Chapter 322: Four Helms Deep
"The capital of Barleona is a fortress," Harold explained in a sonorous voice. We had spent most of the night in the common room of Beatrice's penthouse, arguing over strategy and different plans for the coming invasion. It was nearly morning now, and most people had long since gone about their tasks. Aside from Beatrice and me, Harold was the last one left. A...
2024-03-23 03:11:48 +0000 UTC View PostThe next couple of days after Beatrice's birthday party, the city seemed to be subdued slightly, as if it was tired and everyone was recuperating from the day of exuberance. I didn't mind. It gave me a lot more time to take care of work.
For the moment, I took advantage of the lack of visitors to tend to my arboretum. I vacuumed up the wilt...
2024-03-20 14:00:12 +0000 UTC View PostDaedalus had gotten used to having humans riding on his back. After so much time shuttling Archibald around, it had lost a lot of its demeaning nature. The sheer enthusiasm of the children who wanted to climb on and go for short flights also helped. But those were both special cases. Having other fully-grown adults aboard… Well, it wasn't exactly his favo...
2024-03-18 14:00:09 +0000 UTC View PostArchibald did his best to relax as he stared at the demon across from him. Well, he was pretty sure it was a demon. In fact, if he had to guess, he would have said it was a high-level archfiend based on the nearly immaculate disguise. Immaculate aside from the slightly enlarged shadow and strangely ashen skin, that is.
He had seen their like before, b...
2024-03-17 02:49:38 +0000 UTC View PostBee was exhausted. It had been a very long day, to say the least. Not only that, but the amount of people she had to talk to doubled, if not tripled, compared to the usual. That in itself was impressive. Normally, she was in charge of operating the country, so her whole day was spent talking to nobles, diplomats, and church leaders galore. But today, ever...
2024-03-13 23:52:12 +0000 UTC View PostFor the Glory of Rome: Chronicles of an Isekai'd Legion
/// This is the second story I mentioned I was working on. It should be more fun and lighthearted than EV. I'm posting the first couple chapters and the rest will be available on the Cult member tier when ready.
Its a collaboration with Neviara and it will be up on her Patreon as well, but eventually on my RR account.
... 2024-03-13 04:32:16 +0000 UTC View PostIt was within an hour that Archibald climbed onto Daedalus's back, his things packed and ready to go. Susan and Tony climbed right up after him, bunching up between the large rainbow-tipped spikes along the dragon's neck.
With a brief coiling of muscles, the red dragon launched skyward. Daedalus had been fairly lax about humans riding him ever ...
2024-03-12 22:41:30 +0000 UTC View PostChapter 316: We’re Off To See The Wizard
As I called time, all the contestants put down their cleaning supplies and stepped back. A moment later, I warmed up my sensors. It was time to judge the window cleaning competition.
I was doing the judging right on the spot for the finalists, but I had a suspicion of who was already going to win. Jared Kay was a jeweler, and his skills at ...
2024-03-11 02:34:26 +0000 UTC View PostBee tried to slink back into her seat as the Harkonnestan delegate approached. She didn't have anything against the pudgy man. He seemed polite enough, even if he spoke with a strange accent. But she really didn't want to talk to anyone at the moment.
She had just gotten away from hours of people constantly wishing her a happy birthday ...
2024-03-08 15:11:38 +0000 UTC View PostHarold resisted the urge to wipe his sweaty palms on his jacket. It was a nervous tic he was developing, one that he could ill afford.
He spared a discreet glance over his shoulder. The street was crowded, but he could still pick out a few distinct faces that he recognized from a couple of minutes ago. They trailed behind him, inconspicuous except ...
2024-03-06 22:57:10 +0000 UTC View PostAfter Beatrice got her birthday breakfast, I left her alone to eat and went about several of the plans I had made for the day. As I was leaving, I took an extra second to check over the apartment with my System Diagnostics skill.
Over the years, I'd pulled in a lot of experience from my followers and their levels. It allowed me to reach level 93 and ear...
2024-03-05 04:32:39 +0000 UTC View PostBee cracked her eyes open with a groan as she slowly woke up. For a long moment, the comforting embrace of sleep wrapped around her, suggesting very kindly that she snuggle down for just a little longer. But then, she remembered. Today was a big day, even if she wasn't exactly looking forward to it.
The tradition was never supposed to ha...
2024-03-04 01:35:23 +0000 UTC View PostI didn't partake in the feast that night. Well, unless you call cleaning up the occasional crumb "partaking." Still, I did enjoy my time hanging around and cleaning up any minor messes from the tables. They were relatively well-mannered for humans, which meant there was even less for me to do, but it was the little things. Even purifying the air as I ...
2024-03-01 22:20:59 +0000 UTC View PostIt took a moment for Bee to get through the initial rounds of greetings, though not as long as she'd feared. Soon enough, she made her way over to Tony and Susan just as Void left to speak with the Nightly Knights.
Tony gave her a wave. "Hey, Bee! Wow, don't I feel popular with all these bigwigs coming to see me all of a sudden?"
Susan snorted. "You're kind ...
2024-02-28 20:34:06 +0000 UTC View PostWhen we arrived at the castle, it felt as though every last person in it was waiting for us. Which made sense, as we'd sent word ahead a week before we had left. It had taken some time to prepare for an extended absence for both Beatrice and me. So, they were expecting us.
