The prince, seeing that I was running towards the forest, smiled. Even though I didn't turn around to look, I could still see his disgusting face as if it was right in front of me.
"My lady, don't you think you're being a little too coy? After all the trouble I've gone through for you, how can you just leave me like this?"
When I didn't respond to his taunts, he clicked his tongue and began chasing me with his strongest soldiers.
"My army will deal with these worms. I will catch my shy lady and come back. When I return, show her a landscape made of bright red roses."
Before I had gone far into the forest, they began to catch up quickly. There were four people behind me, including the prince, who were at the 4th Evolution level. This may seem like a small number, but for a kingdom, these people were ultra-elites. There were no 7th Evolution level humans in the Frizt Kingdom. There were two at the 6th Evolution level: the late king and the army commander. There were six at the 5th Evolution level: two dukes, two of the king's guards, one first prince, and one vice-commander. These people were almost the most powerful elites of the kingdom, and now, there were four of them chasing me.
I had very few cards to play. While they didn't know this land very well, I knew it like the back of my hand. On top of that, my wind affinity was speed-oriented. Though, this wasn't much of an advantage, since I could hear one of my pursuers using wind, and another was clearing the path with earth affinity.
As I jumped from branch to branch, the wind caressed my entire body. Despite everything, it felt as though it was supporting me to think clearly. Finally, I saw a canyon and increased my speed, running toward it. The canyon was wide, and below it flowed a dangerous river inhabited by all kinds of deadly fish. My plan was to jump over the canyon and escape my pursuers. If you didn't know the right spots and techniques, it was almost impossible to reach the other side, and I intended to use that to my advantage.
I approached the canyon and headed toward a protruding rock. Even though the other side seemed closer from here, there was still a 20-meter gap between us.
"You have nowhere to run, little rat."
Khartza and his men had gotten very close. I could feel their breath in my ear. Once I reached the other side, this chase would end. It was time to use my last card that Khartza didn't know about.
Suddenly, all the wind power inside me, along with my mana, pulled outward, and a pair of transparent wings appeared on my back. This was a rare move that only someone who had trained their affinity to its maximum could do. The only way to control an affinity was to use the mana inside our bodies, but after years of work, I had managed to overcome this barrier.
I slowly began to lift off the ground, enjoying the sensation of the wind brushing against my skin. "Just a little more," I thought to myself.
"Hahahaha, this is why I love you, Lilith!! Even though you're only at the 3rd Evolution level, this is why you can become a marchioness! You're an extraordinary person who surpasses limits, you're perfect!"
Normally, compliments would make me happy, but after these words, I felt fear creeping in. Why wasn't he afraid of me running away? Why wasn't he shouting at me to stop? Before I could think further, I got my answer.
The branches on the ground quickly grew toward me, the wind became erratic, and the temperature dropped. It seemed that my pursuers were getting serious. Due to the cold air and wind, my speed decreased significantly, and the vines from the ground wrapped around my right foot. Soon after, I felt a sharp pain in my left calf. When I looked down, I saw that an arrow had pierced through it. As the vines and arrow combined, I had no strength left to resist, and I reluctantly allowed them to pull me downward.
"So, this is the end. Sorry, everyone, I couldn't do it."
"Finally, I caught you, my dear bird."
When I looked toward the voice, I saw Khartza's disgusting smile, and something inside me broke.
"TO HELL WITH ALL OF YOU!"
I screamed as loudly as I could, feeling the area around me spin. As I hit the ground, I called my wings back and cut off everything that was restricting me. Since I had no mana left in my body, I couldn't escape while in the air.
I drew the swords from their sheaths and charged at the archer, whom I assumed was an archer. She was surprised by my sudden burst of strength and seemed to lack a good defense in close combat. I immediately extended my right shoulder and cleaved through her raised bow and arm.
"Ah NO MY ARM! HELP!"
Her scream stunned me, and my second sword slowed as it came down toward her neck. But it was enough to give the others time.
CLANG
Halfway through, my sword was stopped by a metal shield, and the recoil caused me to purposely stagger backward. Immediately after, a hail of fire rained down on the spot where I had just been.
*Whistle sound*
"So the Devil of the North is not just a rumor. Everyone on the continent has heard of the things you've done."
When I heard this title, my eyes narrowed.
"So you want to be famous too? How about a story like this: 'The Devil of the North defeated four stronger people, but even though he died, he didn't lose the battle.' Do you like it?"
"You—"
"Enough, let's catch my queen and go. But don't try to hurt her like before, or you won't be leaving here alive," he said, looking at the blood flowing from my thigh.
"So you care about me that much, huh?"
"Of course, my queen. If you hadn't run, not even a hair on your head would have been harmed. I promise you, if you surrender now, I'll act like nothing happened, and I'll make you the queen of this country!"
"Actually, that's a good idea. I'm tired of all this running around. I want to relax and wear expensive clothes for once."
At these words, the prince smiled widely and opened his arms.
"I'm waiting for you, my queen."
I restrained the wind power inside me and sheathed my swords. Slowly, I walked toward Khartza, passing between the three people who were looking at me oddly. Honestly, I never thought a day like this would come.
"Life is truly strange."
After passing the groaning archer, I was no more than a meter from Khartza. I opened my arms and approached him, accepting his embrace. Just as my hands were about to wrap around his neck, I secretly drew a thin, poisoned needle from my bracelet and plunged it into the prince's neck. Sometimes, I felt sorry for the prince for being so stupid.
CRACK
At the sound, my eyes went wide, and without thinking, I rolled backward and stared into Khartza's eyes.
"Ah, Lilith, sometimes I really wonder if you think I'm this stupid. Did you really think I'd fall for this trick?"
"Actually, I believed it until the very last moment. They say love makes you stupid. And with someone like you, I can't even imagine the possibilities."
Upon hearing this, Khartza looked genuinely hurt. For some reason, this made me happy.
"Well, since you came to me willingly, I don't have to try anymore."
Khartza drew a thin sword from its sheath and pointed it at me.
"Do you think you can defeat me with this? The same crappy sword you only use to swing around at parties?"
Unlike the royal families of many other kingdoms, the Frizt royal family consisted of cowards and lunatics. Even though the prince was at the 4th Evolution level, the only reason for that was the abundance of resources, and even then, he had no proper battle training, as he feared getting hurt.
Khartza didn't waste time and charged at me.
"Prince, this is too dangerous! If the king finds out, he'll kill us! Just stay back!"
"Shut up, bird brain, I'm showing off to my woman."
"My woman? Who do you think you are, calling me yours, disgusting man!"
I didn't know what Khartza was relying on, but it worked in my favor. If I could kill him, I might find an escape.
I barely dodged the sword coming at me and immediately struck his wrist. His stance was so bad that it was full of openings. Khartza screamed in pain and dropped his sword. Without wasting time, I swung my sword.
CRACK
My sword was stopped by something. It was likely the same thing that had shattered the needle before.
"Haha, what do you think? This is a legendary armor that came out of our new dungeon. With this, you can't harm me!"
Before he could finish his sentence, I swung my sword again and didn't encounter any resistance.
"Ah, my eyes—"
I swung again. The sound of blood rushing into my ears filled me.
"My—My arm, you cut off my arm! How—how could you cut me with armor like this?"
"The way your armor works is very simple: it defends against any attack when it senses a dangerous intention, but if you hide your intent well, it's useless. How did you not understand that an item with this strong defense is just legendary level?"
Unfortunately, the only places I could attack were the areas where the armor couldn't physically defend, or the joints