I landed the wooden pew rollercoaster car with forty people inside on the outskirts of Rerin. This thod of flight is too damn expensive. Nevermind I'm carrying five or six tons of cargo through the air. Still expensive.
I avoided the road and picked a forest clearing. The sun will be up soon and it will be easy to see us. Maintaining invisibility along with the force barrier lifting the car will be even more strenuous.
I dumped a middle-sized house from Storage. Then I took out a table, chairs, forty sets of cutlery and dishes. I dump so raw food on the table and firewood on the ground.
"We can cook," one of the forr auction house hostesses offered.
"Good. I'm taking the sled while we don't need it," I replied and sent the pew car to the storage.
Other volunteers assembled and they made themselves busy. With the display of power, I showed them, I don't think they regret the choice of coming with . While they are working, I check the house. It is one from Perenneth during the Third Demon Lord's rampage. The house is still furnished but it doesn't have enough for forty people. I drop a pile of bedrolls. I know so of them to need to sleep but maybe not all of them.
After my guests are provided for, I call for their attention. "We are resting and recovering here while I regenerate my MP. We'll depart in ten hours, so make yourselves comfortable. Don't worry about monsters or any kind of attack. This place is safe. Talbain, co with for a walk, please."
I take the werewolf away and we walk deeper into the forest.
"What is the matter, Matriarch?"
Deflated, I explained to him what happened with the trophy slave waifus I've t and why they refused to co with .
"That was expected. Between what they know and an unknown person, what would they pick? It was a jump in the dark. The auction house people only ca with you because you killed so of them and they were afraid of what you'd do if they refused to co with you."
I felt a pang of pain, "Why would soone willingly keep using that collar, Talbain? They had so kin among them!"
The werewolf shook his head, "They made their choice. Let's see how they fare with their masters dead."
"I'm going back,' I said. "At least the kin I'm going to take with ."
The werewolf smiled - more like a toothy snark actually - and nodded, "They should obey their Matriarch. Lead the pack with strength and wisdom," he advised .
"Take care of our 'pack' while I'm out, Talbain."
He growled a chuckle, "As the Matriarch wills."
You had to know werewolf physiology to avoid misunderstandings. He was amazed, excited, and the [Wolf Radier]'s advice was very welco. I shifted into the needletail and flew back at full speed.
The castle was in siege mode. A guard for every three ters of walls. Spells painted the sky in a rainbow of colors, illuminating around and searching for intruders. I slowed down to almost a stall and glided down into the palace's basent, squeezing myself between cracks in the wards. No bolts of lightning ca to fry this chicken this ti.
I tiptoed down and went to the most guarded place in the basent. By the number of knights and the heavy steel doors, this was the treasury. Using invisibility, chaleon - in case any of them had so fae blood, I wasn't sure if it would work, I scuttled down the corridor as an Etruscan shrew.
My reason to co here first was simple. If they had no money they would have no money to spend on luxuries, especially trophy sex slaves. I was also motivated by greed and the need to defend Windere. If I took the kin won with , they would surely connect the dots.
The door was heavily warded. I chewed a hole in the magic and crossed into the treasure room. The amount of wealth stored would sha the auctioneer. I vacuud everything into my storage and assud the shape of a black jaguar with the disguise kit covering with midnight black fur. I dug a tunnel connecting to the courtyard and went to the harem. It was empty. A quick scan with my detection Perks revealed a group of non-humans in the basent with a group of humans a few ters away. Ten gold coins that were where the Queen put the won.
A squad of knights sat on a table and played cards, obviously guarding a door at the end of the corridor. I heard sobs and whimpering coming from the other side. I stared at them and used {Force Binding}. Once they were dealt with, I beca ethereal and entered the room.
The room wasn't a dark and damp dungeon cell as I expected. Far from the luxuries of the above-ground harem but modest and comfortable by peasant standards. It wasn't damp and it didn't sll like shit. The previously vivacious and ornery odalisques were sad and quiet, sitting on large pillows and talking in hushed tones between themselves. Oil lamps on the walls shrouded the room in an eerie and somber twilight.
The won weren't physically hurt. Why would the Queen damage such valuable rchandise? Torturing these won was akin to grinding gold to dust and tossing it to the ocean's waves.
I used a privacy ward and a wall of Force blocking the door before I made myself visible. I made a show of sitting on my haunches licking my paws, not a care in the world. The won scread and scurried off to the far corners of the room, soiling at least one of the large pillows.
