Chapter 317

Chapter 317

More than a hundred years had passed since she had stood beside Serian.

Naturally, almost no secrets existed between the two elves. But there were exceptions.

The Punishers were one of them.

Unlike Serian, Eli did not know their faces or names.

That was because the Punishers had hidden their identities thoroughly.

They had not shown their true selves even to Eli, the second-in-command of the North District.

The only one who knew their true nature was Serian.

That fact made Eli feel inferior.

In name, she was the second-in-command of the North District, yet she could not command its strongest combat power. That fact gave her a sense of self-loathing.

There had been a time when Eli demanded the Punishers’ personal information from Serian. She had argued that as the second-in-command of the North District, she needed to be able to command them in emergencies.

But Serian refused her request.

“They never reveal their identities or follow anyone unless they acknowledge that person themselves.”

Serian had answered carefully so as not to hurt Eli’s feelings, but instead, Eli felt wretched.

That was because Serian’s words sounded as though the Punishers did not acknowledge Eli because she was not the queen.

Perhaps it had begun then.

Perhaps that was when Eli began seriously aiming for the queen’s seat of the North District.

Eli pressed her lips together.

“So she even mobilized the Punishers? Does this mean she truly intends to see this through to the end with me? Serian!”

Burning with rage, she looked at the elf holding Nailia’s Bow.

The elf who had just broken the barrier also happened to raise his head and look at Eli.

Because the mask covered his face, she could not read his expression, but she could tell at least that he was smiling.

“Arrogant bastard!”

TWANG—!

In that instant, the masked male elf fired an arrow at her.

CRASH—!

With an explosive roar, the arrow burst right in front of Eli’s nose.

A transparent spiderweb had spread before Eli like a net.

It was Spiderweb Shield, one of her Skills.

It was a Skill that summoned transparent silver threads and formed a spiderweb-shaped shield to protect herself.

The transparent silver threads possessed the property of absorbing mana and dispersing it. Because of that, they were not shaken by most attacks.

That Spiderweb Shield vanished without leaving a trace.

That was how much destructive power had been contained in the bow.

If she had taken it with her bare body, even Eli would not have been able to guarantee her survival.

“Oh? She’s fine.”

Eli heard the elf who had fired the bow click his tongue.

He had deliberately spoken loudly enough for Eli to hear.

Eli trembled with intense humiliation.

“How dare you! How dare a mere Punisher look down on me?”

Bloodshot veins rose in her eyes.

“Hurry and subdue her.”

At that moment, Borin led the Blue Fallen Leaf Special Operations Unit into Eli’s house.

The barrier that had protected the house had been completely blown away by Nailia’s Bow, so they advanced without hesitation.

Normally, a force on the level of the Blue Fallen Leaf Special Operations Unit would never have been able to enter Eli’s residence so boldly. But now, while they were receiving a buff, things were different.

The Punisher’s buff had inflated their combat power several times beyond usual.

‘Crazy!’

‘My body’s this light?’

The ability of the Punisher who had granted them the buff was beyond imagination.

They had received many buffs before, but this was the first time they had received one that inflated their abilities severalfold in such a short time.

The Punisher who had given them the buff had said this:

His buff was instant-acting and powerful, but in exchange, its aftereffects were tremendous.

From the moment the buff ended, they would become wrecks and would have to lie in bed for over ten days.

That was because a buff did not grant power that had not existed in the first place. It triggered and wrung out the latent power one already possessed.

In other words, the Blue Fallen Leaf Special Operations Unit was compressing and using ten days’ worth of energy in a single moment.

Because Borin knew that, she felt pressed.

‘I have to settle this place before the buff ends.’

Fortunately, there were not many forces in Eli’s house.

Their abilities were impressive, but they could not defeat the buffed Blue Fallen Leaf Special Operations Unit.

“Kraaaah!”

“Ghk!”

Those guarding Eli’s house fell with screams.

Borin’s gaze swept quickly through the house.

‘I have to subdue Lady Eli quickly and calm this situation.’

It was a war against Eli, but it was also a battle against time.

They had to end the battle quickly and patch up the conflict.

If the battle dragged on, a split in the North District would inevitably occur.

“Find Lady Eli.”

“Yes!”

At Borin’s command, the Blue Fallen Leaf Special Operations Unit scattered in every direction.

At that moment, the Punishers approached Borin.

“Lady Eli will not be here. I do not sense her presence.”

“Then?”

Instead of answering, the Punisher wearing the silver mask looked at the floor.

Borin understood the meaning in his gaze.

“There is a hidden space underground.”

“That is correct.”

The masked Punisher aimed his arrow at the floor beneath his feet.

CRASH—!

When he released the string, the floor collapsed, revealing stairs leading underground.

The Punisher with his robe hood pulled low said,

“The energy I sense is not ordinary. Everyone had better be careful.”

“It is certainly murderous. It seems she has prepared something far from ordinary.”

“I have no idea why Lady Eli would make this matter so large.”

“Intense desire is more than enough to blind even an elf’s eyes and ears.”

“Tsk!”

The Punishers conversed as they descended the underground stairs.

Borin and the Blue Fallen Leaf Special Operations Unit carefully followed behind them.

On the faces of Borin and the Blue Fallen Leaf Special Operations Unit as they looked at the Punishers’ backs, awe appeared.

The Punisher wearing the silver mask handled Nailia’s Bow, which Borin herself had not even been able to draw properly, far too easily.

That meant there was an enormous difference between him and her.

‘Just what are their real identities?’

The Punishers had not shown their true faces even to her.

