King was dead, and I had thought the worst the world could offer was behind me. Some would attribute it to the foolishness of youth. I would call it stupidity.

What did I expect to happen when I marched out the eastern gate? First, the enemy had several days to prepare. Second, even if I couldn’t see them, their scouts had to be close.

I think I was high off my victory and power. Something like a golem couldn’t possibly pose a real threat to me. Even if I wasn’t tooled to fight the Feds, I was mighty, and they were puppets. How could a few golems pose a threat to me?

…

Four hours before dawn, we worked to get everything in order. Kale worked with the caravan driver to determine our marching order. It’s decided that I would sit on the carriage as a driver. Centaurs rushed around collecting armor, checking the enchantments on their hooves, the warding on their armor, and the sharpness of their spears.

These weren’t the average centaur warriors either these were some hard-ass stallions armored in an enchanted plate. Strapped to their backs were a bow and three quivers; in their saddlebags, they had rations, and each kept two mare horses of excellent breeding and care to carry their supplies. Of the 50 accompanying us, not one looked unprepared.

Our charge waited in an all-terrain self-powered carriage enchanted to the gills by Flank Town’s best magic engineers. The black iron and wood carriage was rounded on both ends, giving it the appearance of a giant beetle more than a carriage.

I hesitated to call it an automobile, even if it was technically self-driven.

A grizzled centaur with an eyepatch and wearing a tarnished silver breastplate galloped up to me.

The soldiers around tried to act casual, but all of them looked over. The stallion looked down at me with his one brown eye. His bun of dark black hair rattled as he approached.

“We know the stories some of us were there or knew someone who was there when you fought death himself. Our city will owe you another debt if we manage to pull this off.” The centaur nodded his head. “This mission is mine, and these are my men. If you try to be a hero, we will not back you up if it endangers the mission. However, you aren’t a centaur, and unless you have the riding experience to maintain formation with us, the best place for you is in the driver seat.” The centaur let the silence after his words drag out until it became uncomfortable.

Accelerate flashed for the briefest of the moment, depositing me to the centaur’s left. For a moment, I thought about squishing the bastard’s head like a grape. But, of course, that was just my skills talking Close Combat, Force, and Root Of Black Dragons wanted a show. It was funny.

Did any other user feel this way when an NPC mouthed off to them, or was I somehow unique among 7billion?

My acceleration stopped, and my perception of time returned to normal. Nevertheless, the watchers seemed a little surprised by my new position.

I patted the grizzled centaur’s shoulder. “Listen, I appreciate it. These are your men, and if everything runs smoothly, we’ll get to Bridle before the scouts can put up much of a fuss. I’m not here to mess up your formation or slow you down. Don’t worry, I’ll ride in the driver’s seat, and if your men bite off more than they can chew, then I’ll play hero and bail them out.” The centaur shivered under my grip. “Now that I’m sorted out, why don’t you recheck your men and make sure they’re ready to go. We leave in an hour.” I said.

The centaur shook my hand off his shoulder and turned around. For a second, his back arched, and I was sure he’d try to kick me. But, instead, the centaur’s back straightened, and he turned to me.

“Asadus is my name; we’ll be ready in a moment.” I nodded and walked towards the door to the carriage.

I sucked in a breath and let it out.

This would be my first meeting with Nia Governor Salithe’s daughter. Meeting her promised to be interesting. I knocked lightly on the carriage door, only for a slit in the door to slide open.

“What are we going now?” A cultured voice asked.

“Not yet I’m checking up on you,” I said.

“I’m fine, and don’t bother disturbing me again until nightfall. Like I would want to talk to a disgusting ape.” Nia said the last sentence under her breath and shut the slide.

Kale trotted up behind me. “So, how is our charge feeling?” Kale asked.

“Like a grumpy teenager being sent off. Maybe this was a daughter the Governor wouldn’t mind losing.” I muttered.

Before, I’d joked about this being a suicide mission before. But, less than an hour from the mission, I thought differently. A lot relied on us getting Nia to Bridle in one piece.

“Don’t worry; we have fifty brave stallions to lead the charge and watch our backs,” Kale said.

“They haven’t tried to do things to you, have they,” I asked.

Kale raised an eyebrow. “Things, like what?” I stared at her for a few seconds. “Oh, you’re asking if any of them have tried to rape me. Well, not yet, and their captain is watching. So I’d say they’re going to wait until nightfall or maybe when I have to pee. Then, if someone doesn’t stop them, they’ll take turns. Once one pops my cherry, the others will join in, even the captain.” Kale said.

“Maybe we should have bout you a stronger chastity belt,” I grumbled, wondering if I should kill any who break off from the group. “Then why bring the mares?” I asked.

“They’ll cut my protection away as soon as they discover it; as for the mares, she pauses. Some stallions can’t get their rocks off unless they’re flaring in another centaur.” Kale said.

“Is there no way to deter them peacefully?” I asked.

“Nope, even if you impregnated me, they would just ram my womb until I miscarry,” Kale said.

I sighed and shook my head.

