Emerald Glade Island.
In a clearing surrounded by towering trees, the ruins of an ancient temple stood at the center, its crumbling stone walls weathered with age. Around it, a few tents were set up, and soldiers moved about—some sharpening weapons, others talking quietly.
Suddenly, a girl with rabbit ears emerged from the shadowy tree line. Her light steps and cheerful expression instantly drew the attention of everyone around.
“Who is that?”
“A beastkin?”
“A… cute beastkin!”
“Hi, everyone!” the bunny girl chirped, waving enthusiastically with an innocent smile plastered across her face.
“Someone call the lord!”
“Call the lord? For what? It’s only a single beastkin.”
“But… she’s so cute…” another muttered, his cheeks flushing slightly as he tried to avoid eye contact.
The murmuring crowd grew quiet as two imposing figures approached from deeper in the camp.
One was a hulking man wielding a massive battle axe strapped across his back. Beside him walked a shorter, rounder man draped in a gold robe.
“That is… undeniably a cute beastkin,” the merchant lord remarked.
“Looks like our enemy’s trying to toy with us,” the axe warrior growled. “Sending an innocent-looking bunny girl to lure us into lowering our guard? What a dumb trick.”
“She doesn’t seem dangerous at all,” the merchant lord said with a dismissive wave. “Let’s just take her. She might be useful. And if she does resist, we’ll deal with her easily.”
The axe warrior smirked. “Yeah, her tiny frame wouldn’t stand a chance. If she tries anything, I’ll cleave her in half before she knows what hit her.”
The two lords advanced toward the girl, who still wore a wide, sunny smile. But as they got closer, something seemed to shift. The axe warrior hesitated for a moment, swallowing hard as a faint bead of sweat formed on his brow. His grip on the axe slackened, and after an awkward moment, he stored it in his inventory, almost reflexively.
“Let me handle her,” the merchant lord insisted, stepping forward with exaggerated confidence. “She’s harmless. You stay back.”
“No, you step back,” the axe warrior shot back. “I’ll deal with her myself.”
The merchant lord smirked knowingly. “What’s this? You already have a wife. What would she say if she knew you were interested in this bunny girl?”
“Why bring my wife into this? We’re in the middle of a lord battle, for crying out loud!”
“I know what you’re thinking. You’re intrigued by her, aren’t you?”
“That’s a ridiculous accusation,” the axe warrior grumbled, his face turning a shade of red.
“Then step back. Let me handle her. She’s harmless, like I said.”
“Shut up,” the axe warrior snapped. “We’ll both talk to her.”
The bunny girl waved at them again, completely unfazed by the rising tension. “Hi, Mr. Axe, and Mr. Chubby!” she called out with an innocent tilt of her head.
“What?” The merchant lord froze mid-step. “She called me Mr. Chubby… Not bad, I guess?.”
“Yeah…” the axe warrior muttered, his tone softening slightly. “She called me Mr. Axe. I… kinda like that.”
“H-hi, you two…” the bunny girl continued, her cheerful voice cutting through the awkward silence. She waved again as if oblivious to the two lords who were clearly grappling with their pride and confusion.
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The merchant lord stepped closer to the bunny girl. “Hi there… I saw your troops. In fact, our spies already spotted you—about forty of them, hiding in the forest. Did your lord send you here?”
“Yes,” the bunny girl replied cheerfully, nodding her head repeatedly with an innocent smile.
The merchant lord paused, swallowing hard as if he were unsure how to proceed. He raised a hand to stop the axe warrior, who was about to speak.
“Your lord must be a coward,” the merchant lord finally said. “Sending a poor little girl like you here? We could easily capture you and make your lord regret his actions. Honestly, it’s shameful. Your lord should’ve sent real warriors to fight.”
“My lord is on the other island,” the bunny girl responded casually, as if discussing the weather.
“And what are you all doing here?”
“We want that,” she said, pointing toward the temple ruin—the very central fortress of the island.