One were-fox in her beast-kin form approached carefully. You could tell she was a were-fox because she had so fur running down the back of her neck mixed with the hair. Pure beastkin necks were bare skin like humans. Her chest quivered with those muffled sobs when one desperately tried to rein in their fears.
"Matriarch?" She tentatively whispered.
I stretched my back, my tail playfully swaying in the shape of an interrogation mark. I t her gaze and calmly sashayed next to her. She was frozen. I rubbed my cheeks on her leg then walked across, rubbing my flank and slapping her belly with my tail. Behind her, I pawed her tail once. After I did a full turn, I sat in front of her. She released her breath in a huff.
Kneeling, she reached with a hand. I t it halfway with the top of my head. She held my chin and raised my eyes. "Matriarch, is it you?"
"So you heard of , cub," I said sagely. "What's your na?"
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"Laika," She said. A tear rolled down her cheek, "Did you co to take us?"
I scolded her out loud, gazing at the other won still cowering in the corners, "After you so adamantly and foolishly refused my agent's help, I had to co here in person. Co closer, those of my kin."
A show of buxom hips adorned with shiny, fluffy, and silky tails - a testant to the luxury they lived in - ca my way. I pigeonholed my sexuality between a gay woman and the straight man I once was, locked the door, and never looked back. I knew what I liked and what I disliked. And I couldn't lie. What I saw turned on.
It was still too early to seek solace in soone else's bosom, though. I could feel Nenandil disapprove of my hesitation and attachnt deep in my soul. She said.
"Is she really the Matriarch? THE Matriarch?" A rabbit-kin woman disbelieved.
I growled, "Doubt my power?" I rubbed the were-fox. "Bring your collar down here, kit. I'll bite that devilish contraption off of your neck."
The won stared with shock, disbelief, and horror. The fox-girl knelt and tilted her head, offering her neck to . I created the Force band under the collar as a precaution and chomped down on the tal. Once the magic binding it was gone, my jaws broke through. I took a step back and let the were-fox rub her now free neck.
"Last chance, girls. Now that your illusion of wealth and a life of luxury is over, here's your LAST CHANCE. You can stay here and be at the Queen's rcy or co with . We have little ti. Who wants to co to do as Laika did and show your pretty necks so I can bite off the collar. Who wants to stay, go to that corner with all the pillows."
I used a spell to throw the pillows to the far corner away from where I wanted my escape route. All the girls knelt on the floor. I removed their collars one by one with {Magic Eater}.
I blocked the door with a boulder, carved a section of the wall, and dug a room. The excavation debris was welded shut to the boulder and walls blocking the door but leaving space for airflow above.
It took two hours to tunnel out of the castle with all the harem girls behind . Once we were outside, I brought the pew car and got them seated. The number of people I'd rescued in this operation doubled. With my MP pool full, we flew back to the clearing.
I repeated the operation with all the previous slave harems I visited in the noble houses. So needed more coercion than the others and in most, I only took the kin and elves with . Strangely, gnos, halflings, and other smaller species were conspicuously missing from such harems. Why the discrimination? I didn't bother to find out.
One hundred and thirty-seven won, six n. One cathedral, one auction house, and a hoard of yet-to-be-accounted valuables from a few treasure rooms. Not to ntion furniture, books, and other decorative articles I took from the noble Houses that tortured their slaves. Those were the souvenirs from my trip to Sadian. With that ca pressing trouble. How to take these people to Windere? Ice train again? King Locksley was supposed to be dead.
The solution I found wasn't at all dignifying. I discovered that a dire buffalo with eighty-one Strength could pull a wagon train easily. Slowly (even with the double move rate Perk) but easily. The accommodations were cramped but nobody complained to my face. I just put my hooves to the beaten path and pulled. Amazingly, I found the physical exertion to be quite rewarding. It took my mind away from brooding and thinking of other things.
That's probably why I missed the bandits hiding in the treeline.
Arrows flew and struck . The damage each did was in the ten thousand ballparks, showing that these bandits were trouble. Ignoring the projectiles stuck in , I rose a Force Cage around the wagon train, leaving and Talbain outside.
I sent him. The werewolf had his own share of arrow wounds but stoically ignored them too. He darted into the treeline and vanished inside a bush.
I took another volley of arrows and rembered I could remove them from my body by simply willing them into my item box. So hit the force cage but just the amount I got from the passengers via Wellspring was enough to sustain the barrier.
