Chapter 202 [Bonus ] 26: Taking The Fort - Part 2

The moment the flames of Vincent's attack died down, he leaned forward, dropping from the high wall at high speed, the wind whistling in his ears before his wings flapped once, the moment before hitting the ground, sending his body bouncing into the air, before landing gracefully, Mel'Zeth a little sweaty as her mace smashed the groin of the last goblin she killed.

At the same time, Zarina instantly appeared beside Vincent, her helmet now rolling on the floor with a loud clang as it rattled wildly after she threw it down. Zarina's glowing red eyes looked into Vincent's before she lost control and stepped on her tiptoes.

'Forgive me, Vincent; I cannot control my accursed body... You are too delicious...'

Her arms wrapped around his neck as she couldn't even give the time to apologise as her sharp fangs pierced into his neck; the excitement she could always contain, the hunger that Zarina kept sealed was broken since the night she tasted his blood, like a junkie she was addicted to his blood, the ambrosia that dominated her mind.

Vincent looked over his shoulder and nodded towards the castle, 'We should go inside before they recover... But this girl is so needy; how cute she is.'

Since there was not enough time, he ignored the pouting Mel'Zeth and lifted the heavy Zarina into a princess carry, her arms wrapping tightly around his neck. In contrast, the heavy black armour was quite light with his current strength, but it was clunky and stopped his full-speed dash; with each step, his feet almost sank into the soft mud floor.

"Let's go, Mel; we need to hurry inside," Vincent shouted with a slightly hoarse voice as Zarina bit into the area close to his Adam's apple, causing it to be a little awkward to speak or breathe.

"Mm... I am so jealous of her..." Mel whispered to herself, cutting off the goblin's ears and taking their cores into her little space pouch as she jogged after Vincent; now, her pace was a little faster than his when carrying Zarina.

Meanwhile, around the back entrance of the fort, Zera was standing in the centre of a mass of dead goblins; their bodies were torn apart, ripped to shreds and pulverised by her claws and tails.

Vera stood a distance behind her, casting powerful storms of wind and empowering Zera's body with a violent and sharp wind, making her even more deadly. P'ella was hovering in the air, using her loud screech at the opening of the combat to stun the goblins before aiding her two new friends with a cyclone of beautiful feathers and wind.

Standing to the side were Momo and Titania, more skillfully slaying their foes, a small amount of sweat covering their bodies as they could finally rest since the goblins and orcs began to race towards the main entrance.

"Hehe, Darling, save us!" Zera jumped in the air, her tail forming a love heart.

Tama popped out from the back of a huge orc, her orange hair flowing as her twin tails swayed in the light wind, a body covered in blood and dirt, two daggers spinning in her hands.

"Hmmmm, he took a long time, though... Stupid Vincent..."

P'ella circled in the air, her mighty wings beating hard against the wind before she gradually descended and landed beside the silent Ophelis and Ophelia, who managed the battle by forming bloody walls, forcing the goblins to fight each girl in smaller numbers.

Although they might have been fine with fighting a huge melee, Ophelis didn't want to make her master sad in case somebody was hurt; they looked around the area and found that all enemies were killed.

"Everyone, let's cut their ears, take their cores," Ophelis shouted with her flat but husky voice.

"Mm, darling likes to say that even a single copper is worth it, no matter how small!" Ophelia added as she noticed the three stooges getting to work.

Tama sat down on a small rock nearby and began to tend to her daggers; although she liked money, cutting dirty goblins' ears off was not her idea of a worthy exchange.

"Momo, are you alright? It's not too difficult right?" Titania's deep and concerned voice sounded.

Momo wasn't a weak girl, but as a merchant, her battle experience was probably the same as P'ella, but one was a monster race that was naturally born to fight, and the other was a demi-human girl that sat on her plump ass most of the day.

"Mm.... hah....hah... Just a little tired; it's hard to swing a weapon constantly!" She replied with a faint voice, gasping for hair.

She was so exhausted that if she wanted to, she could sleep now. However, she had to tend to the wounds on her body; the blood was still seeping out of her torso and abdomen.

