《The Crystal Forest》


 Prologue

    Dear Reader:


    My name is Valen Vorstof and I am leaving this letter to anyone who is willing to read it. My lifewas that of a pilot, specifically, in the U.S. Navy, and here is my story.


    Being a jet fighter pilot during peacetime is quite the boring job, so pilots need to find ways to entertain themselves. Having sex with your squadron commander while aboard an aircraft carrier is one of them. Unfortunately, getting naughty in a pilot''s seat during the night is very much frowned upon.


    We were caught, she was demoted and transferred, while I was given a dishonorable discharge. At the age of 25, Ifound myself working on planes as a mechanic on an airstrip.


    So up for sale near the airstrip was a house. It was a dirty, ugly thing, but it had a quite reasonable price tag. So I asked for a loan from the bank and the former owner was more than happy to get it off their hands. The house was pretty large, 3 floors with cement walls. It was only when I visited the basement at night that I actually felt it. A vibration in the air and a ringing in my ears. As I stood there, I felt something primal in me want to be released. With but a thought, energy surged out of me and straight into the air. I was transported to another world, filled with various kinds of plants and spiked trees, glowing all around me, humming to the sense of the portal. That feeling and energy I felt leave me, I termed mana, is far more amazing than humanity may ever realize. For me, its usage was two fold. You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version.


    First off, it was a means to portal between Earth and this new world,but more interesting is my ability to transport items into something of a pocket dimension. A space only I have access to. I surround any item with mana, and poof, it¡¯s gone. Granted, larger objects can take a while to cover.


    Now dear reader, I can only guess on your curiosity on how I became a billionaire. Those glowing trees I talked about; yes the spikes on those trees are pure diamond. Yes, the same diamonds whose structural integrity is far stronger than a synthetic diamond, while having the shatter resistance of jadeite. Unique, expensive, and crystal clear.


    For four years now, I have been preparing, buying goods and services. Tens of thousands of tons of items are currently in my inventory, all with but a thought away from appearing. I have never ventured far in that other world, but I plan to take a long vacation into it. This letter I will leave here in case I do not return in the ten years time I have allotted myself.


    Sincerely,


    Valen Vorstof

 Chapter 1

    Chapter One.


    Entering the clearing, surrounded by tall trees, Valen looks around, the colorful light from the stars bouncing off the crystal is somewhat mesmerizing. With a content sigh, Valen accesses his mana and a hammock forms into being. With a smile on his face, he lays down and continues to watch the stars, only now realizing that therenever was any sound present in the area.


    ________________________


    A woman, similar in stature to a human, but covered in a light orange fur with yellow stripes, is viciously thrashing about in a wooden cage. Extended claws scrape against the wood of the cage while a long striped tail moves erratically through the air. Her ears are extended upwards while a dangerous snarl comes out of her mouth as her razor sharp teeth can be freely seen.


    "You trash will release me at once, or I will rip out your balls and shove them down your throats!"


    As she screams and threatens, men with dark green and orange skin with armor that looks barely functional laugh at the futile attempt of the women to free herself.


    "I am Leona of the tiger-kin, daughter of Grendel, you will free me or I will make sure your deaths will be slow and agonizing."


    The laughter continues until a dark green muscular man with tusks sticking out of either side of his mouth arrives with an angry expression.


    "Silence!¡± He screams,causing the other orcs to flinch,¡±How long do you expect to act like idiots while a tigress slowly destroys her cage," he yells authoritatively," theyare not the leaders of the Beastkin for nothing. Their kind is extremely strong and if Leona here is actually the daughter of Grendel, then she may very well be able to kill you all if she gets free and gets her claws on a proper weapon."


    The men stare at their commander with both respect and fear, not only because he wears a very well taken care ofrunic steel armor, but the sheer 7-foot stature and massive arms show great potential for violence.


    "And you tigress will stop with your incessant racket or your little sister may very well lose a few fingers."


    "Bastard! If you lay even one finger on her, I will rip off your limbs one by one until nothing is left."


    "Do not worry, as long as you stop with your racket and be a good slave, I will not have to diminish the price of your little sister due to missing body parts."


    With a final smile, the commander turns around and heads back towards his carriage, passing large cages of naked men and women of various species. All eyeing the Orc with either anger or fear.


    ________________________________


    Lin sat and cried for the third time today, her five winters of life was filled with a great deal of love from both her older sister and mother, up until recently when her mother was killed and her village was burned to the ground. The only family left was her older sister Leona who recently stopped screaming and yelling. Shehad been taken away from the other members of her village and told that she would make some nobles very happy.


    Though they placed her in a cage made of wood, inside a wagon, her feeble strength is not enough to do any damage to it. She examines her surroundings, with extreme vigilance, as only a cat species would be able. Outside her cramped cage, she finds baskets of food, barrels, boxes, and surprisingly a bed made of a large pile of furs.


    With little to do but wait, Lin adjusts herself to a somewhat comfortable position and covers herself with what little clothing the slavers have given her. A moment later, she relives the deaths of her friends and mother in her sleep, tears continuing to stream down her face.


    ________________________________


    The caravan continues to rumble down the dirt road for 2 days at an increased pace to create distance from the destroyed village. The commander sits inside the lead wagon, a contemplative expression on his face, a map of Geralyn, the Forest of Beastkin, spread in front of him. The commander, knowing that a sizable force is unlikely to be quickly mounted against him, continues to look at any holes within his plans.


    Confident in his ability to create a tidy profit, his mind turns towards the prisoners.


    Over 30 females, 11 children and 10 men will fetch a very high price at the auction, especially the young tigress.


    With a running sound interrupting his musings, a soldier enters his sights.


    "Commander," the soldier yells, a nervous glint in his speech.


    "At ease, state your business."


    "There is a large mudslide, blocking the road through the pass. The ground looks to be unstable, the carriages may very well get stuck in the mud. What are your orders sir?" the orc asks, a nervous twitch on his face.


    Tisking with his tongue, the commander remembers the large rainstorm yesterday night.


    "We will make camp and tomorrow morning when the ground is a bit drier, we will then head out. Tell the men they can relax today and are free to test out the merchandise. Do warn them that if they cause anything that would lower the price of the slaves, I will make an example of him. You may now leave,"Enjoying the story? Show your support by reading it on the official site.


    "Yes sir."


    With the soldier walking out to relay orders, the commander looks at his map, contemplating how much time will be lost from having to stop the caravan early. A smile slowly forms over his face as he realizes that any scent leading from the Beastkin village to his caravan will have been washed away from the rain.


    ____________________


    The caravan was in high spirits as over 50 soldiers prepared for camp. Tents were set up, slaves were fed, and alcohol was being prepared for the night. While this was happening, two Beastkin girls were talking with one another.


    "Saria, I do not believe help will come," a short athletic panther-kin said. Her jet black fur, dirty from the grime and dirt of two days of hard travelstuck to her body.


    "Sidney, we may have lived farther from the other villages, but some of us did escape, and they will send help, right?"


    Saria turns and looks at her good friend, a bunnykin whose love for others knows no bounds, unfortunately, much of that love is born of ignorance.


    "Help will come to the village, but with the storm yesterday night, not even my sister will be able to quickly track this caravan. The scents will have been washed away, and considering that the dogkin would be the only ones capable of tracking us, it is a lost cause. Those mutts prefer their own kind and would rather sniff their own butts than help a friendly village."


    "Oh come now, the dogkin aren''t that bad. Remember that one at the village head meeting? He did say he wanted to mate with you."


    "He wanted me and my sister to service him and his friends, Sidney. That''s why I went and broke his face."


    "Ohhhhhhh, so that''s why the head of the dogkin village was so angry, his son was beaten to a pulp." A giggle escaped Sidney''s mouth.


    Sigh, "We are surrounded by men that will rape us, our family and friends are dead, and we will become slaves, and somehow you still find a way to laugh. You are so weird," a smile forms across Saria''s face.


    As Sidney was about to retort, a scream is heard from a young rabbitkin, barely 10 winters old as a large orc grabs her by her ears and pulls her across the ground. Tears are streaming from the young girl''s eyes while a malevolent grin is present on the orc''s face. He stops and picks her up, traveling past a bunch of grinning men around the fire. With the sun setting a moment before, Saria was able to see the young rabbitkin taken into a closed carriage.


    "Well then Sidney, it seems it has begun," Saria says, as a tear rolls down her cheek.


    ___________________________


    Lin was woken up by a loudly crying girl. Looking around, she sees a young bunnykin being thrown on to the makeshift bed of furs. She curls up with tears still coming from her face. The large orc man, smelling of alcohol stands above her, leering with excited glee. He bends down on one knee, grabs ahold of her tattered clothes.


    "You won''t be needing any clothes tonight," the orc forcibly rips the clothes off the girl as she yells from theabrupt pain.


    Throwing his clothes off of his body with drunken glee, the orc immediately forces himself upon the girl, screaming ensues.


    As he continues to move, the orc does not notice that a little tigress girl is quickly sawing the wooden hinge of her cage with his dagger. The same one that was around his pants, which were conveniently thrown next to Lin''s cage. With the bunny-girls screams dampening the sound of the dagger cutting wood, Lin is able to free herself from the cage. The orc continues to grunt and move over the screaming girl, sweat streaming from his exertions.


    Slowly, grabbing the dagger firmly around her little hands, Lin walks behind the orc and with as much strength as she can muster, Lin plunges it deep into the back of the orc.


    With a loud and surprised scream, the orc jumps to his feet and immediately attempts to take the dagger out of his back, which proves to be futile as his arms do not bend far enough to reach.


    "Fuck, who did this?" the orc turns around slurring his speech."So it was you!" the orc says as he stares at Lin¡¯s widening eyes.


    Without a moment to lose, Lin jumps out of the wagon, landing on her feet, she looks around and notices a large number of orcs, including the commander staring at her. Curiosity and confusion on their faces. A moment later, a naked orc jumps out of the caravan, but misses his footing and immediately trips and falls. The momentum driving the orc to roll on the ground and land on his back. The dagger pierces deeper into his body, which is followed by a blood curdling scream.


    As Lin stares at the screaming orc, she finally notices her sister, mouthing "Run!" Without a moment''s hesitation, Lin turns away from the orcs and accelerates towards the darkforest.


    _____________________


    "I want that little girl found, she could not have gone far, she is only a child," screams the commander as half his forces take torches and run into the dark Forest while the other half stayed to watch the slaves.


    As the men run after the girl, the commander slowly walked towards the orc that caused this problem in the first place. The orc in question is currently laying on the side of the cart, still bleeding from the wound on his back. The pain seeming to help him regain his wits.


    "Sorry commander," the orc slurs, exhaustion evident on his face, ¡°was having fun with a girl, and I got distracted," he answers, a pained smile on his face.


    The commander continues to stare, and slowly his focus changes to a crying girl inside the cart. Walking towards it, and flipping open the cover, the commander finds himself witnessing a girl barely ten years of age, bleeding a large amount of blood from her crotch. Multiple bruises aligning her body. The young girl continues to cry and twitch from the pain and trauma so recently inflicted. Eyes bloody and frizzled fur, the girl is very close to death.


    The commander''s eyes turn back to the orcs. "I want a healing potion given to this girl at once!" he roars, a cold anger rising inside of him.


    The commander turns back and his eyes move the the orc on the ground, still nursing his wound. Without a second hesitation, the commander grabs the orc by the neck with one hand and lifts him up into the air.


    "C-c-commander,"


    "Silence! You have went and defied my orders!" The commanders hands slowly increase in pressure. He turns his head to the other orcs."I have ordered you all to not harm the slaves, and what I find here is a virgin girl who is barely ten, mutilated, her virginity taken, and I am forced to use an expensive potion to save her life. She is now worth only a third of what I would have gotten. The slaves are no longer allowed to be touched since you all cannot be responsible enough to not damage the merchandise." Turning back to the choking Orc,"As for you, your life is forfeit."


    With that final word, the commander feels his Mana from his body, and directs it to his tusks, with practiced control and a force of will, the Mana moves from his tusk, down his arm towards the orc fruitlessly struggling within his grasp. Theenergy grasps unto the skin and starts to vibrate at an extreme speed. Within a blink of an eye, the orcs head bursts into flame. With a fluid movement, he drops the screaming orc and walks towards his tent with the practiced ease of someone who demands authority, the burning orc continues to scream its last breath as the vibrations finally enter his brain.

 Chapter 2

    "Something is very wrong with those trees." Valen contemplates as he trudges through a bug-infested forest.


    Three days of walking through the diamond-encrusted forest andno living thing can be seen or heard anywhere.


    "It was so weird" Valen whispers under his breath.


    Upon leaving the vicinity of the forest, insects, various plants, and animals start to show up.


    "And that wolf was much too hard to kill.¡±


    The wolf in question was an animal whose size equates to a large bear but runs in stature similar to a wolf. The defining feature that greatly sets it apart from the canine species on earth is that its bones cover a great deal of its body. The exoskeleton covers most of its body, the exceptions being its joints.


    The bone wolf was attracted to Valen¡¯s gunshots. The shots fired towards a small creature that looked edible to Valen, were heardfrom a significant distance. The bone wolf ended up finding the creature that had invaded its territory, and with a mighty roar, it charged towards Valen¡¯s position.


    Valen reacted quickly during the fight and summoned an assault rifle, which he presumed to aim down the sights and shoot the charging beast. The result was a lucky shot that saved Valen¡¯s life. The thickness of the wolfs bones was significant enough to halt the penetration of Valen¡¯s ammunition, but a few bullets were able to penetrate the joint in the wolf''s leg, causing it to tumble in its charge and expose it lightly armored belly to a salvo of bullets.


    Valen watched slowly as the resulting monster of a beast stops dead in its tracks, only a meter away from were Valen stares, fear, and bewilderment on his face. The whining sound of the dying animal is the only thing that allowed Valen to regain his wit. Summoning an elephant gun, Valen proceeds to fire an extremely large caliber round into the wolfs head, easily penetrating its skull and killing the wounded hunter. With a trembling hand, Valen summons his mana and absorbs the corpse of his defeated foe.


    "What''s done is done," Valenexclaims, dispelling the memory of almost being mauled by the 13 hundred pound carnivore.


    Looking up, Valen notices the slowly declining light, and resigning to it, quickly makes camp.


    A campfire forms into being and Valen quickly sets it alight. With a thought, a bowl filled with seasoned meat forms in his hands. Slowly Valen attaches the meat to metal rods and stabs the rods into the ground as they hover over the flames. With a tired yawn,he summons a lounge chair and watches the fire as it slowly cooks the meat.


    ___________________________


    Lin has been running away from the slavers for many hours now.Her racial night vision is the only reason that the orcs were not able tokeep up with her. Their torches did not extend far enough into the forest, while her eyesight can see many times farther. Regardless, Lin''s strength is waning fast, and her body is both bruised from the long trek, and hungry from the low supply of food given to her by the slavers. As she continuesto move through the dark forest, Lin notices a fire from a great distance. Tired, wounded, she forces her body to move towards the light, hoping to find help and food.


    As she approaches the camp, she finally notices the smell of burnt meat and a beige colored being stands before it, talking to himself in a foreign language. As she gets closer for a better look, a large and beastly growl emits from the confines of her empty stomach, scaring the man, and causing him to yell and jump while dropping the stick and burned meat on the floor.


    _______________________


    Valen, having set up his sleeping bag and waiting for his food to cook, finds himself slowly dozing off. A few hours later, the smell of burning meat wakes Valen up and groggily he opens his eyes to the sight of ashen black meat over the fire. With an aggravated sigh,he gets up to clean the burnt meat off of the sticks.


    With a careful hand,he picks up a stick with burnt meat and carefully analyzes it.


    "You would think Ishould wake up to the smell of slightly burning meat, not goddam charcoal," Valenexclaims as he begins ripping chunks off the sticks.


    "You know......falling asleep with roasting meat is probably a very bad idea. I mean, a predator could have shown up at any time and I would have died in my sleep."he muses as he works.


    "I wonder how that bonewolf meat might taste if I roast it over a fire, granted it might not be eddi......"


    "Rooooooaaarrrr" with a loud sound abruptly interrupting Valens musings, a scream of surprise releases from Valens'' mouth, though many octaves higher.


    "Shit" Valen yells, abruptly turning around with fear evident in his eyes. What greets his eyes is anything but a dangerous predator.


    A little girl, barely three feet in height, stands still with a hand on her stomach. She has yellow fur with orange stripes, ears located on the top of her head, with eyes similar to many of earth''s felines. Her fur, which covers most of her body is riddled with dirt, claws are extended by an inch on her hands while her tail is in the air, puffed out. Her clothing, which doesn''t even cover much of her body is ripped and shredded so much that it seems to be practically useless. Valen and Lin continue to stare at each other, one afraid, while the other curious.


    "Grrooowwwwlll" the silence, only broken from the sound of Lin''s stomach.


    "So little one, you are hungry, aren''t you?" Valen says, with a much more relaxed smiling expression donning his face. Lin continues to stare, with both interest and fear, as a creature never before seen, speaks in a language never before heard, with clothing that seems extremely expensive with its bright colors and sturdy design.


    "I am Valen, what''s your name" Valen continuesto talk, not moving a muscle.


    Silence continues between them.


    "Well, it seems you don''t understand my language, regardless, your clearly hungry, and I am also hungry," Valen glances at his burnt meat,"unfortunately dinner will not be fresh barbecue." a disappointed smile on his face.Support the author by searching for the original publication of this novel.


    With a slow stroll, Valen moves slightly away from the fire, Lin following his movements like a predator stalking prey. As Valen stops walking, he calls upon his mana and with a force of will, a table and two chairs pop into existence. Lin immediately jumps back, completely on alert from the casual usage of magic.


    With careful ease, Valen sits at one side of the table and using his magic, makes a large square box form onto the table. Moving his hands on the box, Valen slowly takes the cover off, and stares at the deep dish meat pizza, only a few minutes old for something bought over a year ago.


    Lin''s curiosity is peaked as she stares and smells the aroma from the box''s contents.


    Valen slowly grabs a slice of pizza and takes a slow juicy bite. Chewing slowly, Valen pushes the box of pizza towards the opposite side of the table away from him.


    "Take a seat and eat," Valen says while pointing a hand to the seat opposite of his.


    At this point, Lin''s fear is quickly being replaced with hunger, as she slowly moves closer to the seat opposite side of Valen. With careful steps, Lin climbs upon the seat and takes a look at the food before her. The intoxicating aroma of meat, cheese, tomatoes, and bread quickly remove her inhibitions. Lin slowly grabs a warm slice of pizza and carefully sniffs before putting it in her mouth. Upon realizing how tasty the food is, she starts to quickly eat and fill her mouth and stomach, Valen all but forgotten.


    Meanwhile, Valen just stares at the dirty tiger girl as she quickly stuffs her mouth with food. Slowly Valen materializes 2 cups and a liter of apple juice. Opening the bottle, he poursthe juice into both cups. The sound of liquid pouring reminds Lin that she is in the presence of a stranger. Her eyes look upon the glass longingly ashe fills it up, then slowly he pushes the glass toward Lin, who is eyeing the drink warily.


    "A toast," Valen says" to the first intelligent being I met in this world," And then he grabs the cup and starts drinking the juice.


    Looking at the cup, Lin slowly moves her dirty hands around the glass. Smelling it first, she slowly takes a sip. That sip quickly turns into huge gulps.


    Valen watches with an amused smile as the little tiger girl makes a mess of her fur; the juice pouring down the sides of her mouth, right on to her fur.


    As Lin finishes her meal with a content smile, she realizes that the man has been staring at her the entire time. Her tail straightens into the air as her attention returns to the stranger.


    "It seems that you enjoyed the food, and I am quite happy that you did," Valen says with a small smile,"But I believe introductions are in order," pointing at himself" My name is Valen. Can you say, Valen?." Lin continues to stare at the strange man as he waves his hand around attempting to communicate in a foreign language.


    "Vaaaaallllleeeeeennnn" Valen says slowly while pointing at himself.


    "Valy," Lin says with a confused look on her face.


    "No not Valy, its Valen"


    "Valy" Lin repeats with more enthusiasm, a smile donning her face.


    " Dammit.....whatever, just call me Valy then" Valen sighs, rubbing his head.


    " What is your name then?" As Valen stares with an expectant look.


    "Valy" Lin repeats with a smile on her face, clearly enjoying the frustrated look on Valen''s.


    Pointing at himself "Valy" Valen reiterates and then pointing at Lin, he waits for her name.


    With a cheeky smile and a straightened back" I am Lin, younger sister of Leona, daughter of Grendel" Lin states with a proud smile on her face. Valen, on the other hand, stares at the cute girl with great confusion.


    Lin, realizing that Valen did not understand a word that she said, points at herself and says "Lin," and then points at Valen and says "Valy".


    "Ahhh so your name is Lin, and you are a smart girl as well as a cheeky brat,"heanswers with an amused smile on his face.


    Getting up off of the chair, Valen waves at Lin to do the same, in which she complies. Turning his concentration inward and on the table, Mana quickly engulfs the table and chairs, disappearing quickly before Lin''s eyes, which are now filled with a childish curiosity instead of fear.


    "Now what are we gonna do with you Lin," Valen starts, interrupting Lin''s musings. With a flick of her ear at the sound of her name being called, Lin looks into Valens hazel eyes.


    "Well it''s night, and you seem lost, so I think we should go and sleep. So with that said, let me pre----" Valen is interrupted as Lin spins around on her feet, staring into the darkness of the forest, her ears twitching at attention, a growl coming out of her mouth.


    Valen, noticing Lin''s change in attitude, cautiously prepares his magic as his attention changes to the direction Lin is facing.


    Asshe continues to growl,he finally starts to hear the sound of grass and twigs being trampled. Slowly Lin walks backward, closer to Valy as the sound of crunching leaves increases in volume.


    Straight out of the woods, two large orange skinned humanoids come out of the darkness, no hair to speak of, covered in dirt, and wearing armor that has seen better days.


    "You fucking brat. Do you know how long we have been in that forest chasing you? It has been fucking hours!" The orc explains, fury evident in his eyes.


    "Let''s grab the tall one while we''re at it!" the other orc yells with similar fury.


    At the same time, both orcs retrieve their weapons from their sheaths, covered in rust as they are, they would still be a good blunt weapon. Lin, noticing the sound of weapons being unsheathed, runs quickly behind Valen, her long tail wrapping around Valens'' leg as she attempts to hide behind him. Valen can discreetly feel Lin behind him, still growling at the two approaching orcs.


    Realizing that the orcs in question are clearly intending violence, Valen summons his assault rifle into his hands, causing the two orcs to stop their pace.


    "Either you sheath those swords and walk away, or I am going to pepper your body with bullets," Valen says, with a posture anything but relaxed.


    The orcs, confused by the unknown language, heed it no mind and continue their pace towards Valen. Immediately the sound of sound suppressed bullets quickly leaves the Chamber of Valen''s assault rifle, penetrating armor, skin, and bones of the two orcs. Within a few seconds, Valens rifle is out of bullets, and the two orcs are on the ground, dead, blood flowing from many wounds throughout their body.


    "Ok, so bullets are overkill on humanoids, got it," Valen says, as he transports newammo directly into his gun''s magazine, filling it fully. Only then does he feel sharp claws stabbing at his leg. Looking down, he finds Lin, scared and tightly wrapped around his leg, claws all but penetrating his skin.


    Looking up, Lin finally notices Valens gaze. "Lin, can you let go of my leg, your claws are pretty sharp and very uncomfortable" Val wiggles his leg slightly. Lin, realizing what she is doing, retracts her claws and further hugs Valens leg, a cheeky smile on her face.


    Sighing loudly, Valen starts to limp towards the orc corpses, Lin attached to his leg, giggling like a little girl who wasn''t getting hunted by slavers. Slowly, Valen gets to the corpses of the orcs, and with a release of Mana, teleports the corpses, armor and all into his storage. Limping away from the bloodstained ground, Valen picks a relatively flat piece of dirt, and with an exceptionally large force of will, Valen summons a small trailer home.


    With unrivaled curiosity, Lin finally lets ''s go of Valen''s leg, and stares openly at a large amount of metal in front of her. Valen instead opens the door and finds himself staring at 4 bunk beds on one side of the home, as well as a bathroom in the back, and lockers opposite the beds.


    "Well, this trailer is made as a mobile home for workers like lumberjacks, and occasionally military," Valen explains to Lin. Moving to the side of the entrance, Valen picks up a gas lamp and slowly lights it. With a clear light, Valen enters the trailer, lin following behind.


    he moves towards a bed, slowly moving the sheets away, then looking at Lin," it''s time to sleep. This trailer is made to handle very hard weather, and thus it is quite good at keeping anyone I don''t want from coming inside," Valen explains to Lin, who is finally starting to feel the rush of exhaustion trickle in. Without another word, Lin climbs upon the bed, laying on her back, as her head hits the pillow. Slowly, Valen covers Lin up in sheets, and Lin quickly falls into a deep sleep.


    "Goodnight Lin," Valen whispers," and sweet dreams."


    As Lin sleeps, Valen closes and locks the door, turns off the light, and takes the bunk next to her.

 Chapter 3

    "I sent over 30 of you to go and capture a young girl, and you come back with nothing!"


    Roars the commander with unbridled fury.


    "But commander, she ran into the woods in the middle of the night," says an orc."


    "Her race allows her to see in the darkness easily," another orc retorts.


    "Silence!" Bellows the commander. "I have lost 2 of you in the forest and I will not be sending any more. We will be traveling at double speed, anyone that walks out of line," he glares menacingly "I will deal with personally."


    Many orcs want to retort over the increased traveling pace, but none doas the threat of violence is ever present on the commander''s posture, his hand ready to unsheathe the greatsword on his back.


    "No complaints......good. We travel immediately to the mountains," orders the commander.


    With fear on their faces, the 51 odd orcs quickly prepare for the transportation of the slaves.


    ___________________


    Slowly, Lin wakes up from a very well rested sleep,her nose twitching from the smell of cooking food. Immediately, memories resurface from last night, a smile slowly forming across her face, as she remembers her new friend Valy.


    Valen, a simple name, but so hard to pronounce."Valy is much better," Lin whispers with a smile on her face. Slowly she gets off the very comfortable bed, pushing the warm blankets aside. The cuts from the previous day, all but healed, with only dirty and bloody fur to show as a reminder of the perils Lin had overcome. The fear of running continuously through the dark night, as the torches of light chased her, will be just a memory in due time.


    A sizzling sound interrupts Lin''s thoughts, all but replacing them with the thought of food.carefully Lin gets off the bed and exits the metal home in which she slept so peacefully in. Outside she finds Valen, a pan in his hand as he hunches over a fire.


    Valen, engrossed with his work, notices the sound of small feet, leans his head slightly, finding Lin running up to him.


    She immediately grabs on to Valens pants, looking down, Valen finds a cute smile plastered on her lips as Lin stares up at her savior.


    "Good morning Lin, it''s nice to see you so cheerful and energetic," Valen answers, pouring batter into a pan."I was thinking what would be a good breakfast for a young kid, and what I came up with was" Valen pauses, a smile plastered on his face" pancakes!" Vallenyells with a great deal of emotion.


    Lin, confused, turns her head to the side and repeats "pancakes?".


    "Yes, Lin, the greatest invention to strike the food industry. And you young lady," Valen points at Lin" will be the first in this world to taste pancakes."


    "Pancakes!" Lin yells, a smile on her face as she mimics Valen''s energetic yell.


    Within a few minutes, Valen has two plates of pancakes in his hand as he walks towards a table he summoned earlier. Lin immediately taking a seat ashe places a plate with hot pancakes in front of her.


    Eyeing thoughtfully, Lin stares at the pancakes as Valen pours sliced up strawberry''s, bananas, and chocolate chips over the pancake. Quickly he then pours syrup all over and tops it off with whip cream and a cherry.


    Lin just stares mesmerized at the colorful array of food in front of her. Looking at Valen, she finds him already using a knife and fork to cut up his own. Slowly, Lin takes the knife and fork provided to her, and she copies Valen''s movements. A moment later, after the first bite, Lin is quickly scarfing it down.


    Valen watches, amused at the little tigress who is enjoying the food with such gusto. "Pancakes!" Lin screams, a smile on her cream covered lips.


    Within a few minutes, both are done with breakfast. Lin is slumping on her chair, a noticeable bump on her stomach.


    Valen slowly gets up and strolls to Lin, a predatory grin on his face. Lin noticing his grin, eyes him warily.


    "You have rested, and are fed, now Lin, it''s time for a bath" immediately a covered tub forms on the ground next to Valen. Quicklyhe removes the cover to reveal a large amount of water.


    Lin, noticing the water immediately attempts to run away but is quickly caught and subdued by Valen.


    Slowlyhe carries the squealing Lin towards the tub of water, a savage grin on his face.


    __________________


    Valen follows a clean Lin as she tramples the ground with her new sandals. Her flowery dress flowing through the wind. Her hair in a ponytail is kept together with a butterfly clip.


    Surprisingly the bath was less stressful than Valen predicted. The hard part was getting Lin into the bath. But once he got her in, she became very complacent and allowed Valen to properly clean her up. Only whenhe was finished cleaning her and summoned some clothes for her did Lin quickly cheer up.


    Having packed up everything in the camp, he continues to follow Lin as she sniffs the air continuously. Valen watches, giddy and hoping to find more of her kind.


    _______________________


    The sun is slowly setting, already partway down, and the dark night approaches every minute. As night descends, the orcs quickly attempt to make camp next to wagons, which are a foot into the ground. The slaves watch as the orcs trample through mud, exhaustion present across their faces; both from the grueling pace, and the constant need to help pull the wagons out of the mud.


    The furious look on the Commander''s face is all the orcs need to not complain. The commander watches as the orcs quickly make camp. A camp with too many trees and far too much shade. Unfortunately, a more favorable location is not possible since the wagons are stuck into the ground with little light to spare pulling them out again.


    As the commander wanders around, making sure none of his men are taking it slow, Leona stares at him like a predator to a prey. Slowly watching his movements between the bars of her cage.


    The camp comes into existence as the sun finally falls from the sky. Torches and a campfire illuminate with a soft glow.


    As most of the orcs go to bed, the others quickly find themselves staring into the burning light, training all but forgotten when the commander''s presence is no more.


    As the camp slowly gets used to its rotations, Lin and Valen slowly get out of their hiding place.


    ____________


    Having found the camp, Valen directed Lin to hide whilehe scouts the camp. 43 slaves, and 52 orcs in total. Lin watches patiently as Valen identifies targets. Deciding that a battle in the day would be a horrible idea, Valen resolves to wait till night, where he would be able toutilize the lack of light.


    As the silence of the night finally arrives, Valen gets up and using his Mana, replaces his clothing with a pure black body armor. Turning to Lin who is also getting up"Lin, you stay here" Valen points down. Lin immediately gets back down without a word, clearly understanding the situation, complete trust shown in her eyes.


    As Valen notices Lin''s compliance for her to stay safe, Valen forms a black helmet on his head, equipped with night vision, infrared, and a zoomable display.He slowly starts moving into the camp, silenced weaponry at the ready and his mana brimming with anticipation.The genuine version of this novel can be found on another site. Support the author by reading it there.


    ______________________


    The camp is silent, with only the crackling of flames from the fire in the center causing any sound. Even the orcs around the fire do not make much noise, more so to not wake their commander and face his wrath. They surround the fire, talking softly while taking glances into the dark forest. A few lights of torches move around the camp, lone orcs who walk the perimeter of the camp.


    As the night continues, Saria slowly wakes up from her cage to the sound of purring. Moving her bunny ears that have fallen in front of her face,Sidney slowly gets off the hardwood floor of her cage. Immediately she notices her friendSaria as she stares into the darkness, a soft purr rumbling from her chest. Herblack tail swishes back and forth in excitement. Confused,Sidney walks close to her friend whose concentration is focused towards the dark woods.


    "You seem happy" a smile forming on Sidney''s face as a small jump comes from Saria''s body. "Dammit Sidney, don''t scare me like that," says Saria, glaring at the bunny-kin. Sidney gives it no mind" Oh? Whats this, a panther-kin who thrives in assassination can''t handle getting surprised herself?" a giggle escapes Sidney''s mouth as Saria continues to glare at her friend.


    Sigh "Sometimes I wonder how I became your friend," Sariaanswers with an amused smile."


    "So what got you excited some much that you completely forgot about your surroundings?"


    Immediately Saria''s tail starts to swoosh left and right as she remembers what is currently happening."It seems that there is someone taking out the orcs in the perimeter of our camp." A smile forming on her lips "and that someone is very silent. The patrols are thinning and those idiots don''t even realize that half their patrol is gone," with a wave of her hand, Sidney points in the direction were an orc with a torch slowly trudges through the ground on the far side of the camp. As Sidney watches, the orc immediately falls to the ground, dropping his torch right next to him. Immediately a dark figure shows up, and a quick movement of his hand, the torch is quickly extinguished. The orcs around the fire notice nothing as the tent blocks their sight.


    "My god Saria, what is that?" Sidney asks with mouth agape.


    "As you know, the panther kin have the best night-vision of any of the beast-kin kind. It is the reason we are prized in night assaults and assassinations. The ability to hunt silently is what the females in our kind find most attractive in a male." a predatory look comes onto Saria''s face" Killing without even having the prey react or even realize that they are being hunted is one of the most attractive things in a male."


    ¡°Ohhhhhh, so that¡¯s why you were purring, you find this man very attractive?¡± Sidney giggles, with a perverted smile on her face.


    "It seems like little Saria wants kittens," Sidney says, a blush forms on Saria''s face.


    ¡°This man is not even a panther-kin. He is wearing very black armor that makes no sound and is taking on their whole camp alone! What woman would not want to mate with someone so amazing.¡±Saria retorts, her green eyes staring directly at her friend.


    As Sidney is about to answer, a scream is heard in the center of the camp. Next, to the fire, Leona has a sword in her hand which is currently impaled into the chest of an orc,his screams of pain loud enough to wake the camp.


    ¡°Attack! Its an Attack¡± screamsan orc, as Leona pulls out her sword from the chest of her victim.


    "Leona you idiot," Saria says with an angry retort, the camp quickly waking up.


    Immediately a deafening sound is heard as many of the tents explode and burst into flames, orcs screaming from within as their bodies are engulfed in an inferno. The entire camp is alight and awake.


    _____________________________________________________________


    Valen slowly makes his way around the camp, taking down lone patrols and quickly extinguishing the light from their torches. Slowly and carefully Valen trims their number. 8 patrols dead by his hands and nobody notices the disappearing lights in the night. As he makes his way closer to the center of the camp. He slowly passes by the tents of sleeping orcs and throws in a remotely controlled claymore into the center. By the times he passes by and booby-traps most of the tents, he notices a lone orc as he stares into a cage where an older version of Lin sits, an angry look upon her disheveled face. The orc, looks closely at the cage, making sure that no damage to it is present.


    Slowly Valen walks behind the orc and immediately forms a black knife into his hand and quickly slams it under the orc¡¯s armpit, straight into the orc¡¯s heart, while his other armored hand covers the orc¡¯s mouth so that no sound may be heard. Slowly the orcs frantic movementsweaken as the blood stops pumping into his head. Valen slowly lowers the orc¡¯s body onto the ground. Immediately Valen extinguishes the light from the torch and looks around the cage, noticing that the orcs around the fire have not noticed a thing.


    As Valen prepares to leave the area of the cage, a sound is heard from its inhabitants.


    ¡°Free me,¡± a soft whisper is heard from the cage as Valen is about to leave. Looking back. Not understanding the language but understanding the gesture, Valen shakes his head at the tigress, slowly attempting to move away from the cage.


    "Free me now," a louder voice is heard behind Valen, which is also heard by some of the orcs at the center of the fire. All but their destroyed night-vision keeping them from noticing Valen standing in the darkness. With an annoyed click of his tongue, Valen walks towards the lock of the cage,summoning a bottle of powerful acid into his hand. Quickly he unscrews the cap and pours a little of it over the lock. The acid makes a slight sizzling noise as it eats away at the metal. Immediately the metal breaks and Valen opens the cage.


    Leona jumps out of the cage and pushes Valen to the side, almost knocking him down.She immediately goes and grabs the fallen orc''s sword, pulling out of his sheath. Leona''s body starts to smoke as her mana starts to flow through her body. Her muscles slightly bulge and with a quick look at Valen, she runs towards the center of the camp, where ten orc''s sit staring into the darkness.


    Leona''s enhancedmovement surprises Valen as she starts to sprint with speed rivaling that of a car. The sheer momentum ofher movement allows her to stab an orc straight through his armor and impale his chest. The resulting scream is deafening.


    Valen quickly notices that the orcs in the camp are waking up and getting out of bed. He immediately turns to the display on his helmet, and with a quick voice command, the charges placed inside the tents are set off. The loud explosions being drowned out by Valen''s helmet locking up.


    The entire camp is alight as screaming orc''s attempt to exit the tents, their bodies burning and limbs missing. As the camp is in an uproar, the slaves in the cages find themselves awake and screaming as the fire slowly spreads towards them.


    Immediately Valen runs to the cages of the beast-kin and quickly summoning a battery powered electric saw, he turns it on, the small engine easily being drowned out by the screaming orcs.


    Valen begins to slice up the metal locks on the cages and quickly rips open the door as the Beast-kin jump out of the cages. A short black panther-kin rubs her hand across Valen''s armored chest as she exits the cage, an aroused predatory look on her face.


    While Valen runs around and releases the captured beast-kin, Leona does battle with the surviving orcs. Her enhanced speed and strength allow her to easily dodge attacks and decapitate them left and right. As she slaughters with impunity, the orc Commander walks out of his burning tent, completely unharmed except for the slightly singed and dented armor. As he looks around, burning, dead, and bleeding orc''s meet his presence. The Beast-kin all but free from captivity, and Leona in the center, covered in his men''s blood and surrounded by their corpses.


    Completely naked and with only a sword in her hands, Leona stares around for more prey and immediately notices the commander of the orcs.


    The commander quickly sends out his mana through his tusks, enhancing his already massive strength, but also creating a slight sheen around his high-quality runic armor. The runes on the inside of his armor slowly glow with a dark light.


    "You fucking animals have cost me more than you may realize" The commander bellows."I am commander Gorz of clan Garzand, and today I will end your pathetic miserable lives," with a practiced and fluid movement, Gorz releases his Great-sword from the scabbard on his back. The sword in question glints menacingly in the firelight.


    With a throaty growl, Leona answers his challenge as she releases more mana into her body and runs like a bullet towards the commander. Gorz takes on a trained guarded poise as he quickly blocks her overhead strike.


    The battle commences in full swing as the commander takes hits towards his runic armor, while Leona constantly dodges his strikes. As Valen watches a physical display far exceeding anything humanly possible, he decides to prepare in case the tigress loses.


    As the battle rages on, Leona starts to slow down and her mana expenditure starts to decrease. Her body is covered in sweat as she is slowly forced into the defensive. The mana coursing through her body starts to recede, in turn, her enhanced reaction time starts to slow down as well. As she attempts to dodge an overhand swing from the Commander but is quickly met with a knee into her face. The resulting attack slams her back and forces her to let go of her severely dented sword.


    As Leona attempts to get up from her back, an exceptionally large foot immediately lands on her chest, a scream bellows from her mouth as pain echoes into her head. Desperately she tries to remove the leg, but the sheer weight and size of Gorz make it impossible.


    Looking down, Gorz smiles at the trapped kitten beneath his leg."The Tiger-kin have the remarkable ability to not only increase their physical strength but their mental strength as well." a smile forms on his face as he stares at the desperately moving Leona."But all that speed and reaction time means nothing if you can''t even get past my armor."


    Slowly the pressure on Leona''s chest starts to increase as Gorz leans his body towards her."You would have been a great asset to my clan, but unfortunately, you will have to die" Gorz immediately picks up his Greatsword and positions the tip towards Leona''s face. Leona stops struggling, fear finally hitting her face, as she stares at the end of the blade.


    Before Gorz could impale Leona, an incredibly loud sound is heard, at the same time a bullet blasts into Gorz''s chest and passes through to the other side; organs being pulled through the chest cavity, littering the ground behind him, and blasting him backward.


    As the ringing in the ears of those watching finally starts to recede, all eyes turn towards Valen as he remains crouched over an anti-tank rifle, smoke still wafting from the barrel.

 Chapter 4

    The entire camp is completely silent except for the sound of the smoldering tents.Valen dematerializes his rifle andslowlygets up from his lying position. All eyes continue to stare at the individual that single-handedly took out an entire camp of slavers. Valen, back straight, slowly walks towards the center of the camp, his black gleaming armor looking deadlier in the light of the burning tents. No words are said as Valen tramples the ground in front of him.


    As Valen walks, he slowly uses his power to replace his armor with clothing. His helmet dematerializes. A gasp is heard at the sight of the first human they have ever seen. As Valen walks with a confident gait, Leona finally realizes that the orc in question has been killed. The same orc that had killed her mother, is now brutally murdered by the same person who had freed her. Anger takes over her expression as she pumps what little mana she has left in her body, and sprints straight towards Valen. As Valen notices the enraged tigress, he reacts much too slow and Leona pounces on Valen, forcing him to the ground.


    "How dare you steal my kill," Leona screams as she tightens her claws around his neck," that was my kill," she screams at his face, mouth open with her sharp teeth hanging out. As Valen is about to answer the crazed lioness, Leona instead, jumps off and screams out in pain.


    Lin runs in between Leona and Valen, blood dripping from her mouth. Leona, on the other hand, is holding her tail close, a bite mark clearly is shown.


    "Don''t hurt Valy," Lin screams at her sister,"He saved me and saved you," she yells, tears in her eyes."It isn''t fair," Lin continues, tears streaming down her face and onto her flowery dress," He doesn''t even speak common," Lin continues to cry.


    Leona¡¯s anger is completely abated as she stares at her crying little sister.


    As Leona is about to go and comfort her sister, Valen beats her to it by grabbing Lin and pulling her into his chest, where she continues to cry her heart out.


    Seeing such a scene, Leona falls to her knees, guilt overcoming her, as she watches a strange man comfort her little sister.


    ___________________________________


    The scene is momentarily interrupted as a large bear Beastkin of considerable size walks towards Leona.


    "I am Breon, son of Garren." He says, a small smile on his face" and I think my father''s village is about a weeks walk away."


    As Leona realizes the immediate situation, she stands up and looks at the Beastkin huddled together.


    "Everyone, strip the corpses and gather what supplies you can find," Leona yells into the crowd.


    Taken aback by Leona''s authoritative tone, the group immediately gets to work. The children of the parents, on the other hand, continue to stare at Valen as he comforts Lin.


    "Thank you," Leona says, as she turns to Breon. The Bear-kin smiles and nods, then he walks away to help the other Beastkin strip the camp of supplies.


    Valen, noticing that the Beastkin are raiding the camp, giving one last tap on Lin''s head to get her attention."Ok Lin, crying time is over, I think we should make some food for the others," Valen says, a smile on his face.


    Lin looks into his smiling face and wipes her tears away. A bright smile forms on her face.


    Noticing Lin''s smile, Valen gets up and moves closer to the still burning fire at the center of the camp, corpses already removed. Lin and the other children following diligently behind.


    With a force of will, Valen summons a large table, and a grill into being in front of him, the children amazed at the spectacle while Lin smiles with pride.


    Tomatoes, lettuce, buns, cheese, and a variety of other ingredients form on the table. Valen quickly sets the grill to light and prepares the ingredients. Lin walks up to Valen, a curious look on her face. Noticing her curiosity, Valen directs Lin how to prepare the burgers that he plans to make. Lin, taking the hint, starts to copy Valen as he instead starts to put the meat on the grill.


    ____________________________________


    "That was extremely amazing wasn''t it," Saria says as she looks through a burnt tent for supplies.


    "Yes, it was."Sidney answers,a smile brewing on her lips," and I can only imagine how attracted you are to that man, even if he clearly is not a Beast-kin."


    "T-that''s not true," Saria quickly retorts as she fails to put a frown on her face.


    "Oh please, I saw how angry and jealous you were when Leona mounted him. You were outright prepared to fight her" a giggle escapes Sidney''s mouth."If little Lin did not interfere, I was afraid you would run in thereand fight Leona for him."


    "Shut up," Saria says, as her cheeks start to flush and her slender black tail swishes back and forth in excitement.


    "So what weapon did he use?" Sidney asks, moving the conversation along.


    "Well, that weapon is clearly able to penetrate armor at range, and the only ranged weapons that I know which can do so are Longbows, which require a great deal of strength," Saria explains"or crossbows.¡±


    "Crossbows? What are those?" Sidney explains, a curious look on her face.


    "Well, a crossbow is similar to a bow, but is made of both metal and wood, but instead of arrows, it shoots metal bolts that fly longer and faster," Saria explains as she brushes soot off of her black fur.


    "I have heard from my mother, that rare enchanted crossbows will create an extremely loud noise when the bolt is released. She said such weapons are made by dwarves to penetrate very thick armor,"If you come across this story on Amazon, it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it.


    "So he used some kind of enchanted crossbow?" Sidney asks, a curious look on her face.


    "I don''t think so, if you notice the corpse of the commander, the weapon did not merely penetrate the armor, it ripped both sides of the plate mail apart, and made a 10-inch hole in the orcs chest. The insides were ripped out and sprayed all over the ground"


    "Sooo,it''s better than an enchanted crossbow? I wonder where he got it." Sidney contemplates.


    "I don''t care about the weapon, I care about where he got that inter-spatial artifact from. I have heard of expensive artifacts that create a space to store items, but never have I seen one that can store such large items. I mean, he has an entire set of armor and various weapons at his disposal." Sidney points at Valen in the center as he cooks while surrounded by children, who are helping Lin prepare the burgers.


    "He summoned tables and an entire metal oven with various foods. That is clearly some very expensive artifact that he uses so sparingly like a cheap toy," Saria sighs, waving her head side to side.


    ¡°Such an item is something that Kings would go to war over. If my mother ever finds out about it, she may very well end his life for it, even if he saved her daughter from slavery.¡±


    "And if he was your mate," Sidney asks, a smile forming on her lips.


    A blushed glare is the only answer that Sidney gives.


    ____________________________________


    Valen continues to cook burgers while Lin, in a cute little apron, orders the other children around to prepare the ingredients. As the burgers are done, they are placed on a paper plate, and another child is directed to carry it to one of the adults. The adults in question scarf the food down with great gusto, both from lack of good food during their enslavement and also because it is just very tasty.


    As Valen continues to cook, he is interrupted by a large brown furred Bear Beastkin. The aforementioned bear of a man carries a dark sword in his hand, the same sword used by the commander.


    "The commander of the orc slavers was defeated by you, his rune-crafted sword is now yours, as is your right," Breon says, a confident smile on his face.


    ¡°I have no idea what you just said¡± Valen replies, a confused look on his face.


    An annoyed expression comes on Breon''s face.


    "Take the goddam sword you idiot, it''s yours," Breon says as he pushes the sword into Valen''s hand.


    ¡°Ohhhhh¡± finally realizing that the bear is trying to give the sword to him, Valen quickly forms his Mana and attempts to send the sword to his pocket dimension. The runes of the sword start to glow, and Breon drops the blade and jumps back.


    Valen, confused slowly inspects the sword, the glow of the runes slowly dissipate without a continuous stream of Mana.


    Annoyed, Valen manifest an enormous amount of Mana and shoves it over the sword, immediately reality around the sword wavers and the blade finally disappears into hisdimension.


    Breon stares in amazement at the casual usage of mana, mana which takes him a good day to regain. Valen gives it no mind as he returns to flipping burgers, ignorant of the inner battle going on in Breon''s head.


    Realizing that he will not be able to communicate with Valen any further, his mind reverts back towards the camp. Over forty Beastkin move through the camp, gathering supplies, and what little food can be spared. Finding Leona hunched over one of the undamaged carts, a burger in hand, and an angry expression on her face. As he gets closer to her, she interrupts his stride."He stole my kill Breon, I could have killed that fucking orc."


