My Dungeon Life: Rise of the Slave Harem

Chapter 1229

We were lead into the castle past the sign. The soldiers here looked just as tired and worn down as anyone else. That ruled out the possibility that this was something being done one-sided to the populace while the nobles sat above it. It looked like whatever was going on in this city was affecting everything.

Rather than being pulled into a waiting area, we were brought straight into the great room. The guards opened two large double doors and gestured us inside. They didn’t bother to wait, instead of taking a position outside and leaving us be. They didn’t seem to feel like the lord needed to be protected at all. I didn’t make a noise, instead, I followed in a servant position next to Dav as Pait led the group into the room beyond.

It resembled any throne room I had ever seen and even had an appeal not unlike the final boss rooms I had encountered at the bottom of dungeons. A man was sitting at the end of the room on a large chair, and as we walked down the carpet getting closer to him, I began to realize he was nearly the same size as me. His chair had been made for his size, so I hadn’t noticed from the other side of the room. Now, I understood why the guards didn’t feel the need to protect him. He looked like a man who could protect himself. With sharp wolfkin features, he gave off a predatory gaze that I had felt from the soldiers that had led us here, and by his size, I could feel pressure.

He was distinctly a wolfkin, but he was much larger than any other wolfkin I had seen. He was also giving me a bit of pressure, which told me if I fought him, it’d be trouble. I pinched a bit of fairy dust and used god eye on him. His status was enough to make me sweat. As for his race, he was identified as a Dire Wolfkin. That would be a wolfkin variant if I had ever seen one. As we approached the throne, the man stood up and walked down to greet us. He didn’t need to be in a chair to be opposing, especially to the rather short Esmore.

“Esmore representatives. I’m sorry that you had to be greeted in such a manner.” The man dropped to a knee and held out his hand, speaking in a low and polite rumble. “It was not my intent, but these were trying times. My name is Lord Duran.”

Pait squared his shoulders. He was the kind of person that could face down anyone, even a giant, without flinching. He offered his hand, but he also met the lord’s eyes without blinking.

“I think you owe us an explanation,” Pait said as the pair shook, the larger wolfkin’s hand engulfing Pait’s.

The wolkin’s shoulders flinched, and he gave a long nod, his ears going limp. This took away all the intimidation he had been giving off in an instant. He seemed like a surprisingly meek person despite his massive physique.

“This is a difficult thing to speak about.” He admitted. “However, to be frank, Dioshin is in danger. We need help.”

That much was obvious.

Chapter 1230

Lord Duran stood back up, but he didn’t return to his seat. Pait watched him carefully. Of everyone there, Pait was the only one who had the right to speak to him. He was a lord, after all, and while I didn’t know his rank, this was his castle, and respect needed to be shown. Pait was a representative of Esmore, which meant he had the authority to speak to this man. Comparatively, the adventuring group nor the dwarf dungeon guide would feel like they could open their mouth.

Alysia was a princess and I was a noble, so neither of us would have problems speaking, except that we were currently hiding. She was just a sword and I was a servant and bodyguard. Thus, as much as I wanted to speak up in this situation, I kept my mouth shut and my head lowered too.

“Perhaps, you should explain from the beginning.” Pait offered.

“The beginning… right.” Lord Duran seemed to accept his words. “I suppose I should remind you that there are things I can tell you and things I can’t. You are a foreign nation. If I simply told you everything, that could be called treason. Just telling you what I knew so far might be considered treason.”

“I understand. While I can’t promise I won’t report things to my government, I will try to be tactful.” Pait declared in a diplomatic voice.

The wolfkin sighed and nodded. “Alright, I suppose it’s no secret that we’ve been experiencing civil unrest. Dioshin has always existed with the belief that the strongest survive. Ignoring variants, there are twelve families of animalkin. They are the wolfkin, catkin, foxkin, rabbitkin, hoovedkin, dragonkin, squirrelkin, beastkin, birdkin, apekin, bearkin, and murinekin

“Some species of animalkin are in such a low quantity that they group together. For example, the beastkin are made up of rhinokin, crockin, elephantkin, and hippokin. Meanwhile, the hoovedkin include cariboukin, deerskin, and horsekin. The murinekin includes mousekin and ratkin. One would think squirrelkin and rabbitkin would be part of them, but their tribes are so vast on their own they separated into their tribes.

