“Like we said, the foxian village sends out a request for cooperation with the orc tribe. They've been attacked by humans many times,” Nox clarified.

Orbul pondered for a moment. “It's been quite some time since anyone has asked for our assistance," he began slowly. "But since it's the humans we're dealing with, we wouldn't mind lending you a hand. However, we will have specific requests in return.”

Nox raised an eyebrow, “Such as?”

“To begin with, we want to keep whatever equipment is left behind after a battle. We are quite fond of fighting after all.”

“I assumed you’d go to battle wearing that,” Nox remarked, eyeing Orbul’s wild outfit.

The orc let out a cackle. “I’m afraid you’re wrong. We don proper gear when entering battle, so we can endure longer.”

“The army we faced wore robes and plate armor only, would that suffice?”

“Standard military gears, eh? I was hoping we'd get something better than that.”

“Something better?” asked Nox, with a curious tone.

“Correct, the higher-ups are more well-equipped than regular soldiers. I've fought some that used enchanted armor, or weapons that had extra power to them. Although, elves are usually the ones wielding such gears due to their natural affinity to magic and enchantment techniques.”

Nox stroked his chin thoughtfully. “I see.” He recalled that one of the humans mentioned something about a captain. “Actually, one of them said something about their captain arriving as backup to take revenge. Well, that is before I killed him.”

Orbul grinned in delight. “Hoho, captain eh? That could be fun. Alright then, consider the first demand done.”

Mae gave an annoyed look. “There's more?"

“Didn’t I tell you we had high demands, Miss Fox?”

“Ughh… fine.”

“For the second demand…” Orbul paused and eyed Mae. “I think it would be best if you didn't listen to this one, fox. It might be a bit… too much for you.”

Mae gave a puzzled tilt of her head, but Nox motioned for her to do as Orbul said. She moved back and covered her ears.

“Why is it too much for her?” asked Nox, curious why Orbul didn't want Mae to hear about the second demand.

“I’ll be honest with you, My Lord. As I said before, we orcs love to battle, and in every battle, there are unavoidable deaths. We need resources to keep our numbers from falling so that our tribe can stay strong and defend itself against attacks.” Orbul looked around at their surroundings before continuing, “Can you see how many female orcs there are here?”

Nox looked around, but wherever he looked there were only males. “I don't see any.”

“Exactly. That's why for my second demand, I want female prisoners."

Nox folded his arms. "Are you suggesting-"

Orbul interrupted him. "Yes, I want prisoners of the opposite sex so that we can crossbreed, just like humans do with elves to make half-elves. If humans can do it with elves, then why not other species?"

Nox struggled internally with the morality of what he was agreeing to, but ultimately he felt he had no choice. He had to settle things with Orbul if there was any chance of him meeting Angelica again.

“...Fine,” Nox said, agreeing after Orbul's second request.

“That settles it then. I’ll do a trial run then, to see if this is worth it or not. I’ll gather some of my men, then we’ll depart to the fox village.”

Nox gave a small nod as Orbul started making preparations to leave. Mae came back to Nox when she saw Orbul leaving him.

“So how did things go?” asked Mae curiously.

“We agreed for the time being, he’s going to bring some of the orcs and go to your village.”

“So soon? Also, what was his second request?”

Nox swallowed hard before answering, still trying to remain composed. “He wants prisoners. Most likely to get information like Lady Kiyo,” he lied. Nox wasn't going to tell her the truth. he didn't know how she would react.

“Really? That seems a bit much for orcs, but if you say so, My Lord. Anyway, this village sure is different than mine.” Mae studied the orc settlement more closely.

She went on to make observations about it and compared it to her own village. Nox simply nodded in agreement, thankful that she shifted the conversation away from his false statement.

After a few minutes, Orbul returned with more orcs, all of them outfitted in armor and armed. Some carried swords, others spears, and still others axes, including Orbul himself who had an axe in each hand.

“We’re all set, Lord Nox,” said Orbul.

Nox nodded then commanded, “Then let us march to the foxian village!”

The orcs formed a line and started off towards the fox village with Nox, Mae, and Orbul at their head.

This story has been taken without authorization. Report any sightings.

*****

Meanwhile in the foxian village…

Lady Kiyo inhaled deeply and braced herself; now that her lord and Mae were away, the task of interrogating the prisoners fell to her. She, along with a few other adult foxians surrounded the humans who were bound tightly to trees.

“Don't think you can get us to talk, demon!” The older one yelled while the other was silent.

“Tsk. Ignorant humans,” Lady Kiyo scoffed as distaste spread across her face. “If you won't give us what we desire, then I’ll just have to make you do it.”

Lady Kiyo told the foxians to hold down the human as she rolled up her sleeves. She clasped her left hand around her right wrist and made a gripping hand gesture with her right hand as red flames flickered from the end of her fingers.

The man thrashed around in an attempt to dodge her grasp, but the other foxians kept him pinned in place. Finally, Lady Kiyo’s hand touched his head. He screamed out in pain as he felt burning sensations radiating from where she touched him. Lady Kiyo held his head tightly, and all the younger human could do was watch in terror as his comrade’s eyes rolled back until his pupil couldn't be seen.

Lady Kiyo closed her eyes. In her mind, she sifted through the human’s memories. She was searching for anything that could be useful to her or her lord. Memory after memory flowed through her head until the most recent one appeared on her mind.

