The Legend of the ruthless Empress Freya

Chapter 128 The Ambush [The Crypt - Part I]

-- POV Freya --

We had already been descending for several hours and yet the end of the staircase was still not visible. The air was getting heavier and heavier and breathing seemed difficult for those who were not above level 20. Since our descent, no one was talking and the further we went the more I could feel the aura of my soldiers change.

[Onee-san, I have a feeling this march is affecting their psyches.]

*I know, but we can't go back. The only choice we have is to move forward, even if we have to do it for days*

Indeed, the Lieutenants were beginning to feel overwhelmed and were having a hard time dealing with the feeling of being buried alive. We had been walking for hours without finding anything. There was no life, no daylight, no noise except the sound of our footsteps and psychologically it was difficult. Turning back to my group, I stopped to talk to them.

"If someone is not feeling well, report it because it's important to know the state of everyone and if you need to stop it's also possible. We need to move fast but we don't need to be unconscious."

I could see everyone's heads nodding as I continued to move forward with Inferno at my side. When I had almost passed out I had wondered how he had gotten to me and Kira hadn't seen anything either. He stood proudly by my side and I knew I could hold onto him if I felt myself weakening. The withdrawal of more than half my mana had been so violent and powerful that even after several hours I still hadn't regained my full reserve.

[Onee-san, your MP are at 30,000, so it's not going up very fast compared to usual. I'm monitoring your recovery progress but it's not good so try to remember that before using your skills okay ?]

*Yes, thank you Kira. The tree had extremely powerful mana and controlling it drained me but it's fine. Besides, I didn't tell you this but since you have the ability to use my skills, if you ever feel an action is necessary, don't hold back*

[Of course onee-san]

There were two of us sharing the same body, and my little sister had full access to my ice and chaos skills. So it was possible for us to fight at the same time as long as we both knew what we had to do. As I thought about how to proceed, Nixia's voice came from behind me.

"Your Highness, it seems we've almost reached the bottom. My snake tail is picking up very light vibrations even though we are unable to see more than ten meters ahead."

"Very well thank you Nixia !"

At her words, the Lieutenants, who were feeling worse and worse, lifted their backs, buoyed by the idea that they could finally understand where we were. If I looked up, I could only see darkness without a single trace of light coming from the place where we had started our walk, which was beginning to weigh on their hearts. We kept going and the steps got smaller and smaller until at last my foot touched hard ground.

*Looks like we're there !*

[Yes ! The trick now is to know where...]

As I moved forward, still followed by my soldiers, I discovered at the end of the staircase a small, cramped corridor leading to what appeared to be another room. It was quite short and in a few seconds we were all on the other side. Behind this corridor was a huge room, the largest I had ever seen, filled with huge pillars that stretched up to the ceiling, which was so high it was almost invisible.

For the first time since my arrival in this world, I felt very small in front of this immensity, both fascinating and terrifying. It was like a place out of time that seemed to have not been crossed by any living being and yet kept its majesty. The pillars were made of stone and joined together in the shape of an arch, giving us a dark, eerie, gloomy and cold labyrinth.

"What...how is that possible ?"

"Does such a place exist underground ?"

Persea's and Ynir's voices echoed in this enormous space where it was almost impossible to find your way. There was no path, no way to find a direction, because everything was the same and stretched as far as the eye could see in this dark and damp maze. I didn't know if we were really underground, but the room we had just arrived in was almost as if it had come out of another universe. For the moment there were no creatures to report but something told me not to let my guard down.

"All right ! Let's rest here for a bit. I'm going to explore the area, those of you who want to come with me get ready !"

[Onee-san you should rest too, I remind you that you don't have all your MP]

*Just sitting around won't help me get my MP back, so I might as well search the few yards around us to make sure everything's okay*

Behind me there was Ralph, Emilia, Naïa and Thorunn who stood ready while the others preferred to rest. The place where we were was more than dark but this time we had made torches with wood of the forest, lit thanks to the element of fire of Naia. Just as I was about to announce the departure, strange noises started to be heard.

