Klein takes some time to recover, Hana pats her head repeatedly until she's back to smiling freely. She gives me and Aoi one last weird look and chuckles.
I rest my head on Lina's shoulder and give her the occasional kiss in her neck and behind her ear.
The traffic is a bit heavy at the beginning, farmers, adventurers, patrols, transports, and a few fast caravans pass by us. Then things get calmer and we ride more attentive in case a monster comes.
We can keep feeding the anti-monster crystals and most of the smaller ones will avoid us. The problem is that with this large number of people there's no amount of anti-scent that will keep all monsters away, little by little our scent seeps out and sooner or later a frenzied monster will appear.
The older monsters can get resistance to the anti-monster crystals and attack concentrations of humanoids, mostly towns but since we are in the open their target becomes us.
I summon an earth elemental and send it to the middle of the caravan. The commoners gawk openly at the nearly 3 meters tall mass of stone with long black hair and bangs.
For the fire elemental I concentrate so it looks less lewd than usual.
"Don't change the fire one, Wolfy," Hana asks.
"What?"
"Let them stare," she gives me a fearsome smile.
"Not sure how I feel about that," I say and frown.
"I like to look beautiful so others can look, but looking is all they are going to get."
"You didn't really change much," Klein says.
Hana shrugs and I sigh. When I think depravity has reached the peak we just find a new way to push further.
I summon a fire elemental without changing it. The fire woman sensually runs her hand through her curves and squeezes her own pair, then she sends me a kiss and goes back to stand beside the earth elemental. Mothers cover the eyes of their children as they gawk at the shapely form of my fire elemental.
"Are they all like that?" Klein asks with an eyebrow raised at the fire elemental.
"So far the fire one has the strongest personality," I answer.
Through Holly I see an Orc Striker is moving towards our direction from the Sea of Trees.
"Alissa, change into fox form, me and Lina will ride you to meet an Orc Striker," I say. Alissa looks puzzled but obeys. I go back to Nito and we dismount in front of him. "We are just taking a quick dip in the Sea of Trees."
"Sure," he answers.
I see that Lina's horse was sent back for an old woman commoner and a child to ride on.
Once inside the Sea of Trees I dismiss the birds I summoned and call two more Holly's. I can comfortably call up to 8 summons now that my mana has increased but I won't summon two more just so I can have more flexibility.
A minute later we find our mark. A tall, lean, and bald green orc is jogging through the trees, he's coming directly towards the caravan. His pig snout is quite small for an orc and he has tusks coming out of his lower jaw, he has a long spear in hand but nothing more. Seeing naked monsters is something I will never get used to.
The orc suddenly stops and smells the air, the forest turns eerily quiet. Alissa fires an arrow and the sound of the bow was enough to alert him, the arrow hits his cheek and goes down his throat.
The orc chokes on the arrow and pulls it out, "GROOA-…!" The orc roars at us but cuts it short when he sees Alissa drawing another arrow.
At the long distance we are the orc dodges the second arrow easily, then he charges towards us with impressive speed.
His spear couched like a lance, he comes towards us with loud stomps. He's crouched forward as he rushes, his free hand is used to to help his charge.
He stares at Alissa dead in the eye, she fires an arrow and he throws his head to the side, dodging the arrow with incredible speed. The arrow then sinks in his right shoulder quite deeply, with a face distorted in pain he maintains his spear couched.
"Now!" I order to Lina and we both fire an [Earth Bullet] at the same time towards his shoulders.
He dodges one instinctively but because he's moved to the side the other hits him square in the chest. The air leaves his lungs and he slows down. Alissa fires another arrow that lodges itself in the roof of his mouth.
"Grrah…" The orc gurgles and I cast a [Lightning Bolt]. He freezes and the next arrow pierces his skull.
We quickly move towards the dead monster. I cut his snout and Alissa recovers all the arrows, then I store him inside my "Items".
"Now, the reason I called you two here… Alissa, transform back into fox and lets take a calming walk through the Sea of Trees," I say with a suggestive grin.
We return to the caravan and this time Alissa rides with me, she keeps her hips glued to mine, trying to arouse me in revenge. I take my time to practice meditation and self-control while also having my fill of playing with her cute fluffy tail.
Ciel narrows her eyes at us when we come back. "You three did something, didn't you?"
"Lina did, Wolfy is being sadistic again and left me hanging," Alissa said through gritted teeth.
Lina smiled faintly while Ciel pouted in jealousy. Lately I never did Lina without having Ciel participate too in some way.
Klein watches our exchange with wide eyes.
Later on I see a Grey Berserker lurking about so I send Hana, Roxanne, and the elementals with them for safety. We leave Klein temporarily so they can fight without reservations.