    "He saved your life Leona, and the first thing you do is attack him. The person that freed you from that cage. The same person who took on the entire orc camp." Breon continues"He saved your-"


    "Shut Up," Leona screams as she throws the half-eaten burger on the fground."I would have escaped on my own and slaughtered the camp myself" Leona continues, Beastkin starting to pay attention.


    With a sad look on his face, Breon looks at Leona,¡± Your sister would have died if it wasn¡¯t for him¡±with that farewell, Breon turns away from Leona, whose anger subsides as she remembers her little sister, forced to run into the woods alone, orcs chasing after her.


    As the camp is packed up, the carts are loaded with supplies and the Beastkin head towards the village Brentano. Valen walks behind, a dozen children follow him, with Lin leading them like their defacto leader.


    ____________________________________________________________________________


    ¡°Have we found the trail yet?¡± a fit monkey-kin asks as he relaxes on a large antlered beast. Staring at the burnt village, he grimaces at the sheer damage done and the great loss of life.


    ¡°Yes,the scent was found but the rain is making it hard to get a proper direction.¡± A large centaur man answers as he stands directly next to the Forest Elkon, its size dwarfed by his own.


    "This is not good," Wukong says" Not good at all. Orcs raiding and enslaving our people so far from a port is unheard of".


    ¡°You are correct, they do not stray far from their raiding ships. Such a risk is usually not taken unless the profits are exceptional. As of right now, those profits quite are.¡± The centaur explains, a contemplating look on his face.


    ¡°Beastkin slaves are always a profit to those barbarians. I am guessing the expensive price on slaves has to do with the war against the Radovian¡¯s?¡± Wukong asks, a curious look on his face.


    ¡°You are correct in your assumption. With the requirement for the orcs to be used in the front lines of their war, slaves will need to be used for labor instead. I can only imagine the premium the Great Orcish Empire will pay.¡±


    ¡°But aren¡¯t the Radovian¡¯s outmatched against the Orcs. I mean, their empire is far stronger, and their leaders are known to have very potent magick.¡± Wukong interrupts the old centaur.


    "Strength is not measured by numbers or size, you must also include quality in your assessment," the centaur explains. "The orcish empire has many clans, and the leaders and children of those leaders are the only ones who possess the ability to cast magic. Majority of the orcs actually cannot even utilize their mana. The none-nobility of the orcs has such a low quantity of mana, that training its usage to any degree is very inefficient."


    "The Radonian''s, on the other hand, havea much smaller population, but their ability to manipulate mana is far above any grunt soldier that the orcs can pit against. Remember Wukong, underestimating your enemy is a flaw that can get you killed." the centaur stresses with his words.


    ¡°You mean how the Great Grendel dies a dogs death against those goblins,¡± Wukong answers with a pretentious snort.


    Immediately a frown creases across the centaur face."Grendel did not die to goblins Wukong, he died to the hobgoblin chieftains. The same chieftain that has been successfully raiding us for such a long time," a sad smile crosses his lips," And Grendel chose to charge into the city with the strongest beast-kin he could find."


    A solemn sigh escapes the centaurs mouth as he looks into the stars.¡± He went and killed the chieftains. Every single one of them was killed off,¡± another sigh escapes his lips, ¡±But with the sheer number of hobgoblins in that nest of a city, getting out was next to impossible.¡± Turning back to the monkey-kin,¡± Your victory over the hobgoblins that led to the end of this forsaken war has to do with the lack of their leaders. Their poor decision making was what caused them to be killed off.¡±


    Solemn silence ensues as the centaur finishes his conversation. As Wukong is about to ask another question, he is interrupted by a female panther-kin, the same one who notified him and his guards about the attack on the village.


    Turning his attention to the panther-kin ¡°Speak, what have you found?¡±


    Out of breath, with sweat sticking to her fur, she looks up at Wukong."General Wukong, I have found the direction that the orcs have went. My sister has been scratching at trees, leaving a trail to follow them."


    Nodding in understanding, Wukong turns to his guards, " Pack up, We are heading out immediately." Turning to the centaur next to him, a smile glazing his lips, " It seems that the hunt has begun," and with a slight nudge, the Elkon starts to move towards where the girl was pointing.

 Chapter 5

    The trek through the forest was mostly uneventful. Animals would scurry away while insects would cling to the dirty and bloodied fur of the beast-kin. The only exception being a human and a little tiger girl by the name of Lin.


    The children are in high spirits as Valen continues to feed and play with them. Using his powers, toys would be created and given to the children, while food would also be provided only to them as well.


    ¡°We are almost there¡± bellows Breon as he remembers the landmarks which surrounded the village he grew up on.


    The procession continues with an increased gait as civilization looms over the horizon.


    "Just over the hill," Breon says, a tired smile on his face.


    As the group comes to the top of the hill, they are met with a large village surrounded by spiked walls. At the entrance of the village, a massive 8 and a half foot bear of a man stands. Light brown fur glimmering in the sunlight as a massive warhammer rests on his shoulders. Surrounded around him are guards and hunters, ready for any assault that may come to their home.


    As the large, bear of a man stares at the group, a smile quickly forms on his face as he notices another Bear-kin, whose looks are similar to his own.


    Looking back to his defenders, a smile on his face,¡± It seems little Breon is coming to visit,¡± turning back towards the procession walking towards the village,¡± and he brought a lot of friends.¡±


    Garrenlowers his Warhammer to the ground and starts walking towards his son.


    __________________________________


    Valen watches the reunion of a son and father. The children look astonished at the sheer size of the man as much as him. Muscles the size of Valen''s waist wrap around the smaller bear-kins shoulderandwith a loud yell, the guards and hunters move towards the former slaves and start taking the heavy supplies from them.


    The children watch astonished,asGarren gives his warhammer to his son and proceeds to pick up a cart.Planting it on his shoulder, he starts to head towards the town, its weight resting on his massive muscles. Valencontinues towalk withthe procession, many looks being directed his way.


    As they finally enter the town, Valen notices something that he was not expecting. The smell of the town is very crisp and clear,trees and grass can be seen spaced frequently around the wooden homes, andthe road inside is well walked on, but quite dry thanksto being on a slightly higher elevation.


    As the procession comes to a stop at a massive storage cabin, a tall but old Bunny-kin women start''s to give orders. As she directs the new arrivals, the two Bear-kin walk upwards towards a large wooden home at the center of the town.


    With a curious look around, Valen leaves to explore the surroundings, Lin following behind. As they walk away, the penetrating eyes of a Panther-kin stare at his receding back.


    __________________________________


    ¡°Centurian, what happened here?¡± Wukong asks the old centaur.


    "Well, it''s clearly a burned camp," the centaur explains as they trek into the destroyed orc camp.


    ¡°Not that you old geezer,¡± Wukong admonishes, patience wearing thin.


    "I was under the impression that a large number of orcs were transporting beast-kin. What I find is a destroyed camp covered in orc bodies that are mutilated, burnt, and stripped of possessions."


    "A powerful mage would be my only guess," Centurian answers as he trots around." It is clear that flame magic was used considering the condition of the corpses" Centurian points at a burned corpse," as you can see, a powerful fire attack was used that both burned and destroyed these bodies." Centurian continues to trot around the camp." The sheer destruction of this camp and the lack of beast-kin corpses show a large group of fire mages where here with great control of their magic. Unfortunately what species they are is still unknown, but they are powerful."


    Wukong stares at the desecration of the camp until he notices a corpse with its armor still on. As he beckons his Elkin to move towards it, he finds a truly disgusting sight.


    ¡°Centurian, what happened to this orc¡± Wukong beckons, as the old centaur comes nearby.


    Gorz¡¯s body lies still on the ground, his armor still covering his arms and legs, but his chest is a garbled mess.


    "Wukong," Centurian says, fear evident on his face."The presence of tusks show that this orc is a powerful mage, and this armor is rune-crafted as you can see from the inner lines of the metal." A nervous frown descends the centaurs face."The presence of such high-quality armor means that our orc here is part of a high ranking clan."


    ¡°I don''t care about who or what the orc is,¡± Wukong interrupts,¡±I want to know what caused the chest of this orc to be burst open. I can see his heart a few yards back,¡± Wukong point a bit further behindthe corpse.


    ¡°I do not know, I have never seen or heard of magic able to rip apart an armored chest before. I can only imagine it would have to be a powerful enchanted weapon, possibly even an artifact.¡± The Centurion explains, uncertainty still present across his face.


    A silence permeates the clearing as these two stare at the corpse.Love this novel? Read it on Royal Road to ensure the author gets credit.


    ¡°Well then, the scent is fresh now, so we no longer need to follow a bunch of scratch marks on trees. Order the men to mount up and we head out immediately.¡±


    ¡°Yes general,¡± Centurian replies as he goes to gather the others.


    ___________________________________


    "So tell me, Breon, how did you escape these slavers," Garren asks his son as they sit at the village head¡¯s home.


    ¡°Well, we were rescued by Valen.¡±


    ¡°Ahhh, you mean the same one who was surrounded by children?¡±confusion evident on his face.


    ¡°Yes father, that man took on the whole camp on his own. Granted, I was asleep until I heard the loud explosions, but what I learned from a Panther-kin by the name of Saria is that he took out the patrol and worked his way towards the center.¡±Breon explains as he sips tea from his cup.


    "Saria is that vixens child isn''t she," Garren says, a contemplative look on his face.


    ¡°Vixen father?¡±


    ¡°The current head of the panther-kin is actually Saleve, and she is a fox-kin. Her husband is the former head of the Panther-kin, whom she has forced into submission.¡±


    ¡°And they follow her?¡±Breon asks, a confused look on his face.


    "She is a black furred fox-kin, a rare color mind you, and she sneaked into the head of the panther-kin, knocked him out, and dragged him into the center of the village." Answers Garren, a smile forming on his lips."But there is more to that story."Garren continues.


    ¡°When she kidnapped him, she tied him up and stripped him of his clothes. And then she rode him till morning.¡± A great big smile covers Garren¡¯s face while his son looks amazed.


    ¡°She raped him?¡± Breon says


    ¡°If he didn''t enjoy it, they wouldn''t be married, now would they?¡± the father answers with a laugh.


    Moving his head side to side, Breon looks at his father," and how do you know such things," Breon asks his father, a curious look on his face.


    "I was at the wedding, and Darius got really drunk and told me the story."Garren answers" But that is history, they have two twin girls and I think a young fox boy who shares his mother''s fur color¡±


    ¡°Now then, back to the matter at hand, you said he took out an entire company of orcs on his own?¡± interrupts Garren.


    "He probably would have if Leona did not interfere." Sighing loudly"Apparently Leona forced him to free her, and the first thing she did was walk into the center of the camp and gut a orc," anger starts rising in his voice,"She wakes up the whole dam camp and then she almost gets killed by the orc commander," anger rising in his voice," only to be saved by Valen who uses some extremely loud and powerful weapon to rip out the orcs chest,"taking a deep breath, Breon takes a drink of his tea and looks at his father."she was so angry that her kill was taken that she immediately attacked Valen,"his anger slowly receding.


    A silence permeates the air as Breon starts to calm down.


    "Like you always say, father,"pride is stupid" and now I understand why."


    Looking down at his son, a mixture of emotions crosses Garren''s face, only to be interrupted by his wife Belinda.


    ¡°Oy,Breon, who the hell is this Varen guy?¡± She asks, annoyance clear on her face.


    ¡°Errrr,what happened mother?¡±Breon asks, a nervous smile on his lips.


    Glaring at her son, Belinda moves her eyes towards her husband,¡±The damn kid went and almost gave Daria a heart attack.¡±


    "What happened dear," Garren asks, a curious look sent to Breon.


    ¡°Apparently he is walking around town and notices Daria butchering an animal. As she pays him no mind, Varen summons a dead Bone stalker corpse right in front of her.¡± Belinda shakes her head, an amused smile forming on her lips.¡± I was able to hear her scream from the other side of the village.¡±


    Slowly looking around, Belinda finds an open seat at the table and sits down.


    ¡°When I came to the butchery, the guards were laughing as they stared at the corpse of the beast. My god Garren, you said before that you killed two of those things, I never knew how fearsome those beasts are. Their sheer size even matches your own¡±


    As Garen listens to the conversation, an interested look don''s his face.


    ¡°Bone stalkers are extremely resistant to piercing and slashing weapons, only blunt weapons like my hammer can even penetrate their armor. This Valen just gets more and more interesting as I hear about him.¡±


    Garren, realizing that no stalker corpse was on any of the carts, turns to his son,¡±Breon, how or even when was he able to bring a corpse of such a large beast into town¡±.


    Looking up at his father Breon contemplates how to answer. ¡° It seems that Valen has some item that lets him store and summon anything he wishes. It is rather convenient,might I add¡±


    Garren stares at his son, a serious expression on his face."An enchanted item that can hold objects like that is worth extreme amounts of money. An item that can hold a barrel''s worth of supplies is a treasure that would be owned by the heads of clans. An item that can hold the corpse of a Bone stalker is an item which Kings would go to war over"


    Immediately a pale expression covers Breons face as he stares at his father." What should we do,"Breon asks?


    ¡°Well, first we have to tell him not to use the item,¡± his father answer.


    "That will be a problem" Breon retorts," he does not speak common at all,"


    "He doesn''t?" a surprised look forms on Belinda''s face." how am I supposed to yell at him if he doesn''t even understand the language?".


    "Well,we can deal with this tomorrow morning, it is getting late," Garren turns to Belinda,"How are the new beast-kin doing?"


    A solemn nod comes from Belinda,¡±They are still in low spirits, but having a safe place to stay and food to eat is a good start. Food is no longer an issue for a few days considering the size of the Bone Stalker that that kid dropped off.¡±


    Slowly Belinda gets off the chair,¡±I will go and check on Zalena, I can only imagine the pains she is going through right now.¡± Belinda walks towards the steps and climbs to the second floor.


    "Father, who is Zalena," Breon asks, a curious look on his face.


    "Well, I found myself another wife last year." A toothy smile spreads across Garren''s face.


    Breon stares at his father with a blank look,¡±You got her pregnant didn''t you?¡±


    A guilty look crosses his fathers face," Well, Belinda is getting old, so she wanted help with managing the town. Getting Zalena pregnant was not what I wanted. You should know that us Bear-kin live up to a good 400 years and we are also extremely infertile as well. A child every ten years would be lucky for us," Garren explains." I merely Just got very lucky with Zalena,"Garren winks at his son.


    Breon sighs at his father. The same one that has lived for over 200 years and has traveled the world on his own.


    "I will introduce you to her later," Garren says,"but in the meantime, take the guest room and go sleep" As he starts walking towards the stares, Garren turns towards his son," and don''t mind Leona, I will handle her later," and with that final farewell, Garren climbs the steps of his home.


    Breon stares at his father''s retreating back, a soft smile forming on his lips.


    __________________________________________________________________


    "UUGHHHHHHHH," Zalena groans."The stupid kid is kicking again" she yells to Belinda who slowly massages her face with her hand.


    ¡°Don''t worry dear,¡±Belinda soothes,¡±In a few weeks you will give birth¡± Balinda answers as Zalena groans again.


    "When I finally give birth, I will make Garren pay for making me go through this," The Deer-kin promises, fury present in her voice.


    Slowly the pains die down and Zalena¡¯s expression finally relaxes.¡± So our town has grown a lot larger hasn''t it?¡± Zalena asks.


    ¡°Yes, over fifty refugees in all were saved by some weird troublemaker of a man,¡± a smile forms on Belinda''s lips as she remembers the stalker corpse.¡±Overall our town can support twice that many, we merely just need to build more homes for them,¡± she explains.


    With anearsilent squeak, the door shifts open as their husband enters the room.

 Chapter 6

    Valen awakens inside his small trailer home, a yawn escaping his mouth. Looking around, he finds Lin missing from her bed. Smiling approving at how she made her bed, her pajamas folded on top. Yawning again, Valen slowly gets up, noticing the sun already high in the sky.


    With a thought, his sleepwear is replaced with a t-shirt and shorts. Flip Flops cover his feet as he moves towards the door. Opening it with a little push, Valen is met with quite an interesting sight. Over 40 children await in front of his doorstep, Lin standing up in front. Various kinds of beast-kin stare at Valen as he returns a confused look at Lin. Lin, smiling mischievously puts her hand up and starts chanting "Pancakes, Pancakes, Pancakes". Immediately the other children join in and a large mob of smiling and yelling children is formed.


    Smiling at the spectacle, Valen decides to find a more open space to be instead of next to the building in which the other former slaves are sleeping. With a happy gait, Valen walks through the town, a small army of chanting children behind him.


    _______________________________________________________________________


    "Aunty Belinda, how have you been," Sidney asks as she watches children smile and play around Varen, who continues to cook Pancakes for them.


    ¡°I am good child,¡± Balinda answers slowly, distracted by the spectacle in front of her.


    ¡°When I heard from the townspeople of a swarm of children chanting, I thought it was something completely different.¡± shaking her head, a smile forming on her face.¡±In one day, that Valen has gained the love and respect of all the children and parents in this town. If I even try to scold him about making such a large racket, I think the children may very well attack me,¡±Belinda answers, her gaze still on the children.


    ¡°Do you know where he is from?¡± Sidney asks.


    "I have never seen a species like him in all 80 of my winters." a contemplative look crosses her face." Garren is much older than me, I think he might know. Regardless, until he learns our language, we won''t be able to ask Varen either," answers Belinda, a smile still on her face.


    Sidney nods in understanding. Sighing loudly as she looks at the sun, which burns with anintense heat.


    Looking at her aunt, a kind smile is plastered on her face as she stares at the kids stuffing their faces with food, ¡°A true joy to behold,¡± she whispers under her breath.


    Looking around, Sidney smiles as she notices her friend sitting on a tree, staring at Valen, her black tail, flowing through the air with enough energy to rattle leaves.


    On the edge of her vision, she notices uncle Garren walking through the town, a training sword in his hands.


    _______________________________________________________________


    Leona strikes a leather-bound tree with a training sword, the strikes create a thumping noise that can be heard throughout the training field. Guards stare amazed as Leona quickly attacks and moves around the tree, sprinting, rolling, spinning as she attacks in various ways.


    As Leona screams and strikes with a piece of wood, Garren stares at her awful form. His eyes see how she gives up finesse for power, and accuracy for speed.


    Remembering the promise he made to his son, Garren takes a step forward into the training grounds.


    "Your form is pathetic," he yells,"You fight like a rabid animal," he taunts as he takes leisurely steps towards Leona.


    "I am Leona, daughter of Grendel, do not insult me," she yells, anger clear on her face.


    A smile forms on Garren¡¯sface.¡±No, you are just a little kitten with anger issues,¡± he interjects.


    An angry snarl escapes Leona¡¯s mouth,¡±How dare you insult me,¡± Leona yells back, mana starting to course through her body,¡±you are just an oversized cow¡± she yells as her sword turns to point at Garren.


    Shaking his head, Garren prepares his training sword,¡±Then come little kitten,¡± He says, as the strands of mana course through his body, intertwining around his muscles, compressing and strengthening.


    With an angry scream, Leona¡¯s mana explodes and her fur starts to smoke. With one leg, she propels herself faster than most eyes can track.


    Garren smiles as he turns around and spins his sword out, mana pulses quietly through his body, increasing his speed to counter Leona¡¯s predictable charge.


    Realizing that she would not be able to match strengths, Leona instead dodges the incoming sword strike to the left, only to find a quick elbow slam into her side. The blow forcing the air out of her lungs and her training sword falls out of her hands.


    As she quickly gets up, she catches the training sword thrown at her.


    ¡°Predictable,¡± Garren retorts,¡°all that speed means nothing if I can predict where you go or where you dodge. Unless you know your opponent¡¯s level of skill, do not create so many openings¡± Garren mocks as he twirls his sword casually in his large hands.This story has been unlawfully obtained without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon.


    ¡°You elbowed me,¡± Leona yells, anger taking over again.


    "Then don''t let me," Garren says, a cocky smile on his face.


    With another scream, Leona rushes Garren and starts to run around him, but with each attempt, Garren counters in a variety of ways. Quickly the battle turns one-sided as Leona realizes that she cannot win. All her anger slowly dissipates as the realization that she hasn''t even landed a hit comesrushing in.


    Slowly Leona stops running and quickly falls to her knees, tears streaming down her face.


    Garren watches as the fight leaves her, and an understanding smile crosses his face. Walking towards Leona, Garren sits next to her, eyes forward, staring at the training tree.


    "You know, about 30 years ago, I met a tiger Beast-kin that is similar to yourself. He was very cocky, constantly spewing nonsense about his heritage and using his strength and speed to overpower others." Garren slowly looks up into the clouds,"That cocky guy picked a fight with me, so I told him to put his sword where his mouth is."


    Leona looks up at Garren, interest prevalent in her eyes.


    "When I fought him, he tried to utilize his speed to make it impossible for me to react"He turns to Leona as she sits on the ground,"So I taught him that his speed means nothing against overwhelming skill," a vicious smile crosses his face." Every attempt to strike me, I predicted and countered with my own. He made a cocky mistake when he tried to attack me from above."A smile forms on Garren''s face as he stares at Leona."I punted him into a house with my warhammer,"


    "Did he die?" Leona asks, curious on the outcome.


    Slowly Garren gets up, looking down at Leona a smile crosses his face."You wouldn''t have been born if he did," and with that last comment, Garren walks out of the training grounds.


    Leona continues to sit, mulling over the information provided."father," A smile forms on her lips,"So you lost too," Taking a deep breath, Leona picks up her training blade and starts to copy the forms of the other guardsmen as they practice diligently.


    _________________________________________________________________________


    "Who is the leader of that town," Wukong asks as he stares at the high walls of Brentanol." I did not think we had a town so far out into the forest."


    "The town is named Brentano, and the leader is a Bear-kin by the name of Garren," the centaur answers as he struts with the Elkin at his side.


    "Well, it doesn''t matter then," Wukong says,"clearly they are friendly. Let''s get some information from the town, hopefully, the survivors will know more about those orcs." And with a slight nudge, the pace of the Elkin increases, the centaur not far behind.


    ___________________________________________________________________


    Valen, having fed and played with the kids, walks across the street, Lin following behind as he stares at the various stores and what they sell. A Smith negotiates with a guardsman over the price of a blade. A woman with a baby in her arms carry a small sack to pick up foods. As Valen continues to walk, he finds Belinda and an armored monkey man talking amicably. Armored men stand at the ready, staring at the guards behind Belinda. Curious, Valen trudges closer.


    "I demand to speak with those villagers," Wukong yells, frustration clearly present on his face.


    "And I am telling you that you will have to wait for my husband to show up. I can''t just allow an armored group to stroll through my town," Belinda answers,"I don''t fucking care if you are the fucking general. Either wait for my husband or get the fuck out," Belinda glares menacingly.


    As the two continue to glare at each other, they are interrupted by Leona as she strolls past the guards." What is happening here," She asks, authority coming easily to her. As Leona stands next to the tall Bunny-kin, a speculative expression forms on her face, Wukong finally takes a look at her.


    "Ahh,you are Leona, daughter of Grendel," Wukong says, understanding coming to his eyes when Leona nods. Smiling, Wukong takes off his metal helmet and looks Leona in the eyes."I am Wukong, current general of the Beast-kin army. Your father Grendel is dead"


    Leona''s eyes immediately widen. With the realization that her only other parent is dead, she immediately falls to her knees. Tears start to pour out of her eyes as she remembers her father, the warm smile he always gives her, and her first hunting lessons from him.


    Lin, having heard that her father is dead, sprints towards her sister, tears forming in her eyes. Immediately Lin embraces her sister, wrapping her little hands around her head.


    Valen walks closer to the crying duo as Wukong stares with complicated eyes as some of the guardsmen start to cry a well. Slowly Wukong''s anger starts to rise.


    "Stop crying for that piece of shit of a man," Wukong yells as he grabs hold of Lin by the neck and kicks Leona to theground. He then throws the squealing Lin at a tree, where she lands face first."Leona, your father was a pathetic general that got many of the most powerful men killed" he yells at Leona, tears still streaking down her face.


    Valen watches as Lin flies through the air and slams into a tree and herbody fallingon the ground facing Valen. Blood starts to fall from a cut on her forehead. Valen watches as the blood drips down her face and into her fur.


    Valen immediately starts to walk towards Wukong, fury evident on his face. The guards and soldiers ignore Valen as he struts closer and closer to Wukong, no weapon in sight. Valen pulls his arms to the side and summons his mana. Wukong, distracted by his anger, does not notice Valen a meter away.


    "Fucking monkey shit," Valen screams as he swings his arms. A metal bat materializes in his hand mid-swing. Wukong has only enough time to position his face towards Valen as the metal bat strikes his unarmored head.


    An exceptionally loud ding is heard as Wukongs face deforms from the massive impact of steel. Wukong rises an inch into the air and immediately falls to the ground,unconscious. His jaw is completely destroyed, teeth missing, and his nose has blood pouring out in spurts. Valen stares at the downed Wukong and spits at his face. Immediately Valen starts to walk towards Lin as she continues to cry, the dented metal bat disappearing from his hand.


    Silence permeates the two forces, as neither the Guards or armored men make a move as they stare at the retreating back of Valen, fear, and confusion evident in their expressions.


    Finally, a large centaur walks forward towards Briana."Who is that man?" Centurion asks, eyes still focused on Valen as he starts to clean Lin up?


    "That is the man that singlehandedly took out an entire company of orcs," Belinda says, a cryptic smile on her face."I highly suggest you pick up your leader and camp outside the walls, it doesn''t seem like he will be able to continue our conversation today," Belinda says, complete confidence in her words.


    Nodding slowly, Centurion turns to the men," pick up the general and give him a healing potion. Make camp outside the walls, I will catch up shortly," Centurionturns back to Belinda," I don''t suppose it would be alright to talk to Garren tonight, will it?" he asks, eyes still focused on Valen as he carries Lin back to their home.


    Nodding slowly,¡±As long as it is only you and none of your men, then that will be acceptable.¡± Balinda answers, smiling at the retreating form of Valen.


    Belinda turns to Leona, a sad smile donning her face." Leona dear, please get up and come with me, I would like you to spend the night at my place.


    Looking up at Belinda, Leona nods as she watches her sister being carried away.

 Chapter 7

    Chapter 7


    ¡°So that''s what happened¡± Garren says, muscles still spasming from his earlier exertion.


    "Are you sure your ok old friend?" Centurian asks as he watches Garren grunt from the pain.


    "As I said before, I needed to increase my speed to keep up with Grendel''s daughter" Garren explains"forcing my muscles to keep up with her speed was needed if she is to learn her lesson"


    Centurian stares at his friend, a silence descends the two.


    "It is unfortunate that Grendel passed away, but I can understand why he did it. Taking out the hobgoblin leaders saved a lot of lives. I see no way of winning this and still have a sizable fighting force for the next year." Sighing deeply, Garren turns to the centaur as he sits next to the fire, the only light present in the room.


    Centurian grunts in acknowledgment"Yes, every year the goblins come down the northern mountains, and every year we need an army to take them out. I just wish Wukong would realize the necessity"


    ¡°I still don''t get it Centurion, was Wukong not one of the people that loved and looked up to Grendel?¡± Garren asks.


    "He was, but he became bitter very quickly since a good friend of his followed Garren into that final push" tapping his hoof in annoyance, he looks at Grendel"Wukong is very bitter, but everyone has their vices, Garren"


    Garren continues to think in silence, the fire crackling lightly.


    "Tell me about that Valen guy, he doesn''t seem very strong, even if he carries an artifact"


    A smile forms on Garren''s face"first off, he has no items on himself that are magical, his ability to form an interstitial space is completely his own."


    ¡°How? What is he? What else can he do?¡± Centurion asks, excitement in his voice.


    ¡°Slow down¡± Garren warns¡±I''ll explain what I know, just give me a sec.¡±Garren slowly moves his body as he positions himself better in the chair.


    "Alright, Valen has an enormous Mana pool. When I say enormous, I mean it. At least ten times larger than my own. He has a grand assortment of items, and I believe that includes weapons and armor. What species he is, unfortunately, I don''t know. He looks like a forsaken, but clearly, he is able to use Mana, so he can''t be one. He is too tall and not nearly bulky enough to be a dwarf. He could possibly be an elf, but the amount of Mana he throws around dictates that that is not true either."


    ¡°How does he fight¡± the centaur interrupts.


    ¡°I¡­.I actually have no idea¡± Garren explains¡± I have never seen him fight. Why are you so curious Centurion, looking to recruit him?¡±


    Shaking his head¡±No Garren, Wukong will probably attempt to fight him come morning¡± Centurian explains.


    "No he won''t, if he wants to fight anyone under my protection, then he will have to go through me" Garren interrupts, a scowl on his face.


    Centurian stares at the still twitching muscles along Garren''s arms.


    "I will be fully healed by morning" quickly says Garren.


    "Don''t kill him, Garren, he is still a great general, and will be needed for the trials and tribulations to come."


    A smile forms on Garren''s" I won''t kill him, just make sure you have a healing potion handy¡±


    "Don''t underestimate him, Garren, he wields the staff Jingu Bang" Centurian warns"He has practiced with that staff all his life, don''t play around"


    "Yes yes" Garren waves, wincing at the pain in his arm"I have heard of the staff, wood from a sacred tree, bathed in magic oils, enchanted by elves, blah blah blah. It has the ability to absorb kinetic energy and release it at will. It''s not that great."Garren denounces as he cradles his sore arm.


    ¡°Oh, and Volendrung is any better¡± counters Centurion


    ¡°Of course it''s better, it was created in a Dwarven volcanic forge!¡± Garren yells and slams his fist on the table, eliciting a cry of surprise as his arm starts to hurt again.


    ¡°I create earthquakes with my hammer. No stick is going to be able to stop a force of nature¡± Garren says as he nurses his hand.


    Shaking his head, Centurian gets up from his sitting position"It is time for me to go, hopefully, you idiots don''t kill each other tomorrow." And with those final words, the old centaur walks out, closing the door behind him.This novel is published on a different platform. Support the original author by finding the official source.


    ______________________________________


    Saria awakens in the night, a shadow hovers over her body, piercing green eyes the same as her mother''s stare back at her.


    The shadow nudges her head towards the window and quickly climbs out and upward. Saria follows the shadow in silence. When she gets to the top, the light from the stars illuminates the area, allowing her to night vision to see in far better detail.


    A Panther-kin stands before her, a replica of herself. Covered in black leather and sporting a large number of knives, a smile crosses Saria''s face.


    ¡°Sarena, it is nice to see you hail and healthy¡±Saria says as her sister walks towards her.


    ¡°You allowed yourself to be captured¡± Sarena admonishes ¡° mother would be displeased if she found out¡± Sarena continues, her tone neutral.


    "She would be displeased because she would need to save me" Saria interjects "not because I was captured" Saria explains as she pouts amicably and sits down at the side of the roof, feet dangling freely.


    Sarena watches her twin sister, deciding internally on the best course of action, Sarena sits next to Saria, less than an arm''s reach apart.


    "So, tell me everything," Sarena says, a supportive tone in her voice.


    A goofy smile forms on Saria''s face as she looks at her sister." let me start by telling you about the man that freed me"


    Sarena''s eyebrows rise as Saria''s cheeks start to blush.


    __________________________________________________________


    Lin awakens during the night, blinking quickly as she looks around at her surroundings, an alcoholic smell in the air. Immediately realizing that she is at Valens home, a safe smile forms on her lips, only to be replaced by a frown as she remembers what happened yesterday. Touching her head, she finds a cloth wrapped around it. Forcing it away, Lin feels around where the cut would be, and only finds a scar.


    Looking around, Lin finds Valen on the opposite bunk, a leg sticking out from under sheets, drool flowing down his mouth. Moving her covers away, Lin gets up and off the bed, her toes touching the cold Metal floor. Taking slow steps, Lin walks towards Valen, finding him asleep she lifts his sheets, climbs into his bed, and snuggles closely to Valen, who remains fast asleep.


    Smiling happily, Lin uses Valen as a pillow, falling quickly asleep again.


    __________________________________________________________


    "Centurian" Wukong yells, as he exits his tent, holding his bruised face. Looking around, Wukong notices the sun only starts to rise in the sky, frustration present in his voice. "Ugh" he grunts as his still bruised face twitches from the cold morning air.


    ¡±Wukong!¡± the old centaur yells as he trudges close¡±you should be resting, healing potions need a lot more time to heal broken bones¡± Centurian explains.


    ¡°Then get me another¡± Wukong yells ¡°I will not stand being humiliated any longer and where is my armor¡± Wukong continues to yell, words partly slurred from his not fully healed chin.


    "These Health potions are only made by the elves" Centurian tries to explain " and they cost a significant sum each bottle" Centurian continues. "their effects also decrease our ability to heal quickly for a time."


    "You" Wukong points at a bull Beast-kin as he feeds the Elkin mounts."Get me my staff and armor" turning to Centurian "and you get me another health potion, that''s an order!" Wukong yells.


    Sighing loudly and shaking his head, Centurian heads towards his tent to grab the potions."This will not go well" Centurian whispers inside his tent as he listens to Wukong continue yelling around the camp.


    ____________________________________________________


    Opening his eyes slowly, Valen finds himself staring at the ceiling of his trailer, a heavyweight pressed on top of him. Looking down, Valen finds Lin''s sleeping form laying on top of him, her head sleeping calmly on his chest while her tail swishes randomly across his leg.


    Slowly moving his hand, Valen parts the fur on her head, only a vanishing scar present."So, your kind does heal fast" Valen whispers, a smile forming on his lips as Lin''s ears twitch. Lin''s eyes open and she looks up at Valen, orange slit eyes stare back at him.


    "Morning Valy" Lin says in English, a smile forming on Valen''s face at her weird pronunciation. A yawn escapes Lin''s lips, showing her razor-sharp teeth. Lin''s head falls back on Valen''s chest, eyes closing quickly."Oy, don''t fall asleep again" Valen says, with only the soft breathing from Lin''s sleeping form the only answer he gets.


    "I guess I can give you a few more minutes," Valen says as he also lays his head back on a pillow "You had a hard day yesterday" a frown forms on his face" I should have killed that monkey" Valen says, sleep slowly taking over.


    "Did you find out where the orcs came from?" Garren asks his son as he bites into a large amount of salted meat.


    "No father, as I said before, I heard them talking about a tunnel traveling through the northern mountains near the dead zone." Breon answers as he sips a bit of tea."I still can''t believe they have a tunnel that travels to the ocean" Breon says.


    ¡°ugh¡± Garren grunts in understanding ¡° You also made sure to warn the hunters to stay as far from the Deadzone as possible?¡± Garren asks, washing his food down with water.


    "No worries, they know they are too close when the number of living animals starts to decrease." Sighing loudly "I am worried father, a tunnel extending through to the ocean is a dangerous proposition. Our most valued protection is the geography of this content."


    "I understand" nods Garren "the mountains covering the entire north and east of Geralyn, the Deadzone covering the west side and the massive desert that is the south of this continent." Garren says.


    "But Breon, isolation is also a weakness" Garren starts" If we need assistance or rare supplies, we have to travel the entire desert before we can hit a port, and that takes up to a good month or more of travel."


    Breon looks up to his father¡± are you saying that it would be a good idea to use this shortcut through the mountain for trade¡± Breon asks, curiosity in his voice.


    "Of course" Garren says, a laugh escaping his mouth. "Brentanol is so close to this possible shortcut, it would no doubt turn our town into a huge trading hub" Garren says, a confident smile on his face.


    Breon stares at his father ¡±It was moms idea, wasn¡¯t it¡± he admonishes, as Garren looks away from his son, a guilty expression on his face.


    "Anyways" Garren interrupts" I need to put on my armor and get my hammer" getting up he looks to his son "You should come along, it will be a very good learning experience"


    Breon shakes his head ¡°No thank you father, I would rather help get this orc business taken care of. Did you notify the general yet?¡± Breon asks as his father is about to walk out of their home.


    "I notified his tactician," Garren says as he closes the door behind him.

 Chapter 8

    Valen walks through town, a smile on his lips as Lin¡¯s little feet pitter patter behind him. An ice cream cone in her hands as she tries her best to avoid making a mess on her new dress, a cute picture of a kitten in the center. Her head wobbles slightly from the weight of the top hat on her head, between her ears.


    As the duo make their way to the town entrance, a familiar duo stands near the entrance. Belinda stares at Wukong, a menacing thing considering Wukong''s size dwarfs hers. Valen, finding the situation troublesome, decides to turn back, only to be noticed by Wukong.


    "You," he yells, pushing Belinda out of the way with his weight, which is formidable considering the plate armor he wears, and the decorated staff on his shoulder.


    Noticing Wukong approaching with a hostile gait,Valen¡¯straining quickly kicksin. Black combat armor appears across his form, a menacing black helmet sprouts into being, covering his face.


    Wukongs stride immediately stops as he stares at such an immediate use of mana.


    Using Wukong''s pause, a shotgun appears in his hands, armor penetrating slugs at the ready. As Wukong starts to continue his stride and Valen prepares to pull the trigger, a bellowing yell is heard.


    ¡°WUKONG!¡± Garren yells. The force of the sound rings through the town, a menacing powerful yell that can be felt into the soul.


    Garren stands next to a tree, shining metal armor covers his body as a Massive Warhammer sits on his should. Garren glares menacingly at the soldiers, guards, and Wukong. As his stare travels to Valen, he finds him moving to put his body in front of Lin, weapon at the ready.


    Nodding in approval of Valen¡¯s protective nature, Garren turns to Wukong, whose staff is in his hands, at the ready.¡± If you have a problem with anyone in my town, you will have to go through me,¡±Garren bellows, a powerful force sent with each word.


    Wukong stares at the armored Bear, weapon at the ready to counter of attack.¡±Get out of my way,¡± Wukong yells at Garren, who places himself between Wukong and Valen.¡±I will regain my honor from that man, even if I have to go through you to do it,¡± Wukong yells, anger apparent in his voice.


    Garren starts to laugh,"You injure a little girl from your anger, and you speak of regaining honor," cracking his neck left and right," my guards will not interfere, come show me what you can do with that little stick of yours," Garren admonishes as he takes his massive Warhammer off his shoulders.


    Understanding the challenge, Wukong looks towards centurion, who nods in understanding. Taking the challenge to heart, Wukong steps forward,"I am Wukong, son of Wukong the 16th, state your challenge," he yells towards Garren.


    ¡°Shut your formal crap,¡± Garren yells ¡°I am here to pound that shitty face into the ground¡±.


    An annoyed look passes Wukong¡¯s face as the civilians give the fighters room. ¡°I will make you eat your words,¡± Wukong answers, mana starting to course through his body.


    The two fighters stare menacingly at one another. Wukong¡¯s fur starts to smoke, muscles expand, and the staff he wields starts to glow with slight blue light, the enchanted lines can be seen all along its length.


    Noticing the unfocused mana emanating from Wukongs form, Garren opens his body to his own channels, the intoxicating controlled power spreads through his muscles. The strings of mana intertwine and enhance his already large girth. His fur stands on end, but no smoke bellows from his body, instead a dangerous light emits from the white of his eyes. As he channels his mana, a large amount of it pours into the handle of his hammer, the dormant runes finally being fed. Immediately the runic lines travel from the hilt straight to the massive ball at the tip. The air starts to vibrate menacingly around the ball. A humming sound starts to be discernible from the hammer. As the mana continues to pour into the hammer, the vibrations increase, so much so that all sound is drowned out by the humming it creates.


    An indiscernible expression crosses Wukong face as he starts to feel the vibration from such a range. Fear slowly starts to root itself into his mind. But before he can decide to back out, Garren uses his massive enhanced strength to blast forward, his leg muscles propelling with such strength that the ground beneath him cracks, dust forming in its place.


    Wukong, spinning his staff, prepares to absorb the impact with the enchantment. As Garren gets close to Wukong, an overhand strike ready, a vicious smile crosses his face. Immediately Garren lets go of his hammer, the momentum carrying it over Wukongs head. As Wukong''s eyes stare at the hammer passing harmlessly over him, a large hand grabs the center of his staff. Garren quickly pulls the staff over his body, Wukong being pulled with it, and slams him and the staff on the ground.


    Without being able to react, Garren body slams directly on top of Wukongs armored form, pinning his staff above his with one hand. With open wide eyes, Wukong watches as another meaty hand slams into his face.


    Valen watches, still covered in armor, as the big Bear-kin man slams the face of the monkey continuously, the impacts jarring the floor. Looking at Lin, he finds her still holding the recorder at her face, staring at the monkey''s pinned form with glee."My god, you are vicious," Valen comments, only to be quickly interrupted by Wukongs pleas.Unauthorized tale usage: if you spot this story on Amazon, report the violation.


    "I yield, I yield," Wukong yells as he attempts to block Garren''s strikes with his hands, staff abandoned after the first few hits.


    Getting up off the whimpering Wukong, an unforgiving smile forms on Garren''s face."You yield when I say you do" Garren says, as a meaty hand grabs Wukong''s leg.


    "No,please, nooooooooo, Help!!!" Wukong cries out as Garren drags him to the same tree that Lin struck. Taking a firmer hold on Wukong''s leg, a loud yell is heard from Garren''s mouth as he slams Wukong into the tree. The explosion of armor meeting wood is heard in the entire clearing, only to be interrupted by a tree as it falls on the ground, a broken Wukong lies unconscious next to it.


    Looking down at the body and remembering Centurions story, Garrens spits on Wukong broken form and walks towards his Warhammer.


    Belinda watches as her husband trudges into the crater where his hammer is located. Arms crossed across her chest, a proud smile dons her face. Looking towards the soldiers, fear is prevalent in their expressions, while the guards are yelling in approval.


    Centurian stares at Garren, a calculating look on his face. Turning to his soldier and grabbing a potion from his back,¡±Go to Wukong and take him away, make sure you set his bones right before you give him this potion,¡± Centurian orders the frightened men.


    Valen''s armor disappears from his body as he watches a bunch of armored beast-kin run towards the monkey, giving a wide berth to Garren.


    As Garren trudges closer to Belinda, she immediately interrupts his musing with a scowl."Did you have to break the tree Garren?" she asks, an annoyed smile taking form on her face."It''s going to cost a lot of time to clean up this mess, especially the cleaning of all this dirt your stupid hammer caused." laughter ensues from the guards behind her.


    A cheeky grin is all the answer she gets as Garren picks her up in his arms.¡±No worries love, these fine guards will clean up this mess.¡± Immediately Garren starts to walk home, a hammer on his shoulder and his old wife sitting on his arm. The guards stare at his retreating form, confusion evident on their faces.


    ____________________________________


    Valen sits on a chair as Lin play''s with the other children. They run, giggle, and laugh as they throw and chase a soccer ball through the streets.


    On his lap is a laptop, showing the fight between the Bear and Monkey. He continues to watch and replay, looking for strengths and weaknesses. Each replay of the video fills him with more and more determination to get stronger.


    Deciding that the best way to gain strength is to first understand the language, Valen gets up, and starts walking towards the kids, determination present on his face.


    ____________________________________


    ¡°Your showmanship is impeccable husband,¡± Belinda says as she snuggles closer to Garren.¡±Next time, don''t break the town,¡± Zalena quips from Garren¡¯s other side, rubbing her big belly.


    ¡°She is right Garren, you did not need to cause such a mess,¡± Belinda nods.


    ¡°That kid needed to learn his manners,¡± Garren starts,¡° and the best way to do that is to show he is not at all on top of the food chain.¡±


    Belinda nods in understanding,¡±Is that why you did not strike his staff with your hammer?¡±


    "You saw that eh," a smile forms on Garren''s lips," his staff has the potential to absorb impacts, but all enchants have limits. That staff would not have been able to even absorb half the force of my hammer,"shaking his head in disbelief, Garren looks to his hammer on the floor," That staff would have been destroyed, and the resulting explosion would have killed him, something I was warned not to do."


    A quiet pause descends on the three, the crackling of fire the only sound heard.


    "Well husband, I shall go to bed," Zalena informs as she gets off the couch."Hopefully, this child will be born soon," She says, staring at her bloated belly.


    ¡°Will you be alright getting up the stairs?¡± Balinda asks.


    "No worries, a big belly isn''t enough to stop me from going anywhere," Zalena answers, walking towards the stairs.


    As Zalena leaves their sight, Garren puts his arm around Belinda, "It''s been awhile since we were alone," says Garren, slowly stroking Belinda''s arm.


    Looking up at her husband, the old bunnies heart starts to flutter, the mood only broken by a scream.


    ¡°My water broke!¡± Zalena yells from up the stairs.


    Before Garren can react, Balinda is already running up the stairs.


    ¡°Well¡­..Shit,¡± says Garren, as he too starts to get up.


    ____________________________________


    Valen awakens to Lin poking him in the cheek, as he looks around the dark room, he finds her standing in the dark. Realizing that Valen is awake, she immediately points to the door, after a quiet moment, the sound of rustling is heard as someone is messing around with the lock.


    Understanding the situation, Valen quietly gets out of bed, and quickly pulls Lin to the side of the bunk, hidden from the entrance of the trailer.


    Slowly the clack of a lock is heard, and the trailer door slowly starts to open, the sound indiscernible unless you are listening for it.


    Without looking, Valen summons a flash grenade in one hand, pulls the pin, and quickly cover Lins ears and eyes, a helmet forming across his face.


    Valen feels the extreme impact of the grenade go off, and the vibrations travel through the floor. A deafening sound would have been heard if not for his helmet.


    Letting Lin go, and jumping out of the hiding place, he finds the culprit leaning on one of the bunks, greatly disoriented.


    Quickly pushing the individual to the ground, and mounting them, a knife forms in his hand, lying across the person''s throat.


    Piercing green eyes stare back at Valen.


    Slowly Salena regains her senses, only her immediate usage of mana allowed her to stay conscious. Looking around the room, she finally notices the dagger at her throat, and a metal helmet staring at her face. The helmet quickly disappears, and hazel eyes stare menacingly at her.


    As Salena continues to stare, Lin finally gets up from her hiding place and walks to the side of Valen.¡±Why are you here?¡± Lin asks as she stares at the mounted Panther-kin.


    ¡°I was checking to see how good of a possible mate Valen is,¡± Salena explains to the young tigress.


    "Oooooooohhhhh¡­.ok," Lin says. Nodding in approval.


    Lin walks back to her bunk, jumps on her bed, and lays down, quickly falling asleep.


    Valen stares at Lin, extreme confusion clear on his face. As he contemplates what to do with the petite girl covered in knives, a clawed hand starts to slowly stroke Valens leg.


    Immediate realization hits Valen. Quickly getting up, Valen bends down and picks her up. As Salena starts to purr, Valen walks to the door of the trailer and unceremoniously throws her out, a squeal is heard through the air.


    Quickly Valen closes the door, locks it, and walks back to bed. As he climbs in bed, a giggling lin can be heard in the bunk next to his.


    ¡°What the hell is wrong with these girls,¡± Valen whispers, sleep quickly overtaking him.

 Chapter 9

    ¡°This is the first time you have come to speak with me,¡± says Garren as he stares at Valen across the table.¡°I also have to admit that your ability to make such amazing progress on our language in a little over a month¡¯s time is very impressive,¡± he continues.


    An annoyed look crosses Valens'' face,¡®Lin better,¡± he says in disjointed common.


    ¡°I learn much faster than Valy,¡± Lin chirps in English, not even lifting her head from the papershe is drawing on next to him.


    A heavy laugh releases from Garren''s throat as amusement is prevalent in his eyes. Shaking his head at the abnormality of the situation, he turns to Valen," Before we begin, I just want to thank you for hunting the beasts around our town, and then leaving them with Daria. The large amount of meat you supplied us has helped us feed all the new members of our town."


    ¡°Hunting easy,¡± Valen answers, reminded of how most of the beast can be quickly killed off with a bullet to the head.


    Another laugh escapes Garren¡¯s mouth as he answers Valen,¡± Easy for you, but killing and transporting such large game is not easy for the average hunter, especially since dead bodies attract far more dangerous predators.¡±


    ¡°Need help,¡± Valen interrupts,¡°need map,¡± short sentences being easier to say.


