"Licking one's wounds"

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Third-person pov

"And this is what happened on the plantation last night," Lakyus finished explaining.

"Very interesting," responded her closest friend, the third princess, as she sipt on her tee.

"Who would have thought that there would be another party chasing the eight fingers? However, the fact that they are not people but undead is frightening. Especially since they seem to have strength that is second to none. Do you think you could deal with them if they showed up again?" The princess asked, looking hopefully at the members of the Blue Rose.

"I am not sure, as I was not present. What do you guys think?" answered Lakyus, glancing at Evileye and the twins.

"Both were strong," replied one of the twins.

"But not that skilled," added the other.

"Well..." Lakyus started after seeing Renners confused face.

"It is not unnatural for other species to rely exclusively on their racial advantages, although there are, of course, exceptions." explained Lakyus

"What do you think, Evileye?" asked Gargaran.

"I can't speak of martial arts as I'm not very knowledgeable in that area, although I'm sure that the larger of the two was definitely stronger than either of the blue roses, excluding me. The smaller of the two, and the only one who communicated with us, was just as strong as Tia and Tina; you or Lakyus would have both had a good chance of winning, especially since Lakyus is a priestess." Evileye said

"Then it's a good thing that you defeated the stronger of the two, even if, according to Lakyus, he actually blew himself up" said the princess, sounding relieved.

"Ohh, are you perhaps worried about your little friend Climb? Worried that he would be attacked in an alley at night?" The massive blonde teased

"W-what, t-that has nothing to do with that; why are you asking me that?" The princess blushed.

"By the gods, you are worried about him." The giant woman giggled.

"You are mean," Renner pouted.

"All right, I think we've fooled around enough." Renner's best friend stopped the joke.

"Mmmm, there was something else," the masked magician, who had been quiet the entire time, interrupted the group.

"That guy. That vampire was surprised to see us there, especially me. He bragged about serving 'Her', a monster he said was supposed to be stronger than 'Landfall'. When I told him I didn't know who that was, he got angry. He called the other vampire to him and ordered him to destroy himself, and that's what he actually did. Whoever it was, there's someone even more dangerous behind him. We should think carefully about our next steps. I don't want that one of you dies." Finished Evileye

"You're right, we only wanted to take care of the eight fingers anyway. We can always confront him and whoever is behind him later," said Lakyus.

"That does sound reasonable," responded Gargaran.

"I hope you'll continue to keep me updated." Renner said it with an inocent smile.

"Well then, that's it for today. I think all of us could use some sleep. See you, Renner," said Lakyus, finishing her tea and getting up.

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Felix pov

"Shit," he cursed and tore the remains of his bloodied coat from his shoulders.

It should all have been so easy; he should have sneaked onto the plantation, taken out the guards, interrogated the overseers, and had some important documents taken. But it had failed.

Well, that wasn't entirely true; at the beginning, everything had worked fine; they came in, knocked out the guards, and squeezed the enforcers for information. And then, just as he was securing some documents, the [vampire servant] that his mistress had provided him jumped out into the roof beams. He was confused, but only for a few seconds, until a small woman attacked him with lightning speed and injured his neck. Luckily, it was only a small wound, and he even managed to hit back, which briefly incapacitated her.

He pulled up his shirt and his enchanted chain mail and looked at his chest. A huge bleeding wound right above his ribs. A few more centimeters, and this bitch would have hit his heart. He carefully began to bandage the large wound. Normally his injuries healed quickly, but this masked bitch had hit him very hard, so hard that it would probably take a few more days for the wound to close. Especially since he had consumed very little blood lately so as not to attract too much attention in the city.

"Damn it," he cursed as he winced under the pain.

Not only had his magical equipment, which his mistress had so graciously provided to him, been damaged, but he also had to sacrifice the [vampire servant] she had created, to escape. But that wasn't enough; she also had the cheekiness to mock his mistress. 'HER', the one who saved him and gave him what he wanted so much, his revenge. 

It was inexcusable.

He looked at his bandaged wound with anger. That was enough; he had had enough of taking advantage of his mistress's good will. Next time, he would be more careful; he would stop thinking so arrogantly and plan better. This time the blue roses had surprised him, but next time he would surprise them.

The next time, he would kill them.

Of course he was aware that with his current strength he could just about keep up with the two assassins in the group, and that, not with both at the same time, but fortunately victories could be achieved in other ways than through blunt force. Next time, it would be different. He promised himself

he sighed.

Enough with the self-pity. Since I now have a rough idea of where some of the bases of the eight fingers are, I should contact Lord Demiurge immediately. After that, there is still enough time to find the remaining ones. I don't think I can take on all six arms, but individually, I should at least be able to defeat some of them. Unfortunately, I couldn't be sure of all the information because I was interrupted, but we'll figure it out. Time for me to rest a bit, and when I feel better again...

I will crush all of them.

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