Chapter 25: Visiting the Minotaur Tribe
"We'll probably be on site in three hours, Master."
Without realizing the time has passed, Azel and the group almost arrived at the place the Prince wanted to visit. Elena and Camellia found it strange that what their Master wanted to visit was the Minotaur tribe. Heteromorphic races like them are usually treated badly even just as slaves.
A Heteromorphic Race… in other words, a Race that could be said to have a strange body shape or could be called a monster. Within the demon continent, demons themselves are also divided into three categories namely Demon, Demi-Demon, and Heteromorphic.
Actually, Azel himself was a bit confused. The more they resembled a 'human' form and had a pure or noble bloodline, they fell into the Demon category. If it's a mixed-blood that still closely resembles a 'human' they are called Demi-Demons. The latter is Heteromorphic, you could say they are similar to monsters but have the sanity and intelligence of humans.
'Wait! The more human-like is... considered a Demon. By the way, I myself don't know if the Human Race exists in this world.'
Azel pondered with a complicated expression. In the books he read in the Imperial Library, the young man found only those 3 kinds of intelligent races. Upon careful thought, almost all races could be said to be someone from the dark side.
'Could this be hell? Isn't it strange that hell has such a beautiful sight? Dammit! I even thought of useless things.'
Azel cursed inwardly. Now he has been reborn and belongs to this world. No matter what it was called, the young man had to accept his place.
Taking a deep breath, Azel closed his eyes. The priority this time is not the world's problems. He is too small and weak to take care of the world's problems. Now all he had to do was quickly build up his strength and live comfortably. At the very least, Azel wanted to avoid the threat of death.
Azel felt a lot of threats around him. Not only from other nobles or kingdoms, even he felt that his family was also dangerous. Thinking of how the children of his father's three wives who smiled at each other when they met, but in reality tried to kill each other made Azel goosebumps.
'I miss the earth and modern society!'
"Are you all right, Master?" asked Camellia with a worried expression.
"I'm fine," Azel replied, shaking his head lightly.
"I should've known, We should have rested in Greenroot City first. Let the Nelson Family show their sincerity."
"That's not it, Camellia. Granted I was planning to stop by Greenroot City for a while, but on my way back. What I have to do is quite urgent, so I need to get it over with before I relax."
"What do you need from the Minotaurs, sir?" This time it wasn't Camellia, but Elena who asked.
"I don't care which category it belongs to. Demon Race, Demi-Demon, or even Heteromorphic… I need a lot of loyal troops!" Azel said without hesitation.
"So that's how it is…" Elena nodded, no longer saying anything.
Three hours passed just like that, they finally arrived at the Minotaur settlement. Looking at the scenery outside the window, Azel felt somewhat surprised by the architecture of the Minotaur settlement. Unlike the Demons who build medieval-like houses, their homes are similar to the Indian tents in Azel's previous life.
The Minotaur tribe occupied a large prairie area near the Blackwood Forest. Their number is also quite large. Even though he couldn't count them for sure, Azel knew the number was definitely over two thousand heads.
Minotaur, they have a humanoid body with a head, legs and tail like a bull. their whole body is also covered with fur. Of course, they also wear simple clothes because they also have intelligence. Based on the fur, the male usually has gray fur while the female has cream fur. There are also those who are considered to be Minotaurs with high blood purity. They have maroon colored fur. The ratio of births is 100:1.
Seeing the arrival of the knights and the luxurious carriage that Azel was in, the Minotaurs were observing them with nervous expressions. Footsteps were heard. From the center of the settlement, a group of Minotaurs was seen, led by an old man with maroon fur. It seemed that person was the leader of this tribe.
"We slaves of the Minotaur tribe welcome you, Prince Azazel." The chief immediately prostrated himself followed by the other Minotaurs. This made Azel feel uncomfortable.
Getting off the carriage, Azel looked nonchalant as he surveyed the surroundings. He then said, "Get up!" Hearing Azel's words, the new Minotaur dared to get up. They seemed to have a feeling of dread with the nobles. Even if it was just a Baron, they were still terrified. The Minotaurs were more like 'cattle' that the nobles could use at any time. In the event of war, they were immediately summoned and sent to the front lines to die. That's the reality, quite cruel.
It's not that they don't want to fight, but they can't. For normal Minotaurs, they would usually only be able to reach level 2 and with luck they could advance to level 3. For those with high purity, if they were lucky they could reach the peak of level 4. Their strength could be considered better than ordinary class demons, but they were treated differently. .
If they tried to resist, they would be easily slaughtered by nobles with the title of Marquis and above. The reason was simple, the high-ranking nobles appointed by the Emperor himself possessed powerful bloodlines. Even though they have different speeds, they have more chances to become high level demons or above.
"How many men do you need, my lord?" asked the Minotaur chief.
"Take a guess," Azel said with a mysterious smile.
"Is it 500?" asked the chief. Seeing Azel still smiling, he started to hesitate. "This slave heard that Master might invade Count Nixon's territory. Is a thousand enough? We...we can't possibly send more, my lord. Of the 2700 heads, 40% are males who can fight, 35% are females, and the rest are a mix of children and old people. If it exceeds 1000 men, the Minotaur tribe might won't be able to survive, Master."
"Even though you guys have high fertility rates?" asked Azel.
"In the previous war, our Minotaur tribe was hit hard along with the downfall of the Marquis Lawyer. Please... please save these slaves, Master!" cried the Minotaur chief.
"Please save these slaves, Master!"
Seeing the chief and the Minotaur prostrate again, Azel took a deep breath. He coldly shouted, "Get up!"
"B-But Master…"
"Calm down! I didn't come here to send you to your death."
Hearing that, the chief got up with a doubtful expression. The person looked at Azel and asked unsurely.
"Is ... is it true, Master?"
"Of course…" Azel smiled mysteriously.
"I came here to talk about your freedom. More precisely, giving up the title of 'slave' of your race."
"That… that.." The Minotaur chief and the others looked at each other. The head of the Minotaur tribe again said, "We don't dare, sir. To be able to die under you is an honor for us."
"Tch! Hypocrite!"
Azel snorted with a dissatisfied expression. Seeing that the Minotaurs were frightened, the young man raised the corners of his lips. A cruel grin crossed his face.
"I did want you to go to war for me. But not as a slave, but as a knight. So...
Do you want it?"
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DemonicPrince
DemonicPrince Qui n'a pas de vie intérieure est l'esclave de son milieu.
- Henri Frédéric Amiel
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