Dozens—no, I ant hundreds—of structures sprawled across a wide clearing in the forest.
There were freaking nests built into trees and burrows reinforced with stone. There were also mud and wooden huts made for frogs, turtles, snakes, and even dragonflies with perches shaped like spirals.
In front of were paths that crisscrossed the ground with a watch post standing at the edges, maintained by frogs.
And everywhere around was my swamp army, and newfound animals.
All just moving and talking to one another.
"...I was out for two weeks." I whispered. "WHAT DID YOU GUYS DO?!"
"MY QUEEN!"
I barely had ti to brace myself before a blur of green slamd into my side.
"Gaaaah!"
The turtle—whom I have yet to na—slamd right into my body and landed right onto my feline belly.
"You have awakened! Praise the wetlands! Praise the sovereign! Praise the Goddess of Reeds!"
"Okay! Okay!" I squird as he landed on top of . "Easy! Bro, you’re crushing !"
He imdiately stood up before stepping back and bowing so low his face hit the dirt.
"My apologies! I was overco with emotion!"
I stared at him as I returned to my paws, a bit woozy.
"...I-I can see that! Anyways. WHAT THE HELL IS THIS, TURTLE?!"
"Ah! It is a village that I, and mbers of the Greenwater Predation Force have built in your na!"
Wait a second, what the hell did he just say?
"...Greenwater what?" I asked.
"Greenwater Predation Force, my queen. It is what we call our Military Force after we evolved."
"Ehh, you evolved??"
Whoa, where the heck did this evolution stuff co from? Was it because I evolved or sothing?
Turtle looked at , nodding his head with pride.
"Ever since you harnessed the title of ’King of the Swamp’, we have been connected to you. And now, whenever you evolve, we evolve alongside you."
"...Ehhh?!"
Are you kidding —that’s so broken—like protagonist level broken! Is this even fair?
I staggered back a step, staring at him as if he’d just told gravity was optional or sothing.
"...That’s illegal! There’s no way that’s allowed."
The turtle tilted his head.
"Did I do sothing wrong, my queen?"
"No, no, ugh!" I lowered my face, letting out a small wl. "Never mind!"
[Hey, Spiritus, can you hear ?]
[[I’m listening.]]
[So I’m a bit confused about what he said. How did they evolve too?]
[[Answer. Your existence functions as a keystone organism. When you evolve, subordinate lifeforms bound to the title of your authority will experience adaptive properties as well.]]
[...Say that again, but act like I’m five.]
[[Simplified Answer. You got stronger. They were close to you, so they got stronger as well]]
[...Shit.]
I looked around again, like really looked this ti. The frogs standing guard weren’t the sa anymore.
They stood straighter with hardened eyes and leaner bodies. They were also wearing armor fashioned from beetle shells and bone.
The snakes were larger too; longer and thicker, almost the size of anacondas.
Even the dragonflies hovering above weren’t just insects anymore; their wings left trails of light
And for the turtles... I glanced back at the one in front of before noticing how it was bigger.
"...You guys seriously leveled up while I was unconscious." I said in disbelief.
"Yes!" He said proudly. "We also created armor and weapons made by the greatest craftbeasts known to animals!"
"...And my brothers, sisters, and Anurael?"
"Safe." He answered, becoming stern in his voice. "They are housed at the center of the village. Guarded day and night. No beast or wandering creature has approached without risk of being exterminated."
Hearing that suddenly lifted a weight off of as I sighed in relief.
"...Good." I exhaled before hopping up onto a nearby straw house, sitting down with my tail flicking back and forth while my brain tried to keep up.
"Okay... so now that we have a village and a military unit na, that sounds way too cool for to have approved!"
I pointed at the turtle with my paw.
"First of all, you."
"Yes, My Queen!" He answered.
"You need a na. I can’t keep calling you ’the turtle’ or sothing. That’s disrespectful."
His eyes widened.
"A na... bestowed... by you?"
"Yeah... don’t make it weird."
He straightened his reptilian body proudly.
"...I will treasure it forever!"
"...Right, right, yeah." I muttered before thinking for a second. "Hmm. You’re sturdy, loyal, kind of insane, and you hit a hydra in the face like a teor... sooooo..." A super cool na suddenly popped into my head. "How about Stoneback?!"
His entire body suddenly froze in place.
