Our skills are like this:
--
['Wolf Ryder Skill Report']
['Physical']
[Skill Name: Level | Skill Name: Level | Skill Name: Level]
[Sword Use: 13+17 | Hammer Use: 9+1 | Spear Use: 16+4]
[Polearm Use: 12+8 | Dodge: 12+8 | Parry: 13+6]
[Block: 11+8 | Shield Bash: 4+1 | Battlefield Perception: 7+3]
[Muscle Explosion: 4+1 | Acrobatics: 13+2 | Ekrano Style (creator): 6]
['Magical']
[Skill Name: Level | Skill Name: Level | Skill Name: Level]
[Sense Mana: 0+6 | Mana Control: 3+17 | Mana Recovery: 10+0]
[Mana Efficiency: 13+7 | Reduced Mana Cost: 13+7 | Mana Overuse Resistance: 6+4]
[Blackout Resistance: 0+1 | Fire Magic: 1+4 | Earth Magic: 6+4]
[Water Magic: 4+1 | Wind Magic: 1+4 | Electric Magic: 6+14]
[Light Magic: 2+13 | Space Magic: 7+23 | Summoning Magic: 6+36]
[Blessing Magic: 27+23 | Nature Magic: 0+20 | Conjuring Magic: 1+4]
[Spirit Magic: 0+3 | Illusion Magic: 0+2 | Golemancy: 0+12]
[Redirect Mana (creator): 7 | Sense Soul (creator): 6 | Soul Manipulation (creator): 10]
[Godly Language: 30+5 | Dragon Transformation (innate): 7 | Equipment System: 5+5]
['Miscellaneous']
[Skill Name: Level | Skill Name: Level | Skill Name: Level]
[Dancing: 0+1 | Cooking: 0+4 | Andraste Language: 4+6]
[Dismantling: 0+4 | Piloting: 0+3 | Massage: 0+4]
[Sexual Charm: 0+2 | Oral Technique: 0+1 | Mana Body (innate): 6]
[Chaos Breath (innate): 0+1]
--
['Info']
[Name: Wolf Ryder | Age: 17 | Race: Weredragon]
[HP: 100 | MP: 2130 | Magic Power: 935]
[Level: 62]
['Stats']
[Strength: 15 | Endurance: 17 | Dexterity: 12]
[Speed: 15 | Intelligence: 22 | Wisdom: 20]
[Willpower: 19 | Charisma: 17 | Piety: 17]
[Perception: 18 | Sanity: 15+4]
['Other']
[.Status Effects: 'NONE'.]
[.Titles: 'Nickname "Good Luck", Blessed by the Goddess of Knowledge, Golemancer, Scholar of Rabanara, True Noble, Lord of Escanso, Crown Lord of the Western High Forest, Shapeshifter, Protector of the Last Crown'.]
[.Affiliations: 'Helios (Fellowship), Alissa Ryder (Wife), Hanafuria Ryder (Wife), Roxanne Ryder (Wife), Lina Ryder (Wife), Ciel Ryder (Wife), Aoi Ryder (Wife), Yulania Ryder (Wife), Servant Blood Slaves'.]
[.Companions: 'Alissa Ryder, Roxanne Ryder, Hanafuria Ryder, Ciel Ryder, Lina Ryder, Aoi Ryder, Yulania Ryder'.]
[.Crimes: 'NONE'.]
--
['Alissa Ryder Skill Report']
['Physical']
[Skill Name: Level | Skill Name: Level | Skill Name: Level]
[Sword Use: 9 | Bow Use: 42 | Parry: 6+4]
[Dodge: 2+8 | Sense Presence: 12 | Hide Presence: 2+8]
[Enhanced Olfact: 5 | Enhanced Hearing: 5 | Hawk Eyes: 7]
[Muscle Explosion: 1+6 | Quiet Steps: 5 | Quiet Action: 4]
[Enhanced Stamina: 1+4 | Enhanced Reflexes: 2+8 | Tracking: 3]
['Magical']
[Skill Name: Level | Skill Name: Level | Skill Name: Level]
[Sense Mana: 1 | Mana Control: 2+8 | Reduced Mana Cost: 9+1]
[Mana Efficiency: 10+0 | Fire Magic: 1 | Earth Magic: 4+1]
[Water Magic: 1 | Wind Magic: 1 | Light Magic: 1]
[Space Magic: 1 | Conjuring Magic: 1 | Illusion Magic: 1+19]
[Fox Transformation (innate): 8 | Equipment System: 6+4]
['Miscellaneous']
[Skill Name: Level | Skill Name: Level | Skill Name: Level]
[Housework: 3 | Cooking: 4 | Cleaning: 2]
[Washing: 5 | Riding: 2 | Oral Technique: 4]
[Pain Resistance: 2 | Hand Technique: 2]
--
['Info']
[Name: Alissa Ryder | Age: 17 | Race: Fox-type Wereanimal]
[HP: 100 | MP: 1415 | Magic Power: 705]
[Level: 62]
['Stats']
[Strength: 13 | Endurance: 19 | Dexterity: 24]
[Speed: 20 | Intelligence: 14 | Wisdom: 16]
[Willpower: 17 | Charisma: 17 | Piety: 18]
[Perception: 19 | Sanity: 20]
['Other']
[.Status Effects: 'NONE'.]
[.Titles: 'Blessed by the Goddess of Love, Blinding Arrows, True Noble, Lord of Escanso, Crown Lord of the Western High Forest, Protect of the Last Crown'.]
[.Affiliations: 'Wolf Ryder (Husband), Helios (Fellowship)'.]