My ears were moving on their own and twitching as I tried to locate the source of this phenomenon. The noises were distant but the sounds seemed to ricochet off the pillars and prevented me from getting an exact direction. They were strange little clanking sounds like swords dragging on the ground with difficulty, and though I had been the first to notice them, the others were now listening too.

"It's getting closer..."

Caipy had said this as everyone took up their positions beside me. Glancing at Lynn, I could see that she had grabbed a dagger and was waiting behind Nixia. Of all my Commanders, the only ones who couldn't use the elements were the dark elf Caipy preparing her needles and poisons, the half-human cat Emilia preparing her heavy sword, and the half-wyvern Trioa preparing her arrows.

Among the Lieutenants there were also three who were unable to use magic, fighting with the abilities of their bodies. There was the half-human tiger Liz who fought with her whip, the red-haired bear Zak who fought with his fangs and claws and finally Nina the dryad who like her Commander fought with needles and poison. The other magically gifted ones were beginning to whisper softly to prepare their spells as the noise grew louder.

[Onee-san I must tell you, there is not much ambient mana here. You can only rely on your own mana, which means you are limited to attack and defense. Don't forget that you only have 30,000 mana points left, so be careful !]

*Thank you Kira, I'll still manage to get out of it. Tsk...this wasn't the time but since I have to fight I'm ready !*

As the ambient mana was scarce, it meant that I couldn't use my wings or at least not as usual. To avoid making a single mistake I decided to rely only on my attack and defense skills and of course my mastery of the katana. We were still motionless and each of us was scanning in the distance with squinted eyes to try to discover what was threatening us.

The closer the sound came, the more certainty there was in my mind that it was in fact thousands of other sounds echoing as one. I could not see clearly around us in spite of my eyes, but in the distance I could see hundreds of forms clustering together. They swarmed like insects and seemed to descend from the pillars with ease despite their humanoid forms.

"It seems we are not alone after all. I can't analyze what's piling up out there yet, but we're surrounded and by several creatures."

I had whispered but loud enough for everyone to hear and as I finished my sentence I turned my head to Inferno who was standing behind everyone. To my surprise, despite the situation, he didn't seem frightened and his eyes were even burning with a murderous glow.

"Inferno, stay back with Lynn and if we get invaded, take her on your back and go up the stairs."

My black stallion neighed as if to challenge what I was saying but after meeting my gaze he huffed before nodding his head. I couldn't explain how but I knew he understood me and as I nodded to the others, Inferno went to stand beside Lynn. So he and the young succubus were protected by my 10 Commanders, their 8 Lieutenants and me forming an arc around them. They had their backs to the hallway leading to the stairs, so they couldn't be attacked without going through our wall.

"They're coming !"

In front of us, like a tide, the hundreds of forms were now advancing towards us after having gathered. The nearer they came the clearer I could see them, and as they came to a good distance I could at last put a description on the things. Up to this point, I had not come across many monsters and at this moment I had to admit that this was the most disgusting thing I had ever seen.

[The thorny rat was nothing compared to this...just ew !]

These creatures were small, very lithe and looked like a cross between a goblin and a toad. They were green, dirty, and their faces had huge mouths with long black tongues full of pimples, drool, and sharp teeth, set off by crazy white eyes. There were not hundreds but thousands of them, so that it was impossible to see the end of them while they were still surrounding us at a good distance.

From the beginning, the sound I heard was actually their teeth chattering and fingernails dragging on the ground. They were extremely long and seemed capable of dealing you a death blow in one go. Although horribly disgusting, the problem wasn't their powers but rather their numbers. Currently we were 19 of us not counting Inferno and Lynn while they were thousands.

_____

[ Race : Nightmare (minor)

Lvl 3/10

HP 250/250

Strength : 35

Defence: 25

Agility : 70

Stamina : 50

Speed : 45 ]

__________

[They're weak in strength and defense, but their numbers...]

As I quickly analyzed the status of one of the creatures close enough for me to do so, I turned back to my soldiers. The fight was about to begin and sharing information was essential, so they needed to know as much as I did to avoid any unnecessary mistakes.

