Section 46: The Pursuit (Part II)

Tears welled up in Cicely’s eyes at some point. She stepped forward to embrace Indira, the two women holding each other tightly, feeling the warmth of one another’s bodies.

"Let’s leave it at this. I’m sorry for dragging you into this storm," Indira said, finally voicing the apology she had held in her heart.

Cicely shook her head. "You cannot be blamed for this. If it weren't for you, I would have died or been defiled by those hobgoblins long ago."

"You were the first friend I made when I arrived on this continent," Indira said, holding Cicely close. Then, with resolve, she pulled away, looked at her deeply, and with a powerful beat of her wings, soared into the air.

The sound of the horsemen’s hooves echoed from behind. Indira did not hesitate further and flew forward, leaving Cicely alone atop a rock that stood seven or eight meters high.

"The human woman is up there!" the horsemen spotted Cicely on the rock. Cicely could not hide, but fortunately, after circling the towering boulder, the horsemen seemed unable to climb it.

"The human woman being up there means that female Smai only just left. Hmph, she really abandoned her companion to save her own skin," Broca remarked. His tone carried a hint of disdain, as if he were looking down on Indira’s act of desertion. In reality, however, he was feeling a headache coming on. A major reason they had been able to track the Smai without losing her entirely was because she had been burdened by Cicely. Now that Indira had ruthlessly abandoned the human, the Smai’s flight speed would increase significantly, far exceeding the ground speed of the horsemen. Whether they could catch her remained uncertain; they could only hope that Indira’s stamina was already nearly exhausted and that she could not fly much further.

Broca gazed into the sky. The Dog-folk warrior on his back pointed toward the northeast, sniffing the air vigorously with his large nose. He blinked and said, "Over there. I can still smell a faint trace of her in the airflow; she only just left this spot. We must pursue her immediately and not lose the trail."

"What about this woman?" the horsemen asked, gesturing toward Cicely on the rock.

"Leave her be," Broca said, glancing at Cicely. He found her quite beautiful. The orcish aesthetic was originally the exact opposite of the elves'. Orcs favored females with generous figures—large breasts and round, plump, perky buttocks—which was a stark contrast to the delicate beauty the elves preferred. However, as the orcs occupied various regions, they began to vent their lust on the females of the occupied territories, and their aesthetic views gradually shifted. They became indiscriminate, accepting anyone; their appetites were enough to shock any race. They would take elven captives, which led the elves to prefer suicide over the humiliation of falling into the hands of creatures like the horsemen. They also took dwarf women, and human females were their favorites, as human women were fragile—easier to capture and easier to tame than elves or dwarves.

Eventually, the orcs' aesthetic evolved. They retained their original preference for full-figured females but developed a special interest in the fragile ones. Many orcs enjoyed seeing women of other races being driven to the brink by them, and they slowly came to acknowledge that the delicate beauty of the elves was also exquisite. Their logic, however, was that such beauty was even more beautiful when destroyed in front of them.

The horsemen always took pride in their combat prowess and sexual stamina. To them, sex was a tireless battle, and the honor of conquering a female in bed was no less than that of defeating an enemy knight on the battlefield.

Cicely’s fragile appearance perfectly suited this school of orcs. If the group hadn't known that capturing Indira was the priority, they would have stayed to find a way to seize her. Although Broca felt a trickle of saliva at the corner of his mouth—he hadn't been with a female in over a day, and his member felt restless—reason overcame his desire.

As the horsemen looked at Cicely one last time and prepared to ride off, something unexpected happened. The seemingly fragile human woman made a startling move: she bent down, picked up a stone, and bravely hurled it at the horsemen below.

Cicely was terrified. The centaur-like creatures below, whose members hung exposed outside their armor, were the most frightening things she had ever seen. Being stared at by them felt as if something unclean and sticky had latched onto her body—an indescribable sensation of disgust. Under normal circumstances, she would have fled as far as possible, but now there was nowhere to hide. Most importantly, Cicely hoped to help Indira. She knew the chances were slim, but perhaps if she could provoke even one of them to stay behind, it might allow Indira to gain more distance.

"Damn woman, she hit my head!" a young horseman shouted in anger, having been struck by the stone.

The horsemen halted their departure and glared up at Cicely.

"A bunch of cowards!" the human woman shouted from the rock, her voice trembling.

"Get her down from there! We’ll take turns with her; we must show her our strength," the enraged cavalrymen clamored.

The collective agitation was such that even Broca found it hard to restrain them, nor did he find it convenient to do so. Since the horsemen’s greatest pride lay in their cavalry combat and sexual prowess, and they loved mating above all else, forced suppression—even if successful—would likely impact their combat efficiency. Thus, unless necessary, he preferred to let them vent.

"Fine. Leave a small squad to find a way to capture this woman. The rest of you, follow me to pursue that Smai. We must catch her; she has pledged faith to a false god, and Odin is furious," Broca changed his orders.

The main force of horsemen galloped forward under the guidance of the Dog-folk warrior on Broca’s back, while a small squad remained behind. They circled the rock, pondering how to climb up, seize the human woman, and tear her clothes to pieces to make her taste their strength.

The squad began to attempt various methods. However, because the rock was essentially vertical, and while there were footholds, the horsemen—with their four legs and one pair of arms—were fast on the ground but ill-suited for climbing. They could not reach the top. Had it been the Monkey-folk, it would have been much simpler.