[.Companions: 'Wolf Ryder, Roxanne Ryder, Hanafuria Ryder, Ciel Ryder, Lina Ryder, Aoi Ryder, Yulania Ryder'.]
[.Crimes: 'NONE'.]
--
['Roxanne Ryder Skill Report']
['Physical']
[Skill Name: Level]
[Dagger Use: 2]
['Magical']
[Skill Name: Level | Skill Name: Level | Skill Name: Level]
[Sense Mana: 0+3 | Mana Control: 6+34 | Reduced Mana Cost: 21+7]
[Mana Efficiency: 10+10 | Mana Overuse Resistance: 4+1 | Fire Magic: 4+36]
[Earth Magic: 4+1 | Water Magic: 4+36 | Light Magic: 1]
[Space Magic: 14 | Conjuring Magic: 5 | Alteration Magic: 2]
[Alchemy: 12 | Potion Brewing: 12 | Poison Brewing: 2]
[Redirect Mana: 2 | Equipment System: 4+6]
['Miscellaneous']
[Skill Name: Level | Skill Name: Level | Skill Name: Level]
[Housework: 1 | Cooking: 1 | Cleaning: 1]
[Washing: 1 | Riding: 1]
--
['Info']
[Name: Roxanne Ryder | Age: 22 | Race: Succubus-Type Demon Race]
[HP: 100 | MP: 3390 | Magic Power: 1530]
[Level: 62]
['Stats']
[Strength: 10 | Endurance: 12 | Dexterity: 12]
[Speed: 9 | Intelligence: 18 | Wisdom: 21]
[Willpower: 17 | Charisma: 17 | Piety: 11]
[Perception: 12 | Sanity: 17]
['Other']
[.Status Effects: 'NONE'.]
[.Titles: 'Master of Poisons and Venoms, Scholar of Xane, True Noble, Lord of Escanso, Crown Lord of the Western High Forest, Protect of the Last Crown'.]
[.Affiliations: 'Wolf Ryder (Husband), Hanafuria Ryder (Wife), Helios (Fellowship)'.]
[.Companions: 'Wolf Ryder, Alissa Ryder, Hanafuria Ryder, Ciel Ryder, Lina Ryder, Aoi Ryder, Yulania Ryder'.]
[.Crimes: 'NONE'.]
--
['Hanafuria Ryder Skill Report']
['Physical']
[Skill Name: Level | Skill Name: Level | Skill Name: Level]
[Sword Use: 31 | Spear Use: 18 | Bow Use: 11]
[Two-Handed Sword Use: 11 | Polearm Use: 8 | Dagger Use: 4]
[Shield Bash: 0+8 | Block: 16 | Parry: 10]
[Dodge: 12 | Tatesomu Style: 10 | Muscle Explosion: 8]
[Battlefield Perception: 10 | Taunt: 3 | Intimidate: 4]
['Magical']
[Skill Name: Level | Skill Name: Level | Skill Name: Level]
[Sense Mana: 1 | Mana Control: 2+8 | Reduced Mana Cost: 5+1]
[Mana Efficiency: 2 | Fire Magic: 1 | Earth Magic: 4+1]
[Water Magic: 1+0 | Wind Magic: 1+0 | Electric Magic: 1]
[Light Magic: 1 | Space Magic: 1 | Conjuring Magic: 1]
[Illusion Magic: 5 | Godly Language: 2 | Equipment System: 6+4]
['Miscellaneous']
[Skill Name: Level | Skill Name: Level | Skill Name: Level]
[Housework: 2 | Cooking: 1 | Cleaning: 1]
[Washing: 1 | Riding: 3 | Massage: 1]
[Pain Conversion: 1 | Dismantling: 4 | Oral Technique: 1]
[Fire Breath (innate): 7 | Summon Wings (innate): 10 | Draconic Body (creator): 8]
--
['Info']
[Name: Hanafuria Ryder | Age: 24 | Race: Fire-Type Dragonkin]
[HP: 150 | MP: 1130 | Magic Power: 555]
[Level: 63]
['Stats']
[Strength: 19 | Endurance: 27 | Dexterity: 11]
[Speed: 16 | Intelligence: 12 | Wisdom: 16]
[Willpower: 22 | Charisma: 18 | Piety: 12]
[Perception: 10 | Sanity: 18]
['Other']
[.Status Effects: 'NONE'.]
[.Titles: 'One Thousand Strikes, True Noble, Lord of Escanso, Crown Lord of the Western High Forest, Protect of the Last Crown'.]
[.Affiliations: 'Wolf Ryder (Husband), Roxanne Ryder (Wife), 'Helios (Fellowship)'.]
[.Companions: 'Wolf Ryder, Alissa Ryder, Roxanne Ryder, Ciel Ryder, Lina Ryder, Aoi Ryder, Yulania Ryder'.]
[.Crimes: 'NONE'.]
