—-- wyvern raid end —--
[Obtained : Blade of the wyvern order X2]
[Obtained : Heart of the flame elemental]
[Obtained : Full wyvern scale armour]
[Obtained : Core of a wyvern knight]
[Obtained : Shard of the wyvern forge]
[Obtained : Trove of a stalagmite beast]
[Obtained : Shard of the corrupted heart]
[Crafted : Boots of the cavern caterpillar]
[Crafted : Cloak of the cavern caterpillar]
[Crafted : Backpack of the cavern caterpillar]
The fortress of Escher.
Hikari marched towards a massive stone structure.
A ring of stone several times the height of the RazenHeir mansion. Countless gunholes arrayed and stacked along the walls. Banners drooping over the side and fluttering on the top of the walls.
Hikari could recognize some of them in the distance. A golden embroidery formed the symbol of the royal house of Herdial. A symbol of a stone depicting the hearthstone house.
At the base of the structure, there were numerous makeshift camps surrounded by wooden palisades. Grey cloth tents filled the inner area. Horses stood still in their stables made of wood, some even having a roof overhead.
As the evening approached, campfires were lit. Groups of people quickly huddle around it, blocking out the flame. Only the flickers reflecting on the wood of the watch towers could be seen from afar.
Hikari left a deep boot print on the ground where she stepped. The claws of the cavern caterpillars make tiny spike holes in the soil instead of the rows of imprint her wyvern skin boots with rubber soles make.
The noise she made with each foot step causes scores of tiny rodents in coats of brown fur to crawl out of the ground and scatter in all directions. Flocks of birds emerged from their trees at the rumbling sound of the marching giantess.
As the warmth of the sun faded, the chilling wind of the Herdial plains took hold.
The thick dark green layer of cavern caterpillar hide stitched together with its own sinew draped over Hikari, blocking out the wind completely.
Underneath was a layer of interwoven long hexagonal shaped wyvern scales covering the entirety of Hikari's body from her chin down to her ankles.
On her back, two pitch black swords of equal size, strapped parallel to each other, glinted with columns of runes. A bulging caterpillar backpack filled with the riches of the wyvern peaks.
A woman less than half her size but still towering over a man walked briskly behind her. A full cloak made of the dark green caterpillar skin covered her whole body. Her face and hair hidden under a full hood.
They approach the checkpoint.
Hikari turned to Ella walking behind her and whispered.
"I'll handle this, stay behind me."
On seeing them approach, the guard fell off his chair. He got up coughing as the smoke from his pipe had rushed into his throat. His pipe dropped on the ground, the pipe tail dented with his teeth marks.
Hikari stopped before the guard post and unveiled her hood. Her silver hair was uncombed for a full month. Her face remained clean as she was able to scrub it with her telekinesis powers.
The guards were at her knee height. They looked up at her in a daze as her voluptuous breasts clad in the rough dark green hide hovered above them. Their long muskets dropping onto the ground.
The chatter in the surrounding camp stopped abruptly. All eyes turned to the giantess, bowls of stew dropping on the ground, splashing their contents all over.
"Hikari of RazenHeir" Hikari announced in her usual commanding voice. The force of her vocals ringed outwards, forcing some in the crowd to cover their ears.
The guard right in front of her fell backwards on the ground. His pants bulged and wet.
Hikari could feel the tiny man's heart racing as she stared him down.
"Ugh fine." She arched her back and leaned forward, pushing her breasts outwards.
Groans and moans could be heard from her audience.
Thud! Her boot stomped down right beside the man, kicking up a cloud of dust that stuck onto his uniform.
The soles were big enough to cover his entire body and ground him to paste in an instant.
"Off with the pants." Hikari commanded. Her long hair draped over her shoulders as she leaned forward, her head vertically above the guard trembling on the ground.
She raised both hands to her chests and began compressing them together. The layer of salamander skin and wyvern scales shifted themselves to contain the sudden expansion of volume.
More groans and moans came from her audience, getting loud and more numerous each time she squeezed her chest.
For a brief moment, Hikari could feel Ella's tail flapping about behind her before curling back up into her cloak.
The guard flinched. His fingers clawing away at the sand as he struggled to contain himself. He banged his fist on the ground repeatedly, forcefully turning his head to the side to avoid the massive moons dangling above him.
"Ahhh…!" He cried. With both hands, he tore open his pants revealing his tanned flesh that had been struggling to break feet. A stream of thick viscous liquid shot upwards, reaching the high point of its trajectory two thirds of the way up to Hikari's breasts before splattering back down on the ground.
"May I go now?"
Hikari straightens her back, flicking her hair back behind her shoulders.
The poor guard laid flat on the ground. His pride sticking out for all to see. His tanned skin was completely taken over by the fluster of red. The veins on his neck bulged out as though they were going to burst.
Hikari raised her hand, the wyvern scales fluttered as she channeled a minute amount of mana in her arm. With a gentle wave, a telekinetic push nudged the men wriggling on the ground before her to the side, clearing the way for her.
The two giants continued their march. The road was wide enough for two way wagon traffic was just about wide enough for Hikari to march through.
As they passed by more camps, more and more inhabitants came out of their dwellings, drawn to the commotion their appearance had caused. More groans and moans began filling the air.
They approached the gate house. A deep chasm separated the walls of the fortress from the outside. A draw bridge no wider than the road led in and out of it.
Hikari stopped. A troop of armoured horsemen appeared, flying a standard with a symbol of a stone. They were clad in full steel armour, mana crystals with a green embedded into their swords hoisted on their backs.
The horsemen quickly formed up in a ring around Hikari and Ella, circling around them, kicking up dust as the heavily bred horses stamped their hoofs onto the ground.
One of the horsemen approached them. He had an additional golden strip across the shoulder atop his steel plate.
