Chapter 90 Let The Hunt Begin [Dark Forest War II - Part VI]

-- POV Freya --

Sarah was in the middle of the arena the soldiers had created in the clearing, her companions on the other side all exhausted by my Commanders, their lieutenants and their sections. These adventurers were not mages so it was easier to neutralize them in numbers and that was exactly what was happening.

*The others should be back soon*

[Mmmh, our little game can start soon hehe~!]

Kira was always so nice that I always forgot that finally, when it came to humans, my little sister could be very evil. After all, she was partly responsible for the game we had set up for the humans.

*You seem particularly excited little sister !*

[Of course ! It's been a while since you've fought and if I can get a little show beforehand it's even better ! I can't wait ! Did you see how that adventuress looked at you ? Tsk...I wouldn't have liked to know what she was thinking but let's hurry up so I can see her face twist in pain again !]

*Kufufu~ I have to admit, I am impressed with you Kira. But don't worry, patience, you won't be disappointed !*

While I was talking to Kira, Sarah was still on the ground and looked ready to fight at any moment. The soldiers I had called to fight if they wanted to, had come forward and were not many. They had been healed by the light magic that very few of my medic soldiers possessed, but they alone were enough to get everyone back on their feet, though not without great fatigue. These medic soldiers were the only new ones to participate as their element was far too valuable to be left behind during this war.

"Your Highness we are done with them !"

As I pondered, the other six adventurers were presented before me by Persea, bound, exhausted and wounded. Against an entire army and mages, despite their superior levels, they had obviously failed to prevail.

"Let..let us go you monsters !"

"Release us ! You...you are making a grave mistake !"

"Yes ! Our leader will get all of you..."

The adventurers who seemed to be part of Sarah's group struggled and screamed before they all became speechless at the sight of their leader in a much worse state than they were. Her hand was broken and shaking, her face was burned and swollen, and blood was pouring from her mouth and nose.

The three humans dressend in red were silent and trembling as they closed their eyes, ready to die. They were level 21, 23 and 25 for the woman named Claire, so they were the weakest and had been the first to fall.

*Mmmh, so 10 more levels was not a problem. There are soldiers injured but no one died, that's very good news*

Whereas the leader with the green eyes looked around her panicked, brambles caught her in its turn before taking her in front of me beside her human companions. Ralph, Emilia, Ynir, Persea stood behind each of them, accompanied by Trioa who had also returned. As I looked coldly at these prisoners, I raised my arms despite my injury to speak so that everyone could hear me.

"Now on this beautiful night, I announce the beginning of our game ! When our last guests have joined us, I will announce the rules to all our participants."

As I finished my sentence, a thunderous applause rang out around us and throughout the clearing. The soldiers all had cruel faces that would make even the most seasoned warrior tremble. For the first time, humans were powerless before them and my soldiers were thirsty for blood, vengeance and screams of agony. I was thrilled to see them so excited and as I turned to the 7 kneeling before me, one of Sarah's men raised his voice.

"Monster ! I swear to you...aaarg"

"When you have an Empress in front of you, you bow down !"

Ralph as usual had crushed the adventurer's head to the ground before he could even finish his sentence. The other Commanders followed soon after, as Sarah stammered a few words.

"You...you won't get away with this ! I...I will destroy you ! Do you hear me ? Bring it on, you subrace ! You're afraid, aren't you ??? Hahaha~ that's it tremble before me hahahahihi~!!"

Her eyes were almost bloodshot and drool was dripping from her mouth. The adventuress was hysterical and her mind seemed to be filled with anger after being broken. The green-eyed woman couldn't stand so many contradictions with her beliefs and wanted only one thing, to fight me.

*Very well, I will give her what she asks for !*

With a snap of my finger, a cage of ice appeared all around her as I answered her.

"I agree to fight you human, unfortunately you will have to wait until your little friends have finished playing."

A cruel smile appeared on my face as my violet eyes stared into Sarah's, making her shiver even more. The other adventurers who had witnessed the scene were silent, but not the man held by Ralph who called himself John.

"You scum ! Daring to lock up our leader like an animal ! The...the twins have escaped..it's only a matter of time before reinforcements arrive ! You...you are all doomed ! All of you who followed that crazy woman...that...that Empress has led you to your doom !"

