"Where are you Soul? Where did that little rascal go to now?" Julia gritted her teeth as she searched around for the young Sharptail.
Suddenly, the Sharptail emerged from the ground below Julia and tackled her playfully. Julia crashed into the ground a little bruised up. The Sharptail then ran off laughing mischievously.
"That's not funny Soul! That's just mean!" Julia screeched as she massaged her bruises. "This child...he was so adorable back then...what happened?"
It's been half a year now. Soul grew up as the adoptive son of Aldred...which made him the adoptive nephew of Skaal. Soul viewed both Sherul and Julia as friends of the family. Other than these close relationships, Soul had no one else. Now, to everyone else, it felt weird for a young demonic beast to be raised by a human...not to mention a human that recently turned ten years of age. But, he didn't have much choice since no one else would raise him. Personality-wise, Soul initially was a quiet child. Coupled with the fact that many of the Razortails ignored him, Soul grew up with little to no friends of his age. Maybe it was due to the lack of friends that Soul became a mischievous prankster.
Soul had also grown physically and spiritually at an increased rate. Because Soul had some affinity towards Earth Qi, Aldred helped him absorb and form his own Qi as well as cultivate the Earth God Cultivation Technique. In addition, Aldred had also taught Soul the Fist of the Elusive Mole when he found out about Soul's innate ability to dig underground and even stay under the earth for more than an hour at a time. Soul was a quick learner and in the short period of time, he was able to reach Fledgling Tier 3. In terms of combat strength, he does not lose to any of the younger generations.
Though this would be considered as a blessing to the family for having raised a genius...but because Soul looked very much like a mouse-type demonic beast, many Razortails wondered about whether his loyalty would lie with the Sharpfangs or with them in case a war erupted between them. The Matriarch believed that the young Sharptail will fight for the Razortails and she placed her life on the line to show her complete confidence in Soul. Though many thought that she would be wrong, they were not a hundred percent sure. However, six months later, their doubts were given a chance to be proven.
It was a nice breezy day, not chilly and not hot, like the previous day. The days were peaceful...but anxiety filled the air. There were news of a few skirmishes between the Fiery Boarheads and the Sharpfangs with the Deathblooms...but strangely enough, there weren't any attacks on them - the Razortails. Many Razortails felt suspicious towards these occurrences. Why were the Deathblooms only attacked during these past few skirmishes? When will they suffer an attack as well? The Razortails all felt tensed as they worry. Suddenly a guard rushed in to where the Matriarch was sitting and chatting with Sherul. The Matriarch was initially annoyed for being so rudely interrupted but she still allowed the guard to proceed with his report. What the guard said next greatly shook both Sherul and the Matriarch.
The Fiery Boarheads and the Sharpfangs have finally made their move! They've sneak-attacked the Deathblooms and wiped out all of the Deathblooms' elites, elders, and their Patriarch. Initially, the Matriarch was curious as to how the Deathblooms could lose without giving so much as a small fight or something that could notify them of what was happening. The only possible solution to this was that there was a traitor on the inside. This assumption of hers was confirmed to be the truth when the next sentence brought her doubts into the light...the second prince or the second son of the Deathblooms betrayed the current Patriarch in order to become the new Patriarch. Right now, the armies of all three families were heading towards them! Their numbers reaching an amount of two thousand warriors!
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The Matriarch immediately called the elders. It was time for war. Luckily, she had prepared for the worst situation...though not what she had primarily expected, it was still within her general expectations. During the past six months, in order to prepare for the worst case scenario, the Matriarch had contacted all one hundred of the minor families of demonic beasts for assistance. However, only five of them replied positively. These families were the Deerkin, the Thunder Lizards, the Pincherheads, the Fiercejaws, and the Mud Wyrms.
The Deerkin were deer-type demonic beasts with two antlers and an upward curved horn in the middle. Their fur were of a deep white with brown spots. Their affinities leaned towards the Holy Affinity and they were known to be good healers. The Thunder Lizards, as their name states, were lizard-type demonic beasts with a strong affinity towards Lightning. Their attacks were always imbued with a lightning aftereffect that numbs their enemies, preventing them from healing their wounds. The Thunder Lizards looked like greenish brown frilled lizards with purple undertone. The Pincherheads were beetle-type demonic beasts with two large pinchers near their heads. They were blessed with very tough exoskeletons making them excellent tanks. They're usually black in color with some exceptions of brown. Their affinities were generally towards the Earth Affinity like the Earth Scorpions.
The Fiercejaws were ant-like demonic beasts with fierce jaws and very strong offensive capabilities. They were black in color with some hints of crimson. Their affinities were generally towards Earth as well, but some mutants were born with Fire abilities in addition to their innate Earth abilities. Those with both Fire and Earth abilities were considered the elites of the Fiercejaw family. Lastly, the Mud Wyrms were worm-type demonic beasts that swim below the earth. Because of their size and ferocity, they were subtly named after the extinct Wyrms - wingless snake-like dragons who ruled the underground world in the past. These Mud Wyrms were even considered a far away descendant of the Wyrms. Their affinities were towards Earth, but some had affinities towards Plant as well.
These five families agreed to help not because the Matriarch of the Razortails asked them to...but because they too were tired of suffering at the hands of those hated Fiery Boarheads and Sharpfangs. Both the Fiercejaws and the Pincherheads were able to send 500 warriors each. The Deerkin was able to send 50 of their combat healers. The Mud Wyrms had sent 100 of their finest and the Thunder Lizards were able to send 350 of their strongest warriors. With the five families' warriors, the alliance of six families had a little over 2500 warriors. Though they outnumbered the three major families, their fighting strength was not as comparable. This upcoming battle will be considered a very tough fight for both sides no doubt about it.
..........
"Come on Aunt Sheila, let me go too." Aldred begged, "I need to play my part as a member of this dwelling."
"No." The Matriarch shook her head. "You're not strong enough. You will only become our burden."
"I can help...definitely."
"You can help by staying here and defending the home front. Protect the children and the other weak members of our family. If you die in the frontlines, what will happen to Julia? What will happen to Soul?"
"I...y-you're right...."
"Don't worry. Your brother Skaal will stay with you. Make sure to evacuate the children and the weaker Toxic Razortails to the underground bunker below our dwelling."
"Okay."
"Good." The Matriarch nodded. Then, she looked at the warriors who stood at the ready. "Prepare to march my warriors! We meet our allies at the Crimson Brights!"