“So with their retreat called, it is time to show what type of leader you are,” Markus said after a loud horn blast sounded and the front ranks of Telagus’s army all stepped back a few steps, dropping their weapons and raising both hands in defeat, “Will you allow them the decency of defeat, take prisoners to learn something or cut them down in anger?”“Certainly not the last one, I’m not a monster,” Rex said with a scowl, not believing Markus would even think that an option, “I’m all ears for if any of you have any good paths to take. I don’t know anything about prisoners of war and information gathering.”“If I may,” Markus said, “We could take a few, learn what we can, and set them free. It's not like they would be letting any new information out.”“Breaking someone’s will enough to let us learn what we want would make the person dangerous,” Ley said with a scowl, “If we do that, it is a mercy to end their suffering.”“Last time someone tried to defect from Telagus’s side, they die
“Ok, so the beetle lays eggs, we will have to deal with a lot more of these things kicking around when they hatch and grow up?” Rex asked, watching Rowina slice carefully and slowly into the abdomen, muttering things to herself he barely understood.“Shit!” she exclaimed suddenly as she carefully opened a small pouch on the inside of the beetle, alarming everyone, Rex included, “Of course it has.”“What’s the issue?” Rex asked, leaning forward to see what she was cursing at, “Wow, stinks worse than I remember.”“There are five eggs inside of the beast, three are damaged and embryo dead, and two remain and seem to be intact, give me a vial Leonis, now you have contaminated it with your bare hands get me another clean one you imbecile. Thank you, I have asked you here because I have a proposition to offer you young prince,” Rowina said, scowling as Leonis passed her a new clean vial from a leather pouch on his belt using a small set of tongs.“I’m all ears.”“I will take this healthy eg
“AAHH!” Rex exclaimed as he awoke once more with a start, “I am getting really tired of blacking out, can someone PLEASE tell me what the f**k happened?” “Well, you kind of blacked out after an assassin attack,” Lacey said with a shrug, “Master Percus isn’t sure why, he checked all of your meridians, he said they all checked out to be fine.” “I have no idea what happened my prince,” Master Percus sighed, his disdain seeping through his words, “Some sort of demon kin you have as a partner to you prevented the dagger penetrating any deeper than an inch, even then should have not rendered you unconscious.” “Any idea what the dagger was, or the history of the thing?” Rex asked standing and stretching his limbs, he felt no pain, and did not have any visions or visits from beings as he usually did with his blackouts, so even he was at a loss. “I have asked Rowina, she has said nothing strikes her as abnormal,” Lizz said, shrugging her shoulders. “So I mysteriously just passed out for no
“How do you feel this morning my prince?”“Kealy, haven’t seen you in a while,” Rex said with a smile, seeing the neat pile of clothing set next to his bed. After a few sighs and groans as he stretched, he disrobed, picked up his new clothes and dressed again, stopping at a little coughing sound.“You should have said something so I could turn away. I confess I may have peeked a look while you changed,” Kealy said the edges of her mouth curled into a smile she was trying to hide.“I think we are past the point of embarrassment by now,” Rex shrugged, he wasn’t sure why she was saying something now, Kealy had watched him, even helping him bathe and dress sometimes.“Your harem left in the early hours, none said where they were going for me to pass it onto you, I presume you wanted breakfast? The kitchen has only just started up so it might be a little while before food is served,” Kealy said, grabbing his old clothes and throwing them into a basket, Rex could tell something was off with
Rex and his company at the table ate in silence, the occasional request coming through their bond for condiments such as salt, pepper, or Marcia’s constant requests for a purple spice that he didn’t know except it burnt his mouth and throat every time he tried it. “My lord, I am sorry to intervene, but the lords have reconvened in the war room for the finalisation of the after-battle reports and paperwork,” a short thin man in a full white robe and a gold chain around his neck said, leaning in close to Rex with a bow and speaking quietly into his ear. “Tell them I will be along shortly,” Rex replied, with a friendly half smile and a nod, gesturing to the remainder of his food still left to go. “Of course my lord, I will pass the message along,” the man said, bowing his head once more, apologising for interrupting his breakfast again before leaving. “The vipers are already waiting to hear you split up their shares, I always felt bad for the emperor when this had to be done, the nobl
Rex and Markus both flowed into the open area, weapons drawn, working together to scan the room for threats, “Got a body,” Rex called, “No threats.”Markus called the same, not seeing any threats, both men sheathing their weapons at the same time,” Be calm, tell me what happened,” he said to a hysterical woman sobbing near the corpse of another woman.“It’s Jessie, I just saw her this morning, she was fine, and now…and now she’s dead,” the woman sobbed, placing her hands over her face.“Markus, come look at this,” Rex called out, kneeling over the dead woman called Jessie.“What is it?” he asked, joining him, a clatter of armoured feet rattling in the distance.“Claw marks and a bite to the side of the throat,” Rex said, pointing to the tell-tale marks on the woman’s body.“That wasn’t, you know,” Markus said, pointing with his eyes at Rex’s sword, motioning to Sküülen.“I am not allowed to assault anyone that is not directly harming my sweetness without his command, so no, not my doi