I could see the humans regain a glimmer of hope in their eyes upon hearing these words. It wasn't hard to understand what they were thinking as everyone actually noticed the absence of two adventurers.

"Y...yes it's true !"

"He's right, release us if...if you don't want to make it worse for yourself !"

"You will perish vermin !"

A surge of confidence had overwhelmed the humans as they began to struggle with more vigor. I was still silent as a smile appeared on my face. In the distance, I could see four of my Commanders arriving, accompanied by those we were expecting.

"Your Highness, please forgive our delay, we have apprehended those you wanted !"

Thorun bowed as she spoke followed by the other three, as Vig dropped the two twins from his shoulders. He and Alayna were careful to hide their faces as the revelation of their identities was not to come yet. The twins as for them, were fainted and in a pitiful state.

*Will they be able to participate ?*

[Yeees onee-san, now hurry up and announce the beginning !]

*Hahaha~ hai hai~*

The adventurers who witnessed the scene didn't say anything more and some of them even started to cry. I signaled Luna to wake them up, which she did with a lightning shot to the neck. So the two twins named June and May were waking up, tied up and on the floor near their companions.

"Claire ? John ? What's going on here and..."

"...why are we tied up ?"

The twins were lost and had not yet noticed my presence when an arrow of fire fell under their noses. This time it was Naia's turn to silence them.

"Silence ! You are in the presence of our Empress !"

The twins looked up at me before they had an unexpected reaction. Their muscles and will to fight seemed to have abandoned them as they collapsed to the ground. June and May had empty eyes and looked away, unable to bear the psychic pressure.

Without paying them any further attention, I turned to all the soldiers before addressing the whole clearing.

"Alright everyone ! I'm going to explain to you what's going to happen from now on. Our dear adventurers here, happen to have come to capture us, kill us and have fun like most humans do in this world. Thanks to the efforts of all of you and at the cost of some injuries we were able to defeat them and capture them by our numbers !"

Turning to the terrified humans, I whispered words that only they could hear. My eyes still twinkled with a special glow, making my words ever more ominous and terrifying.

"You seem to be having so much fun chasing us that I couldn't resist trying. Let's turn the tables shall we ?"

As I finished my sentence, Luna came up to me to whisper a few words as well.

"Your Highness, everything has been prepared as you asked."

"Perfect !"

My heart was beating rather quickly as excitement rose in my mind. We had prepared something special for them and my desire to get started kept increasing. Sarah was still in her ice cage and banging on the bars like crazy before being put to sleep by Luna.

*Tsk your turn will come ! Wait until I tell you the news about Kirk, Alayna and Vig kufufu~!*

There were 8 human participants, not counting their leader who would be used to entertain me later. Everything was ready and our little game could finally begin. Making an ice throne appear, I sat down, crossing my legs while talking to the adventurers.

"Do you see that mountain in the distance ? If you can reach it and return without dying, you will be free to leave this forest. Of course, one of my Commanders has taken care to set some traps, not to mention that you will obviously be pursued by my soldiers. Besides, don't think you'll escape, walls have been erected to prevent any escape."

Everyone in the army was stamping their feet to scare them off and giggling at the thought of being able to chase away those who did the same with them before. The humans on the other hand were not laughing at all, some were starting to beg while others were gritting their teeth in anger.

"Pi...pity !"

"Em..Empress, I..I am ready to serve you"

"Me..me too take me as your slave !"

Their constant mood swings disgusted me and while they pleaded, I continued as if nothing was wrong. I had no pity for them, no empathy for those who were so complacent in the role of executioner. Tonight it was their turn to experience what they had inflicted on so many innocent people.

"You have until dawn to prove that you are better than these beings you call subrace. You probably won't have any trouble doing that, will you ? You who are the superior race and blessed by the Gods !"

My purple gaze stared at them intensely as cheers erupted from everywhere at once. The soldiers then began to move around the clearing to form a path leading to the mountain as I started the show with a nod.

