by K R Zax
“Darling, how’s your magic experimenting going?” Lina asked casually as she lied on her back, right on a spot my eyes couldn’t ignore. And if that wasn’t enough, her tail lazily brushed against my side.
“Oh, just fine. There is a new skill I developed, wanna see it?” I smiled while manipulating Darkness, mixed with other elements. I read in the book that mixing elements is possible, but since most Mages only had one or two elements, it wasn’t something that’s been explored.
Over the last few days, I secretly experimented on Lina while she was sleeping and found a perfect combination.
“Darling, that looks evil,” she said while looking at the big mass of Dark magic, which had multiple rope-like ends sticking out of it. “Is that a ball of worms? Does it tie an opponent like Bind?”
“No, this is an attempt at making the legendary ‘Tentacle Play’. And you will help me test it out.”
***
Lillian Az’Grotil Voznesensky was blushing as she sheathed her sword, and the other girls from the Demonic Order were also putting away their weapons. Just moments ago did Lina went to that man’s tent, and she was already screaming in pleasure.
“I thought he went insane and maybe started beating her, but this definitely doesn’t sound like it.” Milia, a member of the Order said while lowering her spear. “My Lady, do not get me wrong but, I think that he deserves the title of Demon Lord.”
The other girls nodded vigorously, some staring at the tent, and a couple of them even running inside theirs, for some privacy. During the last few days, some girls began sharing tents, which they put suspiciously close to the Demon Lord’s.
What will become of the Demonic Order once this mission is over? Lillian could only sigh and look at the bright night sky, before going to get some sleep.
Chapter 17.
For the rest of the journey, the girls from the Demonic Order were acting weird. They were blushing and whispering more than usual, and often would take Lina aside to bother her with something. I could’ve ordered her to tell me everything, but I won’t do it. For now, I’ll let them spill their guts to my cute kitty, and then I’ll hear all of it.
“That should be Tolia.” Lillian, who was riding next to me, said. “We’re finally there.”
Today I didn’t go to the forest to hunt. When Lina and I went yesterday, my zombies only caught less than 300 monsters after a whole night. Except for the birds, there wasn’t a monster left.
Ahead of us was a big stone bridge, spanning over a wide river, and on the other side of the shore was a city. This one was most of a fortress than a city, it had a sense of strength to it. Simple but sturdy walls and a lot of towers.
We were at the end of the line, so we crossed the bridge last. I couldn’t help but admire the work of Earth Mages. The surface of the bridge was even and spotless. The whole thing appeared to be made from one piece of stone, and after some inspection, I could tell that various rocks seemed to be melted and then fused, to make it look so.
The end of the bridge was connected with the city gates. The guards were just standing on the sides, and let everyone pass through. We followed the others to a wide space inside another set of walls in the city’s central area until we arrived at the castle where the regional Duke lived. Aside from his castle, there were a lot of buildings used to accommodate soldiers and knights.
When all of our forces gathered in the courtyard, a man dressed in fine clothes appeared on one of the castle’s balconies. He was probably in his forties and had long, red hair and beard. Behind him was a mage in blue robes. Undoubtedly, a mage who was there as protection, and to amplify his Lord's voice for a speech.
“Welcome! I am Duke Irval McGregorov. Since this is not a ball, I hope you’ll excuse my lack of fancy words.”
The soldiers and adventurers laughed at his nonchalant behavior. That was a true Scot, it was amazing that he even had a little bit of the Scottish accent mixed in his words. His ancestors probably escaped here when the kingdom fell to the monsters.
“I’ve heard that there are 2000 people from the Imperial Army and 500 adventurers. That is great! On my part, I have some 5000 soldiers and 450 adventurers. As you may know, I have to protect the border at the south from the Murims and Ahars, and other evil shits, so I can’t make use of all of my forces. Luckily, the Warden Empress sent you to help me out on this one.
As you have already heard, there seems to be a Lich somewhere in these parts, raising undead for some evil scheme those boneheads like to think of.
For the last few days, there were some encounters with zombies. Adventurers complained that they couldn’t find monsters in the forests, and many of them went north to hunt.
Enjoy the rest of the day, because tomorrow we’ll go out to find this bastard and finish him off!”
The imperial soldiers and adventurers cheered, after so many days traveling, they all wanted to get the job done and go back as fast as possible.
The Duke’s soldiers took our horses to the stables and showed everyone where they will be staying. The knights with higher status were led to the castle and the rest to the various army buildings. As I heard from a soldier, the buildings were designed to accommodate almost 25000 soldiers, but since most of the regular troupes were dispatched to watch the south border, and a couple of other places, there were a lot of empty rooms for us.
Lillian went to the castle to pay respects to the Duke, but first, she issued some orders to the soldiers who were in charge of our rooms. The men then led us to the second floor of a smaller building. Lina and I got a room for ourselves, Aler and Bjorsal from the Three Wolf Fangs got a single one, and Velira was sharing a room with a couple of members from the Demonic Order.
By the time all of the girls put away their things, Lillian returned, and we decided to have a stroll in the city, to kill some time before going to bed.
