You could remain in the wilderness, attacking cities, slaughtering villages, and destroying civilization as a great yokai, allowing Remnant Wolf to temporarily surpass Scar Father; or you could enter the cities and support the still-fragile sprouts of civilization, allowing Scar Father to suppress Remnant Wolf in the Power Struggle.
When one side won at this stage, the Lostbelt would enter its next phase.
"Currently, Remnant Wolf is sharpening its claws and fangs. In the wilderness where monsters roam, there is no room for hunters to survive. Yet the hunters are experienced and wait for their chance."
Power Struggle status: "Remnant Wolf" held the upper hand.
Hebe sighed, swept the dust off the ground with her tail, and squatted there in confusion.
Her tail was much larger than that of an ordinary fox. Though it was still pure white, a brilliant tuft of gold had begun to grow from its tip.
According to legend, Tamamo-no-Mae was a beauty from the end of the Heian period, renowned for her vast knowledge and deeply favored by the Imperial Monarch.
Later, the Imperial Monarch fell gravely ill, and Tamamo-no-Mae revealed her true form—she was not human, but the Golden-Furred, Jade-Faced Nine-Tailed Fox. After her true form was exposed, Tamamo-no-Mae was forced to leave the imperial palace. She fought the army at Nasu Plain, was defeated and killed, and became the Sessho-seki.
"But why did I have to be a fox..." Hebe slapped the ground with her tail.
The uncontrollable tremendous force made the mountain shrine shake, dust sifting down from its roof.
Hebe quickly pulled back her tail. If she brought down the shrine, where would she live for the next few days? At least until she had fully brought her terrifying Superhuman Strength under control, she had no intention of leaving the mountain for the human world.
—Come on, you wouldn't want to turn some innocent passerby into meat paste with a flick of your tail, would you?
Hebe unsteadily climbed onto the offering table and saw several damaged incense candles, along with some dried frogs and mice.
"Ugh..." Visible disgust appeared on the fox's face.
Fortunately, there was more than just frogs and mice on the offering table. There were even more wild fruits from the mountain.
Hebe leaned closer and sniffed them. After confirming with her superb medical skills that they were harmless, she began eating the fruit one by one.
The fox held the wild fruit in her paws, nibbling at the flesh in small bites and sucking the sweet juice beneath the berry skins.
For now, she had to do this to keep her Superhuman Strength under control.
After a while, movement came from outside the shrine. The fox put down the berry skin in her paws and rose to look.
A large snake slowly slithered along the path beneath the sunlight. The wild grass growing across the path was pushed aside by its body, and whenever it encountered a ditch, it glided over it effortlessly as though it had no bones.
The snake swaggered over the threshold. Seeing the crater smashed into the ground by a tail and the fox squatting on the offering table, it froze.
The snake swayed its head and looked left and right.
Then it crawled outside, confirmed that it was indeed its own shrine, and slithered back in.
"Th-this... is my shrine."
A crisp voice rang out.
The large snake did not get angry. Instead, it coiled into a circle on the ground and raised its head.
The fox raised her forepaws atop the offering table and bowed. "May I ask what the Dragon Lady is called?"
"A-Long."
The snake raised her head, her amber eyes wide open. "And you?"
"My name is Little Jade. Greetings, Miss A-Long."
"What are you doing in Miss A-Long's shrine?"
"I am newly arrived and did not dare disturb the mortal villages, so I came to rest in your shrine." The fox twitched her ears. "Seeing that the shrine seemed to receive little incense, I assumed its rightful deity had long since departed. I have been presumptuous; please do not take offense, Miss A-Long."
"What are incense and offerings?" The snake's eyes held a crystal-clear stupidity.
"They are—"
Hebe lowered her head, wanting to explain, but stopped herself.
How could there be such a simple-minded little snake...? The fox organized her words.
"It means that the mortals in this mountain regard Miss A-Long as a god," Hebe said. "These incense candles, frogs, mice, and wild fruits were all given to you by them. They hope you can protect them."
"Where are the frogs and mice?" A-Long's eyes lit up.
The fox jumped down from the offering table. The snake slithered up its four legs, opened her mouth, and inhaled all the frogs and mice into it.
After eating, the large snake crawled back down.
"Miss A-Long does not like wild fruit," the large snake said. "You eat it."
"I have already eaten my fill," Hebe replied. "What matters is that these things were given to you by mortals. Since you ate them, you must protect them."
Hebe had already made her choice.
Though Scar Father was no good, Remnant Wolf was not even a thing.
She could settle old and new scores together.
She's Very Powerful! (Thanks to boss Rendaikano Usami for the box)
The large snake paused at Hebe's words, then stretched her body out along the steps.
"These frogs and mice... those people gave them to A-Long to eat themselves."
The fox twitched her ears. "But you ate them."
Hebe saw the tip of the large snake's tail trembling slightly.
"Then A-Long will not eat them anymore."
"But you ate them now."
Hebe met Miss A-Long's amber eyes.
After a moment of silence, the large snake listlessly lay on the ground, her voice muffled. "But they are very annoying. Sometimes, when A-Long goes to steal chickens, they chase A-Long and beat her."
"Miss A-Long herself said she went to steal them." The fox seemed to be suppressing a laugh.
"A-Long only ate a little." The large snake defended herself.
"Even a little is stealing." Hebe said seriously, "And after Miss A-Long was worshipped as a god, you stopped stealing chickens from the foot of the mountain."
The large snake stared at Hebe without blinking. "Mm."
She felt a little guilty, because there had still been a few times when hunger had driven her to sneak down the mountain.
"So Miss A-Long is doing good deeds too," the fox said.
"Mm!" This time, the large snake spoke with complete confidence.
"Mice gnaw through crops and clothes. Miss A-Long is doing good deeds by eating them too."
