After the battle ended, Xuan got chained again as General Yulin pulled him by the chains. Soon the rest of General Yulin's soldiers arrived.
What truly surprised Feng Xuan was the speed at which she had laid the beastman slaves, who numbered in hundreds, flat. It was astonishing speed; in under a few minutes every beastman slave that attacked General Yulin was defeated, and by the time she reached Xuan, she was just lightly sweating without any signs of exhaustion.
On the battlefield very few beastmen were killed, contrary to what she had promised. Most that attacked her courageously were spared; although they were all rendered unconscious, they had only light injuries. But those who seemed to have tried to run away were killed.
"She seemed to truly hate those who tried to run away during battle," thought Xuan as he shuddered. He had been moments away from meeting their fate too.
But he was still injured much more badly than those who were spared. While they had light injuries, Xuan had a deep red mark from the general's hand on his throat. He had seriously thought he'd die when she lifted him up by his throat. But despite his injuries and his current situation, one thing gave him relief and even happiness.
The fact that a glorious general, as beautiful and powerful as General Yulin, had kissed a virgin nobody like him! It was akin to, or even better than, getting kissed by the most beautiful Hollywood actresses, because he was sure none there could compare to her literally otherworldly beauty.
He still couldn't help but recall the moment when the general had French-kissed him, rather lewdly at that. Even though he had passed out right after hearing her declaration of making him her slave, her pet, Xuan could still recall most of what happened before he passed out—most of all.
"I can still feel the taste of her mouth on my lips… ahhh, how soft and sweet her lips were, truly divine!" thought Xuan as his sword got firmer just from the mere memory of kissing the general's slender soft lips.
And now that he looked up, he could do nothing but admire her beautiful physique, her ferocious nature, and her confident straight gait as she walked through the battlefield. She was truly a proud general.
[Quest: Survive and become General Yulin's slave — Completed!]
[Issuing Rewards]
[Reward: D-Grade Mystery Box. Would you like to open it?]
Xuan remembered the quest the system had given him right after he saw General Yulin.
"A mystery box… it's one of those lottery-type boxes that gives random items, isn't it? I'll look at it later," said Xuan as he closed the hologram by mentally declining to open it.
He was getting pulled by the chain like a dog by General Yulin, but Xuan didn't mind it because at least he was alive. But within his formerly timid and fearful heart, a desire rose as he gazed at the proud general, recalling what the system had said about his Exclusive skill, Beastly Aura. As his formerly dormant male desire for claiming this ferocious beast and making her his own grew.
Soon he saw a female soldier wearing full-body armor rushing toward Yulin. As she arrived in front of the general, the soldier took off her helmet, revealing beautiful blonde hair with large rabbit ears. She was a rabbit-kin beastman.
"Are most of them females? I swear I haven't seen a single male soldier until now," thought Xuan as he observed the conversation between what appeared to be a squad captain and the general of the army.
"General Yulin, we have captured about five hundred male beastmen, and most of the Fang tribe's core territories are now under our control. But unfortunately the leader of the Fang tribe managed to escape."
Reported the captain as she looked over at the battlefield behind the general. "G-General, you've killed male beastmen again? You know we have an extreme shortage of male beastmen among us, right?"
'Huh?' Xuan felt puzzled by the words of the captain as he internally speculated. 'Is that why I haven't seen a single male beastman soldier? Maybe most of their beastmen died during some previous war.'
The general snorted at the complaint from the captain. "They were fleeing from battle. Even though I promised painless death to those who'd show courage, they don't deserve to father the future generation of our beastman race." The general spoke with the harshness of someone who had experienced many things in life. "And our beastman race is already near extinction. Despite all our efforts at preserving the male beastman population, the results have been anything but satisfactory. It's about time we make a change," said General Yulin as she walked off, taking Xuan with her, leaving the battlefield.
The captain bowed behind her general's receding figure as she heaved a helpless sigh.
⋯
Xuan was soon handed off to a trusted subordinate of General Yulin and sent to her abode at the general's manor, which resided in the deep forested area of the Claw tribe's territory. On the way he heard roars of fierce beasts and the creaking of insects. The sounds and noises of their fighting sent shudders down Xuan's spine.
He tugged at the female attendant of the general, asking, "Umm, why is the general's house in such a dangerous place?" Xuan felt his hair stand on end from the sounds of the violence taking place behind the trees and canopies of the forest. Even the animal drawing the carriage was nervous. "Like, isn't this place too dangerous?"
The attendant, who had chocolate-colored skin with two small raccoon ears on her head, brown hair, and deep tea-red pupils, gave a laugh as she petted Xuan on the head. "Don't worry, pup. These beasts are nothing but insects to our general. You'd be rather safe here—well, until she sends you to 'refine' your manliness, hahaha."
'Insects?' thought Xuan as he heard the roars of the beasts behind the trees. Their roars were so violent he was sure even lions in his old world would cower from hearing those. But he still tried his best to divert his attention from those scary sounds.
The attendant didn't speak further as she handled the horse-drawn carriage, but Xuan's eyes had already diverted. Instead of focusing on the violent animals waging war behind the treelines, Xuan's eyes were drawn to the attendant operating the carriage.
As he thought, "So damn hot!"
The attendant had a build similar to the general's, but more on the plump side. She wasn't fat, but her chocolate skin, plump juicy lips accentuated by her flowing brown hair which stopped short of her collarbone, and her stern stoic facial features made her appear like an extremely serious maid.
But most of all, her two large mounds of flesh—the juicy soft melons—bounced with the shaking of the carriage as the horses sped through the forest.
'Say, system, what's the best way to use this Beastly Aura skill of mine? Like, how close does the proximity need to be for faster effects?' Xuan thought inwardly as the system responded to his question immediately.
[The Exclusive skill Beastly Aura takes effect when the user is in very close proximity to the target. The best way to achieve faster effects is being at arm's length from the target, or skinship such as hugging or maintaining skin contact are the most optimal ways to maximize its effects.]
Xuan nodded. It made sense; otherwise if its effects were widespread, all beastman girls would fawn over him, and it would be too OP in that case.
But after hearing the system's explanation on how to best make use of the skill, Xuan asked the attendant of the general a question again.
"Umm, miss, can I know how long before we reach the general's manor? Since I'm feeling tired and would like to take a short nap to regain some energy if the distance to the manor is rather far and there's time."
The attendant, who was—from what Xuan could tell from her appearance—a raccoon-kin, looked back at Xuan as if analyzing his physical condition. As her eyes landed on his throat, which the general had grabbed to lift him up previously, a realization dawned on her.
"Ah, makes sense. Rest up then. We have…" She craned her neck, looking at the sun before continuing, "we have an hour's worth of time left before we reach General Yulin's manor. And as for you, don't address her as general—for you she'd be your master, so call her that."
Xuan nodded. "Thank you, miss. I'll remember that." Xuan feigned sleepiness as he quietly drew closer to the driver's seat of the carriage, where the attendant was focused on driving the carriage.
He got as close to her as his chains allowed before gently lying down, just half an arm's length behind the attendant. A sharp predatory light emanated from Xuan's eyes as he smirked while hearing the system's voice.
[Activated: Exclusive Skill, Beastly Aura]
An hour was all he needed to get an idea of how good the skill's effects were, and after reaching the manor he could later try to find more opportunities to get into close proximity with her, increasing the chances of getting this attendant to become 'comfortable' with his presence.
Xuan quietly closed his eyes as he curled up beside the attendant, like the small little wolf pup that he now was.