Jahi PoV


    Cleansing myself of the gore from the Noble family I had just butchered, I turned around and began to move out towards the central hall, where we had agreed to regroup.


    The reason I had been alone was because the Praetor squads inside the mansion were all gathered around the central hall, and these incredibly smart humans decided to try and make a break for it as soon as we entered the building.


    So, I set off in pursuit after ordering Anput and Leone to clean everything up, including going over towards the main rooms to see if anyone was hiding or anything incredibly valuable needed to be... stored away for safekeeping.


    Thankfully, I was lucky enough to have been alone for what had just transpired, and I could feel a twinge of guilt tugging at my heart as I recalled the slight temptations I had to utterly destroy that human woman Miranda.


    It seems that my control is waning slightly, so... Anput and Leone would need to help me soon, or else I feared that I would find myself in a simr situation soon... a situation that I would take a step further...


    My brain didn''t want to, nor did my heart, but I had a... ''third control point'' that was a bit lower, and it seemed to be acting on its own recently...


    Problems would arise should I not satiate it soon, but that was forter.


    For now, I wanted to join the forces as we stormed the Goron Pce and upied it, finishing our job in this ustrophobic, dirty city and allowing us to set off for the south, where we would begin our investigations into the Tragon Gate incidents.


    Making my way into the central hall, I nodded to Anput as she returned, her silvery mana dissipating as she approached me.


    "Nothing. No hidden rooms, no insane treasures, no hiding humans. Theres the gold and the gemstones, but that would be best left to the upying forces. Otherwise, nothing to report. What about the Nobles? Dead?"


    Smirking at her, I nodded as I gently tapped my great sword against my shoulder, the dual material de nging quietly against the metal armor.


    "All five of them, dead. Rather satisfying deaths too; got a good show as they turned on one another at the end~!"


    Anput smirked at me as well, before patting her sheathed des as she said "The Praetors were fun to kill as well; some were challenging, others were rather swift, easy kills!"


    Nodding, I stared down at the Jackalkin before beckoning her forwards, cing my gauntleted hand between her ears as I ruffled them.


    "Good girl..."


    Seeing her tail swish side to side as I pet her made me smile, even as a slight sadness entered my heart as anothers image ovepped with Anput.


    Almost as if she sensed that, the Jackalkin looked up past my arm and smiled at me, her obsidian eyes warm as she said "You''ve been doing good as well, Jahi..."


    Biting my lip, I swallowed hard as I stared at her for a second more before turning away, unable to bear with the warmth and love that radiated from her face.<novelsnext></novelsnext>


    The previous guilt from my earlier actions doubled, and my own insecurities resurfaced at that moment.


    As wasmon with me, the thought that reverberated around my mind the loudest was ''Do I deserve having her smile at me like that?''


    It was a question with a simple answer, and even though I knew it, I just... couldn''t doubt that that answer would change because of my own shorings.


    Removing my hand from Anput''s head, I looked towards the returning squads and nodded to them, donning a more stoic facial expression as more and more of the legionaries filtered into the hall.


    Leone arrived a few moments after them, and she joined us with a small smile as she stroked her Orthus'' fur.


    When we all finished up, we filtered out of the mansion and rejoined the main group, who was rallying in front of the fortified pce, which was teeming with troops.


    Adelina shouted out her orders from behind a barrier, managing the formations of the various shield bearers, heavy weapon users, archers, mages, and healers.


    Mom stood beside her and studied the pce, while Lady Sker rallied her troops before leading them forwards under Adelina''smand.


    Joining them, I nced at Adelina as she shouted "Nirinia, take the Eight Cohort and bolster Lady Sker! Lady Jahi, I trust the mansion is secure now?"


    "Indeed it is, Commander."


    "Good. Take your squad and join the breaching party. Once inside, I want you to mirror Lady Sker''s movements and storm the Goron Pce Council Hall and capture the Councilors inside. Not kill, capture. We''ll be using them as puppets at best, and at worst they''ll provide some useful information on the rest of the Western Kingdoms, maybe even the other countries further west... Anyways, get going please! Let''s get this beginning portion of the Crusade under wraps!"


    Giving her a swift salute, I nced back at my squad and saw them checking their equipment before following behind me as we jogged to join Nirinia.


    Therge Djinn was strapping on her buckler when she saw us, giving a curt nod before drawing her Dadao and beckoning us forwards.


    "Come on then! Let''s storm this pce and take this kingdom for the Empire!"


    Her words were spoken with haste, and she shed her heavy de down towards the pce, eliciting a cacophony of shouts as the rest of the troops brandished their own weapons, charging forwards.


    Joining them, we followed behind the carnage that Lady Sker and her contingent of troops had already wrought, and I whistled in admiration at the strewn bodies and shattered palisades that she left in her wake.


    "She really knows how to make an entrance huh~?"


    Anput giggled while Leone simply nodded, her gaze drifting over the corpses of the humans before focusing ahead.