Chapter 52: The rescue mission
The clock had moved past 12, signifying the start of a new day. The cold winter night was even slightly chillier when flying through the Vernys forest than it was when they were still in the territory of Maeg. On this particular night, since there was not a single veil of cloud that could be found overhead, Kibadios, Ryan, and Ryuu could clearly see the dark sky decorated with numerous flickering lights from the seas of far away stars. Sometimes, it was hard even for Kibadios to distinguish between the starlight and the natural lights emitted by swarms of insects, since they all appeared blended together when one looked far off into the distance at the horizon. Kibadios could have been flying on his own by the dragon's side, but given Ryan was sitting on Ryuu's back, Kibadios had opted to sit together with Ryan as well, with both him and Ryuu activating their <Cloak> skills to hide their presence.
「Are you cold, Ryan chan?」Kibadios asked while wrapping his arms around the hero while sitting from behind and hugging him tight.
「... No, not really, Master.」answered the hero.
「That's good cuz I kinda am. Can I use you to warm my hands?」The hybrid smirked and pretended to be cold to slide his hands deep inside Ryan's pants and played with his warm, private part, much like what he did on the carriage during their trip toward Ryuu's sealing place a few months back. Though this time, Ryan would quickly pull his master's hand out, much to the hybrid's annoyance.
「What's wrong, Ryan?」Kibadios held Ryan's chin and turned his face around to look him into the eyes. 「It's late at night and we're flying up here, don't tell me you still worry about any intrusive eyes that may witness I'm toying with you?」
「I'm sorry, Kibadios sama… I didn't mean to」Ryan quickly apologized.
「Come on now, for the next few days, we'll be camping in the woods together with the Princess, it's not like I can fuck you guys whenever I want like before. I even had to take a bunch of heat suppressants to dial down my lust. The least you can do is to let me play with you like this when no one is looking.」Kibadios pulled Ryan back into his embrace and gave him a long, wet kiss while his hands roamed freely throughout the helpless hero's body. Having his master toyed with him, his incubus mark finally kicked it, transforming him into a moaning mess. The pleasure he was experiencing from his erected cocks and nipples began to amplify over time and clouded his once clear mind. 「Here's your punishment for daring to pull my hands away just now: I won't let you cum for the next 15 minutes no matter how much you beg for it.」
「But Master, we have to be vigilant for the mission!」Ryan protested, though it did not cause the hybrid to change his mind one bit since one of his hands was already tightly wrapped around the hero's cock shaft, disabling his ability to cum while his other hands rubbed hard on his uncut cock. Even though he was forced to be close to climax, he was ultimately unable to cum. The sensation caused Ryan to burst into tears and moaning, his drools dripping down onto Ryuu's back. 「Master… I'm sorry… soorryyyy...sorr...please… pl...cum...」Ryan continued to mutter for a good fifteen minutes before Kibadios finally released his grip on the poor hero's cock and allowed him to cum.
「Haaaaa!!!」Ryan cried out in pleasure while shooting his thick load into the hybrid's hand.
「Don't you disobey me again, understand, Ryan chan?」Kibadios smiled deviously, then he slurped in all of his slave's cum before licking off the trails of Ryan's saliva and reached up to his mouth for a long kiss. Their tongues dashed and intertwined around one another, mixing Ryan's cum and drools before both gulped down their share of the hero's bodily fluid.
「I won't, master...」Ryan admitted his mistake.
「Good.」Kibadios wiped his lips. 「Rest for a bit, Ryan chan. We won't be reaching Fyeran's capital for another fifteen minutes so don't worry. I'm sure our rescue mission would go perfectly and we'll extract Lord Uran out soon enough.」
「Yes, master.」Ryan nodded after fixing his clothes.
「...」 Yeahhh...I'm totally not jealous at all… Ryuu thought to himself as the event between his master and his "senpai'' transpired on his own back. The three of them have been setting out on a mission the Princess had asked them to earlier in the day and Ryuu would prefer to focus on it rather than letting his mind be consumed with jealousy...
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「So what should we do now, Yllaner dono?」asked Thomas after everyone had gathered together around Nu and the resting Kyles.
「First and foremost, we have to rescue Lord Uran. Afterward, we will raise a banner under my name and call everyone who is loyal to the Vernys Confederation to join us.」The Princess explained.
「... So you're planning to wage a war against your brother? I'm sorry but that's just suicidal.」concluded the senior hero.
