A Journey That Changed The World.

Chapter 883  Hunting

[Ella, Halime, Talila, Nala and Maeve's POV]

Once Halime tore through the Church of Lights fortress, she returned to her humanoid form before Nala appeared. The four girls fired spells and arrows at the surviving knights before the lioness took off.

Nala sprinted across the vast landscape and attacked any patrols they found. With one swipe of her massive paws, she turned the Church Knights and soldiers into blood mist as she passed.

Every time they got close to a city, they targeted the group. This caused Ella to shout at Nala, ''Head for the forest in the west! It seems the empires know we're here!''

The lioness abruptly turned left and rushed toward the forest as they spotted monsters in the air flying toward them. Talila narrowed her eyes before announcing, ''The Novgorodian Eagles are coming! Ella, get your bow out and help me take them out.''

Following that, the two girls stood on Nala's back and fired hundreds of mana arrows at the incoming enemies. Most of the eagles dodged the attack, but a few were hit, causing them to plummet to the ground.

Talila showed her mastery in the bow as she sent mana arrows just before switching to explosive arrows but directed them lower when the eagles dodged the first waves of attacks only to be hit by explosions.

This allowed Ella to supercharge her arrows before firing them at the remaining creatures just as Nala entered the forest. They heard the pain-filled shrieks of the eagles who crashed into the towering trees.

Once they had distanced themselves from their pursuers, Nala slowed her pace, reverting to her humanoid form with labored breaths. Talila and Ella kept watch for any signs of pursuit, and once they were sure they were safe, the group of five settled down.

Maeve appeared puzzled. "You two are masters with the bow," she remarked, addressing Ella and Talila.

The silver-haired girl smiled while Ella replied, ''Thank you. I've been learning archery since I could hold a bow.''

''It's a good skill to learn,'' Maeve said before asking the group. ''Where do we go now?''

"We head north until we reach a city covered in tall buildings with golden domes. The capital is a few days beyond that," Ella explained.

The other four nodded and pulled out some food. As the sun began to set, Maeve started a fire. Nala offered to patrol the area with Halime in their Primal forms. Meanwhile, Ella, Talila, and Maeve stayed back at the camp.

Suddenly, a series of explosions high above drew their attention. All three looked up to see shooting stars streaking across the sky, leaving trails of silver, gold, and dark red in their wake.

After that, Ella and Maeve started toasting some bread while Talila hunted for fresh meat. They could hear Halime and Nala fighting things deep in the forest, but they chose not to investigate.

An hour later, Nala reappeared carrying a small elephant-looking monster. She dropped it nearby before returning to her humanoid form and sitting beside Maeve. She sniffed the air as her tail excitedly swayed.

''That smells nice, El. Can I have some, please?'' Nala asked with a greedy smile.

Maeve shook her head with a giggle, ''Not yet. It's not done.''

***

[Brooke's POV]

Once Brooke and Mei finished breakfast, they headed to the frontline to confront the Swarm's invasion as an advisor appeared in the hall and informed the dragon girl about a new invasion to the west.

Luckily, the creatures were being held back by a large wall that the Shadowfang Mages had built just before the monster hordes could reach any of the border villages. Brooke thought, seeing the number of creatures, 'It's a shame Archer isn't here. He would have been able to level up.'

She then cast several Fireballs, combining them with Thunder and Wind to create chaotic mana balls. With a flick of her wrist, she sent the spells flying toward the Swarm, and when they connected, they decimated the monsters.

The pulsing balls of mana sliced through the horde until they slammed into the Giants, bringing up the rear. Once they hit the bigger monster, they exploded, causing the ground to shake.

That's when Mei transformed into her eastern dragon form, charged at the remaining Giants, and tied one up with her long body while biting the head off another. Brooke smiled at seeing this before creating a fire golem.

She ordered it to charge toward the remaining monsters, swinging its fiery arms and destroying hundreds. Cleaning up the battlefield took them an hour; when the two women finished, they stood on the wall looking out across Orientia.

While standing, Mei commented, ''When will you return to Draconia, My Lady?''

''Not yet. They don't need me right now, plus Agrippina is watching over the kingdom in my absence,'' Brooke replied while tying her hair into a ponytail.

