Leonarr says "He is Ash, and he will soon be the Beast King!"
"You are free now, you will be able to decide for yourselves what you want to do. Whether that is to join the army or return to the beast lands, we will help you. Leonarr here is the captain of my army, he can explain more to you once you have rested."
Verica says "Wait, you are leaving?"
"Yes, I am going to go burn down everything Sevaris owns."
Verica says "Does that mean you are going to free the others?"
"Others? He has more beastmen slaves?!"
Verica says "Yes, we are just the ones capable of fighting. The old, pregnant, and the young were all left behind at his home. He keeps us in kennels at his house."
"How many?"
Verica says "Around three hundred."
"If I free them would they be able to travel?"
Verica says "Most would be able, but not fast."
Leonarr says "Just say the word, My King. I will lead our troops straight through the enemy and rescue our people!"
"No, I promised Mercy I wouldn't start an all out war. At least not yet. Send someone to fetch Zamart."
While waiting for Zamart to arrive I chat with Verica a bit more to find out details. Surprisingly, she is the leader of the beastmen and is recognized by them as the best fighter. The reason this is surprising is because she is a bunny girl, who are supposed to be the weakest fighters.
Zamart says "Ash, I thought you already left?"
"I did, but I came back with some freed beastmen."
Zamart says "So we don't have to worry about Sevaris having beastmen troops?"
"Correct. He also lost about fifty scouts."
Zamart says "Mercy and Alexa will be glad to hear that. So what can I help you with?"
"I need to know of a way to transport several hundred people."
Zamart says "Hm, let me think."
Leonarr says "If you don't want us to fight our way through, I have scout types that can sneak through."
Zamart says "Wait, I have an idea. It is a spell for moving heavy cargo, but in this case I think it will do the trick."
"Alright, tell me about the spell."
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Zamart says "The spell creates a rectangular area that greatly reduces the weight placed onto it. Normally this wouldn't help you much, but since you can fly it should enable you to carry the people with you."
"Sounds feasible, alright, teach me the spell."
So Zamart carefully teaches me the spell, he not only has to teach me the spell itself but the theory behind it. Then I work on converting it so that I can cast it with sacred power. At least that was my intention, but when I gain the spell it is instead set to work with divine power instead.
*DING*
Congratulations! You have gained the spell: Transport Barge!
Transport Barge
Level: 1
DP Cost: 50/hour
Max Weight: 10 tons
Not questioning the way it works I cast the spell and then have five hundred beastmen climb onto it. It works and I am able to easily tow it behind me while flying even with the beastmen on it. This means I should be able to rescue all of the beastmen and bring them out of the empire.
As soon as the test is done I thank Zamart and then fly back into the empire. I plan to complete the rescue before I start destroying things, that way I won't have to worry about casualties. At least not among the beastmen, the humans I am not as worried about.
Especially the humans of the empire, I have no connection with them. While I won't intentionally target innocent commoners, I will also not go out of my way to worry about them. If they were rebelling against the nobles I would care more, but since they aren't, they are complicit.
Since I am not going for destruction first, I stay in my normal form as I fly. I am flying as fast as I can because I want to complete the rescue while it is still dark. Trying to rescue three hundred beastmen will be much harder during the day.
Sevaris' capital comes within sight while it is still dark and I fly straight towards his castle. Then I circle it until I spot the kennels Verica mentioned in the back. When I spot the beastmen, the conditions they are being kept in enrage me.
All thoughts of stealth disappear and I drop down on the guards violently. Of course they immediately raise the alarm but all that does is bring them to me. Since I have given up on stealth, now I have to make sure that no one who sees me lives.
Considering the quality of the guards who have been left at the castle that isn't too hard. Even as I massacre them they just keep running at me until there are none left. When the last one is dead I immediately start ripping open cages and using the cleaning stone.
Once all the beastmen are freed and clean I cast my new spell as I explain it to them. Then I load all of them onto it and fly into the air while towing it behind me. Of course, a lot of the beastmen are scared, but they don't make a sound.
Despite not knowing what's going on they are all simply happy to be free. Even if I was to turn around and kill them I don't think they would object. I will admit, having them look at me as if I was a god is a little disturbing.
Even though I am flying as hard as I can, the sun comes up before I reach the border. Sevaris' scouts probably spot me as I fly over the border, but at this point I don't care. Once across the border I easily spot Leonarr and he has a bunch of people with him.
As soon as I come in to land the people with Leonarr swarm over to take care of my cargo. Leyla is in charge and when she sees the condition of the people I brought back she starts barking orders. While they take care of the beastmen, Leonarr and Verica come over to me.
Leonarr says "Your Majesty, any problems?"
"Not really, some of them are in bad shape though."
Leonarr says "They will be well cared for, Leyla has everything she needs."
Verica says "Thank you! Thank you, so much! I can't believe you managed to save them! I swear to serve you faithfully for the rest of my life!"
It is only when she speaks that I actually recognize Verica, she looks completely different. Not only has she cleaned up, but now she is wearing tight fitting leather armor and has two rapiers on her belt. I have to admit she is very attractive, but I can already foresee problems with Myria.
"For now, take care of your people and act as Leonarr's second. Later we will discuss what you want to do in the future."
Verica says "Yes, Your Majesty!"