Chapter 192: Bad News
The valley beneath Snake Mountain became a cauldron of chaos.
The moment Queen Eli’s order rang through the hidden halls, great bronze doors slammed open along the mountainside, and from the darkness, the Naga and Medusa warriors surged forth in a flood of scales and steel.
The Grand Order soldiers, already shaking from the mind-warping mist, raised their weapons—but the first wave struck like a storm.
A Naga leapt high, her tail snapping around a man’s neck with bone-crushing force. He barely had time to scream before his head lolled lifelessly, his sword clattering to the ground.
But these were not common soldiers.
As their commander’s earlier orders still rang in their ears, they let their soul energy flare—inky shadows crawling up their arms, dark sigils glowing along the lengths of their blades. Some swung swords wreathed in black fire, others hurled spears coated in soul-corroding mist, and a few unleashed jagged arcs of soul lightning that scorched the stone.
One man roared and slammed his palms together, his weapon elongating into a whip of crimson soul energy that cracked through the air, carving deep gashes into the ground—and into the scales of the nearest Naga. She shrieked but didn’t fall, wrapping him up with her tail and pulling him into the press of battle where arrows rained like a silver storm.
The Medusas moved like a tide of death—serpentine hair writhing, eyes blazing. Those who dared look into them froze mid-strike, their bodies hardening to stone.
The Petrification Gaze.
A statue shattered as a Naga tail whipped it apart, freeing space for more arrows to fly. Each shaft glowed faintly with soul enchantments, piercing through armor, biting deep into flesh.
Blood ran down the rocks in rivulets.
The air was thick with screams, the hiss of steel, the whip of tails.
Penny cut through the fray, her sword gleaming with a pale white soul flame. She met a soldier’s downward slash head-on, sparks spraying, before pivoting to drive her blade up under his armplate. The man’s cry was lost in the chaos as she kicked him free and parried another blow.
Caren fought nearby, spinning with a dancer’s precision. Her strikes were swift, cutting tendons and slicing through exposed throats. When a spear thrust came for her side, Penny’s blade intercepted it, the two exchanging a wordless nod before diving back into the slaughter.
The Grand Order was disciplined—but the mist still clawed at their sanity. Some hesitated at the sound of Eros’s name whispered in their minds, others turned on their own allies in sudden madness, their blackened soul techniques now cutting down their brothers-in-arms.
And still, the snake tribes pressed the advantage.
A Medusa captain loosed a barrage of arrows that struck three soldiers through the throat in quick succession. Another Naga slammed her massive tail into the ground, throwing men sprawling for the sisters behind her to finish off. The once-unified line of the Grand Order broke, shattering into pockets of desperate resistance.
It was a bloodbath—and the snakes were winning.
Up above the melee, Frown landed heavily on a jagged ridge, still holding the bleeding girl.
His eyes tracked the flow of battle, but before he could bark new orders, a shadow descended over him.
Queen Eli.
Her eyes blazed like molten gold, her scaled armor glimmering with soul light. She landed in a crouch, her tail coiling in readiness, and her voice carried a deadly calm.
"You’ve stepped into my mountain, Vermin," she hissed, raising her spear.
"And now you’ll learn what happens to trespassers."
She attacked. Soul like chains shooting from her hands.
Celestial energy was no kobe and that was what the snake people now cultivated. Even though it’s only been so long, it was still effective.
Blood slicked the snow. Both sides suffered losses—fallen Medusas lay shattered in their stone forms, tails severed and weapons lying limp beside them. Nagas, riddled with arrow wounds, hissed their last breaths before collapsing into the frost. Yet, the Grand Order’s dead far outnumbered theirs. The initial chaos had stolen their momentum, and the snake tribes seized every advantage.
Among the defenders, Penny and Caren fought like twin storms. Penny’s sword gleamed with a cold, silver light, each swing clean and precise, cutting down soldier after soldier. If she missed any, Caren would cover for her.
Caren could tell that Penny had natural talent for battle. It had not been long, but she was already making incredible progress. Of course, it was also thankx to Eros bestowing a divine technique to jis favored grand child. And there was still the armaments he gave her for protection.
Then again, his woman, Caren was also bleesed. Caren moved like a phantom, weaving through the melee, striking with brutal efficiency. All along, her bubble butt dud not hinder her movements. Abd in some cases, worked to her advantage, destracting the men enough to be cut down. Their blades sang in harmony with the war cries of the snake tribes, forcing back wave after wave of attackers.
But while the clash raged moving unto the snowy clearing, a more dangerous duel unfolded near the center.
Queen Eli slithered forward, her massive scaled body gleaming under the dim, snow-filtered light, her eyes locked on Frown. "This ends now," she declared, voice like a dagger’s edge.
Frown’s lips curled into a dark grin. "Snake people... pests. That’s all you’ve ever been."
He lunged. His fists were like boulders, his strikes shattering the air with every blow. Eli blocked and countered, her tail coiling and snapping with blinding speed. But he was fast—unnervingly so.
Also, the cultivation difference was just too much.
A brutal jab caught her across the jaw, snapping her head sideways. Another strike sliced deep into her tail, forcing a hiss of pain from her lips. She staggered back, blood spilling onto the snow.
With a snarl, she shifted—her snake tail retracting, her legs forming in its place. Now in her full human form, she moved lighter, faster, her chains flashing in arcs of pure soul energy. Still, Frown grew stronger the angrier he became, his aura swelling with each insult he spat.
"Pests!" he roared, his strikes hammering against her guard. "Filth! I will wipe every one of you from this cave. To the glory of the dark lord."
Caren and Penny saw her falter and rushed in to help, but a single sweeping backhand from Frown smashed into them, sending both women tumbling across the ice, their swords skittering away. He didn’t even look in their direction.
Blow after devastating blow forced Eli back—yet her movements were deliberate, step by step, retreating toward a very specific spot. Frown didn’t notice that she pulled him back into the cave—deeper.
His grim smile only deepened as he raised his weapon high.
"When I’m done with you," he snarled, "I’ll kill every last snake in this dungeon... and feed on your pest corpses." His eyes gleamed with sadistic hunger.
Through bloodied lips, Eli smiled. "Is that so?"
She suddenly dropped low, diving out of his killing arc, revealing what she had been backing toward—the Red Anchor Stone of Destruction, its surface pulsing with ominous, contained power. "Now!" she screamed.
Far above, in the control room, Victoria slammed her palm against a glowing rune. A beam of red, searing energy shot down from the ceiling, hitting Frown square in the chest. The blast tore through him, leaving a gaping, smoking hole where his heart should have been.
He froze, looking down in disbelief, the steam rising from his wound. Blood bubbled at his lips as he staggered, his knees giving way.
Queen Eli approached, each step slow and deliberate. "We win," she said coldly.
Frown’s lips curled—not in pain, but in a final, mocking smirk. "Are you sure?"
Then his head lolled forward, and his body crumpled lifeless to the ground.
Eli allowed herself a single, shaky breath—before a Medusa slithered up to her, face pale with dread. "My Queen... there is bad news."
(Author’s note: I took a break from writing. 9th was my birthday. Thank you all for your patience.)