by Eric Vall
I couldn’t help smirking a bit at the thought of how much I’d advanced with my magery lately, but finding three nude women lounging in my fountain shoved my ego aside as their glistening tits overran my mind.
“Did it work?” Shoshanne asked as she propped her elbows on the stonework, and I blinked as the motion plumped her caramel breasts to a mouthwatering degree.
“Uh… yeah,” I replied once I regrouped. “It worked, and this is a great sign because I’m building more automatons for this upcoming operation. If I can send them orders from a greater distance like this, things should go much better in the field.”
Cayla’s blue eyes lit up. “What kind of automatons? Will they have guns?”
“Yes,” I chuckled. “I figure Bom One and Bom Two are well armed for an attack like this, so I’d like to get Boms three through ten built in time if I can. That way, each troop will have a couple automatons to help them out.”
“How many troops are we sending out?” Aurora asked.
“That’s the thing,” I sighed as I turned on my stool. “I don’t know if the Master has added any tunnels to his fortress, but I’m assuming not since Hulsan was doing his building for him. There’s a chance all those boulders we saw outside his headquarters were part of the tunnel excavation, but he was using ogres to haul them around, and I’m pretty sure we killed off most if not all of his ogres when he sent them to Falmount.”
Aurora nodded. “That sounds logical to me. How many tunnels did you see in the plans you got from Hulsan?”
“Two in Orebane, three in Nalnora, and one that lets out about halfway between Serin and Eyton.”
“Gods,” the half-elf groaned. “He could wipe us out in hours with a layout like that.”
“Why only the one tunnel for Illaria and Cedis?” Shoshanne asked. “If Nalnora has three, and Orebane has two… ”
“I was thinking about that earlier,” I admitted, “and my best guess is it has to do with the Master’s soldiers. Elves are the swiftest fighters, so he’s probably tried to gather as many as possible, but the smoke lands are also south of Nalnora, and we know he’s been raiding that area for more creatures. According to the Scrolls, you can overuse this teleportation element, so if he’s transporting more minions in through the tunnels, having multiples would mean he doesn’t have to keep engraving the same area over and over again.”
“That makes sense,” Aurora agreed, “and most of southern Illaria and Cedis are populated with non-magic citizens these days. The fight down there would be less difficult, especially if our Defenders are focusing in the southwest rather than the east.”
“Orebane makes no sense, though,” Cayla said. “It’s so barren up there in the mountains.”
“Yeah, but the dwarven army is extensive,” I pointed out. “Plus, with only the one race to conquer in all that land, the Master could grab up plenty of space for himself with a strong, unexpected attack. Two tunnels would help him achieve that, and if he succeeded, nothing would stop him from branding every rugged beast the mountains can offer. It would probably triple his numbers.”
Aurora shook her head as her blue brows pinched together.
“I hope we can pull this off,” the half-elf whimpered. “If he succeeds, we’ll never--”
“Don’t even go there,” I advised. “We have to pull this off, so we’re going to. Starting with getting our allies together as fast as possible and sending them out with plenty of metal soldiers.”
“Maybe we should send the ogres to Orebane,” Cayla mused.
“A higher concentration of ogres in the north would be a good idea,” I agreed. “The dwarves are experienced, but they’re just not nearly as fast on their feet as the Master’s soldiers are. I think I’ll mostly distribute everyone evenly, though. The elves, the mages… each group has a fighting strategy that we can all benefit from, and combining all of this will give us a decent advantage.”
“Good luck convincing the elves to let ogres into Nalnora,” Shoshanne snorted.
“They don’t have a choice,” I muttered as I pulled out my sketch for the Bom automatons. “Rhys and Dragir agreed to ally with us for this cause, and this is how we’re handling the Master. I’m sure elves are smart enough to see the advantage, but either way, it isn’t their call to make. We already have reason to believe the Master is an elf, so he knows how much he’ll be up against in Nalnora, and I wouldn’t put it past him to send his deadliest soldiers there.”
