[Vol. 1] Chapter 40: The Priest's Secret Thoughts
Fire, always the greatest enemy of the beastmen, in this hilly terrain devoid of rivers and valleys, the moment the supply carts were set ablaze, Kunnir's mission had already failed.
The fire serpent roared, and the intense smell of burnt wood filled Kunnir's nostrils. The massive tigerfolk general, clad in armor, stood by the burning supply caravan, his face ashen.
The ground was littered with the corpses of beastman soldiers, including tigerfolks and lionfolks. This convoy consisted of only the most elite of the two main beastman warrior types, prioritizing speed and combat strength, and they hadn't even brought the ponderous bear-men. But now, they were all dead.
There was no hope, all the food that could have supplied a front-line army for a week had been reduced to ashes.
What perplexed Kunnir the most was that he had carefully deployed his elite warriors to guard these supplies, yet they proved to be utterly ineffective. They couldn't even sound the alarm before they were killed.
Kunnir's force consisted of three thousand beastmen, with one thousand five hundred lionfolks and one thousand five hundred tigerfolks. Now, one-third of them lay dead here.
Why, why did this happen? Who was responsible?
The massive eyes of the tigerfolk general started to turn blood-red, as the radiance of his intelligence was overwhelmed by anger, bloodlust, and a thunderous roar erupted from his mouth.
"Order the whole army to assemble! We must hold those bastards at all costs, we can't let them escape!"
Kunnir didn't believe that he and his small force could eliminate this unknown enemy. However, the main beastman army was not far from their location. The watchtowers in the area should have already seen the towering flames.
If the high priest reacted quickly, with the fastest beastman units—the wolf riders and eagle-headed people—traveling at full speed, they could reach their location within one to two hours. With his two thousand soldiers, if they could hold the enemy firmly, they might at least take revenge.
But it was silent.
No one responded to Kunnir's words.
The tigerfolk's pupils contracted as he quickly turned to look behind him. He found the fellow beastman warriors who had come to report to him lying dead on the ground. They couldn't be deader, bearing the same fatal wounds as the previous guard unit defending the supplies.
Throat slit or pierced through the forehead with sharp arrows.
"!!!"
At that moment, Kunnir's sense of imminent danger surged to the extreme. He reacted almost before the attack was launched, lifting his claw to block in front of him.
Clang! Sizzle sizzle sizzle…
The harsh grinding sound and the excruciating pain in his tiger paw made Kunnir horrified. Even though he had made the right response, he was still pushed back several steps by the tremendous force, crashing into another burning supply cart, getting scorched black.
But he didn't have time to worry about that.
In the darkness, a dozen women dressed in tight nightclothes, wearing black veils, and all human, stepped out slowly. They held either swords or short daggers, and some of them were stained with fresh blood. A few appeared to have sustained minor injuries, but nothing significant.
These people were dangerous.
Kunnir could sense a profound sense of impending doom from any of them, especially the striking red-haired woman at the front, who was carrying a short bow and dressed in a purple jumpsuit. She made the powerful tigerfolk warrior want to run away from her from the depths of his heart!
"Human… I see. So, you planned to ambush our supply lines to make our beastman army disintegrate without an attack? It really fits your sly and cunning nature," Kunnir sneered.
Kunnir cautiously adjusted his breathing as he retreated slowly, using words to probe the enemy. He wasn't reckless, in this situation where victory was impossible, retreating was the best option. At the very least, he had to bring the message to High Priest Saharit.
No one paid any attention to his provocations, including the red-haired woman. They all stared at Kunnir with a cold, deathly gaze, slowly raising their weapons.
"Roar…"
The tigerfolk warrior let out a deep, beast-like growl, like a cornered beast. At this moment, Kunnir dared not think about rallying his forces for a counterattack. With so much time passed and no soldiers coming to support, the situation on the front lines was likely extremely unfavorable.
Damn it… how many human forces have infiltrated, and why has our outpost not reported anything?
The woman with red hair aimed her bow at Kunnir, and the arrow ignited with a crimson fire, like the beckoning of a grim reaper.
"First Form, Crimson Flame."
It was the first time the woman spoke, and a splendid crimson flower bloomed on the bowstring, the last sight Kunnir would ever see.
Thud.
The arrow penetrated the tigerfolk's resilient claws, pierced through his plundered helmet, went through his skull and brain, igniting a blood-red petal in Kunnir's forehead.
With a heavy thud, the courageous tigerfolk warrior fell to the ground. His open eyes held a profound sense of resentment and shock, but this world was cruel. If one lacked skill, their fate was sealed.
After a moment, the red-haired woman gave the order.
"So, it's resolved this way, huh? Oh? It seems this tigerfolk had quite some strength. It's the first time I've seen you use the… the technique you used earlier, was it the Red Lotus Archery?"
Violet leisurely strolled out from the night's shadows, casting a glance at Kunnir's lifeless body with a hole in his forehead and the stern-faced Miss Flora, wearing a playful smile.
"Why are you here? Weren't you supposed to be with Her Highness for her protection?"
Flora put away her short bow, seemingly somewhat dissatisfied with Violet's sudden appearance.
"Come on, don't be so tense. You and the Shadow Guards have taken care of all the elites in this unit, and Lilya is now only dealing with regular beastmen. Her unit and the other Shadow Guards are with her, she'll be fine."
"Nonsense! Her Highness may be just a regular person, even though lately… but real battles are not a game. Each beastman is a deadly threat to her!"
Flora gave Violet a disgruntled look and leaped away, disappearing into the distance. The Shadow Guards didn't react much, just showing a bit of respect to Miss Priestess before vanishing into the shadows. They were probably going back to the princess's side.
"Hey, the relationship between those two is indeed something special. Even though I know Lilya has learned some techniques from me, she's no match for ordinary beastmen anymore. Well… this one was a bit more of a challenge."
Violet crouched down to examine Kunnir's lifeless body.
Hmm, no issues, he's really dead, the arrow from Flora completely obliterated this tigerfolk's brain tissue.
"Crimson Flame," huh? I saw her use it once before, but that was more of a demonstration. The full extent of its power wasn't displayed there.
Seems like it's her signature skill. It's quite fascinating, she uses it in a way that's entirely different from typical game skills, not really conventional magic or martial arts.
Interesting, but now is not the time to delve into all this.
The reason I came here was twofold. On the one hand, it's to provide the princess with room for growth and let her experience real combat. On the other hand, there's an experiment I've been eager to try.
Reviving the dead.
Yes, I plan to resurrect this big tiger right in front of me.
I don't have any deep animosity toward beastmen, and in fact, despite the life-and-death fighting happening right now, there's quite a bit of trade between the Human United Kingdom and the Beastman Kingdom, especially during the wars.
The annual war is not because beastmen hate humans so much. It's just one of the methods they employ to make it through the winter. The Human United Kingdom happens to be neighbors with the Beastman Kingdom, which is simply unfortunate.
Not getting into right or wrong, but at least from the perspective of a being in a higher realm like Violet, she doesn't intend to kill every beastman she sees.
Besides, this one, called Kun… Kun something, is quite interesting.
Lilya has been trailing this supply unit for quite a while now, and in the meantime, she's captured a few lone beastmen to gather intelligence.
While observing, Violet discovered something quite unexpected. This tigerfolk was learning to read like humans, wearing armor, and even mimicking human lifestyles and etiquette. It completely overturned her preconceptions about beastmen as a race!