Chapter 196 – Halfway There

Chapter 196 – Halfway There

At first, Diana simply moves away from the resting place of her family. Somehow, I can now understand her even better than before. There’s no doubt that a small connection formed between us after I accepted the pact. Even though she feels the urge to stay around the tombstones forever, she forces herself away, knowing that it won’t change anything.

I let her run for as long as she needs to. About half an hour later, we slow down a bit and change to a light trot. Diana angles her head to glance at me questioningly and I smile at the big wolf, playing with one of her impressive ears.

“It might be hard to explain where to go so let’s try something special, alright? I’ll focus hard on Shino’s location through the bond I share with my mate. Try to pick up on the direction if you can,” I say to my new friend, wondering about how much she will now be able to understand.

Our gazes stay locked for a moment longer as I consult my bond with Shino. Diana’s glowing tongue then flicks out of her mouth to lick her snout and she shakes her head just like a dog, which she technically is, to some extent. She then picks up the pace again, moving much faster than before.

Still, I just know that she can go even faster. Out of her consideration for me, she doesn’t push herself to her limits. Not even close. Right now, I can only hold onto her lush black fur, hoping that my strong grip doesn’t rip any patches off. I would hate to both wound the wolf and damage her ferocious beauty.

Getting an interesting idea, I create a specific mental image in my mind before calling forth my Void Chains. From what I understood, Diana is an existence closely connected to the Void. She even has it in her name, kinda. So, she shouldn’t feel too uncomfortable with what I’m about to do.

Usually, I bring forth the chains or other forms of bindings from some surfaces around me, but right now we are mobile and that’s out of the question. There’s a little tingle in my head when I look down at Diana’s impressive form and I lean more into that feeling.

Dark purple belts snake out from underneath her and wind around Diana in the form of a neat harness. Its source is clearly located over her rib cage so I can safely assume that her heart or the very core of her being is where the magic originates from. Nevertheless, with a few crossing lines, my imagination forms two angled handholds, one per Diana’s shoulder, and I grip them tightly. There are similar pieces for my feet and I find a comfortable position in my new, makeshift saddle, leaning forward like on an incredibly fast bike.

And I have a feeling we instantly go faster than any of those mechanical steeds ever could.

The hiss of wind in my ears makes me smile a little as Diana skilfully navigates through the forest. Thanks to my high Tier and quite insane stats, my senses are capable of keeping up with her pace, at least to some extent. A few quick jumps and side steps bring a blurry image to my eyes, but otherwise, I can appreciate her eagerness to bring me to our destination as soon as possible.

If I’m not mistaken, the others should be arriving there soon. We might even get back to them in time for the audience with the royal family.

Possibly sensing my thoughts, or at least my desire not to be late for something important, Diana picks up her pace even further. But, what surprises me the most is the sudden lightness I start feeling in my chest as wisps of black smoke begin rising from her fur. A faint trail of misty darkness remains behind us as we make our way forward.

I’m not entirely sure what it is, but I can tell that this something is asking me for permission. I consider my options for a few seconds and finally decide that it has to be the work of my canine companion and stop shielding myself from her influence.

In an instant, we link even stronger and a purplish haze covers the edge of my vision. Diana lunges forth, completely unbothered by the thick tree standing right on our path, and pitch-black darkness replaces my sight with a flash. I shiver lightly as we spend less than a second in that empty world, emerging out of it without an issue.

The forest around us hasn’t really changed, but Shino’s presence grew closer. About ten minutes of travel at our previous speed closer. We somehow covered a lot more distance in that short fraction of a moment. I start considering the chance that my mind simply blanked out for a short while, but deep down, I understand that we have just jumped ahead through something.

That something being the shadows, most likely.

Diana gives me a slight break to adjust my mind to what happened and my vision gets affected again. This time ready for the jump, I keep myself calm and focused. Just before we slam into a tree, our bodies dive into its shadow like it's a pool of water. Our time inside still appears as short as before no matter how hard I try to decipher the difference, and we end up shooting out of another shadow, skipping another ten minutes of our journey.

“That’s amazing. If this isn’t just your unique ability and something actually connected to Void Magic, I would truly love to learn it.” I chuckle to myself between the jumps.”This could prove useful in so many situations. Though, right now, let’s focus on the most important one.”

