Primordial Villain With A Slave Harem

"Stop… I'm begging… Please, I'll tell you anything… Just make it stop!" It didn't take more than a single minute for Vex to break the lionkin. Her torture methods were truly state of the art. That [Hex of Amplified Suffering] was a nasty curse for certain, but that wasn't all. The way she handled the knife made both Ignis and me reach for our family jewels protectively while cringing with our whole bodies.

This sadistic woman gave us horrible secondhand pain.

"Is that so? Let's start with your name."

Vex's question was met with an instant response, "Varkas!"

It seemed this beastkin was elated beyond reason; he was crying tears of joy when his brain realized his torture session was over as long as he behaved like a good boy.

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"How did you know we were here? The abruptness of your ambush was suspicious to say the least; you shouldn't have been able to pull it off."

"It was Ragnar! A genius dwarf artificer. He made detection artifacts that are hard to notice unless you know what to look for. We put one around this cave, and you triggered it."

He was then forced to show us this strange artifact. As it turned out, it was part of the cavern's ceiling, perfectly etched into it, without emitting any telltale signs of it being an artifact; hence, none of us sensed it.

I could only blame myself for not activating my primordial eyes, the bodily upgrade I received back when I unlocked the Primordial Villain class, which would've shown this artifact to me. In any normal situation, I would've activated them upon entering such a location, but I was too excited about meeting Blossom's family and then distressed when we learned something bad happened to them.

It was a mistake that almost cost us our lives.

"Who is this Ragnar? I find it hard to believe a dwarf would side with the beastkin. They're very proud and nationalistic people." It was Ignis' turn to ask a question.

"I don't know the details, but I was told he joined the Sunfang willingly!"

My turn arrived. "What about the people who lived in this cave?"

Blossom immediately froze up upon hearing my question, tensely awaiting Varkas' reply.

"We captured two dogkin here and sold them to a visiting slave merchant. He said he'll sell them as labor slaves. They're probably used as hunting aides or something… Dogkin have much stronger noses than us."

"Considering the circumstances, that's as good of a result as we could've hoped for!" Lucille cheered while hugging Blossom in a motherly gesture.

"We'll find them and save them, no matter the cost." My promise resulted in my dog-girl freeing herself from Lucille's hug only to become a blur for a moment before landing in my arms with a loud thud accompanying her needy impact. I embraced the trembling girl firmly, letting her know I was here for her.

"It seems I'm still no match for you," Lucille whined, but I could tell she was smiling under her helmet.

"Of course not…" I murmured while stroking Blossom's head and back at the same time. Once I saw she was calming down, I turned toward Vex and asked, "Can you give me a brief rundown of the lionkin, future wife? I'm not overly knowledgeable about the furries."

Vex seemed happy to accommodate my request. "By 'capital,' he must've meant Lionheart, the biggest city of the lionkin. Beastkin in general are tribal people who prefer to live in smaller settlements so they can hunt for food while facing less competition, but a few cities where trade booms still propped up over time.

Lionheart is ruled by the Sunfang, which is the title given to the strongest and mightiest lionkin. Each year, the Sunfang is challenged to single combat by the lionkin who earned the right to do so, and if he loses, he would lose the crown as well."

This was a horribly inefficient way to govern a nation, as there must've been times when, in a single decade, a dozen different people would rule over them, bringing great instability to the tribe by default. However, from what I knew, Leohtar, the current Sunfang, has been sitting on the throne for decades, making him a truly formidable warrior.

"Just one more question, if I may. What was that roar of his? It bolstered his subordinates to a shocking degree."@@novelbin@@

She nodded, "He is a Sunborn, which is their equivalent of nobles in the Vraven Kingdom. However, in the lands of the beasts where strength triumphs all, simply being born to the right parents doesn't make one a noble. Sunborn are lion-kin born with the innate ability called [Roar of the Sunborn], which has the effects you experienced. To briefly sum it up, it bolsters the lionkin who consider the Sunborn as their alpha in all aspects of combat. It does have its own limits, though; it only works on those that are significantly weaker. The other six high-level lionkin that were fighting the three of us gained no buffs from his roar."

"I see. Thank you."

The questioning continued for a while, and we learned numerous important details.

What I already knew from my brief research into this curious nation was that its central governing body was called 'High Council,' where each beastkin tribe, regardless of size or strength, had a seat. However, the weight of their voice was determined by the results of the annual Trial of Beasts, a grand competition that crowned the strongest tribe as the ruling authority.

The leader of the tribe that wins the Trial of Fangs will assume the title of Primarch of the Wilds, symbolizing the peak of physical and political dominance within the Beastman Confederation. The Trial of Beasts was also a yearly event just like the tribe-specific one the lions held, and it was Leohtar Sunfang who has been the Primarch for the last three years. Despite being the mightiest lionkin for decades, he was still beaten by the leaders of other tribes up until three years ago.

However, this equilibrium created by the greatly varying nature of rulership thanks to the Trial of Fangs was shattered when the lionkin gained an unfair advantage in the form of the dwarf Ragnar.

His crafts in weaponry, armor, and artifacts elevated the lionkin's already formidable might to outright overwhelming domination.

Bolstered by superior arms and armor, the lionkin began to exert oppressive control over other tribes, ignoring treaties and seizing land from other tribes as well as capturing neutral zones, like this one where Blossom's family made their home, away from any tribe. Here, they should've been legally untouchable, yet the lions declared this land theirs and its inhabitants unlawful trespassers.