About thirty miles from Viset, the capital of the Alliance, four men run through the forest towards the east coast, which is also the direction of the cat-clan.
All four are big demi-humans who were once imposing warriors, full of life and vigor. But now they are broken and mutilated people, clinging to the last thread of dignity that they still think they have.
"Faster!! We have to go to the coast immediately and find a s.h.i.+p!" The man in front speaks.
He is a tall werewolf who was once the general leader of all Alliance clans but now has difficulty running while limping on a badly injured leg.
Also, his ears were cut as well as his tail and more than half of his fur burned. Only Rein knows the h.e.l.l he went through at the hands of Pride.
Behind Rein, the once terrifying manticore patriarch also limps as he flaps his left-wing alone. His body was also mutilated by Pride and the women he hurt.
His ears and tail were cut off; his bones were broken and rebuilt several times. But Pride was even crueler in cutting just one of his wings, leaving the other so Lanzo could try to fly and fail miserably, just as he has done since he managed to flee from Viset.
"d.a.m.n, Rein. Your boy won't make it!!" Lanzo shouts as he looks back and sees Rein's two sons helping each other to run, still more than twenty meters from them.
Rein stops running and looks at his children. It is evident that his eldest son is trying to help his brother, but the young werewolf is very hurt and may not resist even if they manage to escape.
"Niklaus..." Rein calls his eldest son's name in a sad tone.
Both werewolf brothers understand their situation, but while the youngest fears death, or worse, the torture of the women he has hurt, Niklaus does not want to lose any more members of his family.
Niklaus continues to drag his brother forward and support him by the waist. "Father, we can do it!"
Rein approaches Niklaus and begins to push the brothers away from each other. "If we don't run, soon that dammed elf will find us. You have to leave your brother."
"Brother!" The young werewolf holds his brother's hand tightly. He knows that alone he can barely survive in the forest.
"Father!!" Niklaus tries to continue according to his brother, but Rain pushes the young werewolf to the ground and pulls Niklaus towards Lanzo.
"We have to move now!" Lanzo speaks in a concerned tone.
Niklaus looks at Rein with a pleading expression. "But they will torture him again and again..."
Werewolves have always been the most dominant creatures in the Alliance, alongside the manticore clan, so they never knew what it's like to be on the bullied side until Eve arrives. And now, everything seems like an endless nightmare for them.
Rein limps over to his young son, who can barely get up on his own. Then he kneels in front of the young werewolf and strokes his burnt hair.
"Father..." The young werewolf makes a hopeful expression.
But he should have known that Rein was never merciful, not even to his own family.
Rein quickly holds the head of his son and rotates it, breaking the young werewolf's neck and killing him on the spot.
*Crack*
"NOOO!!" Niklaus tries to run towards his brother, but Lanzo holds him back.
"We have to go now!!" Lanzo pushes Niklaus forward and starts running again towards the east.
"He won't be caught or tortured anymore, but we will if you don't start running right now!!" Rein yells at Niklaus as he runs towards Lanzo.
Niklaus is saddened by the death of his brother, but he recovers quickly because only the strong can continue to live.
"d.a.m.n b.i.t.c.h!! It's all her fault!!!" Niklaus screams and runs behind his father.
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At the same time, in Viset.
An elven warrior in emerald armor enters the throne room and sees Ghalenna having breakfast while reading several papers on her desk, next to Eve's throne.
The former Elven Queen's admiration for eve is incredibly high, and although Eve told her to "took care" the throne in her absence, Ghalenna refuses to sit on the Great Queen's throne and spends most of her time solving bureaucratic problems of the kingdom in her desk.
The elven warrior approaches Ghalenna and kneels in silence. From the young elf's regretful expression and posture, Ghalenna knows it will be bad news.
"Report," Ghalenna speaks as she eats green bread.
The elven warrior speaks quickly. "It's all my fault. Lanzo ran away with Rein and two of his sons."
"WHAT?!" Ghalenna smashes the bread on the table with a heavy blow.
Before the elven warrior can say anything, Ghalenna quickly asks. "How?"
The elven warrior explains. "They were badly injured, not only physically, but their minds were also broken... We would never have imagined that they would be able to beat two guards... maybe it's because the Great Queen left the city? I feel weaker too."
Eve explained to Ghalenna how her aura works. Despite having small improvements in the real power of people who respect Eve, the benefits are only significant in the people closest to Eve, that is, to whom she has a little respect as well.
Still, Eve and Pride's main power is to make only people near her stronger as a buff, so when she left the city of Viset, Eve's followers there started to feel weaker.
However, that does not justify Lanzo and Rein's escape as Eve left all the clans together under the provisional leaders.h.i.+p of Ghalenna, who now feels very irresponsible and not worthy of Eve's trust.
Yet, that is not exactly Ghalenna's fault. She ordered the prison guards to be careful around Rein and Lanzo, but pride easily makes people overestimate themselves, and that is where the danger lies; even a badly injured dog still bites.