And so, Diana takes me for a trip through the world of pure darkness pretty much every half a minute or so, perhaps considerate of my first time with it. Or my mental strength, possibly. I don’t know just how much Void Affinity helps in this situation. She is the expert here, though unable to voice out her opinions.

Maybe someday she will be.

Even with our little cheat, we still take over a day to reach our target. Diana brought us slightly off the course when we made a detour for her family. I don’t blame her for that, of course. Even if I did, she’s done more than enough to repay the favour.

Shortly before noon the next day, we spot the first signs of Ronerulle’s capital. The pretty city is exactly like Shino described in one of the tales about their adventurers. We might not be able to see much past the gates right now, but what we can spot is enough to start with a good impression.

For a moment, I consider going through the busy streets and enjoying the sights to my heart’s content, but two reasons stop me from making that decision. First, a random guy with a wolf taller than him if it assumes a straight, proud stance would not only be the talk of the town but also definitely make a bunch of people scared, anxious, and uncomfortable. As for the second, it’s the mission. Shino, Marcia, and my girls are located in the castle. Judging by their general position and the fact that they are in there all together, the talking must have already started.

I would be really late to the party if I went chasing sights.

Reaching out to Shino, I let her know that we will be arriving in just a moment. She asks what do I mean by we, but I simply send her a mental grin. Giving her a moment to share the message, I glance at my companion.

“Alright. Take us to them, please. And let’s try our best not to give Vanessa’s parents a heart attack.” I chuckle to myself while patting Diana’s side.

She lets out a huff of agreement and we step into the shadows instead of running into them this time. Even though the distance is much shorter than our previous jumps, the transfer takes a bit longer. I can tell that deep darkness is pooling on the floor next to my friends, capturing their attention.

Then, the two of us jump out of it and land in the throne chamber.

The king and the queen of Ronerulle still flinch lightly at the sudden intrusion, but the others gaze upon us with wide and somewhat confused eyes. However, some real excitement and curiosity are quickly taking over Shino’s gaze as her mind goes lightspeed with ideas and assumptions.

Ignoring her eager expression for now, I jump off Diana’s back and turn to the royal duo while holding onto one of the purplish belts hugging my mount’s torso. “My apologies, Your Majesties, if my unexpected arrival surprised you. I didn’t want to show up too late and make an offence. I’m Alastair Carter, the leader of those incredible ladies in black and purple gear. It’s an honour.”

After that, I descend to one knee and even Diana lowers her head alongside me, making a good display of her intelligence and obedience. That gesture helps the royals relax and I mentally thank my wolf companion for her help. She shows her appreciation for my appreciation by giving my cheek a quick lick and returning to bowing, bringing a quiet chuckle out of me.

But, all is good as that cute gesture seems to be enough to earn the approval of our important hosts.

“Rise, please,” the man says after fixing his posture on the throne.

I get up, rest my hand on Diana’s side, and take a glance at the others. They all look fine, but it’s fairly obvious that they would have contacted me to report any unfortunate accidents or other events they might have encountered on their way here. Ressia gives me a sharp, respectful nod, currently standing in front of her colleagues. Paul shows a faint smirk too, representing the Heroes with Vanessa by his side.

“You must be the commander of these mercenaries that they have mentioned before your arrival, correct?” the king continues.

“Yes, Your Majesty. I am the owner of the company and their boss, but I’m here mostly to oversee my subordinates on one of their bigger requests. Ressia is the captain of the current squad, as she has undoubtedly introduced herself. We are at your service.” I make a simple bow once more.

“We’ve heard from the King that your force is a new one in Evaneheim. But, he already believes you to be the best. From what we can tell, you are all at least well-mannered and know how to handle yourselves around people of status. We are looking forward to working with you and the Heroes, who have already proven themselves to us through a great favour before.” He nods at my ex-students.

Vanessa takes a small step forward. “Father, this man is the one who made me aware of... the atrocities committed in the shadows of our city. I can personally vouch for his good heart and great combat skills. He was the mentor of the Heroes in the past.”

