The Divine Beast's Majestic Presence
I blinked my eyes wide open.
Where am I…?
Who would have thought I, a majestic white tiger cub, would be saying such words? This is a completely unfamiliar ceiling.
I slowly sat up on the fluffy bed.
I remember using divine power to heal the patients, but…
I stretched out my front legs, lifted my rear high, wagged my fluffy tail, and let out a refreshing stretch.
“Cyawoo…?”
My belly… has shrunk a lot.
Probably because I used so much divine power yesterday. My once plump belly was now flat and slim.
…It feels weird.
I ate five snacks every day just to fatten up, yet now I’m starving and my belly is tiny.
I’m not hungry for anything else though.
I slowly looked around, but none of my butlers were in sight.
The scent is still there, but where did everyone go?
Being left all alone in a strange room made me feel lonely and anxious.
…Treating patients and then leaving me behind. What unreasonable butlers.
I couldn’t hold back and shouted at the top of my voice.
“Cyawoong! Cyawooong!”
Where did you all go while leaving me here alone!
Crash!
Before my cry even finished, the door of the room burst open.
“Blanc!”
Kailian came rushing in, holding what looked like a bowl of milk in her hand.
Kailian, startled by my cry, tossed the bowl of milk toward Lina who was right behind her.
Without knowing how precious milk is…
She immediately ran over and hugged me tightly in her arms.
Whoosh.
“You… really… surprised me! I was so worried when you suddenly collapsed and stopped moving…
Her voice trembled slightly.
“Cyawoo.”
I’m fine. My breathing got cut off a bit… Please hold me a little weaker.
I buried my face between Kailian’s breasts, flailing as I couldn’t breathe, then peeked my head out from between them.
I licked her cheeks with my tongue, showing her with my whole body that I was okay.
To anyone watching, I looked like I had caught a disease.
I was just tired and took a short nap.
After licking for a while, Kailian finally let out a sigh of relief and placed me back on the bed.
“Your Highness Blanc, it’s such a relief that you woke up. Please drink some milk first. You must be thirsty after sleeping.”
Lina cautiously approached and offered a bowl of milk.
“Cyaang.”
Thank you, I’ll eat it all up.
My hungry stomach gurgled loudly at the rich smell of milk, and it begged me to drink it quickly.
I bowed my head and gobbled down the milk like a pig.
Slurp, slurp, slurp.
In an instant, I sensed that someone had added honey to the milk just for me.
They’re taking such good care of me as patients… Maybe I should pretend to be sick sometimes? Then they’d let me eat unlimited snacks without scolding me.
I licked the milk clean to the bottom of the bowl and looked up.
Now I’ll get some weight back.
“Eat slowly. You little pig. I’ll feed you three piglets for every drop of milk on your cheeks and mouth.”
Kailian clicked her tongue and pointed at my cheeks stained white with milk.
Because I gulped it down too fast, my lips and cheeks were covered in white milk.
…I should have eaten more slowly. What a waste.
I slowly closed my eyes and leaned my face toward Kailian.
“Cyawoo.”
Wipe me clean.
Seeing my shameless demand, Kailian couldn’t help but laugh.
“Oh my, I really… brought you home…”
Still muttering, Kailian took out a soft handkerchief and gently wiped the milk off my face with tender hands.
“Cyawoo.”
Thank you.
“Cyawoong.”
So, what’s the situation outside now?
I looked up at Kailian and asked. Gumiho, who had been quietly watching me, quietly approached.
“Your Highness, I was just asking what the situation outside is with Blanc.”
“…Fortunately, all the injured have recovered safely thanks to Blanc.”
Kailian stroked my head as she answered.
Good, I’m relieved.
I let out a sigh of relief in my heart.
“It truly was a divine miracle. The sight of the villagers’ eyes lighting up with hope in an instant… It really felt like the Lord had descended.”
Lina chimed in, looking at me with sparkling eyes.
It’s good that everyone’s feeling better now.
“Cyawoo.”
But where did those disgusting bugs all go?
“Right now, Rosalia is outside reinforcing the empire’s barrier with the Magic Tower mages as much as possible. So they’re still holding on for now.”
At Kailian’s words, I nodded.
If it’s Rosalia’s barrier, there’s no worry of immediate attack, but that doesn’t mean we can just wait forever.
If we’re trapped here, food and water will run out. Once the bugs realize they can’t eat us, they’ll turn and spread elsewhere.
In the end, time is not on our side.
“Cyawoong! Cyaang!”
Then let’s go work right away! That’s why we came here to catch those bugs!
“…You just woke up and you’re already so energetic? Even a pig would know to find food first.”
“Cyawoong!”
What do you mean I’m just thinking about food like a pig?
Kailian ruffled my head roughly, sheathed her sword, and stood up from the bed.
Deep killing intent swirled in Kailian’s eyes.
