3 days since the last chapter...

Succubus homeland, Research facility

 

In modern rifles, there existed a debate that would be enough to make the best of friends turn into hated enemies. Rex had seen friendships fall apart at the arms manufacturing plant, he had also seen relationships left in fiery ruins over it. This question was where you should load the magazine on your assault rifle.

 

This might seem like an incredibly foolish question, however, there were two very popular configurations. The standard configurations like an AR-15, or an AK-47. You have a stock, a grip, then a magazine well. The other configuration was called bullpup and featured the action behind the trigger, the P90, Famas, AUG, and F2000 were all popular firearms that featured this design.

 

A lot of people may not realize what the most attractive feature of this design is, but Rex was currently having to strongly consider it. Right now he was measuring a female fox beastmen to design weapons for her race. The issue he kept running into was how he could make it both quick to maneuver, but short enough that it wouldn't catch on anything. These qualities became much more important when dealing with beastmen.

 

“Shaya, it is 13 inches or 33 centimeters.” Rex told the little succubus holding a clipboard.

 

Rex was using blocks to stand over a fox beastmen who was currently on all fours, he was taking measurements.

 

“The spine is 32 inches, 82 centimeters.” Rex reported as he leaned forward.

 

This was the last measurement he needed.

 

“Alight, you can come out Lunas.” He told the fox, as he stood up straight.

 

The image of a gun was starting to come together in his head, when a large bushy bulk slammed into his back, causing him to lose his balance. He found himself pitching forward, as the blocks he was standing on slipped out from under him. His two legs went over the sides of the Fox without any problem, the issue was her sharp, bony spine.

 

Rex felt the air being driven out of his lungs as if he had been hit with a hammer. A look of grief appeared on his face, as his hands reached pointlessly for his waist before he pitched himself onto the ground. Rex had learned this lesson as a child, foxes were not meant to ride. The joints in their spine were perfectly developed to trap a human's nuts right between them, this would then allow the human's pelvis to act as a hammer.

 

“Are you okay?” The shy little succubus asked him.

 

Rex was currently staring at the ceiling, he was pale as a ghost, as he took deep heaving breaths. It felt like his stomach was being violently squeezed.

 

“I wanna die!” He wheezed out between deep breaths.

 

Shaya looked shocked at the man on the ground.

 

“What did you say?!” She said, as she got ready to take notes for Kira.

 

Rex could only imagine the damage that notes like that would have if they reached her big sister's ears.

 

“I said I am fine, I feel great!” Rex said as he forced a smile onto his face and shakily got to his legs.

 

Lunas stood back onto her legs and looked at Rex with some annoyance on her face. He had starched her shirt out when he was rubbing against it.

 

Lunas stood taller than Rex did, even without her pointy ears on top of her head. She had Red fur that turned to black, as it made its way down her arms and legs, the tips of her ears and tail were white, with an orange shade along her stomach. She wore a light green t-shirt that was polyester and cotton blend that was very stretchy. She wore a similar material that had been fashioned into a short pair of leggings in black.

 

Compared to Rex; she had a very slender frame, and was very tall, very different from the short, chubby Greko.

 

“Can I see your hands, Lunas?” He asked her.

 

She nodded before she pushed them out to him.

 

Rex smiled at her in gratitude, as he reached forward and began feeling them through her fur.

 

“How big are your hands compared to other males and females?” He asked her.

 

Rex already knew that female fox beastmen were bigger than the males, this was fairly uncommon in mammals.

 

“I wasn't much bigger than my sister, but I was a bit larger than normal. Our hands are all about the same size, at least I think so?” She wasn't too certain, but that was fine.

 

“Shaya, 5 digits for fox beastmen, she falls into a similar category as a standard youth succubus mold.” He told his little attendant.

 

She looked down and immediately began to take notes on her plastic clipboard. Rex made it a point to always use her name as much as possible. This was because most succubi didn't do this, they didn't want their children to develop a strong sense of personality. A strong sense of personality only hurt a succubus, who was often trying to hide among their prey. It took him a long time to realize that this was the main reason they were all so casual to each other.

 

“Alright, thank you for helping me with this. I will use this information to create some weapons for your people, in exchange, I want to be able to trade with you in the future.” Rex told them. “I know that beastman society is much different than the elves, but that is fine. As long as you can become beast kings in name, I can level the power difference with weapons.”

 

Lunas had a very determined expression on her face, she had been preparing herself for this for a while. She was captured as a child with her sister, the elves had skinned her sister to make clothing with her fur. Lunas originally believed this too would be her fate too, she had already lost hope that her tribe would help her out. When she had lost even the will to live, she was then purchased by the succubus, Dora. This young fox had then spent a large portion of time with the succubi, this was not good for her.

