"You don't need to hold back anything! Let it out; come on! This is your only chance!" Ren sighed with a defeated tone. They were back at their place, and 01 and 02 stood before them, trying not to laugh.
"H-how did this h-happen... M... Master…?" 01 asked, fighting his urge to laugh.
"We don't remember." Ren shook her head, which broke the camel's back, as Isha joined in the cacophony of laughter.
Ren waited patiently until it died down, raising her eyebrow after it seemed they were calming down.
"Are you done?"
"Y-yes... Master…!" 01 wiped his tears while 02 tried to stand back up.
"Good. Now try to attack me and break it!"
"W-what?" 01 blinked his eyes, suddenly feeling like being soaked in cold water.
"Just attack the collar and break it off of me! Simple." She put her hands on her waist, impatiently stomping with her feet. "Somehow, I can't do it myself; it stops me from doing it."
"Master… I think that's… dangerous!" 02 echoed.
"Come on, you can't control your strength that well? Tsk, useless! Both of you!" Ren snorted, turning to Lacuss, the only one who did not laugh, just stood there.
When they arrived back, he was already here, training in the yard, fighting against his wolf pet, who seemingly enjoyed the mock battle, while Kyu was still where she was left, lying on her stomach, watching the show with a clear, laughing expression.
"Lacuss, come, slash it off."
"Sure." He nodded, brandishing his newly bought saber, and attacked immediately, with all of his powers, focused on a small point, aiming at Ren's neck.
What happened next shocked even Ren as her body moved on her own, summoning a lightning spear and fending off Lacuss' strike just as quickly. It was surprising, but he instantly adjusted and attacked once again, and in the next moment, rumbling filled the air as Ren fought him off with all of her might. When they were finally locked in a stalemate as Ren stopped his every move, they had no other chance but to take a few steps back, ready for another round.
"Stop, stop!" Isha shouted, making Lacuss stand still, and as he did, Ren recovered her bodily functions.
"Fuck!" Ren cursed angrily, dissipating her spear. "FUCK!"
"What was that?" Isha came up, now lacking the laughing expression.
"My body moved on its own! I was ordered to defend my collar."
"Ordered?" Lacuss tilted his head.
"It was a strong, compulsive order, coming from the collar itself." She murmured, then produced another one and threw it on 02 before he could react.
“M-m-master?!”
"Relax. Kneel!" She ordered, and he did so immediately. "Try to take it off."
When he did so, there was no resistance, and even though he felt some stinging pain from it, it was nothing to his cultivation level, and he could finally break it off his neck.
"How?" 01 looked at him and then at his Master.
"A slave collar couldn't contain someone at that advanced level." Ren sighed, rubbing her temple.
"Then what about yours?" Isha looked at her, finally gaining back her smile, already guessing the answer.
"I probably modified this one." Ren sighed defeatedly. "I don't remember; I was too drunk… I can guess only. Maybe…. somehow this came up, and I did something to improve it there and then… put it on. Or you put it on me!" She pointed at Isha, "As I listen to YOUR commands! You… you… Whoremaster!"
"Bwahahahaha! If I am a Whoremaster, what does that make of you?"
“Ugh… fuck…” Ren bit into her lips.
"Serves you right!" Isha laughed again, patting her head with a wide, wide grin.
"You could do that?" Lacuss asked interestedly.
"I'm not a formation expert, but seeing the ones etched on here." She said while picking up the pieces of the one 02 broke, "I could easily modify it to be stronger. It has a basic structure I am more than familiar with by now, and the main principles behind it are not hard to grasp. I can improve it in a multitude of ways." Ren shook her head. Deep inside, even she found this predicament laughable. "The question is, what method did I choose? Because there are a lot. Especially if I went with what I learned from my Naulin heritage and incorporated that too. I'll need time to get this thing off! In the worst-case scenario, the Sect Head will have to do it."
"Well, at least it does not hamper you too much!" 01 sighed.
"Yeah… But…” Ren twitched her mouth, looking at Isha.
"What?" She blinked with a smiling face. "Don't worry, I won't order you around like a puppet."
"No, not that. I can't be far away from you from now on."
"Huh? Why?"
"Look." Ren started running, but as soon as she got around 100 meters away, she froze in place and just walked back with a dazed expression before regaining her composure. "See? This is why! Damn… I'm too good!"
