I never expected that the hut we rarely used would be needed twice today.
The room, which should have felt spacious, was now packed with Foxmen, making it crowded. Besides the village’s strongest Foxman warriors, there were also the Priest group, the Hunting Squad, the Farming Overseer, and the Former Chief’s Daughter, Wa Luolan, along with the helper she brought—the Human, Cass.
Waermor, acting as the Acting Clan Chief, wore a stern expression as she announced the start of the meeting. A heavy, oppressive atmosphere filled the hut. Each Foxman’s large tail hung limp and drooping. The cheerful mood from the earlier duel had completely vanished—except for one person.
“See? What did I tell you! It was that vampire! Now we need to gather our forces and go take it down!”
The most excited person in the room was Baruma. He waved his arms wildly as he spoke, seemingly unconcerned about his subordinate’s death just moments ago. His bandages accidentally snapped, and he yelped in pain, sitting down to rebandage himself while using a healing spell.
“High Priest, we can’t take down the vampire with just our strength alone.”
An elderly female Foxman priest spoke up. Her thin, fur-covered arm bore strange patterns painted with blue dye. Wa Luolan had once dismissed them as incomprehensible decorations, but during her travels, she learned they were totems used to accelerate and stabilize magic use.
“What do you mean?” Waermor gestured for the female priest to explain.
“That blood-red cloud covering the entire village carried such immense magical power it was suffocating. As far as I know, there are only two types of magic that can manipulate the weather. One is the ‘Cloud Summoning’ spell, which only appears on the Fourth Floor. The other is ‘Weather Manipulation,’ a magic recorded in our ancestors’ books that appeared 300 years ago. The sky just now clearly belonged to the latter—it exactly matched the descriptions in the texts. It’s a spell that only extremely powerful mages can use.”
The priests behind her, all similarly dressed, nodded in agreement. The female priest shook her head sorrowfully.
“If what she said is true, and those red-eyed, red-armored monsters from last night were her servants, then she can command an army of monsters—possibly an endless one… With the ability to use these two legendary magics, a single vampire could destroy our entire village. Chief Baluso… probably didn’t even have a chance to fight before being killed easily.”
Hearing the respected female priest’s words, the room fell dead silent. Waermor bit her lower lip. Only Baruma adjusted his Crimson Mask and snorted coldly.
“Heh, so you’re saying—”
“I think it’s better for the whole village to flee. Starting today.”
“What kind of nonsense is that?!”
A burly Foxman stood up with a low growl. He was the Hunting Squad’s Warrior Chief, the one who commanded all the warriors.
“Are you telling us to run without fighting?! We haven’t even avenged the Chief yet, and you want us to flee just because the enemy threatens us?! Where’s your Foxman spirit?!”
“Don’t you have a brain?! If we don’t flee now, it’ll be too late! I feel the same desire to avenge the Chief! But keeping the villagers alive is what the Chief truly wanted!” The female priest stood up as well, glaring at the Warrior Chief. Both of them let out threatening growls in their agitation.
“Please, both of you, calm down,” Waermor said coldly.
The female priest and the Warrior Chief looked surprised. Realizing they had lost their composure, they bowed in apology and sat down. Just as everyone was about to sink into silence again, Baruma spoke with firm resolve, drawing everyone’s gaze.
“Don’t forget, we have a winning chance! Don’t forget the clan’s legendary artifact, the ‘Holy Arrival Staff’! No need to fear—with your unparalleled courage and determination, defeating the vampire is well within reach! Kill the vampire, avenge the Chief, and we can even seize her territory! This is a great opportunity!”
Baruma raised the staff proudly and confidently, relishing the admiring looks from the crowd. But everyone knew deep down that with their current strength, a direct fight was impossible. The earlier argument had just been a way to vent their emotions.
“Uncle, whether it was the weather magic just now or the monster attack last night, that vampire clearly wasn’t serious. Who knows how many more spells she has hidden? Do you really think raw spirit and one magic tool are enough to win? Are you planning to lead everyone to their deaths?”
Wa Luolan poured cold water on him at the perfect moment, causing the other Foxmen to murmur in shock.
