Valcres, the lord of Lion City, had been in a good mood lately. A few days ago, he received several beastmen from the Merchants Guild. To his utter delight, half of them were from the wolf tribe. His favorite delicacy. The meat he wanted the most.

Valcres’s steps were light as he strolled through his castle’s dungeon. Accompanied by his guards, he looked through the metal cages one by one, his eyes glimmering with delight as he imagined feasting on the beastmen inside.

“How about this one, lord?” His head chef pointed at a nearby cage.

The guards directed the torch at it. The one inside shivered uncontrollably as a pathetic whimper escaped her lips.

“A young woman from the wolf tribe. The merchants told us she’s a virgin. They’ve also made sure to take good care of her body.” The chef’s voice was full of enthusiasm as he introduced the beastman. “As you can see, she hardly has any scratches on her. A rare find, indeed.”

Valcres peeked through the iron bars. His tall figure—he was nearly two meters—created a looming shadow. The beastman slowly moved back until her back hit the wall.

“How about her, lord?” the chef reiterated.

An ominous silence fell over them. Valcres stared at the female. “Prepare the meal. I want it served in my room in an hour.”

The chef bowed his head. “As you wish.”

On cue, the guards opened the cage, grabbed the shackled wolf beastman, and gagged her. She struggled with all her might but the guards were stronger. With tears flowing down her cheeks and unable to utter a single word through the gag, she silently cursed at the grinning lord.

“Ah, as usual.” Valcres tapped his temple with a finger. “Leave the head behind. I’ll add it to my collection later.”

After Valcres left the dungeon, a muffled cry echoed. The stench of blood permeated the air.

After choosing his meal for the day, Valcres returned to his office—a large room on the fourth floor of his castle, with several windows overlooking the city.

One wall held a large portrait of a handsome young man with auburn hair. He wore full plate armor, with a long sword on his waist.

“It’s been years, huh?” Valcres reminisced.

The young man was him, several years before he became the lord of this city. Back then, he was merely the fifth son in a family of knights. Using only his talent and cunning, he had killed his father and brothers, climbed the ladder, and became the head of the family. He then used his position to create a rebellion, on the pretext that the current city lord was a tyrant and a psychopath.

Becoming the lord was not an easy task. The path he had taken was filled with so much blood. Without hesitation, he had used the bodies of his enemies as steps in his climb to the top.

As he stared at the young man in the picture, he realized how much things had changed. His lean body was now gone. In its stead was flabby fat and oily skin. His auburn hair was gone, showing a shiny bald head. He looked like a pig compared to his previous self. He knew it, but no longer mattered.

He had attained what he sought.

His butler entered the room. “Sir, the feast has been prepared below.”

Valcres salivated. “Just in time.” He put down the documents he was holding and stood. “Also, you have a visitor,” the butler added.

“Visitor?” He frowned. As the lord of the city, it was nearly impossible to meet him without prior arrangements. From the way the butler said it, it seemed the visitor was already inside his castle.

Valcres could guess. In this city, only two people could rival his authority. One was Alexander, the Mercenary Guild Master, the other was Big Mona, the head of the Merchants Guild.

“Alexander’s not here,” said Valcres. “Kain or Big Mona?”

“It’s the head of the Merchant Guild, my lord.”

Valcres sighed. Although he owed the Merchant Guild a favor for providing him with beastmen slaves, he did not want to meet that particular person. That merchant was shrewd. A sly fox. Maybe even more cunning than he was.

After a long pause, Valcres decided. “To the dining hall.”

“Understood.”

***

[Vanguard Army—United Grakas Alliance]

After receiving the emergency message from an animal courier, the vanguard stopped their advance. Rumors of how the scouts had been discovered during their reconnaissance spread through their ranks.

After camping out in the wilderness, the group they were waiting for finally arrived.

Stone and his men looked famished, their reptilian faces sunken. Behind them, several unmounted burrcats followed. When the scouts first set off for their reconnaissance mission, they had numbered more than a dozen. Now, only four remained.

