CHAPTER 43

SOLLEL IMMEDIATELY felt the moonrite stone after her flaming rock attack rained down on the valley, destroying countless of the undead, ghouls and wraiths. But with the moonrite stone so near, her strength was drained in an instant.

Her body swayed, but before she fell, an arm caught her waist and steady her.

"Are you okay, my lady?"

Sollel shook her head as she held onto Hakken's shoulder. Her head was spinning, her strength was slowly waning away, still, she tried to release another flame attack but failed.

"I'm fine." Sollel let go of Hakken and patted his chest. "Fight. Go."

An order from his lady that Hakken couldn't decline. "Yes, my lady."

Hakken let go and Sollel drop on her knees almost immediately. Seeing his lady weak, Hakken wanted nothing but to be by her side and assist her, but his lady was not a frail woman. If she told him to 'go and fight', that meant she had everything under control.

So, he fought. With war blades on his hands, he slew every monster and soldiers trying to get to his queen. Meanwhile, Grath was blocking the elite soldiers of the empire and the kingdom and at the same time, Zassia's flame was crawling on the ground around the queen, creating a circle shape flame, trapping the queen inside to protect her.

Seeing the queen in that state, Zassia volunteered herself to be the queen's protector. With her life, she would die to safeguard her highness!

High-tier elemental attacks from flame to wind, bombarded the circle of flame Zassia created around her queen. The attacks were formidable and overpowering Zassia, but she held her ground and gritted her teeth.

However, Zassia could only do so much. Receiving the attacks from different high-tiers sorceress, she was overpowered, but she would not be defeated as long as she breathes.

"Do not underestimate the direct flame blessing from my queen, the Mistress of Flame!" Zassia screamed with her gritted teeth, she intensified her flame, giving all her essence, she raised the circle of flame around the queen up to six feet tall and made a cage for her.

Spending all her essence, Zassia's swayed and fell to the ground.

Seeing his companion, Lady Zassia fell, Grath bellowed and unleashed multiple flame claws to block and attack his opponents before running towards Zassia to lend a hand.

"Run!" It was a shout from Hakken that Grath, and Zassia heard clearly. "Run! I'll meet you later there with the queen!"

"No!" Grath shouted back while defending Zassia who was losing consciousness. "I am not leaving her highness!"

Hakken hissed and slashed his swords against the undead, ghouls and wraith around him, overcrowding him. "Your job is to protect Zassia! Now, go!"

Grath was indecisive as he glanced at the queen inside the circle of flame, then he looked down at Zassia. He swore his fealty to the queen, his entire being was screaming at him not to turn his back. He was reading to shout at Hakken that he will stay when he heard his queen's order from the circle of flame.

"Go, Grath." The queen sounded so weak. "Protect Zassia."

Grath kneeled. "Yes, my queen." Then he carefully picked up lady Zassia and ran.

They were in the center of the valley; the whole place was filled with undead monsters and the only reason Grath could run away while the elite soldiers of the kingdom and empire were near was because of the hoard of monsters crowding the whole valley attacking everyone that lives and breath. Including the elites from the kingdom and empire.

It was the same reason why Hakken was still standing even when the elites were in the same valley.

The difficulty of running while carrying someone and monsters were after your life, flesh and blood got to Grath after a few meters since he accepted his order from his queen.

"Forgive me, Lady Zassia." Said Grath, and changed the position of Zassia's body from his arms to hanging her over his shoulder to free his hands so he could fight the monsters who gets in his way.

Concurrently, the empire and kingdom's elite soldiers and sorcerers were closing in on Sollel and Hakken. And in the rear, Hakkeran and General Kar were occupied by monsters while giving orders to the elites in the midst of mayhem. Hakkeran and General Kar's plan was to send in the elite soldiers and sorcerers to the front line, each one carrying a moonrite stone to weaken the queen, while the two enters the battlefield to greatly lessen the numbers of monsters so it'll be easier for everyone to get to the queen and subdue her.

However, even high-tier sorcerers couldn't penetrate the flame cage Zassia created around the queen and the elite soldiers couldn't get close to Hakken without being slaughtered by the monsters.