“Hmm… ” Cayla came closer to my side of the fountain. “Now that you put it like that, we could use the Master’s elven heritage to our advantage as well.”
I glanced over. “In what way?”
“Well, who do the elves look down on as the weakest race?” Cayla asked with a smirk.
“Humans,” I chuckled.
“Exactly,” the princess replied. “So, the tunnel in Illaria would be less of a concern to the Master. If we increase our numbers there, we’ll stand a better chance of defeating him from that outlet.”
“But I can’t leave Nalnora and Orebane less armed,” I countered.
“You won’t have to,” Cayla assured me. “My father’s soldiers can be in Illaria in less than a day, and with the armies of Temin’s nobles joining them, our defenses in the south could number in the hundreds.”
I turned on my stool as I considered this. “You really think your father would lend us his guards?”
“Of course,” the princess scoffed. “Mason, you saved his life, opened a trade route that has improved our financial situation tenfold, and you’ve kept the heir to his throne alive all this time. All you have to do is snap your fingers, and my father would gladly give you anything you needed. Cedis may not have the same resources as Illaria, but we are part of this fight, and the few armored men we have would give their lives to see the Master destroyed once and for all.”
“I don’t want them giving their lives,” I clarified, “but I’d gladly accept their swords.”
“We can do better than that,” Aurora snorted. “Give them all those revolvers the mages stole from Temin. Now that we’re using 1911s, we have plenty to spare.”
I grinned as I realized my women were onto something, and the more I thought over the idea, the more it sounded like our best option in the south.
“With Defenders and knights leading the fight in the south, we’d have plenty of elves and ogres to take on the northern tunnels with the dwarves,” I said as I summoned some fresh metal from the stock on my shelves. “The Master’s forces will still be a deadly match down there, but it does make sense he’d expect that part of the region to be easily conquered.”
“If the best weaponry he’s come up with so far is a revolver, your revolvers should do just fine for the knights,” Cayla added.
“Knights fight best as a collective, too.” Aurora nodded. “It would be advantageous to keep them together at one tunnel rather than disperse them amongst the others.”
“Possibly,” I allowed as I began splitting off chunks of steel.
“We can visit my father first thing in the morning,” Cayla decided. “You’ll be finished speaking with your other allies by then, and it’ll be a quick trip considering how much he likes you.”
I chuckled as I came over to kiss the princess. “It’s more likely he can’t resist giving you anything you ask for, but I’ll take what I can get.”
Cayla giggled in agreement as she sank back into the water, and I quickly jotted down a few notes about the troops we’d be sending out before I started on four pairs of identical treads for my newest automatons.
“Let’s get in touch with Temin tomorrow to check what kind of numbers the nobility can offer,” I said as I glanced at Aurora. “We’ve got about two hundred Defenders in reserve up here, but we might be able to make a few more promotions depending on what kind of progress they’ve made in the last week.”
“We’ll have to see how many mages we have before we make a final call,” Aurora replied. “Even ten ogres in the so
uth could make a huge difference for the knights.”
“And that still leaves nearly forty ogres at each tunnel in the north,” Cayla agreed.
“Fifty at both of the Orebane tunnels, though,” I clarified.
“Mason, are you sure that’s a good idea?” Shoshanne worried. “Up until you went to Jagruel, the ogres hunted the dwarves.”
I paused in my work. “I mean… that seems kind of trivial compared to what we’re up against. Working together is best for everyone involved. Dwarves are smart enough to see that.”
“You seem to think everyone’s smart enough,” Aurora chuckled, “but don’t forget, you’re the first man in our world to achieve as much as you have amongst the regions. I think that says something about who’s smart enough around here.”
“It’ll be fine,” I decided, but I mostly said this to convince myself. “No one has a better choice, so it has to work.”
When I glanced over at my women again, none of them looked convinced about this, but Stan marched his way across my work table to show his support. The little metal man crossed his arms and gave a decisive nod for good measure, and I grinned as I patted him on his little metal head.
