Eventually, Zoda walks out towards me from the mob and stops a couple meters away. He's wearing quite the smug expression.
"Last chance, human, before we kill you. This is every single wolf-kin in the village that considers themselves a warrior, and you've angered them all with your insults. There are almost a thousand of us here. Now that you see our strength, will you apologize for your arrogance and submit to our punishment?" (Zoda)
I shake my head at him.
"No, I honestly thought there'd be more of you. This will suffice, though, I guess. Rejoin your fellow wolf-kin and let's begin the wager." (Mizuki)
Zoda snorts and walks back to where he came from.
"Alright human, you said you'd tell us exactly how you were going to attack us, so let's hear your last words!" (Zoda)
There's a round of cheers from the wolf-kin. I just smile at them.
"I'm going to stand right here until you all rush to attack me. Then, I'm going to crush every last one of you into the dirt. After you can all taste it in your mouths, I'm going to calmly walk over there, drag Zoda's face through the dirt, and then slap some sense into him until he submits on your behalf. We can start whenever you're ready." (Mizuki)
As I speak, I maximize my body enhancement, then apply full magic armor just to be safe. Veyron himself couldn't even make me flinch when I did this, so these guys don't stand a chance. Then, I use magic sense to give myself all-around tracking so that I notice when the wolf-kin charge me.
After I finish responding to Zoda, I hear a round of yells from the wolf-kin. After a moment, the first of them start to charge towards me. When the closest one is over halfway to me, I activate a strong gravity spell over the entire battlefield. Every wolf-kin, without exception, is slammed into the dirt mercilessly like I promised them, and their screams of pain can be heard from all around.
I lighten the spell just a bit, until most of the screams stop, then I walk over to Zoda. He sees me when I'm a few meters away, and his eyes are full of confusion and fear. He doesn't seem to be able to move his limbs.
I grab him by the back of the head, push his face into the dirt, and then drag him like that all the way to the center of the battlefield.
As I drag him, his muffled screams can be heard. I release the gravity spell from our region of the battlefield, then pick him up by the neck and hold him like that in front of me. He's a bit taller, but every time he tries to put his feet on the ground, I just kick his legs out from under him.
Eventually, he tries to scratch me with his claws, and even bite me, but it all reflects off my skin like it's nothing. He keeps this up for over a minute without giving up, so I give him a hard slap across the face. He's briefly stunned out of his attacks, but then continues.
At this point, I begin a cycle of slapping him, asking him if he submits, giving him a few seconds, then slapping him again. With each cycle, I increase the force of the slap. All the other wolf-kin just watch in horror, still pinned to the ground, and I smile at them the whole time. When it looks like Zoda's face is too swollen, or he's about to lose consciousness, I heal him and continue my cycle.
After about twenty minutes straight, he's on the verge of tears, and he finally screams out.
"Alright, we surrender! The wolf-kin yield to you!" (Zoda)
Thank god…that was ridiculously stubborn of him. Twenty minutes feels like an eternity when you're just slapping someone repeatedly. The wolf-kin are absurd to their cores.
I smile at Zoda and heal his wounds. Then, I set him gently on the ground, and I release the gravity spell on the others.
"I accept your surrender. Now, please go see if any of the other wolf-kin need me to heal them. I'll be waiting by Zara." (Mizuki)
Zoda nods begrudgingly, then climbs shakily to his feet and makes his way over to his people. They all slowly begin standing now that I've lifted the spell, but they are obviously shaken.
I make my way back towards Zara in the village, and as I come to the wolf-kin blocking my way, they quickly avert their gazes and part to allow me through. Good…they all accept the loss.
As I approach Zara, Vardo is standing next to her, and he's gone completely pale. Zara is just smiling ear-to-ear.
"Zara, if I didn't know any better, I'd say you're the only one who actually enjoyed Zoda's beating. Even I didn't want to do that, you know? I much prefer compromises to brute force, but your people are stubborn." (Mizuki)
Zara shakes her head and directs a blistering smile at me.
"I'm not enjoying the fact that he was hurt, I'm enjoying that you won the wager. I know it's barbaric, Mizuki, but this is what the wolf-kin understand. This was the only way. Now, thanks to you I can properly help my people grow. You have my gratitude." (Zara)
I smile back at her warmly.
"Zara…don't even mention it. I'm just fulfilling a promise to my friend." (Mizuki)
Zara and I fall into a comfortable silence, and I glance back over at Vardo. He's still shaken and looking at me fearfully. I sigh deeply.
