When they heard my defiance, mocking laughter echoed from the guards.
"I admire your boldness," said the leader, his voice dripping with malice. "But boldness can only take you so far." He flourished his blade, its sharp edge glinting ominously in the sunlight. With a twisted grin, he ran his tongue along the steel. "And now, you'll meet your end in the most agonizing manner. Pin him down, boys!"
The guards' faces twisted into dark smiles as they unsheathed their weapons, closing in on us with deliberate menace, their eyes filled with cruel anticipation.
I stared at them with cold, unyielding eyes, not moving a muscle. In truth, I could have easily sliced their heads from their necks in an instant. But I chose restraint, wanting to gauge their true intentions. Now that I was certain of their vile plans, I wouldn't hold back any longer.
Summoning mana into the palm of my hand, I concentrated it until it felt like it was becoming a solid mass. The energy coalesced, shaping itself into a blade of pure, crackling power.
"Hrm?!"
"W-What the...?"
The guards standing closest felt the atmosphere around them shift abruptly, a palpable wave of potent and dangerous energy emanating from the object in my hand. Even those unaccustomed to judging power could sense its formidable nature, causing them to visibly waver in uncertainty.
"Here's how it's going to be," I spoke with a steady voice. "You can walk away right now and live, or you can make a move and face a gruesome death. The choice is yours."
I was deliberately suppressing my bloodlust to ensure the leader wouldn't realize my true strength and to encourage him to underestimate me. It seemed to work; even after seeing the blade and the concentrated mana, he didn't lose his smug smile.
"Ha? Choice? Me?" scoffed the leader. "Don't make me laugh. There's only one thing I'm here for: fucking your wife and slave. And your only role is to watch them get gangbanged while you're pinned down, followed by your inevitable death.
Those are the only options in this scenario."
He showed no concern for how crass his words sounded.
"B-Boss, maybe we should reconsider," one of them interjected nervously. "I have a bad feeling about this. We might have targeted the wrong person." His voice wavered, betraying a glimmer of sanity and caution. Unlike their leader, he wasn't completely ruled by his dick, sensing the danger lurking beneath the surface.
"Relax, there's no need to feel bad about it," the leader smirked dismissively. "This is just another easy catch, like all the others."
His demeanor suggested he saw this as routine, a twisted part of his world. His casual words hinted that this was far from his first time and likely wouldn't be his last. The next steps were predictable. Before they could claim more victims, I had to put an end to it here and now.
"Well, you've made your bed. Now you get to lie in it," I remarked calmly. With a swift motion, heads were sent flying. Eleven heads, cleanly separated from their bodies, hung momentarily in the air, blood spurting from the neck stumps like macabre fountains, before crashing to the ground.
The leader's smug expression froze as blood splattered across his face. Shock replaced arrogance in an instant.
"H-Huh, w-what?" he stammered, his voice trembling with disbelief.
The look of disbelief on his face quickly melted into sheer terror as he comprehended the gravity of the situation. He fell to his knees and threw himself prostrate before me.
I couldn't help but chuckle softly at her response.
"W-What's so funny?!" she demanded, her cheeks flushing a deeper red, the combination of her glare and blush making her look irresistibly fierce and adorable.
"You should have just agreed, and we wouldn't be going back and forth like this."
"I'm not agreeing to it! Even if Mother gives her blessing for you to marry me, I'll just be playing along with her wishes!"
"Is that so? Well, if I can have you, Artemis, then I'm perfectly fine with playing along."
"Ugh, you really are a scumbag," she retorted, her tone laced with frustration.
Her calling me a scumbag didn't faze me much.
"Master sure is quite the womanizer," Maya quipped from behind us, injecting a playful tone into the conversation.
***
The second night of our journey finally arrived, and we had to stop and make camp. We were almost at the Great Forest, and at our current pace, we'd reach it by morning.
We pitched our tents and set up a campfire. Two tents stood ready: one for Artemis and another larger one for Maya and me. We planned to have sex again tonight, so Artemis opted to sleep in a separate tent.
"Please, keep it down," Artemis muttered over the crackling of the fire as she stirred the cooking pot. "Even though there's no one around to hear, I'd rather not listen to you two moaning and having sex right next to me."
"You should just admit you want to join us, Miss Artemis," Maya teased, her voice playful. "I wouldn't mind at all if we turned this into a threesome."
"W-What are you saying?!" Artemis stammered, nearly dropping the spoon she was holding. "There's no way I would participate in a t-t-threesome!" Her cheeks flushed a deep crimson, her eyes wide with shock.
"If you join, it would be a huge favor for me. I can't handle Master's insatiable libido on my own," Maya remarked with a playful smirk, her eyes flickering mischievously.
"I-It's your fault for coming alone!" Artemis shot back, her cheeks flushed with a mix of embarrassment and irritation.
"I thought you were already Master's woman," Maya teased, her voice tinged with amusement. "The way you gaze at him says it all. I assumed you were already part of his harem. My mistake. I didn't realize you hadn't given yourself to Master yet."
"Please, don't assume that! I don't like Leon at all!" Artemis protested vehemently, though her blush betrayed her true feelings.
Maya's words carried a hint of strategy, as if she were weaving a web to entice Artemis into our nocturnal plans. Her suggestive tone left little doubt that she was orchestrating this potential threesome.
I didn't object to the idea of a threesome with her; in fact, I found it rather appealing. However, deflowering Artemis at this point wasn't an option. I could settle for thigh fucking her, at the very least.
If Maya managed to convince Artemis, tonight would indeed be a wild one in the wilderness.