Chapter 91
Chapter 91
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Translator: Ebonarch
Chapter: 91
Chapter Title: Elfin's Fury
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Elfin's expression turned more murderous than ever before. Her eyes narrowed into slits like axe blades as she strode forward and raised her bow.
"Terrorists, you've finally shown your true colors! All units, prepare for bat—"
Before the imperial officer could finish his words, Elfin began gathering her power, and a translucent arrow materialized on her bowstring.
She loosed the arrow high above the imperial soldiers' heads. It shone brilliantly in midair before transforming into something resembling a moon made of energy.
The moment the artificial moon completed, every imperial soldier beneath it suddenly floated up into the air as if gravity had vanished.
"Wh-what?"
"U-uaaaah! What is this?!"
The imperial troops floated aimlessly in defiance of gravity, unable to control their bodies properly.
They flailed their limbs like they were swimming through the air, but their bodies refused to move from their suspended positions. In desperation, the imperial officer called for the mages.
"M-mages! Mages! Hurry and dispel this magic!"
But it was futile.
"It won't dispel! This isn't magic!"
"What do you mean?! How could something like this happen if it's not—"
At that moment, the ground rumbled, and sharp rocks erupted upward, striking the floating soldiers and shooting toward the sky.
"Uwaaaack!"
"D-dodge!"
"Damn it, I can't move my body! Why won't we budge?!"
Their limbs worked fine, but their bodies were pinned in midair like they'd been nailed there. Frustrated, the imperials screamed in helpless rage.
"......"
Elfin lifted her bow again, her face brimming with killing intent as she aimed at the drifting soldiers.
They might have faced defeat in battle with shoulders squared and heads held high, but being suspended helplessly, reduced to sitting ducks waiting for death—either their own or a comrade's—was an entirely different story.
The imperials, who had been full of fighting spirit just moments ago, were now overcome with terror. Officer included, they screamed in panic, flailing uselessly in the air.
Pew!
A translucent arrow left the bowstring and flew straight toward the imperial officer who had been shouting at them.
"U-uaaaah!"
The officer, who had earlier spat defiance like "kill me if you dare," now screamed in instinctive terror at the brink of powerless death.
But the arrow didn't kill him. It grazed right past his ear.
It was so close that blood trickled from beside his ear.
"H-heuk... Huuuk..."
Had it flown just 1cm further inward, his ear would be gone. 10cm more, and it'd have been instant death to the face.
Tasting the fear of death, the officer lost all his earlier bravado and trembled, trapped in midair.
"Scared?"
"Y-you crazy elf...!"
Pew!
The second arrow pierced the hem of his pants between his legs.
Again, it was a near miss—just a hole in the fabric, no bodily harm...
But after two shots like that, it was clear these weren't misses. They were deliberate.
Elves were all expert archers, and Elfin was the best of them. There was no way she could miss stationary targets in midair.
The officer sensed it too, sweat beading on his brow as he shrieked.
"Huaaaak...! Heuk...! Y-you psycho bitch, what are you aiming for?! Are you toying with us?!"
"Didn't you say 'kill me if you dare'? Screaming all tough like that, and now you're terrified?"
"You crazy bitch...!"
"I'm in a really foul mood right now. So if you don't want to die the most painful death imaginable, you'd better choose your next words carefully. Pull back your forces and end this fight? Or test how many non-vital arrows your body can take before you die?"
"Damn it...! Do something! Kill that crazy elf!"
At that instant, Elfin's third arrow pierced his right thigh precisely. Simultaneously, the artificial moon vanished.
"Gaa aaaack!!"
The floating imperials crashed to the ground as gravity returned in a rush.
The moment their feet hit the dirt, they scrambled for weapons to counterattack, but...
Whoosh!
The small rocks and stones that had jutted from the earth now rained down on them. The imperials, fixated forward, fell one by one under the barrage.
They were still breathing, so no fatalities, but the moon's rise and fall alone had incapacitated a good number. Even the conscious ones were too injured from the rocks' ascent and descent to move properly.
Rumble!
