In the Demi-Humans Camp, large tents that housed families were set up in an orderly fashion throughout the camp. Small children with animal features were running around everywhere with joy and laughter, while grown hunters were carrying large beasts for food to the camp cooks, who were ready to butcher the beasts.
At the centre of the camp, a group of Demi-humans walked, and all eyes were drawn to them. Among them were Zeek and Liza, who were at the end of the group. In front of them were Demi-human hunters with spears and shields surrounding three individuals.
The leader of the camp's scout and archer squad was a half-deer, half-human cross with small antlers growing from her forehead. She stood at six feet tall, with her hooves touching the ground. She looked in her forties, with scars all over her body. Some scars were of lashes and cuts from the days she was a slave. But that was long ago, as now she was an upper third-level aura user with her bow on her back.
Second was the same large red bull Demi-human walking with his massive frame and giant hammer on his back. But since Ali saw him last, the bull's abdomen was wrapped in bandages and leaves that helped with healing the large wound George left on him. It still gave the bull ghost pain every other hour, a testament to the battle between the two titans.
And between the captain of scouts and archers and the captain of the warriors and camp defence walked one person who was welcomed with warm smiles and loving words of appreciation from everyone in the camp.
A small child of a wolf-human cross ran to the group and was stopped by the guards, but when they saw he was holding a flower in his hand, they let him through…
"This is for you, Priestess", the boy said with a warm smile as he handed the flower to a Demi-human like no other in the camp.
"Thank you, sweetheart. I'm sure you will grow up a strong warrior who will protect us all." The priestess was a half-fox, half-human cross. She had lush white hair that flowed all the way to her heels with small white furry ears on her head, but most extraordinary were the nine white tails that floated behind her, each one thick with an incredibly soft and beautiful white coat. She herself had a gorgeous face with her red eyes that resembled those of a fox. She had a young face of mid-twenties…But she shouldered great responsibility…
She stood back up after taking the red flower and watched the boy run back to his smiling parents. "Kynari, we cannot trust the human's words. I suspect the slavers are on their way to the camp as we speak," the red-bull said to the priestess.
"Brak, we cannot abandon the camp unless we are certain. We have nearly two hundred civilians who would have to tread a dangerous path through the forest in the hopes of finding a suitable land to build another camp. Do I have to remind you how difficult it was for me to create a veil for a camp this size or how troublesome it was to whisper to Beast Kings?" Kynari responded sharply to Brak.
"Priestess, if I may add, Brak is right to be wary. If any of what he suggests is to come, then it won't just be two hundred. None of us will survive and, even worse, many will be enslaved. And most of all, Kynari, we cannot risk your safety. You are the only hope of our race…", Lyria said with her mature and experienced tone.
Kynari sighed hearing those words again. 'I know that already…', she thought as she understood what she meant to the demi-human race. She was the nine-tailed priestess of the ancient tales, the one who would awaken the Beast Moon and lead the demi-human race back to their rightful place on the continent.
"He's different…Ali's—", Liza suddenly said, but Zeek covered her mouth instantly as Brak turned his head around with deadly eyes that nearly made her pass out. Hot steam came out of his bull-like nostrils. How dare she speak right now.
But on the other hand, Kynari turned around and gave Liza a smile, 'What would I do without you, Liza…', Kynari thought as Liza was the one bright spark around her who would shower her with ideas of adventure, hope, and dreams instead of the constant reminders of dread from the elders.
She resumed her walk to the largest tent in the camp; it was where she lived and where they organised meetings between her, the elders of the camp, Brak, and Lyria.
"Lyria, your scouts are unmatched in the forest; I rely greatly on your capabilities to see an army of slavers before they even cross into the forest.", Kynari responded.
"Priestess…", Lyria was about to respond, but Kynari interrupted her.
"We'll discuss the rest in the meeting where a decision will be made.", Kynari shut her down.
The group approached the large tent painted in white with red lines that depicted ancient demi-human literature that very few understood; outside the closed tent stood ten old demi-humans wearing a grey-coloured scarf around their necks to show their elder status and hide their cursed past of slavery and pain which every older demi-human in the camp experienced, and now they worked so that no young would suffer the same; at least now they would die fighting.
