Koji Fights The World - Chapter 28 Troublesome Escape

The Centurions’ gallops along the streets broke the dead silence of the night. They fanned out in a semi-circle behind Koji, Zelea, and Vi. The centaurs’ eyes lingered at every alley as if hidden monsters were about to attack the passerby!

Koji glanced back and noticed the tension in their bodies. He used his Qi Perception to sweep his vicinity. He discovered no sign of an ambush. “Relax,” Koji told the centurions and smiled.

“Stop worrying about them, Koji!” Zelea complained. As the highest ranking person within the group, the leadership role fell on her. Thus, she took a proactive part and kept the centurions busy throughout the night.

To their credit, the centurions were highly disciplined and executed their mission diligently. But occasionally, some of them glared at Vi’s back as they imagined turning her hideous body into a pincushion!

As if she had read their hostile thoughts, Vi turned around and smiled broadly at them.

Ugly faces appeared behind the masks of these centurions. However, none of them dared to insult her again and draw the ill-tempered Zelea’s attention.

When the group was a block away from the gatehouse, Zelea stopped slithering. Her followers immediately stopped as well. The princess turned around to address the centurions. “How do you intend to leave?” she inquired because this was a problem she couldn’t overcome despite her brainstorming.

Koji raised his hand. “Can’t they leave normally? After all, you’re the target, not them,” he noted.

Xanthur grinned. “We can use a shortcut,” he answered mysteriously.

Koji’s brows rose, but he kept silent.

“Please follow me,” the centurion leader said and quietly galloped down a street an entered an alley. Boxes were arranged to permit the centaurs to climb to the roof!

Once the centurions reached the rooftop, they quietly walked along the roofs until they drew closer to the walls. Suddenly, they charged and then jumped over the stone wall!

Zelea’s jaw dropped upon seeing the ease the centaurs had left the city! She looked down at her snake body and ruefully shook her head. “I can’t jump over the roof,” she admitted.

Vi smiled broadly. “If you turn to your human form, the two of you can ride on my back while I climb the wall,” she proposed.

“Can you carry both of us?” Koji asked.

The spider woman giggled at the silly question. “Do you weigh more than a centaur?” she responded.

“Oh,” the young man quickly understood her meaning: if Vi was strong enough to lift a thousand-pound centaur to the ceiling, then she could easily carry the two of them since they weigh less than three hundred pounds combined.

“All aboard the Vi Train,” she said with a laugh.

Koji climbed on the arachnid’s back and hugged her waist; Zelea reluctantly did the same with him.

Vi pumped her six spider legs like a piston as she effortlessly climbed down from the roof and then up and over the wall. She reached the centurions on the other side without breaking a sweat.

Zelea immediately hopped to the ground; she didn’t wish to sit on Vi’s back for even one second longer.

However, Koji lingered.

“Shall we travel like this?” Vi turned her head and teased.

The young man blushed furiously as he immediately hopped off. “S-sorry!” he stammered an apology.

The spider woman giggled again.

“Let’s go,” Xanthur said. He took out a lantern from his saddle bag. Once he lighted the lamp, the leader continued walking.

The group moved through the farmlands outside the city without being challenged by anyone. Soon, they entered the forest under the mountain.

When Xanthur became satisfied by the distance between his party and the city, the commander ordered, “We’ll make camp here.”

“You guys can rest. I’ll take up night watch duties,” Vi offered. When she saw the centurions hesitate, the arachnid reminded them, “I’m nocturnal, remember? And I don’t rely on light to detect creatures,” she added.

Xanthur looked at his men and saw that they appeared tired. He relented and said, “Okay.”

The centurions passed around some travel rations, and the party ate silently. Then they laid down on the ground and slept out in the open.

Zelea still harbored suspicion of Vi; she feared that the arachnid would kidnap her husband while the party slept. Thus, she returned to her lamian form and wrapped her snake body around Koji. “Good night!” she chirped, kissed his forehead, and closed her eyes.

Vi giggled at the physical helplessness of Koji. “At least she’ll keep you warm for the evening!” she joked and shook her head. Vi couldn’t believe how possessive Zelea felt toward her bonder. Part of the reason that Vi came to Nephosia was to study the Bonder-Bonder Keeper relationship and learn more about it. Vi wondered if all bond keepers treated their bonders similarly as Zelea treated Koji. The arachnid quietly left her sleeping companions to patrol the area.

