Primordial Villain With A Slave Harem

Her lips peeled back in a feral grin, letting blood stain her teeth as her life essence kept doing its utmost to leave its host. "Worry about yourself, 'man.' You only won because I let you throw me in the air. I won't make the same mistake twice."

Quinlan sighed, long and heavy, dragging a hand down his face. "… It seems even this beating wasn't enough to make you surrender."

Raika wiped her mouth with the back of her hand, then smirked with smug, bloody defiance.

"Raika never surrenders."

Such defiance only lasted until Quinlan made his next move.

With a deceptively casual motion, he flicked her forehead.

*Thunk.*

Her head snapped back like a puppet whose strings had been cut. Her body slumped into the crater with a dull thud.

For a moment, silence.

Then…

Her eyes snapped open again. Confusion flashed across her face until the throbbing pain at the center of her forehead registered. Her glare darted straight to the offending finger still poised in front of her.

Quinlan smirked. "That makes the tally two to zero. Raika has been defeated a second time."

"Not fair!" she barked, trying to push herself upright again.

"'Age, levels, number of allies… are just excuses,'" Quinlan recited smoothly, "…and so is fairness."

Raika snarled. "Don't quote me!"

"To the victor go all the spoils," Quinlan continued without missing a beat. "I can do whatever I want as the winner, no? A brute like you should know the law of the jungle better than anyone."

"You didn't win yet!" she snapped, forcing herself up again.

Another finger flick.

*Thunk.*

Her eyes rolled and she slumped back into the ground, groaning.

"Three to zero," Quinlan declared, smug as ever.

A low, guttural growl rumbled from Raika's throat, deep and primal. Her fists clenched at her sides, and though her body was broken, her spirit thrashed violently, refusing to admit defeat.

'How cute…' Quinlan chuckled inwardly.

'Well, Vex did tell me this chick would be far too stubborn to admit defeat after only a single beating. According to her words, even Black Fang needs to beat her from time to time or she starts getting ideas, such as the pecking order no longer being relevant.'

Quinlan's gaze lingered on her defiant, bloody eyes, and the thought struck him like a hammer. It came quickly and abruptly.

'Yeah… I want this woman.'

He'd been interested since the first time he laid eyes on her. But, frankly, anyone with at least acceptable taste in women would be, even if they were women themselves. Such was the stark and exotic beauty Raika exuded.

But looks alone weren't enough for him. Quinlan didn't look for good fucks and pretty trophies but women he wanted to accompany him on his quest for ultimate power and freedom.

Orianna and Black Fang were just as striking, yet he still hadn't decided if they were harem material or simply potential comrades.

Raika, though? Beating her into the dirt and still seeing that fire in her eyes… Having this brief but fun conversation with her… that turned his interest from 'dang, what a hot babe this one is' to 'I want this woman in my life.'

It was abrupt, maybe even ridiculous, but Quinlan trusted his heart. He always had with his wives. Logic had always taken a backseat in the matter of love.

Or he wouldn't have flirted with Vex, where he truthfully risked his life in doing so. Even more dangerous was accepting and then stuffing the royal princess of the dogkin people, Kitsara, in their own territory.

Papa Vargis could've gone after his hide, but Quinlan didn't care about reason. His heart told him Kitsara was worth it, and he had no regrets whatsoever.

"Wipe that smirk off your face or you'll regret it!" Raika snarled.

She was most certainly a woman of action, as she was already swinging her fist at him.

Too slow. The extreme beating he gave her had weakened her body far too much. She needed the attention of a healer as soon as possible. To that end, Quinlan caught her fist with ease and, instead of letting go, swept her into a princess carry.

Her eyes went wide. "Put me down!" She thrashed violently, her burned and beaten body doing its utmost in resistance, but in his arms, she was weightless.

"I can smirk as long as I'm the victor, no? We've been over this, Raika. Use that pretty little head of yours."

Her face darkened. "I don't like your tone. You keep calling me a brute and dumb. I'll beat you up for that, too, rude fucker!"

Quinlan's grin only widened. "Really? Well, you do you. In the meantime, this rude fucker will add you to his harem."

"… Hah? Are you retarded?"

"No, I am a seer who can glimpse the future with pristine clarity," he declared with infuriating smugness that made many veins threaten to burst on Raika's forehead.

The woman scoffed. "No wonder the witch fell for you. You're both deranged lunatics. A perfect match."

Quinlan's arms tightened around her body. "Careful. Speaking ill of this deranged lunatic's wives has a very high chance of granting you another beating. Outsiders are not allowed to call my deranged lunatic of a wife ugly names."

But Raika felt anything but threatened. Her pulse flared. "I am ready! Put me down and fight me! I'll quickly turn the score to three to three million in my favor!"

"Three?" Quinlan raised a brow. "But I'm already at four victories."

Her head whipped toward him. "Hah? And you dare call me dumb? You can't even count on your fingers. You're a failure of a caveman."

"I'm currently carrying my future wife and current challenger in a princess hold. What do you call that if not another victory in my favor?"

Raika froze. "!!!"

Then she exploded, flailing with newfound energy, trying even harder than she had in the fight itself. But her fists beat uselessly against his chest as the realization burned through her.

In the span of a few minutes, she suffered four defeats!

Shameful!

Utterly shameful!

…

At the same time, another part of the stronghold was getting chaotic!

The king was calling!