Chapter 374 – The Guildmaster
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Don't forget to check out my other stories!

Adventurers Gone Wild [Patreon] | [Amazon

I am Succubus! [Scribble Hub] | [Patreon] | [Amazon]

The Caretaker of Otherworldly Tenants [Scribble Hub] | [Patreon] | [Amazon]

Magical Girl Kari: Apocalypse System [Scribble Hub] | [Patreon] | [Amazon]

The Hero Became a Succubus! [Scribble Hub] | [Patreon] [Amazon]

Micchi Versus the New world [Scribble Hub] | [Patreon] | [Amazon]

Ellori, the Ero Witch of Parthun [Scribble Hub] | [Patreon] | [Amazon]

The Housewife's Netorare App [Scribble Hub] | [Patreon] | [Amazon]

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I Became a Succubus, and the Only Way to Level is to... What?! Vol. 7

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Getting back into Maraag's Crossing was harder than leaving it. Hundreds of frightened Savirans ran from town, many of whom raced in the direction of Levain's edirashem for safety. Kanae, who had jumped back onto Kris' shoulders, looked back in time to see a large number of guards flood out from the caravan's wagons. They formed a phalanx around the wagons, shield to shield and with spears and spikes pointed from the gaps.

Edirashok Levain watched from the forewagon, her serpentine eyes scanning the chaos as if searching for some sort of opportunity. Whatever that could be, she found it by meeting Kanae's stare. Kanae swore magic flashed in the lamia's right hand. A brief, knowing smile followed before she turned her back and disappeared from sight.

"Gods… Move it! Get your hands off my ass, or pay me first!" Renya barked as the crowds continued to grow more dense.

"Ugh. There's so many people. We're never going to get through!" Kris cried, sandwiched from all sides.

Even the Dryoak Consortium members were hardpressed to get through. The road deeper into town was too congested now. Shadows darted past them from above. Kanae shielded her eyes from the sun. Beastmen like harpies that were able to fly flew away from the commotion, unrestricted by the crowds of people on the surface. They had the right idea.

"Sorry, guys. I'm going to go ahead. I'd carry you if I was my regular size. See you there!" Kanae took flight into the sky much to Kris and Renya's chagrin.

Ear-splitting shrieks erupted from a large canopy collapsing. The tarp which provided an enormous surface area of shade folded in on itself, smothering people too slow to escape it. Town guards did their best to lift the heavy covering, but there weren't enough of them.

Kanae clicked her tongue. She descended to help, only to realize her strength wasn't enough either.

"Quick!" Kanae shouted at the guards. "Stick your dick in me so I can empower you with Bond!"

"Uh, what?"

"I'm not exactly into someone your size…"

The guards nervously exchanged glances. One of them rose to speak up until one of their own clocked him over the head.

"Arrghh! I need to break this spell already!" Kanae groaned into her hands.

Everyone started backing away, guards included. Kanae knew she looked younger, but not repulsive. It made sense when she followed their stares to the sky.

A gigantic undead dragon pulled the canopy off with its jaw, then flung it onto an empty street. Grateful citizens, who had nearly suffocated, breathed a sigh of relief for all but a second before realizing what just saved them. They, too, ran away screaming in the direction of Levain's edirashem.

"Yeah, okay. Don't thank me. See who's laughing the next time you need saving!" Edina shook a fist at them.

"Edina!" Kanae flew up to the squirreling.

"If the town fines me for menacing the public with undead, I swear I'm going to lose it." She sighed.

"I thought you were stalking Riben Crow? What happened?"

"Was going to shank the guy until everything started going tits up and lost him to the crowds." The necromancer threw her hands in the air out of exasperation.

Kanae hopped onto the undead dragon's spine, and Edina steered her monstrosity towards where the fighting took place. The center of town was an enormous shaded bazaar. They had passed through here to get to the other edirashem earlier. Now, the many canopies that provided shade had toppled. Unconscious guards lay defeated on top of the covers. Merchant goods littered the ground, and no one dared sneak into the fighting to try and steal anything.

They arrived at the tail end of a messy, all-out brawl. Everyone was too engrossed with beating each other up to notice Edina's undead dragon landing. Kanae couldn't even figure out who was on who's side. Dryoak, Maraag's Crossing guards, Ortesians, and even the three knights of Amethyst Hall— Petyr, Claudia, and Alicia— were throwing hands.

Among them, two Ortesians beared down on Riley, who Kanae recognized by the signature wide-brimmed hat and poncho. Her opponents weren't in armor. It was far too hot. The high elven knights Kanae remembered from war donned quilted armor, with a round plate worn over to protect their abdomen. They charged Riley, intending to run her through with their longswords. 

Unfazed, Riley stood her ground. She tossed a linen pouch into the air and fired a bolt from her hand crossbow. The Ortesians raised their bucklers thinking the shot was meant for them. It pierced the bag instead, causing it to explode harmlessly into a cloud of black dust. They waved their hands over the strange substance until Riley snapped her fingers, then expelled a breath of fire and ignited the dust into an inferno.

