Rrrumble! Rao Wu collapsed to the ground and then vigorously coughed as the tunnel collapsed behind him. Pilate Yeshua’s attack proved to be even more dangerous than the child initially thought. If he were a second slower, Rao Wu would have gotten buried underneath those rocks like quite a few hybrids.

Speaking of the hybrids, Rao Wu spotted several hybrids, either tearing up, crying, or staring at the cavern’s ceiling with listless eyes. Unfortunately, before Rao Wu could question why, several beastkin surrounded the hybrids—and in turn, Rao Wu—with crude spears and bows.

“All of you drop your weapons!” A lycan who seemed to be the captain shouted as he approached the hybrids. “I will not repeat myself. Drop them, or die!”

Several hybrids shared helpless gazes but then ultimately placed their swords on the ground. But then, a few refused, most of whom comprised those with the shrinking runic circle.

The lycan captain’s brows furrowed as he gazed at the affected hybrids. “Death Bind.”

Nearby, Rao Wu’s brow shot up as he repeated the strange phrase, “Death Bind?”

A wolf-hybrid recognized Rao Wu as the strange youth responsible for saving their lives. Thus, he amicably explained, “It happens when the humans choose to kill us through the slave contract. Once activated, we have five minutes to kill the human, or it crushes our hearts. Pretty sinister. I heard it used to be one hour, but the humans improved the contract until they reduced the time-limit to five minutes.”

The lycan captain was aware of the notorious Death Bind, but the wolf-hybrid’s explanation confirmed his conjecture. Realizing those Death-Bound hybrids were likely to put up one last struggle, he sighed and then said, “Fine. We’ll grant you the warrior’s death you seek.” The lycan raised his hand, and several archers trained their bows at the Death-Bound. “Fire!”

Thwip!

Several arrows zipped across, ending the Death-Bound hybrids’ lives within moments. The surviving hybrids wore grave expressions as they watched their mates pass away and then glanced at Rao Wu. If not for the child, this might have very well been their fate—if not today, then someday down the line when their contractors got tired of them.

“Clean up the bodies and give them a proper burial.” The lycan captain looked away from the corpses after giving his order to the surviving hybrids, and most importantly, Rao Wu. The lycan captain already knew the hybrids’ story. He had fought enough human armies to know how they caught and enslaved hybrids. His interest was in the strange kafu. Gray kafus were rare in their village, and the captain was confident he knew every gray kafu in the settlement. He had never seen this child before.

So, the captain directly addressed Rao Wu. “You, child. Who are you? What family do you belong to?”

Rao Wu quickly strung together a tale. “I’m not from this town.” Such a low-level lie would have been proven false with a quick check. “Humans raided and killed everyone in my town a few months ago.” Rao Wu glared and furrowed his brow, mimicking intense rage. “Since then, I’ve been tracking down and killing any humans I pass. Started tracking this army two days ago. I decided to help when I saw they were launching an attack on the village.”

“That so?” It was hard to tell if the lycan captain believed Rao Wu. “Your name then. And, are you a hybrid or a beastkin?”

“Rao Wu.” Rao Wu inwardly hesitated before answering the second question. Both choices, hybrid, and beastkin presented real dangers. The beastkin would maltreat him if he admitted to being a hybrid. However, the beastkin wouldn’t trust him if they found out he wasn’t a beastkin.

On another day, Rao Wu would have chosen the safer option. Unfortunately, Rao Wu needed to return to Fort Drakon before the humans, or he would fail his mission. Thus, Rao Wu chose to put his faith in the Trickster cultivation manual and said, “I’m a beastkin as far as I know. I never knew my father, but my mother was a kafu.”

As Rao Wu spoke, a kafu soldier frowned and whispered something to the lycan captain.

The captain frowned shortly afterward and stared at Rao Wu. “My men report seeing you summon soul pets. Is this true?”

Rao Wu nodded without hesitation. “I know it’s weird, but I’ve always been able to contract soul pets. My mother liked to call me a special child.”

Rao Wu was not entirely lying. When he was younger, he liked pulling on Aunt Midnight and Uncle Twilight’s tails. He would often jump on their backs while they slept, demanding they took him for a ride. His aunt referred to him as a ‘special kind of nuisance.’