Without even dismounting her horse Roxanne explodes the head of the Berserker and then stores it in her nearly empty [Item Box]. This one we will deliver in Goldcross for some extra coin.
We make the bend and start moving north. We barely cross Royd's Kerfuffle before mid-day, we are moving at a snail's pace.
We hunt a few goblins too and give them plus the Orc Striker to the commoners. They have their own food but preparing some good meat during the trip helps a lot with their mood and walking speed.
I pull out the tent and we have our private meal inside. fried Rabid Rabbit legs, bread and not-potato soup with some squishy fresh vegetables as salad.
"My hips are hurting a bit," Roxanne complains.
I squeeze her ass and cast [Heal], making her moan seductively in delight.
She grabs my hand and sucks on my finger while making dirty slurping sounds so I pull her to my lap. She laughs and grabs my spoon, then she feeds me lovingly while I run my hand along her body beneath her robe.
Alissa bites her lip sensually and I see her legs tremble, her hands squeeze her own thighs but she doesn't touch. Maybe we could start a new fetish with denial or something like that.
"You really shouldn't invite Klein for a meal with us," Ciel says while me and Roxanne make dirty kissing sounds.
"Or maybe I really should," Hana says with a suggestive raise of her eyebrows.
"Wait until we reach Goldcross," Ciel says while massaging her eyes.
"Sounds fair."
With our bellies full we continue on, slowly the blue-grey mountain range appears on the horizon.
We gave another horse back to Nito while Lina rode with Ciel. Until we enter the High Forest these horses are a bit too much for us.
Slowly we reach the corner of the Shore of Leaves, the slope towards The Smirk marking the end of farmland and the Sea of Trees. The lone watchtower over the cliff the last building until we reach fort Erda. A small stream comes from fort Erda and passes by our right, it enters the farms of the Shore of Leaves and is used for irrigation.
As we pass The Smirk the land starts to turn hilly, the trees are all cut so there's only low shrubbery and grassland ahead that slowly disappears as the hills turn rocky.
This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.
Suddenly Gify disappears from my shoulder.
"Huh…"
A minute later he pops back.
"Gih."
Shiiiiit...
I dejectedly release Alissa's tail while everyone around processes Gify's words, well, word.
"Hana, go warn the watchtower. Ciel, find a good position for us to fight."
They nod and turn their horses, with a "yah!" and a slap on the rump they gallop away in different directions.
I turn mine and smack its rump. I stop beside Rande and the carriage, they are already looking at us warily.
"What's going on Mr. Ryder?" Rande asks.
"A Grim Giant is coming," I say in a serious tone.
"W-what!? How do you know!?"
The meat-shields who heard us choke on their spit while the people in the carriage start murmuring.
"My nature spirit warned me, it's coming from inside The Smirk. Some adventurers woke it and are now running from it."
"Damnit! DOUBLE TI-…"
"NO!" I interrupt, "We have to fight, the Giant is too fast for us! If he catches our trail it will strike us from behind, we have to fight with the guards at the watchtower!"
"And you want to put us all in danger!? I can't lose even a single damn wagon before Goldcross!" He barks at me, his face quickly turning red with anger.
"You let me do my job and I'll get you there with all the wagons intact!" I shake my fist at him.
He grits his teeth and clenches his fists. He gives a look to his mother and she nods with a frown in her face.
"Fine! Do what you must!"
"Take them off the road, over there, where Ciel is!" I point to her, she's on top of the tallest hill and looking around.
I gallop to where Ciel and Lina are while Rande barks orders.
"Ciel, found a good spot?" I ask.
She shrugs, "Hardly any, Lina says that the ground over the slope seems loose so it could be used as a trap for the Giant. Roxanne, can you wet this whole side of the hill?"
"S-sure, it's going to take a lot of mana though," Roxanne answers.
"Then drink a potion and start immediately," I say and Roxanne nods, she dismounts and starts casting [Water Wall]s along the slope.
Ciel goes down to guide the wagons and the commoners to a space between two hills that will keep them covered.
I dismiss everything I summoned except the earth elemental and start summoning more earth elementals, I stop at 8 so I can still have some mana to fight for a while. The elementals were made to be all 4 meters tall, thick, and heavy, couldn't make them out of metal so they are all stone.
On top of the hill they start to raise earth and create a wall around them, a line of large pillars that we can hide and walk freely inbetween.
Ciel and Lina come back with the few meat-shields that can wield a bow, the husky wereanimal, the woman golden elf mage, Rande, and Osaria, who's now wearing a mage-like elven bikini/dress.
"Uh, sorry I forgot your names," I say to the husky and the elf.
"Laertes," the husky answers immediately.
"Oura," the elf answers slowly and tiredly.
