Chapter 77 Xuna Vs Fornol Empress (Part 3)

"Hah!" Xuna threw a Healing Rod into the sea of flames while creating a shield using the rope of her Grappling Hook, defending against the laser attack with it.

She then switched her gun to its vacuum cleaner state, spitting out the snow she had stored in it, instantly dousing the sea of flames before she rushed in, grabbed Yihan, and pulled him out, flying high into the sky to evade attacks from their enemies.

With a full-powered thrust from her rocket, they reached an altitude of two kilometres within a few seconds. Her rope that had been surrounding them in a protective embrace, forming the shape of a rocket to protect them from the wind draft, retracted as Xuna looked at Yihan in a hurry, "Yihan!"

"I'm not…dead." Yihan gasped for air, coughing out blood as fragments of his armour fell off, revealing an almost burnt body beneath. He was suffering from fourth-degree burns.

Yihan was clutching the healing rod dear to him, trembling in pain as he was unable to endure it, despite the healing rod working in full swing. Xuna created another healing rod to help speed up the process, her eyes seething with rage upon seeing him tear up at the unbearable pain.

"Those fuckers will pay!"

"Don't be rash, Xuna." Yihan said in a hurry, "You know who they are."

"Focus on healing first." Xuna said upon seeing his stress, "I won't make a move until you're fully healed."

"Thank goodness," Yihan was relieved as he focused on healing himself. His old skin peeled off, revealing new skin underneath, followed by a mild itching sensation. Soon after, he was good as new, having recovered some Nacre through the healing energy supplied by the healing rods.

He took on his West Guardian form immediately, flapping his wings to stay afloat as he carried Xuna, "You can stop the rocket now. They consume too much nacre."

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"Yeah…" Xuna nodded, losing balance as it seemed that she truly was on the verge of expending all her Nacre reserves. That was why Yihan focused on his recovery as quickly as possible before assuming his West Guardian form.

He held Xuna, waiting for her Nacre reserves to replenish as four of her Nails—those that generate Nacre—were still embedded in the hill beside the West Guardian Village, supplying her with Nacre.

And through the healing rod, she was replenishing his Nacre too. They spent an hour in the sky as Yihan continued to fly, avoiding the Hoil Bees and Spageons that continued to chase after them.

"I'm full," Yihan said, sensing his Origin Space filled to the brim with Nacre.

"Alright, let's pay the fuckers!" Xuna roared as she condensed her rocket and made a beeline for the closest Spageon, condensing her petrifying gun, on the other hand, to shoot a petrifying beam at the target.

The Spageon turned into a sculpture in a matter of seconds when a rope coiled around it and yanked it towards the ground with force.

Xuna aimed at the Varnol, throwing the petrified Spageon at it. From the height of two kilometres above the ground, the petrified Spageon accelerated, gaining a terrifying level of momentum as it sped towards the Varnol.

Xuna didn't stop at that as she targeted all the Spageons and Hoil Bees chasing after her, turning them all into sculptures before chucking them at the Varnol, causing a rain of sculptures.

Yihan revolved around her, dealing with any enemies that came too close to her, intending to not allow anyone to disrupt her attacks. With that, Xuna was able to focus fully on her aim, hurling them straight at the Varnol.

The Varnol hovered twenty metres above the ground as Feleokruna entered it, somewhat exhausted as she arrived before their storage, taking out a bag of Blight Cores that she consumed readily.

She then took out a bottle of extract, something produced by one of the Blight Humans reared at the palace. It was nectar with mild healing properties, capable of rejuvenating her body, relieving muscle aches, and refreshing her mind.

Feleokruna gave the same to Luncress and Lortwik, "Be ready. They will return."

"And this time, they'll be better prepared."

"Yes, your majesty." Both the father and son saluted in response, their expressions solemn. They had lost most of their reared beasts. And even when they ambushed their opponents before, they failed to kill them.

Now that the enemy had enough time to gather their bearings and prepare, the fight would only get progressively harder, especially since Xuna proved way too strong for the Empress to handle.