“Well, I’m used to watching you pee in case of predators anyway. I guess when you get up, I’m getting up too. Goodbye sleep, I hardly knew you.” I said.

“You’re such a nice guy, Red,” Kale said.

“You know nice guys finish last,” I said.

Kale raised an eyebrow. “Oh, I know that’s what I’m counting on,” Kale said.

We weren’t talking about the same thing.

My sleep schedule was officially nonexistent for the foreseeable future. But I could deal with that. I just had to survive off of 4 hours of sleep every night for two weeks or more. After that, the time would fly by, I’m sure.

I sat atop the carriage practicing wand crafting when a rider approached. It was Silent atop her charger. The centaurs galloped toward her and guided her into camp.

Silent approached the carriage, leaped off her charger, and tackled me into the dirt. I was so surprised by the sudden attack that I didn’t stop her from ripping open my robe. She grabbed my member and began tugging on it while fiddling with her pants with her other hand.

“Wait, Silent, what are you doing?” I asked.

The second her massive hungry pussy broke free of her dress; it pressed hard against my head. She growled and thrust her hips down until I felt and heard a pop.

My mind blanked out for a few seconds. Silent was hotter, wetter, and deeper than I’d ever felt before. Something about her made my blood heat up.

A snug, warm sensation spread through me as Silent bucked her hips, forcing me deeper inside of her. First, her hungry hyenoid pussy stretched over me, taking ground quickly. Then, growing ever wetter, more slippery, and tighter, it stretched around me, gaining and giving ground.

I looked up at her to see a look of satisfaction on her face. She bucked her hips driving me deeper until I felt myself pass thoroughly through her clit and into her greatest depths. Her pussy lips twitched at my base, and she grabbed her lengthy pussy clit.

I felt her grab ahold of me, push, and pull, twisting her organ around as I bottomed out inside of her. Then, with a grunt, I exploded, and she pushed down as hard as she could. I realized it then, this wasn’t for fun.

When I began to soften, she pulled away and pinched the end of her clit with her fingers. Then, I watched as, instead of wringing her organ out, she squeezed the end and pulled up. Then, she stuffed two fingers inside of herself and pressed them inside.

“Just in case.” Silent said.

She patted my face and stood back up. “That was for you to remember me, bye.” Silent said.

Kale trotted over to me and offered her hand. Silent turned and tossed a silver coin. “For your trouble.” Silent said.

“I’ve never felt more like a whore than today,” I said.

“Did Silent just rape me and tossed you a silver for payment?”

“Do you feel alright?” Kale asked.

“I’m feeling a lot of things right now, alright, isn’t one of them,” I said.

I turned to see Silent already galloping away, leaving me behind like trash. So she had my genetics; what did she need me for. For a moment, I thought about blowing her to hell with a Heavy Fireball. It would have been so easy. Still, I hesitated; she had to have a reason, right maybe I was missing something.

No, she didn’t love me, but I thought she at least cared a little about me. She told me that goofy story about wanting to be a magical girl; Silent wouldn’t have told that to just anyone.

Her smell was all over me, and it took a few minutes to decipher what was different about it. Silent was in heat; I was sure of it. It must have driven her crazy; that was it, it wasn’t her fault; it was just the hormones. But, of course, when she comes back to herself, she would apologize.

That snowflake of optimism melted to the heat of my cynicism almost instantly. She used me and had planned to use me for some time. No matter how I rolled it around in my head, that was the answer that made the most sense.

“I will never come back here. Whether another flesh mage rises, or some other evil emerges to threatens this town, I won’t help it again.” I said.

Kale put a hand on my shoulder. “Would raping me help?” Kale asked.

And just like that, my mood turned for the better. “As if we both know you’d be the one taking me for a ride,” I said.

Kale rubbed my shoulders and bit my ear. “This is the way of the world you’re strong, but no one is invincible. It's not the dagger in the front that stabs you in the back. Hyenoids are crazy; she probably thought she was doing you a great honor. To her kind, there is no greater honor for a male than being chosen to continue your genetics with them.” I turned and kissed her.

I dropped my hand and let the Mantra fade from my mind. “What happens if the child is born human?” I asked.

“It's up to Silent and the matriarch, but they will still be clan. She wouldn’t cast out her child callously. So come, we need to join the formation. It’s time to begin our journey.” Kale said.

I hopped on top of the carriage and grabbed the controller. The shape of the control interface didn’t matter, but I was able to get the engineers working on the project to make a PS4 controller. It still didn’t feel right, but that was ok. Finally, the gate opened, and the centaurs galloped out while I hit the accelerator.

The doors closed behind us, and for a few minutes, we moved along at a sedate pace. Everything seemed to be running smoothly until one of the centaurs stepped on a random piece of sand and exploded. I heard the click and turned my head in time to see a powerful upwards explosion. The Feds had planted landmines, and now they knew exactly where we were if they hadn’t already. Panic swept through the ranks, and three centaurs made a run for it back towards the city only to step on more landmines. The 46 remaining centaurs of the company struggled to maintain control of the mares they brought.

This began our two-week journey to Bridle.