"Mm?!" Delight showed on the large snake's face.
"So, as long as Miss A-Long eats more mice and fewer frogs, you will be doing very great deeds." Hebe said with a straight face. "There are no paths in the mountains, but after Miss A-Long slithers through them, paths appear. People can walk more steadily and will not fall..."
"Mm, mm, mm!" The large snake excitedly slapped the ground with her tail.
"So—" Hebe abruptly changed the subject. "Miss A-Long is actually a very kind and intelligent dragon."
Miss A-Long suddenly turned around, dragged several dried mice out from a corner, and reluctantly pushed them toward Hebe.
"Please eat!" The little snake stuck out her tongue reluctantly. "They are delicious."
"I only eat fruit," Hebe replied. "Thank you..."
Before she could finish saying thanks, Miss A-Long swiftly stretched out her neck and swallowed all the dried mice.
Perhaps she had been in too much of a hurry, because for a while she could not even speak.
Hebe found the overly simple-minded snake rather amusing.
If all the monsters under August Archon · Remnant Wolf were as easy to talk to as Miss A-Long, that would be wonderful.
In this age, every mountain peak, every dense forest, every wellhead, and every water body could be said to be a monster's dwelling. They embodied Remnant Wolf's savagery, nihilism, destruction, and violence.
Even in violence, Scar Father focused on humans, while Remnant Wolf leaned toward beasts.
Miss A-Long was also a "monster," but she was different.
Hebe noticed that Miss A-Long's head was pointed, as though something was about to grow from it. In the east, people believed that once a snake grew horns, it could become a true dragon.
Therefore, Hebe intended to try pulling Miss A-Long from Remnant Wolf's camp into Scar Father's camp.
Miss A-Long finally finished eating the dried mice.
"Do you want to eat frogs?" she asked Hebe. "They are delicious."
Miss A-Long was also determined to promote the mice and frogs she found delicious. She thought the fox would surely love them too.
"I do not need those either," Hebe said. "Miss A-Long can store them away."
"That is what A-Long does, because A-Long is very smart."
"So the smart and kind Miss A-Long will protect people," the fox said.
"Then the kind and smart Miss A-Long will protect them." The large snake switched the order of the words and repeated it. "And Fufu."
She meant foxie, but her pronunciation was not quite right.
Hebe froze for a moment, then sat upright. "Miss A-Long wants to protect me too?"
"Because Miss A-Long is bigger than 'Fufu.' Big means strong, and the strong must protect the weak." Miss A-Long said earnestly. "People need protection, and 'Fufu' needs protection too."
Hebe did not actually need Miss A-Long's care. She could not stay in the mountains for the rest of her life; eventually, she would have to enter human society.
Yet this was the first time anyone had promised Hebe protection, so she solemnly brought her forepaws together and clasped them toward the large snake.
Her fox tail, flecked with faint gold, curled around from behind and covered the ground.
"Then I shall be in your care, Miss A-Long."
The large snake widened her amber eyes, her tongue flicking out slightly as she thought, How could there be such a pretty and clever foxie in this world?
Miss A-Long also wanted to imitate the fox, but she realized she had no hands. Thus, the very happy Miss A-Long became a little unhappy again.
She had never felt before that having no hands could be so troublesome.
And so Hebe settled down in this shrine.
Because of Miss A-Long's presence, there were not many wild beasts on this mountain. However, there were many precious plants growing in the caves, sustained by the faint sunlight that filtered down from above.
The mountain folk gathered these precious plants in exchange for copper coins and grain.
During this time, Hebe had been forced to run all over the mountain. On one hand, it was to control her ever-growing strength; on the other, it was to ascertain the boundaries of Miss A-Long's "territory."
As the saying went, "Those who live apart from the herd are either gods or beasts."
Within Miss A-Long's territory, there would not be a second monster of equal standing. Yet when Hebe crossed a waterfall, she sensed the aura of another monster.
Through this probing, Hebe confirmed that powerful monsters occupied three directions around Miss A-Long's territory, neatly blocking the shortcuts to the human city.
"What are you doing?" Miss A-Long tilted her head. "Do not run around everywhere. Be careful not to get eaten by those creatures that are neither smart nor kind. Miss A-Long is very worried about you."
"Thank you for your concern, Miss A-Long."
Hebe jumped onto the offering table, found a comfortable spot, and lay down. Then she used her tail to cover her body and limbs, making her look like a snowball gleaming with gold.
The fox poked her head out from her tail and looked at the large snake coiled on the ground. "Has Miss A-Long gotten bigger again?"
And not only bigger; there also seemed to be bulges on both sides of her body.
"Because Miss A-Long is very powerful." The large snake said as though it were only natural. "Can you come down and sleep?"
Hebe opened her eyes. "Miss A-Long is so big that I am afraid I cannot take care of all of you."
"Just the tip of my tail is fine." The large snake stared and stared at Hebe, the tip of her tail restlessly sweeping back and forth across the ground.
Hebe sighed and jumped down from the offering table—after all this time training, such simple movements no longer caused her strength to lose control. Otherwise, Miss A-Long's shrine would have suffered.
She spread her slender limbs, walked to the large snake's tail, and crouched down.
Her fluffy tail happened to cover the tip of Miss A-Long's tail. Before long, warmth began to spread.
The fox and snake looked at the sky beyond the shrine. The clouds were as gloomy as lead.
"It is snowing," Miss A-Long said.
Fine, dense grains of snow fell from the sky, soon turning into large, thick flakes.
Miss A-Long buried her head and fell asleep.
Hebe looked at the pair of claws already nearly breaking through at the sides of the large snake's chest and belly, thinking that once she finished hibernating, she would be able to kill the monsters blocking their path.
Before you continue