Chapter 131
Fwoooooosh!
The princess's expression was chilling as she watched the burning forest with her arms crossed.
One corner of her mouth was raised, and her face was flushed, illuminated by the flames.
Clank.
A knight beside her bowed his head and reported the situation.
"We've blocked their retreat."
"How many escape routes were there again?"
"Twenty-three locations."
"Hmm."
The forest was so vast that blocking the escape routes wasn't easy.
However, Princess Lavian knew.
How much pride those creatures took in the Voitra Forest.
Though they didn't originally live here, it was a place they considered their spiritual hometown, akin to a sacred land for them.
In the distant past.
The Voitra Forest was said to be the place where the dragon, whom they considered their ancestor, died and formed the forest.
'After burning such a forest.'
Would they quietly slip away?
No.
Those creatures weren't that docile. If they had such a nature, they would have surrendered to the Empire long ago or offered themselves as slaves to beg for their lives.
When their forest was burned, there was only one possible reaction from them.
"Soon, they'll come charging with fire in their eyes."
This was true for tribes, if not individuals. They had things they revered and roots they held dear.
Valuing their foundation was natural for sentient beings.
Just as it was natural to serve one's ancestors in order to value one's own existence and to be valued oneself.
Therefore, they had to choose.
Whether to become lizards or descendants of the dragon.
"Princess, isn't the fire too strong? We'll get hurt at this rate."
"Shut up. If they'll be hurt by just this much, they should go out and die."
Seeing the flames blazing across the entire area, rather than fear, her excitement wouldn't subside. The fierce battle soon to come.
The rough noise of clashing spears and swords and the screams that would result from it. The fresh blood to be spilled was vivid in the princess's eyes.
Tap tap tap.
The princess, who had been shaking her leg while sitting in her chair, suddenly stopped.
And then immediately rose from her seat.
Her expression, which had been full of ecstasy, instantly calmed down.
The fire demon in the area surged.
Purple demonic energy flickered above the forest along with the flames.
"Ah... fuck."
Gooooooooo.
The fire demon burning the forest swirled.
The pillar of flames reaching high into the sky formed a shape.
It was like an avatar of fire and a giant.
It was like a disaster sent from heaven.
"U, ugh... ughhhhh!"
The bodies of the soldiers who had been setting fires were engulfed in flames in an instant.
—Humans repeat their mistakes again.
A voice with a great resonance echoed throughout the area.
The fire giant looked at the princess among the imperial army with burning gaze.
The princess's body flinched.
"P-Princess! You must hurry and escape..."
"It's a fairy, right?"
"It seems like it!"
Just as they were about to say she must hurry and escape.
The giant's mouth opened.
"Damn it! Protect the Princess!"
"Its flames are pouring down!"
Kuaaaaaah!!
The fire demon covered the area.
* * *
"As expected, you foresaw this."
"Isn't it obvious? When you see more fairies than necessary, there must be someone nearby who commands them."
And generally.
Those who have something to protect tend to be fierce.
"Even a mere rat bares its teeth when cornered, would fairies just stand by and watch their territory be taken?"
"As expected..."
Ignoring Serena's eyes full of fear, he looked at the burning forest and the fire giant.
The princess clearly made two mistakes.
One was burning the forest.
The second was advancing without fear and entering the heart of the forest.
'However, this alone wouldn't kill the princess.'
The Empire's princess.
Lavian was a Named one.
Her lifeline, which subtly secured a place even in the continent's major and minor incidents, wouldn't be easily severed.
She survives and survives with a cockroach-like vitality.
Why else would she later gain the title of "Immortal" in her epithet.
Therefore, Kallius didn't want to show himself to her if possible.
He didn't want to draw her attention either.
Because the princess's obsession couldn't be underestimated.
"Let's go."
"Are we not going to fight? Now is the perfect opportunity. The only chance to avenge our clan who suffered at their hands is now..."
Most of the Dragonkin seemed to think so, snorting.
They were not alone.
This forest.
The ancestral forest was watching over them after all!
They were rampant with such thoughts.
Unfortunately, Kallius had to pour cold water on them.
"The fairy's wrath doesn't distinguish between friend and foe."
Kallius lazily raised his hand.
And pointed in the direction where the fire giant was rampaging.
"If you're thinking of going in there, I won't stop you."