"Priestess", they all said as they bowed to her in unison.
"Elders", Kynari said as she grew tired of seeing their faces recently, especially after that human showed up.
The two guards at the front went to pull the sheets of the tent's entrance; once they pulled it open and showed the meeting hall, their hearts froze as someone was already there.
What they saw was a black dragon with its maw open and aiming upwards on the back of a white coat; a man was standing here with his back to them; he was holding a large axe in his hands; it was the same axe that George wielded, and Ali found it hanging from the wall of the tent like a trophy.
The guards immediately pointed their spears at Ali with Brak moving in front of Kynari and his rd aura flaring out in powerful surges, but his bandages instantly turned red with his blood as his wound opened and his aura weakened.
Lyria did the same as she drew her bow at Ali with the head of her arrow shining a bright green and shockwaves of air exploded out of her arrow every other second ready to unleash the might of her level three aura.
'They found the camp', Brak thought as he grinned his teeth and his grip on his hammer tightened, he was ready to lay his life down for his people to buy the time to escape.
'How did none of my scouts send an alert? Don't tell they're all dead', Lyria thought with dread in the split second, every single one of them was shocked and frozen with the terror of what it meant for a human to be in their camp except for one person.
"Ali?", Liza said as she shocked all the demi-humans by walking past the frozen guards and entering the tent to face Ali's back.
Ali held the axe with one hand and turned around, those who hadn't seen his face before were wide-eyed seeing his ridiculously handsome and attractive face, and were more shocked as Ali casually stepped back and sat down in the large seat meant only for the priestess while facing them, he rested the axe at the side of the seat and looked at them with his cold black eyes.
"I must say I'm impressed by what you have here…", Ali said with a smile as he rested his chin on the palm of his hand.
"I'm going to rip you piece by piece", Brak said as he stepped forward and his eyes were covered by his red aura making him look like a demon straight out of hell.
"BRAK", Kynari said aloud stopping him as she walked forward and the others tried to stop her but were too late with the priestess now standing before Ali and Liza at her side, Brak behind them looking for even a twitch from Ali for him to unleash his devastating might.
"Ali, how are you here? How did you find us?", Liza asked, what was on her mind. It was immature of her to ask such a question and speak before the priestess did.
"Does it matter how I got here? What matters is that I'm here and ready to negotiate a deal between us today", Ali said, his eyes landing on the priestess who was staring at him with her red eyes. It was her first time seeing a human like him. 'They all looked disgusting, vile, wicked, but he's…he's different', she thought, looking at Ali.
"Welcome to my home, my name is Kynari and I will speak on behalf of the camp along with my advisors and elders of my people", Kynari said, her tails swaying behind her.
Ali looked at her and smirked, 'It would be a shame if I leave this world before getting my hands on her…', Ali thought, as his eyes went from her face down to her ample breasts, larger than any he's seen so far in this world, and the curve of her ass barely hidden by the baggy white and red dress she wore.
"We can start whenever you want and tell him to stand down", Ali said, pointing at the red bull behind her.
Kynari turned around and looked at Brak, who didn't take his eyes off Ali. "Brak, please", Kynari said, and Brak simply stood to the side of the tent with his hammer heavily resting on the ground, his eyes still locked on Ali.
"Elders", Kynari said, and the elders walked into the tent on either side of her, their hateful eyes locked on him. Outside, Lyria whispered commands to her right-hand scout, who immediately ran towards the edge of the camp, but inside the camp, the atmosphere turned heavy for the civilian families who watched with nervousness as warriors ran to the priestess's tent and surrounded it from all sides.
"Alright then, unfortunately, due to certain circumstances, I had to forward the meeting and come here myself, but I come in peace and wish to leave here with all parties feeling happy and safe", Ali said.
"I share the same sentiment, Lord Ali", Kynari said, surprising the other demi-humans that she actually recognised Ali as a lord.
"What do you propose, human?", one of the elders said, tapping his walking stick on the ground and grabbing Ali's attention. "And how do we know you haven't sold our whereabouts already?"
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