4 ALMH Chapter 3: First Blood

James sat at the edge of the large bed. The soft purple satin sheets felt cool to his hot skin. He had a hard time taking in what just happened.

"That was fucking amazing! Did that really just happen to me?" James exclaimed while pinching himself.

The whole night felt like it had gone by in a blur. First the portal that sent him over to this world. Then being chased by hundreds of horny women, then being led back here and having his first time with some random general he just met. What is going on here?

The more James thought about it the more peculiar the situation was becoming. He thought about how weird it was that nearly everyone he has met was a woman. Where did all the men go? And even stranger was the fact that every woman he saw wanted to fuck his brains out.

James stood up and walked over to the window and looked out across the kingdom. Night had finally fallen over the kingdom and hundreds of torches lit the streets below. It was primitive but also felt nostalgic for some reason. Perhaps it was because he had loved going to the medieval fairs with his sister Jennifer. Or maybe it was because he spent nearly half his life playing fantasy RPGs. Either way he felt at home there in that moment.

James thought back to how delicious the food was and wondered if they had some dessert and drink left. He got his clothes back and made his way back out into the hallway.

He tried his best to remember the winding path that led him to the private chambers. Now in reverse he was questioning whether he should make a left or a right here. But then he heard a loud laugh coming from the right hand side.

"Bingo! We have a winner." James exclaimed, smiling to himself.

After walking a little more he managed to rejoin the banquet hall party and saw the King seated at the center of a long wooden table. Near the right end was seated Sasha. She gave him a cute little wave and then winked flirtaciously at him. He reciprocated by a clumsy little wave and a half cocked smile.

The king saw him and gestured for him to join him at the table.

"Come now James, come sit beside me." The king asked giving him a big smile.

James wandered his way through the boisterous crowd of jugglers, soldiers, nobles, and a few dancer girls in rather revealing see through dresses. He sat to the right of the King and the King pushed a full goblet of that cherry wine towards him.

"Drink up, the night is still young!" The king said, gesturing to the crowd around them.

James took a tentative sip of the cherry wine and immediately was hit with the sweetest wine he had ever had. It was smooth and had just the right amount of cherry flavor.

"Mmm my god this is good!" James admitted, moaning between breaths.

"Ha, ha, of course it is. It is our best wine. I'm glad you like it. There is plenty more if you wish it" King Herod chuckled, then he took a sip from his own goblet.

The king looked over at Sasha who seemed to be eyeing James with a strange intensity. The king smirked and turned back to James.

"Tell me James. Did you enjoy yourself?" The king asked with a mischievous glint in his eye.

James nearly spat out the delicious cheery wine. He tried to quickly compose himself before answering. But he struggled to come up with a good way to answer that.

James nervously chuckled and tried to shrug off the question. However, the king was not letting it go that easily.

"Did you enjoy yourself last night James?" the king asked again. This time he was more insistent.

James felt his face flush as he nodded his head. He didn't want to admit it but he had thoroughly enjoyed himself.

"I knew it!" King Herod exclaimed. "You must have had a good time. Look at you! You can barely speak! Ho, ho, ho!" The king laughed in spite of himself.

James nodded his head again, even more embarrassed now.

King Herod grinned widely and said, "Well then, it's time to talk about your trial."

"Trial? What trial?" James asked nervously.

James looked up at the king with trepidation. What exactly was this trial?

"All men in this world are subject to a trial that will gauge how potent their seed his and how good they are in bed," the king said. He paused for a moment, as if to let the seriousness of this information sink in.

James looked at the king with wide-eyed astonishment. "What do you mean?" he asked.

"Oh, don't worry," the king said, giving James a reassuring wink. "If you do well enough, you could end up being a noble or even a king!"

James' heart dropped into his stomach. He wanted to become a noble, sure. But this way? The only way to gain status and power was through his "seed"? He felt ashamed and embarrassed. This world was so different from his home, and he felt completely unprepared to deal with its bizarre customs.

As his mind raced with questions, James noticed the king looking at him expectantly. "So," he asked, his voice shaky with uncertainty, "What exactly does this trial entail?"

