Starting Out As The God of Beasts

The iron foundry near the Eastern Transit Gate was supposed to be a ghost site, but by midnight, it was crawling with the steel and muscle of the Norona vanguard.

A strike force of nearly two hundred soldiers had deployed with terrifying, synchronized speed.

Heavily armored Orc vanguards, their green skin glistening with sweat despite the freezing cold, smashed through the rusted iron doors with their heavy shields.

Behind them, lumbering Ogres carrying massive spiked clubs fanned out into the courtyard, while dozens of nimble Goblin scouts scurried over the corrugated roofs, their jagged daggers drawn, ready to cut down any escaping shadow.

Leading the raid were four high-tier Troll sentries, their frost-halberds pulsing with a dangerous, white-blue light that illuminated the falling sleet.

They were all Martial Warrior cultivators.

"Search every corner!" the lead Troll commander roared, his voice echoing through the hollow iron structures. "Our source said the entire Mandraxx cell would be clustered here!"

"Find them!"

Iron barrels were kicked over, old machinery was smashed to splinters, and the floorboards were violently ripped up.

They tore the site apart for thirty agonizing minutes, their movements frantic, chaotic, and entirely futile.

There was nothing to find.

No hidden spies, no secret documents, no lingering mana signatures.

The foundry was completely, utterly dead.

Five hundred meters away, perched silently atop the frosted stone ledge of a massive bell tower, Roy watched the entire spectacle unfold.

His long, golden hair cascaded down past his waist, shifting slightly in the arctic wind, while his dual-colored, golden-crimson eyes reflected the distant torchlight of the failed raid.

"So it was Elijah huh?"

A cold, slow smile played on Roy’s lips as he slipped his hands into the pockets of his black coat.

The trap had compiled perfectly.

Yuri had been sent to the old refinery, a location that remained completely dark and undisturbed.

Only the coordinates given to the Rabbit-kin had been flooded with steel.

He has identified the traitor.

Back in the luxurious upper balconies of the Grand Frost Sanctum, the warmth of the hearth did nothing to stop the sudden, icy sweat that broke across Elijah’s red fur.

A heavily armored Orc messenger stood by the doorway, his head bowed, his breath coming in shallow gasps.

"The foundry was empty, Master Elijah. Our scouts ransacked the entire perimeter. There was no one there."

"Not even a trace of beastman scent."

"What do you mean empty?!" Elijah shrieked, his silver fork clattering loudly against his porcelain plate as he slammed his small fists onto the plush silk cushions.

His long, tufted ears pinned back violently against his skull, his whiskers twitching in a frenzy of pure, unadulterated panic. "I gave you the exact co-ordinates!" he roared.

"They were supposed to be there! They had no reason to doubt the location!"

"The Trolls found nothing," the Orc repeated flatly, his voice carrying a subtle, dangerous shift in tone. "And General Hucteor is not pleased with false intelligence."

Elijah’s heart violently hammered against his ribs. ’No, no, no... it’s impossible,’ his mind screamed.

If the meeting location was empty, it meant the secret agents had intentionally fed him a false script.

It meant the cell knew.

It meant he was completely exposed.

Before he could even process the depth of his blunder, the heavy heavy curtain of his chamber was pulled back.

A towering Troll elite, his chestplate engraved with the royal crest, stepped into the room, his frost-white eyes locking onto the trembling Rabbit-kin with a chilling detachment.

"Elijah," the Troll rumbled, the ambient temperature in the room dropping instantly. "The King has noted the failure of your report. You are summoned to the audience chamber Immediately."

Elijah gulped hard, swallowing his saliva.

His heart raced fervently.

"I—I will come at once! I just need to gather my coat!" Elijah stammered, his voice cracking as he reached frantically for his white wolf-pelt tunic, his mind already plotting a desperate escape through the lower drainage systems.

The Troll elite gave a short, ominous nod and stepped backward into the hallway to wait.

Elijah spun around, his breath coming in ragged, terrified gasps as he reached for the hidden lock of his floor safe.

But the moment his fingers touched the brass dial, the crackling sound of the hearth fire behind him completely ceased.

The air in the room didn’t just turn cold; the local space-time fabric of the chamber violently warped.

A thick, suffocating pressure dropped from the ceiling, paralyzing Elijah’s limbs and pinning his small frame to the floorboards.

A soft, elegant ripple of crimson data particles dissolved into the air right in front of the balcony windows.

Out of the shifting static emerged a tall, imposing figure.

His tailored black coat snapped into place without a sound, and his long, golden hair caught the dim amber glow of the dying candles.

But it was that pair of dual-colored, golden-crimson eyes staring down at him that made Elijah’s throat completely lock up with terror.

"A-A human? In Hudeii?" Elijah gasped, "W-Who are you?" he stammered.

"Since you’re a traitor, I have no reason to hide my true form from you" Roy smiled.

Roy stood perfectly still, looking down at the traitor with the chilling serenity of an hunter who had just shot his prey.

"You’re going to be late for your meeting," Roy whispered.

"ANSWER ME!!" Elijah roared, he clenched his fist, charging forward against the mysterious human.

The Rabbit-Kin sped forward, his eyes flickered as he unleashed a bone crushing blow against Roy.

But Roy caught Elijah’s fist

The air rippled, Elijah’s fist was coated with mana, if it were an ordinary mortal who had caught his fist.

They would have been decimated.

But Roy Vance is not a mortal, he is a divine spirit that stands above even a Martial Supreme cultivator.

Roy tightened his grip on Elijah’s fist, he swung his arm, sending the cultivator crashing into a wall.

"Urghh" Elijah coughed up blood as he slowly emerged from the wall, his gaze fixed on this immovable being.

"I was curious to know why you chose to betray Mandraxx even when we freed you from your chains" Roy tilts his head slightly.

"Now I understand" his lips curled up, "You are an awakened Martial Warrior"

Roy vanished from where he stood, he appeared right behind Elijah.

"W-When the hell did he...??" Before Elijah could complete his statement, his body shuddered.

He collapsed on his knees, his eyes filled with fear.

"You sacrificed your brother just because the Troll King offered you a chance to become a cultivator huh?" Roy sighed.

"Pitiful" Roy stared at the quivering Elijah, not hiding his disgust.

"I was going to kill you but it seems you have some use"

"Why don’t I use you to dismantle Norona City?"