"...Stoneback." He whispered to himself before a giant grin crossed his reptilian face. "Stoneback is a fitting na!" He then slamd his flipper to the ground in a salute so hard it cracked the pavent. "I, Stoneback of the Greenwater Predation Force, swear my shell, my strength, and my soul to you until my last breath!"
"Hahaaaa, sweet!" I said, rising to my paws with a feline grin. "Stoneback you will be my greatest warrior!"
Stoneback’s caused every head in the village to look our way. Frogs on watch duties stared at us with the snakes freezing in place.
Dragonflies halted midair and even distant turtles hauling logs stopped dead in their tracks with the other animals I haven’t seen until now.
Then suddenly, out of nowhere.
"THE QUEEN HAS AWAKENED!"
A loud shout rang out from sowhere near the eastern edge of the village.
Before I could even process that sentence, the forest erupted with chaos. From between the trees ca lines of creatures returning in force; a lot of them. It was the rest of my swamp army with frogs carrying bundles of herbs and snakes dragging thick hides and monster bones between them.
"MY QUEEN!" Shouted a snake.
"She rises once again!" Said a frog.
"Keiko awakens!" Yelled a dragonfly
"Praise the Wetlands!" Scread a turtle.
And then they rushed toward . I barely had ti to stand before I was surrounded on all sides.
"Whoa, whoa, easy, HEY!" I yelped as frogs clustered around my legs, bowing, croaking prayers while so were even crying.
A snake curled its body protectively near my tail as dragonflies ford a small halo above as they flew in circles.
Stoneback imdiately stepped in front of , slamming his flipper down.
"EVERYONE, BOW TO THE QUEEN!" He yelled out loud.
All of a sudden, every animal in the village, including my subordinates, bowed before ; giving room to breathe.
"...You guys were really busy while I was gone, huh? I see you’ve been collecting so resources." I said sheepishly.
A frog hopped forward, puffing out his chest while wearing a beetle shell helm that was way too big for him.
"My Queen! While you slept, we fortified the periter, expanded housing, established supply routes, and repelled three hostile beasts attempting to test our borders!"
"...What the hell? You guys did all of that while I was out cold?" I yelped.
"Yes!" He said proudly. "Not to ntion, two of the beasts were eaten while one was turned into armor."
I stared at him in complete disbelief.
"...So that’s where you guys have been getting your weapons and armor? From slaying other beasts of this bio?"
"Yes, my queen!" He said, bowing his head.
Another frog suddenly rushed toward the conversation.
"My Queen! While you were asleep, we mapped the entire forest, and we eventually found signs of two-legged creatures nearby, wielding tal with pale skin!"
My ears twitched at his comnt as I ca to the realization.
"...Humans!" I said, bewildered.
Ever since I got reincarnated into this new life as a beast, I have forgotten all about humans. Were they similar to the humans in my previous world?! What was their history and relationships with beasts? I’m pretty nervous just thinking about it. Maybe I should et one to see it directly.
"Are these humans enemies?" Asked Stoneback, confused.
"I don’t know." I admitted, curling my tail a bit worried. "But listen... humans are unpredictable creatures! I t so good humans and bad humans in my life, so I can’t just label them as enemies without knowing what kind of people they are!"
My comnt earned a bunch of confused looks, rightfully so, but Stoneback didn’t question my response; he simply nodded.
"Then we must observe them!" He said, ever so readily. "We do not strike unless commanded."
Good turtle. Very good turtle.
I hopped down from the straw house and padded forward, walking through the crowd.
The village parted to the sides as Stoneback and most of the Greenwater Predation Force followed .
"How close are they?" I asked, looking back behind .
"Several hours north. They travel in small groups and carry fire, tal tools, and wear tal armor!" Said one of the frogs.
[...Yeah. Definitely humans.]
"And they haven’t discovered our location yet, or know about this village?" I asked.
"Not as far as we know, My Queen!"
"Good!" I nodded my head." "Alright, I got so orders! Listen up."
Every creature in the village turned to with anticipation.
"No one approaches the humans without my permission!" I yelled out loud. "That ans, no ambushes. And no scouting past the village if you’re not part of Greenwater Military Force!"
Everyone seed to agree to my orders without question as they nodded their heads.
"...Okay, good. Now then, let’s see what they’re up to. Let’s go, n!"
They looked confused at my ’n’ comnt, but followed nonetheless while I sprinted forward.
It was ti to see what more this world had to offer.
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