"How long it was?" Ghalenna stops blaming herself and focuses on finding the fugitives to lessen the shame she is feeling.
The elven warrior is also very ashamed, mainly because she is the captain of the guard. "I don't know for sure... that was during the night turn, and I only found out now when I found my guards knocked out."
"Any clue where they fled to? Can they be hidden in the city?" Ghalenna asks as she gets up.
The elven warrior also stands up while responding. "As soon as I found about it, I ordered fox-clan scouts to follow their tracks. They must be on their way now, so should we follow them?"
Ghalenna picks up a green bread from her desk and eats it as she runs towards the castle doors. "Let's go; they can't be too far away."
----------------------------------
At the western gates of the city of Oxnard.
"Have a safe journey, my King," Nina respectfully speaks after they finish saying goodbye.
Lucien waves and smiles at Nina and the other cat-girls as he walks down the road that leads to Viset.
All the women in the cat-clan cannot help feeling that they are missing something as they watch Lucien and his girls go. It was just a day, but that day will be unforgettable for them.
Walking through the forests of the Alliance can be a dangerous walk because of the mystic beasts, but also pleasant because of the beautiful vegetation.
But for Lucien's wives, who can travel on floating platforms, there are no problems, as they can move quickly and still enjoy the view from the sky.
But Lucien's troops have yet to travel by land. Well, that's what he thought.
"The girls are already powerful enough to create platforms big enough for the troops as well." L.u.s.t comments.
The mage girls agree with L.u.s.t. Their growth in power is so fast with Lucien, that they don't have enough time to be constantly discovering their limits.
"Let's try." Angela is the first to start expanding her already large floating platform.
But before Lena and Marie start competing, as usual, Kylee and Anne further encourage them. "Who was it that talked about making ten sh.i.p.s alone?"
"I can do it!" Marie exclaims.
"Me too!!" Lena quickly responds while compet.i.tive intent sparkles in her eyes.
*Pah*
Lucien slaps the b.u.t.ts of both sisters, who make a happier than sad expression upon receiving what should be a punishment.
"Ten sh.i.p.s seem too much; it's fifty miles to Viset, so make two while Angela and Rose make three, so that will be enough for all troops," Lucien explains in a loving tone.
"Alright!" Marie and Lena respond together. Although they always want to compete, obeying Lucien brings many more benefits.
Then the girls start making big sh.i.p.s with their element, much like the real one they traveled by sea and are now under the protection of the cat-clan. Lucien could have tried to keep the sh.i.p.s in the purple world, but he still needs to strengthen his soul to have more control over the purple world.
Even the girls get surprised by their own power when they easily manage to create the sh.i.p.s. Manipulating that amount of element is not easy even for Earth Realm mages, but Lucien's demonic energy, more and more incredible, makes all his girls more talented and powerful than the most privileged people in the universe. L.u.s.t begins to think that talent means nothing compared to having Lucien's affection.
The troops divide again into groups of two hundred and board the floating sh.i.p.s while only Lucien's family and his closest troops, such as the recently added spy Lana, Raquel, and Estela, Ko's best friend stayed in his main s.h.i.+p.
In addition to the mage girls being able to move the sh.i.p.s through the air easily, Madelyn still helps them by creating a positive wind current in the direction of Viset, making the sh.i.p.s move even faster.
"Now that is traveling." Elsie comments.
The girls enjoy the view of the sky while looking at the rainforests of the cat-clan and the other forests that are in the direction of Viset. But some girls don't like flying very much.
While little Ko plays with Estela, Oya approaches Lucien and stirs his s.h.i.+rt sleeve. "Hubby... I want to run."
Lucien smiles at Oya as he strokes her chin. He can feel her d.e.s.i.r.e, but he still asks to exercise her speech. "Alone?"
Oya is far from understanding all the words, but some are quite natural to her.
"With you." She responds in a warm and pleading tone, which is the same as irresistible to Lucien.
He brings her lips up to his mouth and kisses her for a few seconds. "Of course, my love."
Then Lucien mentally warns his wives mentally as he walks to the edge of the ice s.h.i.+p and lets his body falls while holding Oya in his arms.
Oya hugs Lucien tightly as they fall from the sky. Then, a few meters from the ground, Lucien flaps his wings to establish the flight, and Oya jumps from his arms, turning to the form of a tiger in the air and extending her original size.
"ROAR!!" Oya roars, releasing her b.e.s.t.i.a.l inner d.e.s.i.r.es while making all other beasts within a mile terrified.
Then Lucien mont on her and gently holds her fur as she runs towards Viset. Even the floating sh.i.p.s at super-speed cannot compete with mama tigress in her extended form.
Since Oya intends just to run around and have some time alone with Lucien, she gets off the road and starts exploring the surroundings while taking great p.l.e.a.s.u.r.e in his pats.
Lucien's other wives somehow can understand how Oya is stealing the scene, but all they can do is pout. Well, those with wings like Astrid, Aria, and Ella can follow Lucien from the sky.
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