Chương 112: Chapter : 112

Zaima, the servant who looked exactly like Sayma but with a permanent, bitter scowl, stepped up right next to Princess Hestia. She crossed her arms and glared at Naomi like she was an annoying bug.

"Finders keepers is a game for commoner children," Zaima sneered, her voice harsh and cold.

"This is the Royal Succession War. The prize belongs to whoever is strong enough to walk out of this cave holding it. And looking at your pathetic, panting team, it is very obvious that you are completely out of gas."

"Try me, you shiny snob!" Laxmi yelled back, punching her flaming fists together.

"I have plenty of gas left in the tank! I will roast that fancy white uniform right off your back!" Princess Iris held her hand out, gesturing for Laxmi to hold her ground. Iris stood perfectly straight, looking directly at her younger sister.

"Hestia, we do not need to do this," Princess Iris said clearly, her violet eyes totally serious.

"We defeated the dungeon boss. We earned this artifact fairly. You can turn around and leave right now, and nobody has to get hurt." Hestia let out a soft, elegant laugh, covering her mouth with her delicate hand.

"Oh, Iris. You are always so terribly naive. You still think this is about fairness. It is about absolute perfection. My team operates flawlessly. Your team is a chaotic mess dragging a useless, messy boy around. Zaima, if you please. Clear the room."

"Formation Alpha-Strike!" Zaima barked loudly. Instantly, the 16th Unit moved. They didn't just run forward; they moved like a single, perfectly coordinated hive mind. Three girls with heavy shields dashed to the front, instantly raising a seamless wall of glowing white energy. Two girls with long spears stepped right behind them, pointing their weapons through the gaps in the shields.

"Here they come!" Sayma shouted, quickly throwing her hands forward to summon her golden honeycomb barriers.

"Vanguard, hold the center!" The battle over the Core of Luminus broke out in a split second. Laxmi roared, throwing a massive, blinding wave of orange fire right at the advancing shield wall.

"Take this!" But Princess Hestia didn't even blink. She casually raised one hand from the back of her formation. Her unique magic, Thermal Equilibrium, instantly activated. The roaring, super-heated fire hit Hestia's magical field and immediately lost all of its destructive heat. The deadly flames turned into a totally harmless, comfortable warm breeze that just fluttered the white uniforms of her servants.

"What?!" Laxmi gasped, staring at her empty hands in total shock.

"My fire just vanished!"

"Your raw power means absolutely nothing against superior tactics," Zaima mocked.

"Counterattack!" Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings. The spear-wielding girls lunged forward, thrusting their weapons with absolute precision. Zinia slammed her hands onto the floor to pull up a thick earth wall to block them, but a girl from Hestia's team threw a cluster of glowing silver darts directly at the rising rocks