The Ortesians' armor burned intensely. They quickly ripped off their equipment. Riley seized their panic and kicked them down. She drew her shortsword, ready to finish the two off. However, a spellcaster conjured a glacial cascade that forced her back. The spell caught her feet, entombing her lower half in a block of ice. Her hat slipped off, and she cursed under her breath.

"Meddling sand eaters… You… Wait, a high elf?" The Ortesian mage gasped.

"If you're going to end me, do it quickly. I'm going to break out any second now," Riley said nonchalantly and reached for another pouch on her waist.

The ice continued to freeze up to the Dryoak guildmaster's chest, putting a stop to whatever she had in mind.

"What family do you belong to? How dare you betray the emp—"

Petyr came up from behind, grabbed the mage by the neck, and flung him across the bazaar where he landed in a cart of spiky fruits.

"Riley! Are you okay?" Petyr used her warhammer to carefully chip off pieces of the ice.

"Fuck off!" Riley shoved her as soon as she was free and picked up her hat. "I never asked for your help. I never needed it, alright? Why in the sands are you even here?"

They were too busy with each other to notice another high elven spellcaster channeling a spell. It bound both of them in golden rings. Another mage readied to shoot a fireball when Edina's dragon took the hit to the side of the ribs instead.

Kanae fired two bolts from Ring of Scorching Ray. It nailed both of the Ortesians. She flew down from the dragon and, using her wand, casted Dispel on Riley and Petyr's bindings.

"Why am I not surprised something had to go wrong?" Kanae folded her arms.

"Who the hells' sassy ass kid is this?" Riley asked.

"You met her back in Bravost. That's Kanae Toyomi," Petyr said.

"Fucking succubi. Whatever. Consortium, round up the Ortesians! They're our prisoners now. We also got a delivery to make that we're a day late on, so get moving. The cargo won't transport itself!" she shouted.

The Ortesians had no chance. Especially not with Alicia and Claudia mopping the floor with them, too. Members of the Dryoak Consortium were even armed with enchanted weapons. These run of the mill imperials were doomed from the start.

"When are we going to tell them?" Petyr shot Kanae a look.

"Hey, Riley?" Kanae walked over as the guildmaster kicked off an interrogation with a backhand to an Ortesian knight's face. "Your shipment isn't going to make it."

"What? Is that a threat?" Riley eyed them suspiciously.

They shook their heads.

"We ran into the Harpy King's goons the other night. They were the ones you were planning on delivering magical armaments to, right?" Kanae asked.

"How the fuck? You're not kidding?" Riley threw her hat to the ground and pointed the hand crossbow from each arm at them. "I had big money on that! I thought I told you fuckers to stay out of my business, and what do you do?"

"Watch it, elf. You're not going to hurt our itty-bitty Kanae." Claudia landed and put herself between them.

"You could have left the itty-bitty part out…"

"If you threaten Riley again, I'll break your neck." Petyr hoisted Claudia up and hurled her into a pile of passed out Ortesians.

"Ahhhh! Who's side are you on? Oh, whatever. I know hurting me is just your love language!" the succubus exclaimed teasingly.

Chucking Claudia dispelled some of the tension. Riley still glared at them with simmering hatred, tempered only by a vain shred of hope to see through the exchange. Town guards were too terrified to intervene. The Dryoak Consortium returned to Levain's edirashem to move the rest of their shipment to Zayn's.

Kanae and her companions returned to a less bustling edirashem. The caravan had lost a fraction of its population, who sought a new life on board another instead. In exchange, some new faces had joined, but not enough to replace the ones departing.

At the back of the caravan, Riley and her people loaded their cargo into the warehouses. Exactly where Praijya, Nasiri, and Theena had hit before. When Kanae returned, she found Petyr sitting on the edge of the carriage, her feet dangling off the side.

"What happened out there?" Kanae asked.

"Just to be clear, I didn't start the fight. I ran into Riley in the bazaar. She ran into the Ortesians. She just flipped and started attacking. You were there for the end of it. I've never seen her so angry before. I only wanted to help," Petyr explained.

"You know fighting out in the open like that risks us getting kicked off the edirashem. What if Zayn saw us?" she pressed her.

"I'm not leaving Riley to fend for herself. If the edirashok bastard tries to give us the boot, charm him. Aren't you a succubus? I get it. We almost jeopardized our stay on the edirashem. I'll try and keep it together next time. More importantly, she didn't buy that we fought her clients. What's the plan?"

Without the Harpy King's minions, Riley didn't have anyone to conduct the exchange. There was no telling if Praijya and the others planned to attack the edirashem a second time. They very well just might.

Before then, Kanae needed to convince Riley to sell the magical armaments to Rasheena and the resistance.

"Let's go find Riley. Maybe we can introduce her to a new client," Kanae said.

The door swung open, but Petyr came without her weapon this time. Kanae urged the rest of her companions to stay put. Showing up with too many of them could put Riley on edge. They walked into Renya and Kris coming back on the way out. Both of them were sweating bullets and breathing heavily.

"For fuck's sake. Have I mentioned how much I hated Savir? It's way too hot!" Renya groaned.

