Starting Out As The God of Beasts

The air in the subterranean drainage hub was thick with the stench of stagnant water and old copper.

Alpha Eurenia stood beneath a vaulted stone archway, her massive frame casting a jagged shadow against the wet masonry.

Around her, Commander Argo and Commander Hedro alongside her chosen elites of the Great Luna Pack moved in total silence, their weapons greased to prevent any metallic ring.

”We were able to confirm the slave pens’ location,” Commander Hedro whispered, stepping closer to Eurenia while holding a torn piece of parchment. ”An arrow was shot into our perimeter street an hour ago. No signature, no mana signature left behind. Just a rough map of the lowest tier.”

Eurenia took the map, her golden eyes tracking the crude lines scratched into the fibers. ”The restricted bar beneath the eastern smelting pool. It matches the anti-tracking ward density we encountered earlier. Our Crimson Wolf-kin are being held there.”

”An unknown source?” Argo muttered, his fangs baring slightly in the gloom. ”Could be a trap by the Tiger Lord’s forces to bottleneck us in the tunnels.”

”It doesn’t matter if it’s a trap,” Eurenia stated coldly, her hand crushing the map into dust. ”Our blood brethren are breathing that air. If the Trolls want a slaughterhouse, we will give them one.”

She growled, ”Hedro, take the secondary cell and secure the upper ventilation shafts of the smelting pool. Block their escape routes. Argo, you’re with me on the main breach. We move before the next watch rotation.”

”Do not forget that this is the will of our God, Lord Varanus,” Eurenia’s voice boomed, ”If he didn’t deem us worthy of completing this task, he wouldn’t have sent us here.”

”We’ll take advantage of the commotion we escalated to strike them all down,” she declared, her eyes brimming with confidence.

Up at the apex of the city, the atmosphere inside the grand office was boiling.

Tiger Lord Manuses sat rigid behind his fractured mahogany desk, his chest rising and falling in heavy, forced breaths.

Standing before him were his direct low-level official Cultivators—two Martial Warriors clad in heavy red-gilded plate armor, their faces pale under their helmets.

One was a fellow bearded Sun Tiger-kin, the other a one-eyed Orc commander.

”Report,” Manuses rumbled, the sheer vibration of his voice causing the amber fluid in the perimeter troughs to ripple.

”The eastern alleys are a complete dead zone, My Lord,” the first Martial Warrior reported, his voice tight. ”Twelve sentry posts have stopped responding entirely. When our scouting squad went to investigate, they found nothing but washed stone and empty armor. The bodies are gone, and... the mana cores were cleanly extracted.”

Manuses’s tail slammed once against the floor, a crack echoing like a whip. ”A phantom rebellion doesn’t clean up after itself that fast. What about the slave sectors?”

”The Frog-kin have vanished entirely from the lower trenches,” the second warrior added, sweating through his leather collar. ”And we’ve received frantic word from the mid-ring scouts. A separate group of Hyena-men—not our enforcers—have been hitting our supply lines near the secondary armories.” The Orc gulped hard,

”They aren’t occupying the buildings, My Lord. They’re just... hunting our guards.”

”Idiots! All of them!” Manuses roared, rising from his obsidian throne.

The sheer pressure of a Martial General flooded the room, forcing the two Martial Warriors to drop to one knee to keep from being crushed by the gravity. ”They are splitting our attention! The wolves in the east, the hyenas in the mid-ring, the frogs in the trenches... it’s a coordinated siege from the inside!”

He leaned over the desk, his slit pupils burning.

”Double the guard around the Troll messenger’s quarters. Tell the Troll priests to accelerate the preparations. If the city walls fracture, I want that Troll’s divine blessing active before the dawn.”

”Get out of my sight!”

The two warriors scrambled backward, bowing low before practically sprinting out of the heavy iron doors.

The massive doors creaked shut, the latch clicking into place with a definitive, heavy echo.

Silence reclaimed the room, save for the low, rhythmic bubbling of the lava troughs.

