Chapter 31: The Honest Centaur

"Spirit of Nature, just as you said, a terrible army of death and destruction is rampaging through the forest not far from here."

Ursok Windstride, a centaur warrior, stood in the shadows of the forest with the warriors of his tribe. He was speaking to Mirela, whose sparrow sat perched on his shoulder.

"They’ve wiped out the goblins who once kidnapped the women of our tribe, but they’re even more evil than the goblins. Even uglier, too..."

In the distance, two Lesser Imps were fighting viciously over a goblin’s ear.

"They defile everything and destroy everything!"

Farther away, several Imps were setting fire to the surrounding trees on Koda’s orders, meaning to collect the far more valuable charcoal.

One huge tree after another went up in flames, then collapsed into the charcoal Koda wanted.

Of course, doing it without a proper charcoal kiln was somewhat wasteful.

But Koda, who had grabbed an early lead, simply didn’t care.

He didn’t have time to manage every scrap carefully.

There was still too much ground to cover and too many rare finds to claim.

So he could only choose the most brutal, efficient way to gather as much as possible from nearby.

It was actually quite common for new lords in the early days of building a territory.

Whether they needed to clear farmland or gather firewood for warmth, cutting down everything in sight could be useful.

However, certain races saw it very differently.

The centaurs, for example, were a race deeply tied to nature.

"These enemies of nature are defiling the Mother Nature we serve!"

"We must stop them!"

Hearing Ursok’s words, Mirela immediately got excited.

"Exactly! Exactly!"

"Those damned creatures are destroying the beautiful, harmonious natural world!"

"My dear centaur chieftain, great Ursok Windstride, Guardian of Nature... There’s something I must confess to you."

The sparrow hopped closer to Ursok’s ear and spoke slowly, stressing every word.

"Those ugly, damned monsters are only the vanguard of a much larger evil army."

"Do you see that gate over there?"

Following the sparrow’s wing, Ursok looked toward the gate standing at the edge of the distant forest.

"On the other side of that gate, even more evil monsters are watching your world, coveting your homeland!"

"Killing the monsters in front of you is only a secondary goal. What you truly need to do is destroy that gate and cut off their way into this world!"

’Hmph! Not only will I ruin your plans to expand, I’ll break your gate too,’ she thought.

’Once that happens, everything you’ve invested in claiming ground on the Tithe Lands will go to waste!’

’I don’t know who you are, but whoever you are, you’re my enemy in this Claiming!’

Mirela secretly rejoiced when she heard that Ursok meant to stop the demons.

"So that’s how it is?"

"Spirit of Nature, your insight is truly admirable."

Ursok’s eyes widened as he finally understood where these demons, who seemed to have come out of nowhere, had actually come from.

"There’s no need to thank me. Any druid who loves nature would do the same."

"Nature is the mother we all share," Mirela replied.

However, just as she thought Ursok was about to lead his warriors down against the Imps, the centaur suddenly changed the subject to something rather...

Well, strange.

"Alas... What a pity."

"Many of the women in our tribe have only just given birth, and they’re still very weak."

"Meanwhile, our men have to hunt, care for the women, and patrol our lands. We’re simply exhausted."

Hearing this, Mirela’s expression stiffened.

She seemed to have guessed what was coming.

"Otherwise, I could have led our fine young warriors to wipe those creatures out today!"

"What a pity. Such a pity."

Sure enough.

These damned half-man, half-horse centaurs were also a bunch of cunning opportunists who wouldn’t lift a hoof without something to gain.

They hated demons for destroying nature, but that didn’t mean they were willing to clash with Koda’s forces for nothing.

This was where something about the natives of the Tithe Lands had to be understood.

Take Ursok’s centaur warriors, for example.

They were only one of the countless native races dragged into the Tithe Lands along with their land, but they were far from stupid.

They weren’t like dumb beasts wandering around, waiting to be hunted by whatever lord happened to pass by. They had their own lives.

They had their own territory, their own needs, and their own interests, and they were willing to fight other natives or nearby lords for them.

In short, the natives of the Tithe Lands weren’t just prey.

They were more like independent factions, with their own preferences, needs, and interests.

"It’s all right... great Ursok Windstride, Guardian of Nature."

Mirela took a deep breath before addressing the cunning centaur leader.

"I can provide enough supplies to solve your tribe’s troubles."

"After all, you and your people are making sacrifices for Mother Nature. No Spirit of Nature, myself included, would ever stand by and watch you suffer."

Mirela wanted to wreck the demon lord’s plans.

She thought of the fairly generous stores in her own territory, then of the several thousand soul stones she had saved up.

Finally, she steeled herself and decided to make her move.

"Really?"

Ursok’s eyes lit up as he named his price.

"Then, great Spirit of Nature, to help us wipe out these enemies who defile Mother Nature, I hope you can give us enough food to feed our tribe for one month."

Mirela’s heart bled.

That was a huge sum of soul stones.

But thinking about how deadly this new lord might become later on, she gritted her teeth and reluctantly agreed.

"Fine. But how many are there in your tribe?"

"Seventy-four!" Ursok answered honestly.

"Seventy-four? That many?"

Mirela froze.

She was puzzled. An ordinary centaur tribe usually had around sixty members.

After all, that was about as many as a centaur territory could feed.

So why did Ursok’s tribe have so many?

After counting all the warriors in front of her, Mirela suddenly realized something. She narrowed her eyes and turned toward Ursok.

"Wait a minute. Did you count the newborns too?"

"That’s right!"

Ursok smiled brightly.

He was being perfectly honest.

And for one brief moment, Mirela genuinely wanted to slap the half-man, half-horse bastard with her sparrow wings until his face swelled up.