An hour had passed after the swamp found their new king and pledged their loyalty, but amidst their praise and gratitude, there were watchers in the trees, water, and even the bushes—scouting—while one beast in particular gazed from afar; at least a kilometer away.
"So, one of our members was defeated? How utterly disappointing." Crossing their arms behind their back, it was Vipermouth, the right-hand beast of Sasobek. "What a fool he was. Going in alone without giving us a warning."
Standing next to Vipermouth was a tall humanoid frog, wearing a long cape and iron armor with a scabbard at his hip.
"He had an invisibility skill, and yet he perished without getting any intel. What a waste..." Said the tall frog.
"And what of you, Leapmouth?" Asked Vipermouth, side-eyeing him. "What is your strategy?"
Leapmouth faced his comrade before closing his eyes and bowing his head.
"My strategy is to wait like Lord Sasobek has commanded before I initiate a duel against Bubastis."
Vipermouth lowered his head, chuckling.
"Oh how very noble of you, I expect nothing less from the loyal toad."
"Aye." Nodded Leapmouth. "I fight with honor and courage. Sneak attacks are a coward's means of attack."
Vipermouth lifted his head and stared onwards into the swampy forest. "While that may be true, it does get the job done a lot quicker." He muttered with a sinister smile.
Leapmouth shook his head in denial.
"Getting things done quickly is unsatisfactory, Vipermouth. It is wise to test your strength against a powerful foe, even if they are a Divine Beast." He turned to face his comrade, stern in his expression. "Otherwise, how else would you gauge your strength? We need to be strong in order to protect our King, for we are the 'Sacred Trinity'; the title he bestowed upon us as his Generals. Me, you, and Howlmouth."
Viperfang, staring straight ahead, crossed his arms in front of him with a contemplative look.
"I'm not a fool, Leapmouth."
The frog widened his eyes, visibly confused by his words.
"Whatever do you mean?"
Vipermouth's expression became quite serious as his thoughts ran rampant.
"Bubastis. She's been Lord Sasobek's arch-nemesis for the past 100 years or so, and not once has she ever made the mistake of giving away her location."
Leapmouth blinked a few times in confusion before stepping closer to his comrade.
"What are you saying, Vipermouth?"
"I'm saying we may be walking into a trap."
"A trap?" Muttered the frog. "That is unlikely, if it were a trap, we would've already been captured, or dead by now. We are already in the swamp."
"Mm." The snake furrowed his scaly brows in deep thought. "Well, there has to be a reason. She willingly slayed the King of the Swamp, knowing damn well that it belonged to Lord Sasobek."
"Ah, now I see..." The frog crossed his arms and faced the other way. "That does seem oddly suspicious, but what if we're dealing with another foe instead?"
Vipermouth shook his head at his question.
"No, that couldn't be it. When my beasts and I examined Croak'mars' body, he had claw marks engraved into his skin." Vipermouth nodded his head in reassurance. "They are the same claw marks left behind by Bubastis, the Divine Beast; so without a doubt, it is her." Lowering his head, he put his hand underneath his chin. "Though... I did see other smaller claw marks that were pretty shallow in comparison, but they weren't strong enough to do any considerable damage."
Leapmouth stood there, looking up into the sky, theorizing many possibilities.
"Perhaps she has a sidekick with her."
"Perhaps." Said Vipermouth. "There are many possibilities, I just suggest that we take things nice and slow. Honor and nobility are a fool's choice without intel, Leapmouth."
The frog, uncrossing his arms, placed his hand on his hilt before shaking his head in denial.
"Even without intel, honor and nobility come first in my eyes, Vipermouth." Leapmouth stood proud with determination in his eyes. "Even if I were to run into a trap, or be ambushed, I'll be the same beast until the day I die. That is the oath I made to myself."
Vipermouth scoffed at him before he shook his head in disbelief.
"It's your funeral, not mine, Leapmouth."
+
Sitting in the nave of the Church of Bastet, Bubastis, and Bishop Menka sat side by side.
"It is almost time for me to return." Bubastis, still wearing her hood, glanced at the bishop with a confident gaze.
"Are you certain about this, Bubastis?" Asked Menka, worried as ever. "You now have children, and you are planning to sacrifice yourself fighting Sasobek. What will happen to them?"
"I do not plan on sacrificing myself, Bishop Menka." She stood up, gazing at him with vengeful eyes. "I will fight to win, not die. Sasobek must be stopped by any means necessary if you want the Khetmenet to live on."