 

The succubi had been carefully trying to redesign themselves as a species over the years. They had originally needed to hide among other races, they lived very simply and almost humbly. This had all changed over the last few years, and they had started to develop as a species. They had an almost militant culture, this was an evolution of their predatory nature. They also had a strong competitive streak that had appeared in their efforts to stand out among all their sisters.

 

You could tell a lot about a succubus, by whether or not they wore pants. Dora was a prime example, she wore a dress to hide all of the explosives that she kept strapped to her legs. This was how you could tell if the succubus was more of a warrior or a rogue. They all could use charm magic, but how they went about killing their enemies told you a lot about them.

 

All of these strong female traits had been slowly rubbing onto the young, impressionable fox beastwomen. The proof of this could be seen in the excitement in her eyes when she thought of having her guns. Rex had no idea of the kind of thoughts that were currently running through this young female foxes mind.

 

“Don't worry, I know what to do, Sister Kira has taught me everything I need to know!” She told Rex with a burning determination in her eyes.

 

Lunas had often heard of the struggles of the fox beastmen since she was a young kid. She had come to her conclusions for why the foxes were seen as the weakest of the predators, one that would make Rex appalled.

 

Our men are too weak! We don't need them for anything but breeding!

 

When she compared the situation of the foxes with her newfound sisters the succubi, this is the conclusion she came to. Why were the female foxes bigger than the men? It was obvious that nature had intended them to do all of the fighting and gathering, their weak husbands could take care of the den and care for their children. When she saw Rex and Kira, she saw the perfect example that all fox men should try to follow.

 

She looked at the man wearing a white wig made from polar bear hair, and with his thick angry eyebrows.

 

Why can't those stupid, smelly creatures be more like this?!

 

He bathed almost every day, he made weapons and clothes, and he even helped clean the den! This was the shining example of what every fox beastman should be like in the future, Lunas made this her goal. Kira even needed to keep guards around to protect him when she wasn't around, and he didn't try to fight her on it. He had none of that useless pride and bluster. How could she be expected to fight to her fullest if she had to constantly worry about her husband?

 

Rex had no idea these kinds of thoughts were spinning around in this female fox's head, he just knew that she was happy for two of them. In truth, he and Welch were just good friends, but this seemed to upset Kira. Rex felt that Kira constantly acting out of her jealousy was the main catalyst for why Welch felt so happy to be around him, she could feel like she was spiting Kira.

 

“Alright, I will leave your training to Kira then, best of luck to the two of you.” Rex told Greko and Lunas with a smile.

 

Lunas smiled and nodded with a determined expression, but Greko looked as if he was being sentenced to the grim reaper.

 

“Are you sure this is even possible? There has never been a mouse beast king before!” He began to protest, but Rex stopped him.

 

Rex was certain that it was possible, he was certain that it would become the most powerful beast king.

 

“Wait till you see the weapons I am designing, then you will start to understand it.” Rex told the mouse that was hesitant. “When you see the weapons and use them, then you will see it is only a matter of time.”

 

Lunas then added her own opinion, as she grabbed the mouse and began dragging him out of the large lab.

 

“Kira already told us that the succubi would probably also be using these guns, so you know they will be good! Stop worrying so much!” Lunas scolded him as they left the lab.

 

Rex smiled at the two beastmen, as he made his way over to the blueprints he was making, these would be the new weapons for the beastmen. It was one of three that he was designing.

 

“Why does the magazine load into the stock?” Shaya asked him.

 

Rex looked over at the succubus and decided to use this as a teaching opportunity.

 

“Let's say I have two barrels for two guns that are both rifled the same way, one is 14 inches, and one is 18 inches. They both fire the same caliber bullet, which will be more accurate?” Rex asked her.

 

“Won't they fire the same?” She said with hesitation.

 

“No, you get more velocity from a longer barrel, it has more time for the pressure to build and push the ammunition. This will affect the accuracy of the shot.” Rex told her.

 

Shaya looked at him confused.

 

“But, isn't this a shotgun?” She asked.

 

“That's right.” He nodded, as he looked at the gun blueprint.

 

“Didn't you only design it like this because the mousemen have such short arms?” She asked.

 

Rex looked at the semi-automatic shotgun in front of him, it was a bullpup design. An 8 round magazine was slotted into the stock of the gun. At 24 inches, 16 inches of it was the barrel. It was tiny by modern standards but was chambered to a powerful 8 gauge round.

 

“That's right.” Rex agreed again.

 

“What does the other gun do?” Shaya asked him.

 

The other gun had a large drum, but it was very short.

 

“It's a grenade launcher, it's for launching the gas and explosives.” Rex told her as he looked at it proudly.

 

A mouseman had very short limbs, their arms reminded Rex of an infant. They were stronger than him physically, but they had comical proportions when compared to a human. That is why this grenade launcher looked like a short, stubby revolver.

