The six Beastmen stared at Percy, until their leader stepped forward. He kicked the ice blade, shattering it into countless tiny fragments and snorted.

“Peace? Are you seriously asking us to stay calm after everything you cretins have done to us?!” He hissed, the scales covering his body clattering.

The Beastman had serpentine eyes, large fangs – venom dripping to the ground –, a long tail smashing impatiently on the ground, and verdant scales instead of fur or hide.

“I am the crown prince and the Kainesh Kingdom is seeking an audience with the Beast King to clear all misunderstandings,” Percy remained firm even as the nobles behind him winced in fear.

“Misunderstandings?!” The Snakeman hissed, his voice filled with venom, “How can you call it a misunderstanding when we saw YOUR people kidnapping our children. We fought them. I FOUGHT THEM. Are you calling me a liar?!”

I expected this to be difficult but this is transforming into a much bigger challenge than I was hoping for. This guy is clearly at the Master Tier and probably at a higher rank than I am, yet the humans he fought were strong enough to kidnap children right before his eyes? There shouldn’t be powerful Master rank Gifted, who haven’t been reported to the crown.

It was possible to miss a bunch of Gifted in the records, but Gifted Ones at the Master Tier were too strong and too rare not to notice.

“Is one of the Pillars lying?” Melissa mumbled in disbelief, not expecting someone to hear her, but Percy did. Others probably as well, but that didn’t matter right now.

Did some nobles betray us? I get that some of the older Adventurers hate the Beastmen because they lost a lot to them, but as far as I can remember…The Pillars survived the Beast War, which includes their families.

“You might have fought humans, but their actions have nothing to do with the Kainesh Kingdom. The crown sent us to help you find the kidnappers and return your children to where they belong: To their families,” Percy stared deep into the Snakeman’s eyes, “We want to help you.”

The Beastmen behind the Snakeman studied Percy and his people and had clearly listened more intently than the Snakeman, whose bloodlust was hard to ignore.

“How can we trust cretins like you?! After everything you did to our people in the last Beast War, I will never trust you humans! Your kind is not to be trusted. You are better off dead!” The last words were not only directed at Percy, but the killing intent oozing out of the Snakeman was enough to press some buttons in the Imperials’ minds.

They unsheathed their weapons simultaneously, further increasing the tension hanging in the air, only for Percy to raise his hand and stop anyone from doing anything stupid.

“I have already introduced myself, which means you know who I am,” Percy stated calmly, channeling mana into his eyes while triggering [Hawk Eyes]. His eyes shimmered vibrantly as he added, “Threatening me stands on equal grounds with a threat to the royal family. Do you really wish to declare war to the Kainesh Kingdom?”

Percy pulled Dragon Fang out of the obsidian Syreblade Mark and infused mana into [Dragonblood] to spread his presence across the vicinity. Two Beastmen retreated instinctively as they saw the frames of a massive creature manifested around Percy.

The Snakeman hissed in fury, but didn’t attack right away.

“Do you have the authority to declare war on the Kainesh Kingdom? Can you speak in the Beast King’s name to make an announcement like that? Do you dare to take responsibility for your words?” Percy asked one question at a time, his voice thundering across the border, “What do you think the Beast King would think of your actions?”

The corners of his lips curled into a smile as a bulb switched on in the Snakeman’s head.

Beastmen were proud beings, but they were also incredibly narrow-minded when it regarded certain topics. That was the current problem. They considered all humans as one entity and would hate every human as long as they disliked the action of one – or a small group. That was unfortunate because it was exactly what caused the current situation.

The Snakeman hissed just as angrily as before, but the leader of the Beastmen’s border patrol was more clearly more cautious now.

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“You are good with your words, cretin. But that doesn’t mean anything to me. Your words are hollow and your trust unearned,” He hissed, “I don’t trust you, and your slimy tongue!”