    A frown forms on Garren''s face as he sits back in his chair, "That will, unfortunately, be quite the problem. The map of the world that I had was given to my son Breon, and unfortunately those same orc slavers you took out burned his home down, the map included."


    "What I can do for you though, is explain the world a bit for you, as I have traveled far and wide for many decades," turning his head to Lin,"I don''t suppose you have something for me to draw on?" Garren asks.


    Understanding the question, Valen forms a large blank piece of paper with a pen and sets it on top of the table.


    Picking the pen up, Garren stares at the kitty drawing covering its length and then starts to draw on the paper. " First, every map of Nostris, our world, will have Jerika, the largest continent, will always be located at the center," Garren explains as he draws a large circle on the center of the paper." Then on the north east of Jerika we have our small continent, Zaracona."


    Slowly a much higher detailed map is drawn to the top right of the paper." As you can see, Zaracona is very unique in its geography. The entire northern and eastern parts of the continent are covered in large mountains, making access from Geralyn to the ocean completely impossible," Garren explains, filling in detail where necessary.


    ¡°And west?¡± Valen asks, watching the Bear-kin slowly make a map into being.


    A frown forms on Garren''s face."The west is a place that nothing survives. It goes by many names. Death Zone, Cursed forest, and The Crystal Forest, though that last one I heard only described by a High Elf." Clearing his throat with a sip of tea, he points at the western location.


    "It is still unknown why, but anything that enters near that forest will always die. Nothing survives being anywhere near it."


    ¡°Now then, the only area that has access to the ocean is through the south, but unfortunately or fortunately, depending on how you look at it, a desert is locatedinbetween.¡± Garren starts to create wavy lines at the bottom of the continent.


    "It would take a group over 2 months to travel from Geralyn to the southern ocean. The desert has few oases and the only ones who know their locationsarethe Snake-kin, who are not kind to those that do not share our heritage." Garren remarks, staring at Valens expression, a look of curiosity donning his face as he continues to stare at the map.


    ¡°Continuing on, the next largest continent is called, Orgara, also the home of the Great Orcan Empire,¡± hearing a familiar word, Valen looks up at Garren.


    Garren, heeding the attention no mind, draws another circle, about twice the size of Zaracona. The circle appears above Jerika, slightly to the left.


    "These three are the main continents of our world," Garren continues "but the number of islands are far more numerous, unfortunately, I never bothered to learn their locations." a shrug is all Valen gets to his curious stare.


    Taking in the map, confusion passes through his face, the size of the continents not aligning to a circular world that Valen is comfortable with. ¡°How far is map,¡± Valen asks the old Bear.


    ¡°What do you mean by how far the map is?¡± Garren asks, confused at Valens question.


    Valen produces a spherical ball in his hand ¡°This world,¡± Valen points at the ball, ¡°How far around,¡± Valen asks, twirling his finger around the ball.


    Recognition passes through Garren¡¯s, followed by a gazing expression, taking in Valen¡¯s physical details.The tale has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.


    ¡°Tell me, who are you?¡± Garren asks.


    A struggle starts to take place in Valen¡¯s mind, the decision to disclose his origins or not and the repercussions it may cause.


    ¡°Varen,¡± Garren interrupts his warring thoughts¡± You saved my people, fed them, protected them,¡± a silence passes the two,¡°Any secret that you want me to keep, I will keep it to my grave.¡±


    Glancing at the steadfast expression on Garren¡¯ face, Valen takes a slow deep breath,¡°I come Crystal Forest.¡±


    ¡°What? How? Nothing lives there,¡± Garren begins, interest and confusion present on his face.


    ¡°I from other world,¡± Valen says, common still hard to fully grasp.


    Garren stares at Valen, expecting something different than a tense expression on his face.


    With a trembling hand, Garren picks up a teacup to his mouth. ¡°What world?¡± escapes from his trembling mouth.


    Slowly, Valen puts his hand towards the center of the table, and immediately a globe of Earth becomes present.


    Garren stares at the colorful globe. Extreme details are present on the sphere, marking and words that he cannot understand.


    "Make it disappear," Garren orders. With a wave of Valen''s hand, the sphere disappears, only a memory left of its presence.


    ¡°Valen,¡± Garren starts ,¡°portal magic, the ability to travel through extreme distances instantly,issomething that High Elves covet indiscriminately. A magic only they know how to use, the same magic that the Xerafin would burn an entire forest to obtain.¡±


    "I need you to never disclose the information of where you are from, because if either the Xerafin or High Elves find out about a portal, then they may very well destroy the Cursed Forest, jeopardizing the neutrality and safety of all beast-kin."


    A dense silence continues, with Lin drawing the only sound heard.


    ¡°I promise,¡± Valen starts, relief evident on Garren¡¯s face,¡±But, I want you to train me in magic.¡±


    Before Garren can answer, a little Lin slams her drawing on the center of the table."Done!" she yells, glee evident in her voice. Looking down, the picture of a Bearman ripping off a monkey''s arm is shown, blood spewing from the wounds.


    Garren and Valen stare at the little tigress, a huge accomplished smile on her face.


    _______________________________________________________________


    It''s the middle of the day, and Valen stands with Garren in the back of his home. Lin watches from atop a nearby tree, ice cream held in hand, sugary cream dripping towards the ground.


    "Now then, as you may have figured out, there are two primary ways a being is able to utilize mana," Garren explains to an attentive Valen."


    The first, is internal mana enhancement. This is where an individual spreads mana through their body and multiplies their current muscle strength. Your average beast-kin will subconsciously spread mana through their body when threatened or another strong emotion becomes present. The tiger-kin are unique in this aspect because their brains are strengthened as well, something only instinct is able to do." Nodding in understanding, Valen watches as Garren demonstrates, his muscles getting larger, smoke wafting from the fur.


    "The next way to utilize mana is external manipulation. This utilization requires a way for your body to excrete mana. This is usually done by a focus. The focus of the orcs is their tusks, the elves their ears, the xerafin their wings," Looking towards Valen with a complicated expression," and yours would seem to be your skin."


    "The larger the focus, the more mana you can summon, as well as channel. Unfortunately beast-kin do not possess any focus, instead, we have greatly increased strength, allowing us to enhance our physical capabilities to amazing levels," Garren says, flexing his large muscles for Valen.


    ¡°How Enhancement?¡± Valen asks the flexing Bear-kin.


    "Well, it''s rather simple, just keep the mana inside your body instead of releasing it. Just have it flow through your muscles. Give it your best shot," Garren says, a reassuring smile on his face.


    Taking a deep breath, Valen opens the channels of his mana, flowing it through his body and directing towards his muscles. Using his will, Valen restricts the poresof his skin from releasing the mana. The mana quickly engulfs his body, and for a moment, he feels his muscles expand, only for the large quantity of mana to overflow, causing every muscle in his body to cramp up.


    Valen screams as uncontrollable pain slams into his head. Every receptor of his muscles starts sending pain signals to his brain, causing Valen to fall unconscious, mana quickly smoking out of his skin as he lay on the ground, muscles spasming uncontrollably.


    ¡°VAAAALLLYYYYYYY!!!!¡± Lin screams as she jumps down the tree and runs towards Valen, tears starting to pour out of her eyes.


    ¡°What happened,¡± Zalena yells as she runs out of her house, a baby deer-kin in her arms.


    ¡°Just an accident,¡± Garren replies as Zalena stares at Valen¡¯s twitching form.


    ¡°Garren!,¡± Zalena yells,¡±If he dies because of you, the whole town will flay you alive,¡± she says, still staring at Valen as Lin attempts to stop his spasms.


    "Bah," Garren waves indiscriminately at her " He merely poured far more mana into his muscles than is possible for them to handle," Garren explain''s, Valen''s spasming muscles starting to slow down.


    ¡°You hurt Valy,¡± Lin says, a tear faced Lin explains.


    Shaking her head,¡°you dug your own grave, husband,¡± Zalena says, as she walks back into her home, baby still asleep in her arms.


    ______________________________________


    Belinda, Zalena, and Sidney sit around a circular table, a tea set conveniently placed in the center.


    "She is so adorable," Sidney squeals as a little baby deer-kin wraps he hand around her finger.


    "Hello, little Ayana," Sidney coo''s as the little baby giggles at her facial expressions.


    ¡°So Zalena,¡± Sidney starts, ¡°how is it taking care of Ayana.¡±


    "Much better than Breon," Belinda interrupts " Ayana is such a sweet baby. She sleeps, giggles, and very rarely cries. Breon, on the other hand, made sure that everyone knew he was awake," a smile forms on her face as she reminisces about the past.


    As the ladies sit and talk, a loud commotion can be heard in town.


    "Is that Valen guy causing problems again?" Belinda asks, a smile coming to her lips.


    ¡°Can¡¯t be,¡± Zalena says, taking a sip of her tea.¡± Valen is currently resting from a training accident,¡±Zalena answer, a smile forming on her lips as the commotion intensity gets louder.


    Before Belinda can ask what the accident was about, Garren runs out between two homes. His fur is covered in poop, with large piles of dirt stuck on him. As he continues to run, a veritable army of children run after him, balls of mud in their small hands.


    "Get him!" Lin yells, leading the charge, her dirty dress flowing through the wind, children following loyally behind.


    Laughter ensues between the three ladies, Ayana also joining in.

 Chapter 10

    "I plan to leave Zaracona tomorrow morning," Valen says, as he stares at the dumbfounded expression on Garren''s face.


    ¡°You can''t be serious,¡± Garren starts ¡°It''s only been 2 months since you came to my village. What will Lin think?¡± A worried expression on his face.


    ¡°Lin will be going with me and before you interject, she told me that she will travel the desert after me if I leave without her,¡± a pleased chuckle escaping Valen''s mouth.


    Sighing loudly and slouching in his chair, the big Bear-kin inspects Valen with a critical eye.¡± It''s not like I will stop you, just know that you will be putting Lin in danger.¡±


    Nodding in understanding, Valen quickly changes the subject,¡± I need money,¡± Valen says, the Rune-crafted orc longsword materializes on the table.


    "The sword won''t be necessary," Garren says as he gets up and walks towards a cabinet. Opening it up, he retrieves a leather bag in his hand."Unfortunately, beastkin prefer to barter for supplies instead of usingany form of monetary value. So I only have a small number of coins here to give you," Garren opens a pouch from his pocket and places a small stack of coins on the table in front of Valen. The majority of the coins are a dark yellow color, with a few white colored coins mixed in."Thanks to the collaboration of various guilds, a common monetary coin was created, and is used throughout Nostris." Garren begins to point at the Yellow coin" This is a yellow Nost, which is the lowest coin available," next he points towards the white one,"almost as common as the yellow Nost, the white Nost is equivalent to ten yellows."


    Before Valen can say anything, Garren plops the leather bag on the table."And here is your kills," Garren opens the bag, revealing crystals of various sizes and colors." These crystals were taken from every beast you havekilled and brought back to our town,"


    Varen raises an eyebrow at the sight of the crystals¡± They were in the beasts?¡± Valen asks, confusion evident in his tone.


    "Powerful animals that live a long life will mutate, gaining abnormal traits. These traits can be anything from a larger size to outright gaining wings."Garren explains as he starts taking the crystals out of the bag


    "These mutations also form these crystals inside their body. They have the natural ability to absorb ambient Mana, thus are a key component in enchantments and potion making. They also sell very well."


    Garren takes the various crystals and puts them in the bag and then pushes the bag and coins towards Valen."The crystals are yours since the beasts were your kill. The coins are payment for the meat you supplied the town when our population spiked."


    ¡°Huh¡­¡­thanks, I guess,¡± Valen answers as he makes all of the items on the table vanish.


    ¡°The desert is long, and the dangers there are many, will you be ableto travel through it?¡± Garren asks, looking Valen in the eye.


    Valen only nods, a confident smile on his face.


    Valen gets up and heads towards the door.¡°Till we meet again,¡± Valen says, as he walks out of Garren''s home, passing Leona on the way out, a confused look on her face.


    ¡°What happened,¡± Leona asks, a sad smile on Garren''s face. ¡°He is leaving, and your sister will be going with him.¡±


    "What! Why?" Leona asks, a panicked look on her face.


    "Because he wants to see the world, and your sister wants to be by his side," Garren explains. "Now then, what is the reason you have come to visit me?" Garren asks, while his massive arms rest on the table.


    Taking a deep breath, Leona tightens her hands, claws digging into her skin, drawing blood. "I¡­.am weak," Leona squeaks, tears forming in her eyes,"cocky, angry, and¡­.prideful," tears start to pour down her face,"please¡­..train me." Leona falls on her knees, head down, tears flowing from her eyes, while blood seeps from her palms.


    Nodding in approval, Garren stands up and walks in front of the crying tigress.¡±Grendel bled more and cried less.¡±


    Looking up, Leona finds Garren smiling down at her.¡±I will train you, but the first thing you are going to need to do is clean that mess your making. Belinda will kill me if she fi-.¡±The genuine version of this novel can be found on another site. Support the author by reading it there.


    ¡°Garren!¡± Belinda interrupts, walking down the stairs, staring at the beastkin on the floor.


    ¡°Why is she crying? What the hell did you do? She¡¯s making a mess Garren,¡± Belinda yells, glaring at her husband.


    Garren slowly rubs his face," I have the worst luck," he whispers to himself, a headache starting to form.


    ______________________________________


    Lin and Garren stand before a large desert, hardened sand below their feet, the sun burning overhead.


    Turning around, Valen takes one last long look at Geralyn, a smile forming on his lips as he remembers all the interesting things he has seen and done.


    ¡°Its super hot,¡± Lin interrupts his musings, looking up at him, some form of expectation donning her face.


    Her white dress stands out from the desert floor, as the overly large sombrero sits squarely on her head, shading most of her petite little body.


    ¡°Your starting to get very spoiled,¡± Valen says, as he looks at Lin, an expectant smile on her face.


    ¡°Your the one who spoils me,¡± she quips, a cute pout donning her face.


    ¡°Yeah, maybe I should make you walk,¡± Valen continues, only for her pout to be replaced with a cheeky smile.


    ¡°Ohhhhhh, so we aren''t going to walk,¡± Lin says, hands on her hips, waiting for Valen to do his thing.


    "Ughhhhh, you''re too smart for your own good," an exasperated smile forming on his face.


    Valen walks towards the desert, his Mana reacting to his beck and call. More and more Mana starts to release from his body, covering the ground in front of him. With a force of will, reality bends and a dominating metal vehicle comes into being.


    A Hummer stands before them,the silver metal sheen glinting off the sunlight, while it''s massive black wheels stand firmly on the ground.


    Lin stare''s with open-mouthed amazement, her eyes wider than ever before." What is that?" She asks, tail frantically swishing under her dress.


    "This," Valen gestures to the hummer," is a magical carriage."


    Excited giggles escape Lin''s mouth as she starts to jump with childish glee. Valen walks towards the passenger side and opens the door,"Get in Lin," Valen says, only for Lin to run full speed inside, her rump smacking on the leather seat, eyes roaming the insides of the car.


    Taking the seat belt, Valen straps an amused Lin in and closes the door.


    Walking to the other side, Valen climbs into the hummer, a new car smell prevalent inside. Strapping himself down, two sets of shades appear in his hand. Putting one on and giving a smaller pair to Lin, he grabs the keys from the sun visor and puts it in the ignition.


    Lin watches as Valen takes a metal key and puts it in the carriage, her overwhelming curiosity barely contained by the seat belt keeping her still.


    A beastly sound vibrates through the vehicle, Lin freezing up immediately, her ears twitching, searching for any hostile threat. Looking at Valen, a shit-eating grin is spread across his face. Pouting, Lin attempts to put a frown on her face, which becomes quite hard when the windows start to come down, and the sunroof opens up.


    Lin listens to the hum of the motor, her ears twitching, interest peaking again.


    ¡°Here we go,¡± Valen shifts to drive and places his foot on the gas pedal. Lin freezes up as the vehicle starts to move, fear slowly going away as the wind starts to hit her face. Lin starts to giggle, the exhilaration of moving fast awakening something primal in her. As the meter on the dashboard passes 100, he finds Lin laughing, her head sticking out of the car window, her body freed of the safety belt.


    If anyone was watching, they would find a metal monstrosity blazing over the ground, a dust cloud trailing to the sound of a child''s laughter.


    ___________________________________


    Stars cover the night sky, while the moon is hidden from view. No sound can be heard, except the howl of the wind as it passes through the trees.


    As the howling sound continues, two sisters sit side by side with each other, breaking the silence of the night.


    "What was that Saleena?" Saria asks, the two facing forward, their tails swishing lightly to the breeze.


    "Some kind of metal carriage I think, except that it was moving on its own," Saleena explains, a frustrated look on her face.


    Neither girl says anything more, their foul mood caused from the loss of a potential mate. A mate they have been stalking for two months, hoping for an opportunity to take by surprise, but such a time has never come.


    A crackling sound is all the warning either girl gets as the branch supporting their weight falls to the ground, both girls falling with it.


    Saleena rolls as she strikes the ground, quickly getting on her feet. Saria is not nearly so lucky, as she attempts to get up from her prone form.


    As Saleena helps her sister get up, a Mana enhanced tail sweeps through the ground, striking their legs, and forcing the girls on the ground.


    A black figure stands before them. A huge fluffy tail sweeps menacingly back and forth. The figure stares at the two Panthers with glowing green eyes.


    "So a good friend of mine, by the name of Belinda, told me that my daughters were hunting for a mate." A sharp smile crosses the black fox-kin''s lips." And now I hear that this manhasescaped," Saleve says, disappointment present in her voice.


    "He has magic nobody has ever seen before, and items that are outright unpredictable," Saleena counters, thoughts about her first experience with Valen at the forefront of her mind.


    ¡°Interesting, Belinda did say that my daughter''s where after a unique mate, and that they will probably need my help,¡± a predatory smile don''s her lips,¡±tell me, will he ever return here?¡± Saleve asks.


    "He travels with Lin, the sister of Leona, and her only family left. I am sure he will return here for at least a visit, just so Lin can see her sister again," Saria explains, rubbing her bruised butt from the fall.


    "Perfect," answers Saleve." It seems I will be busy training my daughter''s for a few years."


    Saleve''s Green eyes glow menacingly as she stares at her daughters, their excitement as clear as the swishing of their tails.

 Chapter 11

    Captain David Shadowsail watched the battle unfold in front of him.


    ¡°Fire the mana bombs,¡± his first mate yells, followed by the rumbling of magic being discharge from the runic cannons aboard his ship.


    But David heeds the battle no mind. His eyes are focused on his first mate, primarily what hangs beneath his chin.


    A majestic mane of hair flows down his first mates face. It''s bushy length laying a foot down in length, a teasing breeze swaying it ever so slightly.


    Inadequacy strikes David''s heart, as he feels his own beard. Barely a few inches in length, his beard is the laughing stock of all dwarfs. His dear mum would say,¡°it will get longer,¡± but it never came to pass. Over 50 years old, barely a third of his life, and a beard not even half a foot in length. A travesty is what it is.


    ¡°Captain, get your beard together and stop staring at Alfred, you fucking gay shit.¡±


    David¡¯s view changes to his quartermaster. Massive breasts greet his sight, as he stares at Jessica¡¯s scowling face. A woman no dwarf could ever resist. Her massive backside, a distraction for many, while her muscular arms the only thing keeping the men at bay.


    "At this rate Captain, my crotch will be spewing orc children before the fucking day is over," she yells, a scowl still plastered around her gorgeous lips.


    Nodding slowly, the captain smiles at her language. Her cursing so well done that many a hardened sailor would blush through their beards.


    Before the captain can answer, a large explosion slams the ship, his experience the only thing keeping him on his feet, dwarf Mana strengthening his skin and bones.


    Looking up, David watches as one of his two masts starts to fall overboard---it''s weight causing a crashing sound on the deck of his ship. Fear finally taking hold as he looks at the orc ship, a massive thing with plenty of paddles moving on both sides.


    Understanding the dire situation, David runs to his first mate."Alfred," he yells,"Load the cannons, we''re going to give that orc ship a double broadside." A smile forms on Alfred''s lips," aye captain, I''ll have the men be ready."


    Watching his first mate run off to relay orders, David runs towards the wheel, ready to make a sharp turn when the cannons are armed.


    David glances at the orc ship, now quickly gaining on his own, the oarsmen rowing voraciously in tandem, hoping to board before their strength is spent. An ugly thing that ship, overly large, barely maneuverable, with more masts than a ship has any right to carry.


    Grunting with exertion, David turns the wheel, positioning his ship so that it''s backside faces the orcs galley.


    With a yell from Alfred, David understands that the gunners are ready, and the cannons are armed. Instead of turnings immediately, David waits, allowing the orc galley to come closer. At 200 meters, David makes a sharp turn right, the ship reacting immediately.


    As the broadside positions towards the orc ship, Alfred gives the command. Dwarfs manning the cannons on top of the ship blast their Mana into the cannons, activating them. The influx of Mana starts a chain reaction, the runic lines stream through the metal, stripping the inner crystal of it''s stored energy. As the Mana gets siphoned, a glob of fire forms within the cannons depths.


    An ear-piercing explosion inside the cannon goes off, blasting a metal ball towards the frontal hull of the incoming orc galley, ripping wood to shreds. 4 of the 5 shots enter the galley, the fifth slams into the topsail, bringing it down.


    With tensed muscles, the captain turns the ship left, wind blasts into his face, until the other side of the ship faces the orcs. With another resounding blast, the bottom of the orc galley explodes.


    Water starts to quickly enter the massive hull from the front, it''s weight ever so slightly tipping it forward.


    David watches the enemy vessel slow down, the oarsmen forced to stop due to the water quickly entering their hold. Immediately cheering starts to be heard, his men finally noticing the crippled enemy vessel, slowly drifting farther and farther away.


    Looking at his men, David watches as they cheer and hug, smiles laid across their faces¡­long beards¡­...flowing beautifully to the wind.


    Before David could fall back into a depressive mood, Alfred''s brother interrupts his musings.


    ¡°Captain, we have a mighty big fucking problem,¡± the ship carpenter says, a massive dirty beard covering his dirty clothing. ¡°Captain, snap the fuck out, the ship is going to sink,¡± he yells, frustration evident in his voice.


    The sailors stop their cheering immediately, noticing the dire conversation taking place. Like a mob, they move towards the captain, fear evident in their posture.


    Slowly David nods, the idea that his ship, The Swiftbreeze, is sinking, grabs hold of his sanity once again, a recurring problem that it is.


    ¡°Report, what is the damage?¡± David asks, his mood soured by the damage they have sustained.Support the author by searching for the original publication of this novel.


    ¡°It¡¯s bad, we have water entering the bottom hull, the same hull we have our supplies needed to fix the fucking hole. I have been able to slow it down, but we are going down immediately unless we find a goddamn port.¡± the carpenter answers, his eyes glazing into the captains, waiting for a decision.


    Silence passes the sailors as the captain thinks, his large muscles, covered in sweat, glaze in the sunlight striking their heads. David clicks his tongue, annoyed that his ship, the one he finally paid off two years ago, is already going to drown.


    ¡°How long do we have before this ship sinks Jeeves?¡±


    ¡°We can sail for two days, maybe three if the weather permits.¡± the carpenter answers.


    Nodding, David looks to the sky, clouds covering its length, no storm in sight, a slight wind blowing east.


    "Alright mates, we''re going to have to sail towards Zaracona."


    Gasps come from all the sailors, their confusion evident in their tone.


    ¡°The wind blows east, and I can feel it in my beard¡­.even if it is short¡­..that the wind will pick up in that direction. We are three days out, and I will make sure we hit port, or at the very least close enough to one we can take the dinghy there.¡±


    A silence overtakes the sailors, the same ones who have followed David as he traveled the Nostris sea, its dangers, and wonder engraved in their dwarven beards. With a grunt, the sailors head back to their duties, a simple repetitive thing, allowing them to deal with the loss of their ship is there own ways.


    "This is blimey fucking stupid," the quartermaster quips, her mood soured by the day."I bet that Orc ship wasn''t even a pirate, probably some fucking captain saw an easy prize and thought of the coin he can make."


    "This stupid war between the Radonian''s and the Orc''s is causing a fuck ton of problems," David nods in agreement to Jessica''s assessment.


    "But it''s the fucking Dwarf council that sits back and does nothing. We should be joining the Radonian''s in the fight against those damn Orcs." David adds, venom laced in his words.


    ¡°Never dat simple mate,¡± Alfred quips beside him. ¡°Too much rare metals are sold to those fat cows at the stronghold,¡±


    A silence passes between the dwarfs, their minds spent from the battle, exhaustion prevalent in their sweaty muscular forms.


    "Well then, I am heading down to make sure we can stay afloat until port," Jeeves interrupts the silence, waving as he walks away, down to the ship''s hold.


    David looks to the west, his mind passing the islands and continent in between. The Dwarven volcanic stronghold rests to the west of Jerika, the same stronghold he grew up on. The same stronghold whose sights on rare metals is enough to give up their dwarven honor. A deep sadness takes hold of his heart.


    "Dishonorable fucks still have a longer beard than me" David whispers, tears barely being held back.


    __________________________________________________________________________


    An old man stands upon a mountain, his skin wrinkly from his sheer age. Grunting slowly, his massive wings spread apart, hidden strength evident to hold their weight. The old man stares around, a circle of mountains cover the island, a Xerafin city stands within it.


    Old eyes slowly start to glow, mana coursing through his body, entering his white feathery wings. Quickly Mana starts to leave from his wings, the sheer quantity suffocating the air. Directing with his mind, the Mana forms around him, its power completely at his mercy.


    If Mana can be seen, then a symphony of complicated circles and strings would be noticed, hundreds flowing around the old man, spinning in tandem around his body. As the symphony of Mana starts to combine and coalesce, the air around the man begins to vibrate, sweat slowly pouring down his brow from the extreme exertion. Immediately, at the cusp of the crescendo, a shockwave spreads around him, blasting through the wind, engulfing the clouds and traveling onward.


    The old man stands still......waiting for a signal......but nothing. He had felt a massive portal open four years ago, but to no avail can he find it. It will open briefly and be closed just as fast. Only it''s streams of bent reality left in its wake. A reality that for all his studies, he cannot locate.


    "I know you are out there," he yells at the wind, frustration, and anger evident in his tone" and I will find you."


    With one last look towards the skies, the old man beats his wings. Jumping off the platform, he glides towards his city, deep exhaustion present on his old weathered face.


    _________________________________________________________________________


    A hummer drives through the desert, its small sandy hills not even slowing the monstrous gas-guzzling beast. It''s formerly sleek paint peeling off from the continuous sandy terrain.


    The desert is hot and massive, with only massive rocks can be seen from afar. Their size, a monument to the extreme condition that they must constantly weather, or turn to sand, as time will slowly dictate.


    Valen drives towards a large rock, his hand loosely grasping on the wheel, his other holds a sandwich, crumbs falling on his pants. Taking a deep breath, Valen smiles at the hummers A/C, its existence making a horrible drive into a very comfortable one.


    As he takes another bite of his sandwich, his head turns to Lin, her cute face staring intently forward. Her hands grasping a tablet, Kung Fu Panda 3 playing on the screen.


    Smiling at her cute expression, Valen watches her tail, reacting to the scenes of the movie. It swishes, straightens, and folds, the little ribbon on the end reacting to the motions.


    A content smile is present on Valens'' face, only to be soured when he looks into the rearview mirror. A terrible army of massive sand worms chase the vehicle, their size as large as a train, but their speed merely caps at around 30. Normally a cruising speed of fifty would outrun them, but the desert is packed with these alpha predators, their ability to sense vibrations attract them to the motor of his vehicle.


    It''s not necessarily the worms that are causing Valens displeasure. It is merely the fact that he has been holding his pee in for several long arduous hours. Slowly, Valen presses harder on the gas pedal, hoping to get to the large rock, even if the car''s vibration''s wreaks havoc with his full bladder.


    ___________________________________________________________________________


    A large Bearkin sits at a table, his concentration arduous as he slowly cleans his daughter''s backside, her cute giggling smile and short waving brown tail making his heart soar with satisfaction. Ayana stares at her father, his hands as large as her whole body, but his fingers are ever so delicate. Many would find such a scene disturbing, especially when the massive man smiles, his razor sharp teeth ever present, only for an adorable giggle to be returned.


    A loud slam is heard from the door, a vigorous jump is an answer from Garren, his heart starts to beat quickly, Ayana giggling at her father''s fright. Turning towards the door, His son stands tall, a pleased smile present on his face.


    "Goddammit Breon, you didn''t need to slam the door, my heart can only take so much," Garren yells, a scowl on his face, as he picks up the poop covered cloth on the floor.


    Laughing amicably, Breon walks towards his father, whose covering Ayana up." So, father, it seems your wives are having fun running the town, while you nurse the child. Must be nice having such a carefree life," Breon teases his father, Ayana just staring at the two, her long doe ears twitching with interest.


    Sighing loudly, Garren looks to his son, a smaller version of him, without the massive muscles, but such things will come with time.¡±I can only guess that you have some good news.¡±


    Nodding proudly, Breon takes out a fresh map, pointing to a mountainous clearing north of Brentanol, the town he is currently in."We found where those slaving orcs came from. There is an underground cavern in the mountain, and it is quite massive. I believe it extends to the sea up north, but we would need to find the correct passage, which will take time.


    Grunting in agreement, Garrens eyes roam the map, the location is dangerously close to the Death Zone."I am guessing it took awhile to find it because of its proximity to the forsaken lands?" Garren asks, his son smiling amicably.


    "Nope." He answers quickly, shaking his head,"The orc''s covered the entrance up with large boulders. The only reason we found it was that we had a cat beast-kin who was nearby and smelled water."


    "Good¡­.good¡­.we will send for more assistance from the other villages and towns, and then we will enter and find out exactly where these slavers truly came through."A vicious smile crosses Garren''s face, a cute giggle from Ayana answers back, the smell of poop present once again in the air.

 Chapter 12

    Former Captain David Shadowsail watches his ship, The Swiftbreeze, slowly be taken in by the sea. His tear stricken eyes stare fervently at the slowly vanishing ship. The same ship he bought twenty years ago, the start of his Captain career. Only eighteen years later and he finally paid the mortgage completely off--but never would he have guessed that the ship would be lost only two years later.


    As the final feet of the mast slowly falls beneath the waves, David turns to his crew¡­..former crew, for you cannot be considered a captain without a ship. No longer will he be called David of the Swiftbreeze, but merely David Shadowsail, youngest son of Brigadier General Jason Shadowsail, his father¡­..and one of the people he greatly admires¡­.the only one who has never mentioned the length of his beard¡­..the same father who cried when David first became a captain.


    Tears continue to fall from David¡¯s face, as memories resurface from his childhood, the insults, the trials and tribulation, and¡­.the successes of his life. Looking around, David looks to the sailors, many of which came into his service twenty years ago, and those same ones mourn the fall of their home as he does. A dwarven ship is not merely a vessel, it is a living breathing family, that shares in each other hardships.


    David stands upon a large raft, ripped from the hull of his ship, barely supporting the expensive cannons on top of it. Two dinghies connect to the raft with a rope, a couple of sailors holding paddles at the ready, their beards covered in tears. David looks back towards the empty water on last time, a piece of him left below the sea.


    ¡°The ocean be a nasty mistress,¡± murmurs David, his sadness clear like the stars in the sky, their twinkling light illuminating the ocean waves. Wiping the tears off his face, he faces his crew, they stare back, awaiting his words.


    " We may have lost our home atop the waters,"David clenches his fist," but¡­..we still have our lives, and those cannot be replaced," he continues to stare, his sailors looking into his eyes, hope clenched in their beards.


    Looking at their disheveled tear stricken beards,"I may no longer be a captain," he yells, strength returning to his voice," but this family of ours does not end with The Swiftbreeze.¡± His back straightens, eyes wide with hunger,¡± we will carve our way back into the sea!¡± he yells, a cheer eliciting from his sailors, their eyes blazing with hope.


    "Now row, for I see the shore, and nothing will stop me from getting alcohol on my beard," Another cheer is heard as the raft lurches forward, his sailors rowing with newfound strength.


    ¡°I could really use a nice fucking beer right now,¡± Jessica interrupts from beside him, her succulent massive behind resting comfortably on top of one of the cannons.


    David nods at her "once we get our supplies unloaded, I will personally make sure that every dwarf gets pissing drunk."


    ¡°You know captain, if we threw away these cannons when our ship was hit, we may have been light enough to get to port,¡± explains his carpenter, resting his back on another cannon, his beard much cleaner today.


    David sighs, a frown on his face¡± The cannons are worth as much as the ship. You of all people should know this, and we were still not sure if we could make it even if we threw them overboard.¡±


    "Aye brother," Alfred interrupts, his eyes still teary from the loss," as you said, the damage was extensive, and many of the tools and supplies poured out from that massive hole on the bottom hull,"


    A silence permeates the group, the port, Sandstorm, coming into sight, the closest one for a good week. Slowly the sky brightens up, as the sun finally makes its presence known.


    __________________________________________________________________________This novel is published on a different platform. Support the original author by finding the official source.


    Atop a solid rock, Valen sits in a lounge chair, a roaring fire in front of him. The sky slowly lights up as the first rays of sunlight strike the ground. Listening closely, he can hear the sandworms as they churn the sand around the rock, their massive bodies slamming into each other, coordination barely possible from the sheer number of them surrounding Valen and Lin.


    On the other side of the Fire, Lin dances and sings to music, her head covered by a cat-eared headset. Her butt moves side to side as she jumps and moves, tail swishing elegantly through the air, a cute happy expression on her adorable face."?I wanna try everything?" Lin sings to a song she heard in the movie Zootopia, a movie she watched over three times. Valen watches as she continues to dance and sing. Her voice is clear, and the lyrics are on point, but slightly confusing to his ears. Concentrating on the song, realization finally strikes into Valen¡¯s mind.¡±Holy crap Lin, your singing the song in common,¡± he says, Lin heeding him no mind, her ears covered by the headset, her dress spinning and moving with the shake of her hips.


    A smile forms on Valen¡¯s lips as he waits for Lin to finish her song, slowly sending his mana out to pack up the supplies, plans forming into his mind.


    __________________________________________________________________________


    Zeran watches from the beachhead of port Sandstrom. An easy job, especially at times like these, where raiding orc ships are scaring all but the most powerful of captains from coming nearby. Slowly Zerans massive tail glides out from his backside, delicately grabbing a hold a cup of beer, and slowly moving it to his clawed hand.


    The scorpion-kin, one of the most dangerous beast-kin around, and most numerous in port Sandstorm are a race of scorpion-like humanoids, who have massive armored claws for hands, and a smaller clawed tail. Many would think the claws are their most dangerous weapon, but the stinger hidden in the tail¡¯s claw has some of the most dangerous poison known to the world.


    A unique poison whose venom will make the target leak mana, and eventually kill them if they run out. The venom is one of the main commodities of Sandstorm, the other being beast parts and cores from Geralyn, transported by the snake-kin, the only beast-kin who can sense the dreaded sandworms.


    Like any other day, Zeran sits and watches the sea, a job that is rarely interesting¡­..until today.


    "What in the sand is that," he remarks, as he his eyes stare into the sea. Confusion emanates from his carapace as he watches two boats and a raft come slowly towards the port. Immediately getting on his eight legs, he skittles towards town to warn the guards, and possibly the dockmaster.


    __________________________________________________________________________


    Diva watches as a scorpion-kin runs past her, the same one who is in charge of watching the docks. Hope slowly sprouts in her mind as the idea of a ship finally making port arrives. Slowly she heads towards the sea, her red skin clear in the sun, while her small black stumps of horns reflect the sunlight, a sword glinting menacingly on her back.


    As she finally gets to the port, her neutral expression quickly turns into a frown, as her mana enhanced sight gets a clear view in the distance. Two small boats pull a large raft, fit with cannons and a large number of dwarfs, confused expression''s present on their hardened faces. Diva glares menacingly at the dwarfs, their lack of a ship putting her mood into turmoil.


    Huffing angrily, she turns away from the incoming sailors and walks back to town. She crosses the empty streets and turns towards the only Inn in available, the same one she is currently staying at.


    _________________________________________________________________________


    "Are you ready?" Valen asks Lin, as she sits next to him in the recently summoned car, its engine currently off. The vehicle sits at the edge of the stone, sand only a few yards in front.


    Looking forward, the sand churns with the presence of worms underneath, waiting for the opportunity to find prey, incapable of traveling through hardened rock. With a smile, Valen forms a controller in his hand, a black metal box with many buttons on the top. Flipping the controller switch on, a green light shows up on the top right." Here it comes Lin," Valen says as he presses a button on the controller. Immediately an extremely loud explosion goes off on the other side of the rock, its blasting sound only muffled by the insulation of the hummer. The remote-controlled mine exploded, sending a massive shockwave through the ground, attracting all of the sandworms in the area to the location. Looking forward, the sand starts to churn quickly, and the sandworms move towards the explosion.


    Valen quickly turns the Vehicle on and floors it, the wheels striking sand and accelerating, no worms to block his path.


    As Valen leaves the stone structure, he turns to look at Lin, a smile on her lips as she removes sand from the fur on her sandal-covered feet.


    ¡°Sorry Lin, if you didn¡¯t have such long claws on your feet, I would be able to give you some real shoes,¡± he says, Lins eyes turning to Valen, her head tilting to the side. Turning her eyes to her feet, Valen watches as the claws slowly retract into her foot, the length much shorter than before.¡±


    A pleased smile turns to Valen as his eyes widen at the realization.¡±Lin, why didn¡¯t you tell me you can do that?¡± he asks, a confused look on his face.¡±I could have been giving you some real shoes.¡±


    Lin only answers with a shrug of her shoulder.


    Putting one hand on his face, Valen sighs with annoyance.¡± I have the entire inventory of multiple stores, and the girl next to me could care less.¡± he says, Lin continuing to remove sand from her foot, giving Valen no mind.


    __________________________________________________________________________

 Chapter 13

    The port town of Sandstorm lies atop a massive stone out crop. Its sheer size extends a good mile into sea, forming a natural but sturdy port. Around the massive stone lies smaller outcrops embedded a few feet into the dirt. These sharp stones form a natural protective barrier around the town.


    Historically, sandworms would follow prey into these stone field, their leather skin would rip against the stones, causing blood to seep into the dirt. Sandworms are opportunist monsters that will be more than happy to strike any weakened others of their kind. Tasting the blood of another will put the worms into a feeding frenzy. Unfortunately, a frenzy of over twenty worms slithering hungrily in a location filled with sharp rocks does not end well.


    The ground begins to turn a crimson red from the sheer number of dead bodies and blood that litter these fields. After generations of continuous killing, a massive forest bloomed in these well fertilized fields. Animals of various kinds currently inhabit its domain.


    Since some of the animals can be quite dangerous, guards are placed around the perimeter of Sandstorm. A stone wall of ten feet surrounds the town.


    At the entrance to the town, stands two guards. One is a large snake-kin, his upper body is humanoid in origin, but like the scorpion-kin guard next to him, the lower body is that of an animal.


    "Have you heard about those dwarfs that came in this morning Lucian," the large scorpion-kin asks, his natural armor and size much thicker than the females of his kind.


    The snake-kin looks down from his post, his large long girth is wrapped around the top of the wall, a better view for incoming predators." Everyone has heard about the dwarfs, Carrion." the snake-kin replies."They came in on a goddam raft, apparently they were attacked by orc''s, but had to abandon ship from the damage they sustained," Lucian continues, his girth moving along the wall with ease.


    "Yea," Carrion starts "those orcs are causing this town to quickly dry up," he explains, his tail swishing carelessly in the wind. "We have over a year''s worth of goods saved up from Geralyn, but we can''t sell any of it because no ship has docked here for so long. Heck, if the monster population around our town wasn''t so large, we would probably have starved to death."


    ¡° Very true,¡± Lucian answers, his senses feeling vibrations coming from the distance.


    "It also helps that we have that amazon girl to hunt for the meat," Carrion continues ", I just wish she would stop dragging the corpses to me. It''s annoying having to haul it back to town for her," carrion huffs with displeasure.", I mean really, why can''t she just car--,"


    "Carrion," Lucian interrupts,"We have company coming," he says, body focussed on the vibrations coming to him. Carrion''s tail lifts into the air, a long stinger pops out of its end, ready to strike. As the two turn to the direction Lucian is gazing at, two figures come into being.


    "Well, I thought the weirdest thing to happen today would be the dwarfs coming in on a raft," Carrion says, gazing at the two individuals." but I think this takes it¡¯s place."


    Lucion nods silently as he watches two figures stroll towards them.


    Valen walks with a relaxed gait, his t-shirt exposes his strong muscles, a picture of a cat drinking tea at the center. His hands are inside his shorts, boots crunching the ground, while black shades cover his eyes.


    Lin walks adorably next to him, her clear white dress flowing beautifully with the wind. Her hair flows behind her head, a pure white hat shades her eyes. She walks with a happy stride, her new white shoes sparkling with every step. Her tail flows under her dress, a white ribbon firmly attached to the end.


    Lucian and Carrion watch the duo come close, their minds deeply in turmoil as they attempt to put logic towards the situation before them.


    The Bloody Sand, the inn of Sandstorm, is a large thing made of stone and wood, its large structure a requirement as many of the larger beast-kin would not be able to enter. One such beast-kin would be it¡¯s owner, the Snake-kin Daniela. Her long slender body wrapped firmly around a stand, she extends herself around the main area of the Inn, serving alcohol to a large group of dwarfs.


    "Another," Jessica yells, face red from intoxication. Daniela nods and picks up another glass of beer. Extending her body, she places it in front of Jessica, the same table where multiple dwarfs are passed out drooling."Fucking weak shit''s," Jessica says as she glares at her drinking buddies. Turning to another table "Captain, want to try to out drink me?" she asks, cradling her new drink in her hand.


    "You have been with me since I became captain," David quips, as he shoves meat into his mouth," And never has anyone out drank you," he interjects between mouthfuls.


    Jessica nods proudly, taking another swig of her drink.


    As the dwarfs drink and eat, Daniela freezes up, her senses notifying her of an approaching vibration. The massive door of the inn slowly opens up, and two uniquely dressed individuals enter. Some weird type of¡­¡­.species, and a tigress child. The inn continues to yell and banter, most of the dwarfs too drunk to notice the new individuals.


    _________________________________________________________________________


    Valen enters into the huge inn, Lin entering right after, eyes roaming the room with interest. Looking around, he finds every table filled with dwarfs, their loud laughter can be heard outside.


    As Valen looks for a possible table, Lin immediately starts running towards one in the back. The table she runs to has a red-skinned women sitting at it, her back against the wall, eyes glaring menacingly at the dwarfs. Her attention is immediately changed to Lin, who runs up to Diva, and grabs her arm."Hi, can we sit here," she asks, a cute smile on her face.You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version.


    Before she can answer, Valen shows up to the table.¡±Lin, don''t just run towards strangers and touch them without permission. What if she hurts you?¡± Valen asks, a worried expression on his face.


    "It''s OK," Lin quips, her hands still resting on Diva''s arm." She is an Amazon, and mommy said that Amazon''s will never hurt kids," Lin explains, a confident smile on her face.


    Valen turns his eyes towards Diva, who slowly nods back towards him, an annoyed expression present on her face." It is forbidden and extremely dishonorable to hurt a child outside of training," she answers Valen''s curiosity," Lin immediately lets Diva go, and jumps on the chair to her right, feet dangling midair.


    Understanding the situation, Valen takes a seat at the table, a raised eyebrow is Diva¡¯s reaction.


    ¡°She isn¡¯t going to leave you, and apparently you can''t do much about it,¡± Valen answers, a smile on his face.


    Before Diva can say anything, Daniela interrupts the whole table."Diva," she yells, her slit eyes blinking as she looks at the Amazon."I didn''t know you had friends," she blurts out, a teasing smile on her reptilian face.


    Diva just glares back at the overly friendly snake-kin.


    Turning her head, she looks to the others sitting on the table, a big smile blooms on her face as she looks at Lin." Oh my, you are sooo adorable," she squeals, Lin''s tail moving frivolously in her seat from the compliment.


    "And you are quite handsome," Daniela exclaims as she looks at Valen." Diva knows how to pick''em, doesn''t she," Daniela says, continuing to ignore the glaring Amazon.


    ¡°Daniela,¡± Diva interrupts her musings.


    "Oh, your right, I am being such a bad host" Daniela replies, turning to her new customers,"what can I get for the both of you, some alcohol perhaps?"


    "We need a few things, the first being some food and water," Valen puts up a finger," the second thing we need is a place to stay," Valen adds another finger," and finally we need information," Valen puts up a third finger.


    "Easy enough," Daniela answers," I can bring in the daily special, which is a roasted sand viper. Very tasty, and I made sure to remove the poison sack this time. I have alcohol, as well as water for drinking."


    "Now then, your lucky these dwarfs are cheap, and are happy to share rooms together, so I actually have a place available. I charge 2 Nos a night, 1 nos for a meal, and another for a glass of beer." she spews out mechanically, having said it multiple times today.


    ¡°Any questions?¡± she asks.


    ¡°This time?¡± Valen blurts out, referring to the poisoned snake.


    Daniela rolls her eyes,¡± It was an accident. I was trying out the recipe but forgot to remove the poison glands. Nobody died, they just weren''t able to move for three days.¡±


    Valen lifts his eyebrow up at the snake-kin, wary of her food.


    "Look," she points at the dwarves,"I have been feeding it to then all afternoon, and their completely fine."


    Valen¡¯s eyes turn towards the dwarves in question. Half of them are passed out on the tables, a few look as though they can barely stay awake. One of the Dwarfs gets out of his seat, takes a step, and falls flat on his face, completely passed out.


    ¡°Ok¡­¡­.they''re probably not the best example, what with them going through my barrels of beer,¡± Daniela sighs,¡±I am going to have to get more.¡±


    ¡°Alright,¡±


    "Alright, what?" Daniela asks, confused.


    Summoning four coins in his palms, he places them on the table."I will take one room and two meals," he exclaims to the snake-kin" but I still need that information." he quickly exclaims before Daniela can answer.


    Slowly she picks up the coins and turns to Valen,¡±I am unfortunately an innkeeper in a small desert town, so what information I can offer is very limited¡­..on the other hand we have a bunch of dwarfs who just came this morning,¡± she gestures to the other tables.


    ¡°Do they have a ship?¡± Valen asks, the reason for coming to the sea in the first place.


    "That¡­..is actually why they are drinking themselves into a stupor," Daniela answers while biting her lip." They lost their ship early this morning. In dwarven culture, that is equivalent to losing a loved one, and this is how they mourn," she explains, her eyes downcast.


    Valen stares at the dwarfs, finally noticing their ragged expression''s, the drinks merely to numb the pain that they so fervently feel."Who is their captain," he asks.


    "That would be the dwarf with the short beard," she replies, Valen immediately pinpointing him in the crowd. His beard is indeed short compared to the other dwarfs, and the fact that he is merely nursing his drink, still fully cognizant, unlike his men.


    "Thank you, Daniela," Valen answers, as he gets up to walk towards the captain, Lin quickly following him behind.


    ____________________________________________________________________________


    David Shadowsail sits on his chair, a drink in his hand, as he watches his men pass out from all the alcohol. No fights, but that is to be expected as this is drinking to a former love, not a current one. As the sunlight slowly starts to die down, and half his sailors are on the floor, David gets interrupted by another patron of the Inn.


    "Hello, sir, would you be the captain of this unsightly crew," David blinks and looks towards the speaker, then slowly his sight wanders around the Inn, looking at his crew. Jessica continues to drink, Jeeves is on the floor, piss covering his crotch, half his dwarfs are asleep, and Alfred is making out with a stool.


    ¡°Yes¡­.this unsightly crew is mine,¡± he answers the strange man.


    ¡°Perfect, I heard that you lost your ship this morning and are in need of a new one,¡± Valen claps his hands, a big smile on his face.


