Chimaera's Conquest: The Legend Of The Devourer-Chapter 245: Old Acquaintances (1)

A group of Nexarian nobles had set up camp in a forest clearing. The night was dark, with only the flicker of campfires casting eerie shadows on the trees and the nearby tents.

Surrounding them were hundreds of beastmen slaves, their eyes downcast and their bodies marked by scars from constant abuse. The slaves were the property of the Nexarian nobility, forced to labour and suffer at their master’s whims.

The nobles were gathered at the centre of the clearing, unaware or unconcerned with the suffering of their slaves. How could they be concerned with the slaves when they had a new toy to play with?

They sat surrounding a woman tasked with entertaining them. Felicia had been stripped of her dignity and clothes and was forced to perform on a tightrope. Her wrists and ankles were bound, and she struggled to keep her balance as the nobles laughed and threw things at her to make her fall.

Bruised and broken, Felicia had no idea how things took a turn for the worse. One moment, they were having fun in the dungeon, and the next thing they knew, the beastmen were all over them.

Lucas tried his best to fight back, only to have his innards ripped out and feasted on while he was still alive. The healers were next, and even though Felicia didn’t want the same to happen to her, she quickly changed her mind after meeting the masterminds behind the attack.

In the few hours she had been there, the bastards had done unspeakable things to her. All the honour and pride she had for being a hunter quickly disappeared as she became a glorified plaything for the weird-looking humans who spoke a language she couldn’t understand.

"Shake those hips more!" one of the men roared, laughing and having the best time of his life.

Yet another one threw some boiling water on her. Felicia wobbled, trying to dodge. But fear and exhaustion had taken their toll on her. Eventually, she lost her footing and fell on the muddy forest floor.

The impact splashed some mud on a nobleman named Henrio, who was sitting nearby, and he didn’t like it one bit.

"You worthless slut!" Henrio roared, stepping forward and brandishing a whip that Felicia had already gotten acquainted with.

"How dare you throw dirt at me!?" Henrio snarled, raising the whip and bringing it down on Felicia, who cried in pain.

But Henrio didn’t stop and kept whipping her rain-drenched body. The others kept watching until Henrio’s cousin, Marino, grabbed his arm, stopping him.

"Henrio, that’s enough!" he said, snatching the whip from his younger cousin. "You’ll break her if you keep whipping her! Who do you think would be willing to buy a broken treasure? Just think before you act for once!"

Henrio paused and stared at Marino, his cheat heaving with rage. He then looked down at Felicia, who was squirming in pain. Without any hesitation, he kicked her in the stomach, making her squeal in agony and spat on her face.

"You got lucky this time," Henrio mumbled. "If only you weren’t valuable, I’d have torn your limbs off."

Leaving Felicia trembling on the ground, Henrio lit a cigar, taking a long drag to calm his nerves. He turned to his friends and, of course, his righteous cousin.

Ever since Nexarians lost their trust in the heroes, the nobles had to step up and deal with the dungeons. Even the Nexarian army and Aria’s church were preoccupied with dealing with the mess created by the heroes.

That’s why the nobles like Henrio were in a dungeon, trying to enjoy making the best out of the worst situation.

"What’s the status of the bombs?" Henrio asked them. "I want this forest destroyed by morning. So we could get out of here and be done with this compulsory service."

"Let me get one of the rascals," one of his friends replied, gesturing at the nearby beastman to get there. "Report."

The beastman, a creature with matted fur and eyes full of fear, stepped forward. He didn’t want to be there but knew refusing them would lead to terrible consequences.

"M-Most of the bombs have been planted, but seven of the eleven teams haven’t reported back. W-We think someone might have stopped them."

"Seven... out of eleven have gone MIA, and you didn’t bother reporting that to me?" Henrio’s face twisted with rage as he walked towards the beastman.

A moment later, he grabbed the beastman by the neck and shoved the burning end of his cigar into the creature’s eye. The beastman screamed, the smell of burning flesh filling the air while the nobles winced away.

"You morons can’t do one simple task without messing up!" Henrio shouted, shoving the beastman down. "You have one more chance to fix your mistake and destroy the forest, or I’ll kill every last one of you and bury you right here!"

Clutching his bleeding eye, the beastman nodded frantically and stumbled away to carry out the orders. Henrio’s friends, uneasy with his outburst, gathered around him, led by Marino, who was the only one who could keep Henrio in check.

"Was that necessary?" Marino asked, shaking his head. "They are not your personal slaves. You cannot do as you please!"

Henrio was annoyed and wanted Marino to buzz off. But before he could say a word, he heard a pop, and his vision turned red as Marino’s head popped like a balloon, covering all of them in blood as they stood frozen in shock.

"What the-" Henry mumbled, but his words were cut off as another arrow whizzed past him, hitting one of his friends in the throat. The man fell to the ground, gurgling as blood poured out of the wound before dying.

"There’s someone over there!" one of the remaining nobles yelled, pointing at a woman hidden within the branches of a tree, her bow drawn and another arrow already nocked.

"Get her!" Henrio yelled, prompting the beastmen to rush in that direction... only to be hit by a massive fireball that wiped most of them out. "What the hell is going on-"

"Long time no see," Adrian smirked, stepping out of the woods. "Baron Richen’s fourth illegitimate son, Henrio Richen."

"You... how is this possible!?"

***

Author’s note: Bonus Chapter for the golden tickets will be released tomorrow (on Monday). As usual, thanks for all the support!