"Would you like some water?" Kris asked, hand eager to twist the cap of her enchanted canteen.

"Wait," Kanae warned. "That's not a good idea!"

Kris unscrewed the cap and sprayed a geyser of water in Renya's face. After twisting the cap back on, the water subsided and left behind a drenched, unamused dark elf.

"Cough! I feel the water sloshing around in my brain… but I'm hydrated!" Renya grinned.

"Kanae, as much as I am loathe to fraternize with the likes of a Rown, she may make for a decent asset given her and Riley's… occupations," Petyr suggested.

"You're right. Renya, come with us. We got a shark to deal with," Kanae said, grabbing her by the hand.

"Haha~ There is no greater charisma than the shining glint of gold coins!" she mused playfully.

They traveled to the edirashem's rearmost wagon. Repairs were underway from the attack, but the construction crew had their work cut out for them. Only five laborers were in charge of the daunting task.

The transport wagons Kanae had seen at Levain's edirashem now parked below. More were coming in after the chaos died down at Maraag's Crossing. Riley oversaw cargo being lifted onto the platform, and then subsequently stored in the warehouses. A few people from her guild spilled a crate of weapons unloading it from the crane. She whirled around to yell at them, but her expression soured even more seeing who had arrived.

"Can't you see I'm busy? We're behind schedule and can't be bothered." Riley growled.

"Listen, the Harpy King missed his chance. Your goods are just going to sit there and collect dust at this rate," Kanae explained.

"It doesn't matter. I just need to find them!" She clicked her tongue, but knew all too well how slim of a chance that was in the vast Saviran desert.

Kanae and Petyr turned to Renya for help in getting through to the Consortium guildmaster's thick skull.

"My esteemed lady!" Renya made a theatrical step forward, causing Kanae and Petyr to put a hand to their faces. "Surely, we can tempt you with a better offer than the Harpy King? Whatever he's paying you, our client will match. And to sweeten the pot, Rown Company will throw in what I like to call, an investor's investment. An additional 20% of the cost, paid monthly over the course of two years. What say you? That's a lot of moolah."

"Declined," Riley replied curtly.

Renya's demeanor tensed up. She angled her nose to the sky, keeping both eyes on Riley. Without warning, she pulled out and pointed a flintlock at the guildmaster. Riley raised both hand crossbows up in return.

"W-What are you doing?!" Kanae cried.

"Renya!" Petyr inched forward but didn't dare take another step.

"You're not in it for the money, are ya?" Renya smirked.

Riley said nothing, but a trickle of sweat dripped down the side of her cheek while staring down the barrel of Renya's firearm.

She continued, "What kind of businessman would I be if I couldn't see through what someone really wants. The glitter of gold means nothing to you. Revenge? Now, that matters a lot more. And who wronged you enough to warrant revenge? The Empire of Ortesia. So, let me take a guess. The Harpy King promised you power or an army that you couldn't possibly refuse for anything else? How was that? Right on the gold coin?"

The lack of a reply was more telling than any answer. Riley didn't lower her crossbows though. Instead, her fingers were a twitch away from pulling the triggers.

"Is that true? Riley, there's no scenario where the Harpy King has the strength to face the Ortesian Empire. You know that. It's suicide!" Petyr exclaimed.

"The Harpy King didn't offer me a single piece of gold or an army. He did, however, promise to infuse me and my guild elemental powers. I've seen first hand how strong they are. No one has tapped into the plane of elements in thousands of years, but he somehow succeeded. If I have that same power, I would raze Ortesia to the ground." Riley bared her teeth and swallowed hard.

"He's using you, just like he's using someone I know," Kanae interjected. "It's all empty promises. You want to take a shot at Ortesia? Arnault Pyrelle is in Avanesse, working with two succubi in pulling Sultan Cerberus' strings. There's a resistance led by his aunt, Rasheena. Let's work together and deal a blow to the empire's greatest house! You already know my Commonwealth fought off their invasion. You don't have to trust me, but you can trust that I don't like them as much as you."

Riley thought for a second and nodded once. She lowered her weapons. Renya did the same and put away her flintlock.

"What can you offer me, succubus?" Riley asked.

"Well, I can't stuff an elemental in you. I do have, on the other hand, a promise owed to the Demon Lord of Artaggon to one day join him in repaying Ortesia for all the hurt it's done," Kanae said.

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Don't forget to check out my other stories!

I am Succubus! [Scribble Hub] | [Patreon]

The Caretaker of Otherworldly Tenants [Scribble Hub] | [Patreon] | [Amazon]

Magical Girl Kari: Apocalypse System [Scribble Hub] | [Patreon] | [Amazon]

The Hero Became a Succubus! [Scribble Hub] | [Patreon] [Amazon]

Micchi Versus the New world [Scribble Hub] | [Patreon] | [Amazon]

Ellori, the Ero Witch of Parthun [Scribble Hub] | [Amazon]

The Housewife's Netorare App [Scribble Hub] | [Amazon]

Social Links: [Patreon] | [Twitter] | [Discord]

Dakimakura available for purchase here: Kanae Toyomi – Cuddly Octopus

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