“Anyway, the leader of each tribe is given the rank of a lord, and the leader of the strongest kin is given the title of king. The strongest kin for the last few hundred years has been the catkin. The lionkin variant, in particular, has managed to reign supreme over these lands. King Roth has been the king for the last ten years.”

“Let me guess, the wolfkin don’t like being under catkin?” Pait offered.

“Not at all.” Lord Duran shook his head. “We’re far too independent to want to be bothered. We prefer to stick to our own rather than rule others. The problem stemmed from an unexpected source. The rabbitkin have grown tired of being suppressed by the catkin. They’ve started revolting, starting a few months ago. They managed to convince the squirrelkin and murinekin to join them a few weeks ago, and that’s why things have recently grown difficult.”

Cats and dogs not getting along. The rabbits staging an uprising. A lion king? Why did this all feel like a bad joke? I continued to keep my mouth shut. I felt like I might be stereotyping. For my animalkin slave girls, not to mention the animalkin population back in Chalm, I would bury my apparent prejudices.

Chapter 1231

“I’m well aware of your country’s political structure.” Pait spoke up. “I also know about the difficulties you’ve been experiencing between warring tribes. How does that lead to deaths we witnessed?”

Although Pait spoke up, I wasn’t used to talking about Dioshin’s situation, so I appreciated a little backstory. I did realize he was beating around the bush though. He could only talk about things we already knew. If he gave away country secrets to a rival nation, it’d be bad. It was one thing to be talking to Esmore about it, but if he knew there was someone from Aberis present, it’d be even worse.

“At first, the catkin tribe didn’t take them very seriously. However, what the rabbitkin lack in strength, they make up for in numbers. The catkin had managed to remain in power as opposed to the beastkin or bearkin exactly because of their mixture between population and power. There are a lot of catkin, and the occasional lionkin, tigerkin, pantherkin, or cheetahkin variant ensures that their tribe remains at the peak of power.

“The rabbitkin don’t have any particularly impressive variants. They have the occasional bunnykin, but they are renowned for being cute. However, they made up for it with numbers. There have been several scuffles, but it’s becoming clear that the catkin has the rabbitkin beat, even with their recent alliances. That’s when the resistance came up with a new strategy. They sought out the foxkin.”

When he said those words, Lord Duran shook slightly, making a whining sound under his breath as if the very mention of foxes was offensive. I frowned, but I managed to keep the anger from appearing on my face. Miki was a foxkin, so this was where she might be involved with all of this.

“As you may know, foxkin have a variant with spiritual tails. They can connect with the other side. They bring about ghost monsters, and in general, are a creepy breed. Many species had wanted the foxkin wiped out. Their abilities are too dangerous and they mess with the natural order of this world. However, the catkin has always played guardian over the foxkin, protecting them and keeping them safe.”

Pait raised an eyebrow. “Then why would the rabbitkin expect the foxkin to assist them?”

“Why, indeed?” Lord Duran nodded. “Their betrayal has been especially shocking. However, the results have been clear.”

“The results?”

“You saw it yourself, didn’t you? A city of the dead, with their souls sucked out. It hasn’t started attacking the larger cities yet, those with a significant military presence and walls, thankfully, but it is only a matter of time. It’s been taking out village after village. Every day, I learn of another village that has been wiped out through the night.”

“It?”

“A monster… some kind of soul-sucking creature. The foxkin somehow summoned it, and now it’s going on a rampage.”

“Shouldn’t it be attacking the catkin, if their problem is with them?”

“Should…” He sighed. “That’s the problem with releasing your ultimate weapon… once it is out, you can no longer decide what it destroys. Just as many rabbitkin villages have been destroyed as anything else.”

“This monster, what is it?” Pait asked.

“No one knows. At least, no one from my tribe. I’m only getting involved because, as you see, my tribe is starting to get attacked. It’s never been seen by a survivor. I’ve only heard the name people call it.”

“What is the name?”

“Death.”