The last part is kind of debatable but I’m not going to argue. She is clearly trying to warm her parents to me and it’s appreciated. However, I’m not sure if straight-up telling them that I was involved with anything related to their son is a good idea. They must have talked about him in the past and it shouldn’t be hard to connect the dots even if she didn’t explicitly name-drop me in their conversations.

And the sharp gazes that fall upon me are enough to confirm at least some of my suspicions.

Well, let’s hope that they aren’t the ones to stab their guardians in the back to resolve a grudge.

“You won’t be safer anywhere else other than in Sensei’s hands,” Shino joins in with a beautiful smile. “He saved us plenty of times, and in terms of pure strength, none of us can hold a candle to him.”

The royal pair continues to stare at me until Paul chimes in too. “Returning to our previous conversation, now that all of us are here, may I ask when you plan on heading out, Your Majesties? We are ready to depart at any time, after resupplying ourselves shortly.”

It’s the lady who answers his question. “You must be tired after your long journey. It wouldn’t be healthy or proper of us to demand you to begin your quest with us right away. A certain important matter related to our nobles came up moments before your arrival so we would be grateful if it would be possible to postpone our departure to the next morning.”

“As my wife says.” The husband nods. “You are welcome to stay the night if you are willing to. There’s no rush to resupply your necessities either. Please do take note of your purchases and bring us the list after you are done. We’ll reimburse your expenses for this trip. It’s the least we can do as your current employers.”

“We are honoured by your generosity.” I lower my head and Paul mirrors the motion.

When the feast gradually slows down and everyone simply sinks into their comfy chairs to enjoy the fullness of their bellies, Ressia respectfully stands up and glances at the royal family. “I would like to express my gratitude for this incredible evening, something that I and my colleagues have never ever experienced yet. But, as much as we would love to remain here and accompany you longer, we must take our leave to take a proper rest. Our duty is to protect and we need to be at our best in the morning. We won’t settle for less. Once more, thank you, Your Majesties.”

Naturally, they are allowed to leave and they walk out of the dining hall, shooting me warm smiles as they go. We stay for about an hour more before Vanessa retreats with her parents too. Taking that as our sign to pack up, we thank the servants and be on our way. Since Shino is staying with her party, she trots up to me so we can share an affectionate goodnight kiss and we separate.

When I arrive at my assigned chamber, I find all six of the girls lying atop the massive, royal bed completely nude and definitely not asleep. They grin at me with flushed cheeks as their exquisite bodies press together. I shake my head at them and approach slowly.

“What happened to resting properly for the morning so that you can be at your best?” I ask teasingly, well aware of their true intentions.

Ressia blushes even harder as her gaze wanders down my front. “It wasn’t a lie. But, we can’t be at our best without your help, Master. Our enhancements have already expired. We require your assistance in renewing them.”

Even though she tries to remain confident while stating her request like a fact in front of me, I don’t miss the slight worry in her beautiful eyes as she remains a bit anxious about being too demanding. The others mirror that emotion, as eager to bed me as they are.

I step onto the bed with my knees and move over the naked beauty lying in the core of her colleagues. “Well, now. We can’t have that, can we? As a respectable mercenary force, we can’t disappoint, right?”

Her pupils lose the tightness and quickly dilate, melting into ensnaring discs full of lust and desire. She grabs the front of my outfit and yanks me down to her lips. Pure chaos ensues next as the others lunge at us and desperately claw at my body to disrobe me as quickly as possible.

When I’m finally just as naked as they are, Ressia stares deep into my eyes with her palms cupping my cheeks. “I never dreamed I would ever be taken in a real royal castle.”

Grinning at her, I trace my hands down her waist and rest them on her hips as she spreads her legs for me, revealing her flooding slit to the world. Seeing the state she is already in, I take her right here, right now, plunging myself into the wolfgirl's heated depths in one go, evoking a shivering moan from my seductive captain.

As she wraps her arms and legs around my body to pull me deeper into her, I take a brief glance around. “Get yourselves ready for me. That’s an order.”

A chorus of very excited “Yes, sir!” answers me and the ladies take good care of each other right away. The sound of my body slapping against Ressia’s is joined by a cacophony of wet licking, kissing, and fingering, not to mention heart-melting mewls and moans. But, I try my best to focus on the fierce canine underneath me, writhing in pleasure from the dicking she deserves.

