We had less than 24 hours to find the guild’s base in the mountains, so we immediately got to work. Ati, Nico, Jezibel’s Owl, and I all flew out to scour the mountains. It was early morning, and the sun was finally beginning to rise.

It took a few hours, but with the attack imminent, it was inevitable that we would encounter people moving out and about in preparation for what was to come. I followed one such person all the way to a hidden cave entrance then gathered the others to report to them.

“Good job finding their hiding spot.” Nisos said to me.

“Should we attack now?” I asked in response, but Nico shook her head.

“Not yet. Since their attack is going to start at night, it’s likely they’re sleeping from the afternoon until sunset to prepare. At least, the members of the guild that need sleep, anyway. We should take the time to let someone in Tyr know – specifically, Councillor Gebal. Kiara, can you transform into a race that hides your face?”

“Yeah, I’ve got a few. A jackalwoman would probably do the trick, since they have the head of a jackal and all. What do you want me to tell the fat man?”

“Tell him everything we learned from Arshut. Also, make sure he warns the Divine Siren, and have him discreetly prepare only elite soldiers and adventurers; we can’t afford to alert the guild with a general mobilization of the guard. While you’re at it, check if we’re right to worry about the guard being after us.”

“Alright. Anything else?”

“Just come back safe and sound.” Jezibel said.

I grinned and took off towards the city’s suburbs.

***

I landed in a dense field of crops away from prying eyes and transformed into a jackalman. Appraisal obfuscation couldn’t misrepresent my information – only hide it, so I simply kept everything hidden. It wasn’t anything too unusual, especially for the largest port city on the continent.

It took about twenty minutes to get out of the farms and enter the city proper, only to see guards rushing all over the place like an anthill that was struck by earth magic then set on fire. People were on edge, and there were crude posters of our faces all over the walls.

Yikes. Nico and Ati were right to worry.

On my way to the Gebal’s office, I was stopped by a pair of guards.

“Pardon me, sir, but have you seen the people on these posters? They’re wanted for the murder of a high-ranking official.” The young man said as he showed me the posters.

“Do I look like a sir or have wings to you?!” I asked in mock outrage, causing the young guard to flinch.

“I am sorry ma’am, I didn’t mean to-” he said, only to be interrupted by the middle-aged guard next to him.

“Watch your mouth. You will comply with our questions, or you will face the consequences.”

He stared at me for a moment before his eyebrows rose slightly.

“Appraisal denied? Hmm… Aren’t jackalmen native to Tamery, and at least two of our suspects are Tameryian?” He muttered to himself, and I didn’t like the direction his thoughts were taking.

“You’re coming with us to the guardhouse on suspicion of involvement in the murder. Do not resist or we will be compelled to use force.” He said, pulling out a short and thick wooden stick with a blunt hook at the end, which looked like a comically short walking cane with an oversized handle.

“Huh?! You’re just arresting me because I am a jackalwoman?!” I yelled in outrage, grabbing attention from people in the street.

People around us started muttering, and the tension on the street began to rise. The young guard began to panic, while the middle-aged guard’s expression grew ugly.

“Suit yourself; I am prepared to do this the hard wa-”

This content has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

“WHAT IS GOING ON HERE?!” a loud, authoritative voice said at the end of the street said.

Appraisal showed me something rather interesting.

[Megalodonwoman Lv. 13 – Sentinel of Tyr Lv. 132]

The massive, 4-meter-tall beastwoman walked down the street with an angry look on her face. She gave the bystanders an angry look.

“What are you lot looking at?! Go on with your day! There’s nothing to see here!” she yelled, and everyone on the street hurriedly left to avoid her attention.

Unfortunately, that meant her attention fell squarely on us.

“What’s going on here?!” she demanded, and the two guards stood stiffly at attention.

“Ma’am! Here is what happened…”

***

The megalodon woman held the bridge of her nose.

“Let me see if I got this right. You wanted to arrest a woman on suspicion of involvement in the murder because she ‘gave you attitude,’ obfuscated her status, and belongs to a beastman race from Tamery?”

