Althea could see what the soldier meant when he said she would understand on seeing the place. The ground had so many burrows that she could practically see an army of rabbits emerging from it. Just her imagination, of course. The army wasn’t here…yet.

"I recommend a surround and smoke out tactic." Anthony said. Althea nearly agreed on the spot, but then her eyes narrowed.

"Do we have enough people to account for the rabbits?" she asked.

"The Steward brought half the army for this, your grace." Anthony said.

Althea nodded. "Well then, do it."

Anthony took out some kind of device and threw it into one of the burrows. Althea turned towards him wide-eyed.

"The soldiers still have to take position!" she yelled as she turned towards the soldier.

"Divide yourself among the burrow entrances and kill any rabbits that come out." she ordered as the army rushed forward.

"The smoke bomb should take nearly fifteen minutes to work, Countess." Anthony said.

Althea gave him an angry look. Could he not have mentioned this a bit earlier? But they did not have to wait for fifteen minutes. The rabbits began pouring out within five minutes, making Anthony glower at them.

Althea looked at the rabbits with suspicion. Why were they coming out early? Anthony was an experienced hunter that was a part of the Emperor's guard, it was unlikely he would fail to predict such a simple event.

"Please be careful with the rabbits, there may be tricks involved." Althea saw it come just as she finished saying it. A huge bunny stomped through a burrow, jumping at the soldiers.

Apprentice rank. Althea shot out her hand, calling on the wind to propel the bunny away. The spell did not quite work. The bunny turned towards her, growling as the wind buffeted him. The bloody thing was too heavy for the wind to pick up!

Althea conjured a shield as the bunny barreled into her. The rotating shield shaved off a little of its fur. But the bunny was otherwise unfazed. Thankfully, Althea had other tricks.

A hand shot out towards the bunny, propelling it into a tree as it growled, bunnies attacking her from every side. Althea conjured more shields, burning them with fire as she captured the big bunny. A crisscrossing network of vines held the bunny, and then she set it on fire. A flurry of shouts emerged as the bunnies attacked her furiously.

Was the bunny their mother or something? The bunnies probably thought they were attacking them. But they were the ones raiding the farmer's crops.

Wait a second, if there was a mommy bunny…there was a daddy. Althea conjured a shield, barely reacting in time as another, bigger bunny barreled into her. The bunny cracked her shield, making her conjure another one. Now she was running low on mana.

The bunny growled, rocks levitating in the air and propelling towards her. Althea conjured more shields, but the rocks tore right through them. In the end, she conjured a hasty shield with the last of her mana, stopping the rocks.

But the rabbit was already running towards her, its teeth bared and ready to cleave her in two. And she was fresh out of mana. Althea called on the wind to blow in the rabbit's direction, but it was barely effective.

The rabbit jumped towards her and as Althea retreated, but she knew she was not going to run in time. And then a staff cleaved the bunny in two, its guts suddenly propelling in the opposite direction as the wind blew them away.

Althea looked at the guts and then at Steward Ven looking at her judgmentally.

"I recommend not taking risks like this, your grace. The Apprentice stage is not very powerful in the wild. The Steward said as he returned to the sidelines. Althea returned with him. The army made quick work of the rabbits by then, but she had a feeling that this was just the beginning of this horde.

The burrows would have to be culled many, many times more if they wanted to keep rabbits out of the farms.

Just ten percent of the current Diery land was occupied for farming, over thirty percent was forest. The Solerian Empire was far less populated than most countries on Earth, it's size. Even Diery only had like thirty people a kilometer. And that left it very vulnerable to beast attacks.

The journey back to the palace was far more surreal. The soldiers were more reserved. So was she. This was the first time they had faced a danger to their life. Even she was a bit…scarred. Knowing that this world had danger was one thing, nearly dying was another entirely. The Steward probably planned this one, he could have interfered before, but he waited till she was in needed of aid and then attacked. So that she would feel how dangerous the world was.

Althea changed into a more regal dress and called on emergency court. If Pulsie was correct about the way the wildlife trait worked, they were in trouble. A lot of trouble. And it gave her a reason to do something that she had wanted to do for a while.

"The brave soldiers of the Diery county have faced a beast horde and returned victorious!" she announced. The court gave a week cheer in reply. "The rabbits shall not trouble us for a few months yet."

A minister nearly spit out what he was drinking. "Wh-what do you mean-"

Althea ignored him. "The lack of mana and predators has kept our lands clear of beast hordes. But there has been considerable negligence in their handling. Even a paper cut, if left to fester, can catch an infection and kill you. The forests of Diery have gone unrestricted for far too long, I hereby dispatch scouts to every corner of my county, to check on the condition of the villages and their safety from beasts."

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The court was wide-eyed, but they did not protest. That would come later, in secret.

"Does the court have anything they wish to bring to my attention?" she asked.

"The court has received several representees from the villages while you were away, Countess." the Minister of Justice said.

"I will meet them after lunch." Althea said.

The lunch was quite a welcome distraction, but she went back to the court with a little reluctance. The court would have complaints now, and tricks to save their favorite lands. Now she would get a hint of what things weren't in the books.

An old man stepped into the court dressed in a soldier's garb. A clinked and battered vest with a faded Diery emblem marked him as a Diery soldier.

