"You're... Sangji from the Royal Court?" Outside Tikar City, the large Ratman within the ratfolk ranks had clearly guessed that the White Wolf walking out through the gates was not Sangji, but Totapara, the Magic Wolf and a Favored of the God of Life.
Yet unwilling to let a city already within his grasp slip away, he tried to argue with Totapara. "Oh, judging by your appearance, you must be that Magic Wolf? We were ordered by the Royal Court to trade grain with the local beastman tribes. We bear no ill will toward you or the Temple of Life. Please do not interfere in the internal affairs of the beastmen—"
Before the large Ratman could finish, everything below his thighs had frozen solid. He stared at his iced-over calves in terror, unable to force out another word. When he looked up, however, an enormous wolf's maw was already beside his tiny head. The fangs within were nearly as long as his head.
"Do as you please. I had no intention of disturbing you," Totapara said, amusement in her eyes. "I merely heard that rat meat is tender. There aren't any rats this plump in Frost-Wolf Forest, and now that I've seen them, I truly want a taste."
The giant wolf maw opened and gestured. The large Ratman's head could easily fit inside it. Just as that enormous mouth seemed about to swallow his head, as though the sound of bones crunching could already be heard, Totapara stopped. Turning to the Favored behind her, she asked, "The Royal Court won't blame me for eating beastmen like this, will they?"
"Ha, how could they?" The saber-toothed tiger immediately understood that Totapara was offering them a way out, and hurriedly said with a smile, "They're beastmen—what could be more natural than sacrificing