Chapter 101: The top five

The Succubus immediately stepped forward.

Each person only had five seconds, so the line began moving slowly. What caught Erik’s attention was that nearly all of them reacted in a similar manner. Their bodies would tense during the first second, then quickly begin trembling as their breathing grew hurried. Only at the end would they gradually relax, as though they had finally set down a burden that had weighed on them for far too long.

Clusters of pink motes also began appearing in Erik’s vision.

[Emotional Energy detected.]

[Excitement.]

[Gratitude.]

[Affection.]

[Hope.]

Several white motes were mixed among them.

[Faith detected.]

Erik silently watched the continuous stream of energy entering his body. The amount was enormous, but he had only just reached Black Iron Stage 10, so he did not immediately break through again. Still, that did not disappoint him.

What Erik found more noteworthy were the expressions of the women after they left his embrace. The exhaustion on their faces diminished, their eyes became brighter, and even their footsteps seemed slightly lighter.

When nearly half the line had passed, Erik suddenly saw a very familiar face.

Golden hair, pointed elven ears, both hands neatly folded before her abdomen, and an extremely serious expression.

Erik silently stared at Meira.

Meira calmly stared back.

In the end, he still had to ask:

"What are you doing?"

Meira answered naturally:

"Waiting in line."

"I can see that." Erik rubbed his forehead. "You spent the entire afternoon lying in my arms."

"Correct."

"Then why are you still waiting in line?"

Meira tilted her head, her voice so serious that she did not sound as though she were joking at all.

"That was in the afternoon. Now it’s evening."

Erik looked at her.

"What’s the difference?"

"The time is different."

Erik: "..."

Meira even pointed toward the person standing ahead of her and added:

"Besides, everyone gets five seconds."

Erik looked at her for several more seconds before finally opening his arms.

"Come here."

Meira immediately threw herself into his embrace with delight. Unlike all the women before her, she showed no hesitation whatsoever. She wrapped her arms tightly around Erik’s waist, buried her face against his neck, and happily rubbed against him twice.

Erik lightly patted her back.

"Five seconds."

"Mhm."

Five seconds quickly passed.

"That’s enough."

"Mhm."

"Meira."

She showed absolutely no intention of letting go.

Erik eventually had to separate her himself, but before Meira could pout, he leaned down and placed a light kiss on her lips, instantly making her green eyes brighten.

Meira obediently stepped away, the corners of her lips curving upward with pride.

"Little-dog privilege."

The Succubi behind her immediately looked at Erik with even more heated gazes. Meanwhile, Elowen, who was standing beside him with her arms crossed, narrowed her eyes.

"There are kisses too?"

Erik turned to look at her.

"Do you want one as well?"

Elowen’s face reddened slightly, but instead of answering, she immediately stepped into the line.

"I’m not cutting."

She truly stood behind the next person and waited for her turn. When Elowen finally stepped forward, Erik pulled her into his arms and gently kissed her forehead. But just as he was about to let her go, he saw her brows furrow.

"That wasn’t the same as Mother’s."

Erik laughed and finally leaned down to kiss her lightly on the lips.

Only then did Elowen look satisfied.

Laviana watched them for a moment, then did not even bother entering the line. She walked straight over and cut in front, causing several Succubi to immediately look at her.

Laviana paid them no attention. She merely wrapped her arms around Erik’s neck and said:

"I’m the one who rushed here all the way from Silver Moon."

Erik asked in confusion:

"What does that have to do with anything?"

"I’m exhausted."

Erik: "..."

Laviana pressed closer, her voice softening.

"I need comfort."

Before Erik could answer, she took the initiative and kissed him. The kiss did not last long, but when she pulled away, her tongue deliberately brushed across the corner of his lips, instantly making Elowen narrow her eyes.

"Laviana."

Laviana turned toward her with a completely innocent expression.

"Hmm?"

Elowen stared at her.

"That was longer than five seconds."

Laviana laughed.

"I’m not participating in the rules."

Elowen: "..."

Meira stood nearby watching the two of them with an extremely cheerful expression, while Erik felt that the situation was beginning to stray from its original purpose.

At that moment, his gaze landed on the still rather long line of Succubi, and an idea suddenly occurred to him.

The monsters around the outpost still needed to be cleared. There were also many dangerous locations in the northern area that had not yet been fully surveyed. Since everyone’s morale was currently so high, perhaps he could use it to finish the work more quickly.

Erik thought for several seconds before announcing:

"All right. Since you want this so badly, I’ll add another reward."

Everyone immediately fell silent. Countless pairs of eyes lit up simultaneously as Erik continued:

"The ten people who earn the most battle merits before tomorrow morning can hug me for longer."

Several Succubi immediately turned to look at one another.

Erik continued:

"As for the top five..."