James was about to ask the king what the trial entailed when he suddenly heard a deafening crash from outside. All heads turned towards the large window as they saw hundreds of those hulking black beasts with poisonous thorns all over their body scaling the walls and burrow underneath them. Chaos filled the hall as everyone scrambled to their feet and ran to the nearest window. From his seat, James could see that the soldiers and archers stationed on the walls were already fighting back the swarm of beasts.

The king's eyes widened as he took in the situation. "Under attack!" he roared. "All soldiers and archers to arms!"

As the soldiers and archers rushed to arms, James could feel a sense of pride welling up within him. These women were taking on the role of protectors and warriors, not only to protect their land but to protect the few precious men in their society. Suddenly, the thought of taking this trial and potentially becoming a noble or even a king didn't seem so far-fetched after all.

In the midst of all the chaos, General Sasha Heldeer approached James wish a worried look on her face. "Stay here and wait for my return" she instructed. James felt a fire begin to burn his stomach.

"No. I uh..I want to fight with you." He admitted, clenching his fist.

"No James, men do not fight anymore, they are too precious to lose. Let us fight for you!" Sasha explained raising her fist in the air.

James didn't like that at all. Sit inside the castle all safe while women go to die for him? He wouldn't have it.

"I'm going with you! You can't change my mind!" James shouted, walking past Sasha with determination.

Walking quickly down the stone hallway he glanced over at the windows. Fire and explosions rang out over the entire kingdom. He could see hundreds of flaming arrows volley over the wall and hopefully meet their target.

For a moment he questioned if he was doing the right thing. He knew next to nothing about combat and he worried if the battle was caused by whatever had created those deep gashes in the walls and doors of Silva Village.

He stopped just for moment to think things through. He suddenly felt the strong hand of Sasha wrap itself around his arm and pull.

"You need to stay here James. Please!" Sasha pleaded.

"No, I need to see this for myself. I need to see what we're fighting out there." James argued, pulling away from Sasha.

Sasha let out a frustrated huff and walked faster to keep up with James.

"Fine! But you do what I say when I say it. Got it?" Sasha ordered.

"Yes, I'll do what you say. Let's just go!" James agreed.

The battle outside intensified, James and Sasha looked out of the windows. They saw soldiers and archers firing arrows and spells at the approaching monsters. Still, more and more monsters kept coming, making their way towards the castle. The two of them stared out in amazement as they watched the heroic defenders fight back the attackers. James felt his heart pounding in his chest, but he knew that now was not the time for fear.

They made their way down the spiral staircase and turned left into the armory.

"Take a weapon and some armor!" Sasha ordered.

James looked around and found a broad sword that seemed light enough for him to hold. It felt strangely right in his hands as he swung it back and forth. Then he grabbed a helmet with dragon symbols etched onto the sides. He thrust it onto his head and it was a perfect fit. Sasha came to him and helped him into some leather armor, making sure to tie the straps really tight.

"How are you supposed to breathe in this?" James asked while he winced.

"This is nothing honey, just wait till I get you in a corset." Sasha playfully jabbed.

She stepped forward and planted a passionate kiss before slapping his chest plate.

"Now let's go kill us some monsters." She said while licking her upper lip.

James was taken a back by the sudden kiss but, he felt a renewed determination welling up inside.

With a confident grin, he tightened his grip on his sword and got ready to fight back.

Sasha and James climbed the long zig zag pattern staircase all the way to the top. By the time they reached it they were huffing and puffing from the physical exertion.

What they saw a top of the wall made their hearts sink into their feet.

Dozens of large black beasts scaled the one hundred foot tall wall made of iron. Archers fired volley after volley of arrows from the wall down onto the beasts.

The arrows whistled by the heads of large black beasts, their razor-sharp talons digging into the iron wall and leaving triangular shaped holes in its wake. The black creatures, towering over twenty feet in height, had dozens of venomous spines and five black glassy eyes near the center of their head. The arrows bounced off their hard exoskeleton, leaving only the faintest of singe marks. The battle was fierce and the soldiers and archers fought valiantly to protect the castle, but it was clear that they were losing ground against the relentless swarm of monsters.

