Tension filled the air as the two sides faced off against one another, neither group seemingly wanting to make the first move.

For the humans and foxes, this was an unnecessary battle they would rather avoid.

For the Red Tail Deer, they understood that the group in front of them was significantly stronger than them, and any battle would almost certainly end in their defeat.

Even so, this was their territory, and they couldn’t just let it be violated by outsiders, so they had to stand their ground.

Time ticked by, but everyone knew that this stalemate couldn’t go on forever, so in an attempt to diffuse the situation, Celestina quietly whispered to Frey, "Can you communicate with their Alpha? Let him know we’re not here to fight?"

"... maybe," Frey growled lowly, "We’re from different species, but this fellow is both old and strong, so I may be able to get our general intent across."

"Please try," Celestina nodded, "It’s better than us wasting time on a pointless fight."

At the same time, Celestina signaled to one of her subordinates to slowly back away and retrieve the nearest Saberclaw Raptor corpse, thinking it might make it easier to explain their purpose.

Noticing movement on the invaders side, the Red Tail Deer became visibly agitated, stamping their hooves and snorting loudly.

Some of the Snow Spirit Foxes didn’t take kindly to this, seeing it as a challenge, so they growled back, further escalating the situation.

Fortunately, before hostilities could break out, Frey stepped forward and let out series of barks, yips, and howls, all infused with her Soul Qi.

The Snow Spirit Foxes naturally understood what their princess was saying, while the humans also got the gist of Frey’s message; unfortunately, the Red Tail Deer didn’t posses the same level of sapience and only became more riled up.

Seeing this, Frey’s expression scrunched slightly as she tried again, this time making her message even simpler, relying less on specific words and more on emotional intent.

This time, it seemed to have some effect, with at least the Sixth Order individuals on the other side pausing slightly, their heads tilting in a mix of comprehension and confusion.

Encouraged by this partial success, Frey tried again, switching up her message once more, trying to find some way to make the Alpha understand they weren’t a threat.

After a few more tries, and with the help of the raptor corpse, Frey was eventually able to let the lead stag understand her meaning, drawing a few snorts and grunts from it.

Despite having received a response at last, Frey didn’t look pleased. This was because it seemed this old stag didn’t believe her and was only insisting they leave.

When Frey explained this to Celestina, the latter frowned and wondered if she had perhaps taken the wrong approach.

While it was true that the Red Tail Deer Alpha was powerful, it was still just a Wild Beast, ruled by its primal instincts.

Trying to compromise and reason with it probably wasn’t going to work.

Realizing her mistake, Celestina adjusted her strategy and stepped out from the group while ordering, "Everyone, stand back."

"Lady Balfour?" Frey asked curiously, wondering what her human ally was planning.

Arriving beside the Snow Spirit Fox princess, Celestina narrowed her eyes towards the Red Tail Deer Alpha and muttered, "If he’s not willing to negotiate, then I’ll just force him to obey."

Understanding flashing across her eyes, Frey grinned and nodded, "You understand our nature quite well."

"I’m not sure whether to take that as an insult or a compliment," Celestina chuckled wryly, turning to the fox and saying, "You withdraw as well. I’ll handle this."

Combat was the most common way beasts, even Spirit Beasts, settled things, so Frey made no objections.

Once the rest of her team had retreated about 200 metres, giving her plenty of space, Celestina drew her spear, pointed it at the Alpha, and fully released her aura.

Being so blatantly provoked, the giant stag bellowed loudly, causing the surrounding forest to tremble.

It may have been a simple Wild Beast, but it still recognized a challenge when it saw one, and with its pride as an Alpha, it naturally accepted.

If the invading pack’s Alpha wanted a fight, he would give her one!

With another snort, the Alpha seemed to order his own family to back off before stamping hard against the ground, lowering his antlers as he charged towards the tiny foe before it.

Celestina was at the very peak of the Complete High-Rank Adept Realm, so technically she was stronger than this Mid Sixth Order Alpha, but given the pure difference in mass between them, a head-on contest of strength was nothing short of madness.

With the stag weighing more than 100 times as much as her, suffering a few broken bones in such a clash would be the best possible outcome, while instant death was a real possibility.

That wasn’t even taking into account the mess of menacing antlers atop the charging Alpha’s head.

The wisest course of action would be for Celestina to use her smaller size and nimbleness to weave around the beast, dodging its attacks while inflicting wounds with her spear.

This way, she could bleed the Alpha out and bring it down slowly.

A battle of attrition gave Celestina the highest chance of victory with the lowest possibility of injury, but she didn’t have so much time to waste. Every second spent here let the Saberclaw Raptors escape further.

I have to end this quickly.

Determining so, Celestina pointed her spear, channeled Spirit and Martial Qi into her legs, and shot out.

Seeing this, the humans and foxes all tensed up, with several of them even calling out to Celestina, advising her to not be reckless.

On the other hand, the Red Tail Deer all grew excited, thinking the tiny enemy challenger had made a foolish mistake.

