The Hero Became a Succubus, and the Only Way to Level is to… What?! Chapter 510 – A New Power in Talahurah

The journey to Talahurah was quick and peaceful, thanks in large part to the Imperial Span. Having a dedicated road, elevated from the wilderness and monsters, gave travelers safe passage to the biggest cities of the Commonwealth. The many wagons, carriages, and adventurers they passed during their trek demonstrated that. It wasn't the only blessing. Many smaller villages and towns were founded along the path, all teeming with life as proof of Kanae's prospering empire.

And Rown Company profited greatly from its partnership with the Commonwealth. Way stations dotted the length of the span, providing refuge for those who wanted a break. They stopped often to exchange weary languisteeds, so that their journey continued without pause. All operated and perford by Renya's own empire.

"Talahurah ahead! Talahurah ahead!" The carriage driver's announcent ca around late in the morning, signalling the end of their pilgrimage.

"You hear that, Arenade? We're finally here. Maybe you're a little too exhausted to even hear ," Kanae said, stretching her wings until the tips touched both sides of the carriage.

Arenade's eyes were blank. Covered from head to toe in spunk, a goblin simulacrum continued fucking her pussy while a second face-fucked her. The other two laid inert on the floor, out of mana from overuse. Their carriage orgy had lasted for days with no end in sight. Kanae was more than happy to cast Restore Mana to keep them going. In the end, they only really needed two. Four was a crowd.

The simulacrum shuddered. It blew its load down Arenade's throat, then pulled out to lay its cock over her eyes.

"Ahehe… Goblin cock… more… cock… goblins… to ruin … a high elf… of divine existence…" Arenade muttered deliriously.

"God, I love that look on you." Kanae scooted closer and cupped her jizz-stained face in both hands. "My high elven sex slave, reduced to being a goblin cumslut. We're almost to Talahurah though. Ti to snap out of it. You've got your pilgrimage, right? Unless you want to stay this way and show everyone how much you love goblin dicks~"

"Uuhh… Huh? G-Get off of already!" She pushed the one rubbing its dick on her face and kicked the other between her legs.

Both simulacra stumbled back and obediently took a seat. It was the most still they had ever been since the start of the journey. Now that Arenade had co to her senses, she curled up in the fetal position.

"I had sex with goblins all week… I had sex with goblins all week… What's wrong with ? What have I beco?" Arenade mumbled.

"You're the one who shoved the simulacra into boxes and had servants load them in. Don't kid yourself. What else would you have brought them for?" Kanae rolled her eyes.

"Other things! Like, y-y-you know… serving , and stuff…"

"Oh, yeah. A serving of goblin co—" A fist ca flying, and Kanae saw white. Next thing she knew, she was lying on the floor next to one of the unpowered simulacrum. "Ow… I deserved that…"

"Kanae, honey. Be a dear, and clean us up already," the high elf demanded nacingly.

"Yes, my sweet wife…"

It took several casts of Prestidigitation to tidy the cabin up and remove the cum from them. Kanae helped Arenade stow the simulacra back into their trunks, looking like a mob duo getting rid of so bodies. They opened the windows to air out the interior. Crisp winds carried the scent of tangy pine in, lifting away the musk of sweat and spunk.

Kanae stuck her head out to take a deep breath. The Talahurah Steppes greeted her with its vast undulating grasslands, like waves at the rcy of the winds. Below the Imperial Span, packs of beastn hunters stalked grazing gazelles. A large herd of highland horses trotted south to get an early start away from winter. The most breath-taking sight of all, however, was the Kh'shanti tree in the heart of Talahurah.

Although nowhere near as gargantuan as its predecessor, the seedling had grown trendously enough to be seen from a distance. The Kh'shanti dwarfed the pines and birch around it. Deep blue-green leaves gradually turned orange as it heralded the autumn season.

"How tall do you think it is now, Arenade? Want to make a wager? If my answer is closer, I get to fuck you with my Cock Ring of Hardening on later tonight. My guess is 150 feet," Kanae said.

"I'm not taking that bet! But I will make a guess. I think you're too conservative. That's at least 200 feet," Arenade insisted.

They were probably going to get the real answer soon. The carriage steered onto the off-ramp for Talahurah. Staying on it any longer would lead them straight to Highgreen, where Rown Company planned to branch off towards Artaggon. As they rolled in, so citizens recognized Kanae and Arenade right away. Their commotion running up them roused more and more people to see their monarchs. Soon, the streets filled with waving onlookers. Two harpy children landed atop the carriage, and their mother swooped in to pick them up. She bowed apologetically before giving her kids a scolding.