「I'm of the same opinion as Thomas dono. I have been briefed by King Lance's messenger about the political situation in Vernys and the big picture of the conflict.」chimed in Amber. 「Maybe it's not my place to say this but a full-scale civil war would probably be the least desired scenario here, Yllaner dono.」
「I understand your concerns.」Yllaner smiled. 「It was my fault since I did not make myself clear before.」She paused for a moment. 「Let's be clear: I have no intention of ever fighting against my brother by waging wars. If I have to resort to pitched battles that may result in great losses to the forest's total military might, I'd rather let him take over the Shilna clan with our fighting forces intact. That way, we may have a chance against the Yin empire. What I'm proposing is merely to gather loyal soldiers to me and use me as bait to lure my brother. 」
「「What?」」Almost everyone except the hybrid, who had known her plan prior to this discussion, was surprised.
「You see, I will not be the person who decides the fate of the Vernys Confederation. That role belonged to the four important spies I have in each of the clan.」
「 "Important spies"?」
「Yes. Like I have Kibadios dono, my extensive political network exists in not only the Shilna clan but also the other four great Clans. In each of them, I have found someone of importances, either potential heirs to the clan head or their close relatives, to act as my "spies." They are individuals with the greatest talents who I can trust even with my life on the line. Normally, their purpose is to use their influence within the clans to promote the unity of the confederation and deal with anyone or any factions that actively undermine the confederation. However, at times like these, their jobs are to quickly take over the control of the clan from the current clan heads and to get rid of separatists within the clan, even if they have to stage a coup d'etat. I admit, that in itself is not an easy task, but I have specifically chosen them as my representatives and spies for this very moment. I believe I only need to present them with an opportune moment, they can accomplish their tasks.」explained Yllaner. 「Once they have taken over control of the respective clans, with the four clans united, even my brother should understand which way the wind is blowing. Only then can we force him to the negotiation table.」
Huh? Kibadios noticed an interesting point in the Princess' plan..
「... so that's why you wanted to present yourself and forces gather to you as baits for your brother and other clan heads, distracting them and allowing your spies to act decisively?」Rowan had quickly understood the princess' goal.
「Yes. I have thought a lot about it and this is the only option where I can end this internal strife without risking depleting our military forces.」Yllaner nodded. 「After all, the Yin empire is just sitting at the border, ready to strike at any time. The last thing I want is to to fight my brothers through conventional means, battles after battles, only to damage our own military power and create excuses for them to intervene.」
「But that means even if one of your "spies" fail, your plan would unravel.」The sharp Rowan pointed out.
「What do you mean?」Amber turned to the healer, puzzling.
「... I see...」Thomas slowly nodded. 「Rowan-kun is right. Say, if one of the four spies fail to secure the control of one the clan, it's undoubtedly that clan would side with your brother instead of ever joining you. That'd make it 3 clans vs 2 clans instead of 4 vs 1 and if that's the case, the result would be a drawn out conflict that not even you can stop.」
「... Yes. And that's the one risk I have to take.」Yllaner acknowledged. 「Every decision made carries their own inherent risks. I can only trust that they will succeed.」
「I understand.」Thomas smiled. 「Knowing your plan, that makes sense why you want to rescue Lord Uran right away. He's the one that was supposed to take over the Fyeran Clan, am I right?」
「Yes.」
「He's a fine young man. I'd be glad to help break him out of prison.」Thomas volunteered.
「Us too!」Amber and Floria nodded.
「Actually, if possible, I'd like to ask Kibadios dono and Ryuu dono to do it late tonight… I can come with you and show you the way.」
「Of course, we'd be happy to help, Princess. However, you coming with us is a big no no.」Kibadios shook his head. 「If this is a chess game, you're our king piece. It doesn't make sense to subject our king to such risk, does it?」
「Kibadios sama is right.」Ryan nodded. 「I have been to the Fyeran's capital a few time, I can help guide the way.」
「I'd love to help you guys, but if Yllaner dono stays here, I think most of us should stay here and protect her.」Thomas suggested.「Right now, not only the Fyeran's forces are looking for her, even the Hyakki Yagyo is hunting her. And amongst those mercenaries, Erik is the most dangerous. It's better to have a lot of people protecting the princess to ensure her safety.」
「Thank you, everyone.」Yllaner was grateful to all the help she was getting.
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The group descended onto the ground some 20 miles away from the edge of the Fyeran's capital and traversed through the thick woods on their feet, though that did not take long since all three were able to leap and jump around like the ANBU on a mission. Aside from the primary goal, which was to rescue Lord Uran, the group understood that they had another implied objective, which was why Yllaner preferred to have them carry out the mission: to show Ryuu's true form to the people of Fyeran and hopefully, the rumor about a dragon siding with the princess would spread throughout the wood, further bolstered the reputation of her future forces.