A pillar of fire that couldn't even be compared to the fire demon was rising, and the tremors that arose with every step it took swept all the way here.
"......"
"......"
If hell truly existed, wouldn't that be it?
The Dragonkin shut their mouths and only swallowed dry saliva. It was a moment when they instantly grasped their place.
The fairy's power lay in the vital energy of nature.
It was akin to a natural disaster, so dealing with it hastily wouldn't do any good.
'Seeing it wield that level of power, it must be a high-ranking fairy.'
He thought about approaching it once, but it was still too early.
And it was already in an excited state, and when he considered whether the power of the fairy allure would reach a fairy of that level, he was inclined to think it wouldn't, so he had to leave it as just a thought.
'There will be a better opportunity next time.'
It's not like fairies only exist here.
And fairies aren't ones to easily give up their land.
If he ever comes back here again, there might be a chance to meet one.
—Burn to death in your own fire!
Kuaaaaang!
As it crushed the forest with its foot, flames spread in all directions.
Truly earth-shattering power.
'That aside, the princess's power is stronger than expected.'
She's enduring better than expected.
Against that giant, she's blocking the flames with an artifact and swinging her spear to carve a path.
The spear's own power was considerable, so escaping seemed possible, but her aggressiveness appeared to hold her back.
Princess Lavian with a fiery temperament.
Her spear, contrary to her temperament, had quite a calm nature.
Sizzle!!
The power unleashed by the spear in defiance of the flames extinguished the fire and covered it with smoke.
'Water-star spear, rise.'
The water-element energy bursting from the princess extinguished the flames and calmed the fire energy. It was one of the Empire's rare multi-attribute spears, possessing the power of water and stars.
Even after this, there would be no hesitation in the princess's path, so rather than suffering a major blow here, she would grow further using this crisis as a stepping stone.
'If I take the risk, killing her is possible, but...'
She was the Imperial Princess, after all.
She carried the Emperor's bloodline, and her own strength and potential were not to be underestimated.
However, she was still an unopened bud.
If he used both the current situation and Kallius's power, there was a possibility of defeating her.
However.
'There's no need to go that far.'
It's still too early.
The princess wouldn't be traveling alone.
There could be hidden strong individuals.
Still, as the Empire's princess, they wouldn't leave her like that.
They couldn't completely rule out the possibility that a strong guardian was nearby to protect her in case of emergencies.
'The cost-benefit doesn't add up.'
There was no need to go out of his way to do so.
In the first place.
"It's better for the princess to stay alive."
It would help the kingdom.
The power struggle between the princess and the prince would devastate the Empire on its own.
Her temperament was originally the type to exhaust those around her and bring the Empire to ruin.
Also known as trolling.
Leaving her alone was more helpful to the kingdom.
Therefore, what he needed to do was.
'First, let's go.'
There was no reason to fight in the first place.
The quest content wasn't about battle.
[Retreat with the Dragonkin]
—Flee with the last remaining Dragonkin. Their blood calls for battle, but there is no chance of winning. If the battle continues, they will face extinction.
Reward -
"Master. Hurry..."
"Call me Kallis."
"Understood."
The elderly Dragonkin had been persuaded long ago.
They just needed to retreat like this.
Meaning there was no need to exert force.
'The Voitra Forest is still too early for me as well.'
According to the original goal.
Kallius aimed to head toward the Sahara Holy Land.
That was enough for now.
Just as he was pulling his hood tightly and grabbing the reins to follow behind the Dragonkin.
"Are you leaving?"
A bewitching voice tickled his ear.
"......!!"
Startled, Kallius quickly created some distance.
'Did it pierce through my sense?'
What she held was a morning star. However, that alone made Kallius's intuition ring alarm bells.
"......"
"I'm quite curious."
The face was quite familiar.
The face slowly emerging from the forest was revealed, illuminated by the burning forest.
She wore light armor, but her alluring figure and elegance that couldn't be hidden by it could be felt.
Her subtle smile and purple lips were bewitching.
Kallius recognized who she was.
'The woman who drove me to be labeled a pervert.'
The woman who, after he rescued her from being kidnapped, turned it around and framed him as a criminal.
"You're from the Principality."
The power emanating from the morning star in her hand was not ordinary.
One hand held the morning star, while the other hand was filled with the chains connected to it.
'I should have been more cautious before rescuing her.'