Arenade directed the coachman to the Talahurah Branch of the Eminence of Sin, the very chapter that ran a bordello in the adjacent building. Kanae fondly rembered working as a fellow prostitute and having t the ogre Thu, who was now a mber of Athyst Hall. Judging by the ruckus going on inside, business was booming.

Bright Cloister erged from the carriages, looking a little worse for wear. They must not be used to traveling long distances. Arenade, on the other hand, was perfectly fine and went to whip her followers into shape, but not without a slight limp from being fucked the entire way here.

Kanae turned to the modest Eminence church in ti for Erin and Taileen, the High Priestesses of the Talahurah chapter, to co out. The hare beastn twins lit up and ran down the steps.

"Queen Kanae!" Erin threw herself into Kanae for a big hug.

"Psst. It's Empress Kanae now," Taileen whispered.

"You two can call whatever you want. Queen, empress, whatever." Kanae smiled.

"Hey, I'm the other ruler of the Commonwealth, too. Where's my hello?" Arenade folded her arms.

The twins straightened their backs and curtsied.

"Whatever brings you to Talahurah? We weren't expecting you at all," Erin said.

Kanae thumbed at Arenade.

"I founded Bright Cloister, a denomination that purely worships…" Arenade snapped her fingers.

Behind, her followers bood, "Our beloved Demigoddess Arenade!"

Erin and Taileen were both taken aback.

"We've co to spread her light." Arenade smiled.

"O-Oh… I guess it isn't out of the ordinary to see worship of Demigoddess Arenade. After the Ortesian invasion, sentints for high elves sort of plumted. That involved the demigoddess, too," Erin explained nervously.

"Bright Cloister is a little intense… and weird," Taileen said in a low voice, but not low enough for Arenade to miss.

"Don't call my followers weird!" she yelled.

"Hiee! I'm sorry, Your Majesty!" the beastman woman cried.

For the ti being, Arenade sought to make use of the Eminence church as her base of operation. They unloaded their belongings from the carriages, and Erin showed them to available rooms in the clergy's quarters. Taileen insisted Kanae and Arenade have the High Priestess' bedchamber. As one of the smallest chapters, there weren't very many big rooms or lavish accommodations.

Arenade quickly made herself at ho, rearranging furniture and shoving her trunks under the bed. She pushed the ones containing the simulacra to one corner of the room, then set a note atop that read, 'Do not touch'. Bright Cloister regrouped in the church's main worship chamber to discuss their plans.

"Uhm, Kanae?" Erin leaned in and whispered. "Bright Cloister is harmless, right?"

"Most of the ti. Just let them do their thing. When they realize Talahurah isn't really interested in what they have to sell, we'll be out of your hair in no ti. But forget about them. I want to et with Sheeba. Where is living now?" Kanae asked.

"The Chieftain lives in Treering. It's a circular neighborhood that surrounds the Kh'shanti. I don't think she's around right now though. Sheeba goes out hunting a lot and cos back in the evening," the half-succubus explained.

"Until late, huh? Guess I'll check out the Kh'shanti for now," she said.

On the way out, Taileen rushed to catch up.

"Kanae, wait! I need to do so shopping in the markets. May I leave with you?" Taileen panted.

"Of course, you can. I'll even help," Kanae offered.

They flew into the city alongside other flying beastn going about their day. No matter where one was in Talahurah, two landmarks were almost always visible— the new Kh'shanti and the toppled one. Destroyed by Avaline von Cleisseldor during the Ortesian invasion, the fallen Kh'shanti now served as a ho to many once again on its side. Leaves still clung to the branches, draining whatever life still remained in the tree. Lumberers continued to shave away at the splintered end, taking away chunks of wood to be put to use elsewhere.

The people had carved deep into the trunk. Doors opened into cozy little hos, and bright lights shone through the windows and drapes. Buildings had even been constructed on the sky-facing side of the tree.

In fact, Taileen brought Kanae to an upper walkway of the fallen Kh'shanti, where rows of small shops stretched a section of the trunk's length. Iron lanterns hung on hooks between each store. People mosied about and browsed leisurely. A lift left behind on scaffolding transported them up and down, leveraging the weight of heavy stones.

They visited three different stores, filling out three bags each containing vegetables, fruits, and freshly-butchered at. The mood was uplifting. Kanae might have thought the Kh'shanti had never collapsed with how unfazed everyone seed atop their old monunt.

