Extra 16: Gate (16)

"Delilah-sama?" - A dragon girl asked.

"Kurama-sama gave us permission to capture Zorzal" - answered Delilah with a huge sadistic smile - "According to the spies we have managed to infiltrate in the empire, Emperor Molt doesn't seem very happy with his son for ignoring his orders for three years, that's why he has made the decision to eliminate him from the race to the throne, he no longer has the protection of being heir to the throne."

"Perfect!" - exclaimed the rabbit girls, even the other women in the group were excited because Zorzal represented everything they hated about the empire.

"Let's go, let's take advantage of the fact that there aren't many soldiers left" - smiled Delilah as the group quickly advanced against their target.

Zorzal was still excited about his plan to invade this unknown place, but his expression changed when he heard the sound of a group running in their direction.

No matter how much people thought he was useless that was only worth his position, he was a general and a qualified warrior, so he knew his life was in danger.

"Enemy attack!" - Zorzal shouted as the few troops that still in the place, stood on guard.

Delilah's eyes glowed a deep red as a sadistic smile appeared on the group's face as the attack began.

Cries of pain and despair echoed through the enemy camp as the empire's soldiers did their best to try to stop the advance of the hostile troops.

Zorzal was escaping towards his tent, so he could fetch his weapon, but stopped when he reached the entrance and see how a familiar silhouette was there - "You."

"Hello, it's been three years" - smiled Delilah as her red eyes glowed with viciousness.

"So that bastard finally decided to attack us, it was something to be expected" - replied Zorzal with disdain as he narrowed his eyes at the sight of his opponent's beauty - "I still think it's a pity that I didn't achieve my goal of subduing your tribe, but seeing the fabulous specimen of warrior and woman you have become, I think I could use your talents for my service."

"I don't think you understand your situation" - Delilah replied as she tightened her grip on the hilt of her twin swords - "I have not come to negotiate, I have not come to listen to your bullshit either, I have only come to capture you."

"You want to capture me?" - Zorzal asked with a small smile - "Well, I'm not against that kind of sex games."

Delilah's expression darkened, but she kept her cool gaze.

Zorzal kept his frivolous smile, but inside he was thinking at full speed how he could save himself from this precarious situation. He could hear the cries of despair from his subordinates as he spoke to this woman, though if he was honest, he couldn't care less about the overall situation of his troops, they only had one goal, and that was to get him back to the top, and if they couldn't defend themselves against a group of animals, then there was no point in keeping them.

"I'm sure that attacking someone unarmed, is a serious offense to the pride of your species" - said Thrush with a small smile on his face, but his expression changed when he saw how a knife passed a few millimeters from his face - ". . ."

"I know what you're trying to do, so don't bother trying" - Delilah replied neutrally - "Our safety is far more important than a false sense of honor, not to mention that people like you don't deserve to be treated with respect."

"That's a serious insult" - replied Zorzal with boredom, but internally he was sweating because this didn't look good at all. With his troops invading the domains behind the portal, he didn't have the military power to defend himself, and without his weapons, he didn't have the power to resist the attack of his opponents.

"Delilah-sama, we have already eliminated all the hostile forces left in the camp, we have also requisitioned all the supplies, so the returning soldiers will have no choice but to return to the empire to receive the punishment they deserve" - said the cat girl as she looked at Zorzal with disgust.

"I see I'm not popular among your group of beautiful women, although that could be fixed if they give me a little time" - said Zorzal while trying to mediate the situation, although from the looks of the women, it was obvious that they wouldn't give him that chance.

"Former crown prince, Zorzal, by Kurama-sama's orders, you have been captured, I hope you do something stupid, so we can stop being civilized" - said Delilah as she let the hostility she had for the prince show.

Zorzal raised his hands in surrender while gritting his teeth in fury because he did not like the idea of being at the mercy of a group of animals, but at the same time he did not show these emotions. His sense of self-preservation were far greater than his hurt pride.

Delilah and the girls clicked their tongues as they handcuffed Zorzal and led him away.

A few hours later, Zorzal's group of soldiers, returned from the portal, though it was obvious that their numbers were much smaller.

"What happened here!" - exclaimed the leader of the raiding party when he saw the mess, the corpses of his comrades and the absence of his prince.

"Sir" - muttered the soldier while wiping the sweat from his forehead - "They destroyed our supplies!"

"That doesn't matter!" - exclaimed the leader of the group as he looked around - ". . ."

The soldiers were pale and furious, so they quickly shushed the civilians they had managed to capture as they escaped - "Shut up!"

The captured people only cried because even though their world was peaceful, history had told them what their fate would be now that they had been captured by these hostile forces. The men would be forced to work tirelessly, but the women would have a much worse fate.

The soldiers were frustrated and this might be a good opportunity to release some tension.

The captured women were trembling as they tried to get as far away from their captors as possible.

"Leader" - said a soldier.

"Do what you want" - replied the squad leader as he clicked his tongue. He knew that their lives were over now that the prince was gone, so at least they would enjoy their last hours of life.

The leader was about to open the grate containing the captured women, when he felt everything around him stop.

"Leader!" - A soldier exclaimed as he saw an arrow hit right in his leader's forehead before he fell unconscious.

"Who's there!" - The soldier exclaimed as he looked around furiously.

"Wait, the arrow has a message" - said another soldier as he scowled at the arrow and took the small piece of paper he was holding - "Let's see, it says we'd better not touch the civilians unless we want the prince to die!"

The soldiers frowned when they heard this as they thought about how to get out of this situation.

"If we manage to save the prince, we might be able to keep our lives" - muttered one soldier as the others looked at each other because this was possible. They were only following the orders of their superior, that meant that Zorzal was the most responsible for their actions, and although they were sure they would be punished, they could still keep their lives, but with the prince gone, their fates were sealed, they would not have that protection needed to survive.

A second arrow appeared on the body of the leader who had died, with another message tied to it.

"Let's see, it says that if you follow the instructions, you will be able to see the prince in a few hours" - muttered the soldier as he looked at the others - "What do we do?"

"Obviously, try to help Zorzal-sama" - replied another soldier with a frown.

"But these notes don't exactly say the state of Zorzal-sama" - said another soldier while shaking his head - "It says that we will see him, but it doesn't say that he is exactly alive."

"It is obvious that he is alive, remember that he is a prince, and he is worth more alive than dead" - said another soldier with disdain - "The problem is that the person who captured Zorzal-sama, is watching us, and although there were not many soldiers left protecting our prince, they were still a force enough to defend him from the nearby tribes that did not join us in our quest."

The soldiers were silent before deciding that they would accept this stranger's orders, at least until they got their prince back, though this annoyed the mercenaries who had joined their mission. They wanted to test the otherworldly women, but now they could only hold out because the soldiers were still superior in numbers.

* * * * *

"Was it a good idea to intervene, Delilah-sama?" - The cat girl asked as she looked in the direction of the huge gate.

"Yes, we don't know what kind of culture the people of whatever is behind the portal are, so it's better not to show hostility against them" - Delilah replied with a frown - "If we save that group, it might help us in the future to engage in some communication with them."

"Are you really planning to hand this bastard over to them?" - asked a rabbit girl as she watched as Zorzal was knocked unconscious thanks to a punch by Delilah, who had grown bored by listening to him talk.