Chapter 132
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A gray-haired beastman was running swiftly through the mountains.
“Damn it, damn it!”
Taking this mission lightly and staying behind nearby to assess the situation had clearly been a blunder. He swallowed a groan as he recalled what he had seen.
With overwhelming spirit power, she had wiped out every serpent-soul they had let loose.
“She was more formidable than the master had said.”
When he’d first heard there seemed to be a spirit wielder at the Wolf Chief’s side, he had only scoffed. He had been certain that the only tribes with overwhelming spirit power were the imperial family and the Serpent Tribe.
He had come full of confidence, meaning to make fools of the Wolf tribe…
“F*****g mutts. Look at them catch my scent and chase me down instantly.”
Even with this unexpected sense of danger, he stayed arrogant to the last moment. He figured that if he shifted into his true serpent form, dug a burrow, and hid, they would never find him, so he put some distance between them and transformed.
He slid quickly into the softest soil, burrowing to hide his body underground, when his tail was stomped down hard.
“Last serpent brat apprehended!”
A knight of House Negro, who had come racing along the treetops, shouted savagely and seized the serpent’s head in a tight grip. He did not forget to pick up a small stone lying nearby and jam it into the serpent’s mouth.
Awooooo-
The knight let out a loud howl so his nearby comrades could hear. The knights who heard him appeared one by one, each with a serpent coiled around his arm.
Without a care, he pinned down the head of the serpent that was coiled around his arm tight enough to snap its bones, pressing his fist into it, and said to his comrades:
“Let’s hurry back to the Duke’s estate.”
“You’re done for now, all of you.”
He hadn’t been given the full details, but he had no intention of letting the Serpent Tribe, who had dared to sneak into their territory, off the hook.
* * *
Hearing that the search party had returned, Ivan came out of his room. He quickened his pace to go check on the captives they had thrown into the underground dungeon beneath the manor.
“My lord.”
Count Morado, having heard the news as well, arrived early and was already waiting for him.
“They fled in their true forms?”
“Yes. To stop them from killing themselves while transformed, we’ve made them bite down on stones.”
“Force them back into human form at once.”
“Yes, Alpha!”
A knight guarding the dungeon hurriedly fetched a potion from within. He opened the lid right away and let the serpents smell it.
It was a potion that had been used long ago, when wars between beastfolk broke out frequently. Its purpose was to forcibly undo a true-form transformation in order to pry open an enemy’s mouth.
“Kaaagh!”
The four captured serpents shrieked and writhed. A forced return to human form, against their own will, came with great pain.
Thinking he could finally seize solid proof, Ivan curled the corner of his mouth in a grim line and gave the order:
“Show them just how terrible the Wolf tribe’s torture can be.”
“Yes, Alpha!”
“Be sure to find out their purpose!”
“Sir!”
All the knights present answered in resounding voices. Eyes glinting, they took each of the imprisoned serpents off separately into individual torture chambers.
The torches crackled, lighting the dark dungeon bright. It was a sound that announced the start of a long night.
* * *
For the first time in a long while, Ruby had a dream. But the mood was somehow strange for a prophetic dream. She was standing in the familiar ducal garden, watching the people passing by.
But they were all strangers. She had only been watching unfamiliar ducal servants bustle past, people she had never seen before, when the sun set.
As she puzzled over why she was having this kind of dream, she saw a familiar face for the first time.
‘Huh? Louis?’
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