"They are minor creatures that go by the name of "Nightmare". They are not very strong and their bodies not very sturdy but their agility is quite high as well as their endurance and speed !"

"Hai !"

"I'm going to disperse my demonic aura to try and reach as many as possible, when I retract it you can attack. Fight as you know how, trying not to exhaust yourselves as we absolutely must not be overwhelmed by their numbers !"

"At your command, your Highness !"

As I nodded my head in satisfaction, I walked a few feet alone while taking a long and calm breath. My eyes were closed and as I finally heard the Nightmares running towards us, I concentrated. They were still pretty far away for the moment so I took the time to control my mana to perfection so as not to use too much of it at once.

*Kira, give me a count*

[Yes ! 10...9....]

My little sister was counting down to let me know when these creatures were going to be only a few feet from my position. I could hear their footsteps coming closer, beating in rhythm faster and faster as my body heated up.

[7...6...]

I had to concentrate as well so as not to engulf my soldiers because with the amount of aura I wanted to use if they were caught inside it would be over for them. I could feel my hair starting to float as for the first time I was about to unleash my aura in all its power.

[5...4...]

Kira's voice was still echoing in my mind and I could hear the Nightmares coming faster and closer. My eyes were closed so the sound they made was even more precise and disgusting. It sounded like a slug vomiting its meal in grotesque gurgles mixed with sucking sounds.

[3...2…]

The sounds were getting closer, the footsteps too, and the breaths were almost within my grasp but I was finally ready. I was ready to deal with this first wave as Kira's voice rose powerfully in my mind.

[1...NOW ONEE-SAN !]

Kira had just given me the signal I was waiting for as I suddenly opened my eyes. At that moment, my aura was instantly released from my body as a shockwave broke the ground beneath my feet. The first creatures were already within 5 meters of me but were swept away by the power of my attack. A red cloud shot out at an astonishing speed, overwhelming all the Nightmares around us, sparing my allies and devastating the enemy.

Hundreds and hundreds of creatures were falling to the ground, dead, one by one, struck by that dense and savage aura. Some were dead on their feet, some were convulsing, some were exploding from within, and I was smiling at this satisfying display of power. There were still a lot of them left, but the entire area for 500 meters was cleared without any of their attacks even hitting their targets.

Then I launched our counterattack with a powerful voice expressing my rage, followed by the resounding cry of my warriors.

"FORWARD !"

"AAAAAAAAH !!!"

____

FULL STATUS

Name : Freya

Age : 0 years old / Mentally : 25 years old

Sex : Female

Course : Ice Demon Wolf of chaos - Adult

Race : Imperial Demon

Titles : Blessed by Titania, Goddess of endless Chaos and eternal frozen Hell.

Dragon tamer

Ruthless slayer

Level : 36/70

Exp needed for next level: 16 600 / 37 000

HP : 120 000 / 120 000 MP : 24 000 / 60 000

Strength: 500

Defense : 500

Agility : 506

Endurance: 503

Speed : 502

Intelligence: 500

Charisma: 500 (imperial she-wolf)

Attribute points to allocate : 0

Married to : Gaya

Daughter : Shiro

Empire (menu)

Subordinates: 1239

Humans killed: 153

Souls: 2/3

Elements: Ice / Chaos

Skills (all):

Attack - Demon Claws (Lvl 5)

- Bite of hell (Lvl 6)

- Infernal ice spikes (Lvl 6)

- Fighting techniques (Lvl max)

- Mastery of the katana (lvl max)

- Demonic Empress aura (lvl 5)

Defense - Ice demon wall (Lvl 6)

- Demonic Cloak (lvl 5)

Pain Resistance (lvl 4)

Attack/Defense - Domain of the Ice Empress "frozen wrath" (lvl 2) - (under condition)

Others - Humanoid form

- Ice creation (Lvl 6)

- Storage of chaos (Lvl 4)

- Devouring Chaos (Lvl 5)

- Analysis

- Second soul (Lvl max) - unique

- Telepathy

Detection and control of mana (lvl 6)

Master of souls (lvl 1)

Passives - Commander (lvl max)

- Natural Aura of the Ice Empress ]