    David just looks at the boy cross-eyed, not sure if the alcohol is making him hear things."Yes¡­.we do need a ship," he replies slowly.


    Nodding amicably, Valen throws out his hand." Names Valen Vorstof, and I will have a ship ready to be crewed by morning. We can talk about the specifics then."


    "David Shadowsail," He replies, shaking Valen''s hand, still confused about his current situation.


    " Alright David, I am going to go get the ship---Lin, just wait here, keep David company, he seems like he needs it," Valen quickly leaves the Inn, heading towards the docks, Lin watching him run out.


    David looks at Lin, staring at his face, her eyes looking deep into his.


    ¡°So¡­.,¡± Lin starts, sitting on a stool opposite him.¡± Why is your beard so small,¡± she asks, an innocent smile on her cute little face.


    ___________________________________________________________________________


    ¡°You are the dockmaster?¡± Valen asks an old scorpion, his carapace having lost its shine, and cracks are formed in many areas, primarily focused on his claws.


    Nodding slowly, the old man uses his tail to lift him off his sitting position, his legs shaking as he slowly stands. Zelorian takes a long look at the young man, a face full of excitement and sweat. Smiling inwardly, the old man slowly walks towards the counter, his carapace squeaking with every step.


    Valen merely waits for the Scorpion, using the time to catch his breath, the pier quite far from the Inn.


    ¡°Now then young man, what can this old carapace of mine do for you?¡± he asks, nodding inwardly at the young man¡¯s sense of patience.


    Valen steadies his breath ¡°I am looking to rent a pier, for about a weak, how much will that cost?¡± Valen blurts out, his excitement radiating from his face.


    The old scorpion starts to laugh, the vibrations causing his body to ring."Thank you, young man, It has been awhile since I had a good laugh," Zelorian takes another good look at the young man, feeling something unique, something interesting, something¡­...powerful."It''s the middle of the night, a young man runs into my stall, and asks to rent a pier for a week," Zelorian starts, choosing his words wisely," and the logical thing for me to do is to send you back home, but I have a feeling something interesting is going to happen so you can use any dock that you wish, and I will only charge a white nos." the old man explains, claws resting on the stall.


    ¡°Wow¡­...that¡¯s actually pretty convenient,¡± Valen answers, referring to the unnecessary need for paperwork. Nodding quickly, Valen runs to the docking area,¡± I left the coin on the stall,¡± he yells back, disappearing from Zelorian¡¯s sight.


    Zelorian looks down next to his claw, a white nos stares back at him, its presence wasn¡¯t there a second ago.¡±Interesting indeed,¡± Zelorian whispers, as he turns his head towards the direction of the empty docks.


    ________________________________________________________________________


    Valen arrives at the docks, the floor made primarily of stone, with wood only present further in. Looking around, Valen locates the largest shipping area and runs towards the water, excitement radiating in his form.


    Upon making it to the end, Valen looks towards the water, the reflection of the stars stare back at him. Taking a slow deep breath, Valen releases his mana, its power pouring through his skin. The release quickly starts to ramp up, the air thick with energy. Forcing his will, he directs his mana forwards, spreading it out and adding to it continuously. The Mana spreads forward, covering the air above the water. As his mana becomes in sufficient quantity, Valen feels into himself, imagining a massive structure appearing before him. In reply to his will, the invisible particles of mana start to rotate, dancing to Valens will, instinctively moving in complicated geometrical shapes. At the cusp of the reaction, reality bends, and a massive structure instantly forms before him. Gravity quickly takes hold and the ship slams into the water, the pier and Valen completely drenched.


    "And he said I wasted my money," Valen whispers, strolling back towards the Inn, a massive ship floats firmly behind him.

 Chapter 14

    Valen opens his eyes to the sight of stone. The stone structures, a favorite of the residents of Sandstorm, greatly lack artistic presence. Smoothly cut stone is interesting the first time you see it, but It quickly gets boring, and even annoying, as the lack of windows lets in a continuous warm breeze. Lin apparently appears not to mind.


    Valen sits at the side of his bed, one he summoned, far better than the stone beds he had been provided. Looking towards the other summoned bed, he sees Lin sleeping soundlessly in one of the strangest positions Valen has seen. Her upper body is completely hanging off the side of the bed, one hand is touching the floor, the other holding a stuffed kitten to her chest, while her tail rests lazily on her face.


    Valen¡¯s stares at Lin, the first person he had met here, and probably the first true family he ever had. At Lin¡¯s age his own family was killed in a driving accident forcing Valen into an orphanage, where he grew up.


    ¡°Alright Lin, its time to wake up,¡± Valen says watching Lin slowly attempt to position herself back into the warm embrace of bed. A smile forms on his face.


    "AHHHHHHHH," Lin squeals as her body slips quickly to the floor. She strikes the floor softly and scampers up, legs bent, eyes ready, ears twitching, and tail flailing dangerously in the air. Only the sound of Valen''s outright laughter changes her stance, a pout coming to her lips as she finally notices her surroundings.


    ¡°Don¡¯t glare at me Lin,¡± Valen says between laughter,¡±this is all on you,¡± he continues, her cute pouting face all too adorable to pass. A glaring blush answers Valen, causing him to laugh harder as her face seems to morph into something more and more adorable.


    ¡°I¡¯m hungry Valyyyy¡± Lin says, trying to diffuse his laughter, her arms around her stomach.


    Valen nods, laughter slowly subsiding. In his hand forms a box of donuts, which he sets to the side of his bed."Alright, Lin, make your bed, put some clothes on, brush your teeth, and whatever amazing food is in this box is yours. The moment he finishes his deal, Lin quickly takes off her sleeping wear, running towards a closet, nudity not much of an issue with her kind. Quickly she starts to put on her clothes, Valen slowly making his bed, keeping one eye on the frantic Lin, a pleased smile on his face.


    ______________________________________________________________________


    Entering the main eating area, he finds all the dwarves awake, though not so much alive. They sit morbidly on their seats, the smallest of sounds sending waves of pain through their heads. Lin watches the moaning dwarfs, a happy smile dons her powdered sugary face. In her hands she holds Valen''s box of Donut holes, slowly putting each one in her mouth, the powdered chocolate ones her favorite.


    Looking around, Valen finds David sitting with his crew, apparently nursing his head as well. Valen slowly approaches, noting the interesting faces around his table, including the sole female who¡¯s eating food and drinking beer like yesterday, was just a normal day.


    When Valen approaches the table"David!" he yells, a chorus of groans escape the dwarves, their heads slamming painfully inside their heads. "You seem to have had a good night''s sleep, though you should really not drink so much, it isn''t good for your health," Valen spouts, a cheeky smile radiant on his face.


    "Damn, I remember you," David says, his eyes closed, nursing his head slowly," but I don''t remember what we talked about. You merely spouted something and ran off, leaving that devil of a little girl to torture me with her incessant questions."


    "David!" Jessica interrupts, a powdered smile on her lips."Don''t fucking talk shit about this child," she glares as another of Lin''s Donuts enter her mouth. "You should be happy someone is willing to talk to a boring drunk like yourself," she continues, Lin smiling next to her, the two best of friends already.


    "This be unfair captain," Alfred interjects, sipping water,"You get to talk to a cute little girl yesterday night, while I was making out with a goddamn stool," a sad sigh escaping his lips. "She was so pretty but a lousy kisser," he admits, the listening dwarfs quickly rise up with laughter, only to stop immediately as the loud noise causes them to wince in pain.


    "Now then, young man, what was the deal yesterday, I seem to have forgotten most of what happened last night," David says, one eye looking up at Valen.


    Valen smiles as he nods towards the dwarf,"Well, I have a ship in port right now that is quite barren. I need a captain with a crew, and you seem to be in need of a ship." Immediately, silence permeates the hall, all ears listening and eyes staring at Valen and David, intrigue spread across their faces.


    You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.


    "Fucking hell Captain, you already got us a ship!" Jessica exclaims, wiping cream from her mouth.


    "There was no ship at port," David interjects,"I checked thoroughly yesterday."


    ¡°Well yea, I brought it in last night, after we made that deal,¡± Valen explains, a smile on his lips.


    Turning towards the room, Valen smiles confidently"I am going to go check on my ship, you''re free to come along," he waves, walking outside of the Inn, Lin running after, Jessica following quickly behind, the box of donuts now in her hands.


    The dwarven sailors looks to their captain, eagerness present on their face.


    "Go,you fucking lousy shits," David waves, the sailor''s as one get up and run out, their hangovers all but forgot.


    "Alfred, go wake up your brother, we''re going to need a carpenter if there really is a ship," David says, slowly getting out of his chair.


    ¡°He isn¡¯t going to like getting woken up so early.¡± Alfred answers.


    "If he doesn''t want to get up, drag him towards the goddamn pier," David answers, cracking his neck. "Then you can throw him in the fucking water. I''m sure he needs a bath anyway."


    A smile forms on Alfred¡¯s face ¡°This will be fun, captain.¡±


    __________________________________________________________________________


    As David walks towards the pier, he finds a veritable mob of Dwarves, Snake-kin, and Scorpion-kin looking towards the ocean. When David finally gets to the pier, his eyes widen with interest. A massive ship floats over a thousand meters from the pier, its sheer size dwarfing the orkin galley that sunk his own. Four massive sails strapped atop the ship, folded ever so gently. Looking towards the broadside, David''s eyes widen at the realization, three stories on a ship of such size would require a great deal of metal and some very powerful enchantments.


    Looking around, he finds Valen, a smug smile on his lips.


    ¡°Valen, what in god¡¯s name is that?¡± David yells as he approaches the young man.


    Turning towards the short dwarf, Valen smiles and gestures towards the ship."That is a replica of a Spanish galleon class ship." A proud smile gazes at the dwarf, "A friend of mine told me I wasted my mon-coin buying something of such size," Valen explains, the sailors listening with rapt attention, their eyes still glued to the sea.


    ¡°I have never heard of such a ship, and until today, I would never have believed one existed,¡± David answers, his mouth growing wet with hidden joy.


    The two stare at the ship, neither wanting to ruin each other''s mood.


    "Holy mother of god," Jeeves yells, his beard scraggly and uncombed, the bed hair version for a dwarf.


    "Is that ours? How in the hell is it floating? Why in the world is it in the middle of the sea?" The carpenter asks quickly, his eyes gazing voraciously at the ship.


    David turns to Valen, raising an eyebrow at the young man."Yes, why is that ship almost a mile from the port?" he asks, looking up to Valen,"Were you not able to get permission to dock?" he asks again, awaiting Valens answer.


    A blush sprouts on Valens face as he turns his head towards the ship.¡±I uh¡­.got the ship to port¡­..but I didn¡¯t think to tie it down,¡± Valen explains, a forced smile can be seen from the side of his face.


    "I¡­...am not even going to ask how you got this ship here in the first place, especially without a crew," David says, turning towards his sailors.


    "Alright, you starstruck idiots, that ship needs to get to port before the wind blows it further away!" he yells, the sailor''s as one cheer and run towards the water, jumping in, swimming as fast as their short stature will allow.


    A confused look spreads on Valen¡¯s face as he turns to the captain.¡±Why didn¡¯t they just take a boat?¡± he asks, staring at a pile of bodies fighting to get towards the ship.


    "When some new, never before seen ship, sprouts on the sea, do you actually believe that a dwarven sailor will act like anything but a child?" He answers, a smile forming as he watches his men fight the waves.


    ¡°I think children are a lot smarter than that,¡± Valen answers as he points at a boat, Jessica rowing quickly towards the ship, Lin sitting in front of her, feeding the Dwarf donuts.


    The two erupt in laughter, the absurdity of the situation breaking any tensions between the two. As the laughter slowly dies down, Alfred interrupts with a question.


    "What be the ships name?"


    Valen looks towards the first mate, the dwarf stands relaxed, even though his arms are crossed around his chest, an axe hangs diligently from his hip.


    ¡°The name of the ship is the Wiseman,¡± Valen answers, reading the English words on the side of the ship.


    "That¡­.is actually a pretty good name captain," Alfred says, looking towards David. "Captain David Wiseman," He tests, the words sounding melodic in common.


    ¡°Now hang on, we still don¡¯t know what our contract will even be,¡± David interjects, his eyes moving from his first mate, towards Valen.


    ¡°Simple enough. I rent the ship to you, and you give me a percent of the profits,¡± Valen exclaims, simplifying the idea of outright giving a ship to someone.


    David just looks at Valen, realizing more and more that this man has no common sense whatsoever. Throwing out deals that could very well screw him over. Heck, most captains would attempt to steal the ship outright, especially since he is only one man. But David is an honorable dwarf, just like his father. Honor is something their kind live by, and David will make sure to die with honor when his time comes.


    David turns to Valen, thinking through the expenses that would be required, and the profits such a large ship would provide."Valen, the normal renting price of a ship is 60% percent to the owner, while 40% to the crew," David pauses,"but you came in my time of need and put your trust in someone that you just met, so I am willing to offer you 65% of the profits instead." David exclaims, Alfred, nodding with a smile in the background.


    Valen looks towards the dwarf, a soft gaze stares back at him, almost sexual if not for the grateful look on David''s face."Nah, I have a better deal," Valen says, looking towards the dwarfs confused expression."Here is my deal, you and your crew get 60% of the profits, you will use 20% of it to improve the ship, and the last 20% will be saved for me." Valen promptly throws out his hand, ready to shake David''s.


    With a trembling hand and wide eyes, David takes Valens arm, forcing him into a tight hug. Valen looks down at the hugging dwarf, thoughts that his new Captain may very well be interested in men.


    ____________________________________________________________________________


    An orc watches his men work, their veins visible as they lift pieces of wood. His musing is disrupted by his quartermaster."Captain, we lost most of the men that were rowing, and we have had to catalyze some of the wood to repair the front hull. It might be best to go towards one of our bases" the quartermaster exclaims, his size only dwarfed by the captain.


    "No!" The captain growls, his face turns towards the men, his tusks ever so present on his face. We cannot go to base with such damage and defeat. Grab the slaves in our hold and put them to use as rowers. The next ship we see, we will board." he exclaims, steam starting to release from his skin.


    With a quick nod, the quartermaster goes to direct the orc¡¯s, happy to escape the Captain¡¯s presence.

 Chapter 15

    The sun shines high above, its red glow blazing in the middle of the sky. No clouds can be seen to protect the skin of sailors, as they quickly tie a massive ship to the docs.


    David slowly strolls up the platform that connects his ship, The Wiseman, to the docks of port Sandstorm. On the deck, he watches his sailors run around, getting to thoroughly know the ship.


    Jeeves exits the ships entrance, his beard and hair far cleaner than before. As soon as he catches sight of his captain, he runs straight for him, a complicated look on the carpenters face.


    "Jeeves, report, how is the ship?" David interrupts, his authoritative bearing returning quickly after gaining back his status.


    Jeeves quickly nods towards his captain, noticing how much more confident David is."It is fucking weird captain. The ship has no runes or enchants anywhere." he answers, shaking his head in disbelief."This ship should not even be able to support its weight, but the complexity of the design, wood structure, and metal supports¡­¡­.its outright amazing!" he yells, barely restraining his glee.


    David lifts an eyebrow up at Jeeves, disbelieving his explanation.


    "It''s true captain, I am not lying to you," he adds, looking at David''s skeptical face, barely able to keep still while he does so.


    Nodding towards his carpenter, David glances at the ship. It''s structure so foreign and well made. The designs across the hall and sheer amazing woodworking gives credit to Jeeves story.


    ¡°What else can you tell me about the ship,¡± David asks, looking back towards Jeeves.


    ¡°Well, this ship is massive. I would say it is possibly 500 tons in weight alone. The only problem is that we would need a proper crew of say hundred fifty to run it properly but a skeleton crew of just us should be reasonable.¡±


    David nods, the idea of such a large ship means a lot of possible profits. Now to only have the means to protect his ship. Realization strikes David as he quickly turns to Jeeves."What of the cannons, I didn''t see any," he asks.


    ¡°That is the problem. The ship did not come with any cannons but it is built to hold a good 80. We can put our own cannons to use but¡­..It seems this ship was built for much larger cannons than our own.¡± Jeeves adds, a nervous look on his face.


    ¡°What in the hell is this ship built for? How in the hell is it able to even hold 80 cannons and stay afloat? What the fuck did that man give me?¡± David asks, his calm look changed to something incredulous, as he looks towards the direction of the Inn, the place Valen went off to.


    ________________________________________________________________________


    Valen walks into the empty inn, immediately noticing that it is not empty as he would expect. Diva sits quietly at the corner, her arms across her chest, leaning back in her chair.


    "Valen!" Daniela shouts from the center of the room, her large girth firmly secures around a stone pole."Thank you so much for getting the dwarfs out of here," she says, cleaning the tables with a cloth. "I don''t know how I was going to break it to them that I ran out of beer yesterday."


    A smile forms as he looks to the friendly Innkeeper."Well I merely came here to pick up my stuff, and I think the dwarfs will come here to do the same," he says, watching a confused expression don Daniela''s face.


    ¡°Really? Why is that¡±,¡± She asks, her cleaning slowing down.


    ¡°Well, I brought in a ship yesterday night, so they are joining me on it.¡±


    Daniela''s mouth opens as she takes a quick look at Diva."Take Diva with you," she quickly says, Diva''s attention momentarily taken by someone using her name."She made a huge mistake a few months ago when she left the Amazon island," Diva begins to glare at the snake-kin, but Daniela completely ignores it," she wanted to go to the center continent, but took the wrong ship, and was dropped off here. Now she can''t even leave." Daniela explains smiling at Valen.


    Valen nods as he looks towards the Glaring diva, her cheeks slightly redder than her skin. Taking a deep breath, he strolls towards the back of the inn, and takes the seat opposite Diva.


    ¡°I plan to head towards the main continent. You are free to book passage on my ship,¡± he says, only a glare is his answer.


    ¡°She doesn¡¯t have any money on her,¡± Daniela quips from across the room, listening to the two converse.


    "Well that''s fine too," Valen waves dramatically, "our ship is relatively empty anyways and I wouldn''t want you to be stuck here for so many months."


    "Do not insult me," she answers, her Amazon pride taking the better of her "We amazon do not accept pity from other."Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings.


    Valen just looks at the Amazon, remembering a certain tiger-kin, and the sheer pride she seemed to possess.¡±Well¡­...Lin said that the Amazons are great warriors, so how about I hire you as a bodyguard till we reach shore?¡± he asks, hoping to come to some agreement.


    ¡°Amazon¡¯s do not hire so cheaply,¡± she answers, with much less glare.¡±To what reason are you heading towards the main continent?¡± she asks, her stance more relaxed.


    ¡°I¡­.want...no..I need to become stronger,¡± Valen forces out of his mouth, remembering how weak he truly is.¡±So I plan to head towards Gargantuan, the massive elven city. I plan to join their magical college¡­.er.. institution to learn how to better use my mana.¡±


    "Getting stronger is a noble cause," the Amazon nods, a rare smile donning her face."I will become your bodyguard until you reach the city," she exclaims. With only those words, Diva gets up and walks towards her room to pack up.


    Before she exits the dining area, she stops and looks towards the snake-kin."Daniela¡­...thank you," she says, continuing her stride towards her room, a delicate smile on her hardened face.


    Valen and Daniela watch quietly as the Amazon leaves their presence, a smile donning both their faces.


    _________________________________________________________________________


    Though it is night, the sailors are very busy lifting and carrying cargo into the hold of their new ship. Smiles and excitement are on their faces as they work with great speed. David helps them bring in the cargo, something that would be unsightly for a good captain. Fortunately, David is a great one, as can be seen by the respectful looks of his man.


    As he places the crate on the deck of the ship, he is interrupted by Jessica, who holds a notebook and pen, writing down and organizing the cargo." Captain, we are going to make a huge profit here if we can get to a city port."


    David wipes the sweat off his face and turns to his quartermaster, a giddy smile on her face as she rubs the pen passionately. Something that David notices jealousy."I am guessing we are getting good prices on the cargo?" he asks, eyes turning towards her exceptionally large breasts, clothes barely keeping them in place.


    "Fuck yes," she answers, a smile blooms on her face"They have been stockpiling goods for such a long time, that they need to get rid of it. Skins, Poison''s, Mana cores, and other goods. All sold to us for but a fraction," she answers passionately, the gold digger in her coming out."We are going to get a massive profit when we unload all our good."


    David nods, trying his best to look at her face" And what of our three passengers?" he asks, failing to look her in the eye.


    Heeding the distracted captain no mind " Their is a lot of space on this ship, as well as three guest quarters. Valen and Lin are in one, while the Amazon is in another. The captain''s cabin is yours, Jeeves has the last guest room, Alfred will be in the crews quarters, while I get the quartermasters next to yours.


    David¡¯s eyebrow lifts up¡±This ship has a separate room for a quartermaster?¡± he asks, confusion evident on his face.


    "Yes, I get my own fucking room," she squeals, her large breasts jiggling dramatically."It has a bed, a desk, and a large space for whatever else I may need. I am going to have so much sex in there." she declares.


    The captain sighs and shakes his head. His crew is filled with a bunch of idiots. A smile forms on his lips as he looks at his hard working sailors, many of them have smoking skin, a sign of strengthening their bodies to carry large crates with ease.


    ¡°Valen says he wants to go to the main continent, primarily to Gargantuan. You did explain to him that the orc blockade means we won¡¯t be able to use the river, right?¡± David asks, interrupting Jessica from her pen rubbing.


    "I did and he didn''t seem to mind. He just said to get him towards the continent, so I figured we go to the trading city Ezarik. It has a massive port, and is large enough to buy all of our cargo."


    Nodding slowly, David glares at the pen in her hand "Can you stop rubbing that thing. What the hell is it anyway?" he asks, slight anger present in his tone.


    "This?" she holds the pen in the air, clicking it passionately."It was a gift from Valen for taking care of Lin. It is such an amazing tool. similar to an ink and quill, but so much less messy and this notebook has some of the thinnest pieces of paper I have ever seen. He gave me a bunch." she exclaims, excitement present in her voice.


    David just sighs dramatically.¡±When can we head out?¡± he asks, looking towards his quartermaster, who is rubbing the notebook passionately to her face.


    "Even though we don''t have enchanted cold wood to keep our meat from spoiling, Valen filled our kitchen with a lot of supplies. Fruits, veggies, and other things I have never seen before. So, combined with our own rations, we should have more than enough. I think we can leave the port at noon tomorrow."


    David nods and turns towards the dock, walking back down from the ship, arms stretching to carry more cargo.


    _______________________________________________________________________


    A great many residents of sandstorm watch as the Wiseman leaves their port, it¡¯s sails spread and blowing to the tune of the wind.


    ¡°Grandfather, when did that ship come to shore?¡± Zeran asks, looking at the very old scorpion-kin, cracks spread throughout his body.


    "Sometimes," Zelorian starts, continuing to stare at the ship." you meet truly amazing people in your life and the best thing to do about that is just to take it in stride," the old scorpion answers, his claw holding a white nos between its pincers.


    Zeran just looks towards his grandfather, noticing the surprising happy mood. Nodding slowly, he turns back towards the ship, watching it leave his sight.


    __________________________________________________________________________


    Velan wakes up on the next day, his head immediately thinking he was on an aircraft carrier, but the wooden ceiling brings him back to reality. Looking around his large bed, he discovers that Lin has already left, the sun streaming into the room from the circular windows granting a clear sight of his room. Getting up, he releases his mana from every pore of his skin, engulfing him quickly and then with a thought, his sleeping wear is replaced with something more appropriate.


    The ability to change his clothing on the fly is probably the most practiced technique he ever had. Only instinct allowing him to do something so complicated.


    Walking out of his room, Valen heads towards the kitchen, hunger slowly growing with every step. When he finally enters the mess hall, half the crew is sitting on the tables, watching Lin as she stands on one. Her cute eyes turn to Valen, a cheeky smile embracing her lips. Without breaking eye contact, Lin starts to stomp on the table in rhythm. Her shoes making a thumping smile as she continues to stomp. Immediately the Dwarfs start to hammer the tables, syncing it to her stomps.


    "Pancakes, Pancakes, Pancakes," Lin starts to chant. As one, the dwarfs start chanting as well.


    Valen watches as over 20 dwarfs and a tigress child stare at him, chanting like a mad cult, slamming the tables with glee.


    Sighing loudly, Valen put his hand on his head, a smile gracing his lips."Alright!" he yells, the chanting stops as laughter ensues. Valen wanders towards the kitchen, hidden from the dwarves. He summons his pancake mix, and all of the other ingredients on the table."Lin, get in here, you¡¯re helping," he yells, as he prepares the mixtures.


    About a half hour later, the dwarfs are consuming pancakes, Lin moving back and forth from the cook station, her cute maid outfit flutters to her motions.


    The sight of hardened dwarfs eating colorful pancakes, while an adorable tigress child in a maid outfit serves food immediately stops Alfred in his tracks. Covered in sweat, and breathing hard, his mind attempting to make sense of the situation.


    "Oy, you lousy shits," He yells, mind finally moving forward," Orc ship has been sighted, man the stations!" he yells, the trained sailors immediately leave their food and run up towards the deck.


    Alfred turns towards Valen as he exits the kitchen, a kitten picture prevalent on his apron."We need you on deck as well," he says, immediately running after the sailors.


    ____________________________________________________________________________

 Chapter 16

    Valen runs up to the deck, the sailors already taking a position, awaiting their captain''s orders. On the railings, David holds a spyglass to his eye, aimed towards the sea. Walking towards the captain, Valen passes the first mate as he directs the sailors.


    ¡°So what have we got,¡± Valen asks, standing next to the captain.


    David takes down his spyglass and hands it to Valen. Valen promptly takes it and aims at the far speck in the distance.


    "As you can see, there is an orc ship currently attempting to board a Radanian trader," David explains.


    Valen merely nods as he looks at the two ships. The Radonian ship has both masts down with a great deal of damage to the hull. The orc ship, on the other hand, is possibly just as bad. The front of the ship looks very shoddy, as though they have taken damage and were forced to fix at sea. But that is not what attracts Valens attention. Their sails are burning, and some of the deck is on fire. Orcs are running to clear the flames while others are attempting to board the Radanian ship.


    "As you can see," David continues "the orc ship is in a pretty bad spot, but the Radanian''s are just as bad," David pauses, choosing his next words carefully." That orc ship¡­...is the same one that shot my own ship. I¡­..want to give those orcs a broadside." David explains, his fist''s clenched tightly.


    ¡°No,¡± Valen answers.


    David looks up, sighing lightly, understanding that such a stupid risk is not worth taking.


    "We are instead going to board them," Valen answers, interrupting the captain."Can your sailors fight?"


    "Errrr¡­..yes. all of them have been trained by Alfred." David nod''s, excitement reaching his eyes." I have never boarded before but should be simple enough. We can just come from the other side and attack the distracted orcs."


    "For a captain, you suck at physical combat," Valen answers, the captain taken aback from the insult."I was trained in the military, and military 101 teaches that if you''re going to attack, you do it loudly and unexpectedly.


    David looks to Valen, trying to understand what the heck the young man is talking about.


    "Get your sailors and cannons loaded. We are going to get nice and close to the orcs, and you are going to fire your cannons. But, you are going to fire one cannon in ten-second intervals. The loud noise, crashing sounds, and vibrations will disorient the orcs, making them much easier to deal with."


    David just looks to Valen, slowly understanding the plan. "We should aim towards the cannons," David exclaims "This would make sure that they do not fire back."


    "Wrong," Valen quips."We don''t want to damage the cannons. We are boarding to take them. What''s the point of boarding in the first place then?"


    A blush sprouts on David''s face, realizing that all he was thinking about was revenge."You¡¯re right," he says, calling his first mate over.


    ¡°Prepare the cannons, and prepare to board,¡± he tells Alfred, who just nods, running back towards his men.


    "Alright, captain. I am going to put on my armor," Valen says, taking his arms off the railings.


    "You''re going to fight?" David''s face scrunches up.


    "Of course. I may not look it, but I am quite strong," he answers, walking back down into the ship''s hold.


    David looks at Valens retreating form with both worry and deference.


    ________________________________________________________________________


    When Valen descends down to the ship''s hold, he finds Lin sitting with Diva, eating pancakes.


    "We are about to engage and board an orc ship," Immediately Diva gets up, nods, and heads towards her room. As she leaves, Valen turns to Lin, her mouth filled to the brim.


    ¡°Eat quickly and go to our room. I don¡¯t want you anywhere near the fighting.¡±


    This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it


    Swallowing quickly, Lin looks at Valen."Kick Ass," she answers in English, her tongue attempts to lick the cream that''s stuck on her nose.


    Valen just nods and heads towards his room, passing Diva, her sword firmly attached to her back.


    Entering his room, Valen releases his mana. With but a thought, his trademark black custom military armor forms on his body. With another thought, a black case forms on the bed. Slowly opening it up, two massive 500 nitro revolvers gaze back at him.


    _________________________________________________________________________


    Wang Shui spins his Guandao around his body with expert ease. The enchanted polearm glows with a blue light as it absorbs the water from the air, forming a sheen around the mithril blade. With a flick of his weapon and a twist of his hips, the liquid instantly freezes and flies off the blade, piercing the chest of an orc as he attempts to board the Radonian ship.


    Without breaking his motion, he sweeps forward, slashing a distracted orc from the side, absorbing the blood, and flicking his weapon towards another, the frozen blood ramming into his neck.


    But even with Wang Shui''s help, it is clear that the Radonians are quickly losing, as more and more orc''s are boarding the ship. Clicking his tongue, Wang Shui starts to feel the onset of mana exhaustion kicking in. His glowing blue eyes slowly start to dim, as the complicated mana strands that surround his taut muscles slowly deconstruct, his increased strength slowly going away.


    ¡°BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOMMMMMMM!!!!!!!¡±


    The sound of a cannon going off is heard in the distance, quickly followed by a rumbling deck and the orc ship spewing wood. Looking towards the direction of the sound, he finds a massive ship on the other side of the orc galley, its cannons aiming downward. Atop the Galleon, two figures jump off and land on the orc ship. One figure is an Amazon, her eyes are completely black as her horns glow red. A manic smile can be seen on her lips. The other figure, one covered in a menacing black metal, holding some silver objects in his hand, lands directly on top of an orc. The sheer weight forcing the orc to the ground, his insides crushed from the momentum.


    Immediately another cannon round slams into the orc ship; the deck rumbling again. As Wang regains his footing, he finds the black figure pulling up the silver objects in his hands. A loud flash and explosive sound emanate from them. Looking towards where he was aiming; he finds an Orc sailor, standing still in the air, his head completely missing from his body.


    Captivated is a word wang would describe himself, as he watches the figure aim and blast, orc''s dying with every shot. Another cannon blast goes off, rumbling the deck, orcs continuing to lose footing, panic evident in their ranks. Quickly regaining his own footing, wang looks for the armored figure, finding him standing gallantly, orc guts littered around him.


    A cannon round goes off again, but this time there is no striking of hull. The round slams into the black armored figure, striking him in the head, breaking his armor, and forcing him to fly back and slam into the burning orc mast, wood splitting from the impact.


    Immediately Wang''s ears are drowned out by more cannon rounds impacting the orc ships hull. Looking over once again, a small army of dwarfs jumps off the ship, their bodies smoking from untrained mana enhancement.


    ____________________________________________________________________________


    Valen exits the ship''s hold, his signature black armor glinting in the sunlight. Checking his holster, he finds that the two magnums are securely held at his hip. Finding the others looking over the railing, he treads towards them.


    "Are we almost ready?" Valen asks, his voice slightly muffled from the multi-sheet carbon fiber ballistic helmet on his head.


    Turning around, a variety of reaction is seen from Valen''s visor.


    David squeals with fright, slipping and falling on the floor, fear taking hold. Alfred is much more subdued, grabbing for his ax, only for it to slip from his grasp, impaling the floor. Jessica merely takes a stance, her battleaxe glowing violently on her shoulder. Diva just glances at Valen, nods approvingly, and then turns her head back towards the orc ship.


    "Valen, is that fucking you?" Jessica asks as Alfred rips out his ax from the floor.


    "I did say that I was going to put on some armor didn''t I?" Valen answers, a hidden cheeky smile on his lips.


    David slowly gets off the floor, a massive blush on his dwarven face can be seen as he glares at Valen."You look like your wearing the skin of a monster, not fucking armor," he answers, slowly regaining his breath.


    "It will be useful," Alfred says, his eyes tracing the lines of Valens armored suit."If even half the orcs have a reaction like our captains, then this battle will be over quickly."


    A burst of laughter from the surrounding dwarfs awakens Valen to the audience behind him. Attracted probably from the captains effeminent scream.


    ¡°Oy, you lousy shits,¡± David yells, glaring at the others,¡±get to your stations, we¡¯re almost there,¡± he points to the orc ship that they are slowly approaching.


    A few tense minutes later the ship is slowly getting into position. With thirty seconds to lose, Valen opens the channels of his mana. Mentally taking hold of his mana, he slowly feeds his muscles, their size growing by the second. Right before the point in which Valen would feel pain, he stops increasing the mana quantity, allowing for a sustained stream of energy to course through him, his skin smoking from inside his armor.


    Grabbing the two revolver''s, he finds that their weight is significantly more manageable with his stronger muscles. Turning towards Diva, he finds her black horns slowly turning red. At once, a field is released around her, encompassing her surrounding by over 10 feet. The whites of her eyes quickly turn pitch black like her irises. Before Valen can ask what she is doing, the first cannon sound goes off.


    Taking a deep breath, Valen jumps off the ship, accidentally landing on a confused orc, crushing him to the deck.


    Standing back up, Valen looks at his surroundings, the orcs quickly noticing him. Bringing his arm up, Valen takes aim at an approaching sailor and pulls the trigger. The gun slams slightly back, his stronger muscles taking the recoil with ease. The bullet travels through the barrel, eviscerating an orcs head.


    Valen continues to take down the enemy in bloody explosive ways. The deck around him starts to quickly fill with the dismembered remains of those that dare oppose him.


    Looking towards the other side of the deck, he watches, mesmerized as Diva dances her way through the orcs ranks. Eight orc¡¯s surround her, but she dodges every strike with but a hairs length. Her sword dances menacingly through the air, cutting bone and flesh with utmost precision.


    Distracted by the dance of death, Valen does not notice an orc gunner turn a cannon towards him. As soon as the cannon takes aim, a loud explosion goes off, striking Valen in the head, ripping a chunk of his armor off, and denting his helmet. The momentum carries him back into the orc''s mast; cracking and splintering the wood.


    Before Valen loses consciousness, he hears more cannon shots go off, and then immediately the war cries of the dwarfs can be heard as they jump into the fray.


    ____________________________________________________________________________


    Kang quickly finishes off the last invading orc, the Radonian ship finally free of invaders. Breathing hard, brow covered in sweat, Kang looks towards the orc ship. Immediately a loud cheer goes off as he looks towards the back of the ship. The Amazon holds the bloody head of the orc captain by his tusks. Her other hand holds a sword dented and covered in blood, but she alone has not a speck on her.

 Chapter 17

    Valen slowly opens his eyes, the sharp light making him groan in pain.


    "Valy!!!" Lin yells, immediately running to him; her little fingers grabbing his hand. Opening one eye, he looks to the side of the bed, a teary Lin peers back at him.


    ¡°I¡­.¡± Lin starts, hiccuping hard¡±thought I lost you,¡± she says, tears pouring from her eyes. ¡°You are the only one I have left!¡± she yells, jumping on the bed with him. Her small arms hugging his head.


    Valen lifts up a sore arm and puts it around her back, attempting to calm the scared kitten, only for Lin to cry harder, her grip tightening painfully over his bandaged head.


    ¡°Lin, my head hurts really bad, can you please let go?¡± Valen asks.


    ¡°NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO,¡± Lin screams, tightening her hold on him.


    Before Valen can release a cry of pain, David enters his room."Oy, Lin you''re causing more pain to Valen," Lin immediately let''s go, her teary eyes turning towards the door.


    ¡°Took you awhile to wake up Valen. With the hit you took to the head, we couldn¡¯t risk giving you a health potion, not if we want to risk permanent damage,¡± David answers, as he takes a potion from his pocket and opens it up.


    ¡°Here little lady,¡± David gestures to Lin,¡±This will heal up your Valen back to full health,¡± he smiles.


    Lin quickly jumps off the bed and grabs the vial, running back towards Valen."Drink, drink," she says as she shoves the vial into Valen''s mouth. The liquid flows quickly, some of which flows out of his mouth considering Lin''s handling.


    David just smiles, looking at the coughing Valen as he glares at Lin.¡±The potion should get you back to perfect shape within the hour.¡± he exclaims. In the meantime, I can answer what questions you have,¡± David remarks, taking a seat on a chair.


    Taking a deep breath, and making sure his lungs are clear, Valen turn his head towards David.¡±So what the hell happened. I was pretty sure that no orcs got anywhere near me.¡± Valen answers, the battle blurry in his mind.


    "Well, you took a cannon shot to the face," he answers," and somehow that armor saved your life," David points towards the desk, his clothing and armor neatly placed atop.


    The helmet has a massive gash on its side. The projectile was not a direct hit, merely skimming through the side of his face, ripping metal and carbon fiber with ease.


    "Fucking cannon''s," Valen answers, annoyed that he was taken out so easily."What about the battle? Any casualties? I am guessing we won."


    David nods, a smile forming on his face."You single handedly broke the morale of the orcs," David starts "Apparently those silver weapon of yours caused a lot of fear, especially when when you painted the ship in their guts. When we saw that you had been hit, we fired our entire load and jumped in to support you. Some of my sailors had a few bruises, but nobody lost their life. Those orcs were much too disorganized and confused to put up much of a fight."


    Valen moves his body, Lin''s weight slightly uncomfortable."So I at least broke their will to fight," he nods.


    "Not just you," David quickly interrupts, "you scared the living daylights out of them. Your bodyguard, on the other hand, brutalized the orc captain''s body and then sliced his head off. Now that is when the orcs found themselves completely fucked." he answers, reminiscing of the fight.


    A ambivalent smile crosses Valen''s face. The realization that he really isn''t the big shot he thought he was is greatly upsetting. This would be the second time he felt so weak. The first time being when he watched Garren fight,¡± And what of the Radonian''s?"


    A sad smile crosses David''s face."Most of them were killed. Only nine of them survived. The captain and first mate were apparently killed before the boarding. The captain by a lucky cannon hit, while the first mate was crushed by the mast."


    "We recovered 29 former slaves in the hold of the orc ship. So we have 38 more people aboard the ship, helping out until we get to a city port."


    Before David can explain more, a Radonian man enters the room. His large flowing robes swishing with each step. Valen looks to the new arrival, primarily focusing on his face. Blue eyes, gills on the side of his face, and long red hair that is braided and tied around his neck.


    "I see our hero has awoken," the man starts, his clear, slightly blue-tinted skin standing out just as much as his pearly white teeth.


    ¡°This one is known asGang Shui,¡± he exclaims, bowing his body slightly forward. ¡°I sincerely thank you for rescuing us from the orc slavers.¡±


    ¡°Um¡­..you''re welcome,¡± Valen answers awkwardly from his bed.


    "Gang here was a bodyguard to the Radonian captain. Unfortunately, that captain was the first to die in the exchange. He has been very helpful in organizing the Radonian''s and integrating them with our ship." David explain.


    "Your ship is extremely impressive by the way,"Gang interrupts looking to Valen."No enchants or runes can be found anywhere. Where did you get such glorious construction?" he asks, hands moving slowly on the wooden doorway.


    ¡°People have their secrets, but I may share them when I feel better,¡± Valen answers.


    "Yes, let''s let them sleep," David says, his arm extending to Valen and Lin.


    Valen looks down towards his chest, a cute dry teared Lin sleeps peacefully. Her tail flicks back and forth while her chest slowly expands.


    "She hasn''t slept all night," David answers as he heads towards the door."You have something special there. Don''t let the poor girl live her life alone." David slowly shuts the door behind him.


    Valen takes one last look at the sleeping Lin and then closes his eyes. Sleep coming quickly to him, his arm holding Lin securely to his chest.


    _________________________________________________________________________


    Valen slowly tucks Lin in, her relaxed breathing putting a smile on his face. Looking towards the porthole, he finds the sun slowly setting, but his relaxed muscles and energized form do not allow him any further rest. Looking towards the desk, Valen makes his armor disappear, regretting that he only prepared one extra set.


    Opening the door, Valen exits his room and takes one last look at Lin before heading towards the mess hall.


    "And he stood there, black armor shining in the sunlight. Holding silver cannons in his hands, blasting orcs left and right," Jessica mimics, as she retells Valen''s story to the new crew members."Each strike dismembering with explosive force. Eventually, they stop coming, fear evident on their ugly faces."You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.


    "Jessica, your quite good at telling a story," Valen interrupts, looking hale and healthy.


    "And the hero arrives," Jessica points towards Valen, her storytelling voice still on display."Not even a cannon round to the face can keep this fucker down," she exclaims, the crowd cheering with delight.


    Valen just blushes at the crowd''s revelry. Looking at the mess hall, he finds a great assortment of different species. Elf''s of various looks, Wolf-kin''s, Radonian''s, and others that he hasn''t even seen before.


    Looking towards the back, Valen observe''s Jeeves; hunched over Valen''s two revolvers. Nodding and waving at the crowd, he heads towards the carpenter.


    ¡°I see you were able to recover my revolvers,¡± Valen exclaims, as he takes the seat opposite the dwarf.


    Looking up, Jeeves find''s Valen looking towards him."Sorry lad, but when I heard of that display you did, I couldn''t help but look into these weapons," he gestures to the two revolvers.


    "The craftsmanship is impeccable," Jeeves adds, astonishment in his voice. "The metal is so smooth and strong, and I can''t even figure out where to even put a magic crystal." Jeeves answers, opening up the gun from the side, two bullets resting inside the cylinder."


    "That''s because it doesn''t use any mana to operate," Valen answers, smiling at the confused dwarf.


    ¡°Clearly the ammo,¡± he picks up a bullet from the cylinder,¡± needs mana to blast the projectile out.¡±


    Valen just laughs at the dwarf''s ignorance."Tell me, do you know about alchemists and potion makers?"


    "Of course, they are able to make poisons and ailments, though the best are mana infused," Jeeves explains.


    ¡°When they make these potion¡¯s, do they ever explode?¡± Valen asks, a knowing smile on his face.


    "Of course, some things react quite violently," the dwarf nods, remembering his mother as she works with volatile materials.


    "So what if you use the explosion of those materials in your cannons instead of a mana explosion," Valen hints, his arms folding over his chest.


    "Well, that¡­..that¡­.is brilliant!" Jeeves yells, his mind working viciously over the possibilities."Valen, please let me keep one of these. I must show my mother," he says quickly, eyes still wide.


    "I can''t give you those since they are my only pair, but I have a smaller revolver that you can keep," Valen smiles, the dwarf''s expression giddy with anticipation.


    Before the conversation can continue, Kang interrupts the two, his regal robes and majestic movements complementing one another.¡±It seems you have fully recovered hero,¡± Kang interrupts, a respectful smile on his face.


    ¡°Valen Vorstof,¡± Valen answers as he puts out his hand.


    Nodding, Kang takes Valen¡¯s hand. Strong soft hands shake Valens, enthusiasm felt with every movement.


    "The way you jumped off that ship and started wiping out the orcs with such ease was absolutely amazing," Kang exclaims, his blue eyes looking at Valen with reverence.


    ¡°Um¡­.thanks..,¡± Valen forces, hero worship quite uncomfortable to him.


    "So you were a bodyguard?" changing the subject.


    "Ah yes, I was to protect the captain and the crew. Normally, this would involve when the ship is docked, but everyone fights when being boarded," he answers, a slight frown on his lips as he remembers the deaths of the ship''s crew.


    "I do not know much about the Radonian''s. can you explain your people to me?" Valen asks, trying to cheer up the man.


    A patriotic smile crosses his lips as he remembers his home country."Few have never heard of us, but we are well known for our usage of water manipulation magic and shipbuilding. We, as you can see from my gills, are able to breathe underwater. This allows us to live both on land and off it. My home, the Radonian kingdom, is a beautiful nest of islands. Some would consider us as having our own continent."


    ¡°How can islands be considered continents,¡± Valen asks, confused that his common may be wrong.


    "The water between all of our islands is actually quite shallow. The deepest they can get is only a couple hundred meters. Most of our ships are built from the underwater trees that sprout from the bottom, sometimes reaching above water in height."


    Valen nods, the idea of trees extending for hundreds of meters from the water would be an astounding sight.


    Remembering that the war with the orcs is causing a blockade, Valen looks towards Gang.¡±Can you tell me about this war between your people and the orc¡¯s?¡± Valen asks.


    Gang''s face takes on a solemn look, as he looks away from Valen."My country has had many problems with those slaver''s, mostly because of their reproductive practices. Orcs are naturally warlike, but their ability to reproduce is very slow. Their females are very infertile, sometimes taking many years to become pregnant. But if an orc impregnates another species, then an orc child will be born. They¡­..,"Gang gulps, his face turning red with anger,"use women as birthing cattle to keep up their numbers," he forces out, taking a deep breath to calm himself.


    "What was the turning point that finally started the war," Jeeves answers across the table, completely ignorant of Gang''s current dilemma.


    Gang immediately bites his lips, looking towards the dwarf with anger."Princess Lihwa Ning was captured by orc slaver''s while she was aboard a Radonian trading ship," he seethes, glaring at the dwarf.


    GivingGang no mind, Jeeves continues to prod the revolvers.¡±What was she doing on a trading vessel?¡± he asks.


    Gang¡¯s anger is quickly subdued as he sits down at the table, eyes unfocused. ¡°Linwa¡­.did not want to be forced by her father into a political marriage. So she ran away from home.¡±


    Jeeves finally looks up, a sad smile crosses his face.¡±I am sorry,¡± he says, looking towards the Radonian.


    ¡°You and your country have nothing to do with this,¡±Gang answers.


    ¡°The dwarf¡¯s should have joined your kind in this war against the orc¡¯s.¡± Jeeves shakes his head, a sad look forming on his face.¡±Those shit¡¯s at the stronghold would rather sit on their dishonorable asses instead of helping the one trading partner that has actually treated them with respect,¡± he seethes.¡±I hope that your country will be able to fend off the orcs fleet.¡±


    Gang looks up, a respectable smile on his face."Do not worry. King Wang Ning is captaining the StormMaker. Numbers alone will not be enough for the orcs to win the war.


    Jeeves immediately beefs up, the idea of an elite class ship taking ahold of his concentration." Is that the Mithril armored ship using a water dragon core as its mana engine?" Jeeves asks.


    Gang nods, talking about the positives of his country brightening his mood.¡±The same one. It is a pride of the Radonian navy.¡±


    "We dwarves have five ships of the class, but none of them with nearly as good as a dragon engine," he answers, a pout lining his face


    "Well, it''s a good thing that pirates don''t have such powerful ships, right?" Valen adds, wanting to add to the conversation.


    The dwarf and Radonian¡¯s just look at Valen, confused expression on their face.¡±Lad,¡± Jeeves starts,¡±I am always surprised by how ignorant you are of the world.¡±


    "So I am guessing that there are actually pirates that have such ships," Valen adds, a blushing smile on his face.


    Sighing politely,Gang turns to Valen" A few pirates do have such ships, but only three are actually noteworthy." he answers, holding up a finger;"Valentine, dwarf captain of the Corsair," a second finger goes up," Pirate Queen Celina, Radonian captain of the Lykourgos," a third finger rises," and probably the most hated, Ashcheul, dark elf captain of the Galassana."


    Valen merely stares at the two, confusion emanating from his mind.


    Before he can make a bigger ignorant fool of himself, Alfred shows up, placing his hand on Valen''s shoulder."I heard ye was finally up. It be amazing, what yi ded against dem orc scum," he hiccups, the smell of alcohol coming from his mouth.


    "Alright, you shits," Jessica screams across the room."Storytime is fucking over, so I am going to go make some fucking noise," she yells, grabbing a Radonian woman''s butt, eliciting a cute squeal in response. Immediately Jessica starts walking towards her room, a blushing Radonian women following behind.


