Chapter 469

Clearly, Gervas still failed to grasp how crucial Princess Sukama was to the Beast King.

He merely treated her as an ordinary favored concubine.

After all, as a reincarnator, how many emperors in his past life’s films or histories had ever burned beacon fires to amuse their lords?

Moreover, this was a primitive tribal race like the Beastfolk—perhaps they had three palaces, six courtyards, and seventy-two concubines, and this one was just temporarily favored.

Of course, though scarce, these were their lifelines; Gervas certainly wouldn’t neglect them.

Without further delay, he ordered Akari to continue monitoring Prada and Princess Sukama’s movements, while he himself went to rendezvous with the spearmen and light cavalry alongside Lei Meng and the others.

Thus, after more than ten minutes, Gervas met up with Lei Meng and the others.

Once the armies converged, they surged straight toward the Royal Tent zone.

By this point, the Beastfolk had already collapsed into disarray.

Thus, the group encountered no serious resistance and breached the perimeter of the Royal Tent.

The Royal Tent had originally been the Beast King’s bedroom, but now not a soul remained.

“My lord, where are the Beastfolk princesses?” Mi Gen and the others circled the tent but found no one, growing anxious.

“Don’t worry—I’ve already sent Akari to assist in surveillance!”

No sooner had Gervas spoken than Akari, having sensed the commotion, arrived precisely at that moment.

“My lord, the Beastfolk leader and Princess Sukama are in the servants’ tent area to the side!”

“Good. Take us there now!”

Thus, Gervas and his party followed Akari swiftly to a cluster of low tents beside the Royal Tent.

In this area, numerous panicked Beastfolk women still lingered.

These were clearly maidservants.

So long as they didn’t attack the army, Gervas ignored them entirely.

“My lord, they’re inside this tent!” Akari led Gervas and the others to one unremarkable hide tent.

Gervas wasted no time—he ordered Lei Meng and the others to surround the tent, then called out: “Leader Prada, no need to hide—come out!”

After Gervas spoke, he waited a moment—but the tent remained silent.

Gervas sneered. “Leader Prada, are you refusing to come out? Very well—I’ll just set fire to your tent!”

“Bring me torches!”

Immediately, seven or eight subordinates stepped forward with lit torches.

At last, movement stirred inside the tent: “Humans, I’m coming out!”

Then Prada emerged slowly, arms raised.

Though his face burned with fury, he laid his weapon gently on the ground.

“Good! Leader Prada, you’ve made a wise choice!”

Gervas smiled slightly and gestured for Lei Meng and Mi Gen to approach.

Lei Meng, Mi Gen, and the others moved forward cautiously; when they neared Prada, they suddenly struck, subdued him, and began binding him.

It wasn’t paranoia—they knew Prada was strong, far stronger than Gervas, even slightly stronger than Lei Meng.

“Human, lead on! Kill me or do whatever you want—I, Prada, won’t flinch!”

Bound like a dumpling and shackled, Prada showed no fear of capture.

Instead, he wore the look of a martyr.

Of course, Gervas understood why he acted this way.

“No, no, no! Leader Prada, I haven’t captured two others yet—so how do we leave?”

Prada’s expression shifted instantly, but he quickly recovered, feigning ignorance: “Who? In this camp, I, Prada, have the final word! Human noble, capturing me is enough!”

“Hah! Leader Prada, you truly are loyal to your Beast King! The two I seek are, of course, Princess Sukama and your Beast Prince!”

His cover blown, Prada trembled. “Gervas, human—Princess Sukama and the Prince? I sent them away long ago! They fled with the maidservants! Don’t waste your effort!”

“Is that so?” Gervas curled his lips. He’d had enough games. “Akari!”

“Yes, my lord!”

Akari swiftly entered the front Beastfolk tent.

Moments later, a hatch was lifted, followed by the shrieks of female Beastfolk and the cries of a child.

Prada finally snapped—he thrashed wildly. “Human noble, stop! Whatever you want, take it out on me, Prada!”

“Leader Prada, no need to worry. Though your Beastfolk are beyond redemption, a woman and a child? We haven’t sunk to your level of madness!”

“We merely intend to use her and your Beast Prince as shields.”

Soon, Princess Sukama and the Beast Prince were dragged out.

The woman trembled, clutching the child, head bowed—she showed none of the fierce defiance common among male Beastfolk.

“Human noble, if you harm Princess Sukama, the Beast King will never forgive you!” Prada cried out, still agitated.

Gervas laughed coldly. “Prada, I told you—we humans are not your mad Beastfolk.”

“As long as you obey, I guarantee their safety.”

Prada fell still. “Human noble, if you keep your word—if Princess Sukama and the young Prince are safe—I, Prada, submit to whatever you decide.”

“Hmm!” Gervas was surprised, studying Prada closely—he hadn’t expected such self-sacrifice.

Clank! Clank!

“My lord! Three miles west of the Royal Tent palace, we’ve spotted a Beastfolk army—minimum thirty thousand, half are Mimics, half are Beastfolk vassals!”

At that moment, a newly dispatched Magic Swift Eagle swooped down from the sky.

It was Moralis and his men—finally arrived.

Timing-wise, it was just right.

Fortunately, I’d set traps earlier to delay Moralis and his crew by several hours.

Otherwise, today’s situation would’ve been dire.

“My lord, what do we do now?” Mi Gen and the others tensed instantly.

“Stay calm. Stick to the original plan—keep the Beast Queen and Prince under watch, and wait for Moralis.”

“My lord, there’s only one queen here—so few. Won’t the Beastfolk ignore her?” Mi Gen voiced his concern.

“Unlikely. Even one queen is still a queen—and there’s a newborn Prince. I don’t believe Moralis would dare kill them to wipe us out!”

But Gervas paused, then added cautiously: “Still, we must prepare for the possibility that Moralis won’t care.”

“All troops raise alert—if Moralis attacks, we must be ready to fight at once!”

“Yes, my lord!” Mi Gen and the others replied at once.

What Gervas and Mi Gen didn’t know was that Prada, bound like a dumpling beside them, had heard their exchange—and his eyes nearly bulged out.

What do you mean “of some value”?

These fools risked everything to storm the Royal Tent—don’t they know what Princess Sukama means? What the newborn Prince means?

So these idiots know nothing—why did they risk their lives coming here?