Volume I – Isolated island survival memoir
Chapter H – Beautiful woman’s fantastic clan
(TL Note: As suggested by many readers, I will be using the Chinese names of the two MCs, i.e. Hailun and Li Cha)
“But this ratio is still very high considering the total population of your clan.” Liu Zhenhan felt like saying this out loud but did not interrupt her explanation.
“A sacred sacrifice’s mysterious battle songs can increase the courage of Beastman soldiers, can make their skin become hard as stone, can give them confidence to make greater efforts. The most important battle song is called ‘berserk battle song’ and as the name suggests, you can make the most outstanding soldiers go wild and berserk which increases their resistance even while facing fearful magic attacks.”
“This seems like hypnosis.” Liu Zhenhan remembered the anti-hypnosis training he had received in the previous world.
“Therefore, human magicians have always been the sworn enemies of Beamon sacred sacrifices. But we do not have the physical capability to involve in direct warfare with the human magicians, we are only the servants of war-G.o.d and our primary purpose is to maintain the glory and honor of war-G.o.d. Think of us like the shield in war-G.o.d’s left hand instead of the sword in his right hand.” Hailun said as her eyes reddened.
“Human magicians are so powerful, don’t they have any disadvantage?” Liu Zhenhan asked as ge was not ready to believe that human magicians were invincible.
“Of course, they have some serious shortcomings. During the invocation of magic, the recitation cannot be interrupted otherwise it will cause a rebound and make magic to bite the magician instead, killing them on the spot. And after each invocation of magic, they must meditate because magic is not an inexhaustible ent.i.ty. Long term meditation is especially necessary after each large-scale magic attack, for example, the magic to summon meteorites and so on. In fact, such a high-level magic may have a certain impact on the magician’s lifespan.”
“I knew it, there’s a price for anything. Even these so-called magicians are no exceptions.” Liu Zhenhan laughed.
“But humans are the most intelligent beings and they produce some complicated magic scrolls for instant magic invocation, thereby eliminating the requirement of long-term recitation. They also collect a lot of items for increasing the potency and range of magic such as magic stones, nuclei of magical beasts etc. They use these items to obtain a stream of magic in case they end up exhausting the internal magic contained in their bodies. In addition, they make use of some low cla.s.s magic frequently against us, such as summoning magic for ‘forest fire wall’ and ‘Ice gun’. Both of these magic attacks do not require large consumption of magic energy but these attacks wreak havoc on us, causing severe losses to our brave Beastman warriors.”
“Tell me more about their individual combat capability.” Liu Zhenhan asked.
“Human magicians usually have weak bodies and once they end up consuming their magic then even a child can beat them.” Hailun said.
“Then why do not you a.s.sa.s.sinate them?” Liu Zhenhan felt that the most efficient strategy should be to exploit their disadvantages. Human magicians possessed weak bodies and were vulnerable to lethal sneak attacks, giving them no chance to recite or invoke magic.
Hailun smiled wryly: “Each magician has his own partner that is generally a strong powerhouse from Pan Mainland and is also willing to be a companion for this magician. These companions are usually the most outstanding soldiers. Let alone, during war, magicians are treated as strictly protected objects. Even Beastman warriors who manage to approach them may not be able to defeat their companions. Humans have outstanding wisdom and make the best out of it. Perhaps, a Beastman soldier can easily defeat three human soldiers, but an outstanding human warrior can easily defeat our best soldier.”
“a.s.sa.s.sination is never a simple task, mark my words.” Liu Zhenhan agreed with this view.
“Our defeat in Mount Hyjal war, one thousand years ago, was precisely because of the fact that human magicians had an extremely dominant advantage over us. Not only did we hand over our beloved Qin continent to them, we also had to face atrocities because human soldiers were extremely ruthless.
In the most critical moment, when the remaining beastmen were retreating to Danube wilderness, countless proud and brave Sacred Sacrifices of Fox clan voluntarily stepped forward and burned their own lives in order to trade for the magic to summon – nebula chain lightning. This magic attack was used to block the path of chasing human forces.”