Laying in the middle of three beautiful women, Rex still had to punch himself sometimes to ensure he was not dreaming, ‘How lucky am I?’‘All hail lord harem prince,’ Fafnir growled, his voice full of sarcasm, ‘This has to be the first time I have heard of an amonthrul having a romantic attachment.’‘This is also the first time you’ve heard of four being part of the bond too,’ Rex said with a smile, ‘This is just an added bonus.’‘Bonus,’ Fafnir scoffed, ‘Not only is one romantic attachment problematic, but now you must deal with keeping three of them happy.’‘Seems to be working.’‘You will live a very long time, if your adventures do not find you perishing beforehand, you will face many hard and difficult judgements that will make some people love you, and many to hate you, your women entanglements all have differing ideals, so pleasing all three of them with your decisions will not be possible every time.’‘Why do you have to be such a downer?’ Rex said with a scowl.‘I am a realis
As Rex and Rowina arrived at the site of the attack, there were soldiers already at the scene ushering people away, a bloody white linen sheet covering a body, “Can we move it somewhere not so public?” Rex asked, seeing the number of onlookers.“I hope for the opposite,” Rowina replied, answering quickly seeing Rex’s dark expression, “To see if there are any magical interactions with the deceased. I can sense those kinds of things for short periods of time after the event.”“They said it was a beast attack, not a magical attack,” Rex replied, bowing his head to the soldiers who parted and bowed upon his arrival, something irked him instantly.“What is it?” Rowina asked, seeing Rex’s expression change quickly once more.“Nothing,” Rex replied, “Who found the body?” he asked turning to the soldier leading the group.“Miss Kealy my lord.”“Really?” he replied, turning to look in her direction, Kealy’s face dropping after meeting his gaze.“You know something I do not,” Rowina said, looki
“Well,” Rex coughed, “How do you know they came with ill intentions?”“They confessed under duress of course,” Queen Ullysarius said, casually waving her two left-sided long-clawed hands dismissively. “Do you wish to unveil the fleshed ones? Or shall I?”Turning toward Cassius for guidance and getting a confused shrug, Rex turned back, “I’ll do it.” Rex noticed the queen seemed to deflate slightly at his answer. ‘Strange response,’ he thought.“Shall I accompany you?” Ullysarius added in, quickly sidling in next to Rex, her eyes shining eagerly.” You know, in case it is decided they will visit the beyond. I would be honoured to send them there myself, blessed one.” Rex noticed she put extra emphasis on the title.Rolling his eyes, Rex moved to the first covered figure, reached under the hood and flipped it back.“Brend?” Rex asked, shocked to see Rosie’s squad leader kneeling before him, a strange black substance stuck over his mouth to prevent speaking, and his hands and elbows were
The moment Rex allowed Karinna to join him, she immediately started to mutter under her breath with her hands outstretched, slowly walking towards the young, downed woman.“What are you doing?” Cassius asked, taking a step forward to attempt to get a better view as to what Karinna was doing.“You need to stay back, the magic woven into this woman is highly unstable,” Karinna snapped, shooting a sharp glance toward Cassius, stopping him in his tracks.Raising his hands defensively, Cassius, along with Grug, retreated a few paces back and away from Karinna and the downed woman.“Grub be thinking how such small girlie make all buggies dead,” Grub asked, squinting suspiciously toward the young woman.“This poor girl has been subjected to a horrific amount of opposing magic. I am surprised she has not exploded already and killed us all, bringing this entire nest down in the process,” Karinna said, pausing her spell-casting to check the young woman’s pulse. “Before she can be moved, I must
Rex, Cassius, Hussin and Grub were on full alert as they moved through the archway and entered into the well-lit, large cavern. The first thing Rex noticed was the amount of crazak bodies strewn around. He estimated there were at least thirty here, all looking like they had died while trying to fend off an attacker.“Be alert of your surroundings,” Cassius said after leaning over and pressing his hand onto the shredded chitin of a downed crazak that was closest to the archway. “It’s still warm, I would say the fight happened only 15 minutes ago.”“These quilix died in fighting circles,” Hussin said, surveying the carnage. “It is our most used tactic for our primarily non-combat nest members. Whatever did this used raw power to overcome all present.”“To slay this many buggies, thing must be strong,” Grub said, kneeling down next to another crazak and running his hand over its limbs, tracing the deep gouges in its tough chitin with his finger. “This buggy was ripped in pieces. With stro