    "Dis world be fucking unfair," Alfred slurs, watching the two leave the hall,"Why is it that the only female dwarf sailor on this ship is getting more pussy than the guys," he whines, barely able to stand upright.


    ¡°Well then,¡± Valen quickly says,¡±I will be returning to my room as well.¡±


    Valen stands up, waving quickly at the others, he heads back towards his room.


    ___________________________________________________________________________


    As Valen is about to enter his room, he finds Diva, her arms folded, back against the wall.


    "Valen, come to my room," she says, her trademark neutral expression on her face once more.


    Valen nods, sweat starting to form across his face. Immediately she starts to walk toward her room, Valen following, his eyes locked on her supple behind. The tight clothing she wears gives little to the imagination.


    As they enter her room, Diva closes the door behind him, and then walks to her bed. She sits down, her toned legs folded over one another.


    ¡°First, I would like to apologize for allowing you to sustain such damage,¡± she starts, her face holding a neutral expression.¡±It was my job to protect you, and I have failed.¡±


    "Errr¡­..nonsense" Valen says, eyes trying to look at her face" I was being cocky and did not think that anything could harm me," he explains.


    "I have only recently begun my pilgrimage," she starts, her face reddening with shame,"So you are the first person that I have ever needed to guard. I went after the orc captain in that last fight, figuring that he would be the only one that can harm you. My ignorance almost cost you your life. To better do my job, I will need you to explain to me what all of your capabilities are," she says, looking at Valen expectantly.


    Sighing from the change in mood, Valen takes a seat on a chair.¡±I need you to keep my capabilities secret.¡± Putting out his hand, Valen calls upon his mana and quickly summons and unsummons items.¡±I have the ability to store and summon various items. The size is not important, but it does take much longer the further it is from me.¡± he explains, his mana dissipating as he lets it go.


    ¡°You summoned this ship,¡± Diva¡¯s answers, her eyes wide with realization.


    Valen nods slowly."Diva, I understand that your weapon was damaged beyond repair yesterday," he starts, getting her attention."I have many weapons available that I can give you."


    She glares at him, the thought of charity angering her.


    "It is only right, as your employer, to make sure his guard is properly armed," he quickly adds, lightening Diva''s mood."


    Diva merely nods, understanding the situation.


    Smiling, Valen summons the rune crafted orc sword from his inventory and hands it to her.


    Slowly she feels the metal and does a test swing. She turns to Valen, a frown on her succulent lips."This sword is a pathetic excuse of a blade," she denounces, her anger increasing as she tests the blade." The weight is off. It is needlessly heavy and these runes are pathetic," she quickly answers..


    ¡°Well then¡­..what kind of weapon would you prefer?¡± he asks the Amazon, who quickly brightens from the question.


    ¡°We amazon¡¯s are trained to fight with every available weapon possible. I personally prefer something with good range. It would need to be very sharp, as well as sturdy,¡± She exclaims, a smile on her lips.


    Smiling back, Valen slowly starts to unravel Diva¡¯s personality, just as well as her quirks.¡±Well then, let me show you something that may very well fit that description.¡±


    Valen stands up and walks towards the desk, summoning a long box on top of it. He then slowly removes the lid and takes out a sheathed katana.


    Carefully carrying the sword to Diva, Valen admires the exquisite craftsmanship on the wooden sheath and blade handle. Handing it to her, she takes the sword in her hands. Slowly, she unsheathes the sword, its blade glinting fiercely in the firelight.


    "That is known as a katana, one of the hardest swords ever known." Valen answers, watching as she slowly moves her fingers across the blade."That specific sword is unique in the sense that it was tempered into Bainite. So it is very unlikely that even a scratch will mar its surface."


    Diva runs her finger over the blade, holding it gently as though a child."What do these markings say," she asks, moving over the swords engravings. Taking a look inside the box, Valen finds a paper in English."Eviscerate The Heaven''s, For Nothing Dares Oppose You," Valen translates in common.


    Noticing that Diva is going to stroke the sword all night, Valen leaves her room, slightly disappointed, but still somewhat satisfied." You can be pretty cute," he whispers, heading towards his own room.

 Chapter 18

    KingWang Ning stands aboard his massive warship, as his regal colorful robe flutters in the wind. His piercing gaze stands firm as he scowls at the approaching orc ships.


    A good twenty orc Galley¡¯s head towards his small fleet of eight ships.


    His massive arms tighten firmly around his chest as barely controlled fury emanates from his tense form.


    ¡°Control yourself, Wang,¡± his trusted advisor and friend voices from his side.


    Turning his head right,Wang looks at Chao Jun, a small man of no noble birth, but a tactical mind that would easily make heads spin.


    ¡°Chao,I lost my wife three years ago,¡±Wang starts, looking towards his good friend,¡± and now I may very well lose my only child,¡± his fury and sorrow ever present in his towering girth.


    ¡°Lihwa may very well be alive, so you must think carefully with every decision if we are to have any hope of regaining her,¡± Chao advises his king.


    Wang slowly nods and takes a deep breath, the cold morning air helping him soothe his sorrow and muffle his fury.


    ¡°Lei Kung,¡± Wang calls as he turns his head back to the orc ships.


    ¡°Yes, my king!¡± Lei answers from a kneeling position behind his king.


    ¡°Order the other ships to slow their speed, I will be taking the Stormmaker into battle,¡±Wang answers without turning around.


    ¡°Your will, be done,¡± Lay exclaims as he stands up, strikes his chest, and leaves to send orders.


    ¡°I will wait inside,¡± Chao mimics the salute, walking towards the inside of the Stormmaker.


    Within a few minutes, the ships tailing Wang¡¯s start to slow down.


    Noticing that preparations have been made,Wang starts to release his mana. It flows throughout his body and quickly exits the gills on the side of his neck.


    His mana travels down his body and strikes the enchanted mithril hull of his ship. A connection forms between him and the mana engine within the bowels of the Stormmaker.


    With a directed thought from Wang, the engine releases a stream of mana into the mithril plating of the ship.


    Immediately the mithril starts to resonate with his mana as the ship hull activates, glowing mana lines become visible. The ship lurches forward as the waves around it beckon to wangs call. Twenty, thirty, fifty, the speed of the ship increases, the other ships quickly lagging behind as he alone rushes to engage the enemy fleet.


    Wind blowing powerfully, but Wangs feet are firmly frozen to the deck of the ship with a bit of water. The orc ships are almost in range aswang spreads his arms apart, mana answering his call.


    ¡°I am KingWang Ning!¡± He yells, mana bursting out of the ships hull, spreading wildly into the air and sea.


    ¡±You have taken my daughter!¡± He continues to yell, clouds starting to form in the air,


    ¡±My pride and joy!¡± the waves start moving quickly, the clouds blocking the sun as they quickly turn gray


    ¡°I will have her back!¡± he yells over the sound of thunder crashing into the waves.


    ¡°EVEN IF I MUST WIPE OUT A CONTINENT TO DO SO,¡± he roars, a pulse of mana emits from his ship, causing the water to spin in the distance. A thousand meters around the Stormmaker, twelve hurricanes start to form.


    Witnessing a force of nature never before seen, the orc ships quickly attempt to flee, but they are much too late.


    The twelve hurricanes start to orbit the Stormmaker, their sheer combined size forming into a massive storm of twisting water that finally reaches the orc ships.


    The orc ships are quickly engulfed, the sheer pressure and size of the storm ripping their hulls to pieces with utter ease and devastation.


    Only the Stormmaker remains safe asWang manipulates the eye of the storm.


    _____________________________________________________________________


    The city of Geral stands firm as it overlooks the eastern mountains of Geralyn. It''s powerful stone walls and majestic carvings hold a great deal of history. The city initially built to protect from roving goblins, now houses the most influential beastkin in Geralyn.


    Within its walls is an assortment of homes built for almost all sizes of beast-kin, both centaur and snake alike. In the center of such an ancient city resides a building whose masonry is as old as the walls itself. This is where the council of Geralyn lies. And today, the council is meeting inside.


    Garren sits at a massive circular table. His elbow is plopped on the table as his hand supports his head. A bored expression can be seen on his face as he looks at the other council members.


    Over 40 of them sit patiently waiting for the speaker to show his presence, so the council may start. ¡°27,¡± Garren mumbles as he counts the number tiger-kin that are on the council. Two more than the last time he was here.


    Annoyed with the wait, he turns his head towards Darius, the only Panther-kin in attendance.¡±So what was the reason that Saleve couldn''t make it to the council again?¡± Garren asks, boredom making him frustrated.


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    Darius sighs as he looks towards his good friend,¡± Well¡­¡­.all she left me was a freaking message saying that she needs to train our daughters to hunt down a mate,¡± he answers, annoyed with the constant questions from Garren.


    Before Darius can lose his mind, the speaker finally enters the council chambers.


    White is a good way to describe the speaker as an aged white furred bear-kin slowly walks towards the council. Hunched and using a log to help him walk, he slowly finds his way to the head of the council circle.


    ¡°Apologies,¡± he says as he sits down on an old chair.¡± When you get close to three hundred in age, everything then starts taking much longer,¡± he says, his voice still strong even with such age.


    ¡°For those of you new to the council, my name is Voli and I am the speaker that organizes these meetings.¡± He nods towards the new members.


    ¡°So without further ado, I will explain why I have called you in for this meeting,¡± Vali points at Garren,¡± Garren here is the current leader of the town Brentanol, whose location is close to the forbidden forest and,¡± he pauses looking towards the members,¡± the location of an underground tunnel through the mountains to the ocean.¡±


    Gasps can be heard from the uninformed members of the council.


    ¡°So we have a way to reach the water?¡± A council member asks.


    ¡°Is it safe?¡± another asks.


    Quickly all of the members start to yell and bicker over what to do with that information.


    ¡°Silence!¡± Voli yells, his powerful Mana infused voice resonate with the stone walls, forcing all into silence. Nodding slowly, Voli turns towards Garren,¡± Garren here will explain the situation.


    Clearing his voice, Garren turns to the council members.¡±About three months ago, orc slavers were found hunting in Geralyn.¡±


    The crowd of council members nods, already having been notified of the orc presence.


    ¡°We found out from the recovered villagers that the orcs got here through an underground tunnel built into the mountain. We eventually found it but the inside is massive. Currently, I have my guards around the entrance in case any more orcs come through, but so far there have been none,¡± Garren explains, stopping momentarily so that the council members can digest his words.


    ¡°The fact that there is a way to travel from the sea to Geralyn without having to pass through the desert is both extremely useful and dangerous for us,¡± Garren says as he folds his arm across his chest.


    ¡°The decision to destroy this passage or utilize it is something that the council as a whole needs to decide.¡±


    The other council members nod towards the bear-kin over his good judgment and respect towards the council.


    Voli merely smiles knowingly at the clear political game Belinda is playing at. Garren is much too blunt to have even thought of the political problems he would face over such a decision.


    Voli turns towards the council members as they whisper to each other, not that it would help considering the impeccable hearing of many of the species here.


    ¡°With the possibility of an orc army located on the other side of the mountain, we must, unfortunately, make a decision today,¡± the whispering quickly dies down as all eyes turn to Voli,¡± please voice your stance and reasons out loud,¡± he says as he leans back in his chair.


    Immediately a bunnykin rises up from her seat ¡° I voice that we destroy the passage. We are safe only because of how difficult it is for the other species to find us,¡± she says, quickly taking a seat.


    A bearkin of black fur rises up from his seating position as the bunny sits back down.¡±I agree, it is too much of a risk to take all for easier trade,¡± he exclaims in a deep voice, again taking his seat.


    Beast-kin rise and fall as they voice their opinion one by one.


    Finally, it becomes Garren''s turn. Getting up from his seat, the sheer size of his girth squeaking the poor chair, he looks towards the council members.¡±I believe that this is an opportunity worth taking,¡± he starts as he looks to the crowd.¡± we have been isolated in our forest for too long. We have the opportunity to open trade and rise above just this forest. We can-,¡±


    ¡°Oh please, you have the most to gain from this opportunity. Your town is the closest to it,¡± a snake-kin speaks out.


    ¡°Why does he profit most from this?¡± another yells.


    ¡°We need to destroy it.¡±


    ¡°We can build a port.¡±


    The council erupts quickly into anarchy as once again the members of the council starts to raise their voices.


    As they yell, one member who has been silent for all this time slowly gets up from his seat.


    ¡°Grendel died because of us!¡± He yells, looking towards the council members.


    Immediately their is silence as they look towards the voice.


    Taking a deep breath, he continues to yell.¡±Grendel lost his life against those goblins because we could not prepare him properly. The same person who has kept us safe for over twenty years was forced to give up his life for this council. We currently have the opportunity to change all of that. Do we really want our children to continue to fight these goblins with stick and stones,¡± he pauses as he looks to the expressions on the other council members. ¡°We have the opportunity to arm our children with dwarven steel and elf magic.¡±


    The council is dead silent as their expressions change from outright hostility to ashamed.


    ¡°I am General Wukong and I will not allow our children and friends to die needlessly!¡± Wukong yells as his eyes bore into the other council members.


    Silence descends upon the council as Garren stares at Wukong with both confusion and gratitude.


    ¡°Please sit,¡± Voli says breaking the silence.


    Immediately the assembly sits back onto their seats, ignoring the crackling sound emanating through the hall.


    ¡°It is time for a vote,¡± Voli starts once everyone is seated and comfortable.¡± Please put a hand in the air if you believe it would be best to permanently block off the tunnel,¡±


    Immediately 14 hands reach for the air, a majority of the non-violent species having decided that dealing with an outside force may put them in a dangerous position.


    ¡°It seems that we will be clearing and utilizing the tunnel through the mountain,¡± says as he smiles at all the council members.¡± We will send general Wukong and his troops to assist Garren in taking over the passageway and clearing any orc troops in the vicinity.¡±


    Voli looks around for any complaints or better idea¡¯s. Finding none, he slowly stands up using the help of his log.¡±This council is over and you may all leave.¡±


    The council members stand up to leave but Voli quickly singles out Garren.¡±Garren!,¡± he yells at Garren as he attempts to quickly retreat.¡±That chair is very expensive, do make sure to bring a replacement next time you come here,¡± Vali exclaims with a smile as he stares at the blushing bear-kin as he slowly wipes some wood chips off his behind.


    ___________________________________________________________________________


    The free city of Karander sits squarely at the southeast area of the main continent. With imposing walls and a massive variety in species, they have become a big shipping and trading spot for a variety of traders..except orcs.


    The residents of the city comprise of former slaves or their children. It is well known that if slaves of an orc ship rebel and kill their owners, then their next stop will almost always be Karander.


    Such freedom comes with quite a high military cost, such as massive expensive dwarven cannons which are placed upon stands aiming towards the ocean. Such cannons require a great deal of caretaking and are quite expensive to fire.


    Though all of the port buildings are made of wood, there is a single building made of hardened stone that faces the ocean. This building is the guard tower, where the captain of the guard works.


    ¡°Captain,¡± a hardened dwarf guard runs into a room on the top floor of the tower, his beard swishing with every step.


    Adalwolf looks away from his desk where a large stack of documents awaits his signature.


    ¡°Possible orc sighting on the ocean,¡± his lieutenant answers, sweat pouring down his brow.


    Adalwolf looks outside the window of his office, staring towards the sea. A powerful fog covers the distance where the light of an enormous ship can be seen. Only the orcs are willing and stupid enough to use such massive slow ships.


    His mind quickly thinks about his own past. A strong wolf-kin mercenary leader from the northwestern side of the continent was captured and put to use as a rower.


    During a heavy storm, he was able to free himself from his shackles and kill off the guards, quickly retaking the ship. With the help of the other slaves, he was able to make port in Karander, where he is currently the captain of the entire port defense.


    ¡°Wake up all of the guards and make sure the cannons are ready to fire. They may very well be slaves looking for safety, but I want everyone ready if not,¡± he orders the dwarf lieutenant.


    With a quick nod, the dwarf runs to relay his orders. Adalwolf looks back towards the sea, attempting to force down the memory of his mate...and her gruesome death.


    Taking a deep breath, Adalwolf walks down the stairs to join his guards as they prepare to meet the ship with possible hostility.


    A few minutes later, he finds himself at the port, a scimitar resting at his hip as his strong digitigrade legs stand firmly on the wooden platform.


    Looking around, his guards stand ready, weapons in hand as they fly the Kalander cape colors.


    ¡°Here it comes,¡± a dwarf yells as eyes turn towards the approaching ship as it parts the fog.


    Massive! Is a word Adalwolf would describe the ship, clearly made to be more vertical in size than long like an orc galley. Taking a long look, Adalwolf slowly starts to relax as he notices the exquisite details of the ships hull, something the orcs would never waste much time on.


    Slowly the ship starts to make port as a short bearded dwarf stands upon the deck, looking down towards him and his guards.


    ¡°I am David, captain of the swi-Wiseman and I request authority to dock,¡± the dwarf yells loudly.


    ¡°David?¡± His lieutenants blurt out from his side.¡± Wasn''t he the captain of the Swiftsail? It¡¯s not even a month since he last made port?¡± He says, looking towards the ship.


    ¡°It seems David has an interesting tale to tell,¡± Adalwolf comments as he nods towards the dock workers to help with docking.¡± Let''s go introduce ourselves to such a large ship captain,¡± he exclaims as he strides towards the dock, his soldiers still at the ready.


    _______________________________________

 Chapter 19

    Valen stands upon the deck of the Wiseman, his arms resting on the railing, Lin and Diva stand beside him. His eyes are focused as he takes a long look at the city port.


    ¡°I was expecting more magic,¡± Valen says out loud, gazing at the vast amount of wooden ships docked at the port, their size easily dwarfed by the Wiseman.


    ¡°Then it''s good your going to the academy at Gargantuan,¡± David interrupts from behind.


    Turning around, Valen finds himself with the captain of his ship, David Shadowsail, a dwarf with a short beard, but a great mind for sailing.


    ¡°David, we were about to disembark, did you need me for something?¡± Valen asks the dwarf.


    ¡°Aye lad, you need to get yourself settled with the traders guild. This ship needs to be documented and our deal needs to be put into writing,¡± David remarks, a sour expression on his face.


    ¡°Ughhhhh,¡± Valen moans


    ¡°I know lad, I don''t like filling out paperwork either, especially guild paperwork. I still remember the horrible cramps in my hands when I finished,¡± David answers as he massages the wrist on his arm.


    ¡°But¡­..I really wanted to explore. You have no idea how much I wanted to just look around this city.¡± Valen whines, his excitement dulled. ¡±Can''t we do this later?¡± Valen hopes.


    ¡°Unfortunately, no. If we are to be able to export our current goods, then we are going to need the paperwork finished as soon as possible,¡± the dwarf answers knowingly.


    ¡°Plus, what''s the point of going around the city without money,¡± the dwarf exclaims ¡°you stand to make a mighty profit from the goods we can sell from our ship.¡±


    ¡°Fine,¡± Valen says, throwing up his arms in exasperation.


    Turning to the others of his group ¡°What will you two be do-.¡±


    ¡°Adventure!¡± Lin yells, pumping her fist in the air.


    ¡°I will¡­..um¡­¡­. protect her from harm,¡± Diva says, her eyes distracted by the city, curiosity prevalent on her face.


    Valen just looks at the Amazonian critically. The black leather bodysuit and puma shoes Valen gave her highlight her muscular figure adamantly, only the Katana on her hip and the two horns on her head would keep people away.


    ¡°Alright fine,¡± Valen says, reaching into his coat pocket. With a bit of will, he forms the bag of coins that he got from Garren in his hand. Taking it out, he hands the bag to Lin, her little hands grabbing the bag curiously.¡± Buy yourselves what interests you,¡± Valen exclaims.


    Smiling, Lin grabs Diva¡¯s hand and drags the Amazonian off the ship.


    Valen and David just stare at the retreating forms of the two, an indiscernible expression permeates Valen''s gaze.


    ¡°This is probably a horrible idea,¡± Valen answers, his eyes turning to David.


    Grunting in acknowledgment, David turns to Valen.¡±I agree, Amazonians are dangerous, you probably should not leave her with Lin.¡±


    ¡°Oh no, Diva isn¡¯t the problem,¡± Valen quickly interrupts,¡±She is actually a very simple girl. Very ignorant of the outside world, but extremely loyal and quite trustworthy. The time I spent with her on the ship helped alleviate my fears quite substantially of having her as a bodyguard,¡± Valen explains.¡±Its actually Lin causing a problem in the city that I am worried about.¡±


    David lifts an eyebrow, thinking about how a little girl could cause any notable problem at all.


    Valen just chuckles,¡±Come, let''s go fill out whatever paperwork we need to do,¡± Valen starts walking towards the platform to exit the ship, ¡±In the meantime let me tell you a story of how Lin cajoled the children of an entire village to attack my mentor.¡±


    Nodding with interest, David follows Valen as he walks down the plank of the ship.


    _________________________________________________________________________


    Diva and Lin, two girls of different ages, walk through their first city with interest, excitement, and ignorance. Their stride thoughtful and distracted as they leave the dock. Lin runs leisurely as she looks at the various stalls that dot the marketplace. Her frilly high-quality dress attracting a great deal of attention, while Diva¡¯s leather bodysuit attracts a different kind of attention. Her curves and well-muscled body leave quite little to the imagination of the leering men, with only her Amazonian red skin and horns keeping all away from approaching¡­¡­.mostly.


    ¡°Hellooooo,¡± An elder lady calls from her stall, waving at the two.


    Looking to Lin, Diva just nods as they approach the elderly woman''s stall.


    ¡°I have been a stall owner for over forty years and I have never seen such clothing as magnificent as both of yours. Why that dress of yours is just so adorable,¡± she coos, looking towards Lin.¡± and you Amazonian,¡± her attention quickly swerves,¡± have one of the most attractive leathers I have ever seen. You probably don''t realize this, but you are attracting a great deal of attention from the opposite sex,¡± she exclaims, pointing behind Diva.


    Turning around, Diva quickly notices all the men turn their heads from her, attempting to hide their leering gaze.


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    ¡°Ahhhh, where are my manners,¡± the old Wood Elf says, her slightly darker skin standing out in the sunlight.¡± I am Carolina, a stall owner,¡± she answers adamantly, brandishing her goods,¡± and as you can see, I sell clothing.¡±


    ¡°Which comes to my next question. Where did you two get such amazing clothing from? I would very much love to stock some up,¡± Carolina asks with a smile.


    ¡°Valen!¡± Lin yells proudly, twirling around in her dress, a cute smile on her face as she shows off Valens clothing.


    ¡°My employer told me that one set of clothing for a woman is extremely abnormal. So he went and gave me this battledress to give me variety and protection,¡± she explains adamantly as her hand travels down the tight leather of her outfit.


    ¡°Catwoman,¡± Lin quips from the side, throwing her hand forward, an imaginary whip in her hand.


    ¡°Well, your battledress as you call it will most surely distract any men in a fight,¡± Carolina exclaims, staring at the quality of the black leather.


    Nodding with a smile ¡°Good, it seems that this clothing will be useful against half the population of Nostris,¡± Diva says, ¡°I had my misgivings, but it seems my employer was correct in his assumption.¡±


    ¡°Ehrm¡­.yes,¡± Carolina squeaks, attempting to cover up a laugh.


    ¡°Wahhhhhh.¡±


    A sound, soft, but Lins¡¯ ears start to flutter.


    ¡°I want my mommy back, wahhhhhh.¡±


    Lin listens, pinpointing the location of the sound. With feline athletics, she starts into a sprint towards the sound, passing the busy street and running into an alley.


    Diva, noticing Lin¡¯s depart, quickly follows her, leather squeaking from the physical exertion of running after the tigress.


    _______________________________________________________________________


    ¡°Poop?¡± David laughs out loud, the thought of a massive bear-kin covered in excrement adds a smile to his face.


    ¡°His wife, Belinda, told me the whole story after I awoke,¡± Valen answers, a proud smile on his face.


    The human and dwarf had taken a quick stroll through the city, quickly arriving at a massive stone structure, its size dwarfing the buildings around it.


    On the front of the building, a massive sign stands squarely in the center, reading ¡®Karander Trading Guild¡¯ with an insignia of two hands grabbing one another.


    ¡°Well, this is the trading guild, where they will torture you with enough paperwork to cause a homicide,¡± David answers with a glare directed at the building.¡±Come, let''s get this over with,¡± he says, walking into the building, Valen following right behind.


    The building of the Trading Guild is very clean and quite organized. Plush seats for waiting customers with tables for writing out documents. Magical lamps are sprung on the walls, illuminating the area while guards stand ready at the entrance.


    At the far end of the room, two extremely attractive elves stand at the ready, waiting for any customers.


    Smiling at the corporate play, Valen follows David as he heads towards the female employee.


    ¡°Good evening madam,¡± David starts, looking towards the fake smile of the light elf.¡± My employer here,¡± he points at Valen, ¡°has loaned me a ship, but he does not have any paperwork at all.¡±


    The light elf lifts her brow as she looks towards Valen, still smiling.¡± And sir dwarf, could I get some identification from you?¡± she asks as she turns to David.


    Smiling back at the beautiful woman, David takes a small metal card from his pocket and hands it to her.


    Taking the card, the elf places it on a stand and directs mana into it. Within a moment, the card lights up, identification blazing on the card.¡±Ahhh, I see, you were the captain of the Swiftsail,¡± she answers, noticing the dwarfs good marks as a trader.


    ¡°Yes¡­..the Swiftsail¡­.was attacked by Orc raiders and did not survive,¡± David answers, his face becoming solemn, but quickly brightens up.¡± Luckily though, Valen here had a ship handy and needed a captain with a crew,¡± he explains to the elf.


    ¡°And that ship would be?¡±


    ¡°The Wiseman,¡± he answers confidently.


    Realization strikes the elf as a blooming real smile spreads across her face, the idea that these two are here regarding that massive vessel may very well bring her a raise. ¡°I understand, and this young gentlemen here,¡± she gestures to Valen, ¡±will need an identification card as well as a contract to be made between you two.¡±


    David just nods at the elf, gesturing for Valen to step up.


    ¡°Alright Valen, let me first give you the usual spiel. The Trading guild operates throughout Nostris in both ports and inner cities. We are usually not located in towns unless they are of considerable size. Right now, we will issue you for a modest initial fee an identification card.¡±


    Noticing Valen¡¯s panicked look, David pats him on the side,¡± No worries, I will cover the fee since you gave all your money to Lin,¡± he says, smiling at the relieved Valen.


    ¡°Continuing on, a card replacement will cost 10 white nos, so do be sure not to lose them. The cards can also be used to hold currency that can be extracted from any Trading Guild. We always keep a file so even with a loss of a card, your funds are safe with us.¡±


    Valen nods as he listens to the elf give her spiel, bending forward on the counter, her assets jiggling on display.


    ¡°The first thing I need from you Mr. Valen is your full name if you have it,¡± she asks, pulling out a paper, ink, and quill.


    ¡°My full name is Valen Vorstof,¡± he answers the elf as she quickly writes it down.


    ¡°Do you have any next of kin that can inherit your property upon death?¡± she asks, looking at Valen.


    Thinking deeply, a smile blooms on Valens¡¯ face as he looks at the elf ¡°Yes, I have a tiger-kin daughter by the name Lin Vorstof,¡± he proclaims with a smile.


    David just lifts his eyebrow at the apparent lie, only nodding and smiling right after as he hears Lins name.


    Nodding quickly as she writes, only slightly pausing at the idea of a Tiger-kin child, she finished writing and pulls out a needle with a clear bronze card. ¡±Mr. Vorstof, I will need a bit of your blood to finish the bonding process,¡± she answers, handing the needle to him.


    Nodding, Valen pricks his finger and a drop of blood falls on the card. A burst of light travels through the card, only to just as quickly leave.


    ¡°Perfect,¡± she exclaims, bending down under her stand. Immediately she throws a large pile of papers on her desk.¡±Please fill these out and bring them back to me,¡± she exclaims as she pushes the stack towards Valen, a tear forming in his eye.


    Over an hour goes by until the Dwarf and Valen finish all of the paperwork. Their hands are cramped from the sheer number of questions required.


    ¡°Aye lad, this only happens once,¡± David answers as he scoops up all of the finished documents in his hand. ¡±I¡¯ll bring these to the lady. You just sit here and recover your wits.¡±


    Nodding slowly, Valen lays back into the comfy chairs, his head slowly easing up from the amount of writing required. Not easy when you just recently learned a new language.


    ¡°I figured I would find you here.¡±


    Opening his eyes, Valen is met with the sight of Gang as he looks down towards Valen¡¯s exhausted form.


    ¡°Didn¡¯t see you leave the ship,¡± Valen says, slightly more alert.


    Nodding thoughtfully Gang looks towards David, the dwarf blatantly flirting with the elf.


    ¡°It seems you two have been busy,¡± he comments smiling back at Valen.


    Valen just nods, still tired from the writing ordeal.¡±Yea, I¡¯m getting my guild identification card. Do you have one?¡± Valen asks, sleep almost overtaking him.


    Nodding with a smile, Gang puts his hand into the robe of his pocket. Valens eyes quickly open wide as he feels the telltale sign of an extremely small portal open. Far simpler and smaller than the one at the crystal forest, but still clearly a portal. As the portal closes, Gang takes his hand out of his pocket, a silver card is held between his fingers.


    ¡°Yup, I actually came from the mercenary guild. Had to report that the individual I was employed to guard had perished. Luckily the type of death did not necessarily lower my score as a guard,¡± he smiles at the thought.


    ¡°Anyways, I wanted to talk to you, Valen. I heard that you are traveling towards Gargantuan to attend their academy.¡±


    Valen just nods at Gang, his mind still fixed on that portal.


    ¡°Well¡­¡­.I would like to join you on your trip there. Work at Gargantuan is always available for a high ranking fighter like myself,¡± he exclaims, pointing at his enchanted polearm strapped to his back.


    Nodding slowly, ¡°I would have to talk with Diva and Lin first,¡± Valen answers, thinking about how to hide his powers.


    ¡°Here you go lad,¡± David interrupts as he hands Valen the new card.¡± All is set and we can leave this blasted place.¡±


    ¡°BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOMMMMMMM.¡±


    A massive explosion is heard from the distance, the ground shaking with vibrations, David screaming with fright.


    ¡°What the fucking hell was that?¡± David yells, his hand covering his fast beating chest.


    ¡°Ugh¡­.,¡± Valen moans as he gets off the very comfy chair. ¡±I have this feeling that Lin caused some trouble again,¡± he answers, walking towards the exit.


    __________________________________________________________________________

 Chapter 20

    Diva runs full speed, pedestrians, and guards immediately move out of her way as she chases Lin into a narrow alley. Once there, she finds a very interesting sight. A small dirty forest elf boy of maybe 7 years sits with his back to the wall, legs scrunched to his chest as he hugs them with his hands.


    ¡°I want¡­..my...hiccup¡­.mommy back..,¡± he bawls, tears streaming down his face. Lin just stands before him looking down at the boy.


    ¡°What happened?¡± Lin asks, bending to her knee to look at the boy at eye level. Diva watches as Lin acts like an older sister, attempting to calm the boy down. ¡°What happened?¡± Lin asks again, looking towards the child''s tear stricken face.


    ¡°They¡­..they¡­...hiccup...t-t-took her,¡± he answers between hiccups.


    ¡°Who took her, where?¡± Lin asks, staring straight at the child.


    ¡°I want¡­..I want...hiccup...my mommy..,¡± he starts crying again.


    Diva watches as Lin slowly lifts her hand to the side of the boys face, a loving caring hand of an older sister.


    ¡°SMAAACCCCKKKKK,¡±


    A resounding sound echoes through the alley as Lin¡¯s hand slams hard on the boy¡¯s cheek.


    Diva nods with a smile, reminded of her own elder sisters.


    The boy is bewildered as he looks towards Lin, who is glaring back at him, his crying put to a halt.


    ¡°Good,¡± Lin nods, noticing the boy having calmed somewhat. ¡±Now tell me who took your mommy and where?¡± she says with authority.


    The boy nod and gets up on shaky legs.¡±They took her to an ugly building closer to the wall,¡± he says pointing towards a direction.


    ¡°Take me there,¡± Lin orders.


    The boy nods and runs off, Lin following behind, Diva running after Lin, amused at the situation.


    Within a few minutes, the three are looking toward a three storied wooden building in the poorer quarters of the city. The door appears thoroughly sealed shut.


    As Lin gets closer to the building, her ears flutter as she starts to hear muffled screaming coming from the basement.


    ¡°Hide somewhere,¡± Lin tells the boy, as the claws on her hand flex out. Moving to the building, Lin climbs the wall, her claws stabbing into the wood with ease. Once she gets to the third floor, a lightly fortified window sits next to her.


    With a smile, Lin puts her claws towards the nails of the wood covering the window and starts to slowly wiggle the nail out. A few minutes later, and the wood falls off, Diva catching it before it strikes the ground.


    Diva watches Lin enter the building, smiling at Lin¡¯s impressive acrobatics. With a surge of mana, she jumps up to the window and pulls herself inside as well.


    The boy watches behind a pile of garbage as they disappear into the building where his mother was taken.


    _________________________________________________________________________


    The inside of the building is in quite a bit of disrepair. The third floor has holes in the floorboards. Looking through them, Lin and Diva find the sleeping quarters for the residents, unfortunately empty.


    Nodding at the lack of sound, Lin crawls through a relatively large hole, considering that the stairs are nonexistent. The gagged screams are finally slightly louder as the scent of blood hits her nose. Lin slowly walks down the stairs, finding the first floor empty, food and boxes of red crystals scattered across the floor.


    Diva merely follows, silently praising her bodysuit at the sheer flexibility it provides in movement.


    Lin passes the boxes, the scent of blood permeating from them in mass. Getting to the stairs, she slowly and soundlessly makes her way towards the basement, where the sound of gagged screaming becomes even louder. Diva follows Lin¡¯s pace, the stealth training allowing her to move just as silently.


    As Diva follows Lin towards the basement, a surreal sight greets her. Three white elves work at a table, their backs conveniently turned away from the stairs. Looking for Lin, Diva finds herself looking at something very confusing.


    The author''s tale has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.


    A naked wood elf woman is strapped to a wooden pole, her arms and legs tightly bound with a gag is tied around her mouth. But that is not what confuses Diva. Beneath the woman lies a large basin of crystals, the women''s blood slowly trickling from the wounds of her body and falling on top of them, turning them red.


    __________________________________________________________________________


    The wood elf looks down from her tear stricken face to find Lin, her claws slowly cutting away the fabric tying the woman down, while the men remain oblivious to the situation. As soon as Lin is done with the legs, she climbs aboard a nearby table filled with vials and starts to work on the hands. The cloth holding her hands to the pole quickly give way, her body falling on the basin, spilling the blood and contents on the floor.


    The three Elves turn around.¡±What is going on here?¡± the robed elf exclaims, his two armored guards unsheath the swords at their belts as they slowly walk forward.


    Diva quickly walks between the approaching guards and Lin, her hand steady on the pommel of her katana.


    ¡°Stop you, idiots,¡± the lead elf yells, noticing the Amazon.¡±She will kill us all if you stand in her way,¡± he warns as the guards stop their approach, fear slowly taking hold as they realize who they were about to attack.


    Lin, noticing that the guards aren''t going to attempt anything, jumps off the table, spilling vials and contents on the floor.


    One of the vials cracks, the purple liquid spilling over the bloody crystals on the floor.


    The crystals start to react with the liquid, smoking violently as the mana around them starts vibrate dangerously


    ¡°Oh shit,¡± the elf yells, noticing the crystals starting to smoke ¡± it''s going to blow!¡± he exclaims, quickly sprinting up the stairs, his eyes wide with fright. The guards take but only a moment before they start running after their leader.


    Diva quickly looks at the smoking crystals and then looks to Lin; the tigress slowly helping the wounded wood elf to stand.


    Listening to her instincts, diva spreads her mana through her body, eyes turning black as her strength multiplies. With a violent jerk, she quickly lifts up Lin and the elf on her shoulders, running up the stairs and through the opened door.


    _____________________________________


    Valen runs through the street, smoke wafting from his body as he accelerates at speeds an Olympic sprinter can only dream of. Gang follows quietly behind, his eyes blazing blue. David huffs loudly, his short legs making it extremely difficult to keep up with the two.


    Upon getting to the location, he finds a massive crater, red crystals and wood dotting the ground everywhere. Fear takes hold as Valen frantically looks for Lin, only to notice Diva on the far end of the crater, unsheathing her sword towards a robed white elf.


    ¡°You fucking ruined everything!¡± The elf screams, mana bursting from his white ears; a flame forming in the palm of his hand. With a twist of his arm, he blasts it straight towards Diva.


    Diva merely smiles, her own mana releasing from her body, engulfing the air around her. Her senses expand as she begins to feel everything that her mana touches. With a force of will, a sheath of energy engulfs her blade, coating it with condensed mana.


    With but the movement of her hand, the blade slices the approaching ball of flame, her own mana ripping the offending attack apart.


    Slowly she starts to walk towards the elf, an amused smile on her lips.


    ¡°The holy kingdom will have their revenge!¡± He yells, more mana seeping from his ears, flames sprouting in his hand.


    The fireballs continue to head towards Diva, but she merely cuts them as they approach with perfect precision.


    Having grown tired of the insect that dared challenge her, Diva starts to accelerate towards the elf, her blade at the ready.


    ¡°No, stay away!¡± He yells, blasting a fireball at her.


    With enhanced speed, Diva jumps over the flame, spins through the air, extends her blade, and splices the elf through the middle on her descent, landing gracefully. Diva sheathes her sword, timing it perfectly with the fall of the corpse. The whites of her eyes slowly return as she turns her head toward Valen.


    ¡°Shit,¡± Valen says, realizing that he was enchanted with such a display. ¡±Where is Lin?¡± he yells towards the Amazonian. Diva merely points towards a corner, untouched by the explosion, Lin sitting with two elves.


    Valen Quickly Runs towards her, scooping her up and hugging her quickly. ¡±Lin, are you ok? Are you hurt? What happened?¡± he starts to question quickly, looking over her body to make sure that she wasn''t harmed.


    ¡°Valy, I saved her,¡± Lin remarks coolly, pointing at a severely injured wood elf, her son crying in her arms. ¡±Can you help her?¡± she asks, her eyes looking up at Valen with hope.


    Valen nods, turning around to look if people are watching.


    Unfortunately, a crowd of civilians is indeed watching, including a group of guardsmen and Gang who are heading Valens way. As they reach his and Lin¡¯s location, they stop as they notice the cuts on the elf¡¯s body.


    ¡±My god,¡± one of the guards exclaims, his eyes looking at the tortured body.


    Gang walks up and reaches into his robe, a familiar feeling touches Valen¡¯s senses as Gang retrieves his hand, a small vial firmly wrapped around his small fingers.¡± Give her this,¡± he says, handing it to Valen.


    Valen uncaps the vial and walks towards the elf, but before he could do much else, someone interrupts him.


    ¡°Don¡¯t give her that healing potion, or she won¡¯t survive the night!¡± The port captain Adalwolf yells from afar, standing beside Diva.


    _______________________________________________________________________


    Garren stands at the ready, his heavy hammer shifts slightly on his shoulder as his eyes stare into the black underground tunnels entrance. Darius stands beside him, his panther eyes allowing him to see through the darkness with ease.


    ¡°So,¡± Garren starts, staring into the hole, ¡±I¡¯m grateful and all for Wukong¡¯s support¡­.but I don''t understand why he would support me. I did beat him down pretty hard.¡±


    ¡°You were just with your wife, Garren, and you didn''t even think about asking her?¡± Darius answers from his side, a spear hanging loosely from his right hand.


    ¡°I uhhhh...was busy,¡± Garren blurts out, not looking at Darius.


    Shaking his head, Darius turns to his friend ¡°Wukongs wife birthed a child about two months ago. He is now a father, a very doting one might I add.¡±


    Garren just lifts an eyebrow ¡°So he doesn''t hate me anymore because he has a kid now? That''s weird.¡±


    Darius suppresses a sigh ¡°Oh he hates your guts alright, but he loves his kid more, which is the whole reason he even spoke up.¡±


    ¡°Huh,¡± Garren answers, still confused from the situation.


    Before he can say another word, Wukong walks up behind them.¡± The soldiers are ready and waiting,¡± he exclaims with a neutral expression.


    Darius and Garren both nod. ¡°I will lead,¡± Darius says, walking into the depths of the darkness, Garren and Wukong following behind, torches lit and at the ready.


    ___________________________________


    Large is an understatement as they enter the massive cavern within the mountain. Stalagmites glint from the firelight as they walk deeper into the confines, moving towards the ocean.


    As they get about halfway, Darius stops suddenly.¡±I smell blood, a lot of it, in the next cavern.¡±


    Nodding slowly, the procession of soldiers slow their pace, attempting to sneak into the next area. The smell of blood and ocean water is thick in the air.


    A rumbling sound comes from the wall as the dirt moves out of the way. All eyes turn towards the sound, a golden glowing eye stares back at them, mana quickly condensing in the air.


    ¡°Interesting,¡± a powerful voice speaks, the sound coming from everywhere¡±I do hope you all are much better company than those others,¡± the voice exclaims.


    As Garren lifts his torch towards the eye, massive teeth glint back at him, covered in fresh blood.

 Chapter 21

    Adalwolf sits in his chair atop the guard tower, cursing himself for making the fifth and highest floor his office. The view in front of him is great, what with its massive windows and an enchanting view of the sea and port. Unfortunately, the sun is currently setting, meaning that its glare is directly focused on him. That would be almost as much of an annoyance as having to deal with the situation before him.


    ¡°So let me get this straight, Lin here,¡± he points towards a little tigress girl as she sits on Valen¡¯s lap,¡± found out about a kidnapping from a child in an alley.  She followed the boy until he showed her where his kidnapped mother was. From there, she decided that it would be best to infiltrate the building on her own¡­¡­.instead of informing the guards,¡± he asks, squinting at Lin.


    Lin shifts on Valen¡¯s lap ¡°Diva came with me, so it was ok,¡± she quips, smiling cutely at the wolfman.


    ¡°Indeed,¡± Diva answers from Valen¡¯s right,¡± she was completely safe with me around,¡± she nods adamantly, complete confidence in her ability as a guard.


    Adalwolf sighs as he scratches the fur on his head, turning his head left, away from the sun''s glare. Unfortunately, his mood does not brighten at all since he is faced with a regal Gang, back resting on the wall; his hand covering his mouth as he attempts to suppress a laugh.


    ¡°Ughnhhhhh,¡± Adalwolf groan¡¯s, putting his head in the palm of his clawed hand.


    ¡°And if Lin here is to be believed,¡± he starts,¡± is that a 5-year-old girl single-handedly took out over a hundred guards, freed the prisoner, and destroyed their base of operations,¡± he says, eyes squinting at the little girl, a cheeky smile on her face.


    ¡°Yup,¡± Lin nods in acknowledgment,¡± I even left the Leader for Diva so she can test out her new sword.¡±


    Adalwulf slowly rubs tears from his eyes, cursing internally at the sun''s glare and the painful situation he is forced in. Before he can ask another question, Valen interrupts with a smile.


    ¡°From what I learned from Lin is that the women were bleeding into a basin of crystals, apparently turning them red. Can you elaborate on what was happening?¡± Valen asks the wolfman.


    Blinking the tears away, he turns to Valen.¡± As you know, monster crystals are used for enchanting, with stronger crystals allowing for more powerful enchants. But stronger crystals can normally only be gotten from powerful and deadly beasts,¡± he pauses, thinking over his next words, head facing towards the desk, limiting light exposure to his eyes.¡± Unfortunately, there is a thing called blood crystals. These crystals are soaked in fresh, mana enriched blood of an elf.¡±


    ¡°Only an elf?¡± Valen asks.


    Adalwolf nods slowly.¡± Bloodroot, an illegal drug, when mixed with certain ingredients, turns into a purple liquid color. If consumed by an elf, their mana is quickly forced from their bodies and concentrated into their blood.¡±


    ¡°So,¡± Valen interrupts,¡± A health potion that extracts mana from a person''s body to increase healing would be fatal. That¡¯s why you told me not to give her a healing potion.¡±


    ¡°Correct,¡± Adalfwolf answers, smiling at the young man''s quick understanding of the situation.


    ¡°Now if this Bloodroot extract or whatever its called were to touch a crystal, what would happen?¡±


    Moving his clawed hand over his eyes, he squints at the man, trying to understand what he¡¯s getting at.¡±Well, that would cause the crystals to become unstable, causing an explo--shit!¡± he yells, realizing the situation.


    ¡°Fucking hell, the council is going to have my ass for this,¡± he exclaims frustratingly.


    Sitting back into his seat, Adalwulf sighs loudly, his eyes looking at the ceiling.¡± Amazonian,¡± he says, eyes still focusing on the sealing. ¡°You killed off the leader of an organization that has been killing my people for apparent ages, considering the number of crystals we found,¡± he says, lowering his head towards the Amazonian,¡± Give me your mercenary card so I may give you a reward,¡± he exclaims with one eye shut, the other squinting.


    Diva merely leans her head in confusion,¡± I do not have a card.¡± she answers back.


    ¡°What?¡± Adalwolf blurts out,¡± Did you not start your pilgrimage half a year ago?¡± he asks confused.


    ¡°No, I¡­...entered the wrong departing ship¡­.and found myself on the wrong continent,¡± Diva answers with a neutral expression, only Valen noticing the slightly reddened cheeks of the Amazonian.


    Waving exasperatingly at the confusing individuals to recently make port, he points at Diva.¡± Tell my secretary below this floor to give you a form which will wave the fee for a new mercenary card.¡±


    Diva quickly glares angrily at wolfkin ¡°I do not need your pity.¡± she seethes.


    Before the situation can get out of control, Valen interrupts.


    ¡°Diva, It is Adalwolf¡¯s job to stop criminals. He is offering you an apology in compensation for having someone like yourself be forced into a fight against such a weakling. He merely feels shame and hopes for your forgiveness,¡± Valen explains, Gang almost choking from laughter in the shaded corner of the room.Stolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.


    ¡°I see,¡± Diva answers slowly, her anger abating quickly.¡±Then I accept your apology,¡± she nods towards the wolfman''s confused expression.


    ¡°Please¡­..just leave,¡± he answers, rubbing the temples of his head.


    ¡°I defeated a lot of villains, too,¡± Lin quips from her seat¡± Shouldn''t I get some kind of pri--Mhmmmmmmm,¡± Valen quickly covers Lin¡¯s mouth as he gets off the seat, carrying Lin outside the office.


    As soon as the four leave the room, Valen lets go of Lin¡¯s mouth, wiping the drool away on his pants.¡±I deserve a reward,¡± Lin says, pouting as she follows Valen down the stairs.


    ¡°And you will.¡± Valen answers,


    ¡±You and I are going shopping tomorrow morning,¡± he exclaims to the tigress.


    ¡°Really!, Yaaaayyyyy,¡± she squeals with a bright smile.


    ¡°Well then,¡± Gang interrupts, an amused smile on his lips,¡± I will be going to the mercenary guild,¡± he turns to Diva, ¡° would you like to go with me and get your card made?¡± he asks the Amazonian.


    Diva merely nods after getting a nod from her employer.


    ¡°Why can¡¯t we go shopping right now,¡± Lin asks as they exit the building, heading towards their ship.


    ¡°Because the sun is almost gone and David still needs to give me the cut of the profits,¡± he explains to her.


    Nodding, Lin grabs Valens hand, tightly holding it as the two head towards the docks. ¡°Lin¡­..I feel like I am forgetting something,¡± Valen says aloud, trying to remember what.


    _______________________________________________________________________


    On the other side of the city, far from the docks, a dwarf looks around warily.


    ¡°Where the fuck am I!¡± David yells angrily, the tall wooden buildings making it difficult for him to find his way.


    ¡°Fucking stupid cities with their lack of organization and signs,¡± he growls frustratingly.