"Co out, rchant!" A two-ter tall rugged bandit wearing a battered brigandine with rips in the leather exterior, showing the segnted tal plates studded to it ca to block the road in front of . He shouldered a huge ax and threatened, "We'll kill your beast of burden if you don't. We only want to collect our toll."
I tapped the road with my hoof.
"Easy boy. Or you'll beco barbecue tonight," He threatened with a grin showing his yellowed rotten teeth.
[Man-At-Arms]
Level 57 half-ogre male.
Strength 70
Dexterity 30
Endurance 60
HP 1,181,952
Half-ogre? That was a first. No wonder he was so tall. Quite the HP pool too.
Shouts and cries for help rang from the forest. I kept staring at the brigand. A scared guy ca out of the woods on the side where Talbain was prowling,
And killing.
You were tithed 4 million Exp (Base 137 x 30,500 multipliers)
(...)
"Hey, Spiff!" The half-ogre shouted at the bandit. "What is going on out there?"
Spiff ran away from the treeline along with other bandits that just appeared, crossed the road, and entered the forest on the other side.
"Werewolf!" A straggler shouted.
The leader groaned, "Do I have to do everything here myself?"
"Hey, what happened to the barbecue?" I asked.
He spared a glance, "I'm coming back to deal with you... Did the cow talk?"
"Hey, rude. I'm a dire buffalo, you stupid half-ogre. Your father's courage is comndable, he fucked your ugly ogre mother."
"He rose his great ax in one hand, preparing to strike. "Show yourself, magician!"
"Dude, I'm right here," I told him. "Hold on for a second, let remove this harness. If you want a fight, I'll give you one."
I sent the harness to the storage and walked a few steps away from the wagon. The won were peeking through the tarp, too afraid to reveal themselves.
"You are a cow mage? A mage transford into a cow?" He scoffed. "I wonder how magical beef taste."
He charged and brought his ax down. I dodged jumping to the side. I wasn't just a buffalo with eighty-one Strength, I was a buffalo that moved at double speed and had eighty-two Dexterity.
I struck with a horn, dealing a reasonable amount of damage.
You gored [Man-at-Arms for 944 HP. (Base 75 x2 Size x2,62 Strength x3 Mana Strike x0,8 armor)
Reasonable for soone without any skill at goring people.
You learned the Skill: Gore (uncommon): Adds damage and accuracy to attacks using horns.
Your rank with Gore is novice 2.
He struck with his great ax, dealing forty thousand damage. The half-ogre laughed when he saw the translucid shimr of the {Mana Shield}. "So you ARE a mage!"
"Yes, kind of," I replied. "Do you mind if I use you for an experint? {Champion's Duel}!"
Contested Willpower check won.
"A [Champion] cow? That's a first," he laughed.
But it was just a facade. He knew he caused forty thousand HP of damage and he saw the tiny gash his blow opened. There was even a Perk to asure an enemy's HP with increasing precision as you struck them. I never bothered to pick that. The only thing that mattered was the kill.
"Sixty-three million HP, if you are wondering," I told him.
"Bullshit," He spat back.
"Not happening," I flicked my tail.
He struck again and I just dodged or threatened to gore him. I was stalling for ti. Talbain crossed the road after the bandits that fled, including Timmy. Poor Timmy. We're gonna need another Timmy.
The guy was skilled with that ax and a buffalo's body was not the easiest form to maneuver and dodge. He got a few good hits in but my passive HP recovery was seventy-two thousand HP per second [footnote]. I felt like Kirito on the 42nd-floor bridge.
Finally, Talbain ca. The half-ogre was panting for air.
"Talbain, finish this guy. I yield the challenge."
The bandit saw the ssage that now he could flee. He looked at and then at the werewolf. He ran and vanished behind the trees. Talbain was on his heels. I heard him scream and then the sounds of a werewolf killing soone.
You were tithed 10 million Exp (Base 325 x 30,500 multipliers)
Talbain returned. He had the decency of cleaning himself. Maybe he had a Perk for that. "Matriarch. I am honored you invested one of your Perks for your people!" He gushed with admiration.
"What? Would you explain while you help attach my harness back, please?"
"My pleasure," He ca and latched my harness to the wagon. "I got a twenty-five percent Exp bonus during this encounter."
Eh? Was Boosted Exp Split working for the tithes? It did read, "Those who share Exp with you..."
I burned my blood on the road - you never know when it can be used against you - and we resud our trip.
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