“Is that perhaps the reason how your clan later became an aristocratic clan?” Liu Zhenhan asked.
“Yes.” She nodded: “Initially, Fox clan just used to be a va.s.sal clan of Wolf clan as ours is an ordinary race at root level and members of Wolf clan hold superior battle abilities than us. Most aristocratic clans are formidable and hold excellent military advantage in case a war erupts. And all other clans act as va.s.sal clans for these warrior clan and are treated as civilian clans. For a clan to step up from its va.s.sal status, its only option is to become an aristocratic clan by showing its prowess and strategic importance on battlefield. Considering the tremendous contribution made by Fox clan, when Beastman race established its new kingdom in Danube wilderness, His Majesty specially canonized Fox family as a hereditary aristocracy. Prior to that, my clan used to be a hereditary civilian clan.”
“Do you have a n.o.ble t.i.tle now?” Liu Zhenhan further asked. At the same time, Fruit swayed in his arms and yawned.
“I am the Baron of Beamon Kingdom’s northeastern province. Yes, I have a fiefdom.” Hailun replied with a smile.
“And here, I am waiting for her surname to change to ‘Liu’.” Great Officer Liu gave a deceitful smile as he quickly calculated in his heart.
“In fact, even if I don’t belong to an aristocratic clan, as long as I can become a sacred sacrifice, the temple will give me knighthood as well as my own fiefdom. However, there aren’t many sacred sacrifices in Beamon Kingdom.” Hailun proudly said.
“Knowledge is power, they say.” Liu Zhenhan secretly muttered: “Though I do not know who first came up with this saying.”
“Oh!” Liu Zhenhan patted his own forehead like the so-called eureka moment: “Haven’t I already made a magical beast pet? Does not that mean I have the qualifications to become a sacred sacrifice like you? If I return with you then can your temple give me a t.i.tle as well?”
“No!” Hailun smiled and shook her head: “You have not set a soul contract with Fruit so it will not follow your commands in a battle, not to mention its combat capability is too small.”
“Who said that?” Liu Zhenhan shook the sleeping Fruit to wake it up then pointed at a th.o.r.n.y bush not far from them and commanded like a captain: “Boy, shoot a regiment of frost-air for me.”
Fruit slowly opened its dim and sleepy eyes and opened its mouth to shoot a bundle of ice air. With a ‘Peng’ sound, the bundle of ice-air slammed into the th.o.r.n.y bush and white colored powder scattered all over. The green th.o.r.n.y bush quickly became a ma.s.s of transparent crystal made up of ice.
“Bingo! How was that? Are you satisfied now?” Liu Zhenhan proudly said.
“This does not mean you can become a sacred sacrifice.” Hailun shook her head again and said: “A sacred sacrifice is required to sing battle songs in order to seek the honor and glory of war-G.o.d Campas and give blessings of magic to our fellow Beastman soldiers. Having a magical beast as pet is not enough to make you a sacred sacrifice.”
“I can sing, you know.” Liu Zhenhan laughed: “I can learn to sing any song as long as I listen to it even once. I am particularly a quick learner when it comes to singing. You may be thinking that I am boasting but no matter what song it is and in which language it may be, I can sing it while maintaining 40-50% accuracy at least.”
Hailun curled her lips. It was obvious that she did not believe him.
“You don’t believe me?” Liu Zhenhan said: “I learned that mysterious song you sang earlier. Want me to give it a try?”
This brought a look of disbelief on her face.
“Open your ears and listen!” Liu Zhenhan cleared his throat and began to sing the same song she sang earlier.
Liu Zhenhan was indeed very good at imitation and the texture of his voice was also outstanding. He was also able to imitate the vibrations that were present in her voice.
However, there was an unchanging dignified look on her face.
