CH29: Duke Will Kill Us All

We weren't the only tamers to join the elf lord's party. So it was a little awkward when we met in the changing room. Mr. Wheeler was nice enough to give us some bio suits. They were black skintight and felt like leather against my skin. Wearing them made me immune to small arms like a 9-millimeter and allowed a civilian to lift a car. For us, the boost wasn't quite so dramatic. Unfortunately, we had to get bare ass naked to wear them.

"Hey, newbies, follow my lead, and we'll get along. If you try to outshine me," The blond man smiled. "You can't outshine me." The man said.

I looked around to see a red-haired man in purple eyeliner in the second rank and a bald, bearded man in the first. "Don't let Duke's choice of words get to you; he means well. You can call me Jester, and I'm here because I like to play high-stakes games. A shame about the suits; black isn't my color."

"Whatever, twig boy, they aren't your type, so back off. We have too much ground to cover to be at each other's throats. Just know I will be the one to cuck the elf lord." Duke said.

Jester licked his lips. "Ballad is such a delectable piece of meat; how could you break his heart so cruelly?" The clown man said.

Duke pulled out a comb and brushed his hair back. "Because I'm pretty, and these muscles don't lie," Duke said and flexed naked, much to Jester's apparent delight.

I rubbed my temples and debated returning the equipment and taking my chances with pissing off a 7th-ranked mobster. They had to be better than dealing with Jester and Duke.

"My knob needs some slob. Do you think it's too late to get some alone time with my mount?" Duke asked.

The door to the changing room slid open as if to deny Duke, and an elf with hair darker than pitch walked in. A crown of antlers stretched out from his head, pointing in all directions. Another elf walked beside him, holding up a portrait.

I watched Ballad, the elf lord of the Song clan, rub the portrait's frame before turning his attention to us. "Mr. Wheeler has given you lives to me to do with what I will. Consider yourself fortunate that you've been chosen as guards instead of sheep to be sold to my future father-in-law. But don't feel comfortable; I know the wandering eyes of tamers. If I catch one of you looking beyond their station," the elf lord smiled. "Your lives belong to me."

Matt gave me a troubled look, and I nodded to reassure him. He could have some peace of mind, at least because I didn't know how this would play out. The elf lord of the Verse clan might not appear and cause trouble. But that wouldn't matter if Duke was caught with the elf lord's intended bent over. Then again, by the way, Jester looked at the tall antlered elf; his intended wasn't the only one about to be bent over.

"You will not summon your help; our beast tamers will allow you to ride some of our horses. This doesn't mean I don't trust any of you to do your jobs, but it's better to remove any temptations." Ballad said.

"Gay," Duke said.

The elf lord paused before baring down the full might of a rank 3's qi onto Duke. The blonde-haired rank 2 took it with only a little visible sweat. Fortunately, he didn't say anything else, and the Ballad let the matter drop.

Duke and Jester exchanged a heated look before we followed the elf lord's guards to our mounts. Mine was a big balled black stallion with a mean streak a mile wide. I patted the big bastard's neck, and his head whipped around and bit my nose. The biosuit protected me from the worst of the damage, but it still hurt. I saw the glee in the monster's eyes and thought about beating it to death. But instead, I brought my thumb to one of its massive eyes and pressed in on it. The stallion let go of my nose and tried to pull away.

I caught it and thought about thoroughly teaching it a lesson. Instead, a blonde, almost white-haired elfu grabbed my wrist with both hands and pulled with all her might. She practically hung from my wrist from her effort to move. It. 4 power skills had strengthened me further than even genius unranked tamers.

"Don't hurt him; he's grumpy; you smell like a mare. You shouldn't hurt monsters just because they act like monsters. They don't know any better in the lower ranks." She said.

"If he throws me, I'm taking an eye," I said and glared directly in the stallion's hateful gaze.

The monster snorted and turned his head away from me. "What's your name?" I asked.

"Shouldn't you be careful not to look above your station? My lord brother was very clear about that." I reached forward and twirled a loose strand of nearly white hair. "I'm still a member of a noble family, and you're a mercenary guard. Besides, tamers only want dark-haired girls. Your blond friend barely looked at me. His eyes have been glued to my brother's portrait."

"That guy is going to get us all killed," I muttered.

"You should keep an eye on him then. My brother won't hesitate to give your lives to Chief Prime if anything goes wrong." I patted my backpack, confident in the rocket launcher inside. We could remove even a rank 4 from play if all else fails. That was a trick worth taking on this quest for, but we couldn't half-ass it either. We represented the Wheeler family and couldn't kill the elves because it would be easier. Putting up at least a token effort to deal fairly with them was necessary.

I got on the back of the bastard and slapped his reins. He didn't move.

"He doesn't know that command. How do you normally get your mount to change directions?" The elfu asked.

"I normally give her the map," I said.

The elf girl opened her mouth and closed it. "You've never ridden a mount that you couldn't converse with. So, this is the privilege of a tamer."

"What are you talking about? I earned her by killing her mate just before he mounted her and taking her myself."

"That is disturbing and uncivilized, but what else should I expect from a barbaric tamer? The whole world would be under your control if you had your way." She said.

"What's your name?" I asked before she could get her rant going.

"Symphony," she said.

"Symphony, I've killed many monsters and taken whole maiden vaults. Rank 2s, 3s, and even 4s don't scare me. I don't consider rank 1s a threat to me, and I'm not even in the foundry realm." I said to clue her in on who she was talking to.

"But even you had to follow the will of a rank 7," Symphony said.

"I'm getting more out of this than you think. Now, how do you control this thing?" I asked.

"You can turn his head left or right by pulling the reins in that direction. You could order him with your mind if you didn't have a line." Symphony said.

"And become vulnerable to all sorts of attacks, no thank you," I said.

"This world wasn't so dangerous before humans became tamers," Symphony said as I turned my stallion towards Duke with Matt already on his way. Keeping Duke from getting us all clear was a team effort.

"Hey, newbies, you figured out how to direct your monster's good job. I figured it in seconds, but we all learn at our own pace." Duke said.

"What he means is I taught him how before he got on?" A light-haired elf said.

"You sure did, pretty momma; what do you say about coming to help set up my tent when we stop." The girl giggled at that.

"Maybe if you traded a few cows to my brother for me. A contract to get me isn't free no matter how light my hair color is." The elf girl said.

"How many cows did your brother pay for that momma on that portrait."

The girl turned white at that. "Don't ask about my new sister's bride price. It's bad luck."

"Oh, don't let those pretty knife ears sink. I don't want to see such a beauty cry. I bet you're an ugly crier." Duke said.

"Maybe you should stop talking to the elves until after this ceremony ends. Ballad will probably be in a better mood to discuss bride prices." I said and winked at the elf girl.

Her lips twitched upward, but it wasn't the same reaction Duke had. The guy had a presence about him that shined. A shame it was going to get us all killed. If I had to kill him to ensure our safety, then I would. I popped the cap to my liquid qi tankard and drank some. Fighting a rank 2 tamer deserved my best effort.

Duke gave me a look then his eyes widened before he nodded. "Yep, I should keep my mouth shut until it's time. Newbie, you have a good head on your shoulders." He winked at me. "I can't wait to feel her soft pussy." The elf blushed even harder, but Duke's eyes kept going to the portrait.