Despite not being an Imperial noble, the Empire had issued a warrant for her.
That alone allowed Kallius to guess her identity.
Because there was only one woman from the Principality who traveled with the princess.
'Princess Rebecca.'
As soon as he realized it, a sigh escaped him.
The princess was a crazy woman he shouldn't encounter, and now he was entangled with someone even worse.
"We meet after so long, can't you take off your hood? I can't see your face well."
Though she spoke with a smiling face, her eyes were fierce like a beast.
Kallius's skin crawled.
"I searched for a long time. How could you hide so thoroughly. I heard that even after releasing soldiers like that, they couldn't touch a hair on the noble. They say you use some dark magic? Do you serve the whip?"
At her figure approaching step by step, Kallius instinctively stepped back. Though he didn't answer a single thing, she was asking and answering her own questions, as if enjoying it.
"But even so, I don't think it's a whip. When you saved me then, the calluses on your hands didn't seem like those of someone who handles a whip. Then what? A pilgrim from somewhere? What pilgrim would be that handsome? Hehe, I thought about it a lot. It was quite fun? Chasing a path while thinking of someone."
Kallius's eyes narrowed.
'I shouldn't draw my sword.'
His intuition told him so.
Even thinking with his head, it was the same.
The opponent was the Principality's princess.
The moment he drew his sword, Kallius's identity would be exposed.
Kallius's name and appearance, who had a record of killing a Master, couldn't have failed to reach their ears.
She was only feeling interest now.
No killing intent was felt.
After finishing his thoughts, Kallius took out a spear through subspace from within his robe.
It was an ordinary spear of the Name rank.
"Are you from the Empire? I don't think so?"
"Just a pilgrim."
"But why the spear? I'm not evil enough to harm my savior. I just want to repay you?"
Rebecca, speaking with a face that knew nothing, unknowingly hid the morning star in her hand behind her back.
Looking at her with cold eyes, finding her ridiculous.
"This isn't to do anything. It's my means of protection?"
"Do you carry around things that could smash a person's head as a means of protection?"
At her waist was a mace. What she held was a rugged morning star studded with spikes.
What was she doing holding something that even a grown man would struggle to lift.
"It's because you keep running away...! I haven't even heard an answer to my feelings!"
"I clearly refused."
"I refuse the refusal!"
As he looked at her as if asking what she wanted him to do, she approached with a good-natured smile.
"Alright, I'll put this down. It's too heavy for me too. I don't know why I brought such a vicious weapon, how could a lady carry something like this."
Kuang!
It looked heavy at first glance, but it seemed to actually be of tremendous weight.
As soon as it fell, the ground caved in and the ashes from the burning spread thickly.
"My."
"......"
Kallius's vigilance deepened.
"This is a dangerous place. Since the battle-crazed princess is here, it's better to escape quickly. Come, come here."
At Rebecca's figure extending her hand, Kallius aimed his spear.
"You can't use a spear."
Words close to certainty.
Under the hood, a chilling smile crossed Kallius's lips.
"That's not wrong."
Hwaaa.
Suddenly the spearhead glowed and a purple holy rune shone.
"Scenic object of the Three Sights, Magpie Bridge."
Rebecca, who was instantly pale with fear, took out the morning star from her waist and struck the spear away.
Swishhhhh!
Chains shot out from the spearhead.
Twelve chains threatened Rebecca from all directions as if moving alive.
Clang - Clangclangclangclang!
"Wow, you surprised me. You could do such a cute thing too."
She smiled as if truly surprised.
Rebecca's morning star quickly and accurately struck away each and every chain.
'It was heavier than I thought.'
It wasn't ordinary divine arts.
Her arms subtly trembled.
But it wasn't something to worry about.
"Now, come here. If you struggle unnecessarily, I'll have to crush an arm or a leg! I don't want to do that either."
Tap!
Rebecca charged in an instant.
Her lips were full of ecstasy.
Just as Rebecca's hand was about to touch Kallius's hood.
His lips moved.
'Bi...Bibi?'
In that instant.
A black shadow loomed over Rebecca's head, who had captured his lips.
"!"
A giant wolf was charging, aiming for her head.
"Bite her hard, Bibi."
In the wolf's mouth, strangely.
'A sword?'
A flashing sword was clamped in it.
Grrrr!!
One corner of the forest covered by the fire demon.
Intense blue lightning struck down.