--
['Ciel Ryder Skill Report']
['Physical']
[Skill Name: Level | Skill Name: Level | Skill Name: Level]
[Glaive Use: 30 | Sword Use: 4+6 | Parry: 3+12]
[Dodge: 2+13 | Block: 8+7 | Imperial Hasterrum Style: 0+3]
[Muscle Explosion: 2 | Battlefield Perception: 2 | Battlefield Perception: 2]
['Magical']
[Skill Name: Level | Skill Name: Level | Skill Name: Level]
[Sense Mana: 2 | Mana Control: 4+6 | Reduced Mana Cost: 7+3]
[Mana Efficiency: 6+5 | Wind Magic: 11+29 | Fire Magic: 1]
[Earth Magic: 5+0 | Light Magic: 6+34 | Space Magic: 3]
[Conjuring Magic: 1 | Diagnosis: 7 | Redirect Mana: 2]
[Equipment System: 5+5]
['Miscellaneous']
[Skill Name: Level | Skill Name: Level | Skill Name: Level]
[First-Aid: 3 | Housework: 3 | Cooking: 2]
[Cleaning: 2 | Washing: 1 | Riding: 1]
--
['Info']
[Name: Ciel Ryder | Age: 22 | Race: Human]
[HP: 100 | MP: 1640 | Magic Power: 970]
[Level: 62]
['Stats']
[Strength: 14 | Endurance: 15 | Dexterity: 17]
[Speed: 18 | Intelligence: 16 | Wisdom: 22]
[Willpower: 16 | Charisma: 19 | Piety: 27]
[Perception: 13 | Sanity: 23]
['Other']
[.Status Effects: 'NONE'.]
[.Titles: 'Star of Hope, True Noble, Lord of Escanso, Crown Lord of the Western High Forest, Protect of the Last Crown, Decien, Honorary Sky Captain'.]
[.Affiliations: 'Wolf Ryder (Husband), Lina Ryder (Wife), Helios (Fellowship), Templar Knights (Honorary Member), Temple Priestess (Former Member)'.]
[.Companions: 'Wolf Ryder, Alissa Ryder, Roxanne Ryder, Hanafuria Ryder, Lina Ryder, Aoi Ryder, Yulania Ryder'.]
[.Crimes: 'NONE'.]
--
['Lina Ryder Skill Report']
['Physical']
[Skill Name: Level | Skill Name: Level | Skill Name: Level]
[Hammer Use: 3+27 | Axe Use: 1+19 | Throw: 1+9]
[Parry: 10 | Dodge: 4+6 | Block: 1+14]
[Muscle Explosion: 2 | Shield Bash: 4+1 | Battlefield Perception: 2]
[Dwarven Pride Style: 1+4 | Enhanced Speed: 4+1]
['Magical']
[Skill Name: Level | Skill Name: Level | Skill Name: Level]
[Sense Mana: 1 | Mana Control: 2+8 | Reduced Mana Cost: 5+0]
[Mana Efficiency: 9+1 | Fire Magic: 1 | Earth Magic: 11]
[Water Magic: 1 | Wind Magic: 1+0 | Light Magic: 1]
[Cursing Magic: 11+12 | Space Magic: 1 | Conjuring Magic: 1]
[General Enchanting: 7+13 | Magic Tool Carving: 2+8 | Equipment System: 5+5]
['Miscellaneous']
[Skill Name: Level | Skill Name: Level | Skill Name: Level]
[General Blacksmithing: 5 | Sewing: 4 | Housework: 1]
[Cleaning: 2 | Washing: 1 | Math: 5]
[Riding: 1 | Stonebody (innate): 9]
--
['Info']
[Name: Lina Ryder | Age: 16 | Race: Dwarf]
[HP: 100 | MP: 1570 | Magic Power: 675]
[Level: 62]
['Stats']
[Strength: 8 | Endurance: 8 | Dexterity: 13]
[Speed: 12 | Intelligence: 16 | Wisdom: 15]
[Willpower: 18 | Charisma: 13 | Piety: 13]
[Perception: 14 | Sanity: 17]
['Other']
[.Status Effects: 'NONE'.]
[.Titles: 'True Noble, Lord of Escanso, Crown Lord of the Western High Forest, Protect of the Last Crown'.]
[.Affiliations: 'Wolf Ryder (Husband), Ciel Ryder (Wife), 'Helios (Fellowship)'.]
[.Companions: 'Wolf Ryder, Alissa Ryder, Roxanne Ryder, Hanafuria Ryder, Ciel Ryder, Aoi Ryder, Yulania Ryder'.]
[.Crimes: 'NONE'.]
--
['Info']
[Name: Aoi Ryder | Age: 3 | Race: Azurite Dragon]
[HP: 200 | MP: 1770 | Magic Power: 535]
[Level: 49]
['Stats']
[Strength: 18 | Endurance: 23 | Dexterity: 8]
[Speed: 14 | Intelligence: 11 | Wisdom: 11]
[Willpower: 19 | Charisma: 13 | Piety: 9]
[Perception: 12 | Sanity: 20]
['Other']
[.Status Effects: 'NONE'.]
[.Titles: 'True Noble, Lord of Escanso, Crown Lord of the Western High Forest, Protector of the Last Crown'.]
[.Affiliations: 'Wolf Ryder (Husband), Helios (Fellowship)'.]
[.Companions: 'Wolf Ryder, Alissa Ryder, Roxanne Ryder, Hanafuria Ryder, Ciel Ryder, Lina Ryder, Yulania Ryder'.]
[.Crimes: 'NONE'.]