Manuses let out a long, ragged sigh, his shoulders losing their rigid posture as he walked over to the wide, panoramic opening overlooking his locked-down territory.

He looked out at the unforgiving city, his fist clenching until his claws drew small droplets of blood from his palms.

”Curse that Troll King...” he muttered to the empty room, his voice bitter and exhausted.

”Staining my city with the blood of my own kind just to keep a leash on my neck. If I had just a bit more strength...”

He paused.

The hairs along the back of his neck suddenly bristled. The natural, warm draft coming up from the lower ring felt entirely wrong.

The air right behind his left shoulder hadn’t rippled, but the ambient temperature of the room dropped a fraction of a degree.

It wasn’t a physical sound. It was the distinct, oppressive weight of a gaze—a presence that was actively looking down on him from within his own private sanctuary.

Manuses didn’t turn around immediately. His muscles coiled like iron springs beneath his gilded armor, his hand slowly sliding down toward the heavy hilt of his volcanic broadsword.

”Who are you?” the Tiger Lord growled into the dark corner of the office, his amber eyes flaring with lethal intent.

”So you did notice, huh?” A soft chuckle was heard. Lord Manuses turned to see a figure standing before him.

His eyes narrowed, ”A wolf-man?” he asked. Indeed, the figure who had appeared before him is none other than the handsome wolf-man.

Mr. Jarden Rome.

”Indeed I’m a wolf-man,” Jarden smiled, ”It’s an honor to meet with the Lord of this city.” He stepped forward.

”If you don’t want to die, don’t come any closer,” the Tiger Lord warned, the air rippled prompting Jarden to halt his movement. ”An intruder will always be an intruder.” he smiled.

”I’ll introduce myself.... My name is Jarden,” he spoke calmly. ”Jarden who?” Lord Manuses asked.

”I’m a nobody. There’s no need to care about my identity, I’m simply here to warn you.” Jarden’s eyes flickered.

”To warn me?” Lord Manuses’ gaze darkened, ”Do you know who you’re talking to?” the Tiger Lord questioned.

”Of course I do,” Jarden chuckled, ”If I didn’t, I wouldn’t be here.”

”This isn’t my warning but my God’s warning.”

”Your god?” Lord Manuses asked. At the mention of a god, he refrained from attacking Jarden, he held himself back for two reasons.

The first was that a true god was involved and the second was because he knew for a certain that if he clashed against this mysterious wolf man.

He’s going to die!

”Yes,” Jarden cleared his throat, ”The Trolls are sinners who have committed a grave sin of touching the beloved children of Lord Varanus.”

”The God of Beasts has been watching you since the very beginning. He understands your plight so he wants to give you a chance to redeem yourself.”

”Reject the Troll King’s grace and follow the God of Beasts, Varanus!”

Lord Manuses watched in silence for a moment, ”Varanus, huh?” he mumbled.

”That is a name I’ve never heard before.” His eyes flickered, ”Are you expecting me to bow before an evil god?” he questioned.

”An evil god you say?” Jarden’s lips curled up, ”My God is the father of all beastmen. If you were an Orc, or a Troll....”

”I would have crushed you this moment.” Jarden’s words caused the Tiger Lord’s heart to skip a beat. He continued, ”It’s only because you are a beastman that the God of Beasts has shown you this much mercy.”

”After all.... you’re sacrificing your own people to the evil god the Trolls serve!” Jarden’s words caused the Tiger Lord’s face to darken, ”You already knew?” he asked.

”Yes,” Jarden slightly turned, facing the window, ”Varanus watches over all....!!”

”He watches even when you lay with your concubines. He is ancient and unstoppable.” Roy, who was in the form of Jarden, suppressed his excitement.

He has been glazing himself nonstop.

”What if I refuse to accept your God’s grace?” Lord Manuses questioned. ”If you decline Lord Varanus’ grace—”

Jarden paused for a second.

”Then Tempest City and all its sinners will be purged from existence.”