as tools. There have been one or two towns were the mayors tried banning contracts—”

“Those mayors were found beheaded within days,” Akeme finished. “Since then, no humans dare challenge the status quo. Keep that in mind, kid. You can’t change the flow without enough strength. If the Emperor chooses to challenge the status quo, he’ll have to prove he has enough power to do so. Otherwise, he’ll end up like those mayors.”

Rao Wu tapped on his chin. “So, in the end, it all depends on power right? Only the strongest get to set the rules? So, if we beat the beastkin and the humans and force them to work together, do you think it will end the war?”

Denuchi’s eyes widened. “Beat the humans and the beastkin? There aren’t enough hybrids for that to happen. At least, not in this generation. Most of our kind are already contracted to humans.”

“So?” Rao Wu could not understand Denuchi. Did this man want to live in servitude forever or not? “Can’t you guys rebel? If you free enough hybrids, you can create a force that both sides can’t ignore, right?”

Denuchi shook his head. “We can’t rebel. The soul contract soldiers use is modified to ensure we never raise our hands against our contractor’s race, humanity. We can’t remove it ourselves either, unless we either become ten times stronger than the human, or they die in combat or something.”

Rao Wu looked at Akeme. “You can’t poison them?”

Akeme shook his head with a short laugh. “Aside from the fact that we are not allowed to have our summons anywhere near humans, I physically am incapable of it. Believe me, I tried. Can’t pour poison in their food, drink, or ‘accidentally’ push my master of a cliff. It’s like our bodies ‘seize’ once we have any malicious intentions.” The wolf-hybrid sighed as he murmured, “Wish we had hybrid assassins. I would pay everything to have them kill my father.”

Rao Wu frowned, but ultimately kept quiet. It seemed like the hybrids’ situation was much worse than he thought. Hearing how little humans thought of hybrids brought a chill to his spine. Come to think of it, he never thought to ask one important question. “What happens if we fail the mission, and can’t bring back the orb?”

“It depe—” Ramy started to say, but Denuchi interrupted.

“Death, most likely,” stated the boss. “This is a massive operation. The humans won’t just be sending the hybrid suicide squads, but also some of their own men. If we fail despite humans risking their lives, we will be beheaded to set an example to other suicide squads.” Denuchi paused. “Why do you ask?”

Rao Wu started when he saw Denuchi’s piercing gaze. More and more, he was certain the boss suspected him. “N-no reason. I was just wondering if I should start running for my life now. Humans sound too scary to be around for too long.”

“Pfft.” Akeme snickered. “You should run while you still can, kid. Don’t worry. The humans won’t bother too much about one child escapee—especially an uncontracted one.”

Rao Wu hesitated, but then shook his head. “I’ll stay and fight with you guys. I wouldn’t even know where to go if I ran away now.”

“Is that so?” Denuchi smiled and then looked up at the sun. “We should start heading back. We don’t want to be out when night falls. From tomorrow, we’ll scout out patrol routes to make sure the drillers don’t attract any attention.”

The group nodded, and then began walking back toward the fort. Along the way, Denuchi’s gaze turned solemn as he watched Rao Wu chatting with Akeme.

Who knew what was on the boss’ mind?