--
['Yulania Ryder Skill Report']
['Physical']
[Skill Name: Level | Skill Name: Level | Skill Name: Level]
[Sword Use: 12 | Two-Handed Sword Use: 19 | Parry: 12]
[Dodge: 4+11 | Silent Shadow Style: 5 | Battlefield Perception: 8]
[Enhanced Reflexes: 6 | Sense Presence: 2 | Hide Presence: 5]
[Muscle Explosion: 5 | Quiet Steps: 2 | Quiet Action: 6]
[Enhanced Stamina: 5+0]
['Magical']
[Skill Name: Level | Skill Name: Level | Skill Name: Level]
[Sense Mana: 7 | Mana Control: 1+4 | Mana Recovery: 2]
[Mana Efficiency: 2+8 | Reduced Mana Cost: 1+4 | Fire Magic: 1]
[Earth Magic: 2+3 | Water Magic: 1 | Wind Magic: 1+0]
[Electric Magic: 1 | Light Magic: 5 | Spirit Magic: 2+25]
[Illusion Magic: 10 | Space Magic: 6 | Nature Magic: 4+11]
[Conjuring Magic: 1 | Weaverism: 31 | Redirect Mana: 1+0]
[Equipment System: 5+5]
['Miscellaneous']
[Skill Name: Level | Skill Name: Level | Skill Name: Level]
[Riding: 5 | Acting: 3 | Dancing: 2]
--
['Info']
[Name: Yulania Ryder | Age: 18 | Race: Golden Elf]
[HP: 100 | MP: 1370 | Magic Power: 690]
[Level: 64]
['Stats']
[Strength: 13 | Endurance: 16 | Dexterity: 19]
[Speed: 17 | Intelligence: 16 | Wisdom: 19]
[Willpower: 16 | Charisma: 22 | Piety: 14]
[Perception: 21 | Sanity: 18]
['Other']
[.Status Effects: 'NONE'.]
[.Titles: 'True Noble, Lord of Escanso, Crown Lord of the Western High Forest, Protect of the Last Crown'.]
[.Affiliations: 'Wolf Ryder (Husband), 'Helios (Fellowship)'.]
[.Companions: 'Wolf Ryder, Alissa Ryder, Hanafuria Ryder, Roxanne Ryder, Ciel Ryder, Lina Ryder, Aoi Ryder'.]
[.Crimes: 'NONE'.]
--
For me, I focused more on balancing my multiple melee skills for better synergy with my tentacles. For the girls, we just make some small readjustments to their skills so that everyone can cast [Earth Wall] on demand, which is the most useful of the Wall spells.
My MP increased by 130 (now 2130) and my MPower increased by 75 (935); Alissa's MP increased by 95 (now 1415) and MPower increased by 50 (now 705); Roxanne's MP increased by 175 (now 3390) and MPower increased by 90 (now 1530); Hana's MP increased by 80 (now 1130) and MPower increased by 40 (now 555); Ciel's MP increased by 140 (now 1640) and MPower increased by 75 (now 970); Lina's MP increased by 145 (now 1570) and MPower increased by 55 (now 675); Aoi's MP increased by 160 (now 1770) and MPower increased by 80 (535); and Yunia's MP increased by 120 (now 1370) and MPower increased by 60 (690).
The orb-boosted mana circulation training is certainly going to remain as our standard from now on since it's basically doubled our gains.
--
We make our camp in a flat field a few kilometri from Mac Gantus. The grass is thick and reaches my thighs, the ground is soft and a bit muddy, and the sky is cloudy and stormy. The terrain dictates that this will be a sluggish battle.
But I'm rather suspicious about the storm. This area should still be within the capital's "perfect weather" zone, so a storm outside of Ne, the day of Water? Sure, today is the day of Wind, but it isn't the day of Storms.
I absentmindedly fiddle with my new [Blink] gem under my armor while I observe the strong winds creating waves in the field of long, bright green grass. This gem is courtesy of Sa'Haa and Lina's Gift-boosted [General Enchanting]. Cleinias' [Blink] (which is in Lina's possession) is still far superior to this one, but just having each of us equipped with a [Blink] gem is already a massive boon for us.
We were also given a variety of protective talismans in the form of jewelry. They're supposed to mitigate whatever psychological attacks Katasko might use against us, like [Monster Summoning] spam, and though the talismans aren't perfect counters, they still allow us to laugh off almost any dark magic that Katasko could throw at us. But Katasko likely also has a similar supply of talismans, so summoning "Status Effect"-inducing monsters won't be an effective use of my MP.
Hana accidentally [Blink]s a couple of centimetri above the ground and reflexively summons her large emerald wings, blocking my view of the field of entrancing, wavy grass.
"How can you be so bad at this when your kinetic vision is so good?" I remark with a frown, mildly annoyed at the interruption.
"Controlling magic is hard, okay?" she flippantly replies with a pout as she lands.
But then my trance is soon broken again as the men notice a caravan approaching our location… two caravans, actually, as the smaller one seems to be breaking off from the main one and speeding up as much as their Rontis can manage as it starts to come our way. Then we see Vanea walking across the camp, now wearing black scale armor and even a battle skirt, and her presence confirms that it's Apeiltik who's approaching us.
There's nothing for us to do, so we simply gather up on the field and wait while Yunia and Alissa give short greetings to the nobles that have come to fill our ranks, then another short one to Apeiltik when he arrives. But once they're done, it's time for our Gestalt, so I begin sneaking lewd tentacles into everyone's armor. Warm pussies, juicy breasts, pointy nipples, hard abs, round asses, I savor them all as I fuck my own cock with a tentacle-pussy.
We notice some movement behind us, and I turn my head to see the Companions making way for Léonne and Allura as they approach us, Jacques and Ofilia suspiciously absent as the two haven't left their tent in a while.
"Wolf," Léonne greets, but Allura doesn't, immediately stunned by my steamy look as lust takes hold of me.
"Léonne," I reply and smile softly, holding back a moan as my breath quickens.
"I have a feeling that this weather was purposely chosen to-…" She suddenly stops and gives us a questioning look. "I know that Alissa told you how sensitive our sense of smell is, so-…" She suddenly turns her head to her daughter and raises an eyebrow at her. "Allura…?"
