Chapter 980 979: From Grass To Sand
Chapter 980 Chapter 979: From Grass To Sand
Mom smiled kindly at the older Elf, who paused for a moment before chuckling as he replied "Ah yes, that is indeed correct! My apologies, Begum. It\'s just... the Sultanate is certainly far more dangerous than the Empire is in the average area..."
He rubbed his jaw and gave Anput a small smile, only to nod as she replied "And whilst you view that as a negative, I find that to be a brilliant part of the Sultanate\'s charm. It\'s an area that weeds out the weak and enables the strong, and to me that is the greatest possible society that I can think of. However, I will admit I am biased simply because I am apart of the \'strong\' and not the weak, and such a society benefits me more."
"Well... to each their own, I suppose. There are pros and cons to each, but let\'s not get into a debate about it now, yes? We can do so later, when you return I suppose. I have to admit I am intrigued to hear your views on such a system, but alas..."
Sighing softly, Grandpa waved his hand at the large, gorgeous carriage that the Sultana had sent for us, the twin Jackals that were pulling it just as sleek and beautiful as the carriage was; both were a glossy, smooth black with gold and silver accents - collars and claws for the Jackals - whilst the occasional splash of orange added quite the glow to them both.
Around the carriage, a dozen warriors draped in loose, flowing black cloth and watching us from beneath their black veils waited patiently beside their own Jackals, who were sitting and laying around the front of the Palace, basking in the warmth of the volcano.
Their lithe, rope like musculature was on full display, the flowing black clothing that they wore revealing a large amount of their swarthy skin that was riddled with scars, and they had belts laden with small trophies and ornaments that must have had a deep significance to them culturally since they were otherwise completely and utterly silent as well as rather uniform.
A heavy scimitar, a curved dagger, some potions and what looked like a whistle all hung from their belts, and they had a lack of real armor as they instead relied on their ability to dodge, and perhaps they made liberal use of enchanted items to mitigate damage...
They were the special guard that the Sultanate had, similar to the Knights of Cinder if I was remembering correctly; seeing so many being sent to escort us from the Empire over to the Sultanate meant that the Sultana was not willing to take any chances at all with this trip, and that she was extremely sincere about ensuring all of us were safe heading over to her country, something that the Empress appreciated as she watched from afar.
The few bags that we were bringing with us were already stored away in the carriage, leaving us to do nothing except head on in and set off for the desert, after saying goodbye to the family of course.
It had been a short meeting with Grandpa and Grandma, but considering they weren\'t making a big deal about us heading on this trip and claiming that we needed to spend more time with them lest we not be able to when we return, we weren\'t too bothered by this week long timeframe where we had known them.
Obviously we wanted to spend more time with them, but that would come after this trip, and as we gave a hug to everyone, Grandma said "When you return to the Empire, we will have to spar again. All of you. I am expecting improvements from this trip."
She fixed us each with a stern stare, one that only softened slightly when she turned to look at Mom when she said "All of us are expecting improvements, from all of you, in all fields. Combat and \'utility\'. There are things over there that you can learn, things that you can earn through displays of strength."
"Thanks for the vote of confidence and totally not adding any pressure to our shoulders~! That makes this trip all the more anticipatory and excites me to head on out!"
Jahi grinned at Mom, who just rolled her eyes and raised her hand like she was about to smack her daughter for being \'smart\', only to instead reach forwards and flick her as she replied "Then since you know that, get going! You\'re dawdling here!"
"Yes, you should be departing soon, otherwise you\'ll arrive sometime late tonight; too late to do anything of importance anyways. So go!"
Mother Ria waved us away after a quick hug, and as I was in the middle of hugging Mother she whispered "I hate that you have to go again... It feels like I get you back for just a brief moment before you leave yet again... all so you can head off into danger and risk your life to get stronger... it hurts my heart each time, Katherine..."
Squeezing her slightly, I basked in the unique warmth of my Mother before whispering back "I know Mother... I don\'t like it either, but it\'s what we have to do. Maybe when this is all over we can go out as a family, peacefully. Visit all these places and share them with the twins?"
"I would like that a lot, Katherine... I just worry that that day is far, far in the future, and that by then..."
She fell quiet and squeezed me back, letting me go a moment later and waving me away with a "Be safe, and be careful with the Sera Pack...", her amber eyes narrowing slightly as she glanced at the various Jackalkin and Dogkin that were around us.
That just made me raise a brow before I gave the others a hug, including the twins as I approached Grandpa and Grandma, who had taken over as the primary \'carriers\' of Lakshmi and Alessandra respectively.
"Have fun over there, Kat. Don\'t cause a ruckus now, alright? At least... one that you can\'t handle on your own, anyways."
Mother Ria gave me a small smile as she glanced over at her daughter, before she glanced at the various Jackalkin and Dogkin around us, each of whom was wearing those traditional Sultanate clothing that left little to the imagination.
I got her point more than instantly, since I wanted to wear something like that for once and get my lovers absolutely rabid for me since I tended to either cover up completely or be completely nude - albeit with the few times I wore lingerie and the likes - so this switch up would be one that just got everyone acting different as they got to see me revealing my body but still \'appropriately\' dressed.
I also wanted to see Jahi in something like this, since the guards around us were certainly in my ballpark for attractive people; musclebound and dangerous looking, serious and clearly interesting people, each one was something to look at even if it was just to see how defined their abdomens were...
Almost chiseled enough to grate cheese on their stomachs... this world really spoiled me with my lust for muscular people, and specifically that incredible duality of a muscular woman or futanari; the beauty of a woman paired with the handsomeness that came with muscles...
Goddess above I loved this world dearly, and if I wasn\'t a newly devoted and loyal partner to my three varied and incredible lovers, I...
The things I would let this group of hardened warriors do to me... they could fill an entire book...
"Kat."
Anput stared at me and waved her hand in front of my face, before leaning closer and whispering "If you want to ogle the muscles of our guards, you can do so... just don\'t start drooling... because if you do, you\'d best be drooling over me and giving me the sloppiest appreciation you can manage~!"
Pinching my waist, she grinned at me before heading over to carriage, beckoning for us all to follow her into the carriage and get ready to head out into the Sultanate, which made the entirety of the guard mount their Jackals and prepare to head out as well.
"Be careful you four. But... learn everything that you can, alright? We shall see you in a few weeks when you return... and by then, Lilith might actually be here."
The Empress strode forwards and nodded to the various guards before giving everyone a small wave as she added "Either way, enjoy your trip everyone. I believe you\'ll have more than enough fun there."
Loading ourselves into the carriage, we waved back at the assembled family outside and closed the door behind us, sinking into the seats and sharing a smile as the carriage began to move.