「So that's what you meant when you say you'd like to borrow his "presence."」Kibadios recalled back the conversation with the Princess before they left for the Fyeran's capital.
「Yes. Kibadios dono, I understand you have reservation about revealing Ryuu kun being a dragon in front of others, especially Thomas dono and Amber dono; however, you should know that although a second generation dragon like Ryuu kun may be extremely rare, the dragon race isn't that rare though. There are more than 1000 dragonkins currently living among the people and as a matter of fact, one of the Yin Empire's 12 heavenly generals was supposed to be a dragonkin and in the eastern-most part of the continent, there even existed a kingdom ruled by a dynasty of dragonkin for thousands of years. I reckon besides Thomas dono and Amber dono, no one could have guest Ryuu here is the infamous "Ryuujin", even if he shows his true form.」explained Yllaner. 「and I can convince them he's not Ryuujin.」
「How?」
「There are many ways.」Yllaner paused to think for a second.「Though the easiest would be to lie and tell them Ryuu kun is an old acquaintance of mine, who just happens to swear his allegiance to you under some circumstances the moment he came to Lorian to find me. We can just be vague like that, I don't think either of them was the kind of person who would try to pry any further. With Ryan working under you, you were already a very mysterious individual in their view, I don't think knowing that a dragonkin is also working for you would change their thought of you much.」
「If that's the case, then I don't mind.」
「Thank you, Kibadios dono… You're truly kind… too kind to me, in fact, that I feel like I'm using you.」Yllaner was angry at herself.
「... Just think of it as me repaying my debt to you, Syl...Yllaner.」Kibadios quickly corrected himself.
「... I think I like the sound of it...」
「The sound of?」
「You just calling me Yllaner… It sounds more familiar and natural to me.」
「If you give permission, I can drop the honorific」
「That's perfectly fine with me, as long as I get to call you "Kibadios."」
「Then that's a deal, Princess」
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The Fyeran's capital "city" was completely different from any settlements Kibadios had been to in the Kingdom of Maeg, mostly because instead of clearing the woods for building spaces, their houses were incorporated directly onto the humongous tree trunks. Since there was no protective wall marking the border of the settlement either, Kibadios and Ryuu were surprised when Ryan told them they had now entered the capital territory. According to Ryan, wood elf settlements usually had two different kinds of "pathways": a ground and a hanging pathway. The ground pathway, as its name suggested, was built on the ground like the streets at any other places, though "built" was probably not the correct word here because instead of paving the roads with some kind of asphalt or crushed rocks, the so-called "roads" were just plain worn out dirty path on the ground that were marked by two parallel lines of small stones. The hanging paths were made of small wood planks tied together with strong, thick ropes, hanging across the tree branches to connect one treehouse to another. Because it was too early in the morning, most of the inhabitants were already soundly asleep in their bed as the trio lurked in the shadows, avoiding the few sentry guards and making their way toward Lord Uran's prison cell.
「Just like I thought, you guys would come here and rescue the young lord. I was hoping the princess is with you though.」A familiar voice spoke loudly once they reached the prison gate and caught the group off guard, a rare feat that not a lot could achieve. 「Where did you hide her?」
「Erik kun, right?」Kibadios grinned wearily. 「I was hoping to run into you… though, I was worried that you're still out there, tracking the Princess. Give up your mission a bit early, don't you think?」He taunted.
「We still have yet to give up, don't you worry.」The Yves sprung forward. This time, his hand was holding a burning longsword as a weapon, aiming at Ryan, who his eyes had concluded to be the weakest of the three. Of course, Ryan had already reacted to his attack by taking a defensive stance with his own sword, but before Erik's blade could reach the hero, he had to come to a sudden stop and parry off the strike from a large scythe Kibadios had just conjured.
「Don't you touch my properties without my permission.」The hybrid glared at the Yves, his purple eyes glowed menacingly in the dark. 「You guys go ahead and rescue Lord Uran. I'll deal with him.」The hybrid ordered Ryan and Ryuu, to which they both acknowledged and left their master behind to deal with the mercenary.
Properties? Is that how he views that hero and the dragonkin? Who is he?「... Kid… 」Erik said calmly. 「You might have underestimated me.」
SURVEY TIME: I'm torn when deciding Kibadios' next harem members. If you can, please fill out survey here. I will go with whatever option has the highest vote. You can vote multiple times (I think) but please only vote once. I'll use the honor system and believe that you only vote once. :)
https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/62CN5BW