"Okay, Oura, what magic can you cast?"
"Earth, Nature," her tired eyes jolt awake as she answers.
"Healing too?"
"Yes."
"You and Laertes stay in the center pillar. Help strengthen the pillars," they nod and move on, "Osaria, what magic can you cast?"
"Fire and Water," her sultry voice massages my ears.
"Pace your spells and focus on [Fire Arrow] your job is to annoy it the most. Aim for the eyes only if you are sure it will hit. Stay on the rightmost pillars, Rande, stay with her."
Osaria smiles beautifully and nods, Rande nods but his eyes show a little displeasure at being ordered around. He barks some orders and the meat-shields spread among the pillars.
Hana comes galloping back with a pale looking Klein in front of her. I look back and a line of guards from the watchtower are coming towards us.
We all dismount and the horses go back to Nito, who's hiding with the rest of the caravan.
"Klein, stay near the middle," I order her.
"O-okay," she says and her tail drops in dejection.
"Just be safe," Hana says and we move on to the leftmost pillars.
Roxanne comes to us looking a little tired.
"Out of mana," she says and drops on the ground, she starts meditating and using [Redirect Mana] for a quick recharge.
Then the guards reach us, I see the watch captain and wave to him.
"You in charge?" The tall devil-type demon man asks me in a very stern tone.
"Wolf Ryder, leader of Helios, Golemancer and Summoner," I point to the earth elementals that are being encased in stone.
The man flinches and look at the pillars, "You summoned all of them?"
"Yes."
"Right," his demeanor softens a little, "We have sent word, the fast-response team will arrive in a minute, how long for the Giant to come?"
"Gih."
The man grimaces, then he turns around and barks, "We fight in here! Spread along the pillars! Don't get crushed!"
"The slope is wet! The Giant will slip while he climbs!" Ciel yells.
The 6 other guards spread out and join the meat-shields, their confidence helps the morale of the inexperienced men.
"We have two healers!" I yell. Ciel lifts her glaive and Oura peeks up, then she quickly raises her hand. "Find them if you are wounded!"
"HEELP!" We hear a yell coming out of the Smirk.
Down on the slope at the edge of the treeline, two people are running desperately.
"HEEELP! GIAANT!" Yells the second person, a young female voice.
"GRIM GIAANT!" Yells the first person, a young male voice.
"Shit!" The watch captain mutters and goes to a pillar, he puts on his helmet and everyone draws bows.
We also put on our helmet and get ready, then Roxanne stands up.
"Mana level?" I ask.
"A third," she answers grimly.
"Don't cast spells, save for a large, quick [Explosion]."
"I can do a few things with the rest of the mana."
"Your call, don't die."
She chuckles, "Not after all we have been through."
The runners notice our fortification and start running towards us.
We feel the ground shake a little, it quickly increases in strength and the two runners cry loudly.
"Circle around! The slope is wet!" Ciel yells, Hana repeats her words, but louder.
The two runners slow down and finally understand, they circle around the large wet patch in front of the slope.
Then a huge face peeks from behind the trees, an old man with bulging eyes. His beard is ashy grey and filthy, blood drips out of his thin lips, his teeth are red and pointy like knives, his nose is crooked, his face is thin like a starving victim, his hair is thinning and missing in various parts. A very creepy look.
Then his body comes out. Like a monkey, his hand and feet look the same, his whole body is sickly pale skin and lean muscles, a shriveled thing hangs from behind the bush of his lower curly hair.
We all stare in disgust until the watch captain barks, "SHOOT!" And we fire spells and arrows repeatedly.
He ignores everything, the arrows are like small prickles on his thick skin, the fireballs make small scorching marks on his skin and don't even make his beard catch fire. Then an arrow hits his eye and he blinks.
With the tip of his fingers he pulls out the arrow out of his bulging eye and winces.
"UAAAAAAH!" He suddenly screams at the top of his lungs, his face distorted in anger, his hands and feet/hands smack the ground, making it rumble.
Then he charges forward out of the treeline on all fours. His body is long and curved, if he were to stand straight he would easily pass 15 meters tall, we look like rodents near him.
The small scorches and the prickling quickly rise in number, he even swallows arrows and spells like nothing. Then he reaches the wet patch and slips.
The two runners reach us but don't stop, they find the caravan in hiding and tumble down the hill towards them.
The Giant's whole sickly body turns dark with mud.
"OOOOOH? AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!" He yells again, louder, so loud it hurts our ears and our attack slows.
"Keep attacking…!" The watch captain yells but it sounded distant to my damaged hearing.
The Giant slowly crawls up, his stupid strength works against him as he lacks the finesse to carefully move his limbs, he only knows "smash" or "stop".