“Thanks, buddy,” I muttered. “Your support means a lot to me.”
Stan shuffled his foot around a bit, and my women giggled when he gave a bashful shrug.
“Mason, we support you,” Cayla assured me. “It’s just that most of our faith is invested solely in you.”
“About ten percent of our faith is risked on everyone else,” Aurora agreed.
“That’s cute,” I chuckled. “Let’s hope the guy with ninety percent doesn’t fuck this all up, then.”
“Oh, he won’t,” Shoshanne said. “He never does, it’s the ten percenters that ruin everything.”
“Yeah, ninety percent guy is the best,” Aurora sighed, and she batted her blue lashes at me.
“If you keep flattering me too much, I’ll end up diving into that fountain,” I warned.
“Really?” Shoshanne giggled. “So, if I told you your dick is the most--”
Cayla lunged over to clamp her hand over the healer’s mouth, and I cocked a brow as the princess locked her legs around Shoshanne so she couldn’t use her arms to get free.
“Don’t worry, I’ll contain her,” Cayla said with a grin. “You focus on saving the world.”
I nodded slowly. “Or I could take a short break to--”
“Mason, work,” Aurora ordered.
“Yeah, that’s probably smart,” I muttered.
Then I shifted my workspace fifteen degrees to the left so I could still keep an eye on the three naked women while Shoshanne tried to bite her way out of Cayla’s hold.
The tussle that came after sent water cascading all over the shop, and I had a hazy grin on my face while half my brain formed four central bearings, and the other half just hoped Shoshanne would try and pin Cayla.
It looked like all of them were too slippery to do much damage, but even soaking wet, they were decent grapplers. The way they laughed their asses off and tried to win anyways almost made me forget how much was depending on me at the moment, and water drenched my pant legs while I dragged my eyes over Aurora’s flawless ass crushing Shoshanne up against the fountain’s edge.
Despite the erotic show, I still got four stout iron cylinders mounted on the automatons’ bases, and I secured all of their torsos with only a few minor mistakes along the way. I was halfway through assembling my fourth pair of upper arms when I heard a familiar pair of leathery wings in the distance, though, and steel plating scattered across the floor as I shot up from my stool.
“She’s here!” I yelped, and my drenched women resurfaced from their wrestling match with a collective “aww.”
“You hopped up so fast,” Shoshanne giggled. “You’re the sweetest man.”
“I hopped up at a totally normal rate,” I muttered as I calmly adjusted my vest, but then I bolted out the door like my ass was on fire.
I caught myself double checking my magazine as I crossed the clearing just in case anything was amiss with my battle dragon, but eventually, I remembered the ogres were crucial allies of mine, and aiming at allies wasn’t a very friendly gesture.
So, I holstered my pistol and settled for keeping my hand on the grip instead, and as I scanned the sky for a first glimpse of Deya, I caught the sound of the metal dragon flying not far behind her.
I could hear my women skidding over the shop floor while they tried to get dressed in a hurry, and Deya’s black snout appeared over the treetops just as they ran out into the clearing to join me.
“She looks perfectly fine,” Shoshanne said with a breathless nod. “Not too tired, either.”
“You can tell with a dragon?” I asked.
“No… I just thought that would make you feel better,” the healer admitted.
“It did until you said that,” I snorted. “She does look like she’s doing well, though, all things considered.”
“I think she looks fantastic,” Aurora decided. “Look at all that cargo, and she’s flying without even a wobble in her wings!”
“That’s certainly a sight you don’t see every day,” Cayla muttered as she arched a brow, and I had to laugh once I really took in the view.
The ogres clung to the volcanic platform in one green mass as Deya brought them into Falmount, and she looked like a scaly C-130 doing an airlift operation.