And what the General Kar didn't foresee was the queen's companion. Especially the hunter killing every monster and soldiers in sight to protect the Mistress of flame. Kar's blood boil and his teeth gritted at the hunter. Whoever sided with the Mistress of flame was General Kar's enemy. And the hunter protecting the queen was on his number one list to kill and make an example of.

General Kar turned to Warlord Hakkeran who was staring at the flame cage furiously. In Kar's mind and understanding, Hakkeran was furious at the Mistress of flame. She was the descendants of Sappher's enemy. Hakkeran's anger was understandable.

"Take care of the Mistress of Flame," Kar said to Hakkeran, "I'll take care of that Hunter." Without waiting for Hakkeran's reply, Kar made his way to Hakken.

Meanwhile, a high-tier wind sorcerer bellowed in the midst of chaos. "Surround the flame cage! The flame will die down eventually! Surround it and ready your strongest attack!"

"But the monsters!" A water sorcerer was against the plan seeing the undead devouring their comrades.

One of the captains of the force interject. "Do what you have to do! We will protect you!" And by his order, ten or so soldiers positioned themselves behind the sorcerers, protecting them from monsters. "May the deities bless us!" The captain bowed his head before he faced the undead and started slaughtering them, cleaning up the whole place surrounding the flame cage to give the sorcerers the time to do what they had to.

As high-tiers sorcerers surround the flame cage, their protector was behind them, slaying monsters and protecting their backs, Sollel, who was inside the flame cage, was on her knees, weak. Even how much harder she tries; she couldn't overcome the effect of the moonrite stone. It drained her strength rapidly and now; she was close to losing consciousness.

With Grath protecting Zassia and Hakken fighting monsters, away from her, Sollel knew how bad her situation now. The moment this flame cage that Zassia created to protect her vanished, she'll be dragged back to the empire. Caged and chained again.

No! No! I can't go back! I'm so close to Gatria! Sollel screamed in her mind as she tried to fight in her weakened state.

Meanwhile, outside the cage, seeing the sorcerers and soldiers surrounding the queen, Hakken's face darkened as he slaughtered every monster attacking and crowding around him, however, as he finished off a monster, another one will replace it and another and another. But that was not enough to crush Hakken's will to fight and protect his lady. As monsters piled up one after another, blocking his path, Hakken bulldozed and slaughtered his way out. From monsters to soldiers to anyone who dared stand his way, he destroyed them.

But just as when Hakken was near his lady, a strong warrior covered in blood and carrying a war hammer appeared in front of him, blocking his path to his queen.

The bloody and exhausted Hakken jumped back to put a distance between him and the warrior – General Kar, the one who hurt Cira and fought with Zassia and her grandfather. A descendant of Sappher just like him who could slaughter the undead without so much as lifting his war hammer.

Hakken knew the General was a tough opponent, but he couldn't focus, and his eyes wandered to his lady. The flame cage was still burning, but Hakken could tell that the flame was starting to die down.

My lady!

Seeing the hunter frozen in place as if distracted, General Kar throws his war hammer towards the hunter who was caught by surprised, but it was too late for him to block and escape. The weight of the war hammer slammed against the hunter, sending him flying.

And in mid-air, while the hunter's body was thrown into the air, General Kar called back his war hammer and when it returned to his hand, he throws it again towards the hunter.

As the war hammer slammed against Hakken's body again, he was sent flying further away from the center of the valley, away from his lady. He should be worried and anxious, but instead, a smile appeared on his lips when he saw General Kar running towards his wounded and tattered body to finish him.

Good plan, Hakken thought as his body fell into the ground.

General Kar Drue smirked when he caught up to the hunter and saw the shape he was in. Kar was sure that the hunter could never fight nor lift a finger anymore as he draws back his war hammer in his hand.

His lips curling in disgust, Kar Drue raised his hammer to finish off the hunter. "I will make an example out of you. Be honored that you will die by my hands, you piece of scum."

Kar Drue was ready to pulverize the hunter, but the hunter smiled like death didn't matter to him and in a low voice, he spoke clearly.

"My queen... is not that weak."