"Should we head back with all of this? I can always check out the Kh'shanti later," Kanae suggested.

"No need! It's very near," Taileen insisted, lifting off the walkway and flying towards the shaven stump.

An entire neighborhood of hos had been erected around the base of the fallen Kh'shanti. Talahurah guards patrolled the round pronade. After all, they had a new Kh'shanti to protect. The two landed beside the tree, which Kanae needed to crane her neck up to see from down at the bottom. Thick roots were embedded into the stump, cannibalizing the old one.

"Man, did this thing grow fast!" Kanae marvelled.

"The last ti Grovetenders had taken a asurent, they said the base of the trunk is 30 feet in diater and about 270 feet tall. It's really nice having a Kh'shanti to look up at again." Taileen smiled in delight.

"What the… Arenade and I weren't even close!" She gasped.

When Kanae placed a hand on the Kh'shanti's hard trunk, it thrumd with life. Like soone had plucked the string of an instrunt. Again. And again. And again. Almost as if it had a beating heart inside.

"Wait. Grovetenders?" Kanae recalled Taileen saying.

"Oh, right. Last year, so folks started feeling a connection to the Kh'shanti. They ca together and nad themselves Grovetenders. So say Gaea speaks to them. The mbers are more protective than fanatical. A few Sisters have joined their ranks, too. You get a very pretty tabard of the Kh'shanti on it!" Taileen explained excitedly.

An unsettling feeling stirred inside Kanae's chest. She drowned out Taileen's spiel and closed her eyes. The beating heart of the Kh'shanti pulsed louder with every passing second until—

"Greetings, succubus queen."

The world suddenly looked empty, then Kanae ca face to face with Gaea, a Faerealm demigoddess. The divine entity's skin wasn't a verdant green like she rembered, but covered in bark. Gaea's beauty was still unmistakable beneath it all. The lower half of her body was enveloped in the Kh'shanti, and she protruded from the trunk like a new branch growth.

"Gaea!" Kanae gasped.

"Thanks to you for holding up your end of the deal, I am able to exist in Faerealm and this plane. You have my sincerest gratitude. For as long as this Kh'shanti lives, Talahurah is under my protection. I also have a gift for you! I've cleared it with the Supre One. Hold out your hand," Gaea urged as a flower sprouted from her palm.

"Is this really ok? You being in this plane, I an. The Supre One isn't mad that I brought you here?" she asked.

"Not at all! If anything, I've taken over for Arenade's absence. Devotion to Demigoddess Gaea has never been greater now that I have access to this plane," the divine being explained.

Nectar from the flower on Gaea's palm dripped onto Kanae's hand. Golden and viscous like syrup, the substance radiated with warm otherworldly energy. Faerealm energy. She motioned for her to drink it, and so Kanae lifted the nectar up to her lips and drank. A tender embrace enveloped her, as though surrounded by the love of nature itself. No surge of power. No thunderous fanfare. Just warmth.

[You have been bestowed with a new skill, Nectar of the Grove!

Nectar of the Grove: Once per day, you may secrete a dollop of honey to fully restore soone's health, mana, and stamina.]

"Excuse ?! This sounds like a Paladin's Lay on Hands! I can heal soone without needing to Bond or cast Flash Heal over and over again… Er… Oh, co on! Another support spell? I want to cast big fireballs and shit!" Kanae complained.

"Now, now. Don't look a gift horse in the mouth. Normally, I only grant this to alraunes, but I'm making an exception. This spell won't cost you mana. And don't even bother trying to fill a container once a day. The nectar is purely magical and will dissipate if not imbibed. Farewell, succubus. Use my gift well." Gaea bowed and retreated into the Kh'shanti. "I nearly forgot!" Her voice echoed in the empty space. "Tell your fallen demigoddess wife, Arenade, she better not poach my followers!"

Kanae blinked once and returned to her world, standing in front of the young great tree. Taileen was still beside her, explaining about who the Grovetenders were and what they do around Talahurah.

"Erin and I were even thinking about joining them. Not entirely though! We're still very much adherents of the Eminence of Sin. We just like the idea of helping protect the Kh'shanti," Taileen explained.

"Uh, yeah. I don't see why not. Gaea sounds like a reasonable demigoddess," Kanae said, unlike soone else she knew.

"Really?" The beastman smiled hopefully.

"Why do I have a bad feeling about Bright Cloister being in Talahurah…" she grumbled under her breath.