Liu Zhenhan suddenly began to feel strange as he continued to sing this battle song. He didn’t know why he felt so strange and chaotic in his stomach. It was quite funny because all he wanted was to amuse Hailun by singing this song but he never knew that after starting, he would not be able to stop. There were no brakes to stop this magical incantation rather there was just a profound burst of pure brightness, lyrics and melody continuously pouring into his mind.
Liu Zhenhan sang the last syllable and suddenly covered his mouth with a look of disbelief clearly visible on his face.
Hailun was staring at him in disbelief with her eyes widened as her blue pupils were trembling and fully focused on him.
“Didn’t I tell you that I am good at mimicry and singing?” Liu Zhenhan said with a proud smile.
“You are an inborn soul singer!” Hailun excitedly hugged him.
“What?” Liu Zhenhan was startled by this, “What are you talking about? What singer?”
“There are various ranks among sacred sacrifices. The lowest ranked sacrifice uses the language of the wind to soothe the mind and soul of people using battle songs in wind language. These battle songs can resonate with people, to soothe the soul of the dead, to comfort their injured mind and soul and also to restrain wild thoughts.”
“Well, almost similar to a trumpeter.” Liu Zhenhan remembered how a trumpeter was usually summoned to provide soothing funeral music on funerals whenever someone died in his hometown.
“Only on the basis of the language of the wind, a sacred sacrifice can qualify to become a soul singer. In fact, a soul singer, who can sing psychic battle song, is able to communicate with anyone in their own language. This ability helps these special sacrifices to communicate and hence control pets, because only after becoming a soul singer, one can befriend magical beasts.” Hailun excitedly said: “At present, I have the status of a soul singer and you were able to imitate the psychic battle song that I sang earlier to communicate with you! Do you understand what this means? This means you were able to sing a psychic battle song and this is enough for you to befriend magical beasts. I never expected you to actually learn the psychic battle song so easily! This is just so unbelievable! You are terrific!”
“What the h.e.l.l? Are you serious?” Liu Zhenhan thought that this was very simple and not really a big deal for him. Learning a folk song and giving performances in front of his battalion or family members was a common thing for him. He had learnt and performed on myriad of folk songs and patriotic songs in various languages that this was really a child’s play for him.
“Don’t you know the rarity that is present in the probability of occurrence of a sacred sacrifice?” Hailun’s face was sweating with over-excitement, “It similar to the rare probability of a magician appearing among human beings! Now do you understand how important a sacred sacrifice is for Beastman race?”
“I did not know.” Liu Zhenhan really didn’t know and how was he supposed to know in the first place.
“Our records tell that there have been very few innate soul singers to exist in the history of Beamon Beastman race and each and every one of them have been thoroughly doc.u.mented as our valiant heroes. Just the way, there have been very human magicians in human history and all have been granted the t.i.tle of splendid heroes.” Hailun hugged Liu Zhenhan, “Li Cha, you will certainly become our hero, our greatest sacrifice in the future!”
“Hero?” Liu Zhenhan never considered himself as a hero-like figure. He always thought that heroes were great people who were willing to give glorious sacrifices for the sake of others. But he was not the type who would willingly take a bullet to the eye to save a stranger. Though as a soldier, his duty suggested otherwise and he had already sacrificed his life once for his nation.
“A soul singer’s next goal should be to become a sacred sacrifice. Because only after becoming one, you can use ‘Berserk battle song’ and also begin to realize the life magic, further on, you can achieve the true power of a sacrifice. And then only you can become the supreme sacred sacrifice of the temple, in other words a Great Shaman sacrifice.” Hailun’s seductive eyes and the way she said these words stirred up a strange funny feeling in his heart.
“You mean to say that I can become a supreme sacrifice just because I am a good singer.” Liu Zhenhan shook his head like a naughty baby elephant and said: “I do not believe you.”
“It’s up to you whether you believe me or not!” Hailun pouted and there appeared two beautiful dimples on her face.
