"All the foxes that have slept in this forest, every one of them, those about to die, those not yet born and still in the womb, every single fox that has slept in this forest.
You must recruit or kill every single one of them. I don't care how you do it or how you find them.
I'm giving you an ultimatum of one year, failure to comply will result in very serious consequences."
Kael's words shook the mind of Vixy to her core. She gulped, her eyes wide open as the gravity of her punishnt settled in.
N'bayé had just arrived and had co close enough to hear the punishnt Kael had given Vixy.
Her eyebrows shot up in surprise, not only had Kael co down from this strange vessel with undisguised wrath, but he had already prepared a very terrible punishnt for Vixy.
Every fox that has ever slept in the forest, that was a lot of foxes. And just because a fox slept in the forest didn't an that it actually lived in the forest.
There were a lot of foxes that were simply just passing by or visiting the forests for so ti and sleeping here before returning to their hos outside the forest.
There were a lot of these foxes, added to the ones that were inside the forest, that was still a lot of foxes.
The ones that were dead were no problem, but Kael had also included those who were yet to be born.
Kael had given Vixy only two options to face this punishnt, recruit them or kill them.
Clearly, Kael intended for her to recruit any fox that she could find to expand the caste and kill any that refused to join.
N'bayé could see, Kael sought to make Vixy compensate him for the asset she took away by a thousand folds.
It was a brutal punishnt, one that may not be completed at all.
Kael stood on the ground, his legs apart and his feet firmly planted into the soil.
His right arm held Vixy up, holding up by the neck with her feet dangling above the ground. Her fingers struggled to unwrap Kael's fingers from her neck but Kael's hand was like a hydraulic clamp, it wasn't letting go at all.
"This is the first ti you have ever truly offended , so I'll let you off with this punishnt," Kael said sinisterly, "But next ti…" He paused.
Vixy nodded with struggle, Kael didn't need to complete his words for her to know what he ant.
Ken wasn't the first fox Vixy had killed in the caste. A lot of foxes had all tried to play tricks on her and they were promptly eliminated by her hands.
Kael couldn't care less who she killed as long as that pee she killed didn't affect him at all. Unfortunately for her, she hadn't thought of Ken's status as Kael's investnt and had acted out of spite and envy.
"It'll be a sha to let Ivan's sacrifice be in vain just because you could not employ critical thinking," Kael's brutal words pierced into Vixy's mind.
Kael's hand relaxed and Vixy dropped to the ground. She collapsed to her knees, her four red tails flailing behind her as she coughed and took in deep breaths.
Still, Kael's last sentence had hamred the heart of hers that she had thought could never be touched again.
Ivan.
Kael had to remind her of her place and what got her into her place in the first place.
Vixy stared with watery eyes at Kael's feet, not daring to look up to see his face.
"Kael," N'bayé's telepathic voice ca over at this ti and seed to calm the atmosphere.
Kael turned around slightly to see N'bayé slowly levitating toward him.
"Welco, Your Majesty," N'bayé said, performing a slight bow before returning to her straight posture.
"N'bayé, good to see you," Kael said, finally revealing a smile.
N'bayé instinctively breathed a sigh of relief, at least, she was sure that Kael wouldn't transfer his anger toward everyone else.
If he did, she would have to update her judgnt on Kael's character.
"Good to see you too, my king," N'bayé moved closer, sensing the well of power within Kael.
"What do you think of my punishnt?" Kael asked casually as he turned to face the kneeling Vixy.
Vixy raised her head slightly, not enough to see Kael's full figure but enough to see N'bayé who was behind Kael.
She and N'bayé locked eyes and N'bayé's intense yet indifferent red and blue eyes made her flinch and look away.
N'bayé noticed this reaction but paid no heed to it, "The punishnt is befitting Your Majesty, perfect for those who don't know their place in the grand sche of things."
N'bayé's words were like hot venom sliding down Vixy's veins, they hurt her feelings in ways she never knew it could.
"Grand sche of things?" Kael was intrigued by that phrase.
"Yes, people like her are irrelevant when compared to the scale of our plans and operations.
Wasting ti on her would only make you more upset. It's good that her punishnt also furthers our goals and grand sche."
N'bayé spoke with clear detachnt, she spoke how she felt, and she was currently feeling nothing for Vixy.
She stated it as it was with brutal honesty. Vixy was only going so far in terms of importance, in the visions she saw her pride existing in, soone like Vixy would be really insignificant.
The only reason she had spared Vixy back then was because Vixy was still useful as a caste leader and was Kael's personal pawn. It would be bad to eliminate her.
It was also the sa reason why she was still alive even after Kael had co to her.
Vixy pressed her hands on the ground, her shoulders shook as little bits of tears stread down her eyes.
Perhaps, she had joined the wrong side. If she had known she should have never co back to work for Kael. She should have never let go of the desire to have her revenge, she should have cherished Ivan's mory.
But if she did those things, she wouldn't have survived to see this day. From the beginning, she never had the necessary power to do any harm to Kael.
Even if she wanted to guide all the foxes to rebel, it was impossible as there were hardcore fanatics who had blind faith in Kael thanks to Kurse's doctrines.
Indeed, Vixy realized she was working for the villains, the bad guys, the true tyrants. She just never saw the lions for who they were because she never gave them a reason to.
They had given her so many benefits and power that she had lost mory of the life partner she once had who had died unwillingly for her to be here now.
She herself was not a good person as no one could be truly good in the wild, but the lions…
Perhaps, Priya may be the only lioness who had so sort of genuine kindness in her heart…perhaps.
Now, she had seen that she was a disposable pawn, one that would have been discarded if not for the investnt Kael had in her.
Yet, she couldn't do anything, nothing at all. She couldn't fight back, she couldn't rebel. All she could do was endure, take her punishnt, and hope for the best.
Her fate was the fate of a weakling, and Kael's actions were simply the result of his strength.
It was fair.
"Co my King, you just arrived, let's attend to things that are more…relevant," N'bayé said. She had gotten close and placed her hand on Kael's shoulder.
She looked at the wings with golden feathers and was curious. She had not been awake or present when Kael gained this power.
Feeling N'bayé touch on his shoulder, Kael finally turned away from Vixy and faced N'bayé.
"Diane told
of your prowess with leadership, I'm impressed," Kael spread his wings and allowed the wind to lift him up into the sky.
Together, both N'bayé and Kael left Vixy alone, kneeling on the ground beside the falling tree.
She sobbed for a few seconds before going quiet. 'I am not irrelevant,' She told herself as she wiped the tears away from her face and stood up.
A red telepathic wave spread out from her, reaching the nearest foxes in the vicinity in a jiffy.
Kael had given her an ultimatum of one year, she had better start now to avoid stories that would touch the heart.
As for all the things Kael and N'bayé had said to her, she kept it at the back of her mind for now. Even if she dwelled on it, she couldn't do anything about it.
anwhile, Kael and N'bayé flew toward the mountain under the watchful gaze of the many creatures below.
On the way, N'bayé couldn't stop herself from always stealing a glance at the gigantic shuttle parked above them.
"Kael, what is this?" N'bayé could no longer hold back her curiosity.
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