Adeline slowly opened her eyes. The first thing she saw was Tymon and Alfred, who were guarding her. Both of their eyes were closed, which was odd; it felt as if she was being worshipped. She slowly got up, but that's when their eyes suddenly opened. Adeline froze as she stared at them.

  “I am gd to see you two are getting along.”

  “Tymon has proven a worthy fighter. Thanks to him, we held off the first wave with minimal damage.”

  “That is good to hear, but we need to move out of this area.”

  Adeline quickly got up as the duo followed her. They soon came out of the cave and were met with the dwarves and orcs busily rebuilding. The old dwarf slowly approached her, carrying what seemed like a leather bag.

  “Here are the cores we have retrieved.”

  “Thank you.”

  Adeline instantly started to consume them as she assessed the situation. This area seemed favorable, but they could not hold it any longer. The empire would continue to send more soldiers, and they were not strong enough yet to defend it.

  “We need to leave this area promptly. Do you know of any paths leading back to the pins?”

  “There is a passage our ancestors dug through the mountain, but the path to the tunnels is blocked.”

  “If all the orcs helped, would that be enough?”

  “It would take a day or two, but yes.”

  “Okay, round up everyone and get digging. This is a better option than fleeing through the forest.”

  All the dwarves and orcs were called and given specific tasks. Adeline also instructed them to pce loose beams so they could destroy their path behind them. With the exception of Joseph, who was keeping watch, everyone, including Adeline, worked on the tunnels. All of them protested, but she was too stubborn. She also tortured the prisoners during breaks to try and get any information, but it seemed like they were given vague instructions on purpose, probably to use them as fall guys in case the operation was compromised.

  This also proved to be a good way to learn mana control with Tymon's instruction. He also started to teach her basic sword training, which she quite enjoyed. Two days passed quickly, and on the third day, Joseph rushed into the underground tunnels with grave news.

  “Empire soldiers are coming. They are four times the size!”

  “Oh, I see. Tymon, Alfred, we should be enough; the rest continue clearing the path. How far are we until we are done, old man?”

  “It should take a day.”

  “Continue the good work; we will be back. Joseph, guard them for me.”

  “I will follow your command.”

  Some of the dwarves quickly started to strap silver armor on Adeline, who wanted to protest, but for the sake of time, she let them. With Adeline and Tymon now armored, they grabbed their weapons and stepped out. Alfred had already left and set up in a nearby tree, ready. Adeline was carrying a rge greatsword, with Tymon holding his signature battle axe. Adeline felt oddly powerful holding such a great weapon.

  They advanced further into the forest until they came face to face with the empire, carrying their banner. This time, there were four individuals in gold and silver armor, riding horses. Adeline tilted her head as she stared at them, wondering how strong they were.

  “They are not sword masters, but they are on the cusp of attaining it.”

  “Aren’t there many sword masters?”

  “There are only twenty known sword masters on the continent, excluding me. More than half of them belong to the empire; the rest are in the Grand Duchy. They are a valuable war resource, so they wouldn’t deploy them on every subjugation.”

  Tymon expined in great detail. Adeline started to re-evaluate the empire; maybe they were not as strong as she thought. If they had a dragon on their side, it should be enough to keep them in check, but first, she needed to make a statement. One of the knights slowly stepped forward on his horse.

  “My name is Knight Zion, from the great empire of Segar. If you surrender now, we will be lenient with your punishment.”

  “My name is Adeline, the future ruler of this forest. If you leave my territory, I won’t turn your bodies to crow shit.”

  The man could be seen physically shaking, but he held his outburst.

  “Adeline, you wicked demon, a stain on humanity, will be brought back in chains and answer to the emperor. As for you, former commander, I will send you to your family.”

  “The only thing the emperor will receive is your tragic death in battle, though I doubt he will even get that, since all of you will die here.”

  “You overstate your capabilities. Your arrogance will be your undoing.”

  “Arrogance is kidnapping my people to do your illegal mining activities. Arrogance is framing a good man and killing his family. Arrogance is being a coward and betraying others. Arrogance is thinking we are your sves, commodities, and products. This is my final warning: leave now, or meet the cruel hand of the goddess of life and nature.”

  “Of course you would pray to a pagan god. I will show you the error of your ways.”

  Zion returned to his horse, next to the others, and unsheathed his sword. That was when Alfred appeared in his true form at the back of the army. Chaos ensued as he consumed and spread poison everywhere. Zion turned his horse to assess the damage, but Tymon advanced and pnted his axe into the ground, releasing his mana. A crack appeared, splitting the army further, and the knights on horses fell. Adeline slowly walked towards the four knights, dragging her greatsword. They quickly got up and faced her.

  “You four will be my opponents. I want to test my sword skills. Surely an army of four hundred can handle a mere snake and a human.” Adeline spoke sarcastically as the sound of screaming continued.

  “We will not be tricked by you, devil!”

  “I am not asking.”

  Adeline quickly shot forward and swung her greatsword. The knights dodged, but some soldiers were caught in the powerful swing. Several of them were cut in different areas, their limbs flying into the air.

  “Are you really scared of me? I just started learning how to hold this thing.”

  Adeline attacked once more with an overhead ssh. Zion dodged again, but the soldier behind him was split in half. Zion started to understand the opponent she was facing; she had monstrous strength. If caught in her strike, it meant death.