The captain looked at Rao Wu with furrowed brows. He could not sense a shred of malice or deceit in the kafu’s clear gaze. Hesitating, he motioned for a kafu soldier. “Does he smell like a hybrid?”

The kafu soldier walked over to Rao Wu. He then ordered the child not to move as he grabbed and then lifted the child to his nose. Sniff! Sniff. After a few seconds, the kafu dropped Rao Wu and then looked at his captain. “His clothes have hints of hybrid, but he himself smells one hundred percent kafu. You can confirm with the gray kafus, though. As far as I can tell, he has their signature scent.”

The captain, who had been paying attention to Rao Wu’s reaction, stiffly nodded. His nose agreed with the kafu soldier’s report. He asked the kafu soldier to conduct the test for another purpose—to catch Rao Wu’s reaction.

Beastkin were used to smelling each other. Scents and smells transferred so much information without the need for speech. For example, Rao Wu’s foreign scent informed the captain that the youth did not belong to his town. Beastkin could also, to an extent, smell deceit, anger, fear, and other emotions.

Unfortunately, most humans and most hybrids saw the action as barbaric. They often reacted with disgust when a beastkin sniffed in their general direction, let alone if a beastkin came as close to Rao Wu as the soldier did.

Fortunately, due to his background, Rao Wu did not react negatively. In fact, the youth sniffed a little in return. Rao Wu’s nose was not strong enough to pick up these faint scents as a hybrid, but he instinctively sniffed due to often mimicking his wolf family.

Unbeknownst to Rao Wu, this innocent action solidified his identity as a beastkin.

“Alright. Rao Wu. Come with me to see the chief.” The captain then glared at the hybrids, who wore despairing looks. “We’ll decide what to do with the rest of you later. Take them away.”

Rao Wu breathed out a huge sigh of relief as he followed the captain. He didn’t think the beastkin would so readily buy his lie. Then again, the lie came so naturally and smoothly that it was equally worrying. Rao Wu wondered if the Trickster manual was affecting him in more ways than one.

“Whatever. I’ll figure it out later.”

“Figure what out?”

Rao Wu shivered and then looked up at the captain as he realized that a beastkin’s hearing was significantly stronger than a hybrid’s. “How to catch up to the humans. I know where they’re heading, but the entrance is blocked.” Once again, the youth swiftly lied with scary ease. “Do you guys have any other entrances?”

“Hmm…” The captain harrumphed and then quickened his pace. “No more questions. The chief will decide what to do with you.”

Rao Wu shrugged and then used the opportunity to observe the beastkin settlement properly. Previously, he stuck to dark corners to limit detection, but this time he could admire the surroundings under the captain’s protection.

In terms of civilization, there was no doubt that beastkins were primitive compared to humans. Rao Wu already took note of the simple stone houses most likely made from the surrounding rocks. This time, he studied the simple cotton clothes the beastkin wore. Both male and female beastkin often wore only a pair of shorts or similar clothing to cover their lower private parts, leaving the rest of their body exposed.

Like the captain, the warriors wore dried-out monster hide for added protection and carried crude bows and bone spears that reminded Rao Wu of his creations.

After witnessing the human city's marvel, Rao Wu could understand why the humans considered beastkin savages. However, though the beastkins’ civilization might be primitive, the beastkin themselves were brilliant minds and did not appear to be the mindless instinctive beasts most assumed they were.

Of course, Rao Wu had only been exposed to the beastkin for a few minutes. It would take some time before he could form a personal opinion on the beastkins.

“We’re here,” announced the captain as he took Rao Wu to a large building—or rather the shattered remains of a large building. Smoke belched the area as several soldiers rescued injured and weeping beastkin from the rubble.

Rao Wu frowned when he saw two soldiers pull a little wolf-hybrid cub from beneath some stones. He did not know why, but he felt slightly put off as he watched the soldiers beat the girl’s chest in hopes of shocking her into breathing. “What happened here?”

The captain glanced at Rao Wu and then at the commotion. “Damned humans stole something important and then bombed the place to divert our attention to rescuing the innocent.” Gripping his sword, the captain then said through gritted teeth, “Those bastards have no honor to involve the innocent in their scheme.”

