Months fshed by quickly as life settled down in the Sect. The disciples mostly focused on their cultivation, attending csses hosted not only by Ren but also by the other Elders. The most surprising was Isha, who enjoyed teaching the outer disciples and holding public courses more than she had expected. It didn't take long, and she was among the most popur Elders, too, always looking out for the outer disciples and their issues.

  Meanwhile, hundreds of kilometers away in Thunder Valley, the city was already looking like a medium-sized human settlement, filled with different demons, living in surprisingly good harmony, and even had a few human residents by now. Most of those had arrived as representatives of different companies or merchants, setting up branches here, ready to reap great rewards and seek previously unheard-of opportunities. Niji held a meeting at the city hall, with various tribal leaders in attendance.

  "We have been contacted by two other tribes wishing to join us," Niji expined, while Kang listened calmly. Next to him, Pongo took a whiff from her pipe, while the new leader of the fairies, Mili, nervously pyed with her long, green hair. "Haaah… nothing?" Niji looked around them, but they all just sat silently. "Really?"

  "You lead," Kang answered calmly, ending the discourse with two words.

  "Yeah, this is tooooooo much troubleeeeee…. Just… decide okaaaay?” Pongo puffed out a giant cloud of smoke from her nose, uninterested in the meeting.

  “We… we are fine… with your… decision…” Mili murmured in an almost inaudible voice.

  "Come on, you always push all the work on me. No wonder Shaman tucked in his tail and ran off to join their Sect! Now I am starting to consider it too!" Niji compined as he held his head with both hands. "Olup is still recovering, eager as he is... He is in no condition to move around yet," he whispered into his palms, wanting to give up and retreat into a cave.

  "You are good. Lead good, why bother us?" Kang asked, picking his ears with a bored expression.

  "Because we should work together, that is why! Okay, okay… let's continue!" Niji grumbled as he forced himself to calm down. "The two tribes who contacted us, wanting to join, are the Owls and a group of Moles."

  His words made the others exchange weird looks, even as Pongo's eyes regained real crity from their usual clouded state.

  "They would gobble up the moles. Day one." Pongo said with a clear voice, surprising everyone.

  "This is why I requested this meeting." Niji groaned, watching them, "Both tribes wish to join us, and they would be great assets. The owls could easily py the role of our nightly guardians, while the moles are the perfect workforce to expand downwards and build an undercity or even shelters we can use if we are attacked in the future."

  "Still, owls proud, getting along hard," Kang added, shaking his head.

  “They… wouldn’t eat… us… no?" Mili asked with a scared voice, but Kang stretched out his giant hand, gently patting her head.

  "We protect."

  "No worries, I pn to set up a meeting first, then we can decide." Niji stated firmly, "The main problem is that if the owls start causing trouble, the moles will be there to finish it. We will see their standings on things and decide then, but... That is why I want you to be there too. I alone can't deal with this." He continued as he looked at the giant, white goril before scanning the rest.

  "Help." Kang agreed quickly while Pongo just took another sip from her pipe.

  "Suuuureeeeee."

  "O-okay."

  "Thanks!" Niji exhaled, finally relieved, "The meeting will take pce the day after tomorrow. Their leaders and their entourage are going to arrive by evening."

  "Evening?" Mili tilted his head.

  "Well… the owls are nightly creatures, and the moles… hate the sunlight," Niji expined with a smile, shaking his head.

  "It is going to be a looooooooong night." Pongo sighed before standing up as the meeting came to an end, leaving behind an exhausted Niji leaning back in his chair

  "I can't imagine how humans formed such big empires, really… leading this one city is getting on my nerves." He stood up after a few long minutes, finally walking to his cabinet and taking out a wine bottle, chugging from it like there was no tomorrow. "Ahh… at least this position has its perks!" he chuckled a bit, feeling more ready to get back to work.

  …….…..

  "How are the preparations?" Matu walked into their group's hiding pce, deep in the forest, under a giant oak tree's roots.

  "Everything went perfectly," answered one of the other three, namely Hob. He was the oldest mongoose in the group, yet a loyal follower of Matu, even if he was only half his age.

  "It was easy to find a cowardly tribe, and the moles are perfect for the role. If they get accepted into their vilge, they can dig a tunnel for our infiltration attempt in a week." Wanata chuckled, who was the group's main scout and tracker.

