Chapter 560: Human Men are Weak and Fragile

"K... King Renard?!" Erica nearly jumped out of her skin again, her entire body jerking with shock, her green eyes going wide, her mouth falling open in disbelief.

She was seeing the literal king of the allegedly greatest human kingdom in the world submerged in the same basin as her, casually soaking as if it were the most natural thing in the world.

"Don’t you mean Grand Guild Master?" Renard faced her and smiled warmly, their expression kind and welcoming, and their voice gentle and reassuring. "How are you doing today, Erica? I hope my sudden appearance has not disturbed you."

"Hababababababaaba!" Erica’s voice erupted in a frantic, nonsensical string of sounds, her mouth opening and closing rapidly.

"Hey, calm yourself!" Renard got startled at how much Erica was freaking out, his blue eyes widening with surprise at the elf’s extreme reaction, and their hand reaching out as if to steady her. "I used to play with you when you were a teenager, running through the palace gardens and splashing in the fountains when guards weren’t looking. Don’t you remember me?"

"Y-y-y-y-you mean 300 years ago?! Of course I remember something that long ago and significant!" Erica replied, still fidgeting from shock.

Her fingers were twisting together beneath the water, her body unable to remain still, and her voice cracking with the effort of forming coherent words.

Six individuals had bypassed her veteran adventurer senses in the span of a few hours, slipping past her training and experience without her noticing, so her system was running amok from the weight of everything.

The constant stream of surprises were overwhelming her capacity to cope.

As she and Renard did a little catching up, their voices humming and being dragged to the background, the Amazons entered a family reunion, their conversation shifting to matters of blood and history.

"Good evening, sister," Sara smiled and regarded one of the two women flanking Renard in the water, her voice warm with recognition. "It’s been a while since we last met, too many years have passed since we shared words face to face."

The silver haired, dark-skinned woman with dark eyes and covered in a lot of vined tattoos raised her head to face Sara at the far end, her movements slow and deliberate, her expression one of calm acknowledgment.

"Oh, if it isn’t my little sister and niece! I never thought I’d see you here, in this remote mountain spring." She replied casually, her voice sounding a note of pleasure, as she turned her neck to where Heka perched in the basin. "And you must be Heka, the fifth born of Elara, correct? I am your elder sister, Izra. This would be the first time we would be seeing each other, as Elara does not want me getting anywhere near you lot."

"Haha! She certainly despises you and Ezra, after your misconduct and swift departure from the tribe," Heka nodded, her voice sounding with understanding, and her expression one of acceptance rather than judgment. "It is good to see you, and I hope you and mother make peace one day, that the rift between you can be healed and forgotten."

"Heh. We have always been that way since we were little girls, fighting, arguing, and competing," Izra shrugged, her heavy, tattooed breast bouncing as her back relaxed against the stone, her voice tinted with fond nostalgia. "But Ezra has nothing to do with my crushing of men and soiling of the Amazon reputation. She just chose me over Elara, sided with me in the dispute, and the childish queen hates that. She holds a grudge because of it."

"Oh, so you admit to sullying the Amazon reputation, and bringing shame upon our people?" Sara raised a brow, her voice carrying a note of challenge, with her emerald eyes narrowing with curiosity.

"Human men are weak and fragile. That’s all there is to the matter," Izra shook her head, her silver hair swaying with the motion, her expression one of dismissal. "Despite me buffing them up with magic and giving them a bunch of helpful potions, enhancing their strength and endurance, they still die on me, unable to withstand my desires."

"You raped them." Sara interjected, her voice flat and accusatory.

"They consented, every single one of them," Izra and Sara were staring at each other’s eyes now, their gazes locked in a silent battle of wills. "I never take a man who doesn’t give his permission, never force myself on anyone unwilling. It’s just convenient for you lot to say I raped them to death, to paint me as a monster. Poor me, always misunderstood."

"But you killed them?" Sara pushed again, her voice sounding with persistent inquiry, her brow furrowing with concern.

"Benjamin didn’t die when I copulated with him,m," Izra looked at the silent Benjamin hiding behind Sara’s back, her eyes traveling over his form with appreciation. "I needed occasional sexual relief from them, release from my urges, but their bodies are too fragile and soft to handle what I require."

"Hahaha! Big sis Izra, you are very sharp-tongued, unafraid to speak your mind!" Heka giggled in amusement, her laughter echoing across the water, her vibrant brown eyes sparkling with mirth. "Our sister, Martha, will like you very much... The bluntness and honesty."

"H... Huh?! You have slept with Benjamin?!" Sara almost shrieked, her green eyes widening from disbelief, her head snapping toward Benjamin in surprise.

"She raped me," Benjamin muttered from his Amazon fortress from where he hid, his voice low and pained, his hands wrapped from behind Sara.

"You consented." Izra retorted, her voice calm and matter-of-fact.

"No, I consented initially because I thought you were a sexually frustrated and beautiful woman, someone in need of comfort and release," Benjamin explained calmly, his voice steady despite the weight of his words, his hands still wrapped from behind Sara. "But after I passed out the 6th or 7th time, and after you turned my dick into the size of a monster—altering my body without my permission—I asked you to set me free. A plea you ignored completely, as if my words meant nothing. And according to Marina, who examined me afterward, I actually almost died, came within inches of losing my life."