Harem-Powered Kingdom Building: Empire of Carnal Sin-Chapter 45: Eruption

Before his mind could linger further, a rumbling sound carried over from the distant sky. A thick, milky-white cloud erupted into the sky from the cock-shaped structure.

Hema froze mid-step, her breath hitched as she turned to stare at the spectacle. At first, she was scared about what would happen next, but then she remembered that Hiro was by her side.

'But what about the others?' she thought with worry.

As if remembering something, she asked Hiro, "My Lord, is it possible for you to bring me with you when you teleport to the settlement?"

Hiro did not have a Harem Link with Hema yet, so that was not possible. But more importantly...

"I don't plan on teleporting back, but we should quicken our pace on the return journey." Without explaining himself further, Hiro started walking at a quickened pace.

Although she was surprised to hear those words, Hema followed behind him, barely able to keep up with his pace.

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Apart from not wanting to abandon Hema in the woods, there was another, more important reason behind Hiro choosing not to teleport back.

'I don't want them to take my help for granted.'

In the first place, if the raid was the same size as yesterday, they would not need his help. And if it was big enough that they couldn't deal with it, Hiro wanted to wait for the perfect timing before rescuing them. Not too early, not too late. He wanted to increase their submission, their feelings of reliance toward him.

***

A dense white fog spread outwards from the strange tower, swallowing everything in its path. In just a few moments, it reached the settlement as well.

At first, the settlers reacted just like Hiro had told them. They had some time to prepare after the eruption. The women made sure that there was at least one man within their proximity.

They expected the hypnotic effect to be mild, something that could easily be broken with a firm shake or a sharp nudge. But reality wasn't so simple.

First of all, there was Tara. She was standing near the barracks, and for some reason, she barely felt the fog's influence. The hypnotic effect did not affect her at all.

Her mother was standing close to her. Unlike Tara, Furina's eyes glazed over, and her body tensed. Tara was quick to notice this. She grabbed her mother's hand and yanked it. "Mom! Wake up!" she said.

As expected, her method worked. Furina blinked rapidly, shivering as the trance broke. She held her daughter's hand and said, "Thank you, Tara," while rubbing her temples.

Seeing that her mother was fine, Tara's gaze swept over the other settlers. Just like they had expected, the men were unaffected. But among the women, the results varied.

Fiona, for instance, stood still. She was untouched by the hypnosis, much like Tara. Tara narrowed her eyes at this, but now was not the time for questions.

Barbara, who was standing between the Shuvlok men, gritted her teeth. A reddish hue appeared on her skin, steam rose in wisps from her arms, and a low growl escaped from her lips. She had activated her skill – [Enrage].

[Enrage] was a skill that made the user impervious to hypnotic effects. It was this skill that kept Barbara safe during the previous eruptions.

"Easy, Barbara," Shuvichi said, placing a firm hand on her shoulder. [Enrage] did not come without side effects.

"I'm fine," Barbara snapped. She let out a sharp exhale while her body radiated heat. Side effects aside, at least she would be safe from the hypnosis.

The real trouble came from the others.

More refugees had arrived after Hiro left for the woods with Hema. There were two additional women now. Adding the female cook who had arrived earlier, there were three women caught in the mist's full effect.

They were far more aggressive than people expected. Nudging them and shaking them did nothing. They forcefully freed themselves from the men who tried to help them and wandered forward almost like zombies.

The distant structure was their only destination.

One of those women was a fire mage. From her previous actions, the settlers had noticed that her trance was deeper, more aggressive.

Some people shouted her name, hoping it would help, but it did nothing.

It was Vasquen who reached out to stop her. He held her shoulders and shook them, but she did not falter. Instead, her fingers twitched.

"Vasquen!" Targon called out to his brother-in-law when he noticed the magical fluctuations starting to build around her.

A ring of fire erupted around the fire mage!

Fortunately, Vasquen himself was no slouch. At the last moment, he leapt back, but the flames licked dangerously close to his arms.

"Shit-!" he shouted. "She's casting while hypnotized!? That's not supposed to happen!"

But the fire mage wasn't done. Another spell started forming at her fingertips. She was no longer walking forward blindly. No, she was actively fighting back against anyone who tried to stop her from reaching her goal.

"We need to stop her before she hurts someone," Tara said.

But it looked like not everyone was on the same page.

Shuvni, a Shuvlok archer, raised his bow and aimed it at the mage. A monster raid might be coming any time now. They didn't have a lot of time to deal with the hypnotized mage.

"What are you doing?" Tara shouted at him, but she got no response.

Most people in the settlement used weapons or magic for combat. It would be hard for them to incapacitate the mage without hurting her too much.

But there was one woman who did not use a weapon. Barbara's eyes darted between Tara, Shuvni, and the fire mage. She clenched her fists and came to a decision. "Shuvni, at ease!" she ordered before rushing forward herself.

The fire mage lifted her hands. A stream of flames surged toward Vasquen, which he barely dodged in time by rolling to the side.

Realizing that there wasn't much he could do, he created some distance from the mage and readied his bow. But just as he stepped back, Barbara stepped in.

With her magic-infused strength, she launched herself forward, trying to close the distance before the fire mage could prepare more attacks. After she ducked under a second burst of fire, Barbara's fist crashed into the mage's stomach with enough force to rattle her bones, but not quite enough to break them.

Her punch made the mage gasp. Her trance momentarily flickered, but it wasn't enough.

Seeing that, Barbara did not stop. She grabbed the fire mage's wrist, twisted it, and slammed her knee into the woman's ribs. The impact sent the mage crashing into the ground, and the glow in her eyes finally dimmed. She fell unconscious.

The other two women who were mindlessly walking forward were also soon dealt with. The Shuvlok berserkers only hesitated for a moment before moving in. One of them grabbed a cloth and forced it over a woman's face, cutting off her air supply just long enough to make her pass out.

The other berserker struck the last woman on the neck, sending her into unconsciousness with a controlled hit.

The rest of the settlers rushed forward and crowded around the three women.

Tara looked down at the fire mage. "This was worse than expected."

Furina nodded. "The hypnosis was too strong on them... I wonder why..."

Tara had an idea as to why that might've been the case.

"My Lord, do you have anything to do with me and my mom being able to resist the hypnosis so easily?" She used the telepathic link to ask Hiro.