"Your tricks won't work on us. Our knights have a daily regimen of Hortifern potion. Now identify yourself."
"Hikari of RazenHeir" Hikari controlled her voice more this time.
The knight raises an eyebrow on hearing that name. His subordinate rode up to him and handed him a poster.
The man unrolled the poster and held it up at a slight angle to Hikari, allowing him to glance back and forth between Hikari and the poster.
He tapped his horse with his ankle, getting it to back off two steps before holding up his thumb, closing one eye, seeming to get an estimate of Hikari's size.
"Hrmp, you are bigger than what's described. I can't let you pass yet. Fetch the RazenHeir scoutmaster." The knight turned to his subordinate who nodded in response.
The other knight began riding back across the draw bridge towards the gate. As he reached the center of the draw bridge, another horse galloped past him at break neck's pace, forcing his way into the ring of circling armoured knights before could react.
The horseman unveiled his hood, showing his thick bear and his elated expression.
"Scout master"
"Thank Silora! you are back! You have been gone for a full month. We were just preparing an expedition into the wyvern peaks to find you."
The knight captain waved his hands in the air, the rest of the knights turned around and rode back past the draw bridge.
"Come, her ladyship is anxious to see you back." The scoutmaster turned his horse around and followed the troop of knights.
While on the drawbridge, Hikari turned her eyes to either side and peered down the bottomless chasm extending downwards into endless darkness.
As her boot touched the stone on the other end of the bridge, she felt a sudden rush of information to her head.
The stone is alive? Even through her thick boot soles, she could feel a sudden connection to the stone. The layout of the entire fortress flashes across her mind. She could sense the presence of thousands of inhabitants making tiny shockwaves echoing through the stone as they went about their daily lives.
She felt a gentle tug at her cloak. Ella was prompting her forward as she suddenly stopped just before the gatehouse.
"Right."
They continued. Hikari had to bend forward and duck her head to clear the low gate that was just tall enough for horse wagons.
The area just beyond the gate house was heavily defended by no fewer than a few hundred men. They stood atop the battlements overlooking the gate. Hikari could sense the presence of many hiding in the walls behind tiny slits just wide enough for a musket ball.
The scoutmaster led them along a jagged path which made sudden turns at irregular intervals. At times, Hikari had to slant her body to clear the narrow alleyways along the path.
"Ha, it took a lot of getting used to before you have a decent chance of not getting lost. Even now, we had to send out scouts to find people who got lost."
Her senses tingled as she sensed the familiar trail of RazenHeir flames marking a trail.
"The scouts maintain this one a day, just follow it when it's your turn."
The trio turned into a busy street. They had to stop as there was no space for Hikari to walk through. Several RazenHeir scouts in their tunics and crests pinned on their chest showed up and blocked off the road.
Loud complaints and jeers immediately started pouring in. With two wide strides, Hikari made it to the alleyway opening on the other side that was diagonally across from where she was.
The complaints turned to gasps as Hikari's massive body moved over the crowd line, causing the entire street to freeze up in astonishment.
After several more twists and turns, they reached an area guarded by RazenHeir knights.
At the center leaning against one of the walls, a rumbling stone platform lowered itself and landed just as they entered the encampment.
The scoutmaster dismounted his horse, allowing a stable hand to tend to it.
"Hmm… this might be a bummer. I'm not sure if this thing can support your weight."
Hikari studied the stone structure. She felt the stone itself respond to her presence.
The giantess stepped onto the stone platform that was barely big enough to fit the area of both her boots.
She felt a sudden connection between her and the stone. She could see its entire structure and she could control it.
"It can."
Ella hopped onto the platform and grabbed Hikari's leg. The claws below her briefly revealed themselves.
Hikari turned to look at the scout master.
"Umm…! I think no thanks. Her ladyship is waiting up top." The scout master saw that there was little space for him to squeeze onto the platform and had little interest in being crushed by the gigantic boots.
As the bearded man took out a circular coined shaped stone to activate the platform, it moved on its own to his utter amazement, lifting Hikari upwards into the air.
Click! The platform reached the top. The RazenHeir knights guardian the entrance was startled by the sudden appearance of the giantess.
After a pause, one of the knights ran towards a building and knocked on the wooden door.
"My lady, you should come out here."
Hikari walked off the platform, the RazenHeir knights backed off to make room for her. The male knights were shivering in their pants to the annoyance of their female colleagues.
The door opened and a modest figure emerged. White shirt, black pauldrons, ruby in the middle. Her scarlet red hair contrasted with her deep blue eyes and fair skin. A long red skirt to complement her hair.
She stopped, staring in disbelief at the giantess standing across the square.
She was clad in a thick dark green cloak, wyvern scales showing on her neck and lower leg. Boots thicker than tree trunks, the RazenHeir knights at her knee height.
Twin swords strapped to her back, each taller and more massive than a man.
Long Ruffled silver hair. Her ruby red eyes. Her perfect face, Pinkish fair skin, not a hint of scars nor spots, Perfect proportions.
Her smile.
"Ria.." Hikari's voice sang.
Slowly, Ria took a step towards Hikari. She was visibly shaking.
One step at a time, she approached the giantess. Her head gradually angled backwards to maintain contact with her gaze.
She reached Hikari's boot. Her fist clenched and trembled.
She lifted her head, tears were rolling down her face.
"Where the fuck were you!? Do you know how long you have been missing!?"
Thud! Ria banged her fists on the toe section of Hikari's boot. Her delicate hands swollen from the impact.
"Ria.. I" Before Hikari could say anything, Ria turned around and stomped back towards her room.
"My lady, your hands…" Her maid tried to grab her arm.
Ria violently snapped away her hand. She disappeared into her room, slamming the door behind her.