Chapter 12: The March
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 12: The March
“We’re almost there. We should find a spot sheltered from the wind to make camp. Kruk.”
“Agreed. Even the finest warrior would struggle against a wind like this.”
I nodded at Goff’s words. Thanks to the ‘food’ we’d managed to stockpile, we were able to advance into the north quickly, despite the long march. If I hadn’t heard the announcement that only fifty days of the Tutorial remained, we would have moved at a more leisurely pace. The march took over twenty days, leaving us with just thirty days left in the Tutorial.
Time was incredibly tight.
In any case, no one could have predicted that I, who had only ever known the southern forest, would end up heading north. But now I was beginning to understand why those from the north were known for their ‘grit.’
The biting wind felt like needles on my skin, and my fingers and toes felt like they were about to freeze solid. It was no wonder that those who completed the Tutorial in this environment were so strong. It also made me realize why there were so many Named beastmen among the monsters of the north. They, too, had ‘chosen’ the race best suited for survival.
“Kkireuk… It’s cold… The north is just as cold as they say.”
Murmurs of complaint were starting to spread. I felt a pressing need to start a hunt as soon as we arrived in the north. I knew I had to find a way to vent the clan’s frustrations. The method, of course, was war and battle. It was the Green Skin way of relieving stress and discontent—they were born to love fighting.
As a monster, I was no different. The endless walking had left me feeling irritable and restless.
I slowly turned to check on the state of my clan members. The Goblins and Hobgoblins were managing, their hides a bit thicker than a human’s, but Jung Hayeon was clearly struggling. Mev, who had some elemental resistance to begin with, also seemed to be holding up.
As for Jung Hayeon, she had once been human and was now a plant-type monster; it was only natural she couldn't adapt to the cold. I decided to keep her close to my body. I had no intention of losing a woman I could call a subordinate so senselessly in a place like this.
“Jung Hayeon. Over here.”
“Ah? Ah… Yes! Thank you.”
It goes without saying, but an Orc’s body is much larger than a human’s. Even though Jung Hayeon had evolved into an Alraune, she was still smaller than me. I grabbed her by the waist and pulled her toward me.
“Ah!”
She let out a small cry as she was pulled against me. I wrapped us tightly with the cloth and leaves we'd used for tents. Not only did it help her, but I felt the cold recede a little myself.
It was a bit unsettling that some of the cloth had been stripped from dead humans, but wearing even these rags was far better than freezing. There was no other choice.
I could see the other Goblins had done the same, wrapping themselves tightly in leaves and the clothes of the dead.
“Are you okay?”
“Yes. Thank you.”
Leaving the blushing Jung Hayeon behind me, I started walking again. After walking a little further, I felt the crunch of snow under my feet. We had finally arrived.
“Haa… haa…”
Jung Hayeon was panting heavily, even though she was pressed against my body. When I pulled her closer, I realized why she was breathing so hard.
She’s aroused.
I didn’t know much about the biology of an Alraune, but ever since that first contact—when I’d checked to see if she was ‘real’—she would sometimes get like this around me. I didn’t know if it was an Alraune marking its prey or some kind of Stockholm syndrome, but either way, I had no reason to complain.
I ignored it and kept moving, still holding her. Whether she was conscious of it or not, she continued to rub her body against mine.
It was a welcome distraction during the cold, lonely march. She would subtly press her chest against me, her hands slyly touching my firm body.
With her coming on to me like this, I was getting aroused as well. I was holding her tightly against me with one arm, so she ended up clinging to me like a child.
It was a strange sensation, but I could feel my own body getting damp. I didn't know if she realized it, but her nectar was flowing onto my body.
“Haa… haa…”
As if that wasn’t enough, she started to subtly align her lower body with mine. Thanks to her, my raging erection kept trying to find its way into her petals. I couldn’t tell if she was struggling because of her new monster body or if she was just truly inexperienced, but she was fumbling badly.
I wanted to help, but a mischievous thought came to mind. I looked at Jung Hayeon and openly grinned.
“…………Th…that… I… I’m sorry.”
Her voice was barely a whisper. Hearing that, I spoke with a playful expression.
“Do as you please.”
“Ah… ha… ah… Th… thank you.”
If she were a normal human, she probably wouldn’t have clung to me like this.
She was desperately trying to align the source of her nectar with me, so I subtly pulled my hips back as I walked. When things didn’t go her way, she finally looked up at me, her expression on the verge of tears.
“Pl…please… please. I… I’m begging you.”
I couldn’t tell if she didn’t care because the others around us were just monsters, or if she was simply too aroused to feel any shame, but the pleading look on her face was an absolute masterpiece.