Beatrice flew a little bit ahead of me, but I quickly passed her as I ...
2024-02-28 05:50:47 +0000 UTC View PostI stared at the father-daughter combo. Well. That was unexpected. Still, it made me even more proud of Beatrice. She had been so afraid of talking to her father, and yet here she was, reprimanding him for his mess. The man looked sufficiently chastened, so I wouldn't reprimand him too much, but I did want to express my displeasure.
So I beeped at Beatric...
2024-02-24 20:00:21 +0000 UTC View PostThe familiar sight of Bee's family home loomed in front of her like a dragon guarding a pile of gold. It was a fairly apt comparison, she knew, after seeing Daedalus up close. She walked down the paved path to the front door and raised the knocker. An instant after it fell, the family's butler, Chives, opened the door and welcomed her with a bow.
"Mis...
2024-02-23 17:01:24 +0000 UTC View PostBee walked into the city ahead of a small contingent of her people. To her surprise, the city guards were already hard at work, clearing a path through the busy streets toward the governor's mansion.
Arthur, having left his second in charge of setting up camp outside the city walls, brought a squad of bodyguards along, but they were almost entirely u...
2024-02-22 02:47:19 +0000 UTC View PostI had more than enough time to finish the wall. We didn't leave the next day or even the one after that. There was apparently a lot Beatrice had to take care of, which was fine with me. I even had time to add decorative filigree on all the crenellations along the wall, as well as those towers made of perfect crystal. They each rose 50% higher than the wall.<...
2024-02-19 15:00:09 +0000 UTC View PostIt turned out that the things Beatrix wanted to talk about were actually rather useful. While she was gone, the city itself had done well enough, but there was a larger kingdom as a whole to worry about.
Already, a lot of the kingdom's systems were starting to fracture without the leadership they were used to. Some of the duchies had started ...
2024-02-17 22:21:48 +0000 UTC View PostEscaping Valhalla
/// A little bit ago I mentioned that there were two stories I was working on. This is the more serious one, the dumb one isn’t quite ready yet but I’m making progress. I’m going to dump the first three chapters here and I hope to hear what you think.
Miles is in Valhalla, and it sucks.
Every day, he fights to the death with 8th-century b...
2024-02-17 22:18:02 +0000 UTC View PostAs soon as I felt my favorite human approach, I abandoned my latest project and soared up high in the sky, locking onto her position. I took off as fast as possible without shattering the windows, leaving a slight roar in my wake.
As soon as I pulled up beside Beatrice, I excitedly started explaining my most recent project. I didn't even bother...
2024-02-16 17:32:51 +0000 UTC View PostBee was a bit ashamed that she had taken so long to figure out her new skill. As it turned out, it wasn't nearly as hard as she was making it out to be. It was just a lot grosser.
Getting things back out had taken a little bit of practice and a few empty stomachs. But now she was able to reach into her throat and pull out pretty much anything. Luckily, her...
2024-02-15 04:17:30 +0000 UTC View PostBee followed Maranda out of the lab. She wasn't sure what help the girl was referring to or who could help her with such an odd skill. But at this point, she was willing to try almost anything.
It was with equal parts surprise and chagrin that Bee followed Maranda into the Nighty Knights' training area. Of course. That was something she should have...
2024-02-13 03:21:07 +0000 UTC View PostBy the time Susan and I got Tony outside, he had mostly figured out his floating and was able to move around at a brisk walk. Luckily, he didn't need to move any faster than that, as most of the demons ran away screaming when they saw him.
We avoided running into anything super powerful, or perhaps it was more accurate to say that they avoided us...
2024-02-11 02:46:50 +0000 UTC View PostBee felt her shoulders relax as her fingers ran through the carpet beneath her. The wind tossed her hair back, but not nearly as fiercely as it could have, whipping it about her face. Her enchanted rug moved at a steady pace as she left the capital behind.
She wasn't in a rush to get to the castle, but she could still get there in less than a da...
2024-02-11 02:45:59 +0000 UTC View PostBee watched as Zeal and his followers slowly marched from the city. Her position on the wall gave her an ample view as they walked off into the distance, the long line leaving a trail of dust floating in the air. A trail that the white-robed cultists avidly tried to stifle with wet clothes.
She had better things to do than stand here and watch, but sh...
2024-02-09 15:00:10 +0000 UTC View PostI launched over the wall and scanned the city, looking for the unfortunate man who had the poor sense to knock over a wine glass. I sure hoped he didn't get any of the nasty stuff on his shirt. That would have been a travesty. Stains like that never come out. At least they didn't used to. I was pretty sure I could fix those by now, depending on how old...
2024-02-07 15:44:19 +0000 UTC View PostI didn't understand why Beatrice was having so many problems with her new skill. I watched as she focused on her breath again, her brow furrowed, and her eyes narrowed. Air rushed to fill her chest as she attempted to breathe in. But as her lungs inflated, she shook her head and frowned before resetting back to her previous position.
She had explained...
2024-02-06 06:17:04 +0000 UTC View Post"What?" Bee asked, surprised as she looked at Daedalus. "How is it worse than we thought? At most, the demons have some human allies."
Daedalus shook his head. Archibald held his hand out and waggled it side to side.
"I mean, yes and no. You see, back when we first fought them, the demons weren't alone. They had help - humans like us were forced t...
2024-02-05 02:55:29 +0000 UTC View Post