Chapter 368 There's a Mole!
Turning around, I could see Princess Hazel's still-crying face. However, her eyes turned from her hopelessness earlier to one with burning hope.
"P-Please take me with you!"
"..."
Honestly, she'd be a hindrance if we brought her along. Her power was probably not worth mentioning, being only 12 years old. She doesn't even have the Taming System yet.
However, the desire burning in her eyes told me that refusing her would be a futile thing to do. She'd probably pester me until I agreed or tag along regardless of my agreement.
"*sigh* Alright. But you need to listen to my words while we're there. Understand?"
Princess Hazel nodded her head several times. Now that I have her word, we then entered the teleportation array before I exerted myself, inserting as much energy as needed. The array shone brightly, enough to rob us of our vision for a short while.
When our vision recovered, we were already at the Cleaver Kingdom's walls.
"...!"
But as expected, it wasn't as peaceful as before. Demons were surrounding us, looking over with gazes filled with curiosity and killing intent.
Before I could even snap my fingers, Fang and Igni had already moved. In an instant, a space of roughly fifty meters was cleared of demons, with blood and gore splattering all over the place beyond that range.
"Don't overdo it, you two. Save your strength."
I didn't forget to remind them before walking leisurely toward the castle, which was already swarming with demons all over.
"Mother...!"
Princess Hazel cried in horror, her face turning blue from anxiety. Seeing that her legs were shaking, I took her hand and smiled gently.
"Don't worry. They're still alive. I can still see their auras from here. Want to go there and see?"
I extended my hand, offering it to her. She hesitated for a short instant and took my hand, gripping it tight. I could feel how cold her palm was. She must be really worried for her mother, Queen Thalia.
"Then watch your step,"
I warned as I walked forward, making sure to walk at the pace she could match. As we headed onward, the demons who were blocking our way seemed to magically disappear. Well, at least in the eyes of those who aren't able to keep track of Fang and Igni's movements.
Fang was jumping from one shadow to another with [Shadow Teleportation]. And using the twin daggers that she started to use after the battle against Noir, she turned every single demon she targeted into minced meat. Literally.
Igni, on the other hand, was flying around at the speed of sound. Each time she flew past a demon, she would tap anywhere on their bodies, leaving a small ember of her new flames, the [Flames of Demise]. Within a second, the small flame would expand, enough to engulf any demon completely at once.
After the flames consumed the demon, it would then slowly dissipate, leaving nothing behind, not even ashes. With the two of them rampaging as they wished, I had an easy time reaching the castle's main entrance.
However, inside it, the scene wasn't as great as I hoped.
"Push them back! Don't let these d*mned demons a step further!"
Soldiers were fighting the smaller demons that managed to enter, and looking at their state, full of injuries, they wouldn't last much longer.
"Alright, that's enough."
I shouted out loud before clapping my hand. Of course, that wasn't an attack. I was just trying to get the attention of the demons waiting for their turn to attack the knights.
*GRAAAAAGH!*
*SCREECH!*
*CLACK!*
There were various types of demons present, but the most common were probably the undead. Among them, a Death Knight, a Specter, and a Skeleton Knight approached.
"Kyaaaa!"
Princess Hazel released a shrill scream as she hugged my side, pressing her face tight as if to hide from the scary demons. I smiled since what she found scary was merely 6th-stage and below scrubs.
"Let's start then, shall we? [Shadow Clone]!"
Now that it has come to this, there's no need to hold back any longer. I used Fang's skill, [Shadow Clone], and created about six copies of myself.
Then, after alternating control of each clone one after another, they began running forward like berserkers, hunting the surrounding demons like killing machines let loose.
As expected, Fang's [Shadow Clone] is more efficient when using it for battles. Still, when I'm not controlling them, their movements would be a little lacking. It was more than enough to clear the surrounding demons, however.
Not even a minute passed, and the entrance was already cleared of demons. Few of them left their corpses behind, and since most of them were undead, dozens of Essence Crystals were left scattered all over the floor.
After I checked the surroundings, making sure no more demons remained, I tapped Princess Hazel's shoulders and whispered.
"It's okay now. The demons are all gone."
Like a scared small animal, she slowly lifted her face, taking a glance around. After a sweeping gaze, she realized that my words were true, so she slowly moved away from me.
I'm not disappointed or anything after the two soft airbags left my side. Definitely not.
"... Hazel?"
A soft voice called from beyond the wall of exhausted knights. Hearing the familiar voice, the princess quickly turned to the source, tears once again threatening to overflow from her eyes.
"Mother...!"
As soon as the knights moved to the side, Princess Hazel finally saw that her mother, Queen Thalia, was safe. She ran at her top speed, her feet almost tripping over nothing, as she went for a big hug.
Two pairs of mountains got pressed against each other—a wonderful sight, if I may say.
Just as I was enjoying the view—I mean, rejoicing at the reunion of the mother and daughter pair—I noticed an unusual presence not far away.
"Hmmm? This one is..."
This presence, its current actions, and the current situation. With all these facts, I got a clue about the truth behind Cleaver Kingdom's current state.
"Queen Thalia,"
I walked toward her, ignoring the knights who tried to stop me.
"It seems like you have a rat in your ranks."
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