 

When you spun the large drum to reload the gun, it stored the energy to work the action using a spring. It looked like a pistol grip attached to a large 8 cylinder drum with a large, short barrel, it also had a small forward grip for the foxmen, the mousemen would have to use it as a pistol with the folding stock that folded over the top.

 

“What about this thing?” Shaya asked in wonder.

 

“That is called an RPG, or rocket-propelled grenade.” Rex walked up and pointed to the front portion. “This large pointed portion at the front is the explosive payload. When you shape an explosive like C4, the blast concentrates and creates a stream of energy called plasma. Plasma is the final state of matter, and it will melt through almost anything.”

 

The Russian RPG-7 was a very well-known weapon design. Rex had modeled this weapon to be similar to it, but it had a glaring difference from the original.

 

“This long stem here is filled with the fuel mixture, it is quite powerful.” Rex commented.

 

An RPG-7 was incapable of firing without the tube, but this used a liquid fuel instead of a solid one. Without the tube to give it away to build the pressure necessary, a person who was in good physical shape was capable of setting one-off in your hand and easily holding onto it. These rockets he made were much too strong for that to be possible. The base of the fuel was kerosene, the same thing used to propel rockets into space. Kerosene, alcohol, hydrazine sulfate, and pure hydrogen peroxide, this was almost enough to get you into space.

 

Rex didn't want to see any of his friends die, and that included Lunas and Greko. Rex felt like things didn't become real until he saw it with his own eyes. The two of them were heading to a battlefield, and he wanted to see them in the future. This weapon was meant to be the answer to a dangerous situation with a dangerous foe. The image of a creature larger than Borscht appeared in his head, it was a giant green lizard coming from the sea.

 

This will be strong enough to cause a tank to be shredded into little pieces!

 

This weapon used a lot more C4 than a standard RPG-7, almost twice the amount. He had to use liquid fuel to be able to carry all of the weight, this had the side effect of making the rocket fly fast and burn hot.

 

“Why does it have a shield attached to it?” Shaya asked him.

 

“To protect the user from getting burned from the fuel in the rocket. When it fires, it will release a stream of fire out of the back that is incredibly hot, this shield directs that heat up and over the user when the rocket leaves the tube.” Rex explained.

 

A Javelin was a modern rocket system that launched the rocket into the air before its fuel was ignited. This was much safer to the user than what Rex had created, Rex's rocket was designed to fly fast and hit hard. He designed two versions of each weapon. A traditional bolt carrier design that was meant to use a primer and brass cartridge, then the succubus version that was enchanted.

 

The beastmen version would use purely chemical and technical knowledge, this would be the hardest for them to copy. Without an electron microscope to tell you exactly what is in a compound and how it is formed, good luck trying to figure out what it is comprised of. No one would be able to copy any of these technologies in a short period, probably not even in a hundred years. The succubus versions of the weapons were enchanted, he was also planning to make a crappier version of the current succubus rifle for the foxes.

 

The mousemen were all shortsighted, their weapons required no aiming whatsoever. The foxes were the opposite and had great eyesight like the succubi, they were also fast and agile. The mousemen would have the poison gas, and the foxes would have the RPG. This way they would be able to help each other in times of need. This was possible because the territories of the two were usually found right next to each other. Rex wanted to turn these creatures who were normally enemies, into the staunchest of friends.

 

“Won't they betray us once they have the weapons?” Shaya asked in confusion.

 

“They can't, they will be dependent on us for their ammunition and other commodities. This will be the basis for an even closer relationship over time.” Rex explained.

 

An image appeared in his head of the leaders of multiple countries gathering and shaking hands with smiles on their faces. The scene in the backdrop read a single word “NATO,” and it was a large political event. The leaders of many nations stood side by side, showing a unified front.

 

The mousemen were rodents, they were considered the most useless beastman. Their short limbs were useless in a fight, and they had very short life expediencies. The fox beastmen were in a different situation altogether, they were the weakest combat species of beastmen. This meant they were treated as cannon fodder, they also may not escape the fate of being eaten by one of the stronger races. This put the foxes in a shitty position, they were just strong enough to contribute but too weak to get anything substantial.

 

Just like the succubi! It'll be perfect!

 

Rex would later come to despair what the foxes would build, any man would.

 

-

Meanwhile...

A large keep built into the side of a mountain, A guest room

 

The Demon Lord had kept this title since he first came to this world from another dimension, leading the original 100 demon races. This number had dwindled to 17 after they had chosen to expel the succubi. The reason they had decided to expel the creatures was because of a certain vampire's grudge. That vampire was the head of the Corvollin clan, a man who was once a high elf.

 

Most of the existing races would think of the high elves in fear, as an advanced magical society. Only Allyn Corvollin knew that not all high elves were created equal. Some could be high artificers, while some could barely get by as woodcarvers. This had been the life that Allyn Corvollin had led before he was bitten by a four-armed freak and became a vampire. That had been the moment that had changed his life, as he was much more intelligent than his captor.