The spells and arrows pile up and he grimaces in pain, he repeatedly has to rub his limbs to remove the arrows that are prickling him. The attacks on the eyes have the most effectiveness but are hard to hit, even though his large eyes are bulging he still keeps his head permanently moving in an odd, entrancing pattern.
With his huge hands he quickly claws all the wet mud out of the slope and finally finds support to keep moving again.
"Stay behind the pillars!" The watch captain yells.
"UOOOOH"! The Giant reaches the center pillar and slams his hand on it.
*DOOOMSH~*
The pillar resists but small cracks form.
"HANA, TAUNT!" Roxanne yells.
"COME HERE LIMP ONE, I WILL BREATH FIRE UP YOUR FILTHY ASS!" Hana taunts.
"UOH?" The Giant turns his head, his mouth half-open like the mouth breather he is.
Roxanne throws two flasks towards the face of the giant. They hit him on the nose and burst open in a rainbow of colored liquid, the sound of sizzling comes out of the liquid that covers the Giant's face.
"UOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOH!" He yells in pain and I nearly go deaf again. He covers his face with both his huge hands.
"[Heart of Fire]!" Roxanne casts and turns into flame, she launches herself into the face of the giant. She slips between his fingers and then slips out again, from below his hand I see fire coming out, the liquid of Roxanne's potion has caught fire.
*FOOOM* Hana spews fire in a thin cone that reaches the beard of the Giant and makes it catch fire.
"IAAAA-…!" The Giant yells in a high pitched tone but starts to cough. He falls backwards and Roxanne flies past him, she lands on the bottom of the slope and turns back to normal.
"OVER HERE YOU LIMP ONE!" She yells as high as she can, her delicate throat nearly cracks as her soft voice is not good for yelling.
"GRAAH!" The Giant notices her and rolls down the slope towards her, with a muddy hand he taps his beard and face repeatedly to put out the fire and stop the acid.
Two more flasks are thrown by Roxanne. They are both intercepted by the Giant's hands and burst open in colored smoke, a lot of it sticks to his hand.
The Giant reaches Roxanne and raises his hand to smack her.
"[Heart of Fire]!"
His hand falls down and suddenly flies up again as the smoke explodes when it touches Roxanne's fire/body.
She flies up into the sky and lands beside us, looking nearly exhausted.
"That's it for me, only one [Explosion] left," she says and crouches beside Hana.
The Giant falls backwards and like a freaking horror movie he starts walking on all fours towards us with his belly pointing to the sky and his face upside down. I see his eyes are red and watery.
He quickly reaches us and grabs the two pillars beside the middle one.
"GRAAAAH!" He starts crushing and uprooting the pillars, his ugly face distorted in a furious and even more ugly one.
The people behind the pillars disperse and the elementals are uprooted. They discard the earth fortification and fall on top of the giant, they grab the arms of the Giant and start to pull them apart.
The Giant starts to resist and the elementals start to lose the tug-of-war. The Giant grabs the elementals and smack each others heads, crushing half of their bodies.
"FIRE!" Yells a distant voice.
Two huge stakes pierce the flank of Giant.
"AAAAAH!" It screeches in pain with a high pitched tone like nails scraping on a wall.
The Giant holds his right flank with one hand and uses the other to rise. He squints towards the watchtower, a large line of guards are creating their own fortifications while two floating ballistas are reloading their large stakes.
The Giant is having difficulty seeing and spends long seconds squinting towards where he thinks the ballistas could be.
"ROXANNE, BLOW HIS KNEE!" I bellow.
With only a second of preparation she casts, "[EXPLOSION]!" And right kneecap of the Giant flies off.
"UOOOH!" He falls forward in slow motion with a cry of pain.
"HIT HIS BALLS! HIT HIS ASSHOLE!" Hana yells.
All arrows and spells are focused on the two targets, an image I would like to forget.
"HIAAH!" The giant yells with a girly voice and covers his genitals.
A new kneecap starts to grow out of his wound at frightening speed.
"FIRE!"
Two stakes pierce his shoulder and the other arm goes limp, sending his face down on the mud.
"EARTH MAGES, NOW!" Yells the distant voice.
The earth below the Giant trembles and starts to grow around it, like tentacles trying to grab him and push him into the earth to drown.
"STAKE!" The distant voice yells.
Floating above the Giant a thick and huge stake made of stone starts to form out of nothing. I see that inside the watchtower something glows and 8 mages chant at the same time in a circle, [Ritualism], the imperial specialty.
The Giant struggles but slowly starts to escape the earth that's trying to eat him. Then suddenly the stake floating above him shoots downwards and pierces his skull, turning his brain into mush.
The Giant goes limp and stops struggling.