But the young girl is still too weak to my sexual aura as she has barely begun learning how to control her cock-hunger, and she also remembers the smell of our arousal very well, so it's already too late. The foxy slut has already been charmed. Léonne understands this, and she isn't cruel enough to want to teach her daughter a lesson, so she sighs in resignation.
I turn my sneaky tentacles into cocks and blatantly fuck the girls, drawing soft moans of bliss from all of them.
"Come here," I order Allura, and the tomboy fox obeys unhesitatingly, her eyes locked with mine.
I pull her into a hug and kiss her deeply, penetrating her mouth and wrestling with her inexperienced tongue. She's slender and a bit taller than me due to her digitigrade fox legs, but her female assets are bountiful enough that they aren't overshadowed by her athletic body, and her considerable breasts squish against my chestplate.
Her sluttily short not-kimono loosens, showing a hint of little pink nipples, and that inflames my hunger, so I humanize a hand and sneak it under her small panties, then rub my fingers against her warm pussy lips. I feel the texture of her landing strip against my hand and then also a bit of fur from her fox legs, but I don't have the time or the patience to savor her exotic beauty.
Allura quickly becomes wet, so I slip one finger in, then two, and start fucking her as Alissa's moans become louder, and Léonne merely watches in silence as both of her daughters submit to me. Fox mommy also starts to show signs of arousal, making the dragon roar internally in extreme excitement.
A sudden rage takes over me, and I almost un[Equip] my armor and take Allura's virginity right here and now, but I feel a grip on my mind telling me "no," saying that this is as far as it'll go, so the rage is diverted elsewhere.
I'm not gentle with Allura's virgin pussy, using all my tricks to make her cum as fast as possible, and she's not used to this level of pleasure, so I soon feel her insides tighten around my fingers, but she won't cum alone.
Her body quivers, and her tongue freezes, so I break the kiss and force her to go down on her knees while I keep a vibrating tentacle against her clit. Then I un[Equip] my armor, pull out my cock, and cum all over her face. I link my feelings with those of the girls to complete the Gestalt, and the chorus of female moans enhances my orgasm, increasing the thickness of the shots that I unleash upon Allura.
The slutty fox girl remains stunned for a couple of seconds in disbelief of what just happened, then she turns to her mother, who nods in authorization, and the slut begins hungrily eating all of my cum.
"So you're the one who taught Alissa to be such a cum-addict?" I wryly ask Léonne, a bit out of breath from the massive orgasm.
She nods again and answers matter-of-factly, "Of course. It's the job of any woman to drink a male's seed, but your cum actually smells wonderful, so I don't think any sane woman would complain."
I simply laugh out loud and lovingly massage Allura's fox ears as she licks the tip of my dick for the last drops.
"Now, I must take my leave, for you've made me hungry," Léonne adds and quickly leaves towards her tent.
I turn my eyes to the young girl on her knees, eyeing my cock like the good cum-slut she is, but the "gift" has already been redeemed, so I won't be getting away with anything more. Katasko's camp is also sending out their greeting party, so it's time for us to meet before we can begin the battle.
--
Léonne comes out of her tent at the last minute, already mounted on fox-Jacques, and Alissa notices the scent of sex and cum all over her mother. Urmeie mounts a huge, monstrously muscular Ronti; Sa'Haa has a small Ronti-drawn carriage; Vanea goes with a big black horse; Apeiltik, Mako, and Omari mount large Rontis; we go in our personal Gatun-drawn open carriage; all of the six nobles from Katasko ride Rontis; and the lower nobles from both sides remain in their camps.
Through Alissa's eyes, we see little Alki-Alki at the center of their formation, grinning maniacally. His previously groomed beard now looks frizzy and untamed while his sweptback hair is quickly coming undone in the strong winds. But his expression suddenly turns into an incensed frown as he notices Apeiltik riding alongside us.
Since this is a temple-sanctioned battle, both sides have their own priest leading the formations, who slow down a good fifty meters away from each other to prevent us from crashing into each other or attempting any other shenanigans we might think of.
Once we're a couple of meters away, both sides stop and glare.
But Alki-Alki immediately launches into a rant, "You fucking traitor, Proditos! We should've known that a coward like you couldn't be trusted! You'll never live a safe life ever again after this!"
Proditos?
But Apeiltik suddenly unleashes an aura of hate so powerful that my draconic side feels offended that someone has dared to attempt to look so threatening in front of me. "My true name is Apeiltik Tavros, and I care not for your petty threats, for once we have your Titles, I can just hire enough guards to keep me safe my whole life," the tall and muscular imperial smugly replies, seemingly savoring the pressure that his [Intimidation] exerts upon our enemies.
The five other nobles from Katasko grumble and spit at the grass in front of him, but Alki-Alki turns his incensed and maniacal gaze towards us and spews more hate, "This traitor is the one who gave us information on you, Ryders. He's the one who persuaded us into attacking you and even led the cheers, clamoring for us to send the assassins who harmed your little fox."
"We know," is all we have to say about this matter, which enrages Alki-Alki even further.
Now it's Vanea's turn to release her venom, "It wasn't just us, Alkimeonids. The entire League helped in this endeavor, and they hated you so much that they did it for free."
And one of the Katasko nobles grimly replies, "The League…? Those fucking cowards?! They'll pay for this… "
--
['Soul Info']
[Name: Theneus Baros | Race: Human | Level: 68]
[HP: 100 | MP: 4,520 | Magic Power: 720]
[Strength: 18 | Endurance: 19]
--
He's a mature imperial man with a powerful but beardless chin and an awfully intense gaze.
