Lines of exasperation appeared on Xia Jin's forehead.
What was this guy saying?
A creature with the head of a gnoll was staring straight at her with eyes full of possessiveness. She chose to remain silent.
Something was wrong!
Very wrong!
Was she actually... being eyed by an animal?
A few seconds later, the gnoll chieftain snapped out of it and coughed awkwardly.
His gaze had been too direct just now.
He had even forgotten that they were enemies.
Truthfully, the fact that a human possessed such high levels of attraction was shocking even to him.
Was there something wrong with his aesthetic sense?
No, it was simply that the girl before him was too captivating.
That heart-pounding charm and the feeling of falling in love were, unfortunately, qualities possessed by the enemy he had to face.
These complex emotions caused his feelings to fluctuate wildly.
"This feeling is so painful, but... if she is the enemy, I must kill her with my own hands."
Such a beautiful existence should not belong to the humans.
He did not believe that wicked humans were worthy of such a being.
The claws in his hands glinted with a cold light as a strange energy unique to gnolls covered his hands.
The next moment, he launched a charge.
The distance closed in an instant.
A slope only a few meters high could not hope to stop a Tier 7 powerhouse.
In a flash, the gnoll chieftain was in front of Xia Jin.
His claws lashed out, slicing toward her neck.
Clang—
A hum resonated through the air.
It wasn't the sound of metal, but rather a translucent shield that rippled like water.
The barrier completely surrounded the young girl, like waves of water.
When the distance between them reached 1.5 meters, he could no longer close the gap.
The gnoll chieftain's claws hit what felt like the most resilient object in the world. With a sharp crack, they snapped completely.
The cracks spread all the way to the base of his nails.
As the ripples expanded, a powerful rebound force surged into him. Before he could even react, an unimaginable shockwave sent him flying. His internal organs and nearly every cell in his body felt like they were being overturned.
He spat out a mouthful of blood and crouched on the ground, clutching his chest in disbelief.
Roar—
As if enraged by the attack on their Queen, the nearby swarm let out sharp, piercing screeches simultaneously.
Terrifying killing intent radiated from every single insect. At that moment, the tens of thousands of Zerg surrounding the girl stood up, their horrific gazes locking onto the gnoll chieftain.
Those pairs of crimson eyes filled with murderous intent made this high-status, powerful being feel like a helpless lamb.
Standing in the center of the terrifying horde, the girl possessed a strange sense of divinity.
It was the majesty of one who controlled everything.
"She is... the master of these monsters?"
In an instant, everything seemed to click into place.
The surrounding human noble lords all showed expressions of wariness.
Compared to their previous shock, the feeling Xia Jin gave these men now was an even more indescribable dread.
Especially as the entire swarm roared toward the sky in unison, as if answering their Queen.
That soul-shaking sight gave people a subconscious urge to surrender.
Not to mention, the powerful gnoll had launched a sudden attack so fast that no one had time to react.
To think that even such an attack failed to cause the girl any harm.
Was she really the frail and beautiful Princess from the rumors?
Xia Jin knew her current strength wasn't enough to defeat this gnoll. Fortunately, the opponent's strength was nearly exhausted. She simply raised her hand, and a pack of zerglings rushed forward to attack him.
The depleted gnoll chieftain didn't even resist.
He watched the girl ahead of him quietly and finally closed his eyes.
A mere twenty seconds later, a Tier 7 powerhouse vanished from the world.
"It's settled."
There were still quite a few enemies left. For the swarm, it was simply a matter of attrition.
The gnolls also seemed to realize the power of the Zerg and began concentrating their forces to attack the flanks.
When a large number of wild gnoll creatures launched a heavy assault on the armies of the various lords, their losses suddenly spiked.
The battle lasted for forty minutes.
Normally, the gnolls here would have been obediently wiped out.
But at that moment, from further away, a squad of scouts from the lord's army came galloping over on horseback.
"My lord, a gnoll legion of at least 20,000 has appeared ten kilometers away and is heading this way!"
"So soon?" Count Hai's heart skipped a beat.
"I have ten thousand fresh troops. I'll use them to intercept the enemy for now. While they hold them off, let's finish off the remaining gnolls here together," Xia Jin said to the lords.
"Understood, Princess."
Finishing off the remaining gnolls as Xia Jin suggested wasn't going to be easy.
Preliminary estimates suggested there were still at least 30,000 enemies left.
This was much higher than the initial estimate.
However, there was no need to worry about the details. With the current number of Zerg, resolving this was only a matter of time.
She dispatched ten thousand insects to intercept the gnolls approaching from the distance.
The goal of this battle was to connect the territories of the noble lords with Clearwillow Lake and, in the process, drive the enemies out of the kingdom's borders.
Rate on N.U.