“W-Well, if you put it like that…”

“Get out of here and stop wasting peoples’ time! If I catch you dragging the guards’ name through the mud again, THERE WILL BE CONSEQUENCES!” she yelled so loudly that spit flew from her mouth onto their pale faces.

“YES, MA’AM!” they said and beat a hasty retreat.

The beastwoman sighed then turned to me.

“And you, don’t start fights with the guards. Tensions are high and they might end up doing something stupid. Finish what you want quickly and stay indoors.” She said as she walked away.

Huh. Well, that went better than expected.

***

About ten minutes of walking later, I found the Councillor’s office. This time, there was an army of guards in front of it, as well as near a handful of other buildings nearby.

Were they guard protecting the city’s bigshots today? If all these men are wasting their time on phantom assassins, who’s going to defend the city from the guild’s assault?

I clenched my fist and tried to enter the office anyway.

“Stop. All meetings with city officials are cancelled until the murderers are caught.” One of the guards said.

“Look, I need to talk to Councillor Gebal! It’s an emergency!”

The guards frowned and approached me threateningly.

“Listen, woman. Our orders are the same, no matter how urgent you think your problem is. I won’t repeat myself; Leave, now.”

Damn it. Should I force my way through anyway? Getting away might be tough, but it’s worth a shot.

Just as I was about to attack the guards, the fat man looked out of his window on the second floor.

“What is this racket?! Go away, woman, I don’t have time for you anyway!” he yelled.

I saw my chance. Before he could go back in, I yelled at him.

“Gebal, you fat, rotten bastard! We found Baltasar dead, and he was murdered by the Assassin’s Guild!”

“You-!” The guards were infuriated and rushed at me, only to be stopped by Gebal himself.

“Stop! Get that woman in my office and stay out!” he yelled.

“But sir, it’s too dangerous!” the head guard plead with the fat man.

“Stop arguing with me and just do it, damn it!”

The guard grit his teeth, then stepped aside. The rest of his men made way for me as I went inside and climbed the stairs to the office.

***

“Who the hell are you, and how do you know about Baltasar and the Assassin’s Guild?”

The man wasted no time, demanding answers the moment I closed the door behind me and the privacy enchantments activated.

I activated my transformation back into my base humanoid form, then took my seat as the man’s eyes widened.

“Girl, what have you done?! I tell you to go after the grubby merchant, and you go and murder a top city official?!” he yelled at me.

“Hold your horses, buttercup. We didn’t murder anyone. The guild murdered both Arshut and Baltasar, then framed the former on us. I am here to give you the critical information that we learned.”

The man laid back into his seat.

“This better be good, damn it, or I am calling the guards to drag you to jail myself!”

***

The man paled as the danger finally began to set in on him.

“A demon lord seed?! Murdering the entire city, then raising them as an undead army?! Today, midnight?!”

“You don’t have much time. Go warn the Divine Siren and your most powerful and loyal fighters. If you warn the public, the guild might start their attack before we can assault them.” I said calmly.

“Even if I had an entire week, we couldn’t prepare all our soldiers for this!” he held his head in frustration, then glared at me.

“Why should I trust you five? You’re already under suspicion of murdering an official, and this tall tale you concocted could just be some lie to make us busy while you get away. And even if it was true, how is a mere silver-ranked adventurer team like yours going to stop an attack of that scale, led by a monster capable of killing a god?!”

At his words, I took out the [Key to the Underworld] and the crowned eagle’s mana core and laid them at his desk.

The man’s eyes went wide.

“We climbed from copper to silver in a single day. We are much stronger than our rank implies, and we simply haven’t prioritized killing stronger monsters than that. We already killed a rank A monster, so their vampire should not be out of the question, and their rabble should be even less of a problem. Even if we fail, you’ll still get a better outcome than whatever those extra few hours will get you.”

The man grumbled.

“Fine, I am going to bet on your words. I’ll inform Tyr’s guardian and whatever powerful and trustworthy soldiers and adventurers we can get our hands on. Now get out, you’ve caused me more than enough headaches. The sooner you attack the bastards, the better.”

I grinned and pocketed the key and the mana core.

“It was a pleasure working with you, councillor.” I said, transforming back into a jackalwoman as the man groaned at my parting words.