No one met the Forest Master’s charge and lived to tell the tale!

With the speeds of a Mid Sixth Order Beast and a Complete High-Rank Adept, Celestina and the Alpha crossed the 400 metres gap separating them in the blink of an eye and soon found themselves within striking range of one another.

Everyone held their breath, expecting a thunderous clash to ensue, but at the last possible moment, Celestina released a burst of Spirit Qi through the soles of her boots, accelerating herself rapidly while pulling back her spear, holding it flush against her body, and leaping forward.

In a mesmerizing display of agility and grace, Celestina actually spun through the narrow gaps in the Alpha’s antlers.

This move caught everyone by surprise, including Celestina’s opponent.

With bulging eyes, the stag tried to adjust its head to skewer or swat away the small human, but its massive size proved its undoing as it simply couldn’t move fast enough to respond to this unexpected move.

Sparks flew from multiple places as Celestina’s armour scraped against the Alpha’s antlers, but her gamble paid off, allowing her to slip through her foe’s defences and appear right next to his head.

Reaching the perfect position to strike, Celestina adjusted her grip on her spear mid-spin, channeled all her strength into her arms, and swung out hard.

*CRACK!~*

The sound was deafening as the obsidian spear hit its mark.

The recoil from the blow sent Celestina tumbling away from the stag, smashing through a layer of brush before she managed to right herself and slide to a stop.

Had she been an ordinary Mortal Realm Practitioner, such a tumble would likely have resulted in serious injuries, but as a High-Rank Adept, other than a few scrapes and bruises, Celestina was basically unharmed.

The Alpha wasn’t so lucky.

Suffering such a heavy blow, coupled with the momentum of its charge, the stag was sent skidding some 50 metres across the rough forest floor before coming to a halt; and, when it did finally stop, it stayed down.

It wasn’t that the Alpha didn’t want to get up and continue struggling, but rather that it couldn’t.

In addition to the physical blow, Celestina had also detonated a huge burst of Spirit and Soul Qi with her attack, severely rattling the Alpha’s brain and leaving it dazed and disoriented.

Right now, the stag was barely even conscious, so trying to stand up and balance itself on its legs was totally out of the question.

Not that any of that mattered, for within seconds, Celestina was already at its side, the butt of her spear resting on the stag’s neck.

Meeting eyes with her downed foe, Celestina glared sharply as she slowly flipped her spear, pressing her blade in just hard enough to draw blood.

The Alpha, even in a severely concussed state, understood what his opponent was trying to tell him.

He was only alive right now because she had shown him mercy.

If Celestina had struck with the blade of her spear instead of its butt, rather than simply being knocked down, he would have lost his head.

The clearing in the southern forest fell silent as everyone waited to see what Celestina would do next.

Seconds seemed like hours as time ticked by, but in the end, the red-haired General withdrew her spear, returning it to the sheath on her back as she slowly retreated.

The Red Tail Deer Alpha was confused, wondering why it hadn’t been finished off.

According to the law of the jungle, the winner ate while the loser was meat, so why was he spared?

Seeing their Alpha, and for many of them, their father, not being killed, the rest of the Red Tail Deer cried out, their voices filled with both relief and anxiety.

The Alpha wanted to sooth his family, but he was still struggling to even lift his head.

Ignoring all the commotion on the other side, Celestina beckoned to Frey, calling for her to approach while also signaling towards the nearby Saberclaw Raptor corpse.

Understanding her intent, Frey bit down on the corpse and dragged it over under the wary gazes of the Red Tail Deer.

Many of them felt threatened by another strong predator approaching their Alpha, but none of them dared to move, knowing that trying to resist was meaningless.

By the time Frey arrived, the Alpha had shakily managed to right himself. He was still kneeling, his stomach flat against the ground, but even in this position, Celestina had to look up to meet his gaze.

Stepping on the dead Saberclaw Raptor, Celestina stomped hard, crushing the corpse beneath her.

At the same time, Frey let out a howl, conveying only two simple thoughts, ’enemy’ and ’where?’.

This time, the Alpha didn’t doubt their intentions; or rather, it had no choice but to believe them.

Snorting wearily, the giant stag turned his head with great difficulty and motioned towards a certain path that led to the east.

Knowing this was the best they were going to get, Celestina and Frey nodded in acknowledgement before moving to rejoin the rest of the hunting party.

Swiftly reorganizing themselves, the humans and foxes set off again, moving through the forest as they continued tracking their prey.

As for the Red Tail Deer, the rest of the herd surrounded their Alpha, seemingly standing guard while they waited for him to recover.

Celestina wasn’t worried that these Wild Beasts would try to retaliate in the future. Red Tail Deer were docile unless provoked, so as long as their territory wasn’t infringed upon, they weren’t a threat.

Thinking so, she made a mental note to warn Baron Luck not to expand his territory any further south, just to be safe.

Now, all that was left to do was catch up to the Saberclaw Raptors and end this threat, once and for all.