Deeper into the forest area there was sounds of muffled screams as the captives were tortured after they had left the Sunken Castle.
"Please.. stop."
"I will tell you!"
"It was just one girl and a snake!"
"It is the truth! No.. please.. aaah."
"We already told you everything and yet you refuse to believe us! Agaaah!"
"I do not know anything else, this is everything!"
"Torture or kill us but the answer will remain the same."
"Guh."
"Argh.."
"Fu.."
"Ah.."
Each of them endured harsh torture and the end result was the group who tortured them not believing a word that they had spoken.
Not many would believe that one person and an animal had taken down an entire group and taken the lands of the Sunken Castle for themselves, especially if it was a girl in her teens that had done it.
However the scene that took place was far more gruesome as they were ruthlessly tortured, the skin and flesh was cut from their bodies as the group started a fire and started cooking the human meat before eating it together.
Not only were the people of the central area a lawless group but they were partly made up from many savage tribes that have the belief in eating their enemies to absorb their spirit and strength.
While most of them are not so picky with who they devour, the warriors of the tribes are more picky as they only choose to devour strong prey.
In one way it is a completely twisted belief but in another it is their way of paying tribute to the dead and not wasting anything from their hunt even if their prey are humans.
They have great respect for the strong and if they meet someone like that then they will want to fight them using every method to win so that they can eat that person and carry a part of them within their body while some collect various trinkets made from their opponents bone, hair or nails.
In order to avoid infighting, they restricted the rules and beliefs towards outsiders not considered a part of their tribe so they would only eat humans of other tribes or those from different groups or places.
To them the captives were just lying to them so they decided to get rid of them according to their own way of life while some within the group who were part of the alliance silently watched on.
Those that had formed alliances in the lawless zone always had to remain vigilant of backstabbing and the various habits or beliefs of each group so they can survive longer but a lot of them were still uncomfortable with the cannibalism of the savage tribes.
Many were mostly wary because while the alliance was beneficial for all parties involved, the savage tribes were more unpredictable and could turn on them at any time because many within the tribes did not treat other humans as human but instead as prey.
Nobody would feel safe around them especially after witnessing the scene of them torturing and eating the captives in person.
Many among them had to hide their disgust and out up a front just so they did not upset them.
"So.. do you believe what they have said?"
"No, it must be a lie."
"How can you be so sure?"
"They said one girl and a snake but upon arriving there were many more there so it makes more sense that they were defeated by a larger group rather than a girl."
"What you are saying makes sense but how can you be so sure?"
"Are you questioning me?"
"No.. of course not."
"Most of what they have done was to intimidate us and send us away so either it is a bluff with all the misinformation they are sending us or they really have really done as we have been told so how we act next is a gamble based on this. If we are wrong then we could suffer greatly but if we are right… we can take everything in one attack."
"I am with you boss."
"Send someone to the edge of the forest near the Sunken Castle to monitor their defences before reporting back. When it becomes dark we will attack to launch a surprise attack. Get our best climbers to climb the wall and open the gates for us as quietly as possible."
"Aye sir!"
"Should we not go back to the central area first to make a report or request help?"
"No need, Leno must have been defeated due to his carelessness so even if they may have won, I believe that we can defeat them with our own group by using similar tactics. If we catch them off guard like Leno was then we can reduce our losses."
Although the subtle warnings of how dangerous of an opponent they were up against were given, they ignored the information and did not dig any deeper which resulted in them making a wrong judgement.
Had they requested aid or looked into the new occupants of the land then they would have chosen a different path.
Tristan and Carrot watched the whole thing from far away and listened to every detail with a look of disgust in their eyes.
To the Minks, eating one of their own race or anything that resembled it was banned due to their beliefs so they only choose to eat non furry creatures and other vegetables or herbs.
Seeing the humans that ate those of their own race was completely conflicting with their belief system so naturally they were disgusted upon witnessing it and did not wish to stick around any longer after they had gained enough information.
They both left to return to the Sunken Castle and informed everyone of the situation they would face soon.