Chapter One: The Beginning of Everything

  Everything starts from a speck of dust rising up.

  At that time, Raymond was reclining on the slope of the mountain, staring blankly at the sky.

  The scorching sun of the afternoon shone brightly on the earth, and the strong sunlight made Raymond squint his eyes slightly. He involuntarily raised his right hand, as if to block the dazzling light with his fingers, or perhaps to grasp the white clouds in the sky from afar.

  Just then, he saw a cloud of dust rising in the distance from the desolate wilderness.

  Raymond's eyebrows twitched slightly, his eyes narrowed slightly, this was his habitual action whenever he had doubts or was thinking. Then, he sat up and turned over.

  At this time, it can be seen that he is a young man with flaxen hair, about 20 years old, with a well-proportioned and sturdy figure. His appearance is not handsome, but his slightly long eyes, combined with the naturally upturned corners of his mouth, give people an optimistic and refreshing feeling. And if you look closely, you can also see that there are a pair of rare black pupils in his eyes.

  At this time there was no wind, and it was clear that the large dust cloud was caused by something else, accompanied by a faint sound, the smoke and dust were moving rapidly in this direction.

  After a moment of contemplation, Raymond snapped his fingers: "Bastille."

  No one answered, he found it strange and couldn't help but raise his voice to call out again, yet the surrounding hillside was silent, with no response at all.

  "I knew it..." Raymond's face showed such an expression, he looked around and finally fixed his gaze on a nearby thicket.

  He pulled out two fragments of the Fire Demon Crystal from his bosom, rubbed them against each other, and then snapped his fingers. The two fragments flew into the thicket with a red glow.

  In an instant, a loud explosion was heard, and a flame burst out of the bushes. At the same time, accompanied by a sharp cry of "meow", a white shadow jumped out like a cat whose tail had been stepped on, with a speed that was astonishingly fast.

  But on closer inspection, what leapt out of the bushes was indeed a cat... or rather, to be precise, a humanoid creature that resembled a cat.

  She has a slender body and long limbs, with pure white short hair covering her whole body like silk. The prominent chest shows her feminine characteristics, her face is similar to humans but also has feline features, big eyes one yellow and one blue shining brightly like jewels.

  The cat girl wore a simple leather jacket and shorts, with a pair of short-handled curved knives crossed at her waist. Her entire body was tense from being startled, like a tightly wound spring, maintaining a subtle beauty between stillness and motion.

  At this time, if there is a knowledgeable person nearby, they will recognize that this is the typical cat people tribe among the beastmen. Although they are not as well-known as the four major beastman tribes, they are naturally talented scouts, and qualified cat people warriors have unremarkable strength comparable to mid-to-high-level thieves.

  Unlike most cat people who maintain a calm and quiet demeanor at all times, this cat girl named Bastet appears to be much more energetic. At the moment, she is jumping around while frantically slapping at the flames on the tip of her tail with one hand, while holding onto the curved knife at her waist with the other.

  However, just looking at her bright but still dazed golden and silver pupils, it's clear that this cat girl is still in a daze. Sure enough, it wasn't until she saw the mischievous grin on Raymond's face that she snapped out of it: "Meow, young master, why did you burn me?"

  "Ah!? You still have the nerve to say that." Before he could even finish speaking, he was glared at fiercely by Raymond: "As my attendant, you actually fell asleep on the job again, how many times has this been now?"

  Upon hearing this, the cat girl's wide open mouth froze for a moment, but soon she spoke again with discontent: "How can you blame me? Every time you run out and sit there in a daze, I get so bored."

  As she spoke, she still had the leisure to yawn: "Others almost got to eat the trout from the Kester River, young master you should have set fire later. I can only eat such high-quality fish once in ten dreams, what a pity."

  It seems that he was used to her personality, which was either absent-minded or lazy. Raymond said with a tone of "hating iron for not becoming steel": "My god, even in dreams you are so stingy, heaven knows why I chose you back then."

  "Meow, isn't it because I'm skilled and obedient?"

  "How is that possible." Raymond snorted: "It's just that among a large group of yellow cats, black cats and tabby cats, your white fur is really eye-catching. Plus, your clan leader has been strongly recommending you, so I think it's about right, so I nodded."

  As he spoke, he rubbed his nose with some distress: "But thinking carefully, I'm just choosing a personal attendant, and the Ketty tribe leader is too enthusiastic, isn't it? It's like they're selling something that's hard to get rid of. And when I take you away, why are the other cat people so happy? Is it because...

  "Wo... Young Master, how can you say that." The cat girl's eyes immediately welled up with tears of grievance: "The Clan Leader himself said I'm a rare genius scout in the clan."

  "Genius sloth, you're just about right." Raymond muttered to himself, then patted the cute cat girl's head: "Alright alright, I was just kidding, anyway I'm also a guy who isn't liked by my own kind, so it's good that you're following me. So even if you're gluttonous and lazy, I won't return you."

  It seems that she didn't catch the sarcasm in Raymond's words, and Bastet burst into laughter. Then, as if she remembered something, she looked up and asked strangely: "Right, young master, why did you wake me up? Is it time to go back for dinner? I'm so hungry, I want to eat fish..."