“You did such a great job so far. I’m proud of you,” I whisper to her long ear as I pound her waist into the bouncy sheets.

“Yes, sir! Ahhh! Ahhh! I’m a good girl! Ahhh! Ahhh! I’m your good girl! Ahhhh! Please, reward me!” she struggles to answer amidst her carnal moans, bucking her hips back into me to meet my thrusts.

Chuckling at how fast her tail is wagging now, smacking my knees as I smack the lips of her pussy with my underbelly, I nibble gently on the fluffy triangle atop her head. Ressia shudders and cries out in ecstasy, tightening around me instantly. The others take a moment to look at her as she peaks loudly and I drive myself into her right through her powerful orgasm, continuing to piston in and out of her convulsing channel until she dives into another orgasm right away. Only then do I release deep into the talented and proud wolf lady, filling her up with a mighty load as her reward, besides all the pleasure.

Slipping out of Ressia’s warm embrace as her fit figure shivers in post-orgasmic bliss now and then, I press a gentle peck to her cheek while grazing the other one with my palm. She flushes even harder while panting for air but does her best not to tear her gaze away from mine. An embarrassed smile does decorate her fierce lips, though.

“I shouldn’t have said that...” she whispers timidly.

“What? That you are my good girl?” I raise a curious brow at her and she turns even redder than I would have thought she could.

She then shoots a glare to the side. “These traitors told me I should. That it would feel good. Goddess, it’s so embarrassing...”

I smile at her lovingly, a bit amused that I managed to make her slip from how good she felt. “But you are my good girl, aren’t you?”

She nibbles on her bottom lip as her tail starts going again. Winking at her, I place a proper kiss on her sweet lips and leave her to rest a bit.

What greets me next is a heavenly combination. Fullen and Suna lie down side by side, a pale High Elf touching hips with a chocolate Dark Elf. They hold hands while looking at me expectantly, trickles of nectar staining their thighs.

I admire their contrasting forms for a while, which clearly is the right choice as they smile back at me appreciatively. Our healer is as lithe and regal as most High Elves are and her long, silvery hair just adds to it. As for the lightning mage, she is a bit more plump where it counts and her black hair is cut almost military short, which greatly contradicts her quite beautiful face, creating an incredible combination.

As I move over the pale beauty, Fullen’s fingers trace down her belly and reach her petite folds, pulling them aside to reveal the pink flesh of her feminine secrets. She watches me expectantly while keeping herself exposed in a very shameful position for my own sake.

Kissing her forehead, I chuckle quietly. “I honestly thought all High Elves were rather prideful and noble, but I guess I only really spent a significant amount of time around only one.”

Her cheeks turn rosier at my words. “Years of slavery tend to do that to a woman. Not everyone stays the same.”

“I’m sorry—”

She interrupts me with a finger on my lips. “Don’t be. I know very well how awful and painful it was, but without it, I wouldn’t ever be able to enjoy fine things like this. I would still have a stick deep up my ass and see sex with a Human or even other races as something beneath me. Now, I rather enjoy a different stick in there.”

Smirking at her, I guide my fingers past her proffered pussy. “Would you like one right now?”

She giggles nobly and nods. In the next moment, I flip her over and she lands on top of Suna, who welcomes her lighter sister in her bosom with a dazzling smile. Fullen looks up at her with red cheeks as I trickle some of the useful substance onto her upper entrance and myself, starting to prod her narrow backdoor with a finger.

After she gets comfortable enough with it, I switch to something thicker and slowly fill her up as she groans thickly into her friend’s generous dark tits. In no time, I’m pummeling her tight ass to ecstatic cries and grunts, bumping both ladies up with my hips. I watch the noble High Elf leave herself at the mercy of my pleasurable strokes and the Dark Elf’s bosom sway deliciously. For the few last thrusts, I lean in to lick and suck on her hard nipples, exploding in Fullen with my face still latched onto one of them.

They roll over then and Suna presents her butthole to me too, asking for the same helping of fun and games. As expected from the very lewd Dark Elves. I grant that simple wish of hers and rail her down with all I have as she peaks again and again from me destroying her ass like a machine. The two Elves are left in each other’s embrace when I finally let go of them.

