Starting Out As The God of Beasts

At the westernmost fringe of the Hudeii Desert, where the shifting sands finally fractured into the rugged, rocky valleys that formed the direct gateway to one of the central Ten Continents.

An isolated human outpost lay hidden beneath the jagged cliffs.

This borderline camp was a critical, high-level emergency contact point secretly established by Aradin and Hector before their disastrous invasion.

A dozen elite human soldiers, handpicked for their absolute discretion, were stationed here.

Clad in light, desert-camouflaged leather but carrying weapons etched with the fading holy runes of the Church of Damascus, they paced the perimeter.

Their sole mandate was simple: guard the information, keep their eyes on the horizon, and act as a lifeline to the outside world should the western expedition collapse.

Suddenly, a sharp, piercing screech tore through the dry air.

High above the rocky canyons, a dense swarm of desert hawks sliced through the thermals, flying with unnatural speed toward the outpost.

One particular hawk, its eyes imbued with a faint, tracking mana, bore a small obsidian capsule strapped tightly to its leg.

Inside was the urgent, handwritten letter from Aradin, pleading for immediate, heavy reinforcements from the Church of Damascus to crush the "fake kingdom" of Varania.

The soldiers on the ground spotted the swarm, a scout stepping forward with a whistle to signal the lead hawk down.

"The message from the Creatia Priests," he muttered.

But they never got the chance to unroll the parchment.

Unbeknownst to the servants of misfortune, the shadow coordinates of the hawks had been tracked from the moment they left the spires of Norona City.

Mandraxx was already there.

Shhhk—!

Before the lead hawk could even land, the very shadows stretching from the rocky cliffs violently mutated.

Frictionless, pitch-black blades sliced through the air with terrifying precision.

"I-Intru...."

The scout’s whistle choked in his throat as a phantom veil dagger pierced through his windpipe from behind.

"Goodnight" Alisa whispered as the scout’s bleeding corpse collasped on the floor, drenched in its own pool of blood.

From the darkness of the canyon walls, silent agents of Mandraxx materialized like liquid ink.

"Kill them all" Alisa gave the order.

Moving with the ruthless, synchronized efficiency of an elite assassination squad, they bypassed the guards’ reactions entirely.

"Intruders!!"

"Intruders!!"

"We have been exposed....I repeat we have been exposed" a bleeding soldier sounded the alarm before he met his end.

What happened next was chaos!

A soldier tried to draw his sword, but a Mandraxx operative intercepted his wrist, snapping the bone before burying a shadow-infused blade deep into his heart.

Within less than sixty seconds, the outpost was entirely neutralized.

The desperate cries of the human soldiers were utterly swallowed by the howling desert wind.

With cold, methodical detachment, the Mandraxx agents handled the cleanup.

They efficiently extracted the pristine mana cores from the warm chests of the fallen human soldiers—valuable resources to be fed directly back into Varania’s economy.

Once stripped of their cores and gear, the bodies were cast into a deep trench and buried beneath tons of shifting desert sand, leaving absolutely no trace of their existence.

The lead hawk was captured, its capsule unsealed, and the letter secured.

The letter was handed over to Director Alisa who led the operation, she opened the letter.

"Hmph" she scoffed the second she read the contents written in the letter, "We are heading back now"

"Secure the borders, no one is to enter or leave the Hudeii Desert" she commanded.

***

The bright morning sun had fully matured, casting sharp angles of golden light across the polished obsidian floors.

Roy sat heavily in a high-backed, leather army chair positioned near his grand desk, his legs casually crossed.

Back in his true human form, his sleek golden hair rested against his shoulders, his porcelain skin reflecting the soft glow of the room as he idly rotated a dark mana stone between his fingers.

Without a single vibration in the air, the dark pool of shadow beneath his desk rippled outward.

Alisa emerged seamlessly from his shadow, dropping immediately to one knee.

"Greetings Lord Apostle" she bowed.

In her hands, she held the unsealed obsidian capsule and the crumpled parchment retrieved from the western borderline.

"Eurenia, it looks like you brought something interesting" Roy smiled.

"Yes I did, Master Jarden," Alisa reported, her tone laced with a sharp, triumphant edge. "The western operations have concluded with absolute success."

"I see, what did you find there?" he asked.

"We found an emergency contact point established by those two human Martial Lords at the continental border,"

"They have been completely eradicated." Alisa added.

Roy’s eyes flickered with a cold amusement, his fingers stopping their motion. "Oh? Did they attempt to call home?"

"Yes, Master," Alisa responded, lifting the parchment slightly. "Our agents intercepted a swarm of messenger hawks carrying an official missive from those humans" she explained.

"They wrote directly to the Church of Damascus, detailing massive growth, branding Varania a ’fake kingdom,’ and begging for immediate continental reinforcements to aid the descent of their god."

"Descent of their god?" Roy mumbled, he was curious to know how much Alisa has figured out.

"Yes"

Alisa looked up, a ruthless smile playing on her lips. "Every human at the outpost has been neutralized."

"Their bodies are buried deep in the western sands, and their mana cores have been harvested for the treasury."

"The path for the Church of Damascus to intervene has been cleanly severed. Norona is completely isolated."

"Good" Roy’s lips curled faintly, he slowly rose to his feet, "You did a good job Alisa" he placed his hand on Alisa’s shoulder.

"I was right trusting you with Mandraxx" he grinned.

"I live to serve the God of Beast" Alisa bowed her head once again.

"What about the supreme assembly?" Roy asked.

"Duke Manuses has officially been appointed as the Grand Chancellor of the Supreme Assembly" she reported.

"I personally initiated the vote because it was the right thing to do, and besides General Trojan is making preparations"

"Within three days, Varania will march toward Norona City"

"The Troll King and those humans will meet their end"

"Just as the God of Beast wills it"