“Alright, let’s suppose you are correct, so what? This doesn’t change the fact that both of us are trapped on this small isolated island and there is no visible way to get out of here.” Liu Zhenhan said with a bitter smile.
Hailun’s eyes suddenly dimmed down.
“Hey, I was just kidding. Don’t take me seriously, I will find a way out. Relax!” Liu Zhenhan noticed her depressed mental state and tried to cheer her up. “Can’t we travel by ship? We can wait for a ship to pa.s.s from here and request them to take us to a nearby port.”
“That is impossible.” Hailun remembered the practical problems in this and a hint of sadness captured her face.
“Dear Li Cha, I think you are aware of how I came to this island, right?” She asked him.
“Your ship was caught in storm and shipwrecked after crashing into rock formations near the sh.o.r.e.” Liu Zhenhan said.
“That’s not my ship. Did not I tell you earlier? I was captured by those shameless human bandits.”
“Time flies gradually, a thousand years have pa.s.sed since the battle of Mt. Hyjal. And thanks to that, the Beastman people went through a lot of hardships and finally managed to cultivate new generations which helped in our revival. We erected a new Beamon Beastman Kingdom in the vast Danube wilderness. We showed unity in diversity and this was a new beginning for us. While at this time, human race split their country into multiple small nations and firmly occupied Qin continent. Although most of these human nations are extremely hostile towards us and this leads to several small-scale border clashes, but no one is willing to start a large-scare war between humans and Beastman Kingdom.
Snow-capped mountains have firmly stood between Danube wilderness and Qin continent since eternity, like a continuous giant boundary that stops both us and humans from peeping into each others’ country.
There is only one active border that our Beamon kingdom shares with a human nation which is called ‘mercenary nation’. It acts as a buffer nation between Danube wilderness and human territory. It will almost take one month to traverse the wilderness in this buffer zone to reach either Beamon Kingdom from Qin continent and vice versa. Hence, this made it a huge cushion between the human and beastman territories.
As a result of pa.s.sage of such a long time, the hatred between beastman people and humans has faded a lot. This also made it possible for human traders to come all the way to the Beamon Kingdom to sell weapons, cloth, books and several other goods in exchange for fur, slaves and precious nuclei of magical beasts. The differences between the two races have not entirely faded, and so far, there is no human nation that has signed a formal trade agreement with us.
Beastman race and human race are in a very delicate situation where both are keeping a close eye on each other.
Beamon Kingdom witnesses a large demand for steel, armors, cotton and silk cloths. In fact, we also notice a large market for non-governmental trade with human merchants and our kingdom had to step in to provide more friendly and fair environment for both parties in order to sustain long lasting trade and business environment for both our merchants and human merchants. After getting the status of aristocracy, my Fox clan was given the vital task of guarding northeast border and in order to keep a close eye on trade with humans.
Long ago, Beamon Kingdom gave my Fox clan the task of guarding the northeast border and this was actually done to fulfill a strategic and political intention. And that is – Only Fox clan is capable intellectually to deal with those despicable and cunning human traders. We try our best to maximize economic benefits for our kingdom using our wits and wisdom.
My hometown is located in the northeastern province of Beamon Kingdom and that is where my whole Fox clan lives.”
She was talking volubly.
“So, that is how those human bandits penetrated your defenses and kidnapped you and your sisters?” Liu Zhenhan felt very strange, “Are the garrison troops on your border blind?”
“Love, I will tell you a terrible fact.” Hailun bit her lower lip and indignantly said: “Members of Fox clan have fiery red hair and red tails and are considered as rare raw materials for making fur and scarf for those humans – – because humans consider our fur and skin as more magnificent. Human aristocrats are willing to spend any amount of price to obtain goods made from the skin and fur of our people, because it always shows a symbol of wealth and power in the human society.”
“They have gone too far!” Liu Zhenhan’s blood-shot eyes opened wide as he could not tolerate such a despicable behavior.
“Those f.u.c.king fascist b.a.s.t.a.r.ds!” Liu Zhenhan growled.