"What's that?"
"What are you talking about? Did you see that Marine..."
Atop a towering arrow tower on the castle's outer wall, one soldier stared blankly at the distant sky. Another soldier casually turned around, looking in the direction his comrade pointed, and was instantly rooted to the spot.
A vast, dark "cloud" was approaching, yet it was composed of countless flying creatures, densely packed, numbering almost a thousand. Besides ordinary eagles, giant birds, vultures, and other flying creatures, there were also many legendary monsters interspersed among them: pegasi, griffins, gargoyles, wyverns... all creatures that shouldn't exist in reality.
Boom—!
A massive griffin, like a meteor, crashed into the arrow tower. Its bronze body seemed indestructible, gleaming metallically in the moonlight, carving a large hole into the top of the arrow tower and sending a shower of shattered rock fragments tumbling downwards.
"Oh, damn it!"
"Quickly, kill these monsters!"
"..."
The two shaken soldiers scrambled to their feet, shouting continuously while fumbling for their weapons, their voices betraying their panic.
Bang!
A gunshot.
One of the soldiers raised his flintlock pistol and fired at the colossal griffin before him. The lead bullet, ejected from the barrel, struck the creature squarely on its forehead, but was deflected with a clink, leaving only a tiny, almost imperceptible dent.
"Roar—!"
Though the attack was harmless, it enraged the griffin. It roared, sweeping out with a single metallic wing, each over two meters long, almost filling the narrow space. The fierce gale it unleashed caused the soldiers' facial muscles to ripple like disturbed water.
Boom—!
A dull thud. The entire sturdy arrow tower, built of rock, shook violently. Inside the narrow arrow tower, the two Royal Guard soldiers were instantly struck by the griffin's solid bronze wing, their bones shattered and tendons torn, their bodies embedded in the cracked wall.
At this moment, overwhelming numbers of enlivened creatures descended from the sky, wantonly attacking the soldiers within the royal castle. Any human holding a weapon became their target, as if unleashing Cross's fury.
"Monsters! Monsters!"
"Shoot quickly... Aaaah..."
"Get the rocket launchers! Regular firearms are useless!"
"Damn it, where did these cursed things even come from?"
"Bastards, don't scatter! Gather up and drive them out of the castle!"
"..."
In an instant, the already unsettled royal castle plunged directly into chaos. Various terrified screams rose and fell, punctuated by incessant bang-bang-bang gunshots as intense as popping beans, interspersed with loud explosions and the crackling of burning flames. It was almost as if the war from Doma City's lower districts had spread to the top floor. The sudden changes and the hard-to-kill enlivened creatures had become everyone's nightmare.
On an open-air corridor within the royal castle, over a dozen armed soldiers had just blocked Cross's path when several gargoyles, descending from the sky, crashed into their midst, disrupting their formation.
Gargoyles are architectural features with thousands of years of history. Their original design was to filter rainwater flowing off building edges, and, of course, they had another, more mysterious purpose—to ward off demons!
Their appearance also resembled demons: grotesque faces with horns on their foreheads, strong muscles as solid as rock, and hands and feet like a beast's claws. They also possessed a pair of bat-like wings on their backs. Though in a crouching posture, they still stood about 1.8 meters tall. If they stood upright, they would surely exceed 2.2 meters in height.
Moreover, these gargoyles were carved from single, large blocks of granite, making them so sturdy that ordinary firearms couldn't effectively harm them. Especially after Cross imbued them with life, unless a flintlock pistol directly hit their wings, or several flintlock pistols were fired at their heads at close range, it would be impossible to knock them out of the air or completely kill them. It was clear that just a few of these gargoyles could easily decimate a small unit of dozens of ordinary people.
In a flash, all the enemies around Cross were cleared by the enlivened creatures descending from the sky, leaving him surrounded by a multitude of them.
A tall, majestic white Pegasus slowly descended. Its body was carved from some white stone, and with exquisite sculpting techniques, even its fur was detailed, making it look like a real Pegasus.
Cross placed Countess Shanna onto the Pegasus's back. Seeing her despairing expression, he couldn't help but frown and said in a deep voice, "Princess Shanna, if you don't want revenge, don't want to reclaim the throne, or wish to seek death, I can put you down right now!"
"However, if you don't want this country to fall into the hands of pirates, if you don't want the nation's power to be seized by your enemies, then place the crown in your hand on your head!"
At this, Cross looked at the golden crown in her hand and said earnestly, "We Marines will obey the Queen's command, help the Bion Kingdom defeat the Roberts Legion, and clear out those traitors who usurped power, to atone for the mistakes of the past!" Hearing Cross's words, Countess Shanna's expression stirred. A glimmer of spirit appeared in her beautiful, previously vacant eyes.
"Revenge? Queen?"
"Exactly, the Eighth King of the Bion Kingdom—Queen Doma Shanna!"
Cross looked at Countess Shanna with a serious expression, his words astonishing.
"Queen... Queen Doma Shanna..." Countess Shanna murmured, staring somewhat blankly at the blood-stained golden crown in her hand.
"Yes, I will avenge my brother!"
The next second, Countess Shanna's expression became resolute. After taking a deep, forceful breath, it was as if her spirit returned. Her pale face regained some color, and her large, emerald eyes filled with determination and hatred. Immediately, she reached up, took off the white floral circlet on her head, threw it to the ground, and then placed the golden crown in her hand onto her head.
"Bitch, you don't deserve to wear that crown!"
Suddenly, a golden Mushussu, like it was cast from gold, appeared at the end of the corridor. Its golden pupils were filled with fury, staring intently at Countess Shanna. A gargoyle descended from the sky, silently attempting to ambush Marquis Mankervis from behind.
Boom—!
However, the next second, the steel-whip-like Mushussu's tail lashed out like a phantom, violently smashing the gargoyle behind him into smithereens, causing it to explode into a pile of shattered rock fragments and dust that scattered onto the ground.
Seeing her brother, Countess Shanna showed no panic. She merely glanced at him expressionlessly, then shifted her gaze to Cross. Cross nodded understandingly and said in a deep voice, "No one can stop us from leaving, hold on tight, Your Majesty, Queen Shanna!"
The white stone Pegasus flapped its feathered wings, creating a strong gust of wind that propelled Countess Shanna soaring into the air. Immediately afterward, Cross leaped up, landing precisely on the back of a low-flying bronze griffin.
"Damn Marine! Bitch! Don't even think about escaping!"
Marquis Mankervis was furious, a hint of blood-red even appearing in his golden vertical pupils. He immediately leaped up, running rapidly through the air as if treading on invisible stairs, chasing after the two figures in the sky.
However, his actions were like stirring up a hornet's nest. The enlivened creatures circling in mid-air immediately changed direction, swarming towards him, almost forming a dark cloud.
"Nani?!"
Marquis Mankervis turned his head to look around, only to find himself surrounded by a multitude of monsters. In an instant, he was overwhelmed by the surging tide of enlivened creatures.
——————————
Want to read ahead of schedule? Head over to my Patreon ——— patreon(.)com/JuanPiece [remove the parenthesis ( )]
There are 100+ advance chapters available for you to read!