Leveling Up by Seducing Milfs-Chapter 104. Arrive in The Demon Territory

They set up camp that night in a small clearing off the road. Carmilla insisted on taking the first watch, and Natasha quickly offered to take the second. Rick didn’t bother to argue because he knew they both needed to feel like they were protecting him.

...

They reached the edge of civilization on the second day. The farmland turned into rocky hills, and the villages got smaller and stronger. People who lived here were closer to the areas where monsters were more common.

They were completely out of human territory by the third day. The landscape changed a lot from lush green countryside to harsh, empty desert.

The Eastern Wastes were precisely what they said they were. The scorched earth went on and on, with only jagged rock formations and the odd dead tree breaking it up.

The heat was too much. Rick didn’t feel good, even though Sylvia’s bond made him immune to fire.

Carmilla and Natasha both looked terrible. Even though they had brought spells to cool them down, they were still sweating through their clothes.

"Hah... hah... hah... on god... these fire immunity abilities seem useless here..."

"Haaahhhhh... I want something cold... inside my mind... bre... ast... milk..."

"How much farther are we anyway...?" Rick asked, looking at the map that Fredrich had given him.

Natasha used a navigation spell to check where they were. "If the intelligence reports are right, we should be able to find the demon territory markers in two hours."

"And then we have to travel four more hours to reach the location where General Zara was last seen at the war camp."

"Oh, just kill me already..." Rick already felt his own suffering.

But even so...

They kept going, and sure enough, after two hours of trudging through a sandy wasteland, they saw the first clear signs of demon territory, with skull totems marking the border in patterns that looked threatening.

There were warning signs carved into the standing stones in a demonic script. It was clear what they indicated, yet their true implications were uncertain.

-Stay away-

Carmilla reached for her sword. "We’re being watched."

Rick could feel it too because of his Guardian’s Instinct ability. Several hostile beings were hiding among the rocks and watching their every move.

"I count six," Natasha said softly, and her frost magic was already gathering around her hands.

It didn’t take them long to get there. Six demon scouts appeared out of the rocks and formed a loose circle around them.

Each one was about seven feet tall, had red or dark gray skin, curved horns, and claws that were very sharp. They wore very little armor, which indicated that they cared more about being able to move around than being safe.

They also had many different weapons, from curved blades to barbed spears.

The biggest demon, who looked like the patrol leader, stepped forward with a smile that showed far too many sharp teeth.

"Humans in demon lands?!"

"That’s a sentence of DEATH!"

Rick stepped forward, keeping his hands visible and not threatening. "Calm down, fellow demon."

"Do you all speak my language...? The human language."

"What? You think we’re stupid? We speak many languages, fool!"

"Then that’s good to hear."

"We come here to meet with General Zara Bloodthorn."

"We’re a diplomatic envoy from Valdris, here to discuss matters of mutual importance."

"HAHAHA!" The demons laughed loudly, and it was a harsh, mocking sound. "Envoy of diplomacy?!"

"Hey, boys, did you fucking hear that? These puny humans think the General eats with them!"

More laughing came in from the demons, and Rick could feel Carmilla and Natasha tense on either side of him, ready to fight if the talks fell apart.

Rick takes deep breaths and says in his mind. "It’s time to take a chance."

Rick turned on his Dragon’s Presence ability just enough to make his eyes change to look like a dragon. The aura of fear that surrounded him spread out in a wave, and the laughter stopped all of a sudden.

The demon scouts stepped back without meaning to, and their faces changed from mocking to shocked.

"Wait," the patrol leader said, his voice suddenly unsure. "Those eyes...!"

"You are... you are the Dragon Consort?!"

"The human who tamed the Queen of the Northern Peaks?!"

"See? You get it, right?"

"I’d like to think we came to an agreement," Rick said, letting more of his dragon power show in his voice. "But fuck yeah!"

"I am the one they called as motherfucking Rick fucking Rolland!"

"The Consort, or should I say... the husband of the one and only Dragon Queen! Sylvia Flameheart!"

"And I have an urgent message for your General regarding the corruption threatening both our lands."

"So I ask again, will you take us to General Zara Bloodthorn, or do we have a problem?"

The patrol leader exchanged glances with his companions. Rick could see the calculation happening behind his eyes.

Rick starts to predict their word in his mind. "it’s either kill the humans and face potential draconic retaliation, or bring them to the General and let her decide their fate..."

At last, the demon relaxed his grip on his weapon slightly. "Alright, alright. We’ll take you to the camp."

"But if you do anything—like anything at all—we will kill you immediately."

"You got that?"

Rick agreed, "Perfectly reasonable for me."

Carmilla sent a wave of worry through their bond. "I don’t like this."

Rick thought about it. "Me neither, but it’s working."

The demons formed a circle around them in an escort formation that looked more like a guard detail than an honor guard. They marched deeper into the Eastern Wastes, and after another three hours of walking, they could see the demon camp.

It was huge. There were thousands of tents in neat rows across the desert.

Demon soldiers of all sizes and types moved with purpose, practicing, keeping their gear in excellent shape, and standing guard at set times.

This wasn’t a raiding party or disorganized mob.

This was a professional army.

As the three humans walked through the camp with demon scouts, everyone stopped what they were doing to look at them. The whispers started right away.

"Is that really him?"

"The Dragon Consort?"

"He’s not as tall as I thought he would be."

"They say he slept with a Dragon Queen and lived."

"I heard he collects ancient powers like trophies."

Rick’s face stayed calm, but inside he was dying. "Sebastian, do you have any advice?"

The little butler showed up on Rick’s shoulder, where only he could see him. "Hmm... probably... try not to fucking die in an embarrassing way?"

"That’s all the advice I have for this situation."

"Oh, wow. That’s fucking useful, old man."

"I’m a system administrator, not a diplomat."

They walked up to a big command tent in the middle of the camp. It was different from the others because it was bigger and had guards with weapons standing at attention outside.

The patrol leader talked to the guards for a short time before they went inside.

A minute later, one came out and gestured to come in quickly. "The General will meet with you."

"You can come in."

The leader of the patrol looked at Rick. "We’re going to leave you here."

"Congratulations if you make it through the next few minutes."

Rick said, "Thanks for the vote of confidence."

"You’re welcome."

They walked toward the tent, and someone held the flap open. As they looked inside, they saw that it was dark and gloomy. Before stepping through, Rick, Carmilla, and Natasha exchanged one last glance.

The inside was bigger than Rick thought it would be, and it was clearly made for planning wars.

There were maps covering every surface, and weapon racks lined the walls. In the center of the space sat what could only be described as a war throne, a massive chair constructed from dark wood and demon steel, built for someone of considerable size.

And occupying that throne was Demon General Zara Bloodthorn.