In the midst of the chaos of the raging battle, an archer girl with twin blonde pigtails let out a shriek of horror as one of the beasts grabbed her and flung her off the wall. Her body erupted in an explosion of blood and viscera as it hit the grassy field below, leaving bits of flesh and torn cloth smeared across the battlefield. Sasha took notice of the girl's plight and quickly swung her sword upwards, slashing a swathe into the mouth and eye of the monster.

James was stunned by the brutality of the attack but reacted instinctively, swinging his sword and slicing off one of the thorns on its back. The beast turned its head toward James nearly impaling him on several thorns. James dodges out of the way while Sasha grabs the fallen bow of the blonde archer and embues the arrows with fire magic.

"Leydas Fehkhim!" She commands.

The swirling crimson flames take to the arrows and grow in intensity.

"James!" Sasha shouts aiming her arrows at the beast.

The beast opens it tainted maw and roars an unholy burst of sound that makes James' ears ring. Sasha doesn't hesitate and fires both arrows directly into the throat of the beast. The creature reels back from the sudden pain and let's go of its grip on the wall. It plummets down and smashes into another of the black beasts. Together they tumble unto they crash into the grassy field below, erupting into large chunks of flesh and broken thorns.

The archers and soldiers cheer as their moral rises. They begin to copy Sasha's brave act and fire the arrows into their mouths as they roar. One by one they plummet into the grassy field below and die upon impact.

A few of the older and more intelligent of their species decide to keep their mouths shut and swing their scaled tail at the soldiers knocking them off the wall and down onto the houses below inside the kingdom.

"Dammit!" James cried out, slamming his fist on the walls edge.

"They're learning. Spears! Bring the spears!" Sasha commanded.

Several of the soldiers sheathed their swords and grabbed the long bladed spears. They formed around the beasts on the wall and began to pierce into its hard exoskeleton. A few of the blows bounced off but one managed to sink inside the skin right inside the armpit.

"There! Aim for the weak spots!" Sasha commanded.

James looked around and wondered what he should do. He grabbed one of the long spears and found it difficult just to lift it much less anything else.

"Damn that's heavy!" He admitted through gritted teeth.

He just barely lifted it up when another beast appeared climbing over the wall right beside him. The creature collided with the end of his spear and it pierced into its eye. The creature cried out in pain and shook its head left and right trying to free itself of the sharp object.

James smirked and felt a sense of pride that he managed to wound it. The creature lifted its arm and snapped the spear off into two. It stared at him with a look of rage in its black glassy eyes.

"Oh shit!" James yelped as he ducked and dodged a swipe from the beasts sharp talons.

Sasha was busy wrangling one of the beasts with a long rope and didn't notice that James was under attack.

James ran for his life, leaping over spears and barrels as if it was a side scrolling video game. The other soldiers turned and stabbed as the beast ran by. James spotted a cannon that was being readied for battle. He pushed the barrel around and aimed it at the beast.

"Sionara Bitch!" James shouted, touching a torch to the ignition.

The cannon fired and kicked back with so much force that James slid across the surface of the wall and wound up looking up the skirt of one of the more beautiful archers.

"Hey there!" He managed to cough out through his pain.

The cannon ball smashed through the teeth of the beast, down its gullet, and out through the tail soaring into the air. The creature lurched forward and fell onto the wall motionless and bloodied.

The last few creatures were taken up in similar fashion, being stabbed or exploded by cannon fire. The battle was finally over. Every last soldier and archer on the wall cheered and lifted their weapons in triumph. They had won!

Meanwhile, further beyond the battlefield deep inside the trees a hooded figure focuses on one particular person a top of the wall, James. Their eyes glow red like fire surrounded by the darkness of the night. The figure grins from underneath the black hood and lifts her finger to point at James. A raspy voice growls out between two green lips.

"You're mine!"

*** Hey there! This is author-san, HaremKing777, speaking to you. I really appreciate reading my story and if you like it then let me know in the comments below. I am a beginner writer so I will also take constructive criticism so I can improve as a writer. Thanks again and I will see you all tomorrow for the next exciting chapter.***