  Raymond: You...

  He simply pressed the cat girl's head and turned her neck towards the direction where dust was rising: "You've been following me for so many days, I only see that you have better sleep and appetite than ordinary people. Since you're so confident, go figure out what's going on over there."

  Bastet only then noticed the rolling dust rising in the distance of the wilderness, her expression instantly becoming calm. She did not respond to Raymond's request to go and investigate, but instead took two steps forward, raised her head, her pink nose twitching lightly, and her two ears also perked up.

  After a moment, she turned back: "There's nothing good to see, it's just wolf cavalry."

  "What?" Raymond was taken aback: "How did you know?"

  "You can tell just by smelling it, the body odor of a Warwolf can travel quite far." Bast said with an air of certainty: "And when a Warwolf runs, the sound of its foot pads is also very unique, I wouldn't mistake it."

  She paused for a moment, then closed her eyes and listened for a while: "There are many, possibly over 2000... Hmm, this is the first time I've used the method taught by the clan leader, so I'm not quite sure of the exact number." As she spoke, she scratched her head with some embarrassment.

  Raymond looked at her with a skeptical gaze, then shifted his eyes to the distant, blurry dust. Flavor? What flavor? Sound? There was only some faint noise that was almost inaudible.

  "Hey, you're not just saying that because you slept comfortably and don't want to run, are you?" He suspiciously stared at the cat girl.

  Bastard felt wronged: "Really, I won't cheat the young master. At the speed of War Wolf, they will pass by here soon."

  As she spoke, she raised her head again and said pitifully: "Right, young master, I still want to eat fish tonight."

  Watching the cat girl almost drooling, Raymond suddenly felt a bit of a headache: "Uh...if it's really like you said, no problem."

  "Meow!" Bastet let out a joyful cry, and without another glance at the dust, she flopped onto her back, curled up her limbs on the ground, and rolled around excitedly, as if the delicious dinner had already arrived.

  He couldn't be bothered to reason with the gluttonous cat, so Raymond fixed his gaze on the distance. Before long, a growing rumble echoed through the air as large swaths of black dots mixed with dust appeared in his line of sight.

  Bast said it right, and that was indeed a silent Mercedes-Benz in the wilderness of wolf riders.

  Thousands of massive war wolves ran simultaneously, the sound of their paws pounding the ground merged into a deafening rumble that instantly filled Raymond's eardrums. The wolf riders on the war wolves' backs were covered in dirt, with dust coating their hair and armor, but not one person raised a hand to wipe it away - only pairs of piercing eyes stared intently ahead.

  The wolf pack arrived extremely quickly, and soon they were galloping down the mountain slope where Raymond was. Except for the sound of the war wolves' running footsteps, all the wolf cavalrymen were silent, quietly following their companions in front, occasionally a few noticed Raymond on the mountain slope, but only gave him a cold glance before disappearing into the rolling dust that filled the sky. The entire unit was like an unstoppable flood, silent and full of murderous intent.

  In an instant, the pack of wolf cavalry was gone, soon to become a large cluster of black dots on Raymond's horizon once again. Only the scattered smoke at the foot of the mountain and the countless chaotic footprints deeply embedded in the mud revealed that one of the most terrifying beastman armies had just passed through here.

  "I'm right, aren't I? You have to give me fish for dinner."

  It wasn't until the wolf cavalry had gone for a long time that Raymond was still staring blankly in the direction they disappeared, half a moment later, he was startled awake by Bastet's complacent voice.

  Looking at the lazy cat by his feet, Raymond patted her head to show he knew, and then muttered to himself: "How can there be so many wolf riders? What are they going to do?"

  "That way is the direction of Kiba Castle, and the Festival of the War God will be held soon. Maybe they're going to protect the city." Bast guessed.

  The War God Festival is a ceremony to worship the beastman's deity, the war god Physis. It is also the most important festival for the beastmen. At that time, all the tribal leaders of some strength will personally go to the Wolf's Fang City to participate in the festival. Almost all the big figures among the beastmen gather at the Wolf's Fang City during this period. In order to be on the safe side, the garrison is usually increased several times.

  "Hmm, probably." Raymond nodded.

  However, he always felt a little uneasy in his heart. After all, so many wolf riders were indeed an unstoppable force. Especially the one just seen, with their tense body, seemingly ready to engage in battle at any moment, didn't look like they were just going to carry out an ordinary defense mission.

  Moreover, 20 years ago, it was the werewolf tribe's rebellion that greatly injured the beastmen. Although under their mother's wrist, the werewolf tribe had surrendered, but...

  Suddenly, Raymond suddenly noticed Bastet crouching at his feet, looking up with a puzzled expression on her face, apparently wondering why he was still in a daze.

  He couldn't help but knock his forehead, forget it, what's the point of thinking so much, those guys from the same clan who only like to use brute force, aren't they most annoyed by their own thoughtful appearance?

  Thinking of this, Raymond stretched his waist comfortably and said: "Alright, let's head back. As a reward for just now, you can eat as much fish as you want tonight."

  "Meow, awesome!"

  With the cheers of Basute, the two walked down the mountain slope, heading in the direction of Langya City.