“Fuck, you weren’t kidding. I ain’t ever seen a goat-fucker like this one before. He’s a strange colour… wait a minute. I've seen one in the arena at Hatral like this. Shit boys, I think this is the Goblin Champion,” the veteran guard swore, nervously testing the grip on his sword hilt. It made a squeezing noise, his palm slick with sweat.

  The caravan pulled up to a stop, the two-horse team shifting nervously as they eyed the Goblin blocking their path. Dink’s ear twitched and he tilted his head away to listen. He heard a faint sound in the distance that he instinctively recognised but had no recollection of what it belonged to with his consciousness trapped within the gem on the Dragon sword’s pommel. The veteran guard was unable to hear it, only seeing Dink becoming momentarily distracted.

  He swung down at Dink’s head with savage ferocity, roaring an intimating battle cry. Dink barely acknowledged the man, minutely adjusting his feet to allow the bde to pass harmlessly in front of his face. The man overextended himself forward, burying the bde deep in the dirt.

  Stop, do not attack!

  Dink gave the man an indifferent gnce as he hurried to pry out the sword while leaping backward and attempting to recollect himself. Dink turned his back to the man, the Dragon sword held limply at his side. The man hesitated to attack as his eyes made contact with the demon gem on the hilt, each pulse sapped him of courage and fighting spirit. His sword slipped from limp fingers and he continued to stare at the gem in a sck-jawed daze.

  “What are you fucking doing, man? He’s standing right there!” The fleeing merchant cried, the veteran guard didn’t react to his voice.

  Instead, he fell to his knees, unable to take his eyes off the sword sending signals of non-violence. Dink’s consciousness within the demon heart eroded the man’s will as a byproduct of his attempt to reign in his body’s instinctive desire for destruction.

  Mana surged with the Goblin’s body, warring to be released through unchecked savagery and passion. This was a wild Goblin’s natural state without the influence of an iron will honed as the Sword Saint. Dink’s consciousness helplessly watched his body from inside the gem with increasing frustration at his inability to directly control it.

  Under the stunned gaze of everyone watching, Dink’s body converted the energy from the devoured mule and directed it toward the gaping wound in his neck. The vampire’s bloody bite marks closed at an astonishing rate, leaving behind fwless bck skin. The dispy shocked the two merchants seated on the caravan.

  “Gulp, I don’t know what’s fucking happening but let’s go. I suggest leaving your man here to sort out this mess and catch up after he’s done,” the first merchant suggested with a trembling voice, staring at Dink like a monster.

  “Y-yes, I believe you’re right. Hyah!” the second merchant easily agreed, cracking his reigns to spur on his cart. The two horses unched into a run with a whicker of wide-eyed fear, finally free to flee Dink’s scent.

  Their unrestrained escape took the caravan past the veteran guard. The rear wheel skittered over a rge rock embedded in the road. The impact knocked the wind from the man’s lungs and he fell ft to the ground, breaking his trance. Wart peeked out from the trees and took the opportunity to run over to Dink’s side.

  He pushed himself off his belly and looked between Dink and the caravan speeding down the road. He immediately made his decision, leaping to his feet and chasing after the merchants, his sword forgotten on the road.

  “Hey, don’t leave me!” the veteran guard excimed, wildly waving his arms while struggling to catch up to the caravan. Dink’s nose twitched as he focussed on specks growing in the distance, ignoring the men. A piercing shriek resounded in the sky as a harpy burst from the cover of the trees, swooping down to easily pluck the oblivious veteran guard from the ground. “Ahh, help me!”

  The merchants involuntarily turned in their seats in time to witness the man picked into the sky and carried off. The first merchant turned to speak to the one holding the reigns, only to be knocked backward as a second harpy pulled his companion from the bench. He fell back, lifting his hands to deflect a kick from the filing man.

  A third harpy descended towards the man, but he hunkered down to avoid it. The harpy abandoned its prey, seeing Dink standing in the open. Maintaining its momentum to swoop down on him while emitting a piercing shriek.

  Still under the effect of the compulsion from the demon heart, Dink remained motionless as the harpy neared. His eyes were drawn toward the humanoid torso of the creature, most notably the full and toned breasts on full dispy. Cwed feet smmed into him, expertly pinning his arms to his body and lifting him from the ground.

  Held horizontally, he stared up at the birdlike creature holding him in her grasp. His body reacted to her exposed breasts as they moved enticingly in rhythm with the fpping wings. The harpy’s gaze was locked on the mountains Dink had just descended from, giving him an uninhibited view of her features.

  Long lustrous hair streamed in the sunlight, billowing from attractive features. She had full, soft lips pursed together in concentration. Dark shes highlighted clear green eyes with a piercing sharpness. Unexpectedly, the harpy had a small beauty mark above her lips, a small fw on an otherwise immacute face.

  This close, it’s easy to see why some used to keep harpies on dispy in exotic bird cages. They’re a pleasure to look at, but equally dangerous. One wrong move and you’ll become dinner.

  Heh, like me now. Though I can’t do anything about it until we nd. Serves me right for trying to interfere. Hopefully, it’s not too far from here.

  Dink’s consciousness sat on a makeshift bench within his crystalline prison with a bored expression on his face. His chin rested on his knuckles while staring at the wall like a vast window, admiring the view from this height, his body and the harpy giants in his vision. The other pair of harpies were significantly ahead, in the direction of a solitary mountain separate from the mountain range he had just come from.

  END of Volume 1

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