Menka frowned, rising to his feet as he clutched his shirt nervously.
"You sound so certain, as if victory is guaranteed."
"It isn't." She admitted, adjusting her hood as her sharp feline ears stuck out beneath it. "But neither is defeat."
"You both have Divine Skills, I understand that, however... he was the beast that killed a god and turned them into a weapon. What you're trying to do is impossible, Bubastis."
Bubastis gave a quiet hum of acknowledgment, lowering her head.
"I'm no fool, Bishop Menka. I understand he is beyond my capabilities, that's why I planned ahead."
Menka furrowed his brows.
"How is that possible?"
"Currently, there are only 4 known Heavenly Kings, and it's a title granted to those who slaughtered a Divine Being in their past, like a god." She lowered her head, assured of her plan.
"Wait a minute... what are you saying, Bubastis?"
"What do you think, Bishop Menka?"
She turned toward the stained glass windows of the church, where sunlight came in.
"Have you heard of the Goddess of Swamps, Ningikuga? She's by far one of the weakest gods, and if I can defeat her, then I can obtain what I need to win." She faced the Bishop, furrowing her brows. "If I don't have the power to defeat a god, then what purpose will I serve fighting Sasobek?"
"You madwoman!"
+
Meanwhile, back in the swamp, I was lounging on a giant turtle's shell like it was a moving couch. Honestly, I was kind of getting used to it, this was freaking awesome.
"Ahhh, this is the life!" I said, stretching my paws lazily. "Servants, bring me grapes and milk!"
"...What are grapes?" the turtle asked in confusion.
"Right, forgot you guys probably don't have those." I sighed dramatically. "Man, being a queen is already tough work!"
Currently, we were sitting in front of my nest with my brothers and sisters inside, sleeping next to Anurael. Sadly, they have yet to open their eyes since, you know, they were only a few days old.
With the snakes slithering nearby, they kept watch as the frogs perched on tree branches, gazing in the distance.
I had to admit—it felt kinda nice being adored for once, even if it was by reptiles and bugs.
[I wonder how they're able to understand me, considering I'm a cat.]
[[Answer. King of the Swamp title allows for all swamp creatures to understand you, and share your Epic Skills.]]
[Share my Epic Skills? What the heck.]
"Maybe I really am queen material!" I blurted out loud, confusing the turtle beneath me.
But before I could keep bragging to myself, a dragonfly landed on my ear and whispered in a tiny voice.
"My queen! We found something moving at the border!"
My ear twitched instinctively, flicking the little bug off me.
"Huh? The border?"
"Yes!" It buzzed nervously. "Large creatures, armored ones. They have to be Sasobek's beasts!"
"Sasobek? Who the heck is that?"
I jumped off the turtle's shell and landed in the mud with my paws barely making a sound thanks to Silent Steps.
"Show me."
The dragonfly guided me through the mangroves, weaving past hanging roots and fungi until we reached an open section of the northern swamp. Eventually, I could see them; two figures standing in my territory.
One looked like a humanoid snake as the other was a massive frog in armor, sword at his side, standing tall like some knight straight out of a fantasy novel.
"Oh no..." I whispered, feeling my fur standing on end. "This could be bad, what do these guys want?"
Right now, they couldn't see us; I was using Silent Steps and the Dragonfly was so small that they practically couldn't even hear it.
[[Notice. Intruders detected. Identifying...]]
[Thanks for the help, Spiritus!]
[[Warning. VIPERMOUTH – Elite General of Sasobek
Race: Beastlord
Rank: S]]
[[Warning. LEAPMOUTH – Elite General of Sasobek
Race: Beastlord
Rank: S]]
My jaw dropped.
[Oh crap. Give me a break! How dangerous are S-Rank beasts?!]
[[Good question. Every level determines a certain Rank. Level 10 and below are F-Ranks, level 20 are D-Ranks, level 30 are C-Ranks, level 40 are B-Ranks, level 50 are A-Ranks, level 60-70 are S-Ranks, level 80-90 are SS-Ranks, and level 100 are SSS-Ranks.]]
[Bruh... so they're in the 60-70 level range? There's no way in hell I can fight those guys! What the heck is my luck? Aren't I supposed to be extremely lucky or something?]
[[Success rate of winning is 0.0000001%.]]
[Shut up! You're not helping!]
The dragonfly flew beside my face, panicky.
"Orders, my queen?"
"Orders?" I whispered, trying to process the two walking nightmares across the swamp. "Yeah, uh... let's start with not dying, how about that?"