It was a briefing on how to kidnap the foxians. They were in a human city before they set off, and then they camped near the border before venturing into the forest and discovering the foxian village. Lady Kiyo knew what had happened next.

However, she saw another memory of two humans conversing while they traveled to the border.

“I heard if this mission goes well, we'll be rewarded by our captain.”

“Oh yeah? What kind of reward are we talking about?”

“You fresh here? The captain likes to reward us with 'that', you know.” He wiggled his eyebrows multiple times with a lascivious expression.

“We're allowed to do that?”

The other person nodded. “It's extra special this time since our objective is fox demons. We can have some fun with them after we capture them.”

“Fucking demons? I'm not sure about that.”

He snickered. “Ah I know what you mean, but fox demons are gorgeous, much more beautiful than humans. Plus their skin is so soft and delicate.”

“Have you ever done it before? With a fox demon?”

He let out a laugh. “Of course! Multiple times actually. No human hole could compare to theirs. Trust me, you’ll get addicted to it once you’ve tried it.”

Lady Kiyo’s eyes blazed with fury as she opened her mouth to scream. “You! I Swear to have my revenge on you bastards!” The words echoed off the trees, her grip tightening around the human's head. The fire erupted in size, his skin melting away from the heat, leaving nothing but his skull exposed. With one powerful thrust of her arm, she smashed his head into the tree and watched in anger as his body was immolated in flames.

The other prisoner breathed heavily as he saw what just happened. His body trembled, knowing that it was his turn next.

The fire still coming from Lady Kiyo’s hand was now pointed towards the last captive. The human shouted in desperation, “I had no idea we were kidnapping demons! I just got put on this unit. Please, somebody, help me… Mom, Dad, anyone!” Tears started to stream down his face as Lady Kiyo’s hand whipped closer and closer to his head.

He felt his head burn as Lady Kiyo searched his memories. She expected to find evidence of an ill-willed intent, however, all she found were memories of the day he swore a knightly oath to protect humans. He had recently been assigned to a unit that claimed its mission was to rescue captured humans and so they went deep into demon territory. Unbeknownst to him, his assignment was actually part of a larger plan by the higher-ups: to make it easier for them to capture demons by increasing the number of recruits in the unit.

When it became clear he wasn't deceiving her, she put out the fire. He now bore a first-degree burn on his forehead. Lady Kiyo turned around to compose herself, took in the information, then began to consider her options. He hadn't been with the knights for very long, could she use him as an informant?

A wicked grin fell upon her face as a cunning idea formed in her mind. She forced herself to remain calm and composed once more before turning back to the man in front of her. She stepped closer, her hands coming up to lightly brush his chin while her breasts made contact with his chest. His expression made it clear that he was taken aback.

“You must be a rookie knight, right?” she asked in a seductive voice.

“Y-yes, I just enlisted not long ago. Please, don't hurt me!” he pleaded, knowing that she held his life in her hands.

“Ufufu, there's no need to be afraid. I won’t.” She ran a finger along his cheekbone, leaving him even more flustered. “But I can’t let you go either, or else you’ll tell your captain what happened here.”

“No, no! I won’t! I swear it! So please, let me go!” he said with fear gripping his body.

She whispered in his ear, “How can I be sure you’re telling the truth, boy?”

“I-I’ll do anything! Anything you ask! Please, let me go. I don't want to die here like this.” Desperation filled him.

Seeing this pitiful display from the human she toyed with made Lady Kiyo secretly delighted.

“Whatever I say? Then how about we make a contract?"

He stammered out in confusion. “A c-contract?”

“Correct. That way, I can ensure that your superiors won't find out about any of this.”

“W-will I be free if I sign the contract?” he asked desperately.

“Of course, I promise to let you go after you sign it.”

He pleaded, “Yes, yes! Let me sign it! Please!”

Lady Kiyo clapped her hands and a foxian scrambled away to the village, returning shortly with a parchment paper. She gestured for them to untie the human before handing him the contract. The man quickly signed it without a second thought.

“Oh, one more thing. smear a drop of your blood above your name to verify that it is indeed you who signed this contract,” she added.

The human bit his thumb and let the blood trickle down onto the paper to sign it. Lady Kiyo took the scroll and passed it to one of the foxians with a smirk.

“How foolish you are, human! You didn’t even read what you agreed to. Did you know that this was a slave contract?” she mockingly remarked.

The man's eyes widened in shock as he heard her words. He knew this was his only chance of survival, though as she continued speaking his heart sank.

“With this, you won't be able to refuse my orders. You'll be forced to follow them, no matter how terrible or heinous they may be. Even if I tell you to murder your superiors, comrades, or even family.”

He dropped to his knees, his eyes void of emotion.

"Not long ago, you promised to protect the humans, and now here you are pledging loyalty to me. Oh, the irony...” Lady Kiyo said mockingly. "Your task is to act as a spy. Gather information about the human's plans and report it back to me. I will check on you periodically for updates. To make sure you don't betray me, I forbid you from taking your own life or revealing anything about the demons to anyone.”

The human had no choice as he nodded in response.

“Well then, off you go! I kept my word didn't I?” Lady Kiyo said with an evil chuckle.

The human stood up, now bound by the contract, and walked away from the village slowly and thoughtfully, questioning if he'd made the right choice in deciding to live rather than die.