    ___________________________________


    The beast-kin freeze in fear as they stare at the massive face of a predator, its teeth causing the torchlight to dance menacingly off its bloody surface.


    Garren quickly grabs his hammer, taking a stance, mana flows through his body, intertwining his muscles, eyes glowing with power.


    The ground rumbles as the massive predator approaches, a ghastly sight meets Garren¡¯s eyes.


    A dragon, but a terribly deformed one. It''s left fore and back legs are completely missing as stone legs connect to the dragons stumps. Half the dragons ribs are visible from the stomach while the face and body have a lot of missing scales. The left eye is completely gray, clearly having lost its sight.


    The dragon takes another step closer, Garren taking a step back as he notices only one wing, the other a stump.


    ¡°You have impressive control over your internal mana,¡± the voice exclaims, coming from the walls,¡± but I am a Dragon of the earth, and you all are in my domain,¡± the dragon exclaims confidently, the voice coming from the stone with unprecedented hidden power.


    The dragons deformed face smiles as his one eye gaze into Garren''s soul. ¡°Do not worry,¡± the dragon starts,¡± I will allow you all to leave my home peacefully,¡± he exclaims.¡±


    Though stricken with fear, Garren gulps, the sound relatively noticeable from the overarching silence.¡±Why,¡± he asks, arms shaking with fear.


    The Dragons mouth opens in an amused smile, which only looks more deadly has blood drips from his teeth.


    ¡°Most people will either attack or run at the mere sight of me,¡± the ground vibrates with sound,¡± but you speak.¡± The dragon laughs, the sound menacing and powerful.¡± It has been over ten thousand years since I have spoken with a mortal, so I will amuse you and answer your question.¡±


    The massive dragon lifts his head up, mana slowly lighting the stalagmites on the top of the cave, allowing his fully damaged self to become visible; including a long slender tail with many missing scales.¡± You bear¡­¡­..and you monkey,¡± the dragon voices through the stone,¡± have the smell of a newborn on your furs¡­¡­.and children should never have to grow up without their parents,¡± the dragon exclaims, a hint of sadness in his voice.¡± So I am giving you a chance to preserve your lives.¡±


    Silence emanates as Garren swallows the dragon''s words.


    Taking a deep breath he releases the hold on his mana. Fighting his instincts, he lowers his hammer to the ground, takes a step forward, and falls on one knee. The other beast-kin gasp in surprise, but Garren gives them no mind.


    ¡°I am Garren, leader of this expedition. Great dragon, we entered your domain in challenge of the orcs that have raided and attempted to enslave my people. I ask for forgiveness and hope that we could come to some kind of an arrangement.¡±


    The dragon eyes the kneeling bear-kin critically, listening closely to his frantic heartbeats, noticing no lie in his words.


    ¡°What is it that you want, and what do you offer.¡±


    Without missing a beat, Garren lifts his head towards the dragon.


    ¡°My kind wishes to use your cavern...your home...as a means to travel towards the ocean. In exchange, we will bring you food from the beasts and animals we hunt as well as other objects that you may wish for.¡±


    The dragon''s eye starts to gaze at the other beast-kin¡­..sensing fear¡­..and hope.


    ¡°Ten thousand years ago, I fought against others of my kind, and in doing so, found myself drastically wounded. I hid from my pursuers underground, where I have slept to recover¡­.until a few months ago, when those pathetic orcs found me, awakening me from my slumber.¡±


    His tail swished with glee ¡°I slaughtered them¡­.continuously, filling my belly with meat, slowly calming me down.¡± the dragon swishes his tail as he contemplates.


    ¡°Food will indeed let me recover faster from my wounds¡­..but it will still take a very long time. What I truly need is the core of another dragon; his crystal would allow me to quickly replenish my body. At that point, I will no longer need this mountain,¡± the dragon exclaims excitedly; the idea of taking to the skies again quickly improving his mood.


    ¡°Then a trade,¡± Wukong interrupts, taking the same kneeling stance as Garren,¡± We plan to clear out those orcs and build a prospering port. If we ever find a dragon crystal, we will use our newfound wealth to retrieve it and hand it over to you.¡±


    The dragon pauses, his senses probing the new individual.


    ¡°Honesty¡­..is something all dragons respect greatly,¡± The voice rumbles slowly,¡± and for that, you have earned my respect.¡±


    The dragon¡¯s eye starts to glow stronger as an entire wall slowly caves away. A tunnel opens up, a strong breeze entering the dragon''s domain.


    ¡°I¡­.Aurelion, molder of earth, breaker of metals, accept your proposal, beast-kin,¡± he promptly raises his head, mouth opens widely and releases a dragon''s roar. A sound shockwave extends in all directions, letting the world know a deal has been struck, as is the dragons way.


    Garren and Wukong slowly stand up, their bodies shaken from both fear and exhilaration.


    ¡°Now then, that passage will lead you towards a hidden outcrop where the orcs have no vision of. I suggest attacking during the night, as they will not be expecting it.¡± Aurelion explains, the sound coming from him significantly less imposing.


    Nodding slowly, Garren and Wukong turn to travel through the new passage.


    ¡°One other thing Garren,¡± Aurelion calls out. ¡° I believe this one is yours?¡± he asks, mana dispersing from his body, turning a large stone next to the entrance of the cavern into sand.


    As soon as the stone disappears, a small squeal can be heard from beside it.


    Looking towards the sound, Garren finds Leona, struggling to get up from the slipping sand.

 Chapter 22

    <h1>Chapter 22</h1>


    On the other side of the mountain, Gudrum, youngest orc of clan Garzand stares at 7 orc galleys. On the side of those galleys hang dead orcs, their tortured and burned bodies raised for all to see.


    Anger, is something that all orcs feel, but the most powerful must always find a way to control it¡­...or at the very least¡­.suppress it.


    Gundrum reminices the past few months, having come here with his brothers Gorz and Gant.


    At first, everything was going well. Finding the cavern and mining the entrance was time consuming, but easy enough with slave labor.


    Unfortunately, everything went to shit after Gorz went to raid for slaves. He did not return for a week, so Gant chose to bring another group through¡­...but they awakened it.


    ¡°Dragon,¡± Gudrun whispers, grinding his teeth, the flashes of memory turning his mood quickly sour. With a heavy sigh, Gudrun turns away from the orc corpses¡­...the same ones that left his brother to die.


    ¡°RRRRROOOOOOOOAAAAAAAARRRRRRR.¡±


    A massive sound vibrates through the earth. Gudrun quickly turns towards the mountain, anger slowly being replaced with fear as a feeling of dread slowly overtakes him.


    With a deep breath, Gudrun walks towards his ship, making sure that if the dragon chose to leave its home, he would have a way out.


    *********************


    Night befalls the orc camp as the moon''s shadow casts a foreboding light over the ocean as it ripples silently, as though it awaits for something¡­...or someone.


    Even so, mortals must sleep and that is what Garren has been waiting for, watching carefully as the camp lights itself for the night.


    ¡°Alright, this is as good a time as any,¡± Garren announces behind a stone outcrop, conveniently covering the small army. ¡±They may outnumber us by five times, but we are far stronger than them. Especially if we strike first.¡± He exclaims, picking up his hammer.


    ¡°No.¡± Wukong interrupts,¡±I will not be allowing you to lead my men with such a paltry plan,¡± he announces annoyingly.


    Garren stares dumbfounded, but before he can say anything, Wukong continues.


    ¡°What we are going to be doing is splitting our forces.¡± He looks to Darius, "You will be leading the feline beast-kin towards the ships. Use them to take out the defenders so those cannons cannot be used against us.¡± He turns to the bear-kin,¡± and you will be taking all of our heavy infantry into combat, specifically I need you to take the minotaurs and destroy those tents. Make them scared, this will buy us time to engage from behind,¡± Wukong then points to a outcrop above the camp, towards the mountain.¡± I will have archers take position above and focus on any mages or ranged support that you will have to deal with.¡± he pauses, looking towards the others, making sure they understand,¡± finally I will lead the charge towards wherever the orcs attempt to regroup, this way we can keep them as disorganized as possible¡­¡­¡­.any questions?¡±


    Garren opens his mouth¡­.then closes it¡­.then opens it¡­.and closes it again. He finally nods slowly at Wukong, finally realizing why he is a general, even if his pride is slightly hurt right now.


    Noticing Garren¡¯s acceptance, Wukong smiles internally, a small win for him, even if such things are petty in the current situation.¡±Good, let''s get into position. Remember Garren, the harder you hit, the better the plan goes,¡± Wukong says, going towards the awaiting soldiers.


    ¡°You know Darius, he is a great general¡­...but man does he piss me off,¡± Garren exclaims, glaring at Wukong¡¯s retreating back.


    ¡°Heh¡­¡­.what¡¯s important is that he does his job,¡± Darius answers from his side,¡± If I remember properly, we were at one point in the same situation,¡± he reminisces, walking towards the army, getting ready to invade the ships.


    As Darius trudges away, Leona walks up to Garren.¡±I¡­..um¡­.sorry for trailing you,¡± she says, a slight blush on her cheeks,¡± I just wanted to not be so¡­.useless,¡± she forces.


    ¡°I understand.¡± Garren rumbles beside her, ¡±I used to be young too, constantly wanting to prove myself, make myself stronger,¡± he turns his head towards her, ¡±It is my fault for not expecting you to follow me.¡±


    ¡°So...¡± she starts.


    ¡°No!¡± Garren interrupts, predicting her thoughts.¡± You will be going with Darius, not with me into a bloodbath. You are untrained, so I will not allow you to risk your life for something as petty as honor.¡± he exclaims firmly.


    Biting her tongue, she controls her seething anger, nodding slowly at Garren. All she wanted was to fight by his side¡­...like her father did. ¡±I¡­..understand,¡± she squeaks, walking away from him, trying her best not to cry.This tale has been unlawfully lifted without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon.


    **************************************


    The orc camp is asleep, only a small number of guards patrol the perimeter halfheartedly, expecting no surprise attacks, especially as the entrance to the cave has been blocked off for the night.


    Wukong smiles from his perch, watching silently as preparations start to complete. Darius directs the feline beast-kin spreading them out to climb up the ships. The archers slowly get into position, a clear sight of the sleeping camp greets them, their bows ready and waiting for the signal.


    Garren trudges as silently as his large girth allows, his size indenting the sand with every step. Him and over forty soldiers walk through the sand, muffling the sound, allowing them to get very close to the enemy tents unnoticed.


    As Garren gets to the position of the largest tent, he sends out his mana, quickly strings of energy form around his muscles, strengthening him. With a solid grip, he sends his mana to his hand, the same one holding his hammer, the runes starts to extract mana from his hand, guiding it towards the metal ball. Quickly it starts to vibrate, a sonic sound emits from its screech, confused orcs waking up, but not at all alarmed¡­..yet.


    With a tremendous jump, Garren hops into the air, and as he reaches the ground, he swings.


    An enormous shockwave spreads through the ground, creating a giant sand wave that blasts through the orc camp, covering tents and soldiers alike. With a loud roar, Garren jumps out of his crater, brimming with energy as he watches his soldiers tear into the unprepared orcs.


    From above him, beast-kin shoot arrows at the prone orcs, many of which are doing their best to climb out of the sand. With a vicious smile, Garren runs into the fray, his hammer breaking bone and armor with every swing.


    *************************


    Wukong watches with a scowl, the battle is going much too smoothly. Disorganization is prevalent in all of the orc ranks, as though many of the commanders are outright missing.


    Directing his troops, he has them run towards a mass of retreating orcs, striking them from behind, but even so, the battle is clearly much too easy. Looking towards the ocean, he finally notices the problem.


    Six ships are docked, the seventh is heading away from the battle, its oars striking the water with a hurried force.


    _________________________________________________________________________


    The next morning, Valen walks outside, onto the deck of the Wiseman, Lin, giggling and running circles around him the entire time, her arms spread wide as she mimics a plane.


    ¡°Maybe I shouldn''t have shown you so much anime yesterday night,¡± he says to Lin, watching her make plane noises.


    ¡°It was so much fun,¡± she exclaims passionately, referring to how her and Valen watched tv shows on his laptop, in bed, with popcorn and soda.


    Smiling, Valen extends his arm into the air, stretching out the muscles, attempting to circulate the blood and remove the pins and needle feeling he woke up with thanks to Lin falling asleep on it.


    Checking his army fatigues, he finds a pocket, filled with coins, given to him by Alfred, after explaining to Valen that David is passed out in bed and would not be awake for some time.


    ¡°Well then Lin, since Diva needs to have that mercenary guild test today, it''s going to be just me and you,¡± he smiles kindly, Lin smiling back.


    ***************************


    A few minutes Later, Valen and Lin find themselves at a fancy stall selling expensive and rare enchanted items of¡­..reputable quality.


    ¡°Kid, do you have any idea how rare what you are asking for is?¡± a dark elf store owner asks, eyes looking at Valen with shock.


    ¡°Well yes, that''s why I came to you. This place was recommended if I wanted to find unique and powerful enchanted items. I figured that you would have something that can create a interspatial place.¡± Valen exclaims adamantly.


    The dark elf sighs at the sheer ignorance of the individual before him.¡±A pocket ring, as is most common, would allow someone like myself to live the rest of my life in peace if sold.¡±


    ¡°Valy, look, look,¡± Lin says from Valen¡¯s side, but Valen is much too engrossed in listening to the elf.


    ¡°The only people who would have such items are those with truly immense wealth or those royalty.¡± the dark elf exclaims.


    ¡°Vaaaalllllyyyyyyyy,¡± Lin moans from his side attempting to gain his attention.


    ¡°Thus, you would have to pay a literal kings fortune for such an item. I can assure you, this city does not contain such an item.¡± the dark elf exclaims adamantly.¡±


    ¡°Vaaaaaaaaaaaalllllllllllllllllyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy,¡± Lin moans loudly.


    Valen sighs,¡±please give my a moment,¡± he says to the elf, turning to Lin. In Lin¡¯s hand, she hold a ugly rat in her claws, squealing with fright from the predator that has gotten hold of it.


    ¡°Lin¡­..thats a rat,¡± Valen says to her.


    ¡°No,¡± Lin pouts, holding the animal closer to him.¡±It¡¯s Pikachu,¡± she exclaims adamantly.


    ¡°Lin that''s not pik-,¡± Valen stops, looking at the ugly yellow rat, its cheeks have red dots and the tail is zigzagged.¡± That¡­¡­¡­¡­.actually does look like Pikachu,¡± Valen replies after a pause.


    ¡°Can we keep him,¡± Lin asks, smiling adorably.


    ¡°Lin...thats a ugly animal, were not keeping it,¡± Valen answers, turning back towards the elf, but Lin does not easily give up.


    ¡°Please!!!!!,¡± she moans from his side.


    ¡°Nope,¡± Valen answers without a pause.


    ¡°Pikachuuuuuu,¡± she moans again.


    ¡°No,¡±


    ¡°Pikaaaaaaaaa,¡±


    ¡°Not gonna happen,¡±


    ¡°What if I give you the puppy dog look?¡± she asks from his side


    ¡°You¡¯re not a dog, Lin.¡±


    ¡°Woof woof.¡±


    ¡°Still no.¡±


    Before Lin can ask again, a dog runs straight towards her at a full sprint, and with uncanny accuracy, bites into the rat, ripping it out of her claws, and running away with his new prey.


    Valen, noticing what happened from the side of his eye, quickly grabs Lin by the hem of her dress.


    Immediately, Lin attempts to run after the dog, only to fall on the ground, prone.


    ¡°Naooooooooooo Pikaaaaaachhhhhuuuuuuu,¡± she scries out, her hand extended at the retreating form of the dog as it escapes with the squealing rat.


    ¡°Lin, get up¡­. You¡¯re causing a scene,¡± Valen tells her, gazing at the other shoppers and shopkeepers as they stare at the squealing tigress.


    Slowly getting up, Lin turns to Valen, tears streaming down her face.¡±I...sniff...wanted to...be a pokemon trainer,¡± she says between sniffles, tears slowly pouring down her fur.


    Valen just rubs his face with his hand, amused and annoyed at Lin¡¯s antics. Sighing loudly, Valen bends his knee, leveling himself to the crying Lin.¡±Lin¡­..why would you want to become a trainer? Why not become pikachu instead?¡± he asks Lin.


    Thinking briefly, Lin looks into Valen¡¯s eyes, mesmerized with the Idea. ¡±Really?¡± Lin asks, the rat quickly all but forgotten.


    Nodding, Valen smiles at the cute tigress,¡±Yup, just let me finish with a purchase,¡± he says, getting up and turning to the dark elf.


    ¡°So¡­..these pocket rings¡­.what materials are they made of?¡±


    *********************************************


    About twenty minutes later, Valen walks down the street, Lin following behind, a Pikachu costume covering her body.


    ¡°Pikaaa, pikaa, pikaaa, pikaa, pikaaa,¡± she chants with every step, following her trainer adamantly.


    Valen continues to walk forward, gaining the attention of the passersby. His hands hold a mithril ring, engraving covering its form.


    ¡°Now I just need supplies,¡± Valen announces softly, repositioning the red and white hat comfortably on his head.

 Chapter 23

    The world of nostris is vast in both size and scope, but only in one large location. The continent of Jeriha stands in the middle of every map of the world, both because of its sheer size, but also as the focus for some of the largest species diversity ever seen. But it does not merely end there, the diversity expands into the ruling powers, which currently exceed into the three digits in size alone.


    Emperors, kings, sultans, lords, tribe leaders, and various other leading bodies are spread across the land. But, on the southeastern side of the continent, only one kingdom is lead by a Pope.


    The Holy Elven Kingdom, a religious monarchy, whose ideal¡¯s focus on the White Elven race as being the purest, and thus, the closest to the true gods¡­¡­.the primordials¡­.beings of immense power whose magical strength rivaled that of dragons. They believe that they are the descendants of such beings and that the other elven races are impure.


    The white elves, known for the color of their skin, are considered the most magically capable, as well as the longest-lived. Unfortunately, long lives tend to mean fewer births, which is why the war fifty years ago had cost them dearly. Only through the kind and benevolent guidance of Pope Callixtus allowed their kingdom to return so quickly to their former glory.


    *******************


    ¡°Useless,¡± Callixtus yells from his chambers, throwing a chair against the wall, the wood splintering from the impact. ¡°Karander was a prime location for blood crystal creation,¡± he seethes. Quickly he turns his sights to his chancellor by the door,¡± what of those two guards?¡± he asks, eyes slightly crazed.


    The chancellor bows slowly,¡± Holy Father, I have sent those two pathetic guards into the dungeon¡­¡­.to join the others for their failure.¡± he answers, all emotion nonexistent from his form.


    Callixtus nods, eyes slightly unfocused, his left hand slowly starting to shake. ¡°Good, their lives will be put to good use. Our blood crystal supply is running low. Have we gotten any from invading the Dark Elf forest?¡± he asks, setting his shaking hand on the table.


    ¡°We had gotten quite a few initially, but many of the villages were quickly abandoned afterward. We dare not travel into the forest or risk getting ambushed, even with the high quality enchanted armor and weaponry we currently have. As you know, we have lost a blood paladin already.¡±


    Callixtus nods slowly, the paladins are the strongest mage warriors in his kingdom, their loss is felt greatly as the sheer quantity of blood crystals needed to create and sustain them.¡± You may leave. Find me again if new information presents itself.¡±


    The chancellor bows, turning on his heel, he exits the room, passing two very imposing paladins, their eyes glowing red, while their Mythril steel armor glows subtly with power. As the chancellor passes the guards, his face takes on a scowling expression, hands tightly wound in a fist, hidden by his robe.


    As Callixtus watches a paladin close his doors, he quickly walks towards a dresser and opens it up. Before him are beakers, ground crystals in a bowl, and a few red potions. Quickly, with a shaky grasp, he grabs a filled potion, removes the cap, and shoves the liquid down his throat.


    The shaking in his hand immediately stops, a content smiles finds itself on his face, eyes glowing red with power.¡±I do this for the kingdom''s survival,¡± he whispers to himself, dearly hoping that he actually believes his own words.


    ___________________________________________________________________________


    Adalwolf stands before the council of Karander, his arms folded around his chest, watching the dwarves, elves, and beast-kin bicker. That was completely fine with him, considering it was their fault for not replacing the captain of the guard.


    When he came to the council and gave his report, the idiots went into a full rage, blaming each other for where the fault lies instead of thinking up ideas on how to protect the city and its inhabitants. Taking a deep breath, his face becomes hard as he his fur straightens out, making him seem far larger.Unauthorized usage: this tale is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings.


    ¡°Silence!¡± he yells, the bickering quickly stops. ¡°I have stood here for an hour, listening to you all yell and scream at each other, wasting my precious time.¡± he glares at the council members, all completely shocked and silent from the interruption.¡± I will be taking over as the captain of the city guard,¡± he exclaims adamantly.


    ¡°You can¡¯t just announce that. There are protocols,¡± a dwarf council member interjects.


    ¡°Shut it!¡± Adalwolf yells, his fur bristling with mana, hardening and straightening noticeably.¡± A crater formed from a magical reaction, completely wiping out the building and damaging the ones around it. This was from only a few crystals becoming unstable.¡± he glares at the council members, his eyes glowing with power. ¡° If all of the crystals were to undergo such a catastrophic explosion, I fear that half this entire city will be but a crater.¡±


    The council stares at the angered Wolfkin, his menacing look creating both fear and awe. None dare interrupt though, the idea that their city could have been destroyed leaving them all speechless.


    Finding that none of the council members will interrupt, Adalwolf calms down, his eyes stop glowing and his fur slowly returns to normal. ¡°As soon as this meeting is over, I will have the guards enter every residence in this city. We can¡¯t risk a possible explosion.¡±


    Most of the council members all nod, the others starting to sweat.


    ___________________________________________________________________________


    ¡°So they left?¡± David asks his crew, his hand holding a mug of a beer as he sits on a chair in the mess hall.


    ¡°Aye, he left dis evening,¡± Alfred replies, a mug in his hand, two empty ones on the table before him.


    ¡°Ughhhhh,¡± Jeeves groans, holding a small revolver in his hand. ¡°He didn''t leave me any ammo,¡± Jeeves replies, a frown adamant on his face.


    Jessica starts to chuckle beside him,¡° Don''t complain, he never promised you ammo anyhow,¡± she answers, sipping from a mug.¡± It was your fault for not being specific with your request.¡±


    ¡°But¡­..mmm¡­..urgggg,¡± Jeeves groans, the revolver mostly useless without the ammo to fire in it. Hopefully, his mum will be able to get some insight from it.


    ¡°By the way David, when I stripped Valen of his armor, I didn¡¯t find anything on his back. I was sure he be one of dem Xerafin outcasts.¡±


    David looks to his first mate, nodding slowly.¡± Yea¡­¡­.the correct term is Forsaken. Those Xerafin that have had their wings clipped and exiled from their home.¡±


    ¡°So what, nobody knows what he is? Are we literally working for an employer that we have no knowledge of?¡± Jessica perks up, her eyes focused on the empty mug in her hand.


    ¡°Unfortunately yes¡­...but he has been honorable so far, thus we will be too. I don¡¯t want anyone saying anything about what he is since I think he would rather keep it a secret.¡± David announces to the group.


    Smiling at the nodding heads, he turns to his Quartermaster. ¡° How are we doing on supplies?¡±


    ¡°Mmmmm¡­...the goods are almost fully loaded. Granted, we didn¡¯t get any good cannons for the ship, and the enchantment are very basic¡­¡­but what can you expect from a trading port.¡± she shrugs her shoulders.


    ¡°That''s fine,¡± David replies, his thoughts focussed on a large number of coins left over.¡± We''re going to sail to the Great Dwarven Stronghold and order some custom built cannons from the Smith''s.¡±


    ¡°And the new crew members?¡± Jeeves asks, referring to the huge number of non-dwarven crew aboard the ship.


    ¡°The Dwarven Stronghold won''t be able to say crap,¡± David waves offhandedly.¡± This ship isn''t dwarven made, so no stupid laws about only dwarven crew on a ship will matter. If those council shits want to complain about it, they can complain to the traders guild.¡±


    The others nod, agreeing with the decisions of the captain.


    ¡°Well, I need another drink,¡± Jessica announces, picking up an empty barrel next to her and hauling it back to the kitchen.


    The other dwarves stare at her, watching as her muscles strain to hold the barrel, her massive ass squinting as she places the barrel down.


    ¡°Cap¡¯ain,¡± Alfred starts, his eyes on Jessica''s overly large trunk,¡± We need to set sail as soon as possible.¡±


    _______________________________________


    ¡°I can''t believe she''s gone,¡± Garren mopes, all strength leaving his body.


    Darius stands silently beside Garren, his eyes focused on the rising sun, afraid to look Garren in the eye.


    ¡°It''s not your fault,¡± Garren announces. ¡°You couldn''t have known that they had an army on that ship.¡±


    Darius continues to stare silently at the galleys, watching the soldiers unload the former slaves locked in the ships. Guilt continues to strike his heart. Garren''s newest student¡­..dead, all because he sent her aboard a fully crewed ship.


    ¡°Garren,¡± Wukong yells from behind, an annoyed look on his face as he walks towards the two.¡±I understand that you served aboard a ship before¡­...would it be possible to take one of these ships and hunt down the orcs?¡± He asks.


    Garren turns around, finding a disheveled Wukong, a complicated fearful look on his face.


    Garren shakes his head ¡° We don''t have people trained for the sea. We can''t just put random people on a ship and expect them to compete against trained orc sailors.¡±


    Wukong tisks his tongue,¡± If they send a massive orc fleet, we won''t be able to defend this beach. We need time to prepare.¡±


    ¡°Hmmmmm,¡± Garren thinks, his eyes turning towards the sea, reminiscing of his past¡­...reminding him of a good friend of his.¡± I may be able to get us protection¡­.but I''m going to need a ship and crew.¡±


    ¡°That¡­...won''t be much of a problem. Many of the former slaves were sailors captured on their trip here. I believe they would be more than happy to take you wherever you want,¡± Wukong explains, his eyes gaining a bit of hope.


    ¡°Good, get a ship ready and supplied, it''s going to be a long trip for me.¡±

 Chapter 24

    On an earthy trail leaving The Free City of Kander is an interesting group of four people, their gait both confident and relaxed as they make their long trip towards Gargantuan, the largest and most powerful city on the continent.


    These four individuals are none other than Valen and his mixed group of followers, with three dressed in clothing that easily attracts unwanted attention¡­..especially the humans¡¯ backpack.


    Gang stares at the monstrosity strapped to Valen back, its size almost as tall as him. The fact that Valen walks so casually with such a large weight can only mean one thing.


    ¡°Valen, you''re not going to fool me with that massive thing strapped to your back,¡± Gang exclaims beside him, a devious smile on his face.


    ¡°I have a lot of stuff, so I need to store it all,¡± he answers pointing towards his back,¡± I also have Lin¡¯s stuff, too,¡± pointing at the little tigress girl walking beside him. She is wearing pants and a shirt, instead of a dress, with a Pokeball backpack strapped squarely on her back.


    Gang just chuckles at Valen¡¯s blatant lie. ¡°That backpack as you call it is completely empty,¡± he answers for his side, amused at Valen surprised expression,¡± If it was full, your gait would be more backward, and your steps would be deeper into the ground,¡± he exclaims confidently.


    ¡°Errr¡­..¡± Valen starts, trying to think up an explanation, Gang merely just waves the conversation along.


    ¡°Anyone who knows what the Xerafin look like can clearly see that you¡¯re one of those Forsaken,¡± he exclaims knowingly.


    ¡°You clearly have all your supplies in that interspatial ring on your finger,¡± Gang points to Valen''s hand, ¡±though I am surprised that you even have any supplies. I was under the impression that when Xerafin exile their kind, they strip you of all your possessions.¡±


    A blank look crosses Valen¡¯s face,¡± Um¡­¡­..they uh don¡¯t check everywhere,¡± he starts, mind whirring quickly for an excuse,¡± they did not check internally,¡± he forces out. A slight blush donnes Gang¡¯s face as he realizes the hiding place a ring could be hidden.


    ¡°Also,¡± Valen starts,¡± you shouldn¡¯t talk, what with you having an interspatial item hidden in your robe.


    Gang immediately stops, the rest of their group walking forward, ignoring his surprised expression.


    ¡°You gonna stand there looking pretty or are you going to walk with us?¡± Valen announces loudly as he walks, the large backpack quickly disappearing.


    Sighing loudly, Gang increases his pace, catching up with the three, his own secrets quickly becoming unwound to this group.


    ¡°Lin, Diva?¡± Valen asks aloud, turning to the female members of his group.¡±Want me to get rid of your backpacks too?" He asks, pointing behind him.


    ¡°Naoooooo,¡± Lin says, taking a step away from Valen, tightly holding the giant Pokeball on her back.


    Diva merely shakes her head, mimicking Lin, refusing to give up the Spongebob backpack on her back, even if it did only contain cleaning and sharpening supplies for her Katana.


    Gang just smiles at his companion¡¯s as they bicker, thinking that maybe having his secrets known might not be that bad of a thing.


    *************************************


    The sun slowly passes the halfway point, the group still trudging on, expecting to make camp in the Dark Elf Forest.


    ¡°Hey, Gang,¡± Valen interrupts the silence.


    ¡°You went to the mercenary guild right?¡± Valen asks, looking at Gang, ¡±How do they rate mercenaries anyway?¡±


    Smiling respectfully at Valen¡¯s ignorance, Gang answers his question, ¡°Well, mercenaries are tested by the strongest person at the guild, which is usually the guild master. Ratings are then given by the tester based on both strength and skill.¡±


    ¡°Huh¡­..what are the ranks?¡± Valen asks the smiling Radonian, his robe swishing peacefully to the light breeze.


    ¡°The ranks go from tier triple S; which is the strongest, down to F rank, which is the equivalent to your average person. D rank, only one above F is where your regular soldiers come in. These are usually people who have fought or have skill with a weapon. Now the C rank is where mercenaries actually start to make a decent living. These people are your mages and warriors who are able to utilize mana in some way or form. They can enhance their physical capabilities or cast simple but deadly spells. In an army, these people would be captain¡¯s.¡± Gang explains.


    ¡°What about B ranks then?¡± Valen asks, the subject interesting him greatly.


    Gang just smiles at Valen, enjoying his curious expression, Lin listening to the conversation as well from his side. ¡±B ranks are usually people who have had a thorough amount of education in the form of mana manipulation. These individuals are usually the leaders of houses or clans, able to cast devastating spells or significantly increase their physical ability. The best way to identify these individuals is through their eyes. Untrained mana enhancement will cause mana to smoke from the body, but with training, no mana will be wasted, and the eyes will start to glow.¡±


    ¡°So¡­¡­...how long does it take to learn to control your mana like that?¡± Valen asks, very interested in a way to increase his strength.Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on the original website.


    Gang merely lifts his eyebrow, trying to understand why a Xerafin wouldn''t know about advanced mana manipulation.¡±It usually takes years, but people have learned it as low as half a year.¡±


    ¡°It took me two weeks,¡± Diva interrupts from Valen¡¯s side, her back straight, eyes forward, trying her best not to show emotion.


    ¡°Well¡­.¡± Gang starts ¡°Amazonians have an extremely large pool of mana, allowing them to train far longer than other species. So I guess it would be expected for them to learn quickly,¡± Gang exclaims, his mind thinking that two weeks is still abysmally fast.


    ¡°What about triple S,¡± Lin squeaks from behind, wanting to know about the strongest people.


    Gang just chuckles at her enthusiasm, ¡±First let''s continue on to the next rank, which is A. At this rank, you get the leaders of armies, usually generals or kings, at least with Radonians. I and Diva are actually of the A rank,¡± Gang smiles towards Valen, only to get a confused look returned.


    ¡°So¡­., are they just stronger magic users at each increasing tier?¡± Valen asks.


    ¡°No,¡± Gang quickly exclaims,¡± A rank are B ranks who have a lot of experience and a great many magical items at their disposal for a variety of situations. Only when you get to the S rank do things get very complicated.¡±


    ¡°S ranks are beings that can fight small armies on their own. Xerafin are all considered S ranks, while Amazonians become S ranks as they grow older and finish their pilgrimage. Very very few other species will become S ranks, as such, strength of that caliber is thoroughly respected in the mercenary community.¡±


    ¡°Wow¡­¡­.destroying armies¡­...huh¡­.,¡± Valen whispers aloud, turning to look towards Diva, a future army slayer in the making.


    ¡°Continuing on, double S ranks are few and far between. Currently, we only know that the Amazonians have Nine elders of such a rank, while the Xerafin also have a decent amount, but are unfortunately not registered, so their exact number is unknown. This is also the big reason why when the Xerafin makes demands, countries will always follow through, or risk getting destroyed.¡±


    ¡°Huh¡­...my kind are assholes,¡± Valen says, his thoughts turning back to Garren¡¯s warning to not mess with the Xerafin.


    ¡°Wait!¡± Valen yells, eyes widening,¡± Are there actually people of triple S rank then?¡±


    Gang smiles, even gaining Diva¡¯s attention as well, Lin perking up to the word triple S.


    ¡°Currently there is only one triple S being known, and that being is none other than the High Elf headmistress of Gargantuan Academy,¡± he exclaims confidently.


    ¡°Awwww fuck,¡± Valen curses, annoyed that the academy he wants to join is run by a species that he was also told not to mess with.


    Gang merely nods at Valen, misinterpreting the situation,¡± Yes, the same one who slew three Xerafin Elders in combat. It was that devastating battle that earned her the triple S rank. But don¡¯t worry Valen, she has no grudges against the Forsaken, on the contrary, she has them as teachers at her academy.


    Valen continues to rub his face, annoyed at the complicated situation before him, only now noticing the dark woods around him and the setting sun.


    _______________________________________________________________________


    Valentin smiles confidently as he stands upon his ship, the Corsair. The Corsair speeds forward, two mana engines giving his extremely heavy metal ship the speed to outrun any other ship. His massive red beard flows gracefully in the speeding wind, enjoying the view in front of him.


    An orc blockade sits at the exit of northern Jeriha, blocking ship trade and travel with over 40 orc galleys. Their large hulls and cannons slowly swiveling towards the Corsair, waiting for the ship to come in range.


    ¡°Hehehehehehe¡­...ahahahahaahah,¡± Valentin starts to laugh uncontrollably, the pathetic orcs think a shitty blockade would be able to stop him.


    Turning around, he walks inside of his ship, finding his Dwarven crew, smiling knowingly back at him.¡± Alright, when we get back to base, the Corsair is going to need a new paint job,¡± he says, the crowd of sailors in front of him cheer loudly, enjoying what is about to come next.


    Valentine turns towards his first mate and lover. ¡°Raise the hull, increase the engines, and set a course through as many of those ships as possible!¡± the dwarven pirate yells, smiling at the quick reaction of his crew.


    ***********************************


    Within a moment, a rumbling can be felt by the residents of the Corsair, as the metal hull of the ship moves upwards, covering the deck. The first engine quickly starts to burn mana, feeding the ship. The hull quickly glows with an ominous red light, strengthening the metal several times over. The mana engines quickly increases their mana flow, the rotors at the stern of the ship start to spin faster, propelling the heavy ship over the water, reaching speeds of over 80 knots.


    As the armored behemoth gets into range of the orc ships, cannons start to fire, slamming into the protective spiked hull of the Corsair, ripping paint off with every impact. Valentin grabs a handhold within his ship, waiting for the impact, smiling gleefully in anticipation.


    The Corsair quickly reaches the orc ships, its hull impacting the blockade¡­¡­..ripping and destroying the wooden hulls with ease, barely even slowing Valentin¡¯s ship down.


    Valentin smiles wider and wider with every impact, knowing that an immense number of orc shits are dying from the impacts.


    Finally, the destruction stops as the corsair passes through the blockade, a line of seven destroyed orc galley¡¯s left in its wake.


    Quickly the ship transforms back into its cruising pace, easily outrunning any orc ships that may feel they would want revenge.


    ___________________________________________________________________________


    ¡°What will we do,¡± an orc sailor asks, his eyes staring at the new captain of the ship.


    The captain finally looks up at the sailor¡­...or is it the first mate now? He places the enchanted artifact back on the desk, the same artifact used by Gudrun to incapacitate the enraged beast-kin that was ripping through the orcs with ease the day before.


    ¡°Gudrum used this artifact to send a powerful bolt of lighting at that beast-kin¡­.mostly encompassing her, unfortunately, he did not expect for the tigress to throw her sword in response, striking him in the chest,¡± the captain explains his thoughts; his finger rubbing the powerful and expensive electric wand.


    ¡°Without any leaders of Clan Garzand present, returning would more than likely result in either our deaths¡­..or worse.¡± the captain explains.


    ¡°So what do we do now?¡± his first mate asks.


    ¡°Simple, we will go to another clan and sell our services and loyalty. We have a ship, a powerful magic item, and information on a way to travel to Geralyn for beast-kin slaves.¡±


    A silence descends the two, the ship creaking from the orcs and slaves as they row hard, hoping to outrun any pursuers.


    ¡°What is it?¡± the captain finally exclaims, noticing that his first mate wants to ask a question.


    ¡°Well¡­...the boys have been wondering if they can have fun with that tigress girl chained down in the hold. Many of them want revenge and whatnot.¡±


    ¡°No,¡± the captain answers quickly, glaring at the stupid orc he designated as his first mate. ¡±She will be left alone and will be sold to the Coliseum for coin. I cannot allow her to be harmed if I am to get a good price.¡±


    Finding that the sailor is still standing before him, he picks up the enchanted wand. ¡±Either you are going to leave here and tell those idiots to keep their hands off the girl, or you can send them here and I will make an example of them.¡± the captain warns, watching as the first mate quickly runs out of the captains quarters.


    Once the door closes, the Captain sighs, turning back towards the wand in his hand, trying to figure out how to even use the blasted thing.

 Chapter 25

    Valen stares at a campfire, watching as the light dances to the wind of the forest. The slight ruffling of leaves and the crackling fire are the only sounds that permeate the night.


    Shuffling his eyes away from the burning wood, he looks up; no sky is visible, the forest all but blocking any possible light that may enter the small clearing.


    Sighing, Valen turns to his companion, Gang, who sits meditatively, eyes staring into the darkness like a statue. ¡°Gang,¡± Valen calls out, grabbing his attention.¡± I know Diva and Lin are sleeping¡­¡­and that Diva will be taking second watch when we are done¡­¡­..but¡­.I need someone to talk to.¡±


    Gang looks at Valen, finding an unusual sad expression on his face. Smiling, Gang taps the ground next to him.¡± That''s fine, but come sit here next to me, I would rather not be facing the fire and lose what little night vision I have.


    Nodding, Valen gets up, and sits next to Gang, they both silently stare into the dark woods, Gang waiting for Valen to begin.


    ¡°When I was young¡­¡­.my parents died in an accident,¡± Valen starts, eyes still looking forward,¡±and since I did not have any immediate relatives, I was sent to an orphanage.¡±


    Gang remains silent, as he listens to Valen tell his story.


    ¡°The orphanage¡­¡­.was a horrible place. The other children always ignored me¡­¡­.even the caretakers wouldn''t listen¡­...I was always ignored.¡±


    A tear starts to form on Valens¡¯ face, bad memories rising up from the depths of his mind.


    Gang merely stays silent, letting him vent his stress¡­..the same way his own mother used to do.


    ¡°I was always distracted¡­..so much so that when prospecting parents were looking for a child¡­..I was quickly dismissed.¡±


    Valen stops, taking a deep chilling breath.


    ¡°To lose your parents, and then be forced to live in a place where you were not loved¡­...it''s hard¡­.very hard.¡± Valen whispers, tears finally falling from his eyes, the stress hitting him all at once.


    Gang listens to Valen cry, fighting back his tears, memories of his own parents resurfacing¡­¡­.his mother''s death¡­...and her dying last words¡­..


    ¡°Now,¡± Valen starts again, wiping his eyes with his arm,¡± I find myself in the same situation as those parents,¡± he says, eyes still staring forward, unwilling to look anywhere else.


    ¡°Lin,¡± Gang whispers from beside him.


    ¡°Yeah¡­..Lin lost her mother, then found out her father died, all within a week¡­...and her stupid older sister just outright abandoned her.¡± Valen says, a tinge of anger in his own voice. ¡°Her only surviving family left her in the care of a stranger¡­....¡±


    A silence descends between the two. The fire still crackling behind them, heat continuing to warm their backs as Valen breathes slowly, calming himself before he speaks again.


    ¡° Lin may not show it, but she is in a great deal of pain, hiding it with a smile¡­¡­.a smile so full of sadness and suffering.¡± Valens arm slowly extends, grabbing a small stalk of grass, roaming his hands over it.


    ¡°I have never known a family. It was always only me, nobody else to care for. Somehow¡­..Lin found her way into my heart, and¡­¡­.only recently did I figure it out. She doesn''t see me as a friend¡­...she sees me as a parent¡­..a caretaker¡­...and that scares me.¡± Valen says fearfully, the idea so foreign to him.


    ¡° You make her happy,¡± Gang voices, not sure what else to say to the brooding man.


    ¡°Heh¡­..,¡± Valen chuckles sadly ¡° before I took a cannon shot to the face, I would have thought happiness was all that a person would need¡­..and then I woke up to a crying Lin.¡±


    ¡°It hurt Gang¡­.It hurt so much to see her cry, the pain was outright unbearable.¡± Valen voices, ripping the grass from the ground.


    ¡°At the city, when I heard the explosion¡­..I was so scared. I wasn''t even scared for myself¡­..I was scared for Lin¡­..for someone else¡­..¡±


    ¡°I don''t know if I can be a parent, Gang. I never had a kid before¡­¡­.nor did I have parents to learn from. She needs someone better than me¡­..I wish I left her at that village instead of taking her with me.


    Finally Gang turns to Valen, upset at the idiot ¡±You are an amazing man, Valen. You own a ship, fight pirates, kill slavers, and somehow you keep a little girl happy, even after her parents were killed. You love her Valen, and that alone is enough to be a great father.¡±


    Valen falls silent, Gang¡¯s boring stare and the fact that his face is only a few inches from Valen¡¯s causes him to feel very uneasy.The story has been taken without consent; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.


    ¡°Gang¡­...um¡­.¡± Valen mumbles, shuffling away from the man, unsure of what to say.


    Realizing what he was doing, Gang quickly moves back, straightening his back and staring into the darkness, hoping that the lack of light will block the sight of his blushing face.¡± Sorry¡­..but you have someone who needs you¡­.you have to change Valen.¡±


    Valen nods¡­.his mind going back to Lin¡­..and how he needs to change for her¡­...if only he knew how.


    Standing up, Valen heads towards the campfire, summoning a couple dry logs. With slow movements, Valen starts to add logs one by one, watching the fire devour the wood.


    ¡°Hey Gang,¡± Valen calls back, trying to change the mood ¡°What do you think about Diva?¡±


    ¡°What do you mean?¡± Gang asks, turning around to look at Valen.


    ¡°Well¡­...I find her attractive. Granted I understand we come from different backgrounds¡­...and that she is very ignorant¡­..but I think we could be a pretty good couple.¡±


    Gang stares at Valen with a critical eye. Finding a serious expression on his face, he starts to laugh hysterically, holding his stomach with his hands.


    ¡°Somehow¡­..hahaha¡­.I think you are more ignorant than her,¡± he answers, trying to calm his laughter, hoping not to wake Diva or Lin up. ¡°You¡­.you really don''t...snort¡­.don''t know anything about Amazons¡­.hahaaaa.¡±


    Valen just looks at the Radonian, confused and¡­.slightly insulted. ¡° What the heck are you trying to say Gang?¡± Valen asks, annoyed at the Radonians reaction to his honest question.


    Taking a couple deep breaths, Gang starts to calm himself, a smile is still splattered on his face.


    ¡°First off, Diva is a very weird Amazonian. From what I have heard, Amazonians are cocky, immoral women that will kill with but an order. The exception is children¡­..but they will kill the mother without regard for the child''s life.¡±


    Valen just stares at Gang¡­...not able to believe Diva would do such a thing. But then again¡­the way she bodyguards someone is through killing the other person first.


    ¡°And the biggest reason that you have no chance,¡± Gang continues, enjoying Valens facial reaction,¡± is that they only mate with their own species. Apparently, breeding with other species would weaken the magical ability of their own race.¡±


    ¡°Wait,¡± Valen interrupts confused,¡± I thought amazons are an all female race?¡± he asks the smiling Radonian.


    With a wide smile, Gang answers,¡±They are.¡±


    Valens mouth drops open¡­..the idea that¡­.Diva¡­..¡±Oh god¡­.,¡± he mouths.¡± So she¡­..with another...wow¡­¡­.I can¡¯t believe¡­..dayum¡­¡±


    Gang starts to laugh again, giggling on the ground like a child, Valens expression too funny to suppress his laughter.


    Valen puts his hands on his face, realizing that this night will be a long one.


    ****************************


    Lin opens her eyes, the sight of the inner tent greets her. Quickly putting her hand on her stomach, she feels the pains of nature calling.


    With a grimace, she gets out of bed, Valen deep asleep next to her. Her ears wiggle slightly¡­¡­.listening¡­.the sound of metal sliding on metal can be heard from the campfire.


    Grabbing a roll of toilet paper that Valen left for her, she silently walks out of the tent, quickly noticing Diva.


    Diva looks away from the sword she is sharpening, finding Lin leaving Valen''s tent.


    ¡°Poopoo,¡± Lin says, wiggling the roll of toilet paper in the air.


    Diva merely nods, going back to her sword, delicately sharpening the cutting edge.


    With Diva¡¯s approval, Lin walks into the dark forest, her night vision allowing her to see it as clear as day.


    Walking through the woods, Lin looks for a proper pooping place¡­..somewhere peaceful¡­..and interesting.


    Looking up, Lin finds a nice perch on a tree. Using her tail, Lin wraps the roll of toilet paper in it''s embrace, allowing her hands to be free for what she is about to do next.


    Extending her claws on both her hands and bare feet, she stabs into the bark of a tree. With practised ease, Lin starts to ascend, moving her way up the tall tree, aiming for a perch near the top.


    Within a minute, Lin finds her way on the perch; the branch easily supporting her relatively light weight.


    Looking around from her perch, she prepares to do her business¡­...only to be interrupted by a shuffling sound.


    Looking down, about a hundred meters away¡­..a person shuffles through the woods, their form obscured by the sheer distance.


    With a great deal of curiosity, Lin puts her business on hold as she jumps from branch to branch, moving closer to the person. Once she moves above the unsuspecting person, she take a good long look.


    A young dark elf similar in age to Lin walks through the dark forest, jumping at the slightest ruffle of sound.


    Lin examines the young girl, watching her every move, tail swishing in excitement at the prospect of a friend.


    With a conniving smile, Lin slowly crawls down the tree, trailing after the unsuspecting girl, enjoying the hunt.


    Slowly the cute predator moves silently through the grass, expertly avoiding branches as she closes in on the unsuspecting elf. Moving her head close the face of the elf, Lin takes a deep breath.


    ¡°PIKAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!¡± Lin yells into her ear.


    The elf screams and jumps forward, falling on the ground, quickly turning toward the sound. She quickly finds Lin, laughing uncontrollably, rolling on the ground¡­¡­..trying her best to hold her poop in.


    The dark elf girl scowls at the laughing beast-kin, upset and confused at the situation she finds before her.¡±That wasn''t nice,¡± she says to the other girl, watching her hold her stomach.


    Slowly Lin''s laughter dies down, regaining control of herself as she looks at the glaring elf.


    Standing up, Lin brushes the dirt off her sleepwear and looks to the other girl,¡±I¡¯m Lin, what''s your name?¡¯ she asks, ignoring the other girls glare.