"Huh, you made something perverse and dangerous, you know? You are really a mini bitch; if you had been born into a different family, you might be the most dangerous bandit!" Isha flicked her forehead.
"Heh, lucky for you all, I did not?" She rubbed the spot where she received her "scolding."
"Not all is bad." Lacuss said, "At least you retain your freedom until you receive an order from Isha; it does not hamper your other functions."
Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on Royal Road.
"Yeah, it does not. Anyway, let's forget it; from now on, you do the talking if we have to!" She looked at Isha. "I wouldn't be taken seriously if they saw me ordering anyone around with a slave collar on my neck!"
"Finally!" Isha laughed but looked at Lacuss; before she could open her mouth, he spoke up.
"I wouldn't want that role. I dislike talking too much. Pointless."
"See?" Ren elbowed her. "Don't worry, I'll tell you what to say!"
"Huh? Are you trying to puppeteer me?" Isha smirked at her, watching the collar on her neck.
"Hey, you do the same now, no? We are equals with this~" Ren laughed as she shook her head.
"You… fine, but you know what? I think you should stand on your hands. I don't like being played with~."
"Huh?" Ren blinked her eyes, but her body immediately reacted. Soon, she was standing on her hands as her clothing fell backward onto her face, exposing her panties, making 01 and 02 turn around to avoid any responsibility later. "Isha!" Ren shouted surprisedly. "Stop it! Ugh, make me stop!"
"Perfect! Now, behave from now on, Lil' Ren! Or mommy going to spank you!" Isha giggled, really spanking her buttocks with hard and loud slaps. "There, there, now you can stand!"
“You… you… just wait… you will get this back…." Ren murmured, rubbing her bottom sulkily while 01 and 02's shoulders were trembling from holding back their laughs. "You two too! Damn it!"
…
….
…..
"We just got back… and are already on our way…."
"Less moaning!" came the commanding voice as a four-man group flew over the lush, green scenery high in the sky.
All of them wore the same, similarly black and red outfit with a slick, individually crafted, modular plate armor from top to bottom, protecting their vital parts and joints. Damaged parts could be swapped out easily, and they wore a bodysuit under it, covering every aspect of their body, right up to their necks. Everyone wore a bloodred, snarling hound dog's image carved into their shoulder plates. They carried different weapons on them, but every one of them was focused on inflicting the most damage and pain. Their leader, flying at the front, had a terrifying presence because his bald head was filled with burn marks, one of his eyes was missing, and nothing covered the black, empty socket. He wielded a morningstar tied to his waist with a kite shield on his back, still marked by dried blood patches.
The second in command was a handsome, young-looking guy with long, black hair tied in a topknot, while his face and expression were clean and charming, with his golden eyes. He carried a long poleaxe strapped to his back. At the same time, the party's third warrior, moaning at the start, was half of the other's height, a bit stocky, had a long, braided, red beard with luxurious jewels hanging from it, and similarly decorated, rusty-colored hair with green eyes. On his back, the repeater crossbow was ready and loaded with two kukris resting on his waist. The last one in the group was someone who looked almost like a petite woman, with curly blond hair, blue eyes, and a feminine face. He only had a whip on his side, but its end was filled with a dozen or so sharp pins, clearly for causing maximum damage with every hit it struck with.
"We have our orders; we do it; what do you think we are paid for? Standing around, looking menacing?" the second from the front snorted.
"I know, I know." the third sighed. "It's just… I still wanted to have some fun."
"You will." the last in the group chuckled. "You can play with those ministers we are told to question. They are disposable, going by the order from the top. Also, if someone wiped out one outpost, they should put up at least a fight or something! Not like the previous mission. They fell way too easily. I barely had a chance to enjoy it!"
"It seemed you still had fun." the leader looked back with a smile that made his expression even more chilling.
"Please~" the fourth chuckled. "You know me, leader, I just like it when some muscular guy screams like a little girl!"
"Sicko." the rusty-haired one rolled his eyes before him.
"Okay, enough!" Their leader laughed softly. "Let's speed up; we need to reach there in a few days. If we dawdle around like a bunch of idiots, the trail will go cold!" he shouted as he suddenly doubled his speed, and the others quickly followed suit, flying through the air, carrying a stormy wind behind them.
…
….
…..
