South of Highgreen mostly consisted of patches of jungles and rivers formed from the snowmelt up north. Kanae had only been here once during her five-year conquest of No Man's Land, and she didn't see hobgoblins or any of the like at the time. It didn't seem feasible that Gabrul's horde came all the way from Hellfire Badlands to settle here either. There were, however, a lot of smaller dark elven villages and tribes.

Those settlements were much less developed than the city of Highgreen. The elves around these parts lived modestly off the land, wanting little to do with becoming part of the Commonwealth but never unwelcoming to visitors and trade.

Kanae and her party chanced upon a lake. Fishermen were catching freshwater fishes with multi-pronged spears. An old dark elven man, knee-deep in water, waved to them.

"Hello, travelers! Are you from Highgreen?" he asked.

"We're here to help with the hobgoblin problem. Has your village been attacked lately?" Kanae returned the question.

Many of the elves stopped fishing. They turned to the older elf, and Kanae had a feeling that he was their leader or some kind of respected elder.

"My name is Odoko. Our village is nearby. Please, follow me! I'll explain when we're there." Odoko trudged out of the river and picked up his bucket of fish.

The rest of the elves stayed put to continue fishing. When Kanae glanced into the river, it was brimming with shimmering schools of aquatic animals. With spring upon them and the snow melting from the northern mountains, the rivers had widened to accommodate plenty of fish. Now was the time to catch them.

Odoko led them to a cozy village where his people lived in tents and wore leathers made from dire beast pelts. The elves shared the same geometric aesthetics as their city counterparts on clothing, tattoos, and decorations. There couldn't have been more than at least 50 residents living here, including the ones who were out fishing.

They entered a small, round tent that was cramped for all five of them and sat around an unlit bundle of firewood. The only things beneath their butts were coarse pelts. Arenade shifted uncomfortably and groaned.

"Now where did I put my flint and tinder?" Odoko asked himself as he searched the tent.

"Esta?" Kanae gestured to the wood.

The drakeling gladly lit a fire with her breath, and soon the tent filled with warmth.

"Whew. I thought we were gonna have to be the ones to start a fire again." Edina dropped backwards flat onto her back to rest.

Odoko skewered each fish and staked them in the ground next to the fire to roast. Everyone was already drooling.

"I thought Highgreen had forsaken us when we didn't hear back from them. Yes, the hobgoblins have been a menace. They haven't been too violent. Neither this nor the other villages have lost any lives to their attacks. The thing is… how do I say this? They seem… inept at raiding," Odoko explained.

"What is that supposed to mean? You didn't need our help to begin with?" Arenade pouted.

"We do! Their assaults are incredibly inconvenient. They just don't know how to fight but try to do so anyway," he said, much to their confusion. "See, many of us supply Highgreen and other cities in the north with fish. It is mating season, so countless species of fish have already spawned upstream. We catch mature fish on their way back down to the lakes. The hobgoblin's bothersome attacks, though ineffective, still keep us from catching what we need. What Highgreen needs as well."

Hobgoblin attacks that were inept and ineffective? 

"Hey, Arenade. Look at this!" Edina picked up a cooked fish and breathed the life of undeath into it. She lifted it up to Arenade's face, and the undead fish wriggled helplessly in its skewer. A stiff, flopping mouth echoed with the necromancer's voice. "Eaaaat meee… Eaaaat meeee!"

"You just killed my appetite, bitch!" Arenade channeled magic into her dryadic staff, raising vines from the ground to mummify Edina.

"MMMMPH! MRRPH?!" The necromancer struggled just as helplessly as her undead fish.

"Are you four really adventurers from Highgreen and not a traveling band of comedians?" Odoko asked them.

"I guarantee you, we're actually seasoned adventurers…" Kanae put a hand to her face and sighed.