    Pouting at the lack of apology, the elf crosses her arms,¡± My name is Aisha and you should apologize for scaring me.¡±


    Still smiling, Lin ignores the girls plea,¡±why are you in the forest alone, it''s dangerous if you don''t have a bodyguard.¡±


    Remembering her predicament, Aisha¡¯s expression quickly sours.¡±Daddy told me to run¡­...he said he would find me¡­...he said it was too dangerous to stay there.¡± she attempts to explain¡­.grabbing hold the necklace on her neck¡­¡­.the same one her mother told her to always wear.


    Lin just stares at the mopey girl, getting annoyed over her talk about parents. Valy is way better anyway.


    ¡°You know, you should come to my camp. It''s much safer.¡± Lin declares to the dark elf, having decided to help the poor girl.


    ¡°Umm¡­.,¡± Aisha looks around, the dark forest seemingly far darker and scarier when alone.¡±It would be ok?¡± She asks.


    ¡°Yup, Valy is super nice and Diva is super strong and Gang smells like flowers.¡± Lin starts to rant, happy to explain to the girl about her amazing companions.


    ¡°Can we go to the camp now?¡± Aisha asks, wanting to get out of the dark, even if she can see relatively well in it.


    ¡°Almost,¡± Lin chimes in, holding up a finger.¡± I have to poop first,¡± she exclaims, raising her tail into the air, a roll of toilet paper still being wrapped by her tail.

 Chapter 26

    Valens eyes slowly open to the sight of his tent, feeling annoyed at the finger that has been poking him in the cheek for a few minutes already. At first, he thought it was an accident, Lin flailing around in her sleep. But it just kept poking and poking.


    ¡°Ughhhhhhh Valen grunts, stretching in bed as his head turns towards the aforementioned poker.¡±Lin, I really would have loved to sleep a little more, you can¡¯t just ke-,¡± Valen stops, noticing a little elven girl looking at him, her dark skin quite noticeable from the little light passing through the tent.


    ¡°Lin said I should ask you for food¡­..can I have some food please¡­..I¡¯m really hungry.¡± Aisha asks, rubbing her tummy, eyes wide open as she attempts to pout cutely.


    ¡°No Aisha,¡± Lin¡¯s voice calls out from Valen¡¯s other side.¡±You have to give him the puppy dog look,¡± Lin explains quickly.


    Turing back his head to look at Lin, he finds her next to him, her face transforming as she talks to Aisha.


    ¡°You have to open your eyes wider, and pout like this,¡± Lin explains to the dark elf girl.


    ¡°Like this?¡± Aisha ask, attempts to mimic Lins face.


    ¡°More pouty,¡± Lin says.


    Valen first starts to chuckle¡­...then a full blown laugh graces his lips as the absurdity of the situation descends on his groggy mental state. Lin made a friend¡­..with a small elven girl¡­..in the middle of the forest...while he slept for maybe 6 hours.


    ********************


    Gang awakens in his tent, smiling at the new day before him. His mind resurfaces to yesterday night, remembering Valen¡¯s moment of weakness, a rather random thing¡­.to ask for guidance from someone he only met relatively recently. But Gang is happy that Valen chose him to express his feelings.


    Getting out of bed, Gang remarks with a smile at the immense craftsmanship of Valen¡¯s tents; the size, structure, and portability are far better than any he had ever seen.


    With a small stretch, Gang then sends his mana towards his left arm, feeding the mithril armband on his bicep, the same one his father gave him. With but a thought, his trusty weapon forms on the ground before him, then his large robe comes into being next to it.


    With a grunt,he grabs the colorful robe, its weight far heavier than its looks, considering the mithril steel alloy built in. Grabbing his enchanted polearm, the most common weapon of his people, he quickly checks his neck, making sure the enchanted necklace is firmly in place. With a practised flourish, his long braided hair wraps around his neck before he exits the tent.


    Exiting the tent, he finds a rather interesting sight before him, his companions apparently already awake¡­.for quite some time.


    First he notices Diva, her body quickly moving in practice, the katana¡­.as Valen calls it, flows gracefully through the air, getting mere centimeters from striking her body, but always missing as her perfect footwork allows her to move in serenity.


    A dance of death¡­.is a proper description when a Amazon practices her art.


    With a strength of will, Gang moves his eyes away from the amazing display towards a table and chairs¡­¡­.Lin and a¡­...dark elf sitting and eating from a bowl. Confused, both from the tables and the new member, Gang looks for Valen, quickly finding him a little further away¡­.training on the ground.


    Valen grunts slowly, his body moving up and down at the extension of his arms, sweat rolling down his face.¡±87...88...89,¡± he calls out every pushup.


    Gang stares entranced¡­.watching Valens sweat covered muscles twitch from the strain of his body¡­..their sheer size and¡­..sweat gleaming chest¡­¡­..making it hard for Gang to breath¡­..or even turn his roaming eyes away.


    ¡°100,¡± Valen says, finishing his pushups. Getting up from the ground, a towel forms in his hand. With slow movements, Valen wipes the sweat off his body, ignorant of Gangs roaming eyes. With another thought, a t-shirt forms across his body, allowing Gang to regain control of his eyes.


    With better control, he walks towards Valen, doing his best not to blush.¡±Valen¡­¡­..when did we get a new member for our party¡­...if I recall¡­¡­.we went to bed yesterday night.¡±


    Turning towards Gang, Valen notices a slightly red face, but give it no mind,¡± Apparently Lin had to poop, so she goes into the forest¡­...and somehow found a friend. I haven''t asked many questions yet,¡± Valen turns to the table, noticing the girls finishing up their meal, ¡°though we should probably ask right now.¡±


    With a quick nod from Gang, they both walk towards the table, the two girls chatting amicably¡­..Diva doing her own thing.


    ¡°Valy!¡± Lin yells, jumping out of her seat and running towards him.¡± Can I get a pokeball?¡± she quickly asks, ignoring Gang.


    Lifting his eyebrow, Valen folds his arms¡­..not sure if this is the correct stance a father would take.¡± Lin, Gang just woke up, what are you supposed to say?¡±


    Pouting¡­..Lin turns to the Radonian¡± Gooooood morning!¡± she yells with a smile, Gang merely smiling at the overeager introduction.


    ¡°Good morning Lin,¡± Gang answers back.


    Having done her introduction, she excitedly turns to Valen¡± So¡­.can I get a pokeball now?¡±


    Lifting his eye, ¡±Why do you want a pokeball Lin?¡± he asks curiously, not at all bothered whether he had any such toys. Apparently, the malls and stores that he bought the entire inventory of were stocked in practically everything.


    ¡°So I can catch pokemon.¡± she exclaims like it''s the most obvious thing in the world.


    ¡°Lin, you can''t catch pokemon. That was a animated show. Pokemon aren''t re-,¡± Valen stops, looking at Lin¡¯s confused face¡­..finding something wrong.


    Bending on one knee, Valen looks to Lin, his head leveled with hers.¡± Why do you want to catch pokemon Lin¡­...why do you want to be a trainer?¡± Valen asks the tiger-kin.


    Lin takes a rigid expression, her little arms turning into fists, tail waving angrily in the air.¡±I want to get powerful pokemon to¡­.to help people. I want to stop people from hurting others. I want to make sure people don''t lose their parents¡­..I want to protect you¡­.¡± Lin answers back, her ears drooping low, her confident stance all but gone as she remembers Valen, bloody and laying in bed.Royal Road is the home of this novel. Visit there to read the original and support the author.


    Without a moment¡¯s hesitation, Valen quickly picks up Lin, hugging her to his chest. Lin hugs back, her arms wrapped around Valen neck, enjoying the safety he gives¡­¡­...the feeling of someone who cares for her.


    Gang merely watches the scene¡­..slightly jealous of Lin¡­..getting comfortably hugged by Valens massive chiseled chest.


    After a bit of time, Valen pushes Lin away, brushing a few tears from her eyes.¡± With a flourish of his arm, a pokeball forms in his hand, quickly handing it to Lin.


    Gang¡¯s mind doesn''t even think about Valen giving Lin some weird ball¡­..no, his mind and eye are focused on the hand that summoned it. A hand lacking the mithril ring.


    Before Gang can ask, Valen interrupts the group.¡± Alright Lin, mind introducing us to your new friend?¡± he asks, pointing behind Lin, where Aisha watches the group with trepidation.


    Nodding quickly, Lin runs to the elf, grabbing her hand, the other holding the red and white ball.¡±This is Aisha, I found her lost in the woods.¡± Lin says to the approaching Gang and Valen.


    ¡°I see,¡± Valen starts, taking a better look at the young girl; dark skin, relatively short ears for an elf, wearing sandals and a gray dress¡­.torn up in a few places...I will have to fix that. ¡°So Aisha¡­..what were you doing in the forest alone¡­...it is quite dangerous.¡±


    Aisha remains quiet, the attention of strangers making it hard for her to speak up.


    Lin quickly nudges the elf, smiling back at her¡­.giving Aisha the courage to speak.¡± I was with my dad¡­...we ran away from our village¡­...he told me to run away¡­..and that he will find me later.¡±


    Valen looks towards the elf child¡­.not sure how to answer. ¡°You said he will find you later. Did he say how?¡± Gang quickly asks from Valen¡¯s side.


    Nodding, Aisha puts her hand on her neck, pulling out a hidden necklace, a small jewel attached to a peace of wood and string. ¡°Mommy and daddy said if I am ever lost, they can always find me as long as I have this necklace with me,¡± she answers, the jewel glinting slightly.


    ¡°Ahhhhh, so that''s it,¡± Gang exclaims knowingly, looking towards the confused Valen.¡± That necklace uses an Alteration enchant that allows the users senses to feel a connection to any other items similarly made. It¡¯s a complicated piece of magic which requires that all items be made at the same time, by the same individual.¡±


    ¡°Huh¡­...so how does it work exactly?¡± Valen asks, looking at Aisha¡¯s necklace.


    ¡°Simple, mana is sent into the crystal, then it is released in a wave. The wave travels a distance based on mana sent¡­.until it strikes another similar mana signature. At which point the crystals slightly vibrates towards the direction of the other signature. Strength of vibration determines distance.¡± Gang explains to Valen, proudly


    ¡°Interesting¡­...so it is a magical radar. That''s pretty impressive.¡± Valen says thoughtfully, the idea that mana can work similar to modern day instruments opens up a whole lot of potential uses.


    Before Gang can ask what a radar is, Aisha¡¯s quickly speaks up.¡±Can we find my dad with this?¡± she asks, holding up her necklace.


    ¡°Yes,¡± Gang answers, holding out his hand towards the young girl.


    Pausing for a moment, not sure if she should hand over the necklace¡­...but quickly laments, figuring that her father might need help.


    Taking the necklace into his hands, Gang starts to summon his mana. Willing it, the mana coagulates towards his neck, extending towards his gills and finally being released into the atmosphere. Without losing control of the external energy, he directs it towards the necklace, striking the crystal, enchanted wood slowly starting to glow with power.


    More and more of his mana flows into the crystal, glowing brighter and brighter. Once the crystal is full with power, having been charged far beyond its capacity; Gang taps the wood, activating the enchantment.


    A burst of invisible energy explodes from the necklace, blasting in every direction, even allowing Valen¡¯s untrained senses to feel the wave as it travels through him.


    Within a second, the necklace starts to vibrate strongly, back towards the forest.


    ¡°Hmmmm...it seems that Aisha¡¯s father is much closer than I thought.¡± Gang exclaims, handing the necklace back to Aisha.


    Smiling, Valen turns to Diva, ¡±Diva, we are going to take a quick trip into the forest. You coming?¡± Valen asks the Amazonian.


    Diva merely nods, sheathing her sword, wiping what little sweat she worked up on her sleeve.


    _________________________________________________________________________


    Arjun winces from the pain in his side, the blood having soaked thoroughly into his shirt and pants¡­...making it extremely hard to escape the predator chasing him.


    ¡°Grrrrooooowwwwlllll.¡±


    The beast roars, enjoying its hunt against a weakened enemy, knowing that it is only about time before its prey finally gives in.


    Tisking, Arjun stands back up, moving away from the tree he was resting at¡­.away from the sound of the beasts roar.


    With a will of mana, he strengthens his body, muscles spasming painfully¡­..a bit of blood spilling from the wound on his side.


    He sets off again, hoping to find help. Each step he takes causes a discrete piercing pain on his side¡­..where an arrow he had removed earlier had been.


    Yes¡­.an arrow¡­.fired by a group of light elves which had invaded his home¡­..burning the village and taking as many people hostage as possible.


    Arjun remembers¡­..the screaming¡­..flaming arrows and fire magic, striking the village walls, burning it down. So much yelling and screaming. He and his daughter were able to get away, only because his wife sent them outside to pick ingredients for her potions.


    A tear streams down the side of his face, remembering his daughter Aisha¡­..hoping that she got away.


    His daughter¡­..was with him at the time of the attack. When it happened, he ran into the forest with her¡­..soldiers following behind him. Taking the decision to protect her, he tells her to run away, promising to find her later.


    ¡°Ughhh,¡± Arjun groans, his vision starting to get slightly hazy¡­.that arrow wound did a great number on him¡­.


    When his daughter ran, he had turned around, summoned his mana and blasted the chasing soldiers. They did not expect the ball of flame, killing a few of them outright. Unfortunately there were too many of them, forcing him to quickly flee; in a direction hopefully away from Aisha.


    Unfortunately, one of the soldiers got lucky, striking him in the side, the arrow slamming through his leather vest, stabbing deeply into his side. Luckily it did not slow him down...


    Within an hour he had lost his pursuers, the forest thick with vegetation requiring experience to traverse at any reasonable speed. When he had finally found a safe place, he had ripped out the arrowhead, quickly covering his wound using some stored cloth he had.


    Unfortunately the blood was enough to attract a very dangerous predator.


    ¡°Groowwwwwllllll,¡±


    Arjun listens, the predator slowly gaining on him, only the fear of his own magick keeping the predator from engaging the wounded elf¡­..a smart hunter¡­.knowing its prey will die on its own.


    ¡°If only he knew I can barely keep my eyes open,¡± Arjun whispers, his glowing eyes barely even shining¡­.muscles ready to give in at any moment.


    With much less skill than before, Arjun continues through the forest, a bit of blood falling with every jump. Slowly the path before him becomes blurrier and blurrier, the breath of the hunters gait following behind.


    Within a moment, Arjun loses ground, exiting the forest, quickly falling into a large rocky canyon. Tucking in his arms and legs, he rolls down the steep slope.


    Groaning in sheer pain, Arjun crawls towards a rock at the bottom, placing his back to it¡­..his mana all but gone now.


    Looking up, he finally notices his hunter, its piercing eyes staring down at him with intelligence.


    ¡°A Barghese,¡± he whispers, finally noticing one of the deadliest beast in the forest.


    With a mighty leap, the Barghese jumps down, landing on its pipedal clawed legs, its long tail swishing dangerously on the ground.


    ¡°Grrrrrrr.¡± the beast growls, showing off its razor sharp teeth, knowing that the prey before it is as good as dead.


    Arjun watches as the Barghese slowly walks forward, its steps confident but wary¡­..knowing many animals will fight hardest when closest to death.


    Smiling sadly, Arjun watches the approaching predator, knowing that he will not be able to keep his daughters promise¡­..to find her again.


    ¡°Clack.¡±


    Arjun notices a sound. Blinking away his hazy sight, he looks at the predator, who is confused¡­..staring at the ground.


    Arjun follows the predators eyes¡­..finding a slowly rolling red and white ball¡­.

 Chapter 27

    The group slowly walks through the jungle¡­or at least Valen and Gang do, their inexperience making it a very slow and grueling process.


    Valen glares up enviably at Lin... jumping from branch to branch, forgoing shoes so that she can get an easier grip. If she hadn''t been doing this type of transportation all her life, Valen would have demanded she walks beside him.


    Looking forward, he finds Diva expertly avoiding foliage, her footwork so perfectly sound it¡¯s rather captivating. To the side of Diva is Aisha, wearing rugged pants and shirt supplied by Valen, also maneuvering easily through the jungle.


    ¡°Gang¡­ how close did you say it was again?¡± Valen asks, the sheer number of trees and foliage being horrible to maneuver around; I have been whipped in the face by a branch so many times that I may need a health potion.


    Gang quickly brushes his face with a sleeve, sweating from the exertion ¡°It should have been about an hour away...unfortunately we are vastly slowing down the group.¡±


    ¡°I see a clearing!¡± Lin yells from atop a branch.


    Nodding with delight, Valen and Gang increase their pace, hoping to get out of the dense foliage to something far more¡­ manageable.


    ___


    The group quickly runs through the remaining foliage¡­ entering the periphery of a long drop towards a small canyon. At the bottom, Valen quickly notices an interesting scene. A¡­ raptor like creature covered in fur is slowly approaching a white skinned elf¡­ who is sitting with his back to a large rock. The elf is bloody and looks like he is barely conscious¡­


    ¡°That''s my dad,¡± Aisha voices from Valen¡¯s side, watching the car sized predator slowly approach the injured elf.


    Valen releases his mana, preparing to summon a weapon to take out the large distracted creature¡­ unfortunately, his pokemon trainer has other ideas.


    __


    Lin, having noticed a large powerful...and dangerous predator, quickly takes out her pokeball from her pocket. With a grunt, she quickly throws the ball¡­ aiming at the beast.


    The ball flies through the air¡­ spinning elegantly...and perfectly smacks the Barghese on the head, bouncing off and rolling away.


    ¡°It didn''t work,¡± Lin says from Valen¡¯s side, who is currently watching the predator as it looks first at the rolling ball, and then turns its head towards them.


    ¡°Damnit Lin, I really wish you hadn''t done that,¡± Valen says out loud.


    The Barghese looks towards the group, its eyes staring intently at the five new people that had interrupted its hunt. With an angry growl, the predator prepares for a fight. Its eyes start to quickly glow...green and brown fur thickens across its body; taking on a metallic sheen.


    ¡°Roooooaaaaaarrrrrrr,¡± it screams in challenge, determined to protect its food.


    Before Valen can voice anything, Diva quickly enhances her body, jumping down over twenty feet to accept the predators challenge.


    ¡°I dislike monsters,¡± Gang calls from his side, eyes glowing as well. He quickly jumps down after the smiling Amazonian, who is about to engage the predator.


    Finding that his two companions went to engage the Bhargese, Valen also releases his own mana. Within a blink of an eye, his trusty black armor appears on his body, eliciting a small squeal of surprise from Aisha. With another burst of mana, Valen quickly materialized his revolvers¡­ guns so large and unwieldy that dual wielding them is only possible when he strengthens his muscles.


    Taking a deep breath, Valen spreads mana through his body, enlarging and strengthening him, smoke concealed by his jet black armor. He then takes a step forward...ready to jump¡­ but stops¡­


    Turning his helmeted head around, he finds Aisha and Lin staring at him, watching his every move.


    Tisking with annoyance, Valen takes a step back, dematerializing his revolvers¡­ and rematerializing his assault rifle, quickly taking a knee to steady the gun.


    He would have loved to jump into the battle¡­ but he can''t just leave the girls alone¡­ for all he knows, more monsters may be nearby.


    ***********************************


    Diva quickly meets the large predator¡­ smiling excitedly at the Barghese attempt to scare her; Growling menacingly¡­ showing its teeth¡­ pathetic attempts of a predator so used to having its way.


    With but a thought, her mana quickly engulfs her surroundings¡­ her domain¡­ a unique trait of the Amazon¡¯s, allowing them to know whatever happens around her...and have been trained to react to it on instinct.


    Diva quickly ducks, the beasts long tail attempting to swipe her¡­ but she already felt it coming¡­ the tail muscles constricting, leg muscles ready to turn, holding its breath; such simple signs of movement.A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.


    Sidestepping right, she quickly dodges the Barghese¡¯s lunge, her mana infused sword whipping out, slicing the side of the predators body, easily cutting through strengthened fur and muscle.


    __


    The Barghese quickly jumps back, taking a long look at the sword in Diva¡¯s hand...wary of something that was able to so easily cut it¡­ something that other monsters could never penetrate with their own jaws.


    Bending its knees, the Barghese dodges a piece of ice, having already noticed the other prey joining the battle.


    __


    Valen watches Gang spins his weapon, absorbing liquid from the air, covering his blade, and blasting razorsharp ice at the beast¡­ who dodges expertly with speed he can barely even follow¡­ unlike Diva, who is keeping up with the massive predator.


    He continues to watch the fight as it goes on, the Barghese striking with its scythelike arms and tail while systematically dodging ranged attacks from Gang. Even with that speed, Diva continues to dodge the attacks, knowing where and when they will occur, and positioning her blade lethally against the predator in case it attempts to full-on engage.


    Valen looks down the scope of his assault rifle¡­ learning about the movements of the beast¡­ similar to the way he learned and predicted other fighter pilots in mock engages.


    Fast¡­ is an understatement when comparing his own movements to those of Diva and the beast. They run, jump, slash, dodge¡­ making it very hard to line up a shot¡­ but unlike Diva¡­ the beast is predictable. Valen pulls on the trigger.


    __


    The Bhargese jumps back, avoiding the dangerous blade aimed at its head¡­ only to feel impacts strike its side¡­ slightly hurting it¡­ but not penetrating.


    Quickly the beast looks towards the direction where the impacts were coming, finding a black armored man, pointing something. Giving it no mind, the beast turns towards the more dangerous prey¡­ the Amazonian with the sword.


    ******************


    Valen glares annoyingly at the Bhargese...over thirty armor piercing rounds impacted the beast¡­ literally falling off of its fur¡­ not even penetrating skin or even bothering it.


    Even the beasts and monsters he had killed in Geralyn were harmed by bullets...but this one just seems to shrug them off like it is getting tickled.


    Figuring that he would need something far more¡­ penetrating...Valen un-summons his rifle¡­ and then summons a anti-material sniper rifle, quickly taking aim at the fast moving target.


    ¡°Lin, Aisha, cover your ears,¡± he yells out to his side,¡±this weapon makes a lot of noise, I don''t want to damage your ears.¡±


    Lin quickly nods, putting her hand on her head, covering her own ears¡­ knowing that it is still going to be loud regardless.


    Aisha, noticing Lin¡¯s behavior, quickly copies the tigress, not sure what exactly is going to happen.


    ¡°USE FIRE!¡±....¡±ITS WEAK TO FIRE!¡± the injured elf yells, interrupting Valen¡¯s aim.


    Valen looks at the yelling elf, and then slowly nods.


    Quickly he takes the rifles magazine...removes it¡­ and summons another one¡­ filled with russian made, armor piercing, incendiary, fifty caliber rounds.


    ********************


    When Arjun saw his daughter, he was immediately taken with fear¡­ fear that the beast would take her life as well as his own. But that fear quickly turned to hope when he finally realized the skill of the people with her¡­ including the Amazonian.


    Now he watches the fight between the Barghese and the Amazonian; The Radonian all but useless with those blades of ice.


    The other one with black armor seems to be a archer of some type, considering the weird ranged weapon he uses¡­ unfortunately the Bhargese cannot be harmed without magic...its fur can withstand piercing and blunt damage absurdly well.


    The Barghese would have been considered a S ranked monster if it wasn''t for its weakness to magic¡­ primarily fire magic, its fur easily flammable.


    Turning his thoughts back to the fight, he waits for the Amazon to quickly take out the Bhargese, only to notice that the monsters initial cut has already healed¡­ what is she waiting for¡­ unless!


    She has not ascended her domain!... the Bhargese is too smart to lose in a mere brawl.


    Panicking, Arjun quickly attempts to move closer but pain overtakes him before he can even attempt to stand, the battle moved too far for his words.


    Looking back to the black armored guy, he finds the person using an interspatial item¡­ disappearing his weapon, only to replace with an even larger one.


    Taking a deep breath, ignoring the sharp pain¡° USE FIRE!¡±....¡±ITS WEAK TO FIRE!¡± he yells with what little strength he has.


    The black armored individual nods back.


    Relaxing his body back, Arjun turns towards the battle, finding little has changed, except the Radonian is slowing down; his mana is get-.


    ¡°BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOMMMMMM.¡±


    An extremely loud noise interrupts Arjun¡¯s thoughts. His eyes quickly turn away from the Radonian, finding the Bhargese with a large chunk of its side missing.


    ___


    The monster groans and jumps back from the Amazon, it''s side hurting immensely. The smell of burning fur, meat, and blood almost sending the predator into a craze. Squinting quickly, the Barghese attempts to make sense of the situation.


    ¡°BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOMMMMM.¡±


    The predators arm explodes in a fiery inferno. Pain quickly overrides the logical part of its brain as it extends its neck towards Diva.


    ¡°RRRROOOOOOOAAAAAAARRRRRRR, ¡±it screams menacingly at the Amazonian, eyes glaring with hate.


    ¡°BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOMMMMM.¡±


    An explosion strikes the enraged monster¡¯s neck, ripping meat and bone clean off.


    The Bhargese quickly goes silent and topples over, the neurons connecting its head to the body having been severed with that final explosion.


    With a small whine, the beast moves his eyes, finding a sad woman as she raises her sword, striking downward and cleaving the predators skull.


    ____________________________________


    ¡°So the holy kingdom is making its move¡­ that is much too soon, we aren''t ready,¡± a hooded figure explains as she sits on a log, a sharp dagger twirling expertly in her hand.


    ¡°I can''t halt him anymore!¡± a tall light elf quickly answers back angrily, ¡°If you want to avoid a bloody war, then you will ge-.¡±


    ¡°Phzoooooooom,¡± a dagger quickly flies through the air, passing mere centimeters from the elf''s face, interrupting him.


    ¡°Mmmmmm¡­ chancellor,¡± the women hums, pulling out another dagger, ¡±You misunderstand my king¡­ he does not fear your kingdom or your insane king¡­ pope¡­ whatever you call him. What he fears more is losing any heavily trained mages and assassins in this little coup you are planning.¡±


    The elf squints at the female assassin, attempting to find a facial expression under the hood¡­ but the hoods shadow and low light of the forest is making it extremely difficult to even see a face outline.


    ¡°You are severely underestimating the blood paladins. They will continue to grow in strength with every captured elf. You got lucky taking one down, the older ones will be far more difficult.¡± The chancellor explains, fearing the loss of life a war will bring to both sides. His eyes continue to stare at the girl, looking for even the smallest body movement.


    ¡°Sigh¡­ I grow tired of your pathetic begging. Unless you have any useful information you can supply, then this conversation is over,¡± the women exclaims, dagger twirling quickly in her hand.


    The chancellor slowly nods, having read her body language¡­ and the fear hidden beneath. He quickly straightens his back, clasping his hands behind his back.


    ¡°My offer to remove most of the forces guarding the pope will still be available. If you feel that you have a change of mind, do feel free to contact me,¡± he says with an expressionless face.


    With one final glance, he turns around and starts walking away from the deadly assassin; his stride both relaxed and ready as he walks towards a carriage just outside the forest.


    The assassin watches the elf confidently stride away, internally cursing her hand¡­ the same hand which playfully twirls a dagger when stressed.


    I understand the pain of working for an idiot as well chancellor¡­..


    With that thought, she turns her head upward, staring into the dark branches.¡±Make sure he arrives safely to the carriage.¡±


    Immediately dark shapes and shadows quickly move from tree to tree, barely even making a sound a she gets up and picks up the dagger from the ground¡­ the tip completely dented.


    ¡°So you too have secrets as well.¡±

 Chapter 28

    Light is something that many people take for granted, sure it is useful to see and allows plants to grow nice and strong. But there is another factor which many people seem to always ignore: light is a confirmation of being alive.


    ¡°Ughhhhh,¡± Arjun groans aloud, his eyes blinking quickly as he awakens from a short but deep slumber.


    Annoyed is probably a very good word to describe his awakening. Not because of the pain on the side of his body, nor the extremely tight wrappings around his waist...but the fact that the sun is perfectly overhead, it''s light passing through a convenient hole in the leaves and branches above, striking his face.


    Blinking quickly, he attempts to open his eyes again and turn his head, the light giving him quite a headache. With determination, he moves his head away from the ray of light, finding the same group of people who had saved his life, completely ignorant of his awakening, or even his current plight.


    With newfound energy and a lack of imminent threat, he finally takes a good look at the people who came to his rescue.


    The first thing he notices is his daughter, sitting with a tiger-kin girl¡­ staring into a metal tablet of some kind; possibly a magical object?


    Smiling at his daughter and her bewildered and focused expression, he next turns towards the sole woman of the group.


    The Amazonian trains adamantly on the ground, her sword spinning and cleaving the air with amazing speed and precision; as would be expected of a race feared by all.


    Finally he turns his head towards the last two individuals. The Radonian with the enchanted ice weapon and the...Forsaken?


    Interesting! I have not met a Xerafin in quite some time. I don''t remember seeing him in the battle.


    Arjun stops his train of though, his mind thinking to the battle before he passed out, remembering the black armored figure on the hill.


    Could that have been him? And that weapon, such a fearful amount of power!


    The explosions, fire, and the screams of the dying monster was something Arjun will never forget.


    Having finished his mental assessment, Arjun slowly forces his body into a sitting position, biting his lip from the spike in pain. Firmly placing his legs on the ground, he slowly stands up, immediately finding a new set of clothes neatly folded on the side of his...bed?


    Why is there a bed here in the middle of the forest? Oh my, the quality of the sheets are superb. I wonder if the clothes feel this nice too.


    Picking up the clothes, he marvels at the amazing feeling of the well crafted clothing and design; who are these people?


    Slowly he puts on the clothing, making sure that he does not reopen his wound. Once done and quite happy with the feeling of the clothes on his skin, though he would rather have some leather armor to go with it.


    Nodding one more at the feel of the clothing, Arjun heads towards the two standing men by the fire, finally noticing what they are doing...including what they are bickering about.


    __


    ¡°What was the reason again for wanting to cook an entire monster?¡± Gang asks as he stares towards a massive fire extending up to 5 meters in length. Two logs dot each side while a absurdly long metal pole connects between them.


    On the pole is the dead Bhargese, its skin is completely gone, allowing its massive dense muscles to be clearly seen.


    ¡°I am curious on what it would taste like. What''s the point of killing something as dangerous and as strong if we aren''t even going to eat it?¡± Valen asks as he uses a stick to poke the meat, eliciting a sizzling sound as a bit of fat drips into the fire.


    ¡°I am not against eating it, I just think that maybe we should have just ripped a leg off and cooked that instead of a thousand pounds of meat.¡± Gangs answers exasperatedly.


    With a roll of his eyes, Valen turns his head towards Gang, ¡±Gang, I asked if you ever cooked an animal, and you said no. I also asked Diva and she told me something about Amazon''s and their tendency to slaughter everything on their island...which I think means they caused an extinction.¡±


    *Sigh* ¡°Valen, I never said that I did not know how to cook. I merely said said that I never did.¡±


    *Silence*


    ¡°So wait¡­ why did you help me prepare the monster then? It literally took us hours just to skin the damn thing!¡± Valen yells out, remembering how hard the dam monsters skin was to even remove¡­ thank god he saved the pelt, it may be useful later.


    Gang puts his hand on his head, the onset of a headache kicking in.¡± I was under the impression you wanted to transport it and sell the meat...not eat it.¡±


    As the two bikker, an older elf slowly walks towards them.


    ¡°Sorry to interrupt, but I must voice my concern about the safety of the camp and the lack of vigilance.¡± a man quickly speaks up behind the two arguing individuals.


    Turning quickly around, Valen and Gang notice the light elf as he stands firm on the ground, a relaxed smile on his face, hand rubbing the black shirt Valen had provided.If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. Please report it.


    ¡° It is rather¡­ pitiful that such powerful individuals like yourselves can be so easily snuck up on.¡± Arjun moves his hand towards the two kids sitting at a table, watching something on Valens tablet ¡° The children are so enthralled with that¡­ piece of metal that they do not even notice the insects landing on their bodies.¡±


    Valen looks towards the girls, a fistlile spider is precariously placed on Lin''s head.


    Then he points towards Diva who seems to grunt and jump, swinging her sword with great strength, ¡±The Amazonian seems to be in her own world right now, completely ignoring everything around her.¡±


    Valen looks to diva, remembering how upset she was for not being able to kill the monster herself.


    ¡°And then there''s you two, more focused on cooking a¡­ Bhargeast¡­ why are you cooking an A rank monster? Don''t you know their meat can be used to make extremely potent potions?¡±


    Gang and Valen stare at the old elf, his blabbering and relaxed gait completely surprising the two.


    Arjun notices the confused looks he is gettimg, ¡±Ah, apologies, I have not introduced myself.¡± With a practised smile, the elf does a slight bow,¡± I am known as Arjun Arasan, professional enchanter, Graduate of Gargantuan University, and father of Aisha.¡±


    Gang quickly returns the bow in practised ease,¡± I am known as Gang Shui.¡±


    Not wanting to be left out, Valen introduces himself¡­ far less gracefully.


    ¡°I''m Valen,¡± he answers with a wave,¡± I''m sorry for not giving you a health potion,¡± he quickly exclaims, noticing the elf as he rubs his side,¡± but Gang here was adamant I don''t give it to you.¡± Valen says as he points to the Radonian.


    Not missing a beat, the elf answers with a smile


    ¡°And for good reason. I was in an extremely sorry state. Mana exhausted, injured, low on blood,¡± he shakes his head. ¡°That health potion would have killed me in that state. It would have forced my heart to beat faster and transfer what little Mana I had towards my injury. Unfortunately Mana transfer happens primarily through blood circulation, thus I fear I would have bled first before the onset of other problems like Mana retardation sets in.¡±


    *Silence* Valen and Gang stare awkwardly at the elf.


    ¡°Oh! My apologies. I have a tendency to ramble on. Do feel free to interrupt me; my friends, colleagues, and...wife¡­ tell me I occasionally talk too much.¡± He explains, a sad smile donning his face as he mentions his wife.


    ¡° So...do you need a health potion now?¡± Valen asks, trying to change the somber mood of the elf.


    Perking up, Arjun quickly waves his hand, ¡°No, no, I would never ask someone for a regeneration potion for such a small wound. I am currently transferring Mana towards the wound on my side, instigating regeneration on that spot. A rather good technique might I add. Apparently it was first developed by an elf who studied trolls and their ability to regenerate exceptionally fast. Granted, this form of healing isn''t nearly as fast as those of the trolls, but a wound which would take a month to fully heal will instead take only a few days. Of course there are better techniques which are guarded by Kings, nobles and the like. I remember this warrior who w-¡±


    ¡°Ahem,¡± Valen quickly clears his throat, interrupting the elf.


    ¡°I see, I did it again, apologies.¡± He says, scratching his ear, attempting to hide a blush with his hand.


    ¡° Arjun, sorry to ask this, but what exactly happened. That...Bhargese was it? Is clearly a very dangerous predator.¡± Gang starts, trying to phrase his question correctly, ¡°I find it hard to believe that you were able to survive for so long against such a creature.¡±


    ¡° Ahhh, now that is a very interesting question and you are very much correct to ask. The Bhargese,¡± he points towards the cooking meat,¡± is an extremely durable and intelligent monster. It would have been considered a S rank beast if it did not have such a fatal flaw. The monsters flaw is that it is extremely susceptible to fire, so much so that it fears even the smallest of flame.¡±


    ¡°So it was just afraid of fire? Seems rather far fetched if you ask me,¡± Valen voices from Gangs side, remembering the speed and strength of the beast.


    ¡°Correct, many predators would ignore the risk of fire to attempt to kill prey. So your skepticism is warranted.¡± he nods towards Valen


    ¡°Now a Bhargese is powerful and dangerous because of its ability to harden the hairs on its body to unprecedented levels, making many mundane weapons or even enchanted ones completely useless against the monster. But the moment the hairs on its body become heated, the contained mana reacts violently, setting the monsters fur aflame.¡±


    Without a warning, a ball of fire burst into being in front of Arjun; Gang and Valen quickly jump back in surprise.


    ¡°Sorry about that,¡± Arjun replies with a wave of his hand,¡± I forget that most mages are not graduates of Gargantuan, so the usage of mana without various hand or body movements can be very foreign.¡±


    ¡°Anyways, what was I talking about?¡± He asks the bewildered Gang and Valen, the ball of fire continues to float in the air casually.


    Trying to remember what he was talking about, Arjun notices the ball of fire...the same one he is subconsciously maintaining.¡± Ahhhh yes, fire and the Bhargese,¡± he quickly exclaims remembering what point he was about to make.


    Galen and Gang just look at each other, then back to the crazy elf.


    Not even noticing the confused expressions of his audience, Arjun continues his explanation.¡± When I first found the Bhargese in the jungle, I immediately reacted and threw a fireball at the monster.¡± The fireball in the air bursts out of existence, Gang and Valen jump slightly at the unexpected display of light and sound.¡±


    ¡°To be honest, I thought it was a soldier, but alas, my night vision is terrible what with being a light elf. Anyhow, the flame struck the monster and singed it''s fur, not actually setting it aflame considering the monster did not see me as a threat yet, thus it did not enhance it''s fur. I panicked after that and quickly ran¡­ which reopened my arrow wound again. From then on I would constantly run away from the monster, occasionally throwing a ball of flame at the Bhargese, which only seemed to enrage it.¡± He stops talking, hand over his chin, deep in thought.


    Blank expressions continue to stare at the elf as he lives in his own mind.


    ¡°Now that I think about it, I believe the monster was actually playing with me. It probably knew I wasn''t a threat, but kept its distance for the thrill.¡± he says aloud, thinking thoughtfully.


    His eyes widen in realization,¡± the only reason I am alive right now is because the Bhargese was playing with its food...that is a rather disturbing thought.¡±


    Before Arjun can continue his vocal monologue, his leg is tackled by a small girl.


    ¡°Scatterbrain!¡± Aisha yells as she looks up towards her father, hands clasped around his leg.


    ¡°Aisha!¡± Arjun exclaims aloud, bending down and picking up his little girl, ignoring the sharp pain on his side.¡± So you finally realised your father was awake eh!¡± He says loudly, smiling at his daughter.


    ¡°Scatterbrain?¡± Valen asks, trying to hide a smile on his face.


    Blushing immediately, he positions Aisha so that her head blocks Valens vision.¡± My wife¡­ gave me a nickname when we got married. Eventually, the whole village we lived in would use it instead of my actual name.¡±


    ¡°Daddy, I want to be a Pokemon trainer!¡± Aisha tells her father, knowing how long his explanations can take.


    ¡°Ughhh,¡± Gang groans, his head turning towards Valen.


    Blinking rapidly, Valen puts a hand on his neck, trying his best not to look at Gang¡¯s hardened gaze.


    Wrinkling his forehead, Arjun looks to his daughter.¡± What''s a Pokemon trainer?¡±


    Valen quickly turns around and picks up a stick, walking back to the cooking meat, trying his best to ignore Gang.


    ¡°It is someone who captures monsters with balls, trains them, and then uses them for battle,¡± she exclaims excitedly at her father.


    ¡°Interesting...so a monster tamer.¡± Arjun exclaims with a smile, nodding at his daughters interest.


    ¡± Do you know which monster you would prefer to acquire? How about a shiversnake, those are quite deadly and very loyal. Or maybe you would prefer something that can fly. I hear griffins are very intelligent and majestic. Have you given it much thought yet?¡± He asks his daughter.


    Thinking slowly, Aisha puts her hand on her lip, eyes twinkling in concentration.¡± I''m not sure...I know Lin tried to capture that monster which tried to kill you, but it didn''t work.¡±


    Thinking about his brush with death, Arjun remembers the rolling red and white ball.¡± Ahhh yes, I remember now. I was too exhausted at the time to sense any mana, but it seems that the ball¡¯s enchantments malfunctioned.¡± Arjun exclaims knowingly, his experience as an enchanter speaking volumes in his assessment.


    Figuring that it would be to his benefit to check the balls enchantments, he looks away from his daughter, finding Valen laughing hysterically on his knees, Gang glaring daggers at the man¡¯s back.


    ¡°Aisha!¡± Lin yells from the table, waving her hand in the air.


    Tapping her father''s arm, ¡±I have to go watch another episode,¡± she exclaims to her father, wanting to be put down.


    Nodding confusingly at the weird term, Arjun places his daughter on the ground, where she immediately bolts towards Lin.


    After watching his daughter run off, he turns towards Gang, eyes asking if Valen is ok.


    *Sigh* ¡°Don''t mind him, he¡¯s just an idiot,¡± Gang answers exasperatedly.¡± If you don''t mind me asking, how did you get an arrow wound?¡± He asks, staring at the elfs side, the same one he and Valen had to bandage.


    Squinting sadly, he looks towards the laughing Valen...then his eyes turn towards the cooking meat, reminding him that he has not eaten in quite a while. ¡±It is a long story, I don''t suppose I could tell it over food?¡±


    Gang slowly nods, not fully trusting the old elf¡­ unlike a certain someone.

 Chapter 29

    The dark elven forest, home to one of the largest dark elf cities on the continent, has a secret that many in the continent are not privy to. That secret is the location of the city, which resides several hundred meters below ground within a vast chasm where tens of thousands of dark elves live.


    And just like any city, a ruler is present to lead the residents towards a goal. This ruler is currently king Folvion Maneiro, eldest son of the late king Relamyn Maneiro, who currently resides within his underground castle.


    __


    ¡°Llarain, what news do you have of the Chancellor?¡± King Folvion asks as he looks down from his throne, eyes gazing at the hooded assassin before him.


    With a swipe of her hand, the hood quickly rears back, revealing a lithe and feminine face, ears filled with multiple piercings of jewelry; all enchanted as would be expected of an elite assassin.


    ¡°My king, I bring grave news,¡± she answers aloud, her head looking at the floor, her station not allowing her to make direct eye contact.


    Leaning forward, Folvion looks towards the assassin, admiring her curvaceous body, one he would have loved to taste if not for the ugly scar running down her face. A scar given to her by an abusive priest from the holy kingdom when she was a child.


    ¡°The chancellor has notified me that the holy kingdom has sent troops to invade the forest and take prisoners.¡± She continues, ignorant of the eyes roaming her body.


    Losing interest, Folvion rests his back into the chair again, upset at the information being given to him.


    ¡°I would suggest taking a force to intercept the invaders. If need be, I can have the assassins ambush and kill their supply lines.¡± she exclaims fervently, all but ready to protect the kingdom which had taken her in.


    *Sigh* ¡° You will do no such thing,¡± Folvion says aloud, cold eyes staring down at the woman,¡± The villages in the forest outskirts are a mixture of species and not part of my kingdom. I will not waste time and resources to protect those that refuse to accept my rule. Let the light elves remove the parasites from my kingdom. It will not affect our kind.¡±


    Llarain lowers her head further, hiding her expression of fury from the king''s lazy gaze. A gaze so unlike his father, who would have gone himself to protect those who inhabit the forest.


    ¡°The light elves will grow stronger,¡± she quickly exclaims, hoping to persuade her king.


    With an amused chuckle, the king rolls his eyes.¡± Ahhh yes, those blood paladins that the holy kingdom is so proud of. Pathetic if you ask me. With only a few soldiers and assassins, we were able to kill one of them.¡±


    Llarain shudders internally, her fury barely under control as she grinds her teeth.


    ¡°My teacher¡­ a master assassin, the right hand of your father¡­ was killed because you sent a paltry force to subdue the blood paladin!¡± She yells internally, hand twitching to grab one of the many hidden knives in her possession.


    *Nock nock* a sound reverberates through the audience chambers, interrupting her musings of gutting her king.


    ¡°Enter!¡± Folvion yells, watching as the hardwood door squeals open. The head of the palace guards enters his chambers. The guard quickly runs next to Llorain, getting on one knee, head looking downward.


    ¡°My king, your brother has taken a number of soldiers outside. He plans to attack the invading holy nation forces.¡±


    Folvion¡¯s face changes to a glowering one as he looks towards the guard captain. ¡° I did not give permission for soldiers to be taken. He will be punished for this!¡± Folvion snarls, disliking his brother and his attempt to usurp his power.


    Folvian¡¯s eyes quickly turn to the assassin, finding that she has yet to move. ¡°Llorain, find my brother and tell him his king orders him to return at once.¡± He orders angrily.


    Llorain nods. She flicks her hood back on her face, then proceeds to stand and turn, silently walking out of the audience hall, a dagger held in her hand, expertly spinning between her fingers¡­ hidden only from the kings view.


    ************************


    Valen takes another bite out of the meat, fatty juices dripping into his mouth, delicately massaging his tongue. Never in his life had he felt so¡­ complete¡­ the food giving an extremely satisfying fill that seems to revitalize the body. I will probably not sleep tonight. Valen thinks internally, taking another bite while he listens to Gang and Arjun talk.


    ¡°So your village was attacked and you escaped. Seems rather weird that such a large force was able to sneak up on you.¡±


    *crunch crunch*


    ¡°gmmmgm,¡±


    *Gulp*


    ¡°Yes¡­ dam that was quite good. I really should slow down,¡± Arjun replies after attempting to swallow a large piece of meat.


    ¡°You Gang, need to first understand is that this forest is not traveled in small groups. I¡¯m not sure of what you were informed, but the forest is an extremely dangerous shortcut and is only done with very large caravans.¡± He explains, eyes looking towards another piece of meat on the picnic table.


    ¡°The reasoning is that the monsters here¡­ they roam in packs, and many of them are at the rank of C in strength. This allows them to take on groups of travelers with ease. Only the residents of this forest are trained in the various ways to fight and counteract them.¡± He moves his hand slowly past the candles and grabs a greasy cut of cooked meat, moving it to his plate.This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it.


    ¡°So these dangerous predators protect us from invaders. Thus, we just need a few guards to make sure that no beasts sneak into the village.¡± Arjun takes the meat and moves it to his mouth¡­ and stops.¡± We did not expect such strength and determination from the holy kingdom,¡± he shakes his head sadly, remembering the coordinated attack.


    ¡°Why would they not attack?¡± Gang asks aloud.


    Squinting quickly, Arjun turns his head towards Gang ¡°The Holy Kingdom borders this forest, and about thirty years ago, a purge happened, which wiped out an entire city and the entire Holy Kingdom army¡­ which should have weakened them significantly¡± Arjun lowers his meat back on the plate, a solemn look passing over the light elf''s face.


    ¡°Who¡­ how?¡± Gang asks, his extensive schooling had notified him of the holy kingdoms loss of military power, but the reason was never mentioned.


    ¡°The Amazons wiped out the city.¡±


    Gangs and Valens eyes quickly turn to the sleeping Amazon, as she lays on a massive queen size bed. Diva rests peacefully under the sheets, even if about twenty minutes ago she was pushing her body beyond her limits¡­ passing out from the exhaustion.


    ¡°I''m not talking about your average amazon.¡± He exclaims dryly, eyes surveying the dark forest. ¡°I am talking about those Amazon elders and their experienced warriors.¡± A sad smile donns his face as memories resurface¡­ painful memories.


    Arjun pushes his plate away and sets his hands on the table, eyes turning towards his daughter¡­ watching her brush Lin¡¯s hair¡­ trying to remove the spider eggs that were laid recently.


    ¡°Thirty-eight years ago, my father, a paladin of the holy kingdom, sent me to Gargantuan university to become an enchanter¡­ *chuckle* It was kinda funny. I thought I was being sent to become a powerful mage, but in actuality, my father was embarrassed by me.¡± Arjun shakes his head, ¡°I was the pathetic son of one of the most powerful people in the kingdom. Always distracted, never being able to focus on swordplay and magic. The instructors would always laugh. It was a horrible experience when the instructors would tell my father of my lacking talent¡­ even worse was that my brothers were full of talent.¡±


    ¡°So how exactly does your life explain the destruction of a city?¡± Gang interrupts the elf, getting annoyed at Arjun''s ramblings.


    Annoyed with the interruption, Arjun quickly looks towards the trees, squinting slowly, and then turns to Gang. ¡° The same day of the attack, I was coming home from Gargantuan university, having graduated as a successful enchanter. When I arrived, I found out that the army had left to combat the Amazonian forces sieging a city. So I ran, doing my best to catch up to the army where my father and brothers march.¡±


    ¡°Heh¡­ I ran fast, wanting to prove to my father and brothers that I wasn¡¯t a total failure. Me¡­ an enchanter that barely passed combat training, wanted to join a war.¡±


    Arjun stops talking and takes a deep breath, memories resurfacing from that day.


