<h4>Chapter 25: The minotaurs have an agenda?</h4>


    [POV: Omniscient Akashic Records]


    In the northernmost region of the mountains, the minotaurs of the Andarbani territory resided. The vige, rough and seemingly primitive, held a treasure trove of natural resources: iron ore, meat from their livestock, fish from nearby streams and dense animal furs made into clothing. All of their goods were highly sought-after and it was a well-known fact that anyone who dared to cross these grounds without permission from the Minotaur Lord would suffer a gruesome fate.


    Fenghis Rhan, the Lord of the Andarbani territory was in the midst of his carnal pleasures with a group of female minotaurs called minotinas. They had sizable breasts and shapely backsides that could make anyone drool in lust.


    Fenghis was in charge of everything in the vige, and apparently this included their minotinas.


    Suddenly, two scouts from his security division interrupted them with some distressing news. The minotinas scattered like leaves, sensing their Lord''s rage.


    Fenghis stood up, his massive form towering over his scouts. He was a sight to behold. He had horns that curved in a majestic fashion and long fur on his chest that resembled a lion''s mane. His body was a mass of battle-scarred muscles, each one bulging with veins and raw power. "What news do you have for me?" he bellowed.


    "Lord Fenghis, we have seen grygans taking herbs from our territory. We wanted to stop them, but we sensed that a girl was with them who had incredible amounts of mana," one of the scouts reported.


    Fenghis''s eyes widened in disbelief. "Mana above forty thousand?" he asked.


    "Yes, Lord. We couldn''t stop them because we sensed something monstrous about her. The grygans keep calling her ''Serena,''" the scout replied, his voice shaking with fear.


    Fenghis'' muscles bulged and twitched as his anger boiled over. "And you let them go? How could you let them escape?!" he roared, his voice shaking the entire vige.


    "My Lord, we were outnumbered and outmatched. We tried to stop her but her aura was so overwhelming that we couldn''t even confront her, we couldn''t do anything. Please forgive us," the scout pleaded, dropping to his knees.


    Fenghis red down at him, his eyes zing with fury. "Weaklings. You are all weaklings," he growled. He then turned to the other scout. "Did you hear anything from the grygans, any clue as to why they''re taking herbs from our territory?"


    The other scout stepped forward, trying to regain Fenghis''s favor. "My Lord, they mentioned something about a rare herb that grows only in this region, and how it could help their tribe. They seemed desperate," he exined.


    Fenghis''s expression softened slightly. He knew the importance of rare and powerful herbs from their region. It was a source of pride for their vige, and nobody else had ess to it. But the fact that a girl (who he thought to be grygan) with enormous amounts of mana was involved roused his suspicions.


    "Summon the council," he ordered. "I need to discuss this with them. And get me Skarz, the chief of security. This cannot happen again."


    The two scouts scrambled to carry out their Lord''s orders, descending into the vige below.


    Fenghis stood alone atop a cliff, overlooking the vast expanse of his territory. He couldn''t shake off the feeling that something bigger was happening, something that threatened everything he held dear. And he was determined to get to the bottom of it, no matter what it took.


    As Fenghis waited for Skarz to arrive, his mind raced with possibilities. He knew the grygan situation was not a mere coincidence, not when it involved a someone with such impressive mana.


    When Skarz finally appeared, Fenghis took note of his appearance. Unlike the other minotaurs in their vige, Skarz had a more human-like appearance and only had the horns to indicate his minotaur heritage. But what hecked in physical characteristics, he made up for in pride, good looks and wit.


    "Father," Skarz greeted him with a nod.


    "Son, what''s this about a grygan girl?" (Fenghis)


    Skarz wasted no time in sharing what he knew, including the fact that it was a human posing as a grygan and that she was from the goddess n.


    Fenghis'' expression turned grave as he absorbed the information.


    "That could mean trouble," Skarz said, his tone serious. "But we don''t know for sure if the goddess n is involved. They are known to keep to themselves."


    "True," Fenghis agreed, "but we can''t ignore the possibility. What bothers me more is the fact that nobody knows who the vige head is."


    Skarz nodded, understanding the implications. "That means they''re hiding something, or someone. But I have something that might interest you."


