Chapter 348: Scaring the new beasts.

Lucian smiled like a hungry beast, desperate for a small bite of food. "They have found a way to grow plantations of food in the wild lands. It matures in just hours." He knew he was sharing false news. But he didn’t care. It wasn’t like he knew where Zyra’s group lived. The Divine maiden had seen the pictures of seeds, so this meant gardens. Technically, he was not telling lies.

Trinity slapped her forehead. "That sly little bitch!" She cursed. "She wants to use seeds and food to manipulate the hearts of people. Do you have any idea how hard it is to oppress people who aren’t starving?"

Julia coughed softly into her fist. "It is_ notoriously difficult. When they are not hungry anymore, they will turn their minds to other problems around them, like the leadership of the sanctum."

"Unacceptable! Absolutely unacceptable!" Trinity breathed heavily, her chest heaving. But then, right in the middle of her panic attack, she stopped. Her twitching eye smoothed out. The panic faded, replaced by a slow, terrifyingly wicked smirk that stretched across her face. "Wait_" Trinity chuckled, a low, sinister sound that made Lucian’s spine turn to ice. "Ah, of course. How could I be so blind?"

"Divine maiden?" Julia asked cautiously, taking half a step back. "What is it?"

"Zyra!" Trinity laughed, clapping her hands together. "Zena must have left her something even more precious than the weapon. If she has her mother’s map, then that treacherous girl must have discovered more than just ordinary dungeons. She must have stumbled upon an undiscovered Somnivore treasure chests in new dungeons. That’s where she got all this advanced tech, the seeds, and the weapons. There is no way she went beyond the veil for these things."

Lucian blinked, looking confused. A dungeon! Is that why she was asking about a map? To find dungeons!

"I am never wrong! That was what Zena was protecting from me, an inheritance for her daughter. It is just as I suspected." Trinity declared dramatically, standing up from her throne and sweeping her long robes with a grand flourish. She pointed a sharp, perfectly manicured finger straight at the double doors of the hall. "Julia! Go out there, drag Zyra back here, and bring me those seeds_ now!" Trinity barked, her voice booming with murderous excitement.

"At once, Divine Maiden!" Julia bowed deeply, turning on her heel and practically flying out the door. "You there, follow me."

Lucian stood alone in the middle of the hall, shivering under Trinity’s terrifying smile. He slowly raised a hand. "Um_ Divine Maiden? Can I_ can I have my phone back?"

Trinity slowly turned her dark gaze toward him.

Lucian swallowed hard. "You know what? Keep it. It’s an offering to you. I’ll just go now." He turned around and sprinted out the door as fast as his legs could carry him.

But, his heart was bitter. He had not gained anything so far and he had lost his phone. Hopefully, when the dust settled, he would be sitting on a mountain of money, with first class citizenship and access to power.

****

In the Wild lands, Zyra was busy building her beast army. She looked at the beasts gathered in the yard. Truth be told, she had bonded with so many of them in such a short time that she barely recalled which one did what. Luckily, she had the system to keep track of the records, otherwise this would have been very confusing.

She clapped her hands once, the sharp sound echoing across the open space to catch the attention of the fresh batch of beasts. They had been happily chatting among themselves, marveling at how much they loved their new home.

"Alright, listen up! All 490 of you." Zyra said, crossing her arms. "I expect every single one of you to be on your best behavior. If you break the rules, there will be consequences." She pointed toward the pioneer beasts_ the veterans who had been with her from the start and gestured for the new recruits to take a good look at them. "You new ones, ask the old members what happens when someone steps out of line."

Before anyone else could speak, Red Sun puffed out his chest and shouted, "You go straight to beast jail! Newbies do not try to be smart here."

Zyra nodded in satisfaction. She was genuinely glad to see Red Sun back to his old, uncharming self after seeing Taylor wake up. The monkey had celebrated by eating one whole cluster of salted bananas and two overripe mangoes.

The new beasts leaned in, instantly curious about this mysterious "jail," but Zyra quickly shattered their intrigue.

"And that’s not even the worst of it," she added, her voice dropping to a chillier tone. "If things get out of hand, I can always terminate our bond and send you away from here. And..maybe get beastnapped again... "

A collective gasp echoed through the crowd.

[Host, do not scare the beasts.]

The Crimson python wiggled forward, its scales scraping against the stone ground. It raised its neck, split tongue darting out nervously. "C-Can you really do that, boss?"

"Try me and find out," Zyra said with a calm smile. "Yes, I can."

A three tailed purple fox flicked its gorgeous tails, fluffing up its fur in distress. "And here I thought you were a kind boss after rescuing us! You’re starting to sound just like Todd!"

Zyra’s eyes narrowed instantly. "Do not compare me to that monster. I am nothing like him, and if you say his name in my territory again, I’ll make you wash the beach sand with bleach until it’s white."

The fox squeaked and ducked its head.

Seeing the tension rising, Zyra let out a soft breath and smiled to lighten the mood. "Anyway, naming all of you one by one is going to give me a headache. For now, I’m just going to call you by your most obvious features."

She turned toward a pack of silver-furred wolves sitting neatly in a row and pointed a finger at them to demonstrate.

"For instance," Zyra announced, "you three dire wolves! From today on wards, you are Fluffy-Butt Number One, and the rest are two and three."

The pioneer beasts burst into fitful roars of laughter. Red Sun rolled on the ground, slapping his tail against the dirt.

The three wolves, however, froze. Fluffy-Butt Number One looked back at his own tail, then gave Zyra a look of profound betrayal.

"New boss, with all due respect," the Alpha wolf barked indignantly, his voice deep and dramatic, "we are proud beasts. We run with the winter wind! We tear down prey three times our size! We respectfully reject being named after our behinds! It is insulting!"

"Motion denied, Fluffy-Butt Number One," Zyra said casually, making the crowd burst into another round of snickers. Her eyes were already looking around for the next group of familiar beasts that would share one name, followed by a number.