    ¡°What happened next?¡± Galen asks, captivated by the story.


    Taking a quick look towards the darkness of the trees, he bites his lip.


    ¡°When I caught up to the army¡­ the entrances to the city was covered in earth walls, the Amazons having already entered¡­ already slaughtering the inhabitants.¡±


    ¡°I watched the army slow down as they approached, an Amazon elder was standing in the way.¡± Arjun pauses, gathering his thoughts,¡± I never joined up with the army. I only saw what happened next.¡±


    Gang solemnly waits for the elf to speak, knowing exactly the strength and power an elder Amazon possesses.


    ¡°The first thing I noticed that something was wrong is the air. It was filled with mana. The army noticed too, and that''s why they completely stopped, staring at the sole woman guarding an entire city¡±


    ¡°When I looked at her, the first thing I noticed was brown light on her head. Amazon horns grow with age, allowing them to utilize more mana¡­ and this specific one had a large double helix on her head. In the center of the helix was mana, so compressed that it was visible.¡±


    ¡°At first there was just silence, the army gauging one women¡­ until she spread her hands, and the earth trembled. Immediately through the center of the army, the earth split, forming a massing fissure¡­ engulfing all of the soldier, plunging them deep into the depths. It continued to expand until the whole army of ten thousand had fallen within. Then she clapped her hands together and the fissure slammed shut. I...I remember the loud crunching of bone that reverberated from the fissure. Over ten thousand people had died in a matter of seconds.¡±


    Tears start to fall from Arjun''s face,¡± I lost my entire family in that moment. All I did was stare at the ground where they were buried¡­ for hours on end I just stared. I couldn¡¯t do anything. I only survived because I was late to join the army.¡±


    He wipes tears across his face, finding that everyone is watching him.


    ¡°Asmodeus of the earth burial.¡± Gang announced sadly, the 9 great elders and their powers are already known throughout the world.


    Arjun just nods, trying to refocus the mana he had momentarily lost control of.


    ¡°Why?¡± Lin asks, having lost her own parents as well. ¡°Why do people always kill?¡± She asks again, tears wanting to pour out of her own eyes.


    Aisha drops the comb and quickly hugs her friend, trying her best to comfort the saddened tiger-kin.


    Arjun looks towards his daughter and smiles through the tears, happy to see Aisha comforting her friend. His eyes then turn towards the sleeping amazon, hoping that she would wake up as soon as possible.


    ¡°The Holy Kingdom is racist in it''s religious practises, believing elves to be the descendants of gods or primordials as many are led to believe, with the light elves considered the most pure of the three elven races.¡±


    Arjun shakes his head with a frown. ¡°That same nonsensical belief caused the massacre. Apparently, the city captured a young Amazon who had just left for her pilgrimage and was only passing through the city, getting supplies. They captured her on alleged charges and did something that no city would ever do. They made her into a public execution. An execution that involved a slow tortured death.¡± he explains, remembering the explanations of the children that remembered.


    ¡°Amazons must die with honor. A slow death without the ability to fight back is the equivalent to taking away that honor. That city unknowingly waged war against the entire Amazonian race that day¡­ and paid for it with their lives.¡±


    Silence spreads throughout the clearing as everyone digests his words. An entire city, wiped out over honor.


    ¡°I thought Amazons don''t kill children?¡± Valen asks, remembering Lin telling him that they refuse to harm kids.


    Arjun scoffs ¡°Ha, they wouldn''t knowingly harm kids, but they are more than willing to destroy a building in the process of killing a mother that''s huddled with her kids. Amazons are a cruel and ruthless race tha--Damn, they¡¯re finally moving.¡± He exclaims quickly, eyes turning towards the darkness, his strings of mana vibrating, sensing the intruders as they finally approach.


    ____


    Valen quickly looks towards the forest, a feeling of danger and dread strikes him as he slowly gets out of his seat


    ¡°I hear a lot of people,¡± Lin announces, her ears flickering wildly. She jumps out of her seat and runs to Valen, hiding behind his leg, Aisha copying Lin as she runs to her father, who is slowly standing up as well.


    Valen gives Lin no mind as his mind attempts to assess the threat that is slowly approaching.


    ¡°Be ready,¡± Arjun calls out, his mana enhanced eyes staring into the darkness with slightly better vision¡­ but not much.


    Shadow figures slowly start to move towards their location, many of them seeming to hold something in their hands.


    Deciding to prepare, Valen releases a large swath of his Mana, engulfing the surrounding area around him.

 Chapter 30

    Morendos Maneiro trudges carefully through the forest, his father''s enchanted bow laying heavily upon his back as he approaches a camp one of his scouts had notified him about. A camp he did not believe to exist.


    With a release of Mana, his eyes glow slightly with power, allowing his already great night vision to see as though it were a day. A useful trick he had learned from his father when he hunted beasts during the night.


    With enhanced sight, Merendos can finally see the absurd sight before.


    A massive bed¡­ lavishly decorated with intricate carvings that would put any Kings bed to shame... is sitting in the middle of the camp. On the bed rests a young Amazon, sleeping peacefully under a blanket decorated with kittens.


    This makes no sense.


    Unfortunately for Merendos, the absurdity did not stop there.


    His eyes finally turn to the table¡­ a table which would look better in a King''s dining room than in the middle of a forest filled with beasts... Speaking of beasts, the cooked head of a Bhargese-- one of the most dangerous predators in the forest, sits squarely atop the table next to enough cooked meat to feed a village¡­ all lightened using silver and gold trimmed beautifully crafted candle holders.


    Who are these people?


    Blinking quickly, his eyes roam towards the confusing people sitting relaxedly on the table, eating meat on glass plates. Glass, an expensive commodity most taverns could never afford to use.


    With a confused expression, Merendos walks closer to the camp¡­ but stops suddenly as the light elf at the table quickly shifts his head towards his direction¡­ and then back towards the food.


    Merendos just watches, unmoving, not sure if he was noticed.


    After waiting a while, he trudges closer again, quickly noticing the elf''s eyes turn towards his direction and back.


    With a frown, Merendos unsheathes his massive bow, hands sliding silently over the enchanted bone and the many crystals embedded within them.


    Moving his fingers to the string, he slowly pulls the bowstring, applying Mana as he does. A dark spectral arrow forms, Mana encircling his fingers as it pulses with energy.


    ¡°So you knew I was here,¡± he voices internally, watching as the group sitting on the table gets up and looks around in alarm.


    With a complicated hand sign, he signals his soldiers to encircle and converge on the camp.


    _________


    Mana interference, a phenomenon where a being cannot sense their own external Mana due to the presence of significantly denser Mana. A rare phenomenon which Arjun had only ever experienced once before¡­ until just now.


    While the Bhargese meat was cooking, he had spent an entire hour setting up a Mana web, an advanced form of alteration and integration magic, to create an invisible web of sorts.


    Strands of mana connect to this web, allowing the creator to feel and sense disruptions as they pass through.


    Being an enchanter, Arjun''s web is very extensive, and thus he has a clear mental picture of the intruder.


    Unfortunately, someone just blasted the entire area with enough mana to rip apart the entire mana web into smithereens.


    Arjun glares angrily at Valen, watching as the young man spreads out his hands, eyes studying the surroundings.


    Upset, Arjun puts his hand on his daughter''s head while his eyes roam the darkness.


    ¡°Whoooooshhhh¡±


    ¡°Booooommmm¡±


    An arrow flies past Gangs head, freezing the young man in his tracks as it slams into a tree, creating an explosion on impact.


    The entire group freezes, eyes turning towards the darkness where the arrow had come from.


    ____


    ¡°That was a warning shot!¡± Merendos exclaims, quickly notching another mana arrow on his bow.


    ¡°Drop your weapon or my men will shoot,¡± he yells towards the Radonian who quickly complies and drops his polearm.


    Slowly Merendos and his men walk closer, a suffocating energy seemingly grows stronger with every step he takes closer.


    ¡°I am Merendos Maneiro, one of the princes of the Dark Elf Forest. If you do anything that seems hostile, you will be killed,¡± he explains as his body finally enters the candlelight.


    _____


    Valen watches as the shadow finally reveals itself.


    A dark elf covered in black leather while holding a massive bow walks towards the group, a dark glowing arrow is ready and pointed at his group, ready to be released in a moments notice.This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.


    ¡°Valen,¡± Arjun asks from across the table,¡± Can you please stop your mana. You are only putting them on guard.¡± he explains.


    Nodding slowly, Valen stops releasing his mana instantly, causing the approaching elf to stumble.


    The elf quickly regains his footing and looks at Valen, an indistinguishable expression is on his face as he looks at the young man.


    Regaining his composure, the elf lowers his bow, but the arrow stays nocked and ready to be fired on a moments notice.


    ¡°My men will approach you and take any weapons on your possession. If you even move, your life will end.¡±


    Valen¡¯s eyes turn to Arjun, asking silently if this is a good idea.


    ¡°If they wanted us dead, then we would be dead. I would suggest we comply,¡± Arjun explains bitterly, his hand holding his daughters close to him, fearing more for her safety than his own.


    *Sigh* ¡°I understand,¡± Valens nods towards the light elf and then turns to Merendos ¡°We will comply.¡±


    Nodding back, the dark elf signals towards the darkness, causing over twenty elves to converge on the group.


    Valen watches the elves come closer and search them. Their hands roam the sides, looking for any items that may be seen as a weapon.


    After a minute of checking¡­ and a few growls and attempted bites from Lin, the elves finally relent and allow Merendos to approach.


    ___


    ¡°I do apologize for the search but I needed to make sure that you all are relatively unarmed.¡± He explains, looking at the annoyed faces gazing back at him¡­ especially the tigress child, apparently touching their tail is considered extremely offensive.


    ¡°First order of business, I want to ask you all what you are doing in the middle of the our forest without a guide. I find it very curious that my people are attacked on the same day as strangers who enter the forest without permission.¡±


    ¡°Permission?¡± Valen asks, looking at the confident elf,¡± we were told that traveling through the forest towards Pelram would save weeks if not a month of time than going around.¡±


    Merendos eyes twitch, the story rather disbelieving.


    ¡°So you''re telling me that a group of four and two children had entered my forest. A forest which is famed for killing entire small caravans. All so you can get to a inner port city faster?¡±


    ¡° We actually just joined them this morning,¡± Arjun quickly calls out, pointing at Valen and Gang, his hand resting on Aisha''s head.


    ¡°You joined this morning?¡± Merendos asks confused, not at all expecting the situation to get even more complicated.


    ¡° Yes, these valiant heroes,¡± Arjun extends his hand to Valen and Gang,¡± saved my life from a Bhargese attack and reunited me with my daughter.¡± He exclaims, smiling down at his little girl as she shyly hides behind his leg¡­ unlike Lin, who seems ready to attack anyone that dares to get close.


    ¡° And what were you doing in the woods?¡± Merendos asks, eyeing the light elf, the same race who had just attacked a village yesterday.


    ¡°Me? I was running for my life, doing my best to escape the bhargese.¡±


    Merendos gives the elf an annoyed glare.


    ¡°And before that?¡±


    ¡°I was running for my life from the holy kingdom troops.¡± Arjun explains again.


    Merenderos scrunched his eyebrows as he takes a long annoyed look at the elf, controlling his frustration.


    ¡°Why were you running from them?¡±


    ¡°Because they were trying to kill me.¡±


    *Boom*


    Merendos fist slams onto the wooden table, denting the wood.


    ¡°Stop with your games. Tell me who you are and I just may not end your life!¡± Merendos yells, glaring angrily at the light elf.


    ¡°That man is Arjun, an Enchanter who was living in the village which was just attacked.¡±


    A voice answers from the darkness.


    All eyes turn as a figure covered in black garb emerges from the forest.


    Llarain struts forward, her body moving elegantly with each step, the shadows seemingly answering her call.


    Merendos, noticing the new arrival, relaxes, realizing that it is one of his kingdoms best assassins.


    ¡°Llarain, you know this elf?¡± Merendos asks, pointing towards Arjun.


    She moves forward, placing a metal disk on the table, which the group is huddled around.


    ¡°I do, he is the one who I have ordered my enchantment from,¡± she exclaims, giving Arjun a nod.


    ¡°I see, and what is that,¡± Morendos asks, pointing at the metal disk on the table.


    ¡°I am not sure, but this whole area is surrounded by them, planted everywhere on the ground.¡±


    Standing on her tippy toes, Lin looks at the metal disk.


    ¡°That''s a mine,¡± she exclaims with a smile.


    ¡°A mine?¡± Llarain voices confused.


    ¡°Yup. It goes Booooommm when the remote contro---¡±


    Valen''s hand flicks out, quickly covering Lin''s mouth, a nervous look can be seen on his face as all eyes turn to him.


    ¡°Shit.¡±


    **********************


    ¡°My brother is an idiot,¡± Morendos exclaims while trailing behind the group of six as they are escorted by his soldiers towards the dark elven city.


    ¡°I wholeheartedly agree,¡± Llarain announces from his side, a frown on her face.


    ¡°Does he not realize that this is clearly an act of war? The Holy kingdom will not stop at just a few villages. They will continue to take.¡±


    ¡°And eventually they will grow strong enough to fight us in our own territory,¡± Llorain adds in from his side.


    ¡°And now his eminence is going to try to brandon me as a traitor,¡± Merendos says, anger seething with every word.


    ¡°Isn¡¯t that why we are taking them with us?¡± Llorain asks, pointing towards Valen¡¯s group who is trudging through the forest. A rather interesting sight considering that the young man is carrying the Amazon on his back.


    ¡°Yes¡­ I am hoping to convince the council that we should retaliate.¡±


    Llorain gives the prince a small smile,¡± If only that ring wasn''t bonded to him. Then you could have gifted it to your brother and bought his support.¡±


    Morendos Frowns,¡± Yes, it seems to be of an immense quality, that ring. Being able to fit an entire camps worth of supplies in such a small item is rather impressive on its own.¡± he shakes his head,¡± The dam Xerafin are truly impressive.¡±


    ¡°And the mine?¡±


    Morendos frowns, feeling the bag next to him which is carrying over twenty of such items.¡± I¡¯m not sure, I¡¯ve not figured out how they work, some kind of Xerafin invention. Heck, it may only be activated by a Xerafin.¡±


    Llorain gives him an annoyed look,¡± And if he were to activate it, what would happen?¡±


    A cock smile forms on his face.


    ¡°He can¡¯t. Without his wings, I doubt he can use external mana to activate them.¡±


    She gives him a long hard look¡­¡± You want to attempt to use these against the blood paladins?¡±


    A sad smile crosses his face,¡± I do¡­ if I can have an enchanter figure out how this item works, I should be able to utilize it.¡±


    Llorain shakes her head, turning towards the direction of the slowly rising sun, watching it as it illuminates the forest once more.

 Chapter 31

    Several hours later, the group heads deeper into the the forest, the trees allowing less and less light to touch the forest floor. At one point, the lack of light was making it extremely difficult to see for those who do not have innate night vision.


    Luckily, the lack of light did not last long as the group found themselves passing by several sentries before heading into a cave which is spiraling downward.


    ¡°Truly Impressive,¡± Arjun says as he walks downward, his eyes focused on the walls, particularly the glowing roots crisscrossing everywhere.


    ¡°Yea¡­¡± Valen says, watching as a pulse of life sends an array of colors through the roots, illuminating the passage that they are traversing.


    ¡°Mana¡­ there is so much of it here¡­ why?¡± Gang voices next to Valen, who continues to carry Diva¡¯s sleeping body on his back.


    Arjun pauses, mindlessly taking a look at the children who are just as amazed as the adults.


    ¡°All things have mana, and just like monsters can evolve to utilize it better, so too can plants,¡± he says, taking a moment to feel the walls and roots, feeling the warmness of the plant as it pulses with mana in the form of light.


    ¡°It clearly evolved to create this light, but the reason is unknown to me.¡±


    ¡°It was a symbiotic relationship,¡± Mordendos says, walking towards the group, having been in the back the entire time, listening to the group as they banter, figuring out that he may have made a mistake in taking them to his home.


    ¡°Centuries ago, the first of my kind had found this place, researching the plants living in this cave, finding that they have developed the ability to utilize their internal mana to produce light. The man, Morsis Maneiro, had built a home inside the cave, a small initial hut, and studied the plants.¡±


    Morendos extends his hand, sliding it across the wall,¡± And he found something rather interesting.¡±


    He turns to Arjun,¡± he found the answer to your question.¡±


    At this point, the group finds themselves confused at why Morendos is being so talkative now, unsure of the man¡¯s intentions¡­ except for Arjun, who is following every word with extreme interest.


    ¡°Some species required the light in some way. What could they offer?¡± Arjun asks, getting a smile in return from Moredndos.


    ¡°Protection. The native species that live within this underground cavern are known as the muskrets. These rodents, though small, are actually very intelligent. But unlike the other species of this forest, they lack any potent night vision, something that is extremely important if you want to escape a night predator, something this forest does not lack at all.¡±


    Arjun places his hand on his chin,¡± So these muskrets, they get protection from these night predators by this cave... but I don''t see what the plants get in return. Is it possibly some form of nutrients?¡±


    ¡°And that is the big question. It bothered Morsis for over twenty years, trying to figure out what the plant gets in return. And he actually found it out accidentally.¡±


    Arjun raises an eyebrow, completely curious, while Gang rolls his eyes, clearly seeing through Morendos attempt to create goodwill and trust.


    As for Valen, he is distractedly watching the girls, listening in as Lin as explains the finer details of being a pokemon trainer¡­


    Mordendos looks forward, remembering the story as his late father had told him,¡± Morsis was exhausted, having spent the entire day researching these muskrets, following them, writing down his observations, eventually becoming exhausted enough to lay down on the ground and take a nap. Which had resulted in him sleeping for an extended period of time¡­ all night to be exact. Upon waking up, he found himself swarmed by the muskets, all sleeping alongside him.¡±


    Morendos chuckles softly,¡± The muskrets had already taken him as one of their own, more than happy to share their warmth with him as the cave during the night could get a little chilly.¡±


    Morendos shakes his head,¡± but that wasn''t the amazing part. It was the fact that his enchanted armband had been completely drained of mana, having been resting all night atop one of the plants.¡±


    Arjun¡¯s eyes widen,¡± It¡¯s Parasitic!¡± he yells, startling everyone around him, a manic smile blazing on his lips.


    The guards quickly unsheathe their weapons, pointing them towards the group once more, reminding them that they are still prisoners.


    But Arjun takes no notice,¡± The plant is taking mana from the muskrets, fueling its survival while at the same time producing light which is giving them a home¡­ impressive¡­ truly impressive.¡±


    With a wave of Morednos hand, the guards resheathe their weapons.


    ¡°That is correct. The amount of mana is insignificant as the regeneration of mana for living beings is quite high.¡±


    ¡°And light alone barely utilizes mana,¡± Arjun adds in.Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings.


    Morendos nods towards Arjun, continuing his story.


    ¡° When Morsis finally returned home, he found that his home city was in shambles and his people were being hunted down by the orcs. Apparently, a war had broken out between his dark elf city and a large Orc mainland stronghold.¡±


    Morendos pauses, frowning,¡± The Orc¡¯s won, killing the king and forcing his people to flee the kingdom or risk being turned into a slave. When he returned, he found his people in shambles, looking for help¡­ and that''s what he did. Having lost their home, he gave them hope, telling them of a safe haven, a place his people can live without other races interfering.¡±


    ¡°He took them to the cave, a place of hope, a place where he built his city.¡± Morendos walks forward, spreading his arms, the tunnel opening up, revealing a truly majestic and beautiful sight.


    ¡°A city unknown to the world. A city he named after himself, the city of Morsis.¡±


    Valens'' eyes widen in amazement as he takes a look at the city. The cave itself is massive, ranging seeming up to a hundred miles in diameter. And at the center of the city is a massive tree, its glowing roots extending in every which way, touching the roof of the cave, down towards the ground, creating a great deal of support. Around the roots are wooden homes, countless wooden homes which reveal a truly massive population of people.


    The group watches for several minutes in awe, staring at the dancing colors while Morendos smiles triumphantly, happy to show off his city, a city very few none dark elves have ever seen.


    ¡°Come,¡± Morendos says, interrupting everyone,¡± we still have a bit of a long trip to go. The palace is at the base of the great tree.¡±


    Immediately the group heads towards the city, Arjun taking a confused look at Morendos.¡± It was only one plant, not several.¡± he says confused.


    Morendos gives Arjun a cheeky smile,¡± Did I now? Why, were you expecting to take a plant home for study?¡± he asks, watching as Arjun quickly blushes.


    ¡°Unfortunately, we only have one tree, and considering how vital it is for my race, we are not at all willing to give it up,¡± he says, waving away as he walks towards a curious group of guards.


    Valen turns to Gang, ignoring the disappointed expression on Arjun¡¯s face,¡± What do you think? Something doesn''t seem right. He is being too nice,¡± Valen says.


    Gang nods, watching as Morendos directs the guards to allow his group through and tells them to explain the situation to the guards deeper in the city.


    ¡°That''s because he wants information. He is playing nice, expecting to win our trust so that he does not need to torture the information out of us.¡± Gang explains speaking from experience.


    Valen pauses, looking towards Lin as she points excitedly at the city, completely relaxed, trusting in Valen to keep her safe.


    Gang moves closer to Valen and leans towards his ear,¡± You don''t need that ring to summon things do you.¡±


    Valen caught off guard, almost drops Diva before regaining his posture and then giving Gang a long look.


    ¡°I¡­ don''t,¡± he says, after contemplating for a while.


    Gang nods, turning towards Morendos as he comes back to the group.


    ¡°Move quickly, my brother does not like to be held waiting,¡± he says, annoyed.


    The group complies, walking towards the palace, a huge wooden building built onto the side of the tree.


    ________


    Sometime later, the group arrives at the palace, causing a frown on Morendos face as he finds the Guard captain, a very close friend of his, standing with several palace guards.


    ¡° What''s the meaning of this Zaxis?¡± Morendos asks.


    Zaxis, the guard captain, steps forward, towards the prince and gets on one knee.¡± The King has ordered the prisoners to be taken and chained into the dungeon.¡±


    Morendos, confused,¡± We don''t have a dungeon.¡± he says, looking down.


    ¡°Uhhhmmm, we don''t, but we have a few rooms set up for interrogation.¡±


    Morendos shakes his head,¡± No, I want them to be taken to an empty room upstairs with food and water. They are to be treated with respect.¡± he says authoritatively.¡±


    Zaxis frowns,¡± and the king?¡±


    ¡°I will speak to the king,¡± Morendos adds.


    Zaxis nods and stands up, turning towards his guards. ¡± You heard the prince, escort these people to a large room.¡±


    The guards as one, lead the group towards a relatively large room on the third floor, leaving the group to their own devices while Morendos heads towards the back of the palace, the location of his own chambers.


    _____


    Entering inside, he finds that his room, covered with various trophies of monsters and furs, looks exactly the same as he had left it.


    He shuts the door behind him.


    ¡°Llarian, we must talk.¡±


    At the sound of his words, a woman in black garb seemingly moves out of a shadow in his room.


    ¡° Why is it you always know when I am around you,¡± she says, taking a seat on an empty chair.


    Because you are always in the right place, at the right time.


    He walks and takes a seat on a chair opposite hers, laying back and allowing the wood to support his weight.


    ¡°I made a horrible mistake,¡± he says, looking upwards.


    ¡°These people have nothing to do with the light elves. They were just passing through and now my brother will most likely have them executed.¡±


    Llarian sits there, listening.


    ¡°All because I believed we could use them to force my brother into fielding an army. To fight the holy kingdom before they become too strong.¡± he shakes his head, massaging it with his hands, trying to swallow his guilt.


    ¡°Then allow me to take care of it?¡±


    Stopping, Morendos looks back down, towards Llarian, her toned legs resting one on top of the other. Morendos gives them not even a glance as he focuses on her words,¡± How so.¡±


    She smiles, slowly standing up,¡± Don''t you worry, just be ready to react properly.¡± she says, walking towards the door, opening and leaving without a word.


    ************************


    Ralamyn Maneiro looks down, staring at captain Zaxis, giving the captain a vicious smile.¡± So, my brother brought captives, and instead of treating them as captives, he had them be treated as guests. This is perfect.¡±


    Zaxis keeps his head down, listening to his king, Keeping his expression neutral.


    ¡°Good, Zaxis, I want you to inform the council of an emergency meeting tomorrow. Have the nobles come to the palace. I want to make sure I have a large audience. Make sure that the prisoners and my brother show up.¡±


    Zaxis nods and stands up, turning around and walking out of the king''s chambers to inform his guards.

 Chapter 32

    That night, the group found themselves herded into a large, well-decorated room covered lavishly in the skin of the various monsters native to the forest. The room, having several bedrooms connected to it, is more akin to a large apartment than anything else.


    ¡°BEDTIME¡± Lin yells, immediately running into a room and jumping facefirst in the bed, Aisha following Lin and doing the exact same thing.


    Giving the girls a quick confused look, Valen turns to the Light elf.


    ¡°Arjun, what exactly is going through your mind?¡±


    Arjun, shakes his head and blinks, finally realizing his location.


    ¡°Ummm¡­ right, I was thinking about the tree and I believe that it may very well have a mana engine.¡±


    Valen turns to Gang who also has a confused look on his face.


    ¡°Right, let me explain. As we were heading towards the central tree, I noticed that the number of muskrets was extremely low. So much so that the tree itself could not possibly create enough light. Thus, the tree evolved even further, creating itself a mana engine, something extremely powerful, which old monsters have a tendency to create after living for thousands of years.¡±


    Valen readjusts Diva¡¯s body on his back and walks towards an empty room, plopping her carefully on the bed.


    Arjun turns to Gang,¡± Was it something I said?¡±


    Gang snorts.


    ¡°We are kidnapped. We don''t know what our captors want from us or what our captors will do to us. All we know is that they shoved us in a room with no explanation.¡±


    Gang folds his arms.


    ¡°And you are more focused on the stupid glowing tree than our safety.¡±


    Arjun gives Gang a good long look before looking away, a blush on his face.


    Shaking his head, Gang walks towards the last empty room, entering and closing the door behind him.


    Sighing, Arjun looks towards the other two rooms. Valen is carefully laying diva¡¯s sleeping form onto the bed, while in the other room, Lin and Aisha are¡­ already asleep.


    ¡°I guess I¡¯m taking the couch,¡± he says with a frown, laying down, quickly allowing sleep to overtake him, still exhausted since the Barghese attack.


    *********************************


    Circadian rhythm, a rather interesting aspect when concerned with the city of Milos. A city constantly bathed in light all of the time. Thus, many people sleep at different times because they do not know when it¡¯s night outside.


    But that does not matter to them as much as it matters to the group who is all sleeping peacefully in their rooms¡­ except for one.


    Lin¡¯s ears twitch, a soft patting sound coming from outside her bedroom. Getting up, Lin stretches on all fours, immediately realizing that she is wearing Pajamas.


    A smile forms on her lips, thinking about Valen who had changed her clothes while she slept.


    Turning towards Aisha, Lin finds the little dark elf hugging a pillow.


    *Pat Pat*


    Lin¡¯s ears twitch again, noticing the sound once more.


    Frowning, she walks towards the door and slowly opens it, finding the living area. At the central area is a couch with Arjun sleeping¡­ or at least half of him is.


    His upper body is laying on the floor while his lower body, his legs are still on the couch. Apparently, he had fallen sometime during his sleep but had not awakened from it.


    Exiting out of her room, Lin tiptoes outside, not even making a sound.


    And then a figure drops down from the roof, quickly moving its hand over Lin¡¯s mouth.


    Lin attempts to yell, but the hand is closed tightly around her mouth. With quick reflexes, she extends her claws and attempts to scratch through the dark garb of the assailant. But the material seems to be extremely resilient to her nails.


    So Lin is forced to squirm and shake¡­


    An entire hour passes by when Lin¡¯s energy finally starts to run out, her body going limp from exhaustion, her fur damp with sweat.


    ¡°Finally,¡± Llarain says, annoyed at the little tigress child.


    ¡°An hour. You have enough energy to squirm for an entire damn hour.¡±


    Llarain looks down, lifting an eyebrow,¡± Can you stop licking my hand, it''s very uncomfortable.¡±


    Lin, exhausted, glares angrily at the assassin.


    ¡°Look, I came here to help you all. They plan to kill every one of you tomorrow, but I am going to need your help to save you all.¡±


    Lin stops licking, giving the assassin a confused look.


    Llarian twirls around, pointing Lin¡¯s head towards the couch and the items next to it.


    ¡°Those are your weapons which had been confiscated. I have returned them.¡±


    Lin, takes a good look at the items, finally relaxing and then slowly nods towards the assassin.


    Llarain sets Lin on the ground and removes her hand, brushing the saliva away.


    ¡°Now, weapons alone aren''t going to be enough to save you all. But you can save everyone,¡± Llarain says, taking out a small container and hands it to Lin, who immediately backs off from the sheer horrifying smell.If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.


    Llarain chuckles softly, making sure to create as little noise as possible.¡± This is known as Laren extract,¡± she says, holding the vial up for lin to see.¡± It is very strong, so much so that it will awaken even the most heaviest of sleepers.


    Lins'' eyes widen.


    ¡±Diva!¡± lin says rather loudly, quickly covering her mouth with her hand.


    Waiting a moment, finding that no one has awakened, Larrain hands the extract to Lin.


    ¡°When everyone awakens, you will open the stopper and have your Amazon smell it. She will awaken.¡±


    ¡°When the time comes for you all to come to the king''s throne room, make sure your amazon is armed and ready. From there, I will require you to yell a few things to the king,¡± Llarain says, explaining the exact words for Lin to say.


    ******************************


    Ralamyn Maneiro, Current king of Milos, sits upon his throne, watching as nobility trickles in on the stands, sitting down, giving him confused looks.


    But Ralamyn just sits on his throne, relaxed, his eyes focused on his younger brother, who sits agitated and annoyed. Arms crossed while watching the nobles take their seats.


    As the last of the nobility trickle in, Ralamyn sends mana to his lungs.


    ¡°Residents of Milos,¡± he pauses, making sure that he has everyone''s attention, ¡°I have called you here in such urgency because we are in a grave crisis.¡±


    The nobles, murmur between themselves, attempting to figure out what could possibly be the reason, most believing it has something to do with the holy kingdom.


    Unfortunately, they are wrong.


    ¡°My brother has allowed a different species to enter our city!¡±


    Gasps are quickly heard from the nobles as they all turn to Morendos, who is glaring daggers at his brother, teeth grinding in utter anger at the sheer idiocy of his brother.


    Ralamyn gives his brother a sneer before turning towards the entrance.


    ¡°Send them in.¡±


    Immediately, the double doors of the throne room open, allowing a group of five to enter, followed by several very wary guards, eyes focusing on the armed Amazonian, glaring dangerously at the king.


    Ralamyn¡¯s eyes widen,¡± why are they armed! Guards!, Seize their weapons!¡± he yells but the guards merely unsheathe their blades, unwilling to get anywhere near the Amazonian.¡±


    Immediately, from the upper stands, several guards enter, readying their bows, aiming towards the group.


    Within a half second, Diva unsheathes her sword, slicing the stone floor with utter ease, causing all of the guards to pause.


    ¡°Do not attack!¡± Morendo¡¯s yells, making sure that none of the guards make any moves.


    Several moments pass and nothing happens, neither the guards nor the group is willing to react.


    ¡°Morendos,¡± Ralamyn says, turning to his brother,¡± why are they still armed. Is this one of your plans to usurp me? This is treason! Answer me!¡±


    A panicked expression quickly forms on Morendos face as the nobles all turn to him.


    But before he can answer to the accusation, a little tigress interrupts the audience.


    *********************


    ¡°HEYYYYYYYYYYYY!!!!¡±


    Lin yells, jumping up and down, waving her little arms in the air next to Valen.


    ¡°Helloooooooo, I need to say something!¡± Lin continues yelling, getting the attention of the king.


    ¡°Hello, king person. I am Lin,¡± she says with a smile.


    Gang snorts while Valen suppresses a laugh as Lin gains everyone¡¯s attention.


    ¡°I uhhhh, need to say some things¡­ ummmmmm¡­ hmmmm,¡± Lin stops, putting her hand to her lips, trying to remember exactly what to say,¡± I think I forgot¡­¡±


    Llarain, hidden in the shadows, silently smacks her face, though still unable to hide her smile even if her plan is going to shit.


    Ralamyn, annoyed, turns his attention back to Morendos.


    ¡°HEEEEYYYYYYYYYYY! I remember now. HEYYYY.¡±


    Lin starts jumping and waving her hands again.


    Ralamyn, angry, turns to the little tigress.


    ¡°SILENCE,¡± he yells, his voice reverberating through the chambers.


    But Lin isn''t one for following anyone''s orders except for Valen''s.


    ¡°You are really really mean,¡± Lin says, puffing up her cheeks.


    At this point, Gang can''t take it anymore and starts outright laughing, causing Valen to chuckles as well while Arjun just looks confused.


    At this point, Ralamyn is fuming, but Lin isn''t finished yet.


    ¡°You kidnapped Diva!¡± she says, pointing at the cool and confident amazonian.


    ¡°And now you want to kill her dis¡­ dis¡­ dishonorably,¡± she says, trying to pronounce the last word.


    Ralamyn, extremely angry, stands up,¡± How dare you insult me! I will have your head for th-¡±


    He stops, the air dense with mana as all eyes turn to the Amazonian. Her horns glowing, mana dispersing around her, engulfing the chamber in its entirety, giving her vision of everything around her. Her sword, sheathed in mana, glows menacingly as she looks up at the king.


    ¡°You dare dishonor me! I am a proud member of my race and I will not be executed!¡± she says, taking a step forward, causing all of the guards to take a step back.


    Valen slowly releases his own mana, spreading it out, ready to create his armor and summon defenses.


    Gang takes on a fighting stance, mana converging around his weapon, forming particles of ice.


    Arjun just stands there, looking worried and confused.


    But most of all, the loudest of this all are the whispers coming from all of the nobles.


    ¡°Earth Burial.¡±


    ¡°Asmodeus.¡±


    ¡°Amazonian Elder.¡±


    Fear can be heard in the whispers of the nobility as they all stare at the Amazonian, her which could cause the complete and utter destruction of the city, something Ralamyn is now realizing as well.


    At that moment, Llarain, wreathed in shadow, emerges beside the king, whispering in his ear.


    He turns to towards the audience, a smile forming on his face.


    ¡°Normally, invaders to our home are dealt with execution¡­ but I will make an exception this once¡­ but not for free.¡±


    ¡°You all are clearly quite¡­ powerful,¡± he says, feeling the astronomical amount of mana coming from the group, not able to pinpoint that practically all of it is coming from Valen.


    He sits down and leans forward,¡± Thus, you will work as hired mercenaries for my kingdom in exchange for your crime of trespassing into our city.¡±


    He looks to Morendos,¡± And my brother, who has allowed you all to trespass, will be punished.¡±


    ¡°Do you accept?¡±


    All eyes turn to Valen, who merely looks at Lin, nodding up and down very quickly.


    ¡°We accept,¡± Valen says.


    Ralamyn nods, waving his hand, causing all of the guards to sheathe their weapons.


    The group, finding that no weapons are pointing at them, relax and stop sending their mana out.


    Diva, taking a long angry look at the king, finally relaxes her mana and sheathes her sword.


    ¡°Good, I will have my guards escort you all back to your room.¡±


    The group finds themselves escorted out of the throne room, followed by Morendos an hour later.


    _____________


    ¡°Llarain, you planned this, didn''t you?¡± he says, walking towards his chambers, a frown on his face.


    Llarains form becomes visible as she appears, walking beside the prince, a cocky smile on her face.


    Morendos gives her but a quick glance. Not even interrupting his stride,¡± he is sending me with a meager two thousand soldiers to attack the Holy kingdom whose army exceeds my own by twenty times. He expects me to die.¡±


    Llarain says nothing as she disappears next to him as he passes a few guards and enters his chambers.


    ¡°You misunderstand, your job isn''t to defeat the Holy Kingdom, it is to stop them from invading us.¡±


    Turning around, Morendos finds Llarain, visible in her black garb, sitting atop a comfortable chair.


    ¡°And how am I supposed to do that?¡± he asks, interested.


    Llarain leans forward, a confident smile on her face,¡± Why, with the help of the chancellor of course.¡±


    Llarain presumes to explain the details of her plan, proving to Morendous that the punishment he must undertake is far from a suicide mission.

 Chapter 33

    ¡°Lin, how could you not have told us this yesterday?¡±


    Valen stands over Lin, an uncharacteristic frown on his face as he glares at the young girl as she sits on the couch with her tail wrapped around her leg.


    Moments after the group had been ushered back into the guest room, Valen had yelled at Lin, startling her.


    And right now, she is currently crying, her dress wet with tears as Valen berates her for her carelessness.


    ¡°*sniffle* I taught eet was a seqwet, ¡± she says, tears coming out of her face, heartbroken for getting Valen upset.


    Valen shakes his head, still frowning angrily at her even though internally he wants to hug her and tell her ¡®it will all be ok¡¯.


    *sigh*


    Valen gets on one knee, his head leveled to hers.


    ¡°Lin, you can''t be going at it alone. You have to at least tell me your plans. I know you probably wanted to be a hero, to save us all, but you can''t be taking those risks. I¡­ I can''t stand the thought of losing you.¡±


    ¡°Am sawwy, ¡± Lin squeaks, looking down, avoiding eye contact.


    ¡°Lin, look at me.¡±


    Lin continues to look down.


    ¡°Lin¡­ please look at me.¡±


    Lin¡¯s head slowly rises, her teary eyes making contact with Valens.


    ¡°You are the most important person in my life Lin, and because of that, I can''t be taking risks anymore.¡±


    He stops, making sure she is listening.


    ¡°When we were first attacked by the dark elves in that forest, I could have fought them. All it would take is a thought and the entire forest would be up in flames, most of the enemy killed.¡±


    ¡°And that''s the problem Lin, most is not all. If even one person survived and they shot an arrow at you¡­ and killed you¡­ I could never forgive myself.¡±


    Valen tightens his hand into a fist,¡± And that''s why Lin, you need to stop taking these risks. You may have thought it was a secret, and it might have been, but, of all the people here, I should have known.¡±


    At what felt like a long moment, an eternity, but was barely a second, Lin''s mind finally stops, a realization.


    ¡°Wahhhhhhhhhhhhh, um sawwy.¡±


    Like an opening of a dam, Lin''s tears start to release, pouring out as she jumps forward, her arms encircling Valen.


    Regret, Fear, emotions bottled up, memories of her lost mother, her dead father, of an uncaring sister, of being helplessly caged, all of it forces out at that moment, her pain finally out on display.


    No longer able to control himself, Valen encircles his arms around the young girl, tears now flowing out of his eyes as he rocks her in his arms.


    ¡°Um sawwy, Um sawwy, um sawwy,¡± Lin repeats as she attempts to shove her face deeper into Valen''s chest, her emotions no longer in her control.


    _____


    Time passes by as Lin''s wailing starts to slow, her energy spent. Eventually it is replaced by soft breathing, the young tigress had fallen asleep in his arms.


    Carefully, Valen picks Lin up, moving towards his room, giving the others of his group a quick look.


    A group which had watched the whole scene unfold.


    Gang wipes the tears off his own face using his robe while Arjun gives Valen a nod while holding his own tear stricken daughter close.


    Diva just looks at Valen, a complicated, partially confused look on her face.


    Entering his room, Valen removes the covers and sets Lin down, putting the covers on her and letting the girl sleep, contemplating whether to change his clothes or not.


    Figuring that she will be fine, Valen exits the room, closing the door behind him.


    As soon as he closes the door, a squealing sound interrupts the group as they turn towards the entrance to the suite.


    ________


    Morendos opens the door, taking a quick look and walks inside the suite, followed by Llarain in her usual customary black garb.


    Closing the door behind him, he turns towards the group which are giving him rather hostile glares.


    As they should be.


    ¡° I would first like to apologize for putting you all in this political mess.¡± he starts, taking a good look at the others, especially Valen and Gang, noticing a face reminiscent of someone who had recently cried.


    ¡°Next,¡± he looks towards Valen,¡± I want to thank you for going along with Llarain''s plan, though I would not have used the tigress child to talk to the king. Regardless, your acting was superb, especially the Amazonian,¡± a smile forms on his lips,¡± The nobles were fooled quite well into believing that the Amazonian was insulted.¡±


    A smile forms on Gangs lips while Valen scowls at the prince,¡± we were not told anything about any plan. We woke up, found our weapons and were herded towards your king. The only one who was told anything about a plan is Lin.


    Valen turns to Llarain,¡± and for some reason, she was under the impression this whole plan was a complete secret and she should not share it with anyone.¡±


    The prince, flabbergasted, turns to Llarain, watching the assassin as she finds the blank wall very interesting.Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings.


    The color drains from his face, realizing that everything that happened in front of the king was not staged at all.


    He turns to Diva,¡± but if so, how did the Amazonian know to act offended?¡±


    Valen places two fingers on the bridge of his nose, giving Diva a quick look,¡± because she was offended. She really thought her honor was at stake.


    Diva, silent and confused, turns to Valen¡± It wasn''t?¡±


    Valen shakes his head.


    ¡° Yes, your honor was not at risk because it would have been fully in your power to take down all of the guards.¡± Arjun chimes in.


    ¡°I¡­ see.¡±


    Still confused with the situation, Diva just nods and goes silent.


    ¡°So what happens now?¡± Gang asks.


    Morendos frowns.


    ¡° Now, I will have you all accompany me with my new troops outside the city, where I will allow you all to leave and go on your way.¡±


    ¡° What of the contract?¡± Diva asks.


    Confused, Morendos looks to the Amazonian,¡± The mercenary deal? Nothing. My idiot brother wants to send you to help me fight the holy kingdom, but that''s my problem, not yours. He doesn''t care for your group, he just doesn''t want to be looked at as weak by the nobles if he allows you all to leave without some kind of reparations.


    Valen nods, having already predicted the actions of the king, more than willing to play his game for the sake of getting out of the forest safely.


    A forest he plans to never return to considering how much trouble it is so far.


    ¡° I will assist you prince Morendos.¡±


    All eyes turn to Arjun, a mask of worry and resolution can be seen on his face.


    Morendos looks to the light elf,¡± That will be unnecessary.¡±


    ¡°No,¡± Arjun says, shaking his head, holding his daughter tighter to his leg,¡± My wife was taken by the holy kingdom, I can''t stand around and do nothing. Every second I wait means she may very well end up dead.¡±


    Morendos, unsure what to say, looks down towards the dark elf child clinging to his leg, remembering that the progeny between different species tends to greatly favor the mother''s race.


    Another mage would be extremely helpful, especially considering my brother would give little to none to support me.


    ¡° What of your child?¡±


    Arjun frowns, holding his daughter close to him, turning towards Valen.


    ¡° Valen¡­ I have a favor to ask of you,¡± he pauses, watching as Valen makes eye contact with his own,¡± I want to leave my daughter in your care for a little while.¡±


    ¡°Daddy No!,¡± Aisha yells out, looking up towards her father who is sporting a grim look.


    Valen, takes a long while, seconds passing before he slowly nods.


    ¡° I will take care of her,¡± Valen answers, immediately getting a bewildered look from Gang.


    ¡°Daddy,¡± Aisha calls out, looking up to her father, tears starting to form once again in her eyes.


    Smiling sadly, Arjun goes down on one knee,¡± Aisha, I will be going to war to save your mother, in the meantime, I want you to stay with Valen¡­ I trust him to keep you safe.¡±


    Gang closes his eyes, rubbing his temples,¡± how long will you be gone? How long will this battle last? Where are we to wait for you?¡±


    Gang turns to Valen,¡± do you even think before you accept requests? What if the battle is a failure and he dies? Are you willing to take care of Aisha forever?¡±


    Valen turns to Gang, his back straight, eyes hard,¡± I am.¡±


    Gang stares a Valen, watching the confidence oozing out of the man.


    ¡°Gahhhhhhh, why am surrounded by idiots,¡± he says, turning to Diva.¡± Do you have anything to add to this?¡±


    Diva, blinks rapidly, looking long and hard at the Radonian,¡± What was your question again?¡±


    Gang shakes his head and walks towards the couch, sitting down and folding his arms,¡± Idiots, all of them are idiots.¡± he says rather loudly, not even looking at the group.


    After a brief moment, Morendos continues.


    ¡° The battle will not take long, probably less than a month. We have a small base of operations in the northern outskirts of the forest you can stay in the meantime.¡±


    Valen and Arjun nod in acknowledgment, happy to have that problem figured out.


    ¡°Good, now that this is over, I will go prepare my troops and will call upon you all when I am ready to depart.¡±


    Morendos turns around, opening the door and leaving.


    Llarain walks to the door and stops, turning towards the group, taking a long hard look at Valen.


    She nods slowly, then walks outside, closing the door behinds.


    As soon as the door closes, the group goes completely silent, not a sound being made.


    Just standing there, staring at the door, deliberating on their next action.


    ¡°Idiots¡­ I am surrounded by idiots.¡± Gang voices from his seat.


    **********************


    Several days later, the preparations are complete and the group finds themselves walking with alongside an army twenty thousand soldiers in size, a mere fraction of the size that the enemy is believed to have.


    But Morendos shows very little in a sign of fear. His back is straight, black leather armor covering his body while an enormous bow is strapped squarely atop his back, the crystals embedded on it humming with power.


    Passing by the last guard station, Morendos leads his army outside of the underground city and into the forest proper, his soldiers following behind.


    ¡°Llarain,¡± Morendos voices.


    Immediately she reveals herself, seemingly coming out of a stretch of shadow, a smirk probably on her lips, though none can be seen due to her face being mostly covered.


    ¡° How was your talk with the counselor. You did mention he will have the plan underway. Correct?¡±


    Llarain nods,¡± Indeed, it seems that our timing is quite impeccable. The residents of the Holy kingdom are greatly on edge. Apparently, the king has been growing more blood paladins, so much more that they are starting to take their own people for blood crystal production. The counselor says he can get most of the army to leave, but the king is paranoid. He will have most of the blood paladins at his side, which will make taking the palace extremely difficult, especially with our lack of mages.¡±


    Morendos bites his lip, thinking on the altercation. Though the city will be defenseless and his army outnumbers the blood paladins significantly, he is still not sure he can take them out, especially since the palace is enchanted. If the king can hold on long enough, the enemy army would be able to show up and kill him and his men, greatly fueling Blood paladin production.


    Such thought quickly pass through his head, thinking how much of a risk this truly is. His bow would allow him to pierce the enchanted armor of the bloody paladins, possibly killing them, but that is only true if the enchanted palace did not protect them.


    ¡°It would be in our benefits to ask them for assistance, even promising whatever rewards they so choose,¡± Llarain voices from his side, matching his own pace.


    Morendos shakes his head, taking a look back behind him, seeing the group walking alongside his soldiers from a ways back.¡± No, I refuse to force them into this war.¡±


    Llarain rolls her eyes,¡± They are powerful, they killed a Bhargese with such a small group, a beast significantly harder to kill than a blood paladin. That man¡­ Valen, I think he is far stronger than us all, even stronger than the Amazonian.¡±


    Morendos goes silent, staring forward.


    ¡°I would not say he is stronger than the Amazonian¡­ I think it is more to say that he has far more potential than her.¡±


    Llarain nods, looking back, her eyes glowing, allowing her to see the group clearly from a great distance away, watching Valen as he holds lin¡¯s hand. She remembers the pictures of the Serafin her master had shown her, of their looks, short ears, and magnificent wings.


    He has all the traits except the wings.


    ¡° I still think it would be a good idea to hire them¡­ but at least we have that mage Arjun.¡±


    Morendos nods,¡± Make sure to keep that one alive, I don''t want to be the one to tell his daughter that he had perished.¡±


    Llarain nods, thinking of which assassins under her control she should send to protect the man.