As the hunter finished those words, the sky was covered in blood-red color, as if the sun was setting on the horizon. But it wasn't a sunset, it was the countless flame shaped like swords in the sky, burning ardently, scorching the air like a furnace, and raining down furiously.

General Kar Drue's mouth parted in disbelief as the carnage happened in front of his eyes. The countless flame shaped like swords in the sky rained down ferociously, setting everything ablaze, wreaking havoc to the center of the valley. Monsters, soldiers, and sorcerers were burnt beyond recognition.

The Mistress of Flame? No! It can't be her! She was weakened by the moonrite stone! The devastation in front of him caused General Kar to stagger back. What happened?! Who did this?! The flame sorcerers? No... that attack was too formidable to be done just by anyone! It must be the Mistress of flame. Only she could do this kind of destruction! Does that mean the moonrite stone doesn't work on her anymore?

Knowing that the hunter was closed to death, Kar didn't hesitate to leave and run back to the center of the valley. And as he neared the center, that's when Kar fully realized the true destruction that that formidable flame attacked had caused. The center of the valley was scorched and levelled, string of flames still lingers on the levelled soil, and the most terrifying of all was that no one was alive, both the kingdom and the empire's elite soldiers and high-tier sorcerers were gone.

All burnt beyond recognition.

And the Mistress of Flame was nowhere to be found.

Warlord Hakkeran! At that thought, General Kar ran around, looking for a sign that Hakkeran was alive, but all he could find was his second-best weapon on the ground, burnt and other parts were melted as if it was exposed to such high heat. Did he use this to protect himself?

General Kar looked around. The warlord was strong, Kar was sure that he was alive somewhere and only got blasted away by that insanely strong flame attack.

I need to find him and regroup!

♕ ♕ ♕

GRATH MOUTH was agape when he witnessed the most formidable flame attack he had ever seen in his life! And in an instant, he knew it wasn't the queen nor the unconscious Zassia on his shoulder. It was someone else, but who?! The battlefield was chaotic that it was hard to identify the attacker. Grath had no idea, and he didn't linger to find out who. His order was to keep Lady Zassia safe and that's what he's going to do.

So Grath ran with Zassia on his shoulder while the monsters were still disoriented after that attack. He didn't look back, didn't stop, and didn't hesitate. He left his queen and Lord Hakken behind like he was ordered to. And he will do what he was ordered to, even if it cost him his life.

♕ ♕ ♕

THE SOLDIERS who were left behind by the warlord and General to chase the Mistress of Flame were busy fighting for their life as they advanced, and the aster path disappeared. The kingdom's soldiers were left to Lieutenant Grezon while the empire's soldiers— more like the warriors under Warlord Hakkeran— was left to Gabin. The soldiers Hakkeran took and introduced as elites to General Kar were mostly the empire's army.

And when Gabin saw that, he knew his excellency was planning something dubious again. And he was not mistaken. When he heard the first explosion, he deduced that the elites' soldiers and high-tiers sorcerers finally caught up with the queen. Gabin was certain that his lordship was now happy seeing the queen up-close again, but if they already caught up, then the queen was now in the trouble because of the stones the high-tiers sorcerers were carrying, and his excellency will not just stand on the side.

Once again, Gabin was right. Because not a moment later, even from great a distance, he saw his excellency's wrath.

"Commander," a warrior came up to Gabin and asked in a low voice while looking at the blood-red sky. "Is that... is that what I think it is?"

Gabin nodded and sighed. "His excellency must be really angry to use it."

The warrior's mouth parted open in amazement. His excellency is really powerful!

The warrior was amazed, but Gabin was sighing and massaging his forehead because he knew what that attack meant. His excellency was mad, he did it for the queen and now he had to clean up his excellency's mess. No wonder he ordered me to stay back and look after the Adral warriors. Did he plan this? Gabin will not be shocked if his excellency did. His lordship was a madman after all.

Sighing heavily again, Gabin ordered the Adral warriors to get ready to enter the center of the valley of bones, but after Gabin saw the state the center of the valley was in, he secretly named it a scorched valley since everything, and everyone was scorched to death.

CECELIB | C.C.