Chapter 244: The Morning After the Battle

Please reread two previous chapters if you somehow gained access. 

The next morning, the sun came out from the clouds and revealed the beautiful domes of Jenniva.

The blood mist, that had been in the air the night before, gradually faded away while numerous people in the village began flocking outside to complete their morning routines which included things like watering the countless plants they relied on, and packing the merchant carts full of goods. 

Almost none of the Great Slavensen People questioned what happened the night before. The children played and smiled like everything was normal, but most people realized something had changed.

That was because in the morning, for the first time in years every single commander of the Great Slavensen Army was going to the palace for a meeting. This type of meeting had been held only once in the last 10 years, and was called the meeting of the elders. Though it didn't sound that special, the council only met for one reason, and that was to either declare war on another Nation or to prepare for drafting more soldiers.

The Great Slavensen Nation had roughly 100,000 youths that were of age to be enlisted in the army. Some of these lived in small agrarian villages in the nearby mountains that spent almost all their time raising different types of herbs, or plants that would later be sold at market. However, in times of war, the nation's income sometimes had to be sacrificed in exchange for more power. 

Still, at this moment, there was one thing causing many of the Great Slavensen People to occasionally stop and look in the direction of the palace. 

They couldn't help but hear Lasinda giggling and laughing and sometimes lightly screaming. They had no idea what was happening to her, but they could tell she was definitely having fun.

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Howard laid on Lasinda's bed under a large set of blankets.

He looked over and saw Lasinda's eyes staring at him with such intensity and fervor he almost couldn't control himself. And yet, Lasinda had to be the most energetic girl he ever met! No matter how much he kissed her, she simply wanted more! He had just been in a battle, and she was causing him to fight harder for his breath than even the two assassins from the night before!

"Hmmm, I've never kissed anyone before tonight. Am I getting better at it yet?" Lasinda asked as she gently pushed her entire body into Howard and kissed him with all her might. In her white gown, she looked exceptionally beautiful, and normally Howard would've long ago returned her fervor with his maximum strength. 

He wanted to wrap his arms around her body, and move aside her beautiful brown flocks to suckle on her neck, but he had no choice but to be on the receiving end for the last hour! He laughed and looked at Lasinda's beautiful pale skin leaning in towards him before she sucked in his lips and then bit down. She was getting a little too good at kissing! He laughed and gently played with her hair before she pushed Howard down and started gently kissing him repeatedly.

He looked up and smiled before she accidentally pushed into his shoulder.

"Ah! That hurts, haha! Be careful or you might break me." Howard smiled and looked up at Lasinda's gorgeous eyes before she giggled and bit into his neck. He turned and looked at her beautiful hair, which made her eyes disappear as she swooped down and nibbled on his neck. 

This was not the treatment he expected after a hard battle! He expected gentleness, yet she really was being quite rough.

Knock! Knock!

"Excuse me, miss! You're being quite loud!" A man with extremely deep and charming voice said. "A few of the children from outside wanted to know if they could play with you! It seems to think you're playing some type of game."

"I am! It's called thank Howard!"  Lasinda said while trapping Howard underneath her. "He saved my father! Tell the kids that if they want to play a game, they have to come back in five hours! I'm still learning how to kiss him right now! He's going to be my husband after all!"

"Misses! Don't say that so loud!" The man replied, aghast at Lasinda's response. He'd known her since a young age, and hearing her bated breaths for the last hour simply shocked him beyond surprise. "The children outside are still at the age they believe women make children through going away in the winter to harvest plants. Please! It's time you two stop!"

"Hmmm, I think we should think about the children," Howard laughed and gently pushed Lasinda into his lips one more time before rapidly flipping her over and dropping her on the bed. "However, you've been in charge for too long! It's time I put you under me for a little while! Roar!"

Boom!

A moment later, 

Lasinda and Howard, who were on the bed with their locks about to connect, looked up and saw Mernan and the butler laying on the door. They almost instantly couldn't help but laugh a little bit, yet at the same time, Howard realized his hands weren't able to be seen underneath the covers.

"It's not what it looks like!" Howard smiled and looked down at Lasinda. Her skin had turned completely pale when she realized her dad had been listening the entire time. "I've only been on top for less than twenty seconds! She's the one that viciously kissed me for the last hour!"

"I-I'm sorry!" Mernan stood up off his butlers back and looked into Howard's eyes. "I didn't mean to interrupt, Howard. However, there is something that I have to talk to you about if you're willing. That is… I know my daughter is probably very much under your care right now, but after last night, it's essential that we talk quickly! In fact, with your permission, I'd ask you get off my daughter and come with me to the throne room."

Mernan really had just been walking by, and hadn't expected to trip and fall into his daughter's first night with Howard, yet now that he had he felt sick to his stomach. 

It was one thing to see your daughter kiss someone at the florid alter in a Great Slavensen wedding, but it was another to fall into a door and see a man on top of her with her hair flowing off the bed! If he could, he'd totally not want to have seen this, but it frankly was an urgent matter!

The last thing he expected after dealing with the Grey Neck Warriors last night was a report that the Arthraku had a caravan on the way. And not only that, but this caravan had at least twenty SSS rank soldiers in it!

One thing that greatly differed from the Jarkalon Abyss and the lower levels of the Furnace was the sheer overall level of the strongest warriors. 

In the Jarkalon Abyss, it wasn't uncommon for their to be over 1000 SSS rank warriors in some of the stronger nations. And of course, since the Arthraku happened to be at the top of them all, some reports even said they have over 5000 SSS rank warriors! The sheer power these warriors could unleash on a place like the Great Slavensen Nation would be enough to completely destroy it! He had to let Howard know about it, in the off chance that they were coming in this direction to attack him. 

Mernan looked at his daughter, and then at Howard with a somber look on his face. Howard had already gotten up and stood in the center of the room. "Now… I know this is an important morning for you, Lasinda, but you have to stay here. I'm sorry to say, but even though you very much enjoy Howard's company, he needs to hear this alone,"

"But it's our first night together, and morning together. I thought when a husband is chosen, even before they get engaged, they get an entire two days and nights together to connect," Lasinda was pretty much talking about how things normally happened in the Great Slavensen Nation when a couple was about to be engaged.

They would get to trial each other out, pretty much, in order to make sure that the marriage would be able to prosper in the future.

And yet… The last thing Lasinda expected was that her father would take Howard away. What if he didn't like her because she didn't get to seal the deal. These were some of her very real concerns right now! She could tell her father had something urgent, but what was more urgent than a girl earning the love of such a strong man?! He just saved her father's life after all!

"Daughter… He will come with me to the throne room, and he can come back with you after. Just try not to be so loud when he returns, and spend at least an hour with the kids outside. On the other side of the palace. You must… you must tell them why you made such noises. Please say something about plant development and nothing about the intamacies between men and women."

"Hehe, my mother and father made up a story about trains." Howard said with a smile, causing Mernan and Lasinda to both shake their heads. "What? You don't know what a train is?" He realized he was talking to the wrong audience and then walked towards the hallway before abruptly turning back and looking at the beautiful women laying a few feet from him. "Anyways, Lasinda. It was nice having fun with you last night! Let's take it to the next level when I return!"

"No next level! Come with me damn it!" Mernan smiled and gently pushed Howard through the door before looking at Lasinda one more time. "As for you Lasinda, please… please cover your neck when you go outside. I see some marks…" Her father coughed once awkwardly and then closed the door. "It's right this way! As far away from my daughters' bosom as you can possibly get!"