Stone jumped down from the burrcat and walked briskly to the commander’s tent. The beastmen guarding the entrance looked at each other for a moment before opening the flap.

Upon entering the tent, Stone was greeted by several pairs of eyes scrutinizing his every step. There were five men already in the tent, sitting around a round table with a large map in the center.

“Captain Stone.” The man sitting at the head of the table glared at him, his four muscular arms folded across his chest. “You’re late.”

“Commander Azura!” Stone quickly bowed his head. “I’m sorry! We had to stop for half a day to help the burrcats recuperate. A week of nonstop travel has ta—”

“Enough.” Another beastman with four arms interjected. “I don’t need to hear your excuses. You were adamant in your letter that we stop our advance and wait for reinforcements from the main army. Surely, you have good reason for this?”

Lauro, the beastman that spoke, was the right-hand of Commander Azura and the Vanguard Army’s strategist. The weakest beastman in the room, but due to his great intellect, he was highly regarded throughout the army. Some said that Lauro, the strategist, was the real commander of the vanguard rather than Azura. Whatever Lauro said, Azura followed.

The reason the vanguard had accepted his plea to stop the advance of the army was likely due to this beastman. At the very least, Lauro decided to hear him out.

Since time was of the essence, Stone had written briefly about his encounter in Blackstone Town. These high-ranking officials had not yet heard the full story.

Stone took a breath and started recounting the story even to the smallest details. After he was finished, the room was silent.

Lauro spoke first. “Someone saw through the magic of the Lizardmen Tribe?”

Had the story not come from Captain Stone himself, they wouldn’t have believed it. Even Commander Azura himself would have a hard time detecting Captain Stone’s presence if he used his camouflage magic.

According to Captain Stone, the human who had cornered him was merely the commander of a private army of a small town. Why was such a formidable human living in such a remote place? According to Fior, Blackstone Town was a desolate place where even merchants seldom visited. It didn’t make sense that such a powerful human would choose to live there.

“Stone.” Azura’s eyes glimmered. “Who do you think is stronger? Me or that human?”

Stone swallowed the lump in his throat. Cold sweat started forming on his forehead. This was bad. He recognized the desire for carnage in Commander Azura’s eyes. This beastman loved fighting strong opponents—how he became the commander of the vanguard. Azura loved the sensation of charging head-on to war, even if the odds were greatly against him. If not for Lauro shackling him, the vanguard army would have been wiped out several years ago due to Azura’s uncontrollable lust for the battlefield.

How should he answer? He had seen Azura fight countless times before, but he was still unsure if he was stronger than that human monster.

“Answer me.” Azura suppressed his growl. His humanoid body—four arms, fur-filled chest, and tail—twitched in anticipation.

Time seemed to freeze. Stone blurted out an answer. “Probably the human, Commander.”

Lauro’s eyes widened. Stone realized he had given the wrong answer. There would be no stopping Azura after this.

“Gahahahaha!” Azura rose from his seat, his laughter reverberating through the encampment. “Is that so?” His eyes glimmered with desire for carnage. Bloodlust seemed to pour from him. “He’s strong, huh? Stronger than me?”

Azura grabbed his weapon leaning against the table—an axe large enough to cleave a horse in half. “Lauro, gather the soldiers. We are moving out. We are to resume our march.”

Lauro looked at Stone with disdain, before replying to Azura. “But, Commander Azura! We should at least ask for reinforcements from the main army. You heard Captain Stone’s story. That town has around a hundred soldiers as well as that human monster! Our goal is to capture the Eastern Region for General Urkawi. Capturing that town is just the first step. We should do our best to minimize casualties!”

Azura scratched his ear. “Enough. This is an order from me, your commander. We are moving out. Immediately.”

Lauro sighed. It wasn’t the first time Azura had ignored his advice. It wasn’t the first time they charged head-on despite knowing the risks and the strength of their enemies.

Lauro grunted. “As you command.”

With heavy steps, Lauro left the tent and started gathering the soldiers. Their destination: Blackstone Town.