"No, they won't, for the League will thrive on your ruins," Vanea taunts back, blatantly staring at them with her piercing eyes.
"Enough! We begin this now!" Urmeie roars, and the power in her voice overpowers even Apeiltik's [Intimidate].
The priests then walk forward and talk to each other to confirm that the men participating in this are of the appropriate rank. Then they remind us about what we're waging in this battle and sternly explain the rules of engagement.
There's no more banter after that, so we return to our camp and get into formation.
--
I glance back at Allura and Ofilia, the former still looking "hungry" and the latter a bit "worn out," but my promised virgin fox lightens up as she notices my gaze. The Companions and Lolo are also nearby, and I see nothing but encouragement in their eyes.
The horn blows, so I put on my helmet, then turn forward again and infuse my voice with [Godly Language] to inspire the troops, "We are here because the Empire is ill, infected with a foul disease that spreads among the nobility…" I add a dramatic pause, then I breathe in deeply and roar, "AND WE ARE THE CURE…!"
"RAAH!" over six hundred men roar in response, then hit their shields once, making a thunder-like metallic sound.
Then I make full use of [Godly Language] to buff us all, "SO HAVE NO FEAR, FOR, DURING THIS BATTLE, THE GODS SHALL GIVE US THE STRENGTH AND CLARITY TO PURGE THESE VILE NOBLES AND PURIFY OUR GREAT EMPIRE!"
"UROOOH!" the men roar again, this time led by Urmeie as our bodies are filled with holy fervor!
Mako may be a bastard that uses [Godly Language] with every word, but even he doesn't have the skill as high as I can get it with my Gift.
The ursine Princess begins hitting her shield in a beat as we advance, then the men quickly join in, and soon we're marching to the rhythm of thunder. Over thirty priests follow after us, ready to "rescue" the wounded to minimize casualties, but those who get pulled out of the fight aren't allowed to return.
Then a voice from across the battlefield reaches our ears, "Our enemies wish to steal our Titles and our power! Will we let them?!"
"OOOOH!" Katasko answers, but they lack the same level of enthusiasm as the men on our side.
It's also very amusing that they refuse to call us names since even they won't dare to offend the imperial royals on our side.
"THEN BECOME AS STRONG AS YOU NEED TO BE TO STOP THEM!" the voice bellows while using [Godly Language].
"UOOOOH!" they roar again and suddenly start running.
Over four hundred plated men are charging toward us like a bunch of madmen. A reckless and senseless attack, fitting for the group of inexperienced and unorganized warriors that is Katasko, as they suck at anything that isn't scheming.
Yet we have no idea where their Gifted might be.
Spells start whistling past our heads as the mages on both sides test their opponent's defenses. There's no formation of mages to spam spells, only the High Court Mages, so the actual number of spells is very low. We have a considerable number of knights who also have some skill with bows, especially the werefoxes, but arrows won't do much here with everyone wearing enchanted plate armor, so we don't even bother organizing a volley.
Suddenly, my skin starts to itch, and my [Rainbow Shield] flares up along with a couple of my talismans. It takes me a moment to understand what's going on since the effect is so weak, but someone is using [Petrifying Gaze] on me, though it'll take a long time before it has any significant effect due to my defensive measures.
Then more talismans flare up as [Illusion Magic] spells are spammed on me. Alissa detects [Ghost Lights], [Pacify], [Vicious Rage], and [Nightmare]. Individually, the spells have little effect on me. But spammed like this, they start to give me a light headache and make it hard to think, though it hardly reduces my combat effectiveness since Gestalt allows me to share the mental load.
Roxanne detects [Heat Transfer], [Blizzard], [Vacuum], [Pressure], [Itionization], and [Warp Space] being cast above the battlefield, outside the interruption range of our mages, but their area of effect looks awfully small, as if they only want to affect a few troops at the center of our formation, which is exactly where we are.
The fuckers want to focus everything on us!
I recognize little Alki-Alki's armor right ahead of me. He's wielding a bastard sword and shield, charging forward and grinning with his eyes full of bloodlust. The sight of this fucker lights up a hellfire within me, and my holy fervor clears my mind of all thoughts but the desire to smite this heathen for his blasphemies and immoralities.
"SMITE. THESE. HEATHEENNS…!" I howl and arm my tentacles with war hammers.
"CHAAAARGE!" Urmeie thunders, and we break out in a mad rush. There's no possibility of maintaining a formation here anyway, so the melee will get ugly.
A Katasko noble hits his weapon against the ground, and a crack spreads from its tip to my feet in an instant, but I just use [Telekinesis] to float, ignoring the [Fissure].
Then the two sides finally clash and begin the chaotic battle.
I cast [Haste] on myself as Alki and I cross swords, and I rain hammers upon his armor, but his enchantments almost completely nullify all of my attacks, so I leave only a very small dent on his right flank.
Suddenly, his sword begins to glow with heat, and his body crackles with lightning, so I raise my shield and activate [Heat Reversal] to defend against the [Rush]-boosted [Searing Blade], but as he swings, his sword suddenly becomes clad in a black, dangerous light.
His speed is so unexpectedly high, likely boosted even further by [Haste] or [Muscle Explosion], that I barely have enough time to get my body out of range of his strike, but my shield arm is too slow. The immaterial [Atrophic Blade] passes through my armor as if it isn't there, and I feel a horrible sensation as my limb is drained of life, but Alki doesn't stop his swing, and the Blade also hits a tentacle.
I hear something "crack" inside of me, and the "buttons" inside my mind for casting [Electric Magic] spells suddenly disappear. [Atrophic Blade] has damaged my skill, which will likely remain unusable for a couple of hours, though I can shorten that by using [Spirit Touch] to boost my recovery.