Even though it was on their minds, they didn't dare voice it, afraid that the Empress would behead them in anger. Until now, they hadn't been as afraid of the Empress.

Even though they were loyal, when one gained power, they were corrupted accordingly. So, the fact that they were able to create, develop, and rear a large scale of monsters caused a sense of pride in both Luncress and Lortwik.

Or rather, everyone in their house was the same, each as exceptional as the other. And, even though they were loyal to the crown, they would be lying if they said they weren't harbouring thoughts regarding the notion of them becoming the Fornol Empire's royalty.

But, this fight shattered all of that, giving them a reality check. There existed terrifying enemies among Horned Humans too.

Even at Stage 2, Yihan was well-versed in fighting, a close combat unit capable of taking down dozens of his Hoil Bees easily. And as he grows, he would continue to develop as a tank and become even more dangerous.

Luncress was aware that it would take an army of Hoil Bees to kill Yihan. And this statement would only become more proven in the future. And based on Lortwik's report, there was an entire village of them, proving a large threat.

And to face that threat, there should be a sharp spear. Only the current royalty had that capability as they witnessed Feleokruna in action for the first time.

Until now, she was only displaying her powers for decorative purposes and never once with the intent to kill. And against Xuna, she displayed her true might for the first time, also revealing the fact that she was already at Stage 4.

Feleokruna always wore a crown that covered her head, preventing anyone from starting at the partitions—that existed at the forehead. Only when she revealed her power did they come to know that she was hiding her strength all along.

And against the terrifying nature of abilities Xuna displayed, only she would be able to fight. In the future, Xuna's successors could only be hindered by Feleokruna's successors.

Upon understanding this fact, all notions of greed vanished from their mind as both Luncress and Lortwik truly submitted to Feleokruna. After all, for the first time after becoming Blight Humans, they perceived a threat strong enough to topple their Empire.

They needed a strong umbrella to withstand that and only the current royal family was capable of that.

"Shit!" Lortwik was alarmed as he gazed at the sky, "My Spageons are dying rapidly."

The moment he stared at the sky, his face paled, noticing faint dots litter the sky, gradually drawing closer. Soon after, he realised what was up, shouting in alarm, "Your majesty! We need to run!"

Feleokruna quickly caused Varnol to move, staring up to see a hail of sculptures heading straight at them, 'Varnol won't be able to withstand this bombardment.'

She caused it to swerve sharply, watching a sculpture slam into the sandy ground nearby, resulting in a resounding boom as the Spageon sculpture shattered into pieces.

Bam! Boom!

The Varnol continued to move, intending to evade the sculptures, but wasn't able to evade them all as a Hoil Bee sculpture slammed into it.

Dozens of petals rose into a protective embrace, defending against the sculpture as most of them were torn off as a result. The Varnol jerked to the side grandly due to the impact as Feleokruna frowned, observing that the number of petals damaged was more than what she had expected.

'Why is the impact this high? We wouldn't even last five hits at this pace.' She stared at the fragments of the Hoil Bee sculpture, surprised to see a shaft peaking out of the back of it, one that vanished immediately after.

She recalled the instrument Xuna used to fly in the air, scowling in response, 'That bitch is accelerating them using it.'

Boom!

She hadn't even concluded her thoughts when another sculpture slammed into the Varnol, this time from its rear, the impact even greater than before, sending it crashing into the sand.

Feleokruna stared at the rear, noticing that all the petals there had been destroyed by the impact, "Shit!"

She instructed Luncress and Lortwik, "Use your beasts to hinder the sculptures. We won't last at this rate."

"Yes…" The two indeed worked on that, but the bodies of the Hoil Bees and Spageons were shredded by the sculptures that came down like comets, barely hindering their descent.

And, there was a rocket boosting the sculptures from behind, generating enough force that they obliterated the fleshly bodies of the two beast races.

"We need to retreat." Feleokruna stared at the sky, noticing two figures rushing at them, expressing anger before gritting her teeth, sighing at the result, "It's our defeat this time."