My Beastly Fertility System Chapter 134: The Arrival

In seconds, Maxim's body was a mangled mess of torn flesh and shattered bone. The pain was so extreme that he wanted to die.

His screams echoed across Grimstone.

When Finlay finally stopped, Maxim lay crumpled on the floor, barely recognizable as a person. But somehow, he was still breathing.

Finlay shifted back to human form, took a white fur cloth from a servant, wiped the blood off his face, and tossed it onto Maxim. He gave the order, "Take him to the healer. Fix him."

Maxim, who'd been on the brink of death, heard those words and felt a spark reignite. He stared up at Finlay with desperate hope. The city lord wasn't going to kill him.

He still had a chance.

After Maxim was carried away, one of Finlay's underlings stepped forward with a bow.

"My lord, Maxim failed you. Why keep him alive? It would be simpler to dispose of him."

Finlay had calmed down somewhat. He took a sip of beast blood from his cup.

"Let him live. After this, his loyalty will be absolute."

The underling couldn't help admiring Finlay's skill at manipulating people.

After such a display of 'mercy,' Maxim would likely work himself to the bone for the city lord.

The underling pressed on.

"And the female, Claire? What are your orders?"

Finlay spoke with renewed confidence.

"Leave her. I have my own methods. She'll come to me willingly in the end."

His composure had fully returned. He changed the subject.

"How are preparations for the Sky Rites?"

"Proceeding on schedule, my lord. Everything will be ready before the ceremony."

"Good. One month. Not a single misstep."

"Yes, my lord." The underling hesitated, then added, "There is one matter. The number of male beastfolk seeking entry to Grimstone has surged. Many are complaining that the gate fee is too high. Should we consider a reduction?"

Finlay scoffed.

"A hundred live animals are too much? Not only am I not reducing it—I'm raising it. One hundred and fifty live animals. Full-sized. Anyone who can't pay doesn't set foot in Grimstone."

"Yes, my lord."

The underling was privately aghast but kept his face neutral.

One hundred and fifty live animals. Even in the warm season, that was a massive number, let alone now during the food-scarce winter!

The wild beasts were all in hiding. Hunting that many live animals would be nearly impossible.

Then again, Grimstone was hardly short on males.

Females entered for free, but males were overflowing. A gate fee was necessary. Even so, the line of beastfolk waiting to get in stretched for miles.

After all, Grimstone was one of the three great cities of Beast World.

Not the strongest—that was Valorhenge. Not the richest—that was the Uverplain. But Grimstone claimed the largest territory and the fewest rules. Beastfolk loved it.

The underling rushed to the gates with the new orders.

The gate guards had just finished tallying the entry fees from two male beastfolk and waved them through. That was when the underling arrived.

The underling eyed the two newcomers—one with silver-white hair falling to his waist, refined and elegant; the other dark-haired, sharp-eyed, radiating cold authority.

He grinned at them.

"You two are lucky. If you'd arrived half an hour later, the gate fee would've gone up by 50%."

The silver-haired one offered a mild smile. The dark-haired one said nothing. His expression could have frozen the air around him.

These two were Zane and Rufus.

They entered Grimstone and took in the bustling streets. Despite the bitter cold and howling wind, beastfolk were everywhere.

Bundled up, naturally. Head to toe.

Rufus, visiting Grimstone for the first time, couldn't help looking around.

"I'd heard Grimstone was thriving. They weren't lying. Seeing this many beastfolk out and about in winter is impressive."

Zane nodded, scanning the merchant stalls lining both sides of the street.

Herbs, beast meat, fur tunics—even green fruits from who-knew-where.

They walked a long way without reaching the end of the market district. They stopped.

Rufus frowned.

"Now what?"

Zane's refined features settled into a pensive expression. He glanced at the stone buildings around them.

"Find a place to stay first. Grimstone is enormous. We won't find Claire in a day. But I'm certain she's here."

He'd seen it with his own eyes.

Claire had been running so fast she'd left even him behind. He'd wanted to call out but was afraid of startling her. Just as he was catching up, she'd collapsed at the gates and been carried inside by two beastfolk.

He'd been afraid the gate guards would mistake him for a rogue beastfolk stalking a female, so he'd held back.

Once Rufus arrived, they'd pooled their kills to cover the entry fee.

In the residential district, they rented a stone house for several hundred pieces of beast meat and settled in.