Chapter 153: We Are Free Beastmen
Down at the entrance of the wide, newly excavated basin—a vast area already leveled and cleared to be built into a thriving community—the air was thick with tension and the smell of kicked-up dirt.
A tight line of heavily built boar beastmen, led by a deeply frustrated Taga, stood shoulder-to-shoulder behind the humming boundary line.
Standing just ahead of them were two sleek, metallic automated drones, their lenses whirring and glowing a steady, warning yellow as they scanned the crowd of newcomers.
"Step back from the marker!" Taga bellowed, his deep, rumbling voice straining to carry over the din. He gripped his heavy stone-headed axe, his knuckles turning white. "The rules of New Eden are absolute! You register your names, you submit to the territory’s laws, or you turn around and walk back to your lands!"
A gaunt, patchy-furred hyena beastman at the front of the crowd threw his head back, letting out a jarring, high-pitched cackle that echoed off the high rock walls.
"Listen to the fat pigs!" the hyena sneered, pointing a mocking claw at one of the silent drones. "You bowed your heads to a human? You let these shiny toys tell you when to eat and where to sleep? Look at them, brothers! They’ve traded their claws for chains and a handful of stale grain!"
"It’s a trap!" a proud deer beastman shouted from the center of the gathering, his large antlers tossing aggressively as he shoved against those in front of him. "They want us to sign our freedom away! Submission? Total obedience to an unseen master? Who says this ’Lady Hana’ isn’t just going to fatten us up for slaughter, or use us as shields when the winter beasts come down from the peaks?"
The crowd stirred violently at his words, the murmurs rising into a chaotic wave of agreement.
"I heard the rumors from the southern valleys!" a female hyena yelled out, her voice shrill and mocking. "They say this place isn’t a refuge at all. They say a witch lives up in that cave, using forbidden magic to lock beastmen’s souls into those metal demons! Look at the boars—they don’t even look normal anymore. They’re like hollow shells, working dawn to dusk without a single complaint. Is that what you want? To become mindless zombies for a human female?"
"We are free beastmen!" another deer shouted, stamping his hoof into the dirt, causing the crowd behind him to surge forward. "We came for shelter and food, not to become slaves! If this territory has resources, they should be shared, not hidden behind walls and demands for our complete submission!"
Taga’s tusks bared in a fierce, angry snarl. His warriors braced themselves, their heavy chests heaving as they struggled to maintain a solid wall against the press of the crowd.
"Hold the line!" Taga barked at his men, his voice tight with restraint. "Do not strike unless they cross the boundary! But by the spirits, if they take one more step toward the drones..."
He didn’t want to start a bloodbath—Hana had given strict orders to build a community, not a graveyard—but the hyenas’ mocking laughter and the deers’ wild, insulting accusations were pushing the loyal boars to the absolute limit.
The entire excavation site was a single spark away from exploding into a full-scale riot.
"They’re getting louder," Caspian rumbled, a dangerous, low vibration shaking his chest. His slit pupils contracted into lethal needles. "The boars are being too patient with them. If they dare to scream loud enough to risk waking Hana, I am going down there. A few snapped necks will teach these parasites to obey our rules or die outside."
"Oh, please. Violence is so terribly messy, lizard," Raiden interrupted, slinking to the edge of the ledge with a wicked, bored smile. He raised a hand, his emerald eyes flashing with a faint, hypnotic pink light. "Let me handle them. I’ll cast a mass terror illusion over the perimeter. They want to question Hana’s rules? I’ll make them see their worst nightmares until they either beg to submit or run screaming back into the wasteland."
Caspian bared his fangs, a wisp of smoke rising from his jaw as he ignored the fox. "They are disturbing her peace. They will die by my claws."
"And I say they make excellent testing subjects for my magic," Raiden countered, his claws lengthening.
The two mates were seconds away from launching themselves into a brutal, chaotic display of power that would undoubtedly send shockwaves through the entire valley—and inevitably wake Hana from her deeply needed rest.
"If I may speak," Ren’s voice cut through the aggression.
It wasn’t a roar, nor was it a threat. It was a perfectly measured, resonant baritone that carried a strange, heavy weight of authority. Both Caspian and Raiden paused, turning their heads to glare at the newcomer.
Ren stepped forward, his posture straight, his icy blue eyes completely calm as he looked down at the rioting crowd, then back at the two beastmen.
"You both possess the power to obliterate them in seconds," Ren said, his tone masterfully balancing diplomacy with subtle flattery. "A Dragon King’s wrath would leave nothing but ash, and the Fox’s illusions would drive them mad. But consider this: these beastmen came here because they want to join New Eden. They are only shouting because they are afraid and skeptical of things they do not understand. If you slaughter or torture refugees who are seeking entry, you will ruin the territory’s reputation before it even grows."
Raiden narrowed his eyes, his smirk fading into curiosity. Caspian huffed, though the smoke stopped flaring from his nose.
"Furthermore," Ren continued, his eloquence flowing naturally as he stepped closer to the ledge, "Hana is resting. A bloodbath or a chorus of terrified, screaming madmen at the gates will disturb her sleep." he explained. "Let me go down and speak to them. I am a stranger to this valley, but I know the exact language of those who are desperate yet hesitant to submit. I can break down their skepticism, explain the rules, and make them fall into line just as obediently as the boars—without a single drop of blood being spilled."
Up on the high peak, Kulu tilted his head, a look of quiet approval flashing across his avian features. He gave a single, slow nod from his high vantage point, signaling his agreement.
Caspian looked toward the dark entrance of the den where Hana slept, then back at Ren. He let out a sharp, irritated breath, crossing his arms tightly. "You have five minutes, cat. If they are still making noise after that, I am tearing them all down."
"Five minutes is all I need," Ren replied with a respectful inclination of his head.
With an effortless, powerful leap, Ren vaulted off the rocky ledge, his snow leopard agility allowing him to hit the steep stone slopes seamlessly. He headed for the gates with lightning speed, leaving Raiden and Caspian watching from above in silent, begrudging fascination.
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