Mysterious Fog World: Eldritch Nexus

While the fox women were busy subjugating the rest of the fox tribes, the twins made their way deeper into the beast kingdom.

It was public knowledge that the fox women were not allowed to set foot in the kingdom, and hence only the tribes on the outskirts had fox women slaves. However, this did not mean the stronger tribes were without options.

An open secret in the kingdom was that these stronger tribes approached those with fox women slaves to purchase a few. These slaves were kept hidden from plain sight, as it was much harder to conceal many. As a result, no tribe dared to acquire more than one or two.

Only families with rank 3 Extraordinary members dared to engage in such transactions. Despite being an open secret, the law passed by the Goldmane family—the royal family of the beast kingdom—was clear: no fox women were allowed within the kingdom. If any tribe was found violating this law, their tribe would not live past that day.

Since those fox women came from the fox tribes, they knew which tribes had fox women enslaved inside. Maria had already informed them about the fox women from her tribe who were held captive. Moreover, as more tribes were subjugated, they gathered additional information from those tribes too.

Armed with this knowledge, the twins moved stealthily from tribe to tribe, hidden from plain sight, to find and rescue all the fox women. They had purchased a prop from the system shop that concealed their presence from anyone below rank 4 or without advanced perception mastery.

Because of this, they moved like shadows, unnoticed by anyone as they searched for the hidden fox women. However, bringing them out safely posed another challenge.

The good news was that no one believed the fox women dared to run away, so they were only guarded by Mortals and, in extreme cases, by a rank 1 Extraordinary.

This was no problem for the twins. Everyone they found only followed the fake paths and differed from those who followed a real path. This allowed them to easily kill rank 2 opponents and even severely injure a rank 3, given the chance.

They killed anyone who stood in their way and safely brought the fox women out of the tribes. The twins had brought a truck with them for transport. As they rescued more fox women, they incapacitated them and loaded them into the truck before moving on to the next target. They didn’t want any drama until they were done with their mission.

Each rescue was a harrowing experience. The twins moved with precision and coordination, their actions swift and deadly. The fox women, once freed, looked at them with a mix of fear and gratitude, their hope for freedom rekindled.

After rescuing all the fox women from the various tribes, the twins set their sights on their final target: the Goldmane family. One of the rescued captives had revealed that even the royal family secretly harbored a few fox women.

The twins were not surprised by this revelation. Rules were made by the strong, and the weak could only follow them. As the royal family, the Goldmane family was the strongest, able to do as they pleased, even if it meant breaking their laws.

The only reason they bothered to hide their actions was to maintain the royal family's prestige, which could not afford to be besmirched.

The twins knew that this mission would be their most dangerous yet. The Goldmane family was not just any tribe; they were the pinnacle of power in the beast kingdom. Any misstep could lead to their deaths or worse.

They stealthily approached the royal castle. On their way, they found thousands of Mortal Veterans, each having at least one intermediate skill.

As the twins reached the inner part of the castle, their hearts started racing. Royal guards were stationed everywhere, hundreds of rank 1, tens of rank 2, and more than ten rank 3. They knew that no matter how strong they were if they were discovered, they would lose their lives.

They searched different locations within the castle but didn't find any fox women. While moving and looking, they noticed a group of rank 2 and rank 3 guards waiting outside a massive door.

“Your Highness, we seek an audience,” the man in the lead said after knocking lightly on the door.

“Come inside,” a commanding voice replied from within.

“Thank you, Your Highness. Please excuse us,” the man said as he opened the door and led his group inside.

The twins quickly followed, hoping to glean some clues.

The room was grandly decorated with a king-sized bed with a golden frame, a desk and chair, and walls adorned with numerous paintings and expensive-looking curtains. Sitting on a grand chair was a man with long golden blonde hair resembling a lion’s mane with golden-furred lion ears. He was Lionis Goldmane, the tentative crown prince of the beast kingdom.

Lionis looked towards his guests with an authoritative gaze. They all knelt on one knee as they approached him.

“Greetings, Your Highness Lionis,” they said in unison.

Lionis merely nodded, and they stood up.

“Tell me what news you have regarding my dear brothers and sisters,” Lionis asked.