"Well let's get started ! The Queen and Princess are waiting for me, make sure you don't get lost kufufu~"

As the Commanders approached the prisoners to untie them. The same man who was part of Sarah's group, once again opened his mouth to speak words that instantly brought silence.

"Tsk...your wife and daughter can die ! You will all die for doing this to us and they won't be spared hahaha~!"

Until now the place had been loud with cheers and laughter but at this moment, no more noise could be heard. Without warning, an explosion of coldness erupted from my body to fill the air of the clearing. A crater formed under my feet from the power as I slowly rose to my feet and walked toward the one who had fueled my anger. For the first time, I showed a different face to those humans who couldn't stand to be so close to me. The red adventurers and the weaker ones, vomited unable to resist this powerful aura while others instinctively backed away.

[Onee-san...]

I slowly approached the madman before kneeling down at his height to look into his eyes. My eyes were burning with anger and my cold face had turned into a face with a crazy and wild smile. My female Commanders were silent and some of them were also trembling slightly while my soldiers were holding their breaths. No one spoke and I was the first to break the silence, in a calm but cold voice and more threatening than ever.

"Human...I will make you regret insulting those I hold most dear. I will make sure to open the gates of Hell for you myself and I can guarantee you...

I leaned into his trembling ear to whisper the rest.

...that you will beg me to kill you. I'll make you feel unimaginable pain while making sure you don't die right away. You will suffer until I tire of you and neither your soul nor your spirit will rest in peace."

Snapping my fingers, a second cage appeared around him as the cold did not abate. My black hair seemed to fly, almost levitating when there was no wind and its tips were tinged with white. My fangs had grown and I felt a huge bloodlust invade my whole being.

[Onee-san, calm down, learn to control your "Frozen Wrath" skill !]

As I closed my eyes, I could distinctly hear the remaining adventurers being untied and as I opened my eyes, though terrified, they were ready. Taking a deep breath to control the urge to destroy everything, I clapped my hands to announce the start of the game.

Eventually, the participants were down to seven and faced 20 volunteer soldiers. These soldiers had been healed while the humans were exhausted and lost which made this game very interesting. The way to the mountain had been checked by Luna, Trioa and none of them could escape. Sarah and the man named John, on the other hand, were locked up and designated as my personal prey.

*It's time...*

Trioa's mission was to fly in the sky and follow their progress while telling us the events by telepathy. I had linked all the Commanders with me so we were sure not to miss anything. With a wave of my hand and a loud voice, I announced the beginning of our little game that would last all night.

"Let the hunt begin ! Humans, you have 1 minute of advance.."

Without asking anything, everyone rushed towards the forest like the hunted beasts they were. The hunt for humans had begun.

*Show me the energy of despair...*

____

FULL STATUS

Name : Freya

Age : 0 years old / Mentally : 25 years old

Sex : Female

Course : Ice Demon Wolf of chaos - Adult

Race : Major Demon

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

Dragon tamer

Ruthless slayer

Level : 33/70

Exp required for next level: 100 / 34 000

HP : 90 000 / 90 000 MP : 45 000 / 45 000

Strength : 425

Defense : 421

Agility : 435

Stamina : 428

Speed : 427

Intelligence : 425

Charisma : 410 (imperial she-wolf)

Attribute points to allocate : 0

Married to: Gaya

Daughter : Shiro

Empire (menu)

Subordinates : 387

Humans killed : 148

Elements: Ice / Chaos

Skills (all):

Attack - Demon Claws (Lvl 5)

- Bite of hell (Lvl 5)

- Infernal ice spikes (Lvl 6)

- Fighting techniques (lvl max)

- Mastery of the katana (lvl max)

- Demonic aura of the empress (lvl 5)

Defense - Ice demon wall (lvl 6)

- Demonic cloak (lvl 5)

Pain Resistance (lvl 3)

Attack/Defense - Domain of the Ice Empress "frozen wrath" (lvl 1) - (under condition)

Others - Humanoid form

- Ice creation (Lvl 5)

- Storage of chaos (Lvl 4)

- Devouring chaos (Lvl 5)

- Analysis

- Second soul (Lvl max) - unique

- Telepathy

Mana detection (lvl 1)

Passives - Commander (lvl max)

- Natural Aura of the Ice Empress ]