    Fenghis looked at him expectantly, waiting for Skarz to continue.


    "While the grygans were picking herbs, they were praising their vige head," Skarz revealed.


    "And?" Fenghis prompted.


    "And they never mentioned a name," Skarz said, shrugging. "But there''s more. The vige head apparently broke the fire demon''s curse that gued the grygans for years."


    Fenghis''s eyes widened in disbelief. "Only a [King of Curses] has what it takes to break that kind of curse," he said.


    Skarz smirked proudly. "That''s what I thought too," he said. "And if that''s the case, we may be seeing the rise of a very huge threat."


    Fenghis''s mind raced with possibilities. He knew what a [King of Curses] was capable of, and the thought of dealing with one terrified him. He had heard stories of their devastating powers and their abilities to enve entire viges with a single curse. If the vige head was indeed a [King of Curses], then their vige could be in grave danger.


    "We need to investigate this further," Fenghis said, his voice grave. "We can''t let a [King of Curses] take control of the grygan vige."


    Skarz nodded in agreement. "I''ll keep my ear to the ground and see if I can dig up any more information," he said.


    "But we need to be careful. You know how dangerous someone like that can be." (Fenghis)


    Skarz nodded, his mind already thinking of strategies to take down the potential threat. "I''ll gather some of our best fighters and we''ll head to the grygan vige under the pretense of seeking assistance with a monster problem. That should give us the chance to observe the vige head and gather intel."


    Fenghis nodded in approval. "Good thinking."


    "You honour me, father." Skarz was surprised his father would say such.


    Fenghis stood up, ready to move into action. "Let''s move quickly, son," he said with a determined expression. "We need to find out who this vige head is and what they''re nning before it''s toote."


    Skarz nodded in agreement, and the two minotaurs left the meeting spot, heading in opposite directions to begin their respective tasks.


    - - - - - - - - - - - - -


    On an early day, Mimosa with long ck hair and pointy ears and deep blue eyes, dressed in a in dress, walked into the herb storage room and was surprised to see Mojito doing push-ups.


    "Whoa, Mojito! What are you doing here? And why are you sweating so much?" Mimosa asked.


    Mojito stopped his exercise routine and realized he had been caught. "Uh, well, I''m on a day off and I just wanted to... um... work out a little bit."


    Mimosa raised an eyebrow. "Why work out on your day off?"


    Mojito hesitated, not wanting to admit that he was trying to impress her. Instead, he stood up and started flexing his muscles while assuming severalic poses.


    "I must discipline myself and get stronger even on my day of rest. I want to polish my skills and be the strongest I can to protect everyone in the vige, including our great leader, Lumiere," Mojito said, trying to sound serious buting across as silly.


    Mimosa couldn''t help butugh a little at his antics. "Okay, okay, I get it. But you''re making the storage room smell like a gym. You should step outside and let me sort these herbs in peace."


    Mojitoically cried and pretended to faint against the wall upon rejection. Lumiere came out of the corner, "What''s happening here?"


    Mojito tried to exin the situation, but Lumiere interrupted him, "Ah, I see. I''m d you''re taking your training seriously, Mojito. But perhaps our attention should turn to helping you win over Mimosa?"


    Mojito''s eyes widened, "Wait, what?"


    Lumiere then proceeded to unveil his n called ''Operation Get Mimosa and Mojito Together.'' It involved Mojito bringing Mimosa flowers and asking her on a date.


    Mojito looked hesitant, "I don''t know, Lord Lumiere. What if she says no?"


    Lumiere patted him on the back reassuringly. "You won''t know unless you try. Besides, it''s a perfect n. What could go wrong?"


    After this, Lumiere used his [nt Magic] to create sunflowers. Then, he offered them to Mojito.


    It was a basic Rank E spell.


    Mojito nodded, deciding to give it a try.


    When Mimosa left the herb storage room, he approached her with flowers and low and behold, asked her on a date.


    Unfortunately, the results of the operation were not sessful as Mimosa turned him down.


    Lumiere was disappointed but not discouraged.


    "You''ll get her next time.." (Lumiere)


    Still crying, Mojito then said: "Thank you, Lord Lumiere!"


    "Atta boy.." (Lumiere)