BXBX NOVEL Book 2: 324
The elasticity of string made from the tendons of a Rock Troll was amazing.
Since they were supported by that much elasticity, the power of the arrows that were shot out of the bow naturally increased by a few times. Of course, the strength required to pull such a bowstring could be imagined.
He could feel the bowstring hum slightly beneath his fingertips.
“…ssp.”
He sucked in a soft breath and stopped breathing.
His eyes narrowed in concentration.
His aim focused on a vital point.
Twang-
He let go of the bowstring.
The arrow tore through the air and arrived in front of Nix in the blink of an eye. In a short span of time fast enough to be called nigh-instantaneous, the arrow reached the nape of Nix’s pure white neck.
But that was all.
Fwoosh!
As Nix’s wings unfolded, the approaching arrow was quickly burnt to ashes.
“Kuh.”
He couldn’t help but bite his lip.
That wasn’t an ordinary arrow. The arrow he’d just fired was made from the wood of a lava tree which was well known for being able to withstand high temperatures. Nevertheless, in front of Nix’s flames, it burned like dry firewood.
He’d heard a lot about her, but he never would have thought that she was such a monster.
Monster Queen.
It was only at that moment that he realised why she was given that name.
About three years ago, rumours that fire beasts called Phoenixes had been spotted in the Ispania Mountains came flooding in one after the other.
At that time, there was still a lot of speculation since Phoenixes were so rare that one might not be able to find one even if they were to search the entire continent.
Some countries and races referred to them as Divine Beasts, but to the general populace, they were just seen as monsters. But that didn’t matter.
What the powerful people cared about was that all of the parts of the Phoenix held enormous collection value regardless of whether it was for magicology, alchemy, metallurgy, and so on.
So upon hearing the rumors, nobles and bureaucrats from all over the world joined forces to form a powerful subjugation team and sent the expedition to the Ispania Mountains.
Ten First Class Knights, and fifty Apprentice Knights, and five Knight Divisions.
Two 6 star Wizards, five 5 star Wizards, and twenty 4 star Battle Mages.
Two A rank Mercenaries, five B rank Mercenaries, and ten C rank Mercenaries.
Five hundred infantrymen.
There were also guides, cooks, and even hunters.
Thus, a large army of more than 1,000 men was gathered, but even until the end, no one knew.
That was the beginning of a disaster.
* * *
The Ispania Mountains were given the nicknames ‘Monster Heaven’ and ‘Hell Mountains’.
In other words, apart from the Phoenixes, there were still many threats scattered everywhere. At that time, the members of the subjugation team only assumed that the other monsters living in the mountains were nothing more than the Phoenixes’ food.
Nevertheless, they were monsters.
In front of such a systematically organised force, the monsters were helplessly overrun.
They attacked the Ispania Mountains with unstoppable momentum and soon arrived at a mountain that seemed to pierce the sky.
This was the location of the Phoenixes they were looking for.
But when they ascended the mountain, they were surprised.
Seven individuals.
There were only old and young individuals on the mountain. Thanks to this, their expedition became the easiest subjugation expedition ever.
But the subjugation force did not leave immediately.
The top of the mountain was quite peaceful, and for some strange reason, no monsters approached it.
Since it would take at least a month for them to return, they decided to stay at the top of the mountain and hold a small banquet.
It was the biggest and worst mistake they would ever make.
Early the next morning, a red haired woman appeared at the top of the mountain.
The Monster Queen.
‘…there were only ten survivors from the subjugation force.’
Even if they were being negligent, they were still an elite subjugation force with close to 1,000 members. And yet, only 1 percent of them managed to survive.
According to the survivors’ reports, the flames she spewed didn’t just destroy the expedition party, instead, it even burned down part of the Ispania Mountains.
After that, the Monster Queen was unable to erase her hatred for humans.
She sometimes secretly and sometimes openly engaged in the burning of prominent human figures.
Then there were reports that she had recently come into contact with Diablo.
Krrr…
“…!”
Suddenly, with a loud crack, a tree began to fall towards Eric, but he was barely able to quickly roll across the ground and avoid it.
The tree, which had been exposed to death energy, had become dry and twisted, making it no different from firewood that had been covered in oil. This place, where the flames were so hot that it was beginning to melt the rocks around them, was gradually becoming more and more like hell.
His heart ached.
The Amalgam Forest had already suffered irreparable damage.
And yet, Eric, a High Elf, could do nothing to the culprit who had caused this tragedy.
[Eric.]
A voice.
He heard Yuriah’s voice. Was she using telepathy?
[Just listen carefully. I’ll be restraining the Monster Queen’s movements soon. It might even be possible for me to put those annoying wings of hers out for a while.]
“How?”
He asked back subconsciously, but telepathy was a form of one sided notification magic rather than back and forth communication. His voice could not reach Yuriah.
[That will give you an opportunity. If this fails, we all die. If you intend to run away, this will be our only chance. We can only do it now when the Monster Queen is unstable and spewing flames randomly.]
Run away.
That was the most logical response one could make when faced with an enemy they couldn’t handle.
[If you want us to escape, shoot an arrow to the sky. Then I will give the order to the others.]
He’d witnessed the Monster Queen’s formidable power. It was at a level where he wasn’t even sure what to do. Even when all of the members of the Swordnaz were gathered, their chances of winning didn’t exceed 10%.
In the current situation, the best thing for them would be to retreat, come up with a strategy, and arrange their formation accordingly.
‘However… What will happen to Lady Snow if we run away?’
The ‘Swordnaz’ were the escort team created to protect Snow. None of them would hesitate to use their own bodies as a shield to protect Snow from attacks, and they were ready to give up their lives if she ordered it.
Raven said that the Monster Queen was blocking the path leading to Snow.
So running away now would be no different from abandoning their Lady. In other words, it was an act that defied their very reason for existing.
…So from the start, there was no choice.
Creak-
His bow let out a soft sound and his hand drew the bowstring back.
Eric aimed his bow.
Not at the sky, but at the Monster Queen’s throat.
(TL: No wonder Nix hates humans now. She probably worked hard to gather all the phoenixes together then they killed them all.)
(TL: I was going to add another chapter after this, ya know 10/10. But ending it short just seems so funny to me. So, the mass release will end here at 9/10.
Also, I won’t post any chapters on the 2nd either, to give you more time to bask in my greatness ^-^.
But maybe, just maybe, I’ll also release another bunch of chapters on the 3rd too.
Happy April Fools ^-^.)