The Martial Unity

In a moment, he turned all her beasts against her.

“Have any more?” Rui calmly asked as he walked towards her, studying her body through the hood she wore despite its sensory jamming effects.

Most of her body was covered in fur.

Her ears, however, were long and pointy, just like those of an elf.

That matched his suspicions.

“You are the Whisperer, aren’t you?” Rui asked her knowingly. “I suspected as much when you killed that woman for simply speaking about you so far from your base here. No wonder she was so terrified to speak about you. She uttered one sentence about you, and you had already learned about it and had sent your little agents to kill her. That’s a level of omnipresence and omniscience within this city, or perhaps even within this Empire that very few information brokers can achieve.”

“…And you are the one they call the Dawnbringer,” she remarked with a composed tone, walking closer towards him. “Prince Rui Quarrier Silas Kandria. My sources told me that you had left West Genora, heading north towards Kiriket. It appears that you made a stop at the Hlakaschken Trade Empire after all. When I lost control of the crows and rats you assumed command over, the faint possibility that I was dealing with the legendary figure passed through my mind, but to think that it’s actually real…”

Rui wasn’t surprised that she had figured out who he was through his manipulation of her animals. Only two people possessed Authority of Alpha in the entire world, after all.

“I didn’t stand a chance from the very beginning.” Her tone was one of acceptance. “I suppose the only question I have before I die is why you sought me out?”

Rui huffed. “You must know why. Which is why you must also know that I’m not here to kill you. I just want information. That’s all. You need to find a better way to reach your customers, you know?”

“I must say I’m honored that someone as powerful as yourself would seek my services,” she remarked, removing her gas mask.

Underneath the mask, she looked like a light elf with sharp canines sticking out from within her mouth upon her lower lip, giving off a feral vibe that stood in contrast with the nature-oriented feel that elves had to them.

She had small whiskers emerging from her cheeks, while her fur began from the base of her neck, along her shoulders, and down her arms. It indicated that she had gone down the Beast Path considerably, making her quite powerful if she truly needed to be.

She used her power differently; however, he didn’t sense great combat power from her largely because she used her power spread far and wide across a large number of animals that supplied her information from across the city and even the entire trade empire.

“Follow me, Your Highness,” she remarked with a gruff, yet female voice.

They eventually found themselves in a rather plain, yet large office filled with all manner of documents across every inch of space there was. The room was illuminated by a glowing flower that grew upside down on the ceiling, a means of light that the elves used, giving the office a rather homely feel.

“How remarkably professional,” Rui stated, glancing around as he took a seat in the chair opposite her.

The chair was also made of living wood, another thing that only the elves did. It appeared she truly inherited two paths from two different species.

“I am a professional, after all,” she remarked, leaning back in her chair and folding her legs.

She had removed her stuffy hood when it became clear that it was meaningless in stopping Rui’s senses, revealing a body that was half beastified with fur that belonged to a mix of species, according to his Tree of Life enlightenment.

“Allow me to formally introduce myself,” she remarked, gazing into the depths of his eyes with her rich, brown eyes. “As you have surmised, I am the individual known as the Whisperer. As you can see, I am a hybrid between an elf and a therianthrope, a species commonly known the druid species.”

“Druid…” Rui murmured with intrigue, “I don’t think I’ve heard of it.”

“I don’t blame you if you haven’t,” she remarked with a wry smile. “We are a failed species, after all.”

Her tone contained a hint of bitterness.

Bitterness he could sense within her mind as well.

Rui raised an eyebrow. “Failed species…?”

“Indeed,” she replied, running her hand through her fur. “So much so that elves and therianthropes generally avoid mating because of the outcomes.”

“I would have thought that elves and therianthropes are very compatible, are they not?” Rui raised an eyebrow. “After all, flora and fauna are two sides of the same coin of nature. Although the elves got away with naming their path the Nature Path.”

“You would think so, but unfortunately, that is not the case,” she remarked, shaking her head. “In practice, the Nature Path and the Beast Path are too incompatible. The biggest reason is that they require opposite temperaments. The Nature Path requires the heart of femininity, while the Beast Path requires the virility of masculinity. It is difficult to embody both extremes.”

“…I see, that makes sense,” Rui realized. “The Singularity of Nature is contradictory to the Convergence of Beast. One involves merging with nature while the other requires merging with a beast.”

“It’s why I’ve been stuck at the stage that I’m at, unable to move forward,” she stated. “I find myself at a crossroads that I cannot cross. My elven half prevents me from doing Convergence of Beast while my theriantrope half prevents me from achieving Singularity of Nature. The Beast Path is individualistic, while the Nature Path is collectivist. This contradiction makes it difficult to pursue both paths. However, the biggest issue is that you cannot form a soul bond with flora and fauna simultaneously, forcing an irreparable contradiction that is embedded in my very blood.”