MISTRESS OF FLAME

CHAPTER 51

CHAPTER 51

SOLLEL, HAKKEN, Zassia and Grath were huddled together as they went deeper into the desolate land valley. Their backs were to each other while looking around vigilantly. The valley was called desolate because it had nothing, and it was nothing but the truth. The soil was dead, it was almost barren. The trees had long died and no sign of vegetation anywhere.

Zassia contained a gasp when she saw skeletons and carcass everywhere. Some were fresh, some were rotting, and worms were feasting on it. As they continue, the rotting smell of death grew stronger each step.

"This is scary..." Zassia whispered while mustering all her courage to move her feet to continue. She was about to pray when she remembered that the one she was praying too for courage was beside her. And that thought calmed Zassia.

Meanwhile, Grath, who was on the front had his flame claws ready for anything. Hakken already draw his sword while Sollel's blood flame was at the ready.

"Hakken," Sollel whispered to Hakken who was beside her. "Do you know a safe route?"

Hakken shook his head and sighed. "Unfortunately, there is none, my lady. No route is safe in this desolate valley. There are some routes with less monsters, but it's still not safe. Usually, if a part of desolate valley had little monsters, that means a strong one is making it his territory."

Sollel nodded. "Let's take that route."

Hakken didn't ask his lady if she was sure, he immediately exchanged positions with Grath and lead the group to the route he mention to his lady.

Their journey was arduous, they had to stop, hide, and sneak past monsters that was fighting and some beasts that were eating their dead preys. With the help of the flower Hakken provided, their scent was safe.

"What is that...?" Grath asked in a whisper with incredulity seeing the insects four times bigger than him eating a carcass.

"It's a primal sowbug." Zassia answered in a shaky voice. "According to the book I read, they like munching on humans."

Grath grimaced. "What are we going to do, Lord Hakken? Should we go around it or kill it?"

Hakken eyes roamed around before his tongue clicked. "We can't go around. There's a bone-eating Peripatus on the left and a hoard of man-eating Psocids on the right. If we go around them, it'll take us days to return to this route and we're not sure how many monsters are there."

Sollel sighed while hiding behind a dead tree trunk. "Is there a monster in this valley that doesn't enjoy flesh, bone and blood of men? Maybe some vegetables?"

Zassia and Hakken answered at the same time.

"No, teacher."

"Not one, my lady."

Sollel sighed again. "Let's kill it." Everyone turned to look at Sollel and Sollel shrugged. "I get that our fighting might attract the attention of other monsters, but if we stay here and wait, some monsters might also come and feast on us. Let's just fight, then run."

Zassia looked at the massive sowbug again. Its skin was like metal. "I don't think my flame can penetrate its skin."

"I'm not sure if my flame can too." Sollel confessed too. "But we can't stay here. Who knows what kind of man-bone-flesh-eating monsters might come? There's an ample space between that bug with skin-like metal, that creepy long bug and those transparent looking ant-bug. We can make a run for it."

In their dire situation, the three couldn't help chuckling at how the queen called the three humongous monsters blocking their path.

After chuckling at his lady's adorableness, Hakken made a plan. "Grath, Zassia, you run as fast as you can while we're fighting the sowbug—"