“Your Highness, Prince Ryker has been seen with the Redclaw patriarch multiple times. I believe he has secured their allegiance,” the man reported.

Lionis nodded for the man to continue.

“Princess Nala has recently been in close contact with the Ashenfang young master. It seems she aims to ally with the Ashenfangs through him,” the man continued.

Lionis's brows furrowed slightly at the mention of the Ashenfangs but signaled for the man to proceed.

“These two have shown the most activity recently. The others remain relatively inactive,” the man concluded.

“What about the Thundertails? What is their patriarch’s stance?” Lionis inquired.

The man began to sweat at the mention of the Thundertails. “Your Highness, he has once again refused your gracious offer. He insists on remaining neutral in the competition for the crown,” the man replied hesitantly.

Lionis laughed loudly. “Does that old fool think he can stay neutral forever? One way or another, he will have to choose a side. It would be wise for him to choose the winning side. Initiate the contingency plan against him. Let’s see how he dares to refuse me next time.”

“Yes, Your Highness. We will follow your orders,” the man said with conviction.

Lionis nodded in acknowledgment.

“Your Highness, we have acquired a new fox slave for your enjoyment. She is with the rest,” the man said.

Lionis's eyes gleamed with lust. “Good, good. You will be rewarded handsomely for this later, but first, let me meet her,” he said eagerly.

The man and his group knelt. “It is our honor to serve Your Highness. We do not expect any rewards,” the man said flatteringly.

Lionis quickly left his room to meet his new guest, ignoring their flattery. The twins, who had watched silently from the sidelines, smiled and swiftly followed him.

Lionis followed a winding path and reached a door guarded by several rank 1 guards. The guards greeted him, but he entered without acknowledging them.

The twins silently dispatched the guards and slipped inside behind him.

Lionis suddenly turned around when he heard the door opening. “How dare you come inside without my permission?” he bellowed, turning towards the door.

But what greeted him was an arrow pointed at his heart.

“YOU DARE?!” Lionis screamed in fury as he narrowly dodged the arrow.

Just as he was about to unsheathe his sword, he felt a sharp pain and looked down to see the tip of a dagger protruding from his chest. Someone had impaled his heart from behind.

“Did my siblings send you to kill me?” Lionis asked his unseen killer with difficulty, his voice fading. Due to his rank 3 strength and the massive vitality of being a lion beast human, he didn’t die immediately. He suspected a rivalry for the throne but couldn’t believe any of his siblings had the guts to act against him, given his status as their father’s favorite. Unfortunately, his killer didn’t bother answering, and Lionis died in suspense.

With Lionis dealt with, the twins surveyed the state of the room. Five fox women were chained to the walls, looking beaten and malnourished.

“You all will be coming with us. This is not a request,” Ayame told the fox women, who nodded in fear.

One of the older fox women, the only one who looked at them calmly, spoke up. “You don’t look like you came specifically for any of us. More like you came for all the fox women trapped in the castle.”

Ayame and Yumi didn’t bother replying. They quickly broke the chains that bound the fox women.

The older fox-woman didn’t mind being ignored and continued, “I don’t know if you know about it or not, but we are not the only ones kept in the castle. There are a few more of us.”

Yumi’s gaze sharpened. She turned to the older woman and asked, “Do you know where they are?”

The fox-woman nodded. “I am Samantha. I used to serve the beast king Ragnar before. When he got bored of me, he gave me to his favorite son, Lionis. Since I served Ragnar for a long time, I know many things about the castle and know where the rest of the fox women are.”

Ayame and Yumi exchanged glances and nodded. Ayame took out one of the extra props they had purchased from the system shop to hide their presence and handed it to Samantha. As she put on the ring, she became invisible.

“Show us the way. The rest of you stay here. We will come back as soon as possible before someone suspects something,” Ayame ordered.

Samantha led the twins to several rooms, one by one, where they swiftly eliminated all the guards and rescued the fox women. They escorted each rescued fox-woman back to the first room and instructed them to hide inside.

There remained only one last room.