  "Do not underestimate them!" Nepi warned, the only female in the fold, who had the main role as their medic and caretaker.

  "Agreed." Matu nodded. "I learned that previously... You all saw that. Anyway, humans should not be a problem. Our main goal is to gain access and assassinate the strongest, the white goril named Kang. We take him out and leave... The rest will colpse naturally."

  "Are you sure?" Hob asked, unsure of his pns.

  "Yeah, you know it too, that power is everything. They won't hold together for long if they lose their best warrior and the pilr of their union. One, they will fight for his vacant position, and two, his presence subdues the rowdy ones. Taking him out is going to let the rest cause trouble. We will wait until chaos ensues and finish them off."

  "Hope it works!" Hob sighed, going with his leader's pns. "They are clearly on the path to conquer the south... If they succeed, the higher-ups won't be happy."

  "It always works," Matu replied confidently, because it was not the first time they conquered a tribe like this.

  "And if not, so what? It was the scorpions who fucked it up first." Wanata snorted, watching the others, "The rest of their tribe back home is the one who should be punished, not us!"

  "You know how tyrannical those striped kitty cats are." Nepi rolled her eyes, annoyed by his tone, "We can't pce our whole tribe in danger! We must succeed."

  "..." After her words, Matu stayed silent, tapping on the table before him.

  "What are you thinking about?" Nepi looked at him, noticing his hiding, conflicted gaze, lurking deep within his eyes.

  "Nothing. Just a fleeting thought of joining them."

  "What?!" all three of them blurted out in surprise, watching their leader.

  "What, what? Didn't you see their city?" He snorted, smiling, "It's like the old ruins we always come across. Even better! What do we have back home? Exactly that. Ruins. The tigers still live in caves..."

  "So what?" Wanata crossed his arms. "We are not humans. We don't need to imitate them with everything. Also, you know how strong the tigers and their king are! They won't show mercy if we even think about going our different ways. We go against them once, and we are dead. We all are!"

  "Yeah…" Nepi agreed, "Tigers, cougars, panthers, lions, cheetahs, not to mention the many mixed breeds of cats… their numbers are overwhelming... We are only accepted into their fold because we live on the fringes... You should know the best, Matu. You led them multiple times! Those who are not with us are against us. And the ones who are against us? They are dead."

  "Yeah, yeah… It's just… seeing a different approach made me think. That is all. Let's forget it and go back to the pn!" He shook his head, knowing that back home, hundreds of his brethren depended on his performance here.

  "Agreed," Hob spoke up with a nod. "We do this and go back home to make our report. That is all."

  "What if we fail?" Matu asked, curious.

  "Then we flee." Wanata shook his head, shrugging, "We can't be at fault if we just can't deal with them. We report back and tell the tigers that if they want to keep the South in pieces, they must send part of the army down."

  "They won't be able to spare anyone because of the doggies." Matu chuckled, pying with his healed tail, "They are at each other's throats like rabid bastards. Even after the first successes, eliminating the most dangerous tribe, the wolves had... Our advance has slowed to a halt. Even the big boss is in the mountains, working on a breakthrough."

  "I just hope we won't be sent onto that side… That kind of war is not suitable for us." Nepi leaned back, chewing her lips. "Wolves never hunt alone, and they only move in packs. If we see one, there must be five others nearby... It is a pain in the butt."

  "Okay, okay, stop. Focus on the current task!" Hob said with a serious voice. "Can we trust the moles?"

  "Yeah." Wanata nodded. "I made sure they listened well and didn't try anything funny. I kidnapped the tribe leader's son for extra insurance."

  "Where is he? Why didn't you tell me?" Matu asked as he raised his eyebrow.

  "He is here." He ughed, pointing at the bones of the table, the remains of their dinner. "Don't worry, they don't know. This ensures their cooperation; when we are done, they will be the scapegoats anyway! This new, mixed vilge will do our job and finish them for revenge."

  "You can be truly vile…." Nepi sighed, shaking her head, while Matu kept silent for a few seconds before nodding, approving of his decisions.

  "Good. We are ready then. Let's wait and see how it turns out." Their General stood up with a determined look in his eyes, pushing any distracting thoughts to the back of his mind, as he had done before, multiple times, to ensure their tribe's survival back home.