Only after reaching that point did he begin to feel that his next sentence sounded rather strange, but by the time he realized it, it was already too late.

"...you can kiss me."

The entire area instantly fell silent. Only the crackling of burning wood remained in the night.

Erik: "..."

Only then did he truly understand what he had just said.

Wait.

Am I using myself as the reward?

Erik’s face began to heat up.

Am I being a little too confident?

No one reacted for three full seconds, making Erik regret his words more and more. His gaze unconsciously dropped toward the ground. He even began wondering whether there was a hole nearby large enough for him to crawl into.

Then—

"AAAAAAA!"

The sudden explosion of screams startled Erik.

One Succubus spun around and charged directly toward the weapons area. A second immediately ran after her.

"Where’s my sword?!"

"Wait for me!"

"I’m getting into the top five!"

"In your dreams!"

"Which monster gives the most points?"

"Necromancers!"

"Let’s go!"

In less than a minute, the entire area had descended into chaos. Some women donned armor, some slung bows over their shoulders, and others picked up greatswords. One was even tying up her hair while running, while another almost forgot to put on her shoes.

Erik’s face paled, and he hurriedly shouted:

"Wait! Safety comes first!"

No one showed any intention of stopping, forcing him to raise his voice.

"Anyone who gets seriously injured will be disqualified from receiving a reward!"

Nearly the entire formation immediately stopped.

The women who had just rushed away turned to inspect their equipment. Some tightened their armor straps, some replaced their arrows, and others carefully checked their healing medicine.

Erik: "..."

That worked?

Only then did Meira step forward. Her playful demeanor quickly vanished, replaced by the bearing of a true commander. She clapped once to draw everyone’s attention, then calmly said:

"Battle merits will be calculated according to collected cores or confirmed kills. Teams will divide the points among their members. Competing over targets in a way that endangers your companions is forbidden. No one may leave the surveyed area, and anyone injured must return immediately."

Everyone answered in unison:

"Understood!"

Meira checked the time before continuing:

"The deadline is four in the morning."

The atmosphere immediately erupted again.

"Move!"

Only a few minutes later, most of the combat force had vanished into the darkness, leaving the clearing suddenly and strangely quiet.

Erik stood in the night breeze, then turned to look around.

Meira had not left.

Elowen had not left.

Laviana had not left either.

All three women were looking at him, immediately giving Erik a bad feeling.

"Aren’t you participating?"

Meira shook her head.

"There’s no need."

Elowen calmly shook her head as well, while Laviana was even more direct. She slowly removed her outer coat and tossed it onto a nearby chair before walking toward Erik. Her red eyes traveled from his head to his feet while her long tongue lightly traced across her lips.

"They won’t return until four in the morning, correct?"

Erik instinctively took half a step back.

"Why are you asking?"

Laviana wrapped both arms around his neck and smiled.

"Then before they return... let’s have a little fun."

Erik looked at Laviana, then at Meira happily approaching from his left, and finally at Elowen. Although her face had clearly turned red, she showed no intention of leaving.

Erik could not help asking:

"A little?"

Laviana nodded.

"A little."

Erik looked at the time, then at the three women before him.

For some reason, he had a feeling—

This "little" might last all the way until four in the morning.

...

More than ten kilometers north of the outpost, a small urban district that had long since been abandoned lay completely submerged in darkness.

Only the concrete frames remained of the low-rise buildings. Every window had shattered, while trees and vines covered the walls. In the central plaza, a green magic array slowly rotated. Corpses inside it continuously trembled before pushing themselves up from the ground and joining the hundreds of Undead packed around them.

Three Necromancers stood around the magic array. Black robes concealed most of their bodies, and the bone staffs in their hands lit up each time another corpse awakened.

Aside from the Undead army, many living monsters also occupied the plaza. A pack of giant wolves lay beneath a collapsed building. Two Unicorn Beasts nearly three meters tall scraped their hooves against the ground. Several smaller Fire Rabbits, their entire bodies covered in orange-red flames, leaped back and forth among the ruins.

Slightly farther away were the bizarre creatures left behind after the daytime assault. Their gray-black bodies occasionally emitted bursts of static.

The Necromancer standing in the center looked at the army before him with immense satisfaction.

The daytime attack had failed unexpectedly, but that did not matter. Plenty of monsters still remained throughout the area. As long as they continued summoning Undead, their forces would recover enough by dawn to launch another surprise attack.

A Necromancer beside him planted his staff against the ground and said:

"We need approximately three hundred more."

The one in the center nodded.

"That will be enough. The next attack will come from the north. Force them to retreat into the residential district, then have the wolves circle around from the east."

The third Necromancer let out a hoarse laugh.

"This time, without that blonde woman, the outpost will—"

He suddenly fell silent.