"Oh? Are your fires unholy? If so, this is really going to hurt! Holy Light!!"

The flash of light isn't very noticeable in daylight, but its effect on Muyaun certainly is. Her black flame aura vanishes like an illusion and she drops to the ground screaming in pain. Her tribesmen, while unaffected, back away in fear when they see her drop.

Muyaun says "Wait! Stop! Please don't kill me!"

"Giving up already?"

Muyaun says "I don't know what that spell was, but one more hit and I will be dead! Please, spare me!"

"You threatened to kill me and take my daughter, why should I spare you?"

Muyaun says "My tribe will obey me, but if I die they will never follow you!"

"So what? I can end your tribe right here and now!"

Muyaun says "No, wait! Don't be rash! We can be of great help to you!"

"How can you be of help to me?"

Muyaun says "My people have all been trained as scouts and trackers. There are no other beastmen who are as skilled as my people."

"That could be of some use, but how do you expect me to trust you or them?"

Muyaun says "If you spare my life, I will swear a blood oath of loyalty to you. My tribe follows my lead in everything."

"What about Asuna?"

Muyaun says "I would not dare to touch her! Although, there is much I can teach her. I am over five hundred years old!"

"Very well, I will spare your life and accept your oath. If you betray me in any way, I will destroy you and your entire tribe!!"

After I agree, Muyaun shifts back to her human appearance, then slashes her hand and swears a blood oath. When she swears the oath, the entire fox tribe drops to one knee and echoes the oath. When she finishes the oath the blood from her hand floats up and glows before vanishing.

Muyaun says "What are your commands, my master?"

"First off, you don't need to call me master. Ash or Lord Ash will be fine. Second, I need the beast lands mapped out, with all tribe locations and any concentrations of mana beasts. Third, I want a team of your best to do the same on the land bridge."

Muyaun says "It will be done, Lord Ash!"

"At some point the demons will start moving onto the land bridge, or more likely their humans slaves will. When that happens I want them monitored and reports of their movements sent to me."

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Muyaun says "As you command!"

"Oh, also have your people spread word that there are now three tribes loyal to me and take note of their reactions."

Muyaun says "I know about the badger tribe, but who else has joined you?"

"As of yesterday the Ox tribe is also loyal to me."

Muyaun says "Understood. It will be done!"

"Alright, now where can I find this rabbit beast?"

Muyaun says "In the old days they were found throughout these plains. Now the only place they can be found is on a plateau to the west of here. I have forbidden hunting them to let their numbers recover."

"Okay, I will only hunt the one I need. Do you have a guide that can show us the way?"

Muyaun says "No need. I will show you the way myself."

"Why?"

Muyaun says "Because, I would like the chance to talk to you and Asuna."

"Alright, let's go!"

After I mount Lizzy and Muyaun shifts to her beast form she leads the way southwest. Once we are out of the camp and there is snow again Asuna resumes sledding. Muyaun looks over in surprise when she notices that Lizzy is running on top of the snow.

Lizzy isn't going very fast, she is having to match her pace to what Muyaun can manage in the snow. As we travel Muyaun starts telling us about her race, which is the same as Asuna. It seems their race has a special trait that lets them gain powers based on where they are born.

Which means Asuna has ice powers because she was born on the mountain. Muyaun also states that they grow tails at a rate of one every ten years. However, when I tell her how old Asuna is, she stops and stares at Asuna in shock.

Muyaun says "She should only have a single tail! What on earth have you done to her?"

"I have helped her to become a sacred beast."

Muyaun says "You can do that?! That would certainly explain why she has progressed so fast!"

Asuna says "Daddy has been helping me since I was a baby!"

Muyaun says "Is that something you could help me with?"

"It might be possible, once I trust you. At your age you should be at max rank as a mana beast, yes?"

Muyaun says "Yes, and I have been for over a century."

"Then yes, it is possible."

After that we continue on in silence for several minutes while Muyaun thinks. Once she is done she goes back to talking about her race and things Asuna has to look forward to. I do find out that once she gains her seventh tail Asuna will be able to have a human form.

"Out of curiosity, can you also alter your size?"

Muyaun says "No, unfortunately not. Even with nine tails I only have the two forms."

"Okay, what other powers will Asuna get as she adds tails?"

Muyaun says "Well, her powers over ice will increase significantly with each additional tail. Also her physical strength and speed will increase with each tail. She will also gain the ability to communicate with and command lesser foxes."

"Is that how you took over the tribe?"

Muyaun says "Originally, yes. However, I stopped using that power ages ago. Currently they follow me of their own free will."

"That's fine. How far is this plateau?"

Muyaun says "About six hours at this pace."

"That's too slow, change back to your human form."

As soon as she shifts I pull her up onto Lizzy behind me, then Lizzy speeds up to her normal pace. It is only after we are moving that I realize this might have been a mistake. That is because Muyaun is holding on to me to stay on Lizzy and I can smell her with every breath.

It is very distracting and has me thinking thoughts that will only get me in trouble. As we continue on I do my best to only breathe through my mouth and not think about her at all. Luckily, Lizzy is moving fast enough to make Muyaun only focus on pointing out the path to her.

With Lizzy moving at her normal speed we come within sight of the plateau in a little over an hour. Muyaun points out an easy path up to it and once we are on the plateau Lizzy stops. The plateau is covered in lush grass and a few small trees, but I don't see any rabbits.