Elemental Cats

Toz only looked at Andar, begging for his life in tears.

"I won't make any promises since it depends on what you can tell us about your superiors and their intentions."

"M-my superiors?"

Andar sensed a faint hope in Toz's words since they hinted that there was a way for him to survive.

"Yeah. Your superiors. Why did your lieutenant want you to investigate the area?"

"Oh, oh! I know that! I'm supposed to check and see if there are any traps or ambushes around here in order to secure a route for the delegation."

"The delegation?"

Toz pretended to be clueless in order to get Andar to give up as much information as possible.

"Yeah!"

Andar seemed to have regained some liveliness after he realized that he had discovered something that Toz wanted to know more about. Unfortunately, that spark of hope made him forget the details in his explanation.

The sound of Toz's tongue clicking startled Andar into hastily continuing his explanation.

"I-I don't know why, but the Alliance of Kingdoms created at the beginning of the war has sent some sort of peace treaty or something. T-that's all I know. I'm really sorry!"

Considering Andar's position and that he was only a scout, Toz wasn't exactly surprised that he didn't know more, and he stopped asking questions.

"Well, you won't die, for now, at least."

Toz gagged Andara so he would stop crying and whining while they waited for Taienra to complete her breakthrough.

Thankfully, there didn't seem to be anything wrong, and Taienra progressed steadily. Neither Stitches nor Brunswick could sense any trouble with Taienra and the forest.

Eventually, the light coming from the trees on Taienra's back slowly dimmed, and the streaks of starlight rushing toward her faded. A final burst of white light signaled the end of her breakthrough, and Taienra was officially a Starry Sky Whale at the seventh level.

The breakthrough had gone relatively smoothly, but both Taienra and the trees on her back looked worn and exhausted. Asilean wasn't sure he wanted Taienra to go with them to Pirate Haven if they were expecting a delegation from the four kingdoms' alliance.

Although the trees had helped Taienra during her breakthrough and made it more successful, it had also taken a toll on her body and on the trees, so it would likely take a while until she was in perfect shape again.

And since the humans of the four kingdoms, at least not the Starsling Kingdom, weren't very trustworthy, Asilean didn't want to risk it and expose Taienra to them in case they decided she was valuable.

The delegation might come in peace, but it wouldn't be without sufficient force. They might not have brought an entire fleet to subdue Pirate Haven, but they would at least make sure they won't get defeated by Pirate Haven.

Taienra was an easy target due to her size if she couldn't use her magic properly.

However, Asilean and Taienra wouldn't be alone in front of the delegation. They would have Toz and the other cats with them, not to mention the rest of Pirate Haven. As part of the Pirate King's crew, Taienra naturally deserved the full support of Pirate Haven if the kingdoms tried something stupid.

Things would be fine as long as the First Admiral didn't show up.

After convincing Taienra and Asilean to follow them back to Pirate Haven, Toz and the others anchored their ship and Andar's scouting vessel to Taienra again before she made her way back to the city.

Since she was tired after her breakthrough, Taienra was slower than usual, but she was still faster than the sailboat, so they made it back to the city pretty quickly.

Wulf had barely noticed Stitches' and Hayar's absence before they showed back up, this time with a young, red-haired man in tow.

Toz didn't want to have Andar on Taienra's back since he wouldn't stop sniffling and sobbing. The only time he stopped was when he was unconscious, but Toz didn't feel like knocking him out just like that since the delegation that sent him was supposedly coming in peace.

Instead, he sent him to hang out with the Bunglehoppers until the delegation showed up.

Hopefully, it wouldn't be too long. And since Andar had appeared not too far from Pirate Haven, the delegation probably wasn't that far away.

After making sure the three big crews knew about the incoming delegation, Toz decided to train and improve his magic as much as he could until it arrived. The cats decided to get used to their level of power since the jump from the sixth to the seventh level was noticeably significant. And even more so since Toz's inclination's talent share made it easier for all of them to push their mana and mana pool further than they could without it.

After helping Hayar explain to Wulf about the delegation, Stitches went to check on Taienra and help her recover faster so that she could be in fighting condition when the delegation showed up. Since she wasn't injured, there wasn't much Stitches could do, but he could at least stimulate her life force and make her recover from her fatigue quicker.

With rumors spreading regarding the delegation's arrival, Pirate Haven, which had just calmed down after a frenzied burst of hardcore training, started buzzing with activity again.

Reinforcements and armaments were secured and prepared.

The battle with the Starsling Kingdom's fleet had shown Pirate Haven that they were securely lacking in not only individual strength but also in security. The pirates hadn't only been busy training. They had also fortified the city itself, adding defenses and attack cannons.

The city alone wasn't good enough to get rid of a fleet on its own, but combined with the pirates, it would certainly be a great addition to combat.

And in order to make sure the delegation didn't have time to prepare for the city's improved defenses, the pirates of Pirate Haven followed their King in taking any scout that came within range hostage. Since the delegation was supposedly peaceful, they refrained from killing anyone. However, those who resisted got a little bruised. And the scouting vessels were seized as compensation for the stalking behavior of the scouts.