I find Yuru and Oniri still engaged in an eager sixty-nine, lapping at each other’s mounds greedily. Cute whines and mewls escape their wet lips as they are lost in pleasure together, not noticing that it’s their turn now. That really makes me smile. The two Beastkin girls are quickly becoming as close as sisters. Even during their first time with me, they worked together rather well.

My touch on their adorable ears makes them flinch and realise that they have spaced out. They stop their efforts and I help them up, getting smothered in cute kisses and pecks as they pepper my face with affection, their tails swaying lovingly behind their pert butts. I let them do it for a while as my fingers care for those enchanting appendages, causing them to shiver into my chest.

Oniri offers me Yuru first, but Yuru protests and encourages me to mate with Oniri before her. They really are such good friends. Nevertheless, I have to start somewhere so I grab the short fox as I stand on my knees, turn her around, and press her back into my front. Oniri sighs in pure relief as I finally enter her from behind, keeping our torsos at a slight angle and putting some distance between her lithe thighs.

I start gently pumping into the fox’s narrow hole, nibbling on her long ears with my mouth and teasing her nipples with my fingers. She graces us with quiet, humming moans and exquisite sighs. At least until Yuru crawls between our legs and starts flicking her skilful tongue right over the petite fox’s sensitive clit.

My thrusting and other caresses, paired with the pure-blooded Leopardkin’s sucking and kissing, bring her much higher on the scale of ecstasy and Oniri buckles her pussy into me with eager gusto. She sprints towards her orgasm, clearly turned even more by the help of her friend, and she comes to her high with a cute, prolonged coo, splashing Yuru’s furry face with a little squirt of love nectar.

I give her precious flower a few more pumps as my seed paints its insides in their favourite colour and lay the sweet fox to rest. Yuru snuggles to my chest next and I play with her ears for a moment, letting the cute girl rub her ticklish cheeks into the crook of my neck while purring lovingly.

She gradually climbs onto me like a tree and I find a good position for us. Her legs find purchase atop my shoulders while her fingers lock together behind my neck. I hold her tender butt in my hands and look deep into her ferocious eyes as I slide home, evoking a shivering mewl from my strong subordinate.

I ram into Yuru’s needy channel with mighty thrusts as she hangs off me lewdly. Leaning forward, I keep raining kisses on her feline nose with each wet smack her spread mound receives. Her tail flicks back and forth along her adorable whines of need, showing that I’m doing a good job at pleasing the quiet leopardgirl.

As her tight passage starts squeezing me even further, I steal her tongue for a wild dance and pummel her to the best of my abilities. She releases a feminine growl as she orgasms on my cock, her sharp claws tearing into my skin from pure bliss. I flood her depths with my cream and the growls are replaced by loud, vibrating purrs as she licks my neck like it’s the most delicious meal of her life.

With the Beastkin pair laid to rest too, I move on to the last remaining member of our current expedition squad. Besfi the Tiefling throws herself at me without a moment of thought and impales her impatient pussy on my length with a cry of delight. She starts riding me like mad, begging me to smack her, pull her hair, yank her tail, and abuse her.

I do all that and more, continuously throwing us around into new positions that put the Tiefling in more and more difficult positions, bending her limbs and body to their limits. As I’m drilling her squirming snatch in a piledriver with her ankles held right next to her ears, she explodes like a fountain, covering herself fully in her lewd juices.

But, it’s not the only time she squirts like crazy. Each time I bite her flesh, smack her ass, or yank her tail with abandon, she lets out a little trickle of liquid, cumming just a bit from those actions. For someone who is supposed to be our dedicated tank, she really is enjoying pain a little bit too much. Her side of the bed ends up completely soaked by the time I wreck her as far as to almost knock her unconscious.

Wiping my forehead from both sweat and certain other bodily fluids, I take a peek at the others and find them looking at me hungrily. Chuckling to myself, I throw the perverted Tiefling away and spread my arms wide, inviting them to take me as much as they want. They all charge at me like a pack of starved wolves and we spend a decent chunk of the night chasing the carnal rabbit.

Thankfully, with my support, they don’t need to sleep as much as before or we would be quite some trouble in the morning.

We still have to actually escort Vanessa's parents to their destination.