After a half hour, Vi became bored with her night watch duty. Thus, she started spinning her web to create a shelter for herself to sleep during the daylight hours.

By the time her companions awoke, they were stunned when they opened their eyes! The entire sky above their heads became one massive cocoon! At first, the centurions worried that the arachnid had turned traitor and tied them up. However, they soon noticed their bodies remained free. The ceiling was high enough for them to stand to their full height.

Xanthur reached out with his hand to turn the web. It felt soft and elastic but not sticky. Suddenly, something dropped from the ceiling and landed in front of the centaur! He reached for his sword but froze when he saw it was Vi. “Don’t scare me like that!” he grumbled.

The mischievous spider woman giggled. “Sorry, it’s a bad habit of mine,” she smiled.

“Couldn’t you find better use of your time?” someone interjected.

The two turned and saw Princess Zelea, who had a frown on her face. They noticed that she still held a tight grip around Koji’s arms and torso. Thankfully, he was asleep.

Vi pointed her finger at him and remarked, “I might not be familiar with the bond between a lamia and her Bonder, but I don’t think the bond entitles you to use poor Koji as your body pillow.”

“I can do whatever I want with him,” Zelea replied with a glare.

The argument awoke Koji, who was unhappy to discover that he was still tied up by his wife. “Can you release me now, Zelea?” he asked politely.

The Bond Keeper blushed with embarrassment as she unwrapped her snake body–only to wrap her arms around his waist! Zelea stared at Vi, daring the arachnid to make another rude comment about Zelea’s relationship with her husband.

Vi could only shrug at the antics of the princess while the centurions took pity on the young man. They also felt guilty because they believed that Zelea was still upset by Mylia’s kiss from yesterday. And Vi’s presence triggered feelings of anxiety in Zelea’s heart.

Xanthur spoke up again to change the topic. “Vi, are you planning to stay in this cocoon?” he asked.

The arachnid nodded. “I sleep during the day, and I will stay here until nightfall. At that time, I will find you again,” Vi answered.

Koji finally wriggled free of his wife’s thin arms. “How will you find us?” he inquired.

The spider woman smiled. “By scent. My spider legs have powerful sensors to detect smell and movement. And our friends, the centurions, are probably the only centaurs within these mountains. They carry a unique body odor, and that makes it simple for me to track them down,” Vi explained with the patience of a teacher.

“I see,” Koji nodded in understanding as he glanced at Vi’s legs, each of which had a coating of hair.

“Let’s eat breakfast and then we can start the search,” Xanthur said. He opened his saddlebag and passed out the travel rations to the party members.

Once they finished their light meals, Vi tugged on a strand of web. A door made of spiderweb opened. As the centurions and the royal couple exited the cocoon, Vi waved goodbye. “I’ll see you soon!” she promised with a smile.

The centurions picked up their pace to put as much distance from Vi’s cocoon as possible. “That is one strange woman, even for an arachnid,” one of the centaurs remarked.

“At least she wasn’t hostile,” someone replied. “Vi could have raped Koji until she became pregnant, and then use us as food for her children,” he added.

Xanthur became upset at the lack of discipline among his men. The commander clapped his hands loudly and shouted, “ATTENTION!”

The centurions immediately formed a line before their leader.

“Our great chieftain is dying, and you’re wasting time on gossip! Scout the area for danger while Princess Zelea and her Bonder search for the thousand year ginseng roots! Mylia promised King Aphraphus that we would protect them. Don’t make a liar out of her! Now, go!” Xanthur barked and stomped his left hind leg.

The centurions saluted and immediately departed in groups of two.

Once his men were gone, Xanthur turned around to face Zelea and Koji. The leader dipped his head. “I apologize for their rudeness.”

Princess Zelea waved her hand dismissively. As an adopted member of the Royal Family, she was the frequent target of nasty rumors and gossip. Thus, the rude behavior of the centurions was nothing new to her. “We need to head further into the mountain,” she said and pointed her finger at the direction of the pinnacle. Although Zelea promised not to enter the mountaintop, she wants to go near it because that was the most likely location for the ingredient the chieftain needs.