I wasn’t a sadist, but for some reason, this woman stirred a cruel streak in me. Without a word, I lifted my hips and slowly aligned myself with her petals. I had already lowered my pants, setting my member free to greet her.
What greeted me inside her was a sticky, hot fluid. I lowered her body onto mine.
“Ugh… Eup…”
She was bound to scream, so I covered her mouth with my hand, my palm swallowing the sound that erupted from her. Of course, it felt incredibly good inside her.
Without exaggeration, it felt much better than a human’s. I could now understand why, in the past, some crazy humans would risk death just to capture an Alraune. The sticky, hot, and tight sensation inside her was almost impossible to describe.
“Ha… Eup… Ack…”
Regardless of how I felt, she was already enjoying it to the fullest. I hadn’t even begun to move in earnest, yet her eyes were already rolling back, the whites showing as she stared trembling at the sky.
“Eh… Ack…”
With our bodies joined as we walked, every step made her flinch, her arms and waist trembling.
“Hwaaaak!!”
Finally, a loud cry burst from her lips.
“Kki… kkireuk! An enemy!!”
“Hu… human!”
The marching Goblins naturally broke into a commotion. While the other Goblins were all running around noisily, Mev seemed to be looking this way, so I just avoided her gaze.
“Haa… haa…”
Meanwhile, Jung Hayeon was trying to deal with the lingering sensations in her body. Her face was flushed, her expression one of dazed wonder, as if trying to comprehend where she had just been.
“It’s the first time…”
I didn’t specify whether I meant her first orgasm or her first time having intercourse, but she nodded anyway.
“Ye… yes. Thank you.”
She still looked incredulous. I didn’t respond to her expression, simply pulling her body away from mine. I wasn’t certain, but I felt that a small amount of my magic power had been drained.
A normal human without magic would have died instantly from mana exhaustion.
Another reason to evolve. I found myself staring at Jung Hayeon’s body. Green skin. A face unchanged from her human days. A body that could only be described as a weapon. And most importantly, that incredible feeling inside.
“Hmm…”
I hadn’t been able to enjoy it properly while walking, but once we reached our destination and set up camp, I could take that body again. As if sensing my thoughts, Jung Hayeon’s face flushed red again.
I was walking, letting my heated body cool, when it happened.
“A human village. Kkireuk.”
Thinking we might have just found a decent base of operations, I spoke.
“Are there walls?”
“What are walls? I can’t see anything but strange houses that look like they’re made of ice. Kkireuk.”
The very fact that humans had managed to settle in such a harsh environment was a significant advantage for us. It meant they had overcome monster attacks and built a proper settlement. Houses made of ice, no less. I didn’t know if they had a magician, but it looked like they’d built something like the igloos I’d seen on TV.
I couldn’t be sure if they belonged to the Queen of the North’s faction, but it didn’t matter either way. Either way, all the humans in the north were going to die.
It was beginning. The battle the Goff Clan craved…
“Kruk… kruk…”
“Kkireuk… kkireuk!!! Kkireuk!!!!!”
Fueled by the excitement of impending battle, the surroundings instantly erupted in chaos. I felt strength surge into my own arms. Everyone felt the same. We all wanted to warm our frozen bodies with the blood of our enemies.
“Let’s go!!!”
“Kkireuk!!! Kkireuk!!!!!”
As if hoping to evolve into a Drumming Artisan, some nameless goblin began furiously beating a drum made from a wooden barrel and human hide.
“Dung!!! Dung!!! Dung!!!”
It had no rhythm or grace, but the atmosphere grew more and more feverish. Just as the drumming reached a crescendo, Goff of the Goff Clan took the lead, charging toward the enemy.
“Victory or Death!!”
Truly an Orc-like way of thinking. Goff’s voice, sounding as if he’d been born an Orc and not a Goblin, thundered across the snow-covered plains.
“Kkireuk!!!! Victory or Death!!!”
“Victory or Death!! Kkireuk!!”
The stress from the long march seemed to have finally boiled over. The entire group was gripped by a collective madness. There was no formation, no strategy. They trampled over one another, each one desperate to be the first to reach the enemy, charging at full speed. I could even see Goblins who lost their balance, fell, and were trampled to death.
“Waaaaah!!!!!”
“Waaah!!!!!!!”
It was a charge completely devoid of strategy or tactics. It was a brutish, ignorant charge. Against an enemy of similar strength, I thought, a charge like this would have led to certain annihilation. Funnily enough, I was the only one who remained composed. My own subordinates were twitching with anticipation, watching everyone else charge, but since I remained still, they seemed to be waiting for my signal.
“The Blood Dagger Clan moves separately.”
“Kkireuk. Understood.”