What does he want from me? How can I solve the situation – ease the tension – without causing an all-out war. What is the most efficient solution? Meeting the Beast King and helping them would be easy if they let me…but they don’t…

Coming up with a solution was far from easy. Percy felt like pulling his hair out.

It would be so much easier if they were Demons. I would beat the shit out of them and…

His eyes widened slightly and a smile blossomed on his lips.

“If you don’t trust my words…How about I show you how serious I am with my actions?” Percy asked the Snakeman, excitement bubbling in his heart, “Let me demonstrate you how serious I am!”

He cleared his throat and stared the Snakeman dead in the eyes.

“Let’s fight. You and me. Right here, right now!”

***

“What was what? Are you insane or just tired of living, you idiot?!” Melissa tore Percy a new one, “That guy is clearly powerful and a veteran on the battlefield. Don’t you know what everyone says about old people surviving in a job where most die young?!”

Melissa pointed at the Snakeman, a particular set of scales to be precise. She stared at him in anger, but Percy could see the worry underneath her frustration.

“I know what you are talking about,” Percy looked at the set of emerald scales among verdant scales. They were a sign of proceeding age among the Snakeman. The leader of the border patrol clearly fought in the last Beast War, probably in the wars before that as well. That was impressive, to say the least, “But how about you look at it from a different point of view?”

“What?!” Melissa hissed, while Percy only smiled.

It is funny how you challenged me to an Imperiat when I was still a commoner, but now that the tables have turned you’re still trying to thrash me.

He commented in his mind, recalling the months of traveling with Melissa. She had improved consistently as they traveled to the Wintermoon Estate and wasn’t as bad as his initial impression had indicated, but that didn’t mean it was easy to be around Melissa Reeze. At times, Percy felt like suckerpunching her.

“The Snakeman is old but only at the Master Tier. If he was a prodigy, he wouldn’t be here like this. He has a bad temper and his mana is not all that pure. Maybe he got some good affinities, but given everything I can tell he shouldn’t have an Ego. He won’t have very strong Monster Cards either. Not what I would consider strong, at least. I will be fine.”

“Only at the Master Tier,” Melissa grumbled, looking at him as if she wanted to say ‘How in the seven hells did we end up with such a stupid crown prince?’. Maybe that was exactly what Lady Reeze was thinking, but Percy didn’t care. He was confident.

“A fight? Did you really just challenge me, cretin?” The Snakeman asked provokingly, while the Beastmen around him roared and howled in excitement.

“Let’s fight then,” He nodded, “According to the Beastlands’ traditions, the challenged decides the fight’s nature.”

That was also something Percy had known, but he didn’t think about it when he issued a challenge to the Snakeman.

It should be fi–

“We will brawl,” The Snakeman announced, “A weaponless fight it will be!”

Don’t Snakeman love to fight with their sabers, or was that part of intel wrong?

Percy looked down at Dragon Fang and shook his head.

He is afraid of Dragon Fang. The weapon is his only fear.

“No Summons,” The Snakeman added.

“What about Augmentations? It’s impossible to deactivate some of them,” Percy asked.

The Snakeman hissed angrily, “Remove your Cards then!”

“I would if it was possible, but that would kill me. It is related to my Ego,” Percy revealed, which angered the Snakeman even more, “Then use your Augmentations. But using your Ego is forbidden!”

Percy shrugged in response. He was more than fine with that and stored Dragon Fang in the obsidian mark again.

His eyes shut tightly as he focused on [Dragonblood] and the Azure Dragon’s Essence coursing through him.

Several minutes of silences passed until everyone made enough space to fighter at the borders of the two nations.

“Are you ready to die, cretin?” The Snakeman provoked Percy, who opened his eyes calmly, unleashing a mana shockwave.

A primal roar escaped his lips, taking the Snakeman by surprise. But it was only for a moment. He regained his senses a moment later.

“I take that as a yes.”

A moment later, the referee started the battle and the two forces charged at each other.