The enormous tremors that followed after the bombardment caused several tall buildings around them to crumble down. Large fragments of concrete heavily fell, but they were quickly shattered into debris by a silver beast.
The gigantic serpent was at least 100 meters long; although a lot came their way, dealing with mere rubble was relatively easy for the serpent and its hard silver scales. It hissed out its tongue, showing its two sharp fangs before it slithered out and broke the rest of the rubbles that covered its body away.
Soon after the rubble was taken care of, several acolytes jumped out of the created holes and thanked the giant serpent. The serpent just gave a short hiss in response when at that moment, its sharp eyes immediately turned in the direction behind them.
The group felt the presence of several individuals and simultaneously looked behind. In an instant, the grateful expression on their faces was replaced by caution almost instantly.
"They're coming!!"
In the distance, they spotted at least six magus-level dark elves swiftly rushing their way. Judging from their number, these dark elves should only be the scouting bunch, the first of many more to come.
At this realization, Jinkan hurriedly shouted to the group, "We have to leave, now!!"
Everyone in the group unanimously agreed and hurriedly got ready to leave. They thought that the giant serpent would come with them, but to their surprise, it slithered behind them and stared in the direction of the approaching dark elves'.
Jinkan decisively said, "She's going to buy us time, let's go!"
Follow on NovᴇlEnglish.nᴇtAll the acolytes in the group immediately dashed away, following the Nephilim princess. Only two figures were left standing in the area; Jai Strider and Klea with the unconscious Chumo on her back.
Looking at the gleaming scales of the serpents back, Klea's eyes slightly reddened.
"What are you doing!? You just said you wouldn't do such a thing!!" she couldn't help but shout.
However, the serpent didn't react and kept its eyes forward as if she wasn't there, which irritated Klea even more.
"If you're doing this to obtain my gratitude, you will not have it! I'm staying here to fight whether you like it or not!"
At that moment, a voice finally spoke into her mind: "Foolish. You have everything good in your life, yet you are willing to waste it so easily!"
"What about you, huh!? Distinguished princess of a powerful clan, don't speak as if you're any less fortunate than I am!!"
"I am willing to trade all of mine for what you have. Unfortunately, such a thing is not possible."
The response stunned Klea, but she wasn't done. The serpent finally turned to look at her, its golden eyes gazing deeply into hers as the voice decisively spoke.
"One of us has to survive, and… it can't be me. I…!"
"Bullshit! Do you really think that I'm willing to accept such a thing!? No!!" Klea's voice trembled slightly as she spoke with gritted teeth. Her fists were tightly clenched as she glared straight at the serpent's golden eyes.
This time, the voice didn't respond. The gigantic snake simply hissed toward Jai, and the metal puppeteer immediately called out his strongest puppet. At his command, the Guardian Queen jumped to suppress Klea and grabbed her and the person on her back.
With how weakened her body was, her struggles were futile, especially considering Jai was within the top 10. The metal puppeteer led the Guardian Queen carrying them away while ignoring her resistance. Leaving the gigantic serpent as it crashed and smashed the buildings around it, taunting the incoming magus for a fight.
On the other side, Klea, who could not even make the Guardian Queen budge, angrily turned to its owner.
"Jai, what are you doing!? Let go of me!!"
"I am saving your lives! Staying will only get you killed!" the metal puppeteer met her glare.
Klea subconsciously took a sharp breath and pursed her lips. Her pride couldn't accept such an act, but the fact that she was currently powerless to help was undeniable. Staying would only throw not only her life away, but also Chumo's.
As the thought of her powerlessness and having to accept that woman's help filled her mind, the Egyptian Queen gritted her teeth. It was truly a bitter pill, but she had no other choice but to swallow it.
After sorting her thoughts, Klea no longer struggled and allowed the Guardian Queen to carry her in peace.
Loud bangs reached their ears as they rushed following the other acolytes. From afar, Klea could see huge clouds of dust and poison engulf the area, and the last thing she saw of the battlefield was the gigantic serpent suddenly emerging from the smoke and swallowing one of the dark elves whole.
Follow on Novᴇl-Onlinᴇ.cᴏmKlea shook her head and silently looked forward as they rushed further away from the battle.
However, they managed to catch up to the others after just several miles. Seeing their sudden halt, Klea reflexively thought of the trouble waiting ahead. Meanwhile, the Nephilim princess looked apprehensive as she looked toward the tall, broken-down buildings in front of them.
"What happened? Why did we stop?" Jai loudly asked Jinkan, who was at the very front.
"We've been had."
Before they could process her words, everyone witnessed the shadow veil in the ruins unfold. There, multiple figures were staring down at them from the top of an empty building; ten dark elf magus and a lanky dark elf at the grand magus stage.
When the two sides' eyes met, the lanky dark elf wickedly smiled. "The fish has entered the net, time to finish them."
The dark elf's words filled the acolytes below with despair. A group of dark elves was behind them, and now another group even stronger stood in front of them. Still, Jinkan was unwilling to give up.
"No more running, we will fight here!" the Nephilim princess shouted.
However, few of the acolytes were willing to listen to her this time. They didn't spend another second staying and hurriedly ran in separate directions.
"Hahaha! Look at them, scurrying like rats!" the lanky dark elf said to the dark elves behind him, his voice full of ridicule.
The grand magus mirthfully watched for a moment before gesturing toward the magus behind him. At his order, the ten dark elves jumped down from the high-rise buildings with various spells and weapons ready.
"They're coming!!" Jinkan shouted to the scattered acolytes, desperately trying to pull them back together.
To both sides' surprise, a spatial distortion suddenly appeared mid-air. The distortion enlarged and engulfed all the dark elf magus at once, causing all ten figures to disappear without a trace. Replacing them was one figure, an acolyte they were familiar with.
"Emery!!"