"Come on, get up! It wasn't that hard of a kick." Lulu said, wiping her sweat from her forehead as Yanda slowly stood up from the ground. She wiped off the small blood trail from his lips as they were, once again, sparring in the garden.
"What do we have here? Are we lucky or not?" a giggle suddenly came from the air, surprising both of them. As they looked up, Isha was descending down, being held by Ren's powers as the group landed in the garden.
Lulu and Yanda's expressions immediately turned sour. Seeing how they had flown down, they were clearly in a realm they wouldn't be able to fight back against. Surprisingly, Lulu kept her calm and looked at them without fear in her eyes.
"If you are thinking about kidnapping me, you are making a mistake! My father is the next in line for the throne! You will be hunted until the end of the world." Lulu said defiantly, gazing at Ren's neck, expecting the group to be slavers.
"Maybe we should just kill her then." 01 chuckled, getting slapped at the back of the head by 02, doing it as soon as she saw his Master's gaze "Ouch… sorry."
"Don't worry, princess, we didn't come to kidnap you." Isha laughed, then looked at Yanda, measuring him again and again.
"Hard to believe." Lulu crossed her arms. "Arriving unannounced, she barged into the region's governor's home. What are you, if not troublemakers? Maybe you were the ones I heard about? Killing a lot of people? I bet you kept one as a pet, didn't you?" she asked sarcastically.
"Mmm? Yes, that was us, probably… if we speak about the same thing. Ehehe, but no, we didn't keep any slaves." Isha patted Ren's head, making the petit girl's eyes twitch. "This was her own idea. She likes playing around and is a pervert. Are you not? You are~."
"Y…" Ren tried to speak, but other words came out of her mouth because Isha influenced the collar. "Yes," she answered with gritted teeth.
"Master will have a field day with her once we get back to the sect…" 02 whispered.
"Yeah, we should hide then… But I do admire her bravery… or foolishness!" 01 nodded, sweating profusely.
"Hmf, yeah, sure." Lulu looked into Isha's eyes. "So, if you are not here for me, please… explain. I am all ears!"
"Oh, nothing. Originally, we just wanted to see what kind of man or woman the governor was and decide our next course of action, but we found something even more interesting!"
"What?" Lulu raised her eyebrows.
"Him." Isha pointed at Yanda, surprising both of them. "You are Yanda, no?"
"Don't answer," Lulu ordered immediately, but her guests smiled.
"That was enough for an answer." Lacuss stepped forward. "We are here to bring you home."
"Y-you… are?" Yanda gulped. That was when Ren flashed. Before he could react, she had already broken off the collar from Yanda's neck. Looking at Lulu with a smile, her eyes flashed with violet electricity.
"We are from the Immortal Wonders Sect." Ren spoke, "Our sect is friends with your father; he asked us to help him find his missing son! We were not expecting to succeed as the Kingdom is so big! Yet here we are~."
“My… my father…?” Yanda asked with tears in his eyes; rubbing his neck, he was finally free again.
"Yup. He may have made some mistakes, but he really loves you, you know! He has been worried sick since you left."
"How dare you-!" Lulu flared up, realizing what was happening, but suddenly, a water whip formed from nowhere, held by Yanda, struck the young girl on the chest, ripping apart her clothing, leaving a red bruise over her, making her scream out before falling to her back. “Y-y-you!” She stuttered, holding her chest, heaving heavily with tear-filled eyes.
"I am not your slave anymore… Master." He said with a sarcastic voice before spitting on her, and it landed right in her face, stunning her completely and freezing her body in place.
"Ahahahaha! I like this kid!" Isha laughed while Ren also nodded.
"Let's speak elsewhere; we have some things to explain!" Ren patted his shoulders, lifting him up as Isha was carried by Lacuss as they flew off, leaving the stunned and humiliated Lulu on the ground.
She only regained her composure after long sitting there, looking at the sky as they disappeared. Wiping off the spit with her fingers, she watched it dazedly, letting the torn clothing on her wide open, not bothering to cover the long bruise across her chest.
"I'll find you… you are mine… you… hear?" Lulu murmured that slowly turned louder and louder, as in the end, she was screaming at the sky, "I'll get you back! YOU ARE MINE!" echoed her voice, while she was licking off the spit from her fingers with a completely flushed face, panting heavily.