Chapter 378 Infection

It was already evening when Cain managed to get off the king’s eyes. The conversation took longer than he liked and having the king push his daughters at him was honestly annoying.

But Cain managed to learn a few important things about the king that he never knew before. 21 is the number of the king’s official wives, those who are considered queens. He didn’t count the concubines which will push that number up to 35 total. Baltos might have actual jewels to push all of them.

Another piece of information he managed to get is that the Headmaid that was chasing them is actually one of the queens, and Cassius’s mother. She used to be the king’s private assassin and bodyguard before getting injured and having to retire early. Nonetheless, she still has enough strength to kill most commanders in open combat.

“Look who’s here? What a beautiful hunk of a man!” A woman approached Cain as he was walking in the capital’s streets. A brothel seems to be on the other side of the road.

“Sorry, but I have work to do, maybe next time,” Cain replied respectfully and turned around. Their job was hard.

“We’ll give you a bonus!” She tried to cheerfully run after him.

After only taking a few steps, a shadow swallowed her instantly. Cain got alerted instantly, this wasn’t a normal shadow.

“I messed up, she wasn’t normal!” Gracie appeared beside Cain with a bleeding wound on her side, she was stabbed.

Swinging her dagger, the woman’s eye fell on the ground with a tadpole screaming. “Alice!” Cain instantly teleported Alice to him so she Cain heal Gracie.

“Sorry, I thought she was just a normal thug so I tried intimidating her but she actually leaped to stab me,” Gracie growled, the wound on her side quickly healed.

“Don’t talk, I will heal you now,” Alice said as she started her magic.

Cain looked inside the shadow, the woman was still breathing. “Alice, heal her as well, she was being controlled. I will deal with the rest!” Cain growled as he stomped the tadpole.

“Deal with what?” Alice asked.

“If she was infected, then…they all are.” Cain looked toward the brothel, everyone was approaching them with weapons. He didn’t detect them as the tadpole emits so little magic that it’s hard to sense when you’re not up close.

Gracie opened a shadow and hid with Alice and the injured woman. As Cain was left alone, he looked around. He was greatly outnumbered and didn’t want to kill. Nemmoxon wouldn’t want to fight in the middle of the city and the rest are busy so he only had one choice, a strong choice.

As the people gathered to see what was happening, they saw him open his palm.

“Mei, call everyone!” A small pixie appeared in his hand with an annoyed face. “I was about to take a bath!” Her voice was ear-piercingly sharp.

“Look around, Call the others,” Cain said. As she turned around her face turned serious. “Mind flayers? No, Aboleths. What have you gotten yourself into?” She instantly called her army.

Like a storm of birds, hundreds if not thousands of pixies emerged from thin air. Mei had been slowly getting people to join her with Cain’s delicious Mana. Pixies were drawn to pure magic like bees are drawn to sweet nectar.

Cain flew to the sky with Mei on his shoulder and watched the battle unfold. The small pixies were too fast to be hit so they easily gouged the tadpoles from everyone’s eyes.

“Split into groups of two, a fighter and healer if possible. Scout the entire city for infected people, extract the tadpoles, and heal them.” Cain declared his orders loudly as the pixies easily cleared the area in front of him.

‘The situation is direr than I thought, I better inform king Baltos to take action.’ Cain flew away toward the castle.

…

Inside the royal bath, Sofia and Sara were taking a bath together. Sara just invited Sofia and the latter didn’t mind trying the royal bath.

The spacious, gold glittering luxurious bath with maids ready at their service. The best sponges and the best-perfumed soap that even money can’t buy. Just standing there makes her feel like a queen.

After having the maids scrub their backs, give a massage, and provide them with some rare orange juice. Sofia slowly walked toward the hot tub and sat inside. This was probably the second best hour she spent in her life.

The only downside was Sara trying to convince her, to make Cain marry one of them. She said that it didn’t matter as long as it was one of the princes. The king was intending to pass the throne to the one who marries Cain. That will in turn make him the next king, and Sofia who is his wife, a queen.

As expected of Sofia, she didn’t buy that. Respectfully refusing all of Sara’s advances. “That’s Cain’s decision and a collective choice between us. I can’t promise anything.” That was what she said.

As Sofia was resting, Sara slowly approached her from behind followed by all the maids that were present. Every one of them was armed with a knife.

Sara opened her eyes and the glow in them intensified. Silently she swung the knife at Sofia’s naked back, aiming at her heart.

CLING! The metallic blade that was sharpened by the royal blacksmith, stopped at Sofia’s skin unable to push further. On top of that, it sounded like it hit a stone.

“What is the meaning of this?” Sofia growled without moving an inch. Two massive red wings emerged from her back as four horns extended from her head. Her thick, and heavy scaly tail landed with a THUD! As the red and black scales on her back became visible, it seems they were the ones that stopped the knife.

The water around Sofia’s feet started to boil as the bath’s temperature quickly rose making it resembles a sauna. Sara and the maids started panting as the heat slowly made it hard to breathe.

“Speak up, you might have hurt someone if it wasn’t me.” Sofia turned toward them with flames gushing from her nose, her green draconic eyes had a deep green glow to them that only carried the meaning of violence. Sofia thinks that if it was Gracie instead of her, they might have killed her. This only fueled her rage, making her draconic blood boil.

The maids started to pass one after the other, none of them had the stamina or durability to survive standing in the extreme head.

In an instant, Sofia’s magic could be sensed around the whole castle. Isbert who was about to enter the bath was the first to pick up on it and rushed in immediately. The heat was almost unbearable but her cold magic helped her stand unfazed.

Looking around, a bunch of maids has passed out. They seem to have been carrying knives as some had stabbed themselves upon falling. In front of the tub, Sara stood facing a creature that resembled a humanoid dragon with green eyes. Isbert interpreted it as the dragon that was accompanying Cain, Zaleria.

Sara feeling cornered, turned around and swung her knife at Isbert forcing her to dodge. Taking that Chance, Sara rushed out of the bath running toward her room. On the way she saw the headmaid walking toward her, “Move away, that an order.”

The Headmaid kept walking. Lights reflected from her glasses.

Sara swung the knife at her but the Headmaid easily caught her hand, “Who are you? Princess Sara rarely opens her eye, she always complains of her back pain.” The Headmaid caught Sara by the neck strangling her, “A body double aiming for his majesty life? An intruder? How many of you are here?”

“Be careful, she might be the real Sara!” Isbert who just caught up shouted.

“There a bunch of maids as well, we better wait for Cain to arrive and get his advice.” Sofia followed her, they seems to have reached an understanding in the bath.

The Headmaid slowly looked behind Sara toward them, her expressions were unreadable as her glasses covered most of her upper face.

“I see…” That is what the Headmaid had to say before smacking Sara on the head and knocking her out. “They do weigh the same, so I guess you’re right.”

Hearing that, Sofia and Isbert finally realized that The Headmaid was carrying Sara by the neck and with one hand.