A little bell rang when I entered a Magic shop in Tolia. We arrived there after I sold about a hundred monster bodies to the Adventurers Guild. They were extremely happy to see such an amount, that the receptionist herself looked for the appropriate pending quests so she could give me a bonus. There weren’t that many monster materials coming in during the past month, therefore the prices went slightly up.
It was almost evening, so there wasn’t anyone in the shop, except for the woman who worked there. She looked at me and the girls for a brief second and, with a knowing smile, she reached under a table and put a small bottle on the counter.
“It’s one silver coin,” she said leisurely, waiting for me to pay.
“What is?” I was confused with her actions, I didn’t even tell her what I wanted.
“You know?” She winked at me and I totally lost her.
“What? For the love of God, can you tell me what that thing is?” I’m not interested in buying mysterious bottles. It looked like a scam.
“For your ‘Staff’, y’know?” She looked at a point below my waist. “Isn’t that why you’re here? I mean, all those women behind you aren’t just your friends or something, right? Just one pill, and this thing will keep you up for the whole night.”
“Really?” So they have that kind of thing here, huh. I guess that since men can have more than one wife, that kind of stuff would sell pretty well. “I’ll take one then. And do you have books about enchanting? Some beginner-level ones would be great.”
“Wait!” Lillian irritatedly stomped her foot and pointed a finger at me. “I am not this man’s lover!”
“Uh-huh, whatever you say, dear.” The woman was completely unfazed by Lillian's outburst as she picked some books from a shelf. “Here are all the books on enchanting. Do you want anything else?”
I also bought some mana recovery potions, and a large amount of crystals. Previously, I bought a mana potion in Tsarigrad, but I didn’t have to use it until several days ago, when I needed to make a huge amount of zombies. I was surprised by the effect, just one bottle was enough to restore almost a third of my mana.
&nb
sp; As we walked the streets of Tolia, I could see a lot of vendors selling their goods, despite the late hour. This scenery wouldn’t feel weird in Tsarigrad, but I thought that a remote place like this would be different. Of course, it may be that they saw a huge number of people entering the city today, and wanted to earn some coin from them. I certainly saw a lot of soldiers and adventurers buying things here and there.
“Look at this.”
“So nice.”
The girls got attracted to a stall selling candies. I look at the place where a man and a woman were working, there were all sorts of little sweets in various shapes and colors.
“Give the girls anything they want and pack the rest, I’ll buy everything.”
“Yes, my lord! Right away!” The couple was happy as they handed little paper bags to the girls, and started packing the rest of the candies. I put all of that in my Shadow Storage, and we continued sightseeing.
“Is this some kind of bribe?” Lillian asked as she put a caramel cube in her mouth.
“Sure is, I like bribing hot girls. So how was your talk with the Duke?”
She gave me a stern look before answering, “Nothing much, we just exchanged pleasantries, and then he reminded me to be at the southern plains, tomorrow at 6. He really is an eccentric noble.”
“There you are!” A guy with a hateful expression on his face blocked our path. He didn't look drunk, so I might as well be his target. But I had to wonder, what did I do this time?
He was one in a group of five knights, who were standing in our way. The onlookers stepped aside, but no one run. They were all probably expecting to see a good show.
The four men in the back seemed like ordinary knights, whether it was their armor or weapons, there was nothing noteworthy on them. As for the guy who called out to me, he had a lot of crystals on his armor. Strength and Speed boost would be a must for someone who fights with a sword. And since he is picking a fight with a Mage, he must also have some kind of protection against magic.
“I am sick of looking how you’re treating Princess Lillian and her knight Order.”
“I appreciate your concern, but there is no need to be worried about me.” Lillian could have sounded authoritative if she weren’t chewing a caramel cube while talking. A childish behavior, no wonder people had the wrong impression of her.
“Did you put something in those sweets you gave them? Such a despicable act! But I shouldn’t expect more from a vile Dark Mage!” And exactly as I assumed, the guy drew his sword. The blade was long, filled with mana, and had a big magic crystal on the hilt. Man, even his weapon was enchanted, did he had anything that wasn’t a magic item?
“Wow, you got that angry because I bought the girls some candy? Dude, are you serious? That must be the lamest excuse that I’ve ever heard. If you want to flirt with her, just go ahead. Don't mind me.”
“You dared to hit the Imperial Princess!” The guy roared in frustration. So it was about that, huh? “That day, when the rumors of your acts spread across the camp, every knight and soldier was burning with the desire to put you on your place, but fortunately for you, Princess Lillian herself implored us to stay away from you.”
She did that? I should probably buy her some present as a sign of gratitude, or maybe just give her more caramels.
“Your tyranny ends today, because I, Lord Garill Hustan, will beat you like the dog you are!” He said and took a fighting stance. I guess he won’t leave me alone unless I rough him up a little bit.
“Darling,” Lina pulled my sleeve, she looked a bit worried. “Could you please not kill him? I would like to sleep in a bed tonight, and that would be impossible if we had to run away.”
The girls from the Demonic Order and some of the onlookers laughed at her remark. Seeing the reactions in the surroundings, Garill let a defiant cry and attacked me with his sword.
