“So I just had a look, it is the same male from the nest, it must have somehow followed us here, we need a game plan to either kill it or draw it away,” Rex said, appearing next to the group, his brow furled. “I think it has come after you Rex,” Azulthaël said after a second, “You did invade its nest, and injure it.” “It gave me no choice” Rex replied defensively, “I wanted to sneak in, get you, sneak out without fighting.” “Well, it seems it is giving us the same option,” Al’ik said, watching the crack lengthen as the ward took another hit. “We barely fought it off before, Fafnir and I are still not anywhere near recovered enough to fight it alone,” Rex said after taking a deep breath in and exhaling. ‘Ask her to use some of the energy of the corificus stone, it will give us enough power to fully heal and have some spare for us to fight’ Fafnir said. “Fafnir asked if we can use some of the energy of the corificus stone, he said if we took half of what remains in it, we can fully
“About f**king time! This thing was kicking our arses!” Lacey called out, as everyone else sighed a breath of relief. ‘We are nowhere near full strength Rex, so do not be overly confident, it would be a formidable opponent if we were’ Fafnir warned as Rex continued to stride toward to scorpion. Once the scorpion saw its wanted target, it screeched loudly, releasing Minet and charging Rex, with only a few feet left, Rex leaped forward, using one leg to push off from the head of the scorpion, making sure to dodge the tail on the way past, landing safely behind it. “Enough showing off, let us slay this monster and see what damage you have inflicted on Al’ik,” Azulthaël said with a scowl, producing a green-bladed sword. “Where the f**k have you been this whole time? Leaving us to fight this thing!” Minet said loudly, pointing to the scorpion as it lined Rex up once more. “I needed time to tend to my wound, what I have done will suffice for the time being,” Azulthaël said, scowling onc
‘I am NOT a beast of burden to be joyridden on!’ Azulthaël complained, his mandibles clicking loudly in anger. ‘I can still feel a part of us connected from the beast mastery spell I used earlier to subdue it, you could pull on that string to make him more…compliant’ Fafnir snarled, ‘He IS, after all, a servant.’ “Due to our time constraints, I am sorry Azulthaël, but you can either help willingly, or I will be forced to make you, which I would prefer not to do, I would rather be appreciating your help, rather than cause you more grief,” Rex said with a loud sigh, making everyone look at him confused. ‘You cannot make me do anything...’ “KNEEL!!” Rex boomed, copying what Fafnir did earlier by allowing magic to flow through his voice, projecting it onto Azulthaël, who grudgingly yielded and kneeled before Rex, “I said I would rather have you help willingly, you are a valuable member of this team, please do not force my hand.” ‘What has been done to me!? I am a slave once more!?’ Az
‘What the f**k just happened there?’ Rex asked himself, instinctively reaching out, grabbing the cooked and still warm scorpion leg, biting the smallest piece off, in case it tasted bad. ‘Do not be scared, have a good bite, I want to be able to taste it!’ Fafnir demanded. ‘You are very determined just to eat a pest animal’ Rex said with a sigh, cracking some of the outer hard shell of the leg, exposing the cooked flesh under it. ‘Does that not smell like a heavenly meal?’ Fafnir said, using Rex’s senses to take in the scent. ‘Well, I’ll admit it doesn’t smell too bad’ Rex said with a shrug, truth be told, he had eaten worse, tearing off a small piece, throwing it into his mouth while he exited the cave, he had to agree, it was actually quite good. “You aren’t actually eating that are you?” “Huh? It’s actually not too bad” Rex replied with a shrug. ‘Is that one of this body's missing back appendages?’ Azulthaël said, seeing Rex holding a scorpion leg piece and chewing. “Well…yes
Once Fafnir had inspected the aftermath of Ipes escaping his prison, he returned to his place within Rex, ‘If we are heading into battle, rest must be taken.’ ‘I was already planning on resting up, at this pace we will be back in Dracones just after mid-morning if we leave before daybreak’ Rex surmised. ‘I have a feeling the moment you are alone, you will be ambushed once more, before that happens, I will be shutting myself out, I find your kind's mating rituals to be a disturbing sight’ Fafnir replied, a hint of disgust in his voice. ‘You don’t know that's what will happen for sure’ Rex replied, gazing over to where Lacey and Minet were helping Lizz pitch a tent, the moment they saw him looking, they both turned to each other, said something, laughed and turned away from him. ‘I have no desire to find out or see it, I will be resting and preparing myself for what is coming tomorrow’ Fafnir growled, going quiet a short time after speaking. ‘Getting ahead of yourself I think’ Rex s
The sound of screams and metal hitting metal echoed out soon after the soldiers reached Rex and his companion’s position as they cut through their first wave. Lacey and Minet had teamed up on Rex’s right side and were diving, dashing, stabbing and blocking each other’s weak spots, many dead and dying fae laying around them. Raz and Lizz were on the left front, Lizz was throwing fireballs at their enemies furiously, scorching two, sometimes three at a time, Raz was standing fast between her and the front line, cutting down any that made it through to ensure Lizz could focus on what she was doing. “Looks like we underestimated a group of children,” Douve said with a sigh and smile, “Looks like it is up to us to settle this.” “Seems like it” Rex replied with a shrug, he was a little curious, everyone knew the royal family had power stemming from dragons, yet Douve did not seem phased. Bowing to Rex, Douve took a ready stance, so out of courtesy, Rex nodded his head, not a second afte
“So, you’re saying we can be released from the deal to suicide, to serve under you instead?” one of the soldiers asked. “Correct” Rex replied, “Instead of your life being a waste, why not use it for something better?” “We cannot accept that” the soldier replied, saddened, “When we swore our oath to serve, we were branded, if we break our deal, the brand kills us, so either way, we are doomed.” “Who would make you do such a thing?” Lacey asked, she was not the only one who was shocked, the entire group was as well. “Our new leader ensured our allegiance with spells” the soldier replied, lining up his sword, ready to pierce the heart, the rest of the group following suit, “We thank you for the offer, you are not like they say you are,” he took one last deep breath to ready himself, closed his eyes and slid the sword into his chest with a groan, after a few gasps he fell lifeless to the ground, followed shortly after by the remainder of the soldiers. “I did not think they would have
“So whoever has brought this army has one hell of a grudge against Dracones, or father” Rex guessed, seeing how much dust over such a large area was being kicked up, “What was the scout's estimate?” “In excess of 30 thousand strong” Marcia replied, “That’s three times as many as Ean’s last army.” “Holy shit, how many defend Hale?” Rex asked. “About 10 thousand,” Marcia said, doing some quick math in her head, “Would be 18 thousand if we could rely on general Chris’s forces, but word is, he is currently under assault as well, it is almost like this attack has been co-ordinated from both sides of the realm at the same time.” “Three to one odds, battles have been won with a lot worse before” Rex replied. “Yes, but human battles did not have magic and monsters in their ranks either,” Raz said with a grin. “Holy shit!” Looking over to Lizz, who had cursed, which was rare for her, she was now pointing out toward the field outside of Dracone’s southern gate, to where a massive force, a