Rao Wu looked at the captain with a complicated gaze. He knew the definition but could not understand ‘honor.’ However, Rao Wu did know that he did not feel good about a child getting caught up in this mess. He wondered if that had something to do with this ‘honor’ thing.

“Is this the child?”

An aged voice drew Rao Wu out of his reverie, and he turned to see an old, injured lycan with gray fur standing in front of him. The lycan elder’s ash-colored sash and beads along his left arm identified him as the village’s chief. Despite his graying fur, the lycan had a pair of powerful eyes and a tough physique that did not lose out to the younger generation.

“Yes, Chief Gorak,” answered the captain as he pushed Rao forward. “The child’s name is Rao Wu. He claims to have chased the humans after his village’s demise. The soldiers say he turned the battle’s tide. We couldn’t break through the hybrid wall until he ambushed the humans.”

“Mm. Is that so?” Gorak irritatedly scratched his chin as he glared at Rao Wu. “Look here, kid. I will only ask this once. Did you have anything to do with the attack?”

“No!” Rao Wu vehemently shook his head. “I was chasing the humans while waiting for a chance to attack. This was the first time they let down their guard, so I took advantage of it. I had nothing to do with this. I just want to get back to chasing them down if you can point me towards the exit.”

Gorak’s gaze narrowed. “Chase them down? You know where they’re going?”

“I might.” Rao Wu sighed and then said with a helpless shrug, “Okay, it’s more of a guess. A few weeks ago, I saw some humans and hybrids split off from the army. I followed them and saw they set up at a place called Fort Drakon. The humans need a place to regroup after the battle. I think the fort might be their base.”

“Fort Drakon? But that place has been abandoned for years.” Gorak frowned and then glanced at the captain. “Kubri, is it possible for the humans to take over that fort?”

Kubri, the captain, nodded. “It's possible. I, too, would have chosen that location. It’s not too far in case they need to flee, and they can hunker down for a few weeks, waiting for reinforcements if they hunted enough food beforehand.” The captain tapped on his arm. “We have to move fast if we want to catch them before they make it to the fort.”

“In that case, take the 3rd, 6th, and 9th squads to intercept the human army,” ordered Gorak as he cradled his injured arm. “The rest are either injured or are needed to help with the rescue efforts. Can you handle it?”

Kubri nodded as he gripped his sword hilt. “Certainly, chief. I will return with their general’s head.” The captain then glanced at Rao Wu. “What do we do with the child?”

Gorak scratched his chin. “We’re not in the habit of forcing other beastkin to stay with us, but you’re a peculiar one, child. I’ve never seen a beastkin that can summon soul pets before. I’d like to study you a bit longer. Who knows, your mutation could be hereditary.”

“No Way!” denied Rao Wu vehemently. “Yeshua is mine! I won’t let you steal my kill. I already did more for you than I should when I showed myself, possibly destroying my chances of killing Yeshua to save your tribe. Next time, I’ll take his life! If you keep me here, I swear I’ll kill anyone I see.”

Gorak observed Rao Wu’s outburst with a neutral gaze. The child's rage seemed real enough. The elder had an inkling that Rao Wu’s threat was not an empty one either. He sensed desperation—the type one had when there was a deadline.

Unfortunately, for Gorak, he incorrectly assumed Rao Wu’s deadline was missing the chance to kill Yeshua after the human general left Fort Drakon. In actuality, Rao Wu could not afford to miss Yeshua’s return to Fort Drakon because he would lose track of the Shaman’s Orb once the general left, making his mission damn near impossible to complete.

And so, thanks to this happy misunderstanding, Gorak sighed and then said, “Kubri, take the child with you. He’s already proven himself in battle, so that should not be a problem. Just make sure he returns alive.”

Rubik stiffly nodded to affirm the order, then gently slapped the back of Rao Wu’s head. “Come on, cub. We have to hurry, or we’ll miss the timing.”

“Okay.” Ra Wu nodded and then said to the elder as he followed Rubik, “See you later, gramps!” And so, the little rascal, having once again escaped a sure-death situation, headed for the final, climactic showdown.