Chapter 853
Chapter 853
853: Outlaw Rabbit
A beastman stood in front of us after breaking down the wards we had set up.
He was not very tall, I’d say less than 160 cm. Moreover, his face looked surprisingly kinda cute.
I’d never expect him to be an outlaw with a face like that. That said, the scars all over his body added an intimidating aura to his cuteness.
In front of this cute but intimidating man, Fran simply tilted her head.
「Bloodfang Brigade?」
「Don’t you fucking play dumb! You saying you don’t know me, Drulay-sama, third seat of the Bloodfang Brigade!?」
The man in front of us was a member of the Bloodfang Brigade, and a high-ranking one at that. He spoke with a high-pitched soprano voice matching his face.
However, Fran was concerned about something else.
「You don’t have fangs, but you’re in the Bloodfang Brigade?」
「S-Shut up! That doesn’t matter!」
The man was actually a herbivorous beastman. Anyone could tell by his ears that he was undoubtedly a rabbitkin.
I’d say he was the same race as Royce of the Ash Rabbits, a close associate of the Beast King. That would explain his sudden appearance.
Small herbivorous beastmen were already very good at stealth, but the Ash Rabbits had an affinity for teleportation magic. He must have teleported in next to us.
Meanwhile, Fran was wondering why one of the leaders of the Bloodfang Brigade didn’t have any fangs.
「?」
「F-Fuck……」
Drulay seemed to be concerned about that fact as well. He was surprisingly dismayed.
And thus he had no idea what to say after Fran questioned him with innocent eyes.
If anyone else tried to make fun of him for this, he would probably just shut them up with his fists. But Fran was asking seriously.
She really meant no harm, just saying what was on her mind.
「It’s just been called the Bloodfang Brigade forever, so they don’t care if you have no fangs!」
「Hmm…」
「You’re the one asking me, so what the hell’s with the uninterested response! Damn!」
He seems to have a good sense of humor. But after seeing the figures of his defeated subordinates, he immediately tightened his expression and glared at Fran.
「You’ve certainly given my men quite the beating, eh?!」
「……They attacked me.」
「Like I care! I’ll kick your ass first!」
「Mrgh.」
He’s out for blood, attacking us without any further talk!
Just because he’s using his bare hands doesn’t mean he’s going easy on us, since his fists clearly had enough force to deal a mortal wound. This guy must be the type who prefers to punch first and ask questions later.
Fran backstepped to evade him, but Drulay accelerated even faster at us. He’s a beast of a rabbit!
「Nice moves! I’ve heard that the black cats are getting better nowadays!」
「Hmph!」
「Way too obvious!」
He quickly ducked to evade Fran’s side cleave, throwing out a jab of his own. His movements were clearly those of a specialist.
If we consider Gazzol as an expert in large scale battles outside the city, then this man is probably best at fighting in these narrow alleys.
「Hah!」
Drulay dodged under the sword, but Fran delivered a kick instead. However, Drulay twisted his body even further and evaded that too.
This was reminiscent of how Fran moved when fighting against Gazzol. But this time, this was just what Fran wanted.
「Too slow!」
「No you.」
「What!?」
She had used land magic to dig a hole into the ground in sync with Drulay’s movements. This man was certainly both fast and strong, but I’d have to place him a notch below Colbert and Hilt.
It wouldn’t be difficult for Fran as she is now to catch him off guard with magic.
I bet it would have been a closer fight if he activated Awakening, but he had underestimated Fran.
Drulay lost his balance because of the ground missing under his step, allowing Fran’s fist to land a direct hit.
Fran bopped him with a three hit combo: first a liver punch, then an uppercut to the chin, finally a hook to his temple. He fell down, still conscious but unable to move due to the concussion and muscle spasms.
「Ah……?」
We could have taken him down with magic alone, but Fran chose to fight him on his playing field. She only used magic as support, and she settled it with her fists.
Her intention was probably to make the interrogation easier after proving her superiority.
For the time being, we covered up his body with land magic to restrain him, then re-established the wards of darkness and wind.
「Heal. I have a lot of questions for you.」
「……Tch. I’ve already been beaten by a little brat, so I can’t humiliate myself any more. Ask away.」
I thought he’d try to run via teleportation, but he’s being more obedient than expected.
「Are you from the Beastmen Union?」
「You could say that, but they don’t consider us their friends. All they want from us is more hands they can use in case of a fight.」
It seems the rumors were true, the Bloodfang Brigade wasn’t well-liked by the rest of the Beastmen Union.
「And the blue cats there?」
「They’re our underlings.」
「Are you connected to the black market slavers?」
「Hah? Oh, so that’s what this is about. The black cats versus blue cats?」
Drulay nodded in understanding. I guess these sorts of conflicts between two races were common for the beastmen.
「I’ve heard the rumors about that too, but the Bloodfang Brigade has nothing to do with them. Neither do they.」
「You lie. They attacked me out of nowhere, just because I’m a black cat. In the residential area.」
After hearing Fran’s words, Drulay’s eyes widened. Then he lowered his head.
「I have to apologize for that…… I’ve heard these two had a pretty nasty grudge against the black cats. But to you guys, their grudge is completely unreasonable. I can fully understand why you’d be angry.」
I had thought this guy was bloodthirsty, but is he surprisingly decent? No, that can’t be it. He did attack us out of nowhere too.
At the least, he seems to have his own rules to live by. He may be a nuisance to ordinary citizens, but Fran couldn’t bring herself to hate him that much.
Even now, she’s looking a little confused, similar to how she felt about Gazzol.
「Hey, I know I don’t have the right to be asking this, but I’m begging you here. Can you spare the lives of these idiots? In exchange, I’ll do whatever you say. Okay?」
Drulay looked up and pleaded with his face completely serious.