Godking Darius had never slept much in his old life, this habit leaked through to his current reincarnation. This worked well to keep his entourage of close advisors on their feet, as well as not allowing anyone to catch him unawares, which was in his top three of most despised things.He was currently perusing through his latest report papers, lounging back on his large high-backed throne chair, just sitting slightly offset to his large black obsidian desk. He always sat facing the doorway allowing him a good view of anyone who entered into his chambers. Feeling a pulse of energy approaching, he smiled evilly. Darius knew this weasel-featured advisor well. Turning slightly back to his table, he stashed the papers he was reading and turned back to face the door, interlocking his fingers across his chest and waited. A few minutes later, a soft knock on the door could be heard.“Enter,” Darius said, allowing a slight sliver of magic into his voice. He had learnt from his earliest time s
During their trip from the throne room, Paool questioned Rex about his incredible ability to heal wounds.After seeming somewhat satisfied with Rex’s vague explanation about being bonded with an ancient creature and sharing some of its traits, Paool then asked about how he was hiding the presence of other beings, explaining he could sense multiple scents emanating from him.“Why does smart buggy not be asking Grub about him?” Grub suddenly blurted out, appearing next to Paool, startling the crazak.“Uh, this one does not know what to ask of you delicious-smelling one,” Paool replied after a few seconds, his name for Grub eliciting a chuckle from Cassius.Before Grub was able to respond, Paool stopped suddenly, his action not being noticed by the others for another two steps.“Everything ok Paool?” Rex asked, instinctively resting his hand on the pommel of his sword while his eyes darted between both ends of the tunnel they currently traversed.“Yes, blessed one. This humble one was ju
Chapter 104Thirty minutes later, and with great effort, Rex was able to be upright without nausea or a pounding headache and was now seated at a small table in the cavernous room he was placed in.“Uh, I feel worse than ever,” Rex said, reaching out and picking up a strange blood-red coloured food object he guessed was fruit from a stone bowl in the centre of the table he was sitting at, Grub to his left and Cassius to his right. Both men, he could see, had a worried expression poorly hidden in their facial features. Turning the food over in his fingers, he could not attribute the shape nor colour to any fruit he had seen, during his time in Oak, nor even during his time in Dracoterrum and this realm.Clearing his throat slightly before speaking, Cassius broke the silence that came after Rex’s declaration, saying while also looking at the food Rex was studying, “They call it a “Smuur”, whatever that means. I have not been able to ascertain a translation to our tongue, but I believe i
“Now now Dorian,” the younger, gentler female voice said in an almost sing-song tone before Rex could reply, “I remember, gods quite a long time ago now, where a man once told me, ‘A man’s secrets are his very being. The ability to strip a man’s secrets and lay him bare is a travesty to his core.’ With that in mind, how could you allow any of us to assault his mind and take away that which doesn’t belong to us?”“Sounds like Tillian has found herself a young interest,” the older woman’s voice said, almost mockingly.“I can admit, unlike some of us, that this young…I am sorry, Rex was it?” the voice from Tillian said.“Yes, my name is Rex,” Rex nodded, finally being able to have a voice amongst the seemingly ending squabbles of beings unknown to him.“I had forgotten if you classed yourself as an adult or child still,” Tillian’s voice said softly. “I know so little about your race I’m afraid. I doubt even Gillart could shed any light on this.”“Hullans would be the closest to his race
Doing his best to keep his heart rate and thoughts on the correct path, Rex took a step back out of instinct, causing the hive queen to stop one step above where he stood and raise the two eyebrows on the left side of her face.“Do you not intend on agreeing to our deal?” she asked, her voice going flat.“Uh, sorry. Old habit to give myself room for a fight if needed,” Rex said, a bead of sweat trickling down his forehead as he realised he had also unknowingly taken an unarmed fighting stance.“Hold out your hand,” the hive queen said, smirking seeing Rex relax from his fighting stance in seconds.Doing as requested, but keeping his muscles taut and ready to react at a moment's notice, the hive queen strode forward, striking the tip of his thumb with one of her claw tips so fast Rex did not even see the queen move her hand. After feeling the pinch, he looked at his thumb, seeing the blood now slowly trickling out from the tiny wound.“Uh, that’s strange,” Rex said, still staring curio
“Balrog!?” Rex spluttered, his mind whirling. “But Fafnir said she was…”“A demon?” The hive queen said, her voice almost like a low growl sending a tingling sensation down Rex’s spine.“Uh, yeah,” Rex sighed, hoping his admission did not seal his fate earlier than expected, “I believed it because he was a dragon and she didn’t look anything like the crazaks that attacked earlier on my journey, or now I’ve seen you, doesn’t resemble you either.”“Do all humans look the same?” The queen asked, raising two eyebrows over two eyes on the left side of her face while looking down at Rex.“Well, no,” Rex replied. Then it dawned on him, “Same race, look differently. I must admit I’m now curious about how that happens. Our looks differ due to quite a lot of things like race, gender, and heritage of the parents, is that the same for you?”“No,” the queen replied with a quirk to the edges of her mouth. “You are tempting and intelligent, quite the tantalising mix indeed. Our looks depend on our l