“Do you want to do this? That room contains the personal slaves of Ragnar, the beast king. He is one of the strongest in the entire Black Forest Territory, a rank 4 Extraordinary,” Samantha said, trying to convince them it was a bad idea to target that room.

“Show us the way,” Ayame replied coldly.

“You sure are loyal, willing to put your lives in danger just to follow orders,” Samantha said admiringly.

The twins stopped and looked at her with intense stares.

“Hey, no need to look at me like that. I’ve been observing you for a while. You have no personal interest in saving us. You’re not doing it for money either, because the dedication and commitment I’ve seen can’t come from mere monetary benefits. If that were the case, you’d rescue as many as possible without taking too many risks. But you’ve already saved too many of us, so a few more don’t matter, especially when they belong to the king. So, it means you’re ordered to save us, and it’s your dedication and commitment to that person that makes you willing to risk your lives to help us,” Samantha explained her reasoning.

The twins looked into her eyes for a few more seconds after she finished speaking, then turned and resumed their mission. Samantha smiled slightly, noticing their eyes softened a bit after hearing her.

The twins reached the room and quickly dispatched all the guards, including two rank 2 guards who met the same fate as the others.

As they stepped inside, they saw three fox women chained to the walls. These women looked considerably better than the ones in the other rooms, though still marked by captivity.

The fox women looked at them with a mix of fear, curiosity, and indifference.

“Let me talk to them. It will be faster,” Samantha said, moving towards the fox women. The twins nodded and stood back.

Samantha quietly conversed with them. The twins couldn’t hear what she said, but the fox women soon agreed to go with them. They brought everyone back to the first room.

“If you’re wondering how to leave, I may be able to get us out of here unharmed and undetected,” Samantha offered.

“You have advanced stage stealth mastery,” Yumi asked or rather stated.

“Yes,” Samantha replied with a smile.

From the beginning, Yumi had sensed that Samantha was at least as strong as she was, if not stronger. But such strength was unusual for a Mortal to surpass an Extraordinary. This was only possible if Samantha had at least one advanced stage mastery.

Just as Samantha had been observing them, Yumi had been observing her. Samantha’s movements were vastly superior, her skills evident in how she helped rescue the other fox women and proposed a safe escape route. Her familiarity with the castle suggested she was strong enough to break free from her chains and skillful enough to navigate the castle undetected, even by the king, a rank 4, while she was a mere Mortal.

The twins decided to trust her once more. Using the props, they left the room and followed Samantha’s lead.

As they moved, Yumi and one of the fox women they rescued from the last room suddenly shouted at the same time, “Stop!”

Everyone halted. Yumi had a vision: if they continued along this path, they would cross paths with the king, who was coincidentally heading their way. Samantha might escape detection, but the rest would be easily found, resulting in a brutal confrontation. The twins would barely escape with heavy injuries, but the fox women would perish, including Samantha, who would die protecting them.

Yumi turned to the fox-woman who had also screamed. She had long, shiny black hair and wore rags like the others. Her eyes were closed, and she had never opened them since they found her. Yumi thought she had lost her sight. She felt an inexplicable kinship with this woman from their first meeting. However, there was no time to dwell on this feeling; they had urgent matters to attend to.

The fox-woman smiled at Yumi before turning to Samantha. “This route is not safe; let’s take another.”

Samantha nodded without hesitation, clearly accustomed to her companion’s behavior.

Ayame looked at her sister with concern. Yumi nodded, signaling that everything was alright, and gestured for them to follow the new path.

They successfully escaped the castle after walking for more than half an hour. They picked up the pace and reached the truck the twins had hidden nearby.

“You don’t need to incapacitate us. We will not cause any problems and will even help you convince others,” the fox-woman with closed eyes said.

Ayame, who was about to incapacitate them, paused, startled by the woman's words. She looked to Yumi for her opinion.

“It will be your responsibility to ensure they don’t do anything foolish,” Yumi agreed.

Once everyone boarded the truck and they were about to leave, a roar echoed through the area.

“LIONIS!” The beast king’s roar could be heard many kilometers from the castle.

“Time to leave,” Samantha said from the back to the twins sitting in the cab.

Yumi nodded and drove the truck away, leaving the area behind them.