Since they had appeared quickly as soon as she contacted them, they were surely living in the North District.

Borin prided herself on knowing almost every notable person in the North District, but she had never once seen anyone resembling them.

It was then.

“Be careful! The smell of blood and the fishy stench are not ordinary.”

The masked elf walking ahead warned them.

Borin and the Blue Fallen Leaf Special Operations Unit, their minds snapping awake, raised their weapons and guarded their surroundings.

Bzzzzzz!

In that instant, an eerie sound came from the dark passage ahead.

The masked elf aimed an arrow and said,

“Shall we greet them first?”

TWANG—!

He immediately fired an arrow forward.

The arrow flew at terrifying speed and caused an explosion in the darkness.

CRASH—!

With an explosive roar, the aftershock rushed all the way to where Borin and the others stood.

Bzzzzzz!

But the strange noise coming from beyond the darkness did not decrease at all. It was a response that made it seem they had taken no damage whatsoever.

“This is serious.”

“We had better be careful.”

The Punishers’ expressions also turned grave.

Their sixth sense was warning them.

Dangerous things waited beyond that darkness.

Borin carefully said,

“There must be Gu here.”

“You mean the insect monsters you spoke of before?”

“Yes!”

“To think she raised those hideous things in the North District. The Spider Queen must have lost her mind.”

WHOOSH—!

Before their conversation ended, something poured out from the depths of the passage at terrifying speed.

The grotesque insects, which looked as if several kinds of insects had been fused together, were definitely Gu.

“All wicked things, burn to ash.”

The robed Punisher shouted loudly and spread both hands wide. Then enormous flames, like a dragon’s Breath, filled the passage and surged forward.

POP-POP-POP-POP—!

With sounds like bullets bursting, the Gu exploded.

They were bursting from the ultra-high heat.

But there were several times more Gu that survived than the ones that burst.

“Nailia’s Bow will not be much use here.”

The masked elf slung Nailia’s Bow over his back.

If he shot with more power, he could reduce the number of Gu by quite a lot. But if he made the shots any stronger, there was a high chance the underground passage would collapse.

Since they could be buried alive while trying to kill the Gu, it was better to seal the bow away entirely.

Instead, he drew a sword from his waist.

It was not a rapier, which elves mainly used, but a straight sword commonly used by humans.

The blade, extending in a straight line, had been honed sharply for killing alone.

Whirrrrr!

He rotated the straight sword like a fan and charged forward.

CRACK—! CRACK—!

The Gu caught on his blade were cut apart mercilessly.

The sight of thousands, tens of thousands of Gu being cut down by his sword was truly spectacular.

The remaining Gu were burned without exception by the other Punisher’s Flame Magic.

Borin and the Blue Fallen Leaf Special Operations Unit could not close their mouths, stunned by the Punishers’ might.

‘Crazy!’

‘It’s possible to cut down that many insects with a single sword?’

Borin and the Blue Fallen Leaf Special Operations Unit had already experienced the threat of Gu.

They knew better than anyone how dangerous the Gu were.

A monster called Gu was not something that should collapse so easily. And yet, the fact that they were being cut apart so mercilessly meant the Punishers’ abilities were truly tremendous.

At that moment, the Punishers tilted their heads.

“They seem a little weaker than what we heard.”

“Indeed! It seems they exaggerated, after all.”

The Punishers chuckled.

They had come prepared for a bloody battle, but at this rate, they felt they could subdue Eli without using that much strength.

At last, after cutting down every Gu blocking the way, they arrived at an underground cavity. Eli was there.

She glared at the Punishers with an expression of disbelief.

“You already eliminated all the Gu?”

“They were nothing special, Lady Eli!”

“There is no way. Gu are so vicious and terrifying.”

Eli denied the Punishers’ words.

The power of the Gu she knew was not something that could be dealt with just because two Punishers had joined.

According to Eli’s expectations, they should have been swarmed by Gu and brutally killed the moment they entered the passage.

Yet not only the Punishers, but even Borin and the Blue Fallen Leaf Special Operations Unit were perfectly fine.

“Something’s wrong. Did that bitch deceive me?”

“I do not know what you were deceived about, but you must come with us. Lady Eli!”

At the polite words of the masked elf, killing intent burst from Eli’s eyes.

“Hmph! Don’t make me laugh. Even without Gu, I am strong. Do you really think the likes of you can do anything to me?”

“As expected, there is no easy way. If you respond like this, we have no choice but to subdue you by force.”

“Even if you are Punishers, you can’t do anything to me. I am Eli, the Spider Queen. This place is my domain.”

WHOOSH—!

Countless silver threads stretched out from her body and filled the underground space. It looked almost like a spider den.

Just as she said, it had become Eli’s domain.

The real fight began now.

The Punishers charged at Eli.

Borin followed behind them and thought,

‘But where is Mr. Zeon?’

---

A woman carrying a large wooden barrel on her back climbed a sand dune in the desert with great difficulty.

When she briefly looked back, she saw the enormous Neo Seoul.

“Hoho! I’ve gotten everything I need now. There’s no reason to remain in Neo Seoul any longer.”

The elf with striking blood-red hair was Romina, Eli’s trusted aide.

She murmured with a relieved expression.

“I’ve obtained the finest Gu. Now, as long as I breed these, I can make my clan flourish again.”

“You were the descendant of the Five Poisons Clan.”

At that moment, a voice that should not have been heard reached her.

Startled, Romina turned around and saw a man standing there.

“How did you......?”

The man, Zeon, asked,

“I never imagined an elf would be the descendant of the Five Poisons Clan. Are you a half-blood, perhaps?”