Threads of Air, gathered around the blade, boosting hist attack power. Unfortunately, I couldn’t move away, because if I did, he could hit some of the girls.
This guy is such an ass!
I made a sheet of Darkness in front of me, and managed to Absorb his magic attack. But I failed to stop his sword. The blade ripped my Darkness, slowing down as it cut deeper into my magic. Still, that was enough for me to grab his wrist and deliver a punch to his elbow.
Crack!
“Aaaaaaaaa!” Garill dropped his sword and screamed in pain. Blood dripped on the ground from the place where a bone tore through his skin and leather garment. Thank God he was strong, a normal person would have their arm ripped from my punch.
Crack!
“Uuuuuoooo!” He cried more painfully when I broke his leg next. He was certainly weaker than Lillian, so why would he try to fight with the one who beat her? Is a lack of logical thinking common in this world? And if it is, how can I make some money with that knowledge? Ah, let’s leave that for later. What should I break now?
Wait. Am I enjoying this a bit too much?
“Get lost.” I pushed him away, and one of his friends caught him. I guess I’m not interested anymore.
No. Honestly, I was a little scared. This is not normal human behavior. Will there be a time when I will just snap and turn into a real, bloodthirsty Demon?
“You bastard!”
“We’ll avenge you, Lord Garill!”
His buddies drew their weapons and were about to launch an attack when Lillian stepped in front of them with her sword in hands.
“Stop this now! Lord Garill challenged him to a duel and lost, if you act now, it will only bring shame to his name. I suggest you back off, and take him to a healer to treat his wounds.”
The men were hesitant for only a couple of seconds, but seeing as the rest of the girls from the Demonic Order took out their weapons, they decided to take the annoying guy to a healer and left the scene.
“Thanks, girls,” I said with a smile and some of them giggled, I’ll reward them with more candies later.
“Sorry about that,” Lillian said with a forced smile. “I guess that being a Princess is all that’s on their minds when they see me.”
“Is that why you decided to become a knight? To be seen as someone who doesn’t need a man’s protection and can pull her weight? A strong, independent woman?” Such a cliche, Hollywood was head over heels for that kind of story-lines, that I barely had any interest to watch the newer movies.
“That is right.” She was surprised, probably seeing me in a new light. “You do not have a prejudice against that kind of woman?”
“Absolutely not,” I told her as we headed in the direction of the Duke’s castle. “I believe that a woman can do whatever she wants to do. If you want to be a knight – fine, go and do your best.”
The girls were in high morale, looking at me with approving, proud eyes.
“That’s right, as far as I am concerned, you girls have the right to do whatever you want with your lives. If you want to behave like men, you are free to do so.”
They were openly cheering now. As I’ve heard, they were all members of noble families who wanted something more than being married off somewhere for political reasons and such.
“My lord,” Nastia, one of the knight girls approached me. “Does that mean that you would marry a girl like that? You wouldn’t mind her being equal to you?”
“Ah, sweet Nastia.” I affectionately patted her head. “There’s no way in hell I would ever want to marry such a woman. It would be like marrying another man. Disgusting.”
“But, but you just said...” She and everyone else were completely confused for some reason.
“I said that you can do whatever you desire, not that I would want to marry that kind of girl. I like my women to be feminine and obedient.”
“But what about her?” Another girl, who looked like a kid whose parents told her that Santa wasn’t real, pointed at Lina. “She is an adventurer! A fighter!”
“That is correct. But she behaves feminine when she’s not fighting and is also my slave.�
� I then scratched Lina behind her ear and she smiled, enjoying my touch. “See? Isn’t she cute?”
“Demon,” Lillian grumbled and punch my arm when all the girls fell into a depressed mood. Don’t tell me, they want their cake and eat it too? Maybe in the next life.
Chapter 18.
A gust of wind blew lazily over the grass fields south of Tolia, where a big number of people assembled in the early morning. Knights, soldiers, and adventurers were waiting for Duke McGregorov to give the signal for their departure further south, where the alleged Lich was active.
I stayed away from the group of people because they were all openly staring in my direction. No, they weren’t looking at me specifically, but at the girls that accompanied me. They were in their armors like usual, though this time all of them wore makeup, and some kind of hair accessories, giving them a girly appearance.
“What’s with that face?” I asked Lillian, who seemed to be bothered by something. This morning she was wearing some soft, pink lipstick and had a red ribbon tied around the base of one of her horns.
“My Order is changing because of you.” She accused me in a hoarse voice, like every word was as heavy as lead. “Aren’t you happy? To see us fall to this state?”
That got on my nerve.
Let’s blame the guy for his personal preferences. It certainly wouldn’t be the first time a girl does that. I turned my horse and addressed the crowd around me.
“Listen up, bitches.” Now, that got their collective attention. “I am the ‘Demon Lord’, an evil and despicable man. Also a huge pervert.”
“That’s true.” Lina nodded while embracing herself. “Such a pervert...”
“Ahem. You, on the other hand, are knights with noble values, so you might find it difficult to travel with me.” I then pointed at the direction of the Imperial Knights. “If that is so, then please, there’s your kind. Go travel with them, I am sure they will treat you better. And you can also turn back to your old selves if that is what you desire.
