Reborn as a Succubus: Time To Live My Best Life!-Chapter 276: Loyalty, Part Thirty-Four

The alley wasn't exactly prime interrogation real estate, but it would get the job done. Not quite as private as, say, literally being in the queen's chambers, but it would have to do.

[Now that was an interesting conversation,] she thought, positioning herself between Rax and the alley's entrance. [Nothing quite like having the queen of Syux confess centuries of oppression before riding your face.]

She'd learned a lot from that encounter. Both about nim history and about how her charm spell affected different people. The queen had practically tripped over herself trying to impress Melisa with historical revelations between orgasms.

Time to see if Rax would turn similarly chatty.

"So," she purred, letting her hand trail up his arm. "I hear you know a lot about what's happening in the nim community. All the important... developments."

His eyes were completely glazed now, pupils blown wide with magically enhanced desire. The spell had him good and proper.

"I... yes," he managed, swaying slightly toward her touch. "Always try to stay... informed."

[Okay, established the premise. Now ease into it...]

"Mm, a man who keeps up with current events." She stepped closer, pressing advantage and cleavage. "Must have some thoughts about all these attacks lately. The arsons."

"The arsons?" Rax's voice was thick with need. "Yes, I... I know about those."

Someone walked past the alley's entrance. Melisa shifted them deeper into the shadows, using the movement as an excuse to press against him.

[Come on,] she thought. [Let's really get into it.]

---

{Armia}

The horses' hooves thundered against packed earth as Armia's unit moved through the forest. Twenty soldiers, mostly human, with her massive form standing out among them like a sore thumb. Or rather, like a darian pretending she belonged in human armor.

[At least the modified breastplate fits,] she thought, adjusting her position in the saddle for the hundredth time.

"Remember," the commander called from the front, "we're looking for signs of skirmisher activity. Track and report only. No engagement today unless- AGH!"

An arrow took him in the shoulder.

[Oh,] Armia thought with strange clarity as chaos erupted around her. [Well... The peace didn't last long, huh?]

Horses reared. Men shouted. Metal rang against metal as soldiers drew weapons. Through the trees, shapes moved with deadly purpose.

Darian warriors, their scaled armor catching what little sunlight penetrated the canopy.

[... Damn.]

Armia's training kicked in. Her sword cleared its sheath just in time to meet the first attack.

A massive darian warrior practically materialized beside her horse. He was almost a foot taller than Armia, his blade descending in an arc that would have split her in half if she hadn't blocked it.

The impact nearly shattered her arm.

[Fuck,] she thought, barely redirecting the blow. [FUCK.]

For a moment, she remembered what that kitsune trainer of hers had said.

She'd said Armia was "petite" for a darian. Armia, not knowing too many darians, hadn't quite understood what that meant until this very moment.

The absolute beast in front of her could hardly even be considered the same race.

[This... is a darian?] Armia blinked, stunned.

Her horse screamed, rearing. She kicked free of the stirrups just as another warrior emerged from the trees, weapon already swinging. All around her, the unit dissolved into individual battles, the ordered formation breaking apart like sugar in rain. It wasn't just swords crashing against shields, either. The humans around Armia immediately started launching whatever spells they could.

And Armia didn't blame them. If they tried to keep this as a purely physical contest, this probably wouldn't be a long fight.

She dashed to the side. The first warrior pressed his advantage, probably assuming her smaller size meant weakness. His blade, more like a massive, red slab of stone, crashed against hers.

It struck again, and again, each impact sending shockwaves through her bones.

No one at the academy had ever hit like this. Every blow felt like it might snap her sword in half. But...

[I'm faster,] she realized, ducking under a swing that would have taken her head off. The warrior's eyes widened slightly as she slipped past his guard. [They're stronger, but I'm faster.]

She spun away from his next attack. The darian's momentum carried him past her, giving her a precious moment to assess the battlefield.

The commander was down, that arrow sticking out of his shoulder, three soldiers trying to defend his position. Others fought in pairs or alone, the skirmish spreading through the trees like wildfire. Blood already stained the forest floor.

An arrow whispered past her ear.

[Oh... shit.]

She dropped, rolled, came up to find two more warriors approaching. Their expressions shifted from battle-focus to confusion as they registered her appearance.

"What...?" One muttered, likely confused as to why a darian was staring him back as an opponent.

The first warrior recovered quickly, charging with a roar. His blade met hers with bone-crushing force, but she was ready this time. She let his strength push her back, using his momentum against him.

He stumbled. She didn't.

"AAAAAH!"

Her counter-strike opened his leg from knee to hip. He went down howling.

The second warrior proved more cautious, circling while the first one she'd fought recovered his position. Three-on-one now, and somewhere in the trees an archer was probably drawing a bead on her back.

Armia's fingers traced a quick spellsign in the air.

"Ignis, core, protev mein!"

The flame shield materialized just in time to catch an arrow that would have taken her in the spine. The projectile disintegrated on impact.

She picked this one up from Melisa. Given the success of the spell just now, she figured why not pull some more out of Melisa's book.

They came at her together then, blades whistling through the air with enough force to shatter stone. But Armia moved like water between their strikes, her free hand already drawing another spellsign.

"Ventus, surgie, frante!"

The blast of wind magic caught one warrior mid-swing, throwing off his balance. She couldn't match their strength, couldn't hope to overpower them directly. But she had more than just speed on her side.

She answered the next attack with both blade and magic. Her thrust found a gap in scaled armor while her hastily cast "celestia, vena surgia!" sent lightning crackling across her opponent's chest.

He went down screaming, armor smoking.

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Somewhere nearby, a horse screamed its last. Men shouted, metal rang, arrows hissed through leaves. The neat, ordered military exercise had become a brutal mess of individual survival.

[Welcome to real combat, I guess,] Armia thought, dancing between her opponents' blades. [Nothing like the academy at all.]

The first warrior she'd wounded was back up, favoring his injured leg but still dangerous. All three pressed her now, coordination replacing individual effort.

An arrow sprouted from a tree trunk beside her head. The archer had nearly, almost found an angle.

[Okay,] she decided, [feels like the only way we're living through this fight is if I go on the offensive.]

After all, she wasn't just some academy student anymore. She was a soldier in the human army.

Whether she liked it or not.

The warriors came at her again. This time, she met them halfway.

Two weeks suddenly felt like a very, very long time.