At the same time, Elfin's unique ability activated. Plant tendrils burst from the ground, crushing and binding the wounded imperials.
Shoo-shoo!
Several arrows launched toward the officer, all grazing him just enough to miss his body.
He staggered back, trying to block the volley, but his thigh wound sapped his strength, and he collapsed. More arrows slammed down around him in an instant.
They artfully avoided his flesh, pinning only his clothes to the ground like stakes, completely immobilizing him.
Plant tendrils resembling pitcher plants from hell swallowed his limbs. Elfin stepped on his chest, aimed an arrow at his eyes, and muttered darkly.
"In less than three minutes, you've already brushed death dozens of times. No third warning. Pull back your forces now, or die the most painful death in the world? For reference, these babies grow up eating orcs. Their digestive juices are insanely corrosive—they'll melt human skin like butter. It'll hurt like hell."
She pointed at the pitcher plants sprouting from the earth.
The ones gripping his limbs weren't digesting him yet—just holding on. For now.
The officer, who had charged in with death-defying zeal, was now trembling in primal fear from Elfin's overwhelming skill gap, her unpredictable powers, and the fact he'd danced on death's edge dozens of times already.
"W-will you... really let me live if we pull back...?"
Thuk!
An arrow instantly embedded in the dirt right beside his face, spraying debris.
"Answer me."
Utterly dominated by Elfin, the officer nodded frantically in terror.
"W-we'll retreat! We'll pull back right now!"
"Good. Take your men and get out. I'm not in the mood, so no dawdling. Don't even think about stabbing us in the back. These things can pop up anywhere. Try betraying us, and..."
Elfin's arrow slammed into the ground right below his crotch.
"...I'll make you regret being born. Got it?"
"Y-yes! I won't betray you! Th-thank you for sparing me!"
That guy was ready to fight to the death five minutes ago, and now he flips attitudes faster than flipping a pancake.
Freed from the pitcher plants' grasp, the officer rallied the conscious soldiers, ordered them to carry the unconscious, and commanded a retreat to base. I tossed in one last remark from behind.
"Oh, and leave behind all the daily necessities and facilities for base living. We'll be crashing there."
"Got it!"
Having tasted death's terror, the imperials obeyed without question.
Desperate to escape the nightmare that was Elfin, they packed only the bare minimum and bolted. Now, one imperial outpost on the border was ours for the taking—empty and ready for unauthorized squatters.
Man, Elfin's mood swing was brutal this time. She never acted like this before.
"We've got a place to crash now, at least... but the kingdom forces won't back off that easily. We need to send them packing too."
Luna was back to powerless civilian mode, and sending Linian would risk her losing control and wiping everyone out. Obviously not options.
And judging by her state, Elfin seemed to be on her period or something...
Ravi and Lenis apparently thought the same, as they spoke up first.
"We'll handle the kingdom side and make them retreat."
"You two alone?"
"We're strong, remember?"
"I know you'll manage, but try not to kill any innocents."
"Hehe, even if you told us to, we wouldn't."
Ravi and Lenis left first to drive off the kingdom troops. Now it was just me, Elfin, Luna, and Linian at the base—four of us total.
The moment they were gone, I started planning countermeasures against the inevitable arrival of the Goddess's Sword unit.
Linian, who could detect presences via mana itself, had scouted briefly: they'd reach us in about 3-4 days.
We were wanted by the Church under our own names now, so whether in the empire or kingdom didn't matter anymore—not since that signal flare went up.
We couldn't evade the Goddess's Sword forever anyway. A showdown was inevitable eventually.
After pondering strategies for a while, I stepped out for some fresh air to clear my head. That's when I spotted Elfin sitting at the edge of the forest behind the base.
She had her bow across her lap, spacing out and staring at the sky. She'd been prickly beating down the imperials earlier, and now this blank stare—period cramps must hit her hard.
I approached her warmly.
"What're you doing? Sitting there all zoned out. You feeling really rough?"
Her head turned slowly toward me, and suddenly her eyebrows furrowed in an inverted V.
"?"
"Don't talk to me. You trash bastard. Get lost."
What the hell? What's this now?