Grot’s giant, yellow grin split his whole head in half as it stretched from ear to ear, and his moldy women had come along for the journey, but they looked much less enthusiastic about the flight. All four of them were latched onto Grot’s belly rolls and hairy arms, and I was laughing heartily at the sight when I heard shouts of alarm rising up in the lanes.
Then the lookout towers set off the bells, and I whipped around to find the mages of Falmount sprinting up the lane by the dozens with their pistols drawn. They wasted no time positioning themselves around the mansion and taking posts behind the oak trees, and as they all directed their aims toward the sky, I realized the town thought my house was under attack by flying ogres.
“Oh, shit,” I muttered. “That’s not friendly.”
Chapter 3
“Stand down!” I bellowed. “Turn the damn bells off!”
My mages looked over as I waved my hands above my head to get their attention, but they kept their 1911s aimed at the incoming ogres. Then I repeated my orders twice without anyone lowering their pistols, and I ended up summoning my metal magic to silence the bells myself.
“Drop your weapons, now!” I ordered, and the mages finally lowered their pistols by a few inches.
Then they kept their bulging eyes on the hoard of ogres while Deya carefully positioned the platform above the clearing, but a moment later, the metal dragon appeared above the oak trees.
Unfortunately, the first thing he zeroed in on were the many pistols aimed in the general direction of Deya, and he let out a grating, metallic roar as he dove straight down toward the lane.
“Shit!” I yelped as I ran out into the clearing, and all I heard were ogres screaming while every mage in the lane panicked and dropped their pistols to the ground at the sight of the dragon.
I managed to connect with his channeling gem before he lit anything up, though, and he halted mid-dive while the ogres swung around on the platform beneath him and held on for dear life.
“Easy, buddy,” I cautioned as the dragon’s amber eyes darted to me. “Everything’s fine… just a small misunderstanding, but let’s not kill the cargo, okay? Bring them down right here in the clearing.”
The dragon eyed Deya for a few seconds before he obeyed the command, and I turned to the mages behind me.
“No one touches those pistols,” I ordered. “These ogres are here as our allies, and they’re assisting in the upcoming attack. The dragon’s pissed now, though, so no sudden movements.”
My mages nodded nervously as they remained still, and while Deya’s platform touch
ed down, I kept an eye on everyone to be sure the pistols stayed on the ground.
“Now,” I continued, “most of you will be moving out in the next two days, and I’ll be gathering our other allies here in Falmount until then. That means everyone needs to make room, and if any attacks occur, keep your focus sharp and make sure you’re aiming in the right direction. To be clear, these ogres are not possessed. These ogres are on our side. Understood? I’ll have the generals address everything with you in the upcoming day, but until then, stay focused on your training and prepare for battle.”
Once I was sure the ogres were all safe on the ground, I summoned my powers to remove the chains from the dragons, and then I motioned for the mages to grab their pistols and clear out. I watched them all dart down the lane while they turned terrified looks over their shoulders, but as I refocused on the clearing, I saw Grot hauling his women off the platform with a guttural laugh, and the other ogres followed with their blood-stained clubs propped up on their shoulders.
I headed straight for Deya while she crouched near the mansion with her wings neatly folded, and my women were giving her kisses on her spiky cheeks as I joined them to pat her scales.
“Did everything go okay? Do you need anything?” I asked as I studied Deya closely, and my women giggled when the dragon nuzzled her snout against my crotch so I’d lighten up a bit. “Yeah, I know. I was just worried. You look like you’re doing good, though. Why don’t you take a break from transmuting before we head to Aurum? Maybe eat some real food instead of raw meat?”
Deya shook her head and snapped her teeth in response, and I smirked at the way the scales on her shoulders ruffled when she was feeling stubborn.
“If you say so,” I chuckled. “I’m gonna touch base with the generals before we leave, though.”
“You might want to figure out what to do with all these ogres, too,” Cayla suggested.
Two hundred ogres had unloaded themselves into the clearing beside the mansion by now, and aside from the group who’d almost fallen to their deaths, they looked like they’d thoroughly enjoyed the trip.