Odoko gave them a general direction to investigate, and they set out after eating their fill of cooked fish. Since a jungle was no place to ride a horse, Kanae had to leave Titan behind at the tribe. Though, he didn't seem too opposed to it. The villagers and children, who had never seen a demonic steed before, found him a very curious sight and fed him plenty of fresh fish to eat.

"Master, when Odoko explained that the hobgoblin were bad in their attacks, I believe it is highly likely they are without a chieftain. Hobgoblins without a leader tend to become very disorganized," Esta said.

"Is that even possible? Wouldn't one of them have just overpowered the rest and proclaimed themself the leader?" Kanae asked.

"Psh. Unless there ain't a single one of them strong enough to." Edina shrugged while gnawing down the rest of her fish.

Their only lead was to begin at a large stream of water and follow it downstream, and that was exactly what they did. To no surprise, they came across another group of elven fishermen. These guys weren't using spears though, and instead cast nets to catch their prey.

Kanae was about to ask them about the hobgoblins when a stroke of luck hit.

"Attaaaaaack!" a gravelly voice exclaimed.

Red and orange-skinned hobgoblins charged out of the woods, wielding primitive spears and stone axes. When the elves saw them coming, they dropped their fishing equipment and booked it.

"There they are! You bastards are the reason I'm out here with mud in my shoes and ants crawling up my legs! Holy Armament: Sword and Shield!" Arenade armed herself stampeded ahead of them.

The ten hobgoblins screeched to a halt on their heels.

"Retreeeaaaaat!" another hobgoblin yelled.

"Already?!" Kanae gasped.

They ran for their lives with Arenade chasing them back into the forest.

"I thought hobs were more… you know, GRAAAHH and WAARGHH! But if those punks had tails, it would be tucked between their legs right now," Edina said.

Something exploded in the direction of Arenade and the hobgoblins. A column of holy energy fired into the sky. Flocks of birds nesting in the trees flew away in panic. Some poor dire wolf caught in the crossfire howled and whimpered.

"Why is it that Arenade is only ever serious when it comes to her comfort?" Esta asked.

"Well, we can consider it her limiter. I, for one, think it makes her easier to handle. Anyway, let's catch up. Maybe she's already defeated the hobgoblins," Kanae insisted.

The trio found Arenade looming over the hobgoblins, who were groveling at her feet. A sorry sight, especially when Kanae recalled how strong and arrogant the race were in the badlands.

"They didn't put up much of a fight. What do you want to do with them? Send them to meet the Supreme One?" Arenade suggested.

"We're sorry! Please, don't kill us!" one of the hobs cried.

"Let's try and resolve this peacefully first. Hobgoblins are a rare sight in the Commonwealth. Where did you all even come from?" Kanae asked.

"F-From Varu! After our chieftain passed away, we migrated north in search of green pastures," a smaller hob said.

After getting a good look at them, they appeared to be young hobgoblins. Older than her daughters, but younger than herself. Not a single one of them had a hair on their chest or face.

"Hey, Kanae. Can't you just mind-voodoo them to fuck off?" Edina whispered.

"I can't. Hobgoblins are one of the few races immune to succubus charm," Kanae said.

"For real? Alright, well. If ya can't tame 'em, kill 'em and raise 'em!" The necromancer opened a portal to pull out a familiar scythe, which she lowered to their necks.

All of the hobs went pale as a ghost. One of them fainted.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa!" She yanked Edina back. "Just because I can't charm them, doesn't mean you should kill them! More importantly, is that the Scythe of Soul Reaping from Cantu's domain? Where did you get that?"

When they ventured into Necro Lord Cantu's tomb, Edina had made the decision to destroy the scythe and free the trapped souls. That thing shouldn't be intact anymore, yet there it was in the necromancer's other hand.

"Hehe. Like it? I got it back a while ago. Asked Chappy to help me reforge it, and sheesh did that knowledge cost an ass railing. Makes creating death knights easier. I don't have to go searching the abyss for souls. I can just carve it out of people to shove into the body of a death knight," Edina explained to Arenade's horror.

