Prologue

“Catch her! That fox will fetch us a fortune!”

The voices of many men echoed through the morning woods. A least 200 people were running around in armour with weapons and in search of something. That something was a certain someone, a girl who could bring them enough riches to live 30 lives with luxury, to be precise. 

The 2nd Imperial Princess, Azuria Tuessian, frantically ran through the woods with her ragged breath. Azuria was pursued by Human mercenaries looking to make money from her. All she had on her was a red cloak and some leather clothes underneath with a short skirt reaching her knees. 

Azuria was a renowned Princess with her sheltered upbringing and talent, but it all went downhill 2 years ago. The Human Alturian Empire and the Sisinia Theocracy both invaded the Imperial Coalition, a relatively new and small nation of beastman tribes. 

The Fox tribe first established the Imperial Coalition 230 years ago by founding Emperor Holios Tuessian; his wisdom and strength managed to gather most beastman tribes to establish a sovereign nation that could compete with other nations of the time. 

Holios was Azuria’s grandfather, a great hero and legend, especially when the war with Humans happened 2 years ago when he sacrificed himself for refugees to retreat to the Imperial capital. But, despite the patriotism and the overwhelming physical advantage of the Imperial Coalition, the war resulted in a staggering defeat, with the Imperial Coalition losing 70% of its land and 2,300,000 lives. 

Human technology such as the ‘magic propulsion weapon’ and the ‘magic siege shield’ resulted in the loss of the Imperial Coalition, which greatly lacked development in technology. A treaty was signed after the 2 Human counties camped outside of the Imperial capital for 4 days. 

The terms of the treaty were basically to let the Humans do whatever they like, with most of the cities placed under Human lords. There were riots every day, and massacres tragically became the daily norm.

“Hey! I heard something this way!”

Hearing the voice of Humans going farther away, distracted by something on the other side of the woods, Azuria collapsed with her back to a large tree, around 3 metres in diameter. Her legs were shaking from anxiety and running too much. She sighed as sweat continued to roll down her cheeks. 

After catching her breath a little, Azuria began walking as far away as possible. There was nothing but trees, bushes and the sky with some occasional birds flying above. 

Azuria’s legs were weak, having not eaten anything for 3 days. Endlessly walking through the repetitive forest worsened her conditions with barely any energy left to support her and her injuries. 

“Huh?”

Azuria didn’t know how much time had passed or how far she had travelled but, after passing through some large bushes, she found a stone sculpture around a metre in height. The sculpture had a humanoid shape, but the sculpture was unrecognisable due to erosion. 

My eyesight is getting worse; I can’t seem to read what’s underneath. It looks like an ancient language. Maybe if I get closer...

There was a small plate underneath the sculpture with some written text; if Azuria were to use translation magic, she might be able to read it out of curiosity. But, as Azuria approached the plate, her vision began to darken.

A bright light suddenly envelopes her body, softening Azuria's fall. The sculpture began to shrink in size, almost as if it was being absorbed by Azuria.

After the sculpture disappeared, Azuria's body began to fade away... 

Kitsuki

Hello everyone, the author here, I'm a just high schooler trying out writing as a hobby, don't have much experience so I'll appreciate any constructive criticism to help me. I'm looking to do daily uploads, with many bonuses on the weekends and holidays. Thank you for reading the first chapter(?), I hope you enjoyed it!