The Blackthorn mansion quickly came into our sights. I found it funny how the original Wrathclaw leaders before Blackjack came and severed some heads, thought their valley would remain hidden.
It wasn’t even an hour away based on our leisurely jogging speed – which we were forced to travel at because Plump Fox seemed to be allergic to putting points into her Agility stat. No wonder she needed a Cedric-type muscle to act as her bodyguard. To be fair, her heavy investment into Magic spoke volumes in its favor, so I couldn’t call her dumb. It was just a decision not to be a self-reliant mage but a glass-canon that could materialize some insanely destructive spells.
“Stop! This is the private property of the Blackthorn family!” Two guards shouted one after the other as we waltzed up to the main gate.
“How important are your lives in comparison to the loyalty you hold for your lords?” I asked.
They looked at me with puzzlement, but we were five against their duo, and while they were wearing shoddy militia gear, we were equipped with some banger gear if I may say so. Well, sadly my old set was destroyed by Selene so I was wearing some cheap common-tier stuff, I had no money. That would hopefully change in the next few minutes.
The guards didn’t seem very keen on attacking us. Unluckily for them, I had no plans to leave witnesses. “You have two choices.” I decreed while sending both a notification that I wished to subjugate them. “Accept being under my rule or die.”
“What is this?!” One shouted while the other started stammering, “we-we can’t. We have family inside! My wife is a cook.”
“Perfect. She’s also welcome to join.” I responded with an amicable tone. I didn’t want to linger here so I gently told them that they got five seconds to choose. I ended up with two more slaves. They started walking behind us with shocked expressions that told me they were debating whether they dozed off on duty and were dreaming right now.
“Blossom, smell anything out of the ordinary?” I asked while watching my beautiful dog-girl sniffing the air with much focus.
“No, Master!”
I glanced back at my two new additions, “are there any traps or strong people we should be aware of?”
“Um, sir, they hired a Mithril adventurer team but I think they’re not here anymore.”
“Yeah, we already defeated them.” My nonchalant response made their eyes bulge and their knees tremble. I could see visible relief in their features that they chose to bend the knee. I had to agree with their choice, it would’ve been an ugly, futile resistance. I will be sure to send them into the forests of their soon-to-be new home to conduct some monster hunting, they need some levels, just like my other Wraithclaw combatants.
Anyhow, I considered these testimonies good enough to let me relax. “Plump Fox and Cedric, take one of these guards, and explore the upper half of the mansion. I’ll take Lyra to the lower half. Blossom, please prowl the surroundings, and catch any would-be escapists. Try not to kill.”
Selene watched me with fiery eyes, she surely noticed that I kept calling her by my mocking monicker while I stopped calling Cedric the ‘Dumb Hound’. He was way too obedient for me to feel good about myself if I mocked him. He bent the knee willingly like Abudha, he deserved the respect any normal, high-level, promising candidate did.
“Yes, Master!” Blossom decreed and did as instructed. Cedric also grabbed Selene by the arm and dragged her away before she could make a mistake, such as speaking back to me. It was just Lyra, me, and the other guard.
It was a pretty comfy mansion but definitely weathered by the merciless phenomenon known as time. I could guess that the Blackthorns were doing much better a few generations ago, which was when this home was built. It lost its pristine marble-white color and was grayish. The wooden parts even showed signs of rotting.
*Bang!* The sound of me kicking down the door was the announcement of our official arrival.
“Ah!” I heard three separate shouts of shock sound as a result of my actions. I came face to face with three women dressed as maids. “Wife!” The guard shouted, happy that he found her before any of us could ‘accidentally’ hurt her. He didn’t seem to trust us and our taste for pacifism for some odd reason.
“Barna? What’s going on?!” The wifey asked with a terrified voice.
“I don’t really know, I think the Blackthorns are getting robbed or murdered or something.” He shrugged his shoulders.
“Why are you not defending then?”
“Are you dumb, woman? You want me to die for these cunts?”
“You’re right! I’m getting excited, maybe we can see their execution?”
I didn’t know why these two were conducting such an odd conversation, especially considering the circumstances, but my focus was elsewhere. I suddenly chanced upon a familiar face.
“Emily, right?” I asked and the woman in question gasped from the surprise of a man with my exterior recognizing her.
“Yes… I’m sorry, but I don’t know you…” She murmured weakly in a careful tone, worried that her not recognizing me would offend me.
“I’m Quinlan, the guy who saved you from goblin captivity a few months ago. I just underwent a bit of a physical transformation since then.”
This was the woman who acted as a sort of leader of the goblin breeding captives at the place where we later met Blossom for the first time. I remember her for being very strong-willed, as even in that situation she remained firm and helped me tend to the other captives.
“Really? Is that you?!” She asked as realization dawned on her. I couldn’t fault her for her disbelief, I truly changed a lot since then, namely the Primordial Breeding Physique changed me almost completely.
I just gently nodded at her question. She started walking up to me. Emily clearly wanted to welcome me with a hug, but she was reluctant. I was a mighty warrior and she was a filthy goblin-breeding victim in her eyes, so our stations were too different.
She had no right to even speak to me in a casual tone, let alone touch me, or so she thought. I didn’t care much about such theatrics, so I parted my arms to let her know that it was okay.
She eyed me carefully for a second before erupting into a cheery smile and rushing into me. A soft thud marked her arrival, after which I embraced her. Naturally, I didn’t touch any weird places, one hand was on her head, the other on her back.
“You changed a lot… Thank you so much!” She shouted into my chest, the place where she was busy nuzzling her head into for some odd reason.
“Don’t worry about it. Tell me your story.”
This question of mine calmed her down and she equipped a tired, sad tone. “Sure… After we parted ways, the count’s son, Eric, brought us to his family’s healer. Me and the mother-daughter pair were in good condition, but the other five weren’t. The healer couldn’t help them.” She revealed as tears of sorrow and misery formed in her eyes.