Yunia [Blink]s forward and engages Alki while I recover. It was an underhanded sneak attack, but it won't work twice! I move my points around into [Spirit Magic] and cast [Soul Shield], then I jump back into the fray. I don't need to learn how to control the ethereal arm that grows from this spell if I just keep it in the same place as my physical arm.
I take over the fight with Alki and aggressively keep his sword locked with mine, preventing him from using [Atrophic Blade] on my tentacles as they rain hammers down upon his shiny plate armor. But then I realize something: all of the girls are tied up in 1-on-1 fights, even though we outnumber the enemy.
We can't get bogged down like this; it's time for a Gestalt action. We all [Blink] forward at the same time, and we're now in the middle of the enemy ranks, but this is just fine for us.
Alissa and Roxanne were right behind us, which means that they now have a free line of sight to the enemies ahead, so they rain down spells and explosive arrows on them while we attack from behind, and they can only effectively defend against one side at a time.
Aoi throws her body onto the poor lone noble in front of her and stomps him down, then bites his helmet and throws him out of the battlefield towards the priests so that he can be "rescued," all of that before the enemy knight behind her can even react.
Before the men behind the girls can react to our [Blink], my loyal wives inflict debilitating wounds on their opponents, then turn around and keep the reinforcements at bay.
Alki turns around faster than I can strike, showing how experienced he is against such [Blink] tactics, so all I can do is clash my shield against his and bind our swords together, allowing my hammers to rain down upon his armor again and Alissa to unleash explosive arrows at the back of his head. The explosions aren't enough to wound him, but he'll have to suffer through a horrible headache until he can heal himself.
"I've seen through your tricks, gecko boy," he barks as I push him back, away from his men. Then he [Blink]s past me and behind Hana.
But we're still under Gestalt. Without even looking back, she kicks behind herself at his crotch, which, even with padding, would be a bit of a shock to a man, making Alki hesitate long enough for me to [Blink] behind him and engage him again.
"He's in love with me!" Hana shouts inside my soul space amusedly.
"Why are you running, little Alki-Alki?" the dragon taunts, but the human is still worried about the fact that we haven't heard a word about Katasko's secret weapon yet.
Back at the camp, Sandoro and the strategists claim that the battle is under control, which isn't what we expected…
But I seem to have accidentally struck Alki's weak spot. "What did you fucking say?" he barks again and goes on the offensive against me, swinging his [Atrophic Blade] around, only to have it stopped by my [Soul Shield].
And I reply with a smirk as I casually block him, "Your dick is smaller than mine, little Alki-Alki. You should already know that, or are we going to have to pull them out right here and measure them again?"
That seems to distract him, so Hana turns around as she swings her [Searing Blade], and her bastard sword sinks into his shoulder. Under his helmet, I see his face scrunch up from pain, but then he uses [Muscle Explosion] to move forward, out of her reach, but into mine.
Two hammers to the balls, one explosive arrow to the face, a [Chain Soul] on his sword arm, and many sticky tentacles that latch onto anything they can while I use [Life Transfusion] to suck him dry… but no homo.
"FULL HOMO, FUCK HIM UP!" Roxanne bellows inside my mind.
"You seem to be in quite a pickle, Alki-Alki!" I shout and laugh maniacally as he struggles against my tentacle bindings. The girls easily keep the rest of his men away, especially Aoi with her huge body, so he has no chance of getting help right now.
But then he suddenly glares at me and snarls, "I've already told you that I've seen past your petty tricks!"
He suddenly [Blink]s, also taking me along with him, but instead of trying to teleport back to his ranks, he has taken us far up into the air.
It takes me a second to reorient myself due to the dizzying nature of being forcefully [Blink]ed, but then an ethereal [Atrophic Blade] javelin pierces through both of our chests, and since half of it is still physical, it gets stuck on his back instead of just phasing through both of us.
"GRAAAAAH…!" we both scream in pain as the enchantment drains our life force and uses it to power the enchantment further, a sensation so horrible that my mind goes blank in panic, but the worst part is that my body has simply stopped answering me. My muscles are frozen as the ethereal blade makes a mess of my spine, and even my tentacles don't respond to my desperate pleas.
"BRING HIM BACK!" Alissa shouts through [Bind], uniting their wills.
The girls all immediately [Blink] back into our lines, where they're safe enough that they can use our connection to save me from this situation. They force me to cast random spells at Alki, pushing us apart, then [Blink] me back onto safe ground. The [Atrophic Blade] stays in him, but the damage has already been done.
I remain prone on my back on the muddy earth and tall grass, staring up at the stormy and busy sky as Ciel [Heal]s my body and Yunia expertly uses [Soul Touch] on my spine to hasten my recovery. After just a minute, my mind calms down enough that I notice that the mages are fighting a complicated battle above our heads, casting spells outside of interruption range while countering the enemy from doing the same. It's mostly a battle of wills rather than something flashy, except for Almaria, who's fighting in the melee inside a huge golem made of bark and vines.
Now that is cool.
Without our healing powers, I'd definitely be out of the fight after that, but they underestimated the extent of our knowledge of souls and spirits, and I soon manage to recover most of my physical strength. It's only recovering my skills that will give us some trouble, but even though my melee skills have been effectively halved by the Atrophic javelin, I still have a lot of combat power remaining.
"He'll be fine, though some of his skills are temporarily damaged," Yunia reassures a messenger that has come to check up on us.