“Your Highness, but Blanc was exhausted until just moments ago. Charging in right now might be too much.”
At Lina’s worried words, Kailian let out a snort and pointed at me with her chin.
“Cyaang!”
Come on, let’s go sweep them all up and eat together! If I eat alone it won’t be fun!
Blanc had already jumped off the bed, tail wagging as he tried to grab the door handle and leap out.
Lina and Gumiho, seeing the full energy in him, couldn’t help but laugh awkwardly.
“…You really are full of energy. Understood.”
Lina nodded as if she understood and opened the door.
We followed the guide of the waiting soldiers to the edge of the barrier.
“…Crazy.”
“In this world…”
“Cyawoo.”
Whoa… so disgusting.
The scene outside the barrier was beyond imagination.
Dark, endless waves of bugs.
Every field was completely filled with countless bugs.
Countless bugs were madly sticking to the barrier, trying to break it, so much that it was impossible to tell where the sky ended and the ground began.
Crack-crack-crack-crack-crack!
The sound of their disgusting jaws moving echoed like thunder from all directions.
“How many of those are there… I’m so disgusted I want to die. There are so many.”
Kailian rubbed her arms, goosebumps rising, and frowned.
Lina and Gumiho also hardened their faces and swallowed hard at the bugs charging madly at the barrier.
Truly… beyond disgusting, they’re disgustingly numerous.
Good I left Lumia behind.
“Cyawoo.”
Those bugs… they’re vermin that dare to stick their mouths in my meat without shame and harass people.
I glared at the bugs, grinding my teeth.
How dare you vermin show your face in my territory without shame?
I took a step toward the bugs and opened my mouth wide.
Huuuuwuuu.
The Absolute Zero Chill from my grandfather.
I channeled the coldest chill from the Snowy Mountains to its maximum.
In an instant, the area around my mouth froze solid white.
Compressed divine power and my own divine power mixed inside my mouth, forming a beam the moment the compression ended, and shot toward the bugs.
“Cyaaaaang!”
The flash of cold chill so intense it was impossible to look at was instantly swallowed by the bugs.
Whoosh-aaarang!
“Blanc?!”
Kailian shouted in surprise, staring at me.
The absurdly powerful chill swept through the entire bug swarm.
Crackle! Shatter—grrrk!
Countless bugs along the beam’s path froze solid and disintegrated.
A huge, perfectly straight hole appeared right in the middle of the oncoming bug wave.
“Waaaaah!”
“The Sacred Beast Lord attacked!”
“The path is open!”
“The Sacred Beast Lord is protecting us! Don’t be afraid!”
The soldiers watching the scene kept shouting as if I were their savior.
Crack-crack! Sssssh.
It gave me chills.
The bugs started chewing on the frozen fragments of their dead comrades with a chilling crunch.
Then, with their bizarre reproductive power, they instantly filled the hole back up, turning it dark again.
…Crazy. Beyond disgusting, it’s awe-inspiring vitality.
Is this really alive?
The weirdly unpleasant aura coming from them, and whether this is truly a natural phenomenon, started making me question everything.
The bugs immediately turned toward us, clacking their disgusting jaws and charging madly.
“…Everyone prepare for battle. It seems the real fight is about to start.”
Kailian, feeling the seriousness of the situation in her body, quickly drew her sword.
Deep blue aura wrapped around Kailian’s sword, thick killing intent erupted from her body.
Lina also loosened her wrist and rolled up her sleeves.
Gumiho took out her fox orb, ready to intercept the bugs at any moment.
“Cyawoong.”
Step aside. I’ll kill them all. Don’t interfere with my share.
Recalling the memory of the past, I pulled out the aura slumbering inside me.
The aura given by the great grandfather, and the divine power I originally possessed.
Always the strongest myself when doing this.
My eyes flashed, and I unleashed the loudest roar I could manage.
“Kuuuwaaaaang!!!!!”
At that moment, a tremendous power surged around my small body.
The dazzling golden divine power gushing from my body shot into the air.
The dense aura grew so thick it caused dizzying vertigo, then gathered and twisted in the air before transforming into a massive tiger shape resembling my grandfather, overlapping onto my body.
Overwhelming presence as it pushed its head through the barrier.
Flames of pure white divine power flickering in its eyes.
At this moment, I was no longer the small tiger, but the true form of the Sacred Beast.
The True Form of the White Tiger.
[Kwaaaaaang-!!!!!!]
The phantom of a mountain-sized tiger let out a dominant roar toward the bug swarm.
The earth-shaking roar that split the sky and shook the ground.
Under that overwhelming aura, the bugs’ movements, which had been charging madly toward the walls, stopped instantly.
Even the bugs that looked like they had no desires other than hunger froze in terror at my roar.
The bugs that my gaze reached were instantly frozen solid by the white chill.