"You're an abomination to everything I stand for!" Arenade groaned.

"I never said I was a good guy!" the squirreling retorted.

"Okay, well…" Kanae shoved Edina into Esta's arms. "Keep the soul-harvesting necromancer there, please."

"Yes, Master." Esta hugged Edina to her chest like a stuffed animal.

"Lemme go! I'm the greatest necromancer to ever walk this world, not some puppy to be cradled!" she cried.

As Kanae walked up to the ten hobgoblins, they cowered beneath her shadow.

"If you want to keep your lives, you're going to stop attacking villages. My necromancer friend here would like you to resist, so she can raise you into undeads that will obey. Do I make myself clear?" Kanae asked menacingly.

"B-B-But how will we decide who our next chieftain will be?" a female hob asked.

"Talk it out, play rock-papper-scissors, I don't know! Do anything that doesn't involve hurting other people," she exclaimed.

The hobs exchanged glances with one another, then turned to Arenade.

"That one is strong. She is our chieftain now," one said.

"Say what? Me?" Arenade pointed to herself. "Heh. Well, I wouldn't object to more followers!"

"Quit fooling around and just tell them to stop attacking villages already!" Kanae yelled.

"Fine, fine! You heard the lady. You're not just hobgoblins anymore. You're citizens of the Commonwealth of Sin. That means, no attacking your fellow citizens and learning to trade with them instead. Got it?"

They agreed, not that any of them had a choice in the matter. With that matter settled, the next on the list was the ogres and hallucinations in Hollow Glades.

"Why don't we split up for the next two? We'd finish a lot faster," Kanae suggested.

"Don't tell me. You are picking the ogres, so you can get fucked by them." Arenade folded her arms.

"No… maybe…" she muttered.

"I'm going to the ogres, too!" Edina shot a hand up. "Kanae promised I could put them down and raise them if they were violent."

"I would also prefer to stay by Master's side," Esta added.

Arenade's folded arms flew out to the side.

"That means I'm going alone to deal with the hallucinations? Fine!" She hopped onto Titan in a huff and left.

"I know leaving my side is tough, Esta, but can you go with Arenade and make sure she stays out of trouble?" Kanae asked.

"Very well. Arenade is to be your future wife after all. That means it is my duty to look after her safety as much as yours." Esta offered a bow before following after the tantruming elf.

"Looks like it's just you and me, buddy." Edina high-fived Kanae, and the two of them soared out of the jungle eastward to look for the ogres.

Much of the land between Highgreen and Talahurah was just a vast, wide stretch of tundra. The snow had pretty much receded into the mountains by this time of the year, leaving the ground soaked and muddy. Rown Company's construction of the Imperial Span stretching from Lograin all the way up to Talahurah was nearly complete. The next arm to construct was from Talahurah going west past Highgreen, and finally ending in Queen-Mother Zariah's domain of Temptation.

From the sky, Kanae and Edina had a bird's eye view of the land. Hells, if Talahurah's Kh'shanti was still standing, they could have seen the canopy from here on a clear day. A couple of wagons from the beastman city on the way to Highgreen were nearing the end of their journey, but there were no signs of the ogres yet.

Farther down the road, a larger caravan of wagons and carriages came rolling through. They were guarded by harpies from Talahurah, scanning for any signs of trouble. Kanae saw what they were too slow to see, ogres emerging from behind boulders. Their footfalls were like thunder and terrified the harpies, whose snap reaction was to abandon the caravan to fly out of their reach.

"Let's go!" Edina dived head-first and summoned a line of bone brutes to block the ogres' path to the caravan.

"We'll hold the ogres back. Keep on going west!" Kanae urged the harpies.

"By the gods… Queen Kanae, High Priestess Edina? The two of you are a welcome sight! Thank you!" The head of the swarm saluted and corralled the vehicles onward.