 

From being one of many thralls to the only original vampire left, had been a game of constantly outwitting his foes. Allyn did not doubt that he had easily outplayed all of his enemies and emerged the victor at the time. He then returned for the love of his life and had her join him as the matriarch of his clan. This was the first time he had gotten the sensation of bliss that came from stepping on his former allies. Even now he was working his way to the top of the demon ranks, and he felt it was only a matter of time before he was the one called demon lord.

 

Sitting on a large bed in the carved-out stone room, he could smell the scent of hot springs that provided water to the large bathroom. The bed was a large sheet of a special type of cloth that looked like a sponge. These beds were relics that came with the ruin when the demons took it over. The original creatures who inhabited this large keep looked like hairless monkeys with a magical crystal embedded in their forehead, they also possessed a long hairless tail.

 

It was said that they had kept the skaarm and beastmen as pets, this changed when the demons appeared in the middle of their capital during an event that had their royal family walking the streets. The demons got lucky and managed to take out the head of the nation in a single day, then it started to collapse. This race had all kinds of advanced magical technology, but a very corrupt command structure. This meant that when the royal family fell, they all began fighting among each other. It was said they later fled underground and slowly devolved into the dwarves.

 

Allyn was a tall, well-built individual. He had all of the classic traits of a high elf if you ignored his blood-red eyes. The high elves had mana that ran in their very blood, this had made their veins glow a pale blue through their skin, it also affected their eyes. Allyn had lost these traits when he became a vampire, he just had long blonde hair and fair skin.

 

His wife stood in front of him wearing a formal dress, as she smiled at him gently. She reached forward and placed her hands on his face.

 

“I am always in awe of how handsome you are, I think of this every single day.” Her smile grew wider as she leaned forward and kissed him passionately. Breaking the kiss, she blushed lightly, as she smiled at him. “I am so lucky to have you as a husband in this life.”

 

Allyn wasn't sure how he should feel about her care. She had always been a devoted woman, so devoted it was scary. She only ever thought about helping him achieve all of his objectives at any cost.

 

“I know it is just a matter of time before you become the new demon lord, you just need the right opportunity.” She said, as her eyes filled with warmth. “I have full confidence that you will be able to do it!”

 

Allyn watched as she stood up straight and fixed her dress over her frail body, she then made her way out of the room that the two of them shared. He looked around the room he found himself in and admired the size of it, the whole thing was incredibly lavish. The head of the vampire clan had one son and two daughters, but he would never bring any of his children here ever again. That instance had been a mistake that ruined his precious son, and lead him far astray.

 

Not even 15 minutes after she had left, he could hear her muffled voice through the wall. She was talking with another loud male voice, she seemed to be very excited as they were chatting. Allyn could remember when this had started, the demon lord had taken a fancy to his wife. His wife decided to use her body to assist her husband to the best of her ability.

 

“Ahhhn! Oh Demon Lord!” her voice moaned out coquettishly through the wall.

 

Allyn felt his teeth start to grind, and his nails dug into his palms tightly. Even to this very day, he did not enjoy this in the least. It was the most humiliating thing he ever had to endure! He could feel his breath starting to hitch, as he felt his anger continuing to rise.

 

“Oh, Demon God! It is huge! Split me in half, Demon Lord!” She yelled out in an aggressive voice.

 

Their stays had lasted longer and longer, this was because Allyn's plans had been slowly failing. He felt like he was currently spinning his tires with what was happening. His wife had helped him expel the succubi from the demons by tossing away their island. Allyn thought if he narrowed the playing field, the vampires would stand out more, and become more important. Instead, the elves had increased their internal scrutiny, this made the vampires stand out like a sore thumb instead.

 

This meant that the doppelgangers were forced to send in larger numbers of their small population to make up the difference. Currently, an entire quarter of their entire race was being deployed into the elven lands for intelligence. This was because the vampires kept getting rooted out and executed.

 

“Yes! Yes! Yes! Nnnngh!” He could hear his wife's excited moans.

 

Now the demon lord had ordered Allyn to get the succubi back on their side, that was because they needed the information in their hands. While they had some of the strongest forces, they had the smallest numbers out of the major factions. This meant they had to perfectly utilize their powerful races to get any kind of advantage.

 

The succubi had somehow disappeared from the demon's detection, this was throughout the entire elven lands. This had also happened in the beastmen plains. Even Allyn was stumped at how Kera had managed to do it.

 

All signs of their occupation just disappeared, no unnatural deaths were being caused by them. This had shocked Allyn almost into hysteria when it started 6 years ago, and now the only location they knew of was the island they all lived on. The demon lord had ordered Allyn to appeal to the succubi and try to get them back. He wanted to put the entire race under his heel because he blamed them for corrupting his precious son.