Mei appeared perplexed, shaking her head. "Why are you abandoning them to fend off the Novgorodian raids alone?"

"The kingdom's defenses will endure," Brooke explained. "The central continent isn't prepared for war yet; they're currently dealing with the Swarms invasion. But once they clear that threat, the emperors and people will launch a full-scale attack on Draconia."

''Makes sense,'' Mei said with a nod. ''If they choose to rely on you, then Archer would never find his strength.''

Brooke smiled, ''That is correct. If it's a life-threatening enemy, I will help, but if my Little Light can defeat it, I'll let him do it.''

Following their conversation, the two women patrolled the empire while getting to know each other. With Brookes's help, the Shadowfang Empire managed to push the Swarms back to the Underrealm.

***

[Sia & Mary's POV]

Sia greeted the massive Warrior Spider, which seemed excited when she spoke to it. Mary beamed. "It likes you and wants to become your mount for riding into battle."

"Huh?" the dragonkin woman replied, puzzled.

Mary laughed. "Just as I said. The spider wants to be your mount, and I would accept it—they are fiercely loyal."

Sia reluctantly nodded just as a few more spiders scurried up and chittered. The grey-haired woman smiled at the sound. She then turned to Sia. "We're ready to move out. We have a few more days until the attack."

The dragonkin woman beamed, finally happy to leave the cave filled with all the new monsters Mary had gathered for the upcoming battle. The Burrow Beetles broke through the boulder, blocking their way forward.

As they cleared the rubble, a group of Warrior Spiders charged through, tearing apart the attacking Under Ants. Amidst the chaos, Sia's mount appeared before her, lowering its massive body.

Sia shivered but was nudged onto the creature by Mary, who followed close behind. Once they were securely on the spider's back, it rose and began traveling down the tunnel, their horde of monsters following information.

The journey was unexpectedly peaceful for the two women, as their monster army dealt with any threats, either eliminating attackers or forcing them into submission. Following that, the Underrealm tunnels stretched endlessly before them.

It was dark and echoed with the distant sounds of dripping water and the occasional skitter of unseen creatures. Sia and Mary rode on the back of a large Warrior Spider, its many legs moving with surprising grace and speed over the uneven ground.

The air was cool and damp, and the tunnel walls glistened with mineral deposits, casting faint reflections of their torchlight. Still uneasy about her arachnid mount, Sia clung tightly to the spider's rough, bristled hair.

"Are we getting close?" she asked, her voice a mixture of apprehension and excitement.

Sitting behind her and holding a map illuminated by a glowing crystal, Mary glanced at their surroundings. "Verdantia isn't far now. Once we pass through the Crystal Caverns, we'll be just a few days away."

The Warrior Spider navigated a sharp turn in the tunnel, revealing a vast underground chamber ahead. The cavern was breathtaking, filled with enormous crystals that jutted from the ground and ceiling, casting a soft, multicolored glow that lit up the entire space.

Sia's eyes widened, but that's when they started traveling through it, and she soon realized they were surrounded by Under Ants, who were bigger than the ones she'd already seen.

She looked back at Mary, who smiled, ''Don't worry, Sia. I will deal with this.''

Mary jumped off the spider's back before landing with a thud before locating the biggest Under Ant and targeting it using a Mana Blast that destroyed the monster, but she didn't stop there and spammed the spells into the Swarm of ants.

'Don't get on her bad side,' Sia mused.

Sia didn't know what was happening as explosions rang out all over the cavern, causing the enemy monster to fly all over the place while their creature armies as safe as the spells weren't affecting them.

The Nameless Thing destroyed the Under Ants without any effort before she found the queen hiding in a cave at the back. Mary rushed in and threatened the scared monster into joining their army.

'What the hell is going on? This woman is as crazy as Archer!' Sia thought.

Minutes later, Mary returned with a proud smile. "We now have an army of Under Ants," she exclaimed. "Once Archer gains access to the domain again, they can stay there."

Afterward, they continued their journey, but no other monsters were willing to join them, so they killed them all. Eventually, they arrived at a large chamber with a steep climb leading to the surface.