Kanae counted five ogres in total. They were making short work of Edina's bone brutes, forcing her to summon a death knight in order to push them back. As soon as Kanae touched ground, a sixth ogre tried to run her down. She briefly switched on Sadist, sidestepped his charge, and whipped him on the back.

The mountain of muscle and fat tumbled to the ground, falling flat on his back. A massive cock stood erect at full mast. Kanae switched Sadist off. She bit back the urge to flip over to Masochist and sit her aching pussy on it. Not yet. Not while there were innocents in danger.

"Ogres don't have resistance to charm like hobs, right?" Edina asked.

"They shouldn't. Why?" Kanae spun around to Edina, who was scratching her horn.

"My charm isn't going through. You try!" she suggested.

Kanae tried exerting Mass Charm on the horde of ogres. The magic feedbacked painfully in her head. It was a familiar pain that she recognized when using it on high elves who have drank—

A looming shadow stretched over the ground. The ogre Kanae had brought down earlier picked her up in one hand, and a single finger covered her mouth.

"Succubus!" The big creature gasped. "More like succu… uhh… cock sleeve!"

Kanae screamed into the ogre's finger when he pulled her down onto his cock. Her eyes rolled back. Her body tensed up. The slab of erect meat threatened to stretch her loose.

"Kanae? Shit! The rest of you death knights, arise and— hey!" Edina had the Pillar of the Damned and Scythe of Soul Reaping snatched right out of her hands by an ogre, who began to use the scythe's blade to scrape his teeth.

Another grabbed the squirreling when she tried to take them back. Because she was so small, the ogre's hand was able to wrap around her entire body and leave only her head exposed.

"Dis one too small for cock sleeve. No fair!" he groaned.

"Heh. Do it anyway. Make her fit!" another egged him on.

"No, wait! You fuckers are gonna split me open— aaaahhhhhhhh!" Edina was forced down as far as the tip and that was it.

"Uuh… this one so tight!" the ogre with Edina on his dick moaned.

Meanwhile, Kanae was being used like a pocket pussy. The ogre pumped into her with relentless abandon. He came and inflated her belly with cum, then passed her onto the next ogre to use. The next one stuck a finger into her pussy to get all the cum out before shoving his dick in.

"Oh, god… your cock is too big… but it feels so good…" Kanae murmured deliriously in pain and pleasure.

The two of them slipped in and out of consciousness while being drilled. Kanae was able to make out snippets of the ogre's mostly unintelligible conversation.

"Food wagons gone. What now?"

"Sir whatshisface won't be happy…"

"Take succubus back to him. Maybe he be happy using them as cock sleeves, too."

They passed out before finding out anything else.

Kanae awoke being tossed into the hard ground. She snapped upright inside a dank cave lit up by standing torches. The entrance was right behind her, seemingly blockaded by wagons and carriages like a cork in a bottle. Crates and barrels, filled with harvests, tools, and textiles, were stacked up against the wall, clearly having been rummaged through. Edina laid unconscious next to her, and a horde of ogres before them. There stood among the ogres was someone unlike them, a high elven man dressed in what used to be a beautiful gold tunic stained with dirt and grime. He was also holding Kanae's whip and Edina's weapons.

"When the ogres said they caught a succubus, I didn't expect it to be the Demon Queen. Looks like I was right to give them my stock of anti-succubus magic potions. Your reign ends here, bitch, as a sex slave to these ogres. When they're done with you, I'm going to offer your broken body to the empire and receive my just reward!" the high elf cackled.

"Great… another high elf with a revenge complex… can't you all just— eeek!" Kanae found herself surrounded by a dozen ogres, each with their massive cocks throbbing in her face and pre-cum dripping from the tips.

"As much as I want to see you suffer, I'd much rather not witness the debauchery that will be inflicted upon you. Ogres, ruin her." He retreated deeper into the cave.

One corner of Kanae's lips cracked up to flash a depraved and excited smile.