I energetically stand up, fired up to finish off Alki-Alki, who must be in a much worse state than I am, but Alissa suddenly detects a number of unknown monster signatures appearing on Katasko's side.
"MONSTER SUMMONING!" I roar in warning.
We turn towards the source, but we don't see anything…
"GIH!"
"SPIRITS!"
Both Gify and Yunia immediately realize it, so I cast [Spirit Eyes] and see a swarm of horrifying demonic worm spirits swimming through the air towards us, their mouths open wide and filled with pointy teeth, ready to latch onto our souls.
What the fuck?!
The strategists say that the battle is going steadily in our favor, that Katasko's men are getting whittled down, and that their mages are struggling to keep ours in check, yet we're getting fucked up by their concentrated attack.
FUCK THIS SHIT!
I summon fifteen Ice Wraiths, and Alissa and Roxanne rapid-fire arrows and spells while Aoi spreads out her mana into the humid air, and the rest of the girls prepare to engage.
A barrage of arrows is suddenly launched by the werefoxes towards the worms, and Silvano casts a very wide [Discharge] at them, instantly thinning out their numbers. Alissa and I look back and see Léonne staring at us while Yunia and Ciel turn to Silvano. Then we all share a subtle nod of understanding and focus back on the battle.
Another swarm of demonic spirit worms is summoned before the first wave even hits us, but our men wise up, and even the strategists finally understand Katasko's plan: to wear down our greatest weapon: us, the Gifted. However, our worry about Katasko's apparent lack of a secret weapon still remains in the back of our minds.
The worms are shot down before they can reach me, but one still manages to latch onto Hana's forearm, and she feels something similar to an [Atrophic Blade], though at least there's no skill jumbling going on.
But the shift in the focus of our men towards shooting down the summoned monsters allows Katasko to inflict damage upon our troops.
"GIH!" Gify desperately shouts, and our heads turn in sync towards the frontline.
"NO!" Yunia cries out, and I cast [Haste] on her as I can't run as fast as her.
With the help of [Precognition], she weaves through the battle like the wind, even using [Blink] to get there faster.
She finds one of our knights dragging Azador back towards a priest, who arrives at the same time as Yunia, but it's too late. His Thread has already been severed. Our most senior knight has been killed by a [Searing Blade] through the heart.
Yunia immediately casts [Mask] on herself, and the spell bleeds through our Gestalt, clearing the pain and anger from our minds and locking our emotions behind a barrier while we process this loss.
In this battle, one isn't allowed to aim for the heart or the brain, so this was an illegal murder, and we must capture the vile criminal and bring him to justice. Not only that, but we must bring Katasko down as fast as possible so that they don't get any more chances to spring another of their devious and repugnant traps on us.
[Mask] works against most emotions, but not the holy fervor still flowing through our veins.
The swarm of spirits is being easily dealt with by our men as the strategists relay orders to prioritize the monsters. Spirits may be immune to physical attacks, but they're extremely weak to magic, so they're popped like soap bubbles by our enchanted bows.
I unsummon all of the Ice Wraiths as Alissa and I mount Aoi, then I cast [Haste] on everyone and forcefully refill my mana organ with [Redirect Mana].
"[MAKE WAY; WE BREAK THROUGH]!" we roar the code in unison, then Aoi charges forward, with the girls and golems following close behind us.
Without us even asking, Jacques and Léonne follow after us with a detachment of werefoxes, and the ground trembles under our heavy footsteps.
Our men move out of the way at the last second, but Katasko's soldiers are muddy and tired, so all they can do is hide behind their shields and pray as Aoi tramples through them. But the murderer is right within our sight, so Aoi bites onto his body and drags him along.
With only a few hundred men, their ranks don't have the depth to stop us, so we easily charge through their melee line and reach the small group of vulnerable High Court Mages.
I jump off of Aoi's back as she makes sure that the murderer is punished, and I transform into my glorious draconic form in mid-air, then I forcefully clear my mind of [Mask] and let the pain of Azador's death come out through my roar.
He was the most respected of our knights, the most loyal, the most competent, the most experienced, and the most noble. But he was also someone personally precious to Yunia. He was her protector and companion through many battles, and he was deliberately targeted to wound us.
So I return the insult to our family with a wide [Chaos Breath] at the feet of the High Court Mages.
The ground explodes in a bright release of pure chaotic energy, sending the mages flying. Then Aoi unleashes her [Lightning Strike] at them, annihilating Katasko's magical might in a two-hit combo while the girls finish off the survivors. They won't die so easily from just this, but they'll never forget our overwhelming might.
The [Petrifying Gaze] and Illusion spells being used on me all fade away at the same time. Now, without their mages to hold back ours and their men getting encircled into two pockets, our troops rain hell down upon their heads.
"Gih…!" And Gify finally spots their secret weapon.
From inside the clouds, far above us, we see a large, metallic, oval object rapidly descending towards the ground. An imperial airship.
--
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Hall of Fame of Patrons
The patrons who support Rupegia shall have their names sung by the bards for they deserve the glory and honor. Their names are:
Prince PreownedFIN.
Prince Owldente.
Lord Andrew Meyers.
Lord Novgarod.
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Lord Bakerdea.
Lord Maurice.
Lord Mattirro Draca.
Lord Mike Bartter.
Lord Warwulfv.
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Lord Tmac.
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Lord d3235.
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Lord CardinalSteiner.
Lord Cidant.
Lord SubJef.
Lord GalacticTNT.
Lord SquiddlyWinks.
Noble Salty Panda.
Noble Mild Fracas.
Noble Aclys.
Noble Carl Baxter.
Noble Tony Starrk.
Noble DND.
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