"Please state your request." Althea stated after he finished the greeting.

"I would like the Countess’ aid in combatting a rapid explosion in the population of crows in Gerrast." the soldier said, likely trying to sound more refined. Althea had a bad feeling about this.

"I have already dispatched soldiers to every corner of the county to check on the safety of villages. A squad will follow you to Gerrast.

"Please tell the Marchioness we need those soldiers now." she whispered to Steward Ven.

"The first batch should arrive by tomorrow, your grace. I will ask the Marchioness to release the rest by the end of this week." Steward Ven responded.

Althea nodded, asking for the next person. The complaints of the day were largely the same. An increase of the population of beasts. Gerrast, Nervure, Hosin, Kilon, Lembast. The villages around Deadre were reporting it in one by one.

Not every one of these would be a horde, it just wouldn’t make sense. But it gave her an idea of things to come. The Diery army would not be enough, even with the increase in people.

"I will call the court at an end for today. I have to speak to the Empress and after that, there will be an emergency meeting of the cabinet to discuss this crisis." she said.

Althea walked into her room as the Steward called the Empress.

"I greet her majesty the Empress." Althea bowed.

"What happened, Althea?" the Empress asked in worry.

"A beast horde. And a rapid increase in the beast population surrounding Deadre at least." Althea said. "The other regions haven't had time to report in yet."

The Empress' forehead creased.

"The Diery county does not have the ability to defend ourselves, your majesty." Althea straightened. "I would like to ask the Emperor for means to replicate the Diery manual and strengthen the army."

The Empress looked at her for a second. "The weaker manual, I presume?"

Althea nodded.

"The Emperor shall provide as long as the Countess can pay. The Scribe will require a payment of ten thousand gold per copy." the Empress said, looking away as if someone was calling. "Now, I must go. Please be careful, Althea."

Althea sighed in relief. The county could easily afford to make a hundred manuals at this rate.

"Please tell the army to start trying it." she said, handing the Steward Ven the manual.

"I would recommend doing it yourself, your grace." Steward Ven.

Althea took a deep breath. "Why?"

"The soldiers will find it more important if you do it." he replied. Well…he was right. An irritating right that gave her more work, but he was right.

"Ok." she replied, taking the manual with her as she walked towards the meeting hall. On the second floor. This time, she took the stairs.

"I will be short." she told the ministers as she walked into the room.

"I think the villages are panicking and reporting any increase because of the beast horde." she said.

The open mouths closed, realizing their point had been made.

"But we have to address this, and there is enough there to bear checking. Not only that, but we are very ill-equipped to deal with beast hordes if they are returning."

Althea held the manual up, presenting it. "I am going to allow the entire army to cultivate the manual. Do you have any objections?"

"Do we get the manual, your grace?" one of the ministers said. The Minister of Defense? Althea paused. As ministers, they had a right to it. But to give it to them…she looked at the people in front of her.

Would they misuse their power? In the end, she did not know. The only thing she could do was hope. Like she was hoping the army wouldn't have too many people that turned rogue and bullied people.

"Yes." she said, keeping the manual on the ground.

The ministers rushed towards the manual, barely able to keep decorum.

"The manual can pass around the round table." she said. A round table. Yes, she had one. And the seats were comfy too.

The ministers used the manual, nearly every one of them activating it. The Minister of Justice was the only one that did not. The Minister was very embarrassed about it.

"Not every person can cultivate a manual." she said. "Do not worry about it, as long as it does not affect your work you are safe."

As traditional as the minister seemed, he was still the one that had served as Minister for over twenty years. A huge part of why the county had so little crime was because of his contributions. The man was pretty much the most capable member of the cabinet.

"Now to other matters. The army is not sufficient, as it is, to protect the entire county." she said. The ministers actually nodded. Wait, they agreed with her?

"I am going to present thirty copies of the manual, ten in each city. I have already asked the Empress for a Scribe." she continued.

"Countess…" the Minister of Justice began. "The situation could quickly spiral out of control. If we let just anybody into the army then they could betray us, and we would not be able to enforce the law. There is a reason so few nobles make cultivation manuals public. "

Althea, sighed. How many times did a bandit gang get their hands on cultivation and made trouble for normal people in xianxia?

I understand your concern, Minister, but I fear we don't have many options." she said. "I have spoken with the Empress, and we both agree that this is not a one-time phenomenon. What we are seeing is the return of mana, and with beasts.

What we killed with today wasn't even the entire horde, just the part closest to the village. And we must remember, this is a horde that has been pushed out of the forest." she said.

The cabinet fell silent, clearly contemplating the news. "There are precautions, the Emperor's guard is powerful, and there is the college I am setting up." she said.

"A college, your grace?" the Minister asked.

"Yes, the Empress gave me this as a birthday present." she said.

The Minister looked at it, and then looked at her. "The permission is for an academy, your grace." The Minister stared at her like she had something on her face.

"Oh, yes. I misspoke. Is there a big difference?"

"Yes, your grace. A college is under observation of an overseeing academy. An academy is not." he said, handing the letter back.

Althea took it. "So, are we in agreement?"

"Do we have a choice?" the Minister of Defense grumbled. Althea wondered why he was unhappy; his power had multiplied greatly.

"I do not think so, Minister." she replied getting up. "I will make the announcement."