Chapter 632: Goddess of all beasts

"Who dares to be so arrogant!?" Jae Hyun demanded, releasing a burst of dark Soulforce outward to remove the suppressive pressure upon his soul.

It didn't work at all.

A gentle rain of plum blossom petals filled the battlefield. Their sweet fragrance suppressed the stench of blood and death. The moment they touched the ground, the raging fire vanished, and green grass grew upon the scorched land as if the earth were being healed by their gentle touch.

Between Mriga and Jae Hyun, a spinning tornado of pink petals appeared from thin air. Jae Hyun immediately retreated a few feet, sensing a terrifyingly suppressive Soulforce pressure from within.

Even Mriga stepped back in his beast form, feeling the obedience that this pressure demanded.

Their eyes narrowed at the figure inside as the petals began vanishing.

From inside emerged a demi-human woman, wearing a silken white robe with the embroidery of pink petals along the ethereal cloth. Her hands were covered in thin white gloves, and a similar veil covered her face. Her gem-like pink eyes with vertical pupils, fluffy fox ears atop her head, and her long pink hair swaying behind her were the only parts of her body not covered beneath the cloth.

There was one more part. Six long, pink tails swayed behind her. The moment Jae Hyun laid his eyes on her, his heartbeat quickened, and he felt an overwhelming urge to submit to her and serve her for eternity.

Not just him, Mriga, who was considered to have the purest mind in the Western Continent, only pursuing peace and nirvana, felt an inner demon being born in his heart just from looking at her.

He immediately turned his deep black eyes sideways. 'J-just a mere gaze upon her almost corrupted my mind even though she has her face hidden. What a terrifyingly bewitching aura. W-who could this lady be?' Mriga gasped inwardly.

"Turn back, human," Gumiho ordered again, her voice final.

Jae Hyun repeatedly hit his temples to pull himself out of the captivating allure of her presence.

"Who the hell are you to interrupt my battle and tell me what to do?" Jae Hyun barked, his auburn eyes with dark sclera narrowing at her.

He only knew about the three Sacred Beasts in the Beast factions. Vyomendra, the head of the Tiger Clan. Mriga, the head of the Deer Clan, and Riksharaja, the head of the Bear Clan.

There used to be two more, both of them in the Fox Clan. One was the Fox Clan's ancestor, and the other was the infamous Battle God Aruma, the nightmare of the humans.

The Fox Clan was the strongest among the four major beast clans, with some even claiming that they were the actual rulers of the beast factions.

Until...

A civil war occurred within the two major forces of the Fox Clan itself. The Ancestor of the Fox Clan and the Battle God Aruma. The war was so intense that both of them perished, completely changing the Fox Clan's standing.

Now, it wasn't even a major clan anymore. The only reason it still retained the title was because their last line of defense, Tianhu Stronghold, still stood, only barely.

Jae Hyun had led two legions to destroy this Stronghold while the other two legions were keeping the forces of the Bear and Tiger Clans busy.

With this overwhelming force, they intended to wipe out the Fox Clan while causing a major loss to the Deer Clan as well.

Jae Hyun was about to succeed until this demi-beast appeared. From her Soulforce alone, he could tell that she was as powerful as a Sacred Beast.

Even her presence was different from the other sacred beasts that Jae Hyun had faced. To the point that she didn't even seem like a beast. More like an immortal who had descended from the heavens.

"I'm Gumiho," she announced, her voice spreading through the battlefield.

Mriga's eyes immediately widened upon hearing the familiar name. She was the one mentioned in the ancient texts of the Deer Clan and the one Vyomendra took in with him after Battle God Aruma died.

But she was just a child. She shouldn't be older than thirty. Then how did she become so powerful already?

"I'm the Goddess of All Beasts," Gumiho declared in a firm tone.

Her declaration caused mixed reactions from both humans and beasts. Even the Mythic Beasts and the Greater Spirit Beasts a few hundred metres below them only looked at her with suspicious gazes.

The Beast factions never had one true leader. It was just a temporary alliance against the humans. If the humans were to stop the war, they would become hostile toward the other beast clans once again.

Never had anyone called themselves their king, much less a God.

Jae Hyun's gaze shifted to Mriga as if trying to confirm whether the fox beast spoke the truth.

Mriga seemed as reserved as him. Knowing that she was truly the Goddess from the myths was one thing, but actually accepting her as their Goddess was an entirely different matter. He knew nothing about her, after all.

Jae Hyun's lips curled into a smirk. "Your fellow beasts don't seem to agree with your claims," he mocked.

"Their agreement or disagreement cannot change the fact," Gumiho replied in a calm tone.

Her words immediately caused a ripple of snorts from the beasts. Even if she was a reinforcement, her arrogance knew no bounds. How dare she say those words in the presence of Mriga, the Sacred Beast?

Jae Hyun's smirk only deepened, seeing the beasts' reaction. If he were to play his cards right, he could still win this war. All he needed to do was make sure Mriga wouldn't join the battle.

"Hahaha, I never knew that the proud beasts that bow to no one have already found their king...or more accurately, Queen," he laughed, his booming voice spreading through the battlefield. "So they finally lowered their tails for the Fox Clan?"

"Hah! Who said we bowed to her?" one of the beasts retorted from the ground.

"We have no goddess!" another added.

"The Fox Clan is already one foot under the grave. Who gave them the audacity to become our leader?"

Hearing these insulting remarks, the Fox beast soldiers retorted in response.

In just a few seconds, the beasts were already slurring insults at each other, completely forgetting their common enemy.

Mriga merely shook his head in disappointment at the hollow pride of these beasts.

Meanwhile, Jae Hyun's smirk had already spread from ear to ear.

'At the end of the day, they are just foolish animals,' he laughed to himself.

In a sudden burst, he shot toward Gumiho, releasing a burst of twisted souls with a sway of his hand.