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Meanwhile, in a quiet room somewhere in the Beastkin Kingdom, a young girl with crimson eyes and shoulder-length bluish-purple hair sat in deep thought. She had an almost childlike figure, long fluffy ears and a big bushy tail like a fennec fox. Her features were cute and delicate, with a touch of seriousness in her expression. She wore a kimono tied with a large ribbon at the waist.
This young beastkin girl, who looked like a little kid, was staring solemnly in the direction of Rikuu's battle with the Black Hawk.
"…That's a strong aura. And not that far from here."
She finally spoke, her soft voice hinting at complicated thoughts.
At that moment, Rikuu was already heading toward the beastkin territory.
This time, things went pretty smoothly. Nothing got in his way, and it only took him three or four hours to reach the forest where the beastkin were hiding.
"One, two… five scouts, huh." Rikuu's sharp senses immediately picked up the locations of several beastkin, and he frowned.
If he could help it, he didn't want to use the Divine Escape Talisman. He had this sudden urge to try using it to sneak into the Dragonia or Giant territory instead—maybe he could score a diamond-grade loot box. Sure, it was dangerous, but hey, no risk, no reward.
Considering his current strength, using a Divine Escape Talisman just to snag a platinum box from the beastkin felt kinda wasteful.
"…Alright, let's try something else first." After a moment's thought, Rikuu switched into stealth mode. He threw on a special black cloak that covered him head to toe and masked his scent with a unique odor.
With that done, Rikuu began to move. Even though he was strong now, taking on an entire race head-on was still a bit much. Not to mention, there was one particularly dangerous individual among them—the beastkin princess.
Rikuu glided silently through the sky, using the night as cover. Despite the beastkin's heightened senses, from that high up and with his dark cloak blending into the sky, most of them couldn't even spot him.
Soon, he was hovering above the grandest building in the entire beastkin capital, slowly descending.
So far, so good. Rikuu let out a silent breath of relief.
"Who's there!?"
A cold, sharp voice suddenly rang out, making Rikuu flinch in surprise.
BOOM! Rikuu instantly realized he'd been detected—and odds were, it was by the beastkin princess herself. He didn't bother sneaking around anymore and just burst forward, stomping the air and shooting straight toward the palace.
With a pair of loud bangs, Rikuu blasted a hole in the palace wall and landed in a brightly lit room.
"Enemy attack! Protect the princess!"
"Damn it! What race is this guy from?! He actually broke into the palace!"
The alarms blared as panic swept through the beastkin. Guards rushed in from all directions, faces full of rage and confusion.
"Who are you? You look human, but no human can fly and unleash this kind of power," the young beastkin in a kimono said coldly, her red beast-like eyes fixed on Rikuu.
"So you're the beastkin princess," Rikuu replied, narrowing his golden eyes. He didn't answer her question, just made a calm statement.
"I am the princess of the beastkin," she replied, voice still cold. "My name is Hatsuse Fia. What's yours?"
"Hatsuse Fia… Hatsuse Izuna…" Rikuu narrowed his eyes slightly as he studied the little beastkin girl in front of him. She shared a lot of features with Hatsuse Izuna from six thousand years in the future. Something clicked in his mind.
Was this girl… maybe an ancestor of Izuna?
"What's your name?" she asked again when Rikuu stayed silent.
"You can call me Rikuu, little one." He smiled slightly.
And with that, Rikuu's figure flickered and shot straight at her like a blur.
Fia's eyes sparkled—she was surprised, sure, but didn't panic. She simply stood her ground, calm and composed, waiting for him to strike.
The speed was impressive—stronger than your average beastkin even in a berserk state—but still not quite on her level.
But then, Fia frowned. Rikuu hadn't actually attacked her. Mid-rush, he veered off and stopped a dozen meters to her right, looking super pleased with himself.
"What exactly is your goal? You don't seem hostile toward me," Fia said in a low voice.
"What if I told you I'm just here to do a little sightseeing?" Rikuu said lazily while reaching over to open a glowing, ultra-fancy platinum loot box nearby.
He was honestly a bit surprised she hadn't attacked yet. But hey, no complaints from him.
After all, his goal was just to open the platinum treasure chest. He hadn't expected things to go this smoothly.
"Are you... mocking me?" Hatsuse Fia said coldly, clearly annoyed.
At the same time, her hair began to float around her even though there was no wind. A powerful aura suddenly burst from her body.
This level of power—it was stronger than even the Black Eagle!
"....."