’This brat!’ Baruma truly “loved” his niece. If that dark thought he’d had earlier hadn’t been interrupted, he swore he would have made her suffer plenty. Gripping the staff tightly, he calmed his mind and asked in a low voice, “When it comes down to it, isn’t all this caused by those Humans you brought…?”
“Do you remember the cause and result of the duel, Uncle? Or is it just that you’re getting old and can’t keep up anymore?”
“Mmph—! Then… my dear niece, do you want to run away with your tail between your legs?”
“If I have to choose between fleeing and fighting, I’ll choose the latter.”
“Ooooh! As expected of the Chief’s daughter!” Most of the Foxmen exclaimed in admiration. Baruma irritably scratched at the grooves on his staff.
“However,” Wa Luolan shifted her tone, and the crowd quieted down, “I don’t agree with the High Priest’s idea that we can defeat the vampire with just the Holy Arrival Staff and sheer guts.”
“Hah, so what do you plan to do? Under my leadership, avenging my brother and restoring peace to the tribe is the best outcome. If you can take down the vampire all by yourself, I’ll support you becoming the Chief.” Baruma said with a sarcastic tone.
Wa Luolan spoke deliberately, one word at a time: “I think we need to ally with the Wolffolk and the Serpentfolk to fight the vampire together. With an Alliance of Three Tribes, our chances of winning are much greater.”
Everyone fell silent again. Wa Luolan had some confidence that the alliance might work, because she knew people among the Serpentfolk and Wolffolk. But whether those two remembered her well enough—or were willing to cooperate—was another matter.
“Are you sure this can work? Those Serpent women are a bunch of thieving bastards, and the Wolffolk are warmongers. Can they really be allied?” one Foxman asked.
“This is an emergency. Think back to what that vampire said: she called us ‘the Beastmen of the Third Floor.’ Not just us. And I saw the dark cloud heading toward the Serpentfolk territory.”
“Oooh…” Understanding murmurs rippled through the room. “They’re facing the same situation.”
“Exactly. We should be able to form an alliance.”
“I remember my father saying that a long time ago, the three tribes were actually one tribe. There should be some emotional foundation.”
“Maybe this could work?”
The Foxmen sitting together whispered among themselves, the discussion growing louder. Everyone in the hut began to weigh the feasibility of Wa Luolan’s idea.
“Hey! I told you, we can do it ourselves! Don’t you believe in my power as the High Priest?!”
Few people paid attention to Baruma, which made him grind his teeth in dissatisfaction.
“Lord Baruma… With all due respect, this seems like a good proposal for the current situation. Why are you so opposed to it?” a warrior supporting Baruma asked hesitantly.
“Mmph—hah! You wouldn’t understand!” The old man behind the Crimson Mask couldn’t answer that question. He had no desire to form any alliance, especially not with the Serpentfolk.
Only Waermor remained silent. Wa Luolan couldn’t bear her mother’s piercing gaze, which seemed to see through her heart, so she avoided meeting it directly. Cass, however, looked steadily at Wa Luolan’s straight back. “My companion and I will support you.”
Wa Luolan turned her head, a graceful curve forming at the corner of her lips, and nodded lightly.
After enough time had passed for everyone to discuss thoroughly—
“Then it’s decided,” Waermor said in a soft but clear voice. “Within seven days, we will give Wa Luolan three days to persuade the Serpentfolk and Wolffolk. Ideally, the three tribes will join forces against the vampire. During this time, please prepare for battle, everyone.”
“Since it is the Chief’s command, we will give our all.” The female priest who had initially advocated for fleeing nodded, along with the priests behind her.
“Yes. Leave the mission of the envoy to me,” Wa Luolan replied with unwavering eyes.
“Hey, Waermor!!” Baruma’s whiskers trembled as he aimed his Fierce Beast Mask at Waermor.
“High Priest, do you have any other objections? Or do you want to be the envoy as well?” Waermor’s expression remained calm, but her gaze sharpened as it fixed on the red mask.
Their angry eyes seemed to spark in the air. After a moment, the red mask turned away first, bowing slightly. “Heh, heh. As expected of the woman I once fancied. Naturally… I will obey the Acting Clan Chief’s orders. I still have the village’s barrier to maintain. I can’t possibly go as some envoy.”
Baruma’s voice carried a note of helplessness, and he deliberately emphasized the word “Acting.”