It wasn't a major wound, just some flesh and muscle damage, but the pain was excruciating. Fortunately, Titania's healing magic would fix her in a few seconds.

Titania rested her head against the stone wall, closing her eyes as she continued to heal Momo, "You did well today, little lady."

Ophelis stood next to her, watching over Momo, "I'm proud of you, dear. This is your first major battle. You fought well."

"This was nothing compared to what we'll face once we go inside, though..." Tama said, her eyes glazed over as she began to look at the large fort ahead of them.

"Come, let us take a short break; Vincent should be entering the castle after that huge noise, so we can take a breather and enter in 30 minutes."

A calm voice rang out above as they walked along the fortification walls. The four girls looked up and saw Vincent flying down from the roof of the fort, holding a woman in black armour in his arms. They were all surprised at his appearance but relieved as he gave them a wave and dropped out of vision.

"See, let's get ready, clean any wounds, tend to your weapons and get some rest." Titania bellowed as she, too, looked at her spear and shield for any issues, acting as the sub-leader of the group.

-

Inside the fort was just as imagined, damp, disgusting and smelly.

Vincent cautiously entered the abandoned fort, his heart pounding as he peered into the darkness. The musty smell of dampness and decay assaulted his nostrils, making him want to hurl. He could barely see anything save for the occasional flicker of torches left behind by the orcs and goblins who once called this place home.

"Why is it so quiet..." He asked, only the light breathing of himself and Mel for sound, with the slurping and sucking from Zarina, that now had blood all over her chin as she was almost finished.

'This girl is going to drain me dry... not the sexy way either!'

As they crept further into the fort, Vincent's eyes adjusted to the dim light, allowing him to make out more of his surroundings. The walls were rough, grey stone, with arrow slits and murder holes scattered throughout. Cobwebs hung from the ceiling and walls, and the air was thick with the stench of rot and decay.

"It's so disgusting; how do they live here and not get sick?" Mel wondered, her body now pressing against the right side of Vincent as the path narrowed slightly, switching from a heavy two-handed mace to her smaller one-handed hammer.

"I am sure there was some information in a book at school; it said that orcs and goblins adapt to their surroundings extremely fast. So it's likely their skin and bodily fluids are as dirty and poisonous as this mouldy fort.

Vincent made his way deeper into the fort, his footsteps echoing through the empty halls. As he passed through what appeared to be the living quarters, he saw remnants of the orcs and goblins' former lives – crude beds made of straw and animal hides, rusted weapons strewn about, and even a few bones scattered on the ground. He could hear the faint sound of dripping water and, occasionally, a rat scurrying across the floor.

"At least they slept on beds rather than the floor..." Vincent thought of something stupid, but the fact that they slept on beds interested him.

The orcs and goblins who once inhabited this place were not ones for cleanliness or hygiene.

A foul smell filled this part of the fort – a mix of sweat, blood, semen and urine that made Vincent's stomach churn. He had to fight the urge to cover his nose and mouth with his sleeve.

"Ugh... The smell burns my nose, honey. I need to sniff your scent... I might die," Mel said weakly as she buried her face in his robes, taking deep breaths and a sneaky lick off his exposed chest.

As Vincent continued the exploration, he couldn't help but feel a sense of unease.

It was as if the walls were closing around him, suffocating him with their dark, foreboding presence. He couldn't shake the feeling that he was being watched and that the orcs and goblins were still lurking in the shadows, waiting to strike.

'I should be able to sense them, but why can I feel nothing but the stone walls and slight breeze?' Vincent thought to himself, not even sensing the scurrying of feet that he expected with such a large amount of noise.

This was not a good sign, causing him to wonder what lay deep inside this fort, forgotten by time.

"Be on your guard; I cannot sense anything here; something is strange... Like it's a trap made just for me."

Click! Mel's foot stepped on a piece of loose stone, which then pressed down with a loud noise.

In an instant Vincent grabbed her by the neck, tossing both her and Zarina into the distance where they came from, as suddenly countless unknown missiles were shot through the air, all of them whistling in the wind towards him at extreme speeds from almost every direction.