"Vardo, in case it wasn't obvious, I'm not going to harm your people. I never would. In fact, I only insulted them so much to goad them into this wager, so that Zara could help them later. I was never actually upset, nor did I even want to insult or fight them. It was just a means to an end, with only your people's best interests in mind." (Mizuki)
Vardo seems to nod meekly, and slowly calm down.
"M-Mizuki…your strength…it was terrifying. What are you, truly?" (Vardo)
I roll my eyes at Vardo.
"Vardo, we've been over this. I really am human, I promise. I'm also Zara's friend." (Mizuki)
Vardo looks at Zara skeptically, and she nods calmly. Eventually, he nods and gives me a forced smile. Eh…I'll take it. I smile back at him.
After a few minutes, a short line of about a dozen wolf-kin make their way over to me to be healed. They look extremely wary, so I make sure to smile warmly as I heal them.
After I'm done, they accumulate in front of Zara. Zoda makes his way to the front and stands before Zara. He glances at me cautiously, then nods. I guess that's his way of saying there are no hard feelings, so I nod back.
"Zara, in accordance with our wager, we will now submit to you as leader of our tribe from this day until your last, on the honor of the wolf-kin." (Zoda)
Zoda kneels in front of Zara, then the rest of the wolf-kin repeat 'on the honor of the wolf-kin' and kneel as well. Vardo smiles fondly at Zara, then follows their lead. After a moment of them kneeling, Zara speaks.
"I, Zara, accept the responsibilities of leader of our tribe. I vow to lead you with strength, to strive only for the prosperity of our people, and to never dishonor the wolf-kin. I swear it, from this day until my last." (Zara)
All the wolf-kin shout 'Elder Zara' in unison, then rise to their feet. Then, they look to her expectantly. Zara scans their faces with a resolved expression.
"My first order as Elder will be for half of our able-bodied wolf-kin warriors, and any non-warriors that volunteer, to accept Mizuki's offer for temporary jobs in the Elven Kingdom. I charge you all to swallow your pride and use this opportunity to learn their ways. Make their techniques our own and use them for the prosperity of the wolf-kin when we return. Go spread the word across our village – all who wish to join me should meet here in one hour, ready to travel. Vardo will be left in charge of the village while we are gone." (Zara)
Yells of assent ring out from the wolf-kin warriors. Though some do it begrudgingly, their obedience is clear. Zara is finally in charge.
I wait with Zara for around an hour, since I have nothing better to do. By the end, there are around four hundred wolf-kin standing with their travel packs. Seeing that the crowd has mostly stabilized, Zara steps forward to gather their attention.
"Wolf-kin! We will now travel to the Elven Kingdom. My friend, the human Mizuki, will facilitate our travel. I command all of you to remain silent about what you know of his abilities. As far as the elves and humans are concerned, he is weak and without magic – let them continue thinking that. Mizuki, please tell us what you need." (Zara)
I nod my appreciation to Zara, and the other wolf-kin can be heard murmuring about the elves and humans thinking I'm weak. I step forward to address them, and they all go silent.
"What I need from you for our travel is simple! In a moment, following Zara's lead, I need everyone to close in as tightly around me as possible! Then, stay still! Zara, whenever you're ready!" (Mizuki)
Zara nods and moves in to hug me. The wolf-kin look puzzled but start complying. After a few minutes, there's a huge crowd pressed in around me.
I close my eyes and focus on teleporting the whole group, just like with the house. It's a strain, and probably uses half of my magic reserves, but I'm able to teleport all 400+ of us safely to the valley in Alara's territory.
Following the sudden scenery change, there is a murmur of fear among the wolf-kin, but they don't move. I take pity on them.
"We have arrived in the Elven Kingdom, so you may now move freely within this valley!" (Mizuki)
Hearing me, the wolf-kin begin to disperse eagerly. I walk over to Zara and give her a smile.
"When they calm down, have them start setting up their camp in the northeastern border of the valley. Alternatively, they can camp close by but outside the valley if they want. When Nina returns, she can help with short-term shelters for them. In the meantime, make sure they avoid the railway I built." (Mizuki)
Zara nods her acknowledgement, then walks off to start corralling the wolf-kin to their base camp area. I grin to the empty air in front of me.
"I love it when a plan comes together." (Mizuki)