The merchant lord burst into laughter. “That’s hilarious. Do you think this is some sort of game? We’re not fooling around here. This is a war. I suggest you and your group leave immediately, or bring your lord here to fight properly. I’m not cruel enough to slaughter weak troops abandoned by their lord, like you lot. You see, we have five lords in this alliance. This is an easy win for us.”
“No, Mr. Chubby,” the bunny girl said, her voice sweet and calm as she tilted her head. “We’re definitely planning to take the central fortress. And I just wanted to let you know… if you don’t hand it over nicely, we might have to cause a little bit of trouble.”
She giggled softly, as if her words were part of a lighthearted joke.
“Bring your lord here, because we’re not messing around!” the axe warrior barked, raising his voice. But he halted mid-sentence as the merchant lord raised a hand to stop him.
“Lower your voice, dumbass,” the merchant lord muttered.
He then stepped closer to the bunny girl, looking down at her with a smug expression. “Hey, poor little girl. I told you already—this island is secure and will soon be ours. So… any resistance from you is completely—”
His words were suddenly cut off. The merchant lord’s voice faltered, his face twisting into confusion and pain. He looked down, and there, sticking out of his belly, was the dagger the bunny girl had silently drawn and plunged into him.
“Damn it! How could you let yourself get stabbed so easily?!” the axe warrior roared, pulling his weapon from his inventory and gripping it tightly as he prepared to charge.
But before he could move, the bunny girl kept attacking. Her innocent smile remained plastered on her face as she ruthlessly drove her dagger into the merchant lord’s stomach, chest, and neck with a series of swift, precise strikes.
Blood sprayed into the air, splattering across her face and clothing as the merchant lord dropped to his knees, his body trembling and weakening with each passing second.
Still smiling sweetly, the bunny girl tilted her head and spoke in a calm, almost playful tone. “I told you… we wanted to do this the nice way.”
The axe warrior’s fury erupted as he lunged toward her, his weapon raised high, ready to cleave her in half. But then—he stopped dead in his tracks.
His steps faltered as something shifted in the air around them.
The camp erupted into chaos as troops poured out of their tents, weapons drawn and faces grim. The clattering of steel filled the clearing as the soldiers formed a defensive line, preparing to retaliate.
And yet… no one attacked.
Even the strongest, most battle-hardened warriors hesitated, their movements stiff and uncertain as they faced the bunny girl.
And then, the sound of chaos erupted from the forest. Birds scattered into the sky, their frantic flapping blending with the echo of something heavy—something massive—slamming into the earth again and again.
The booming thuds were relentless, each one sending faint vibrations through the ground.
“What’s that sound?” someone murmured, their voice trembling.
The forest stirred as figures began to emerge from between the towering trees. At first, they were humans—warriors stepping into the clearing. But then… something else followed.
A low, creaking groan filled the air, accompanied by the rhythmic crackling of wood bending under immense force. Out of the shadows of the trees came humanoid figures, their bodies seemingly constructed from the forest itself—tree creatures.
The ground trembled once more as another presence made itself known. From behind the thick tree trunks, a towering figure emerged—a creature crafted entirely from wood, standing several times taller than an average human. And it wasn’t alone.
First, there were two. No, three. Then more—dozens of the massive tree-like beings began to appear.
The sound of breaking branches and heavy footfalls didn’t cease, and the forest seemed to pulse with life as these creatures emerged in an overwhelming tide. From their sheer numbers alone, it became painfully clear: the camp was surrounded.
Dozens of tree giants… no, perhaps hundreds of soldiers, both human and not, stood encircling them, watching from the tree line. There was no escape, no room for retreat. The troops in the camp exchanged panicked glances, gripping their weapons tighter.
The axe warrior, who had been frozen in place moments ago, now found his hands trembling—not from rage, but from the sheer realization of what they were up against.
The bunny girl, still smiling, remained eerily calm, as if the chaos around her was nothing more than part of the plan.
"Now… leave this island immediately, or shall we continue playing?"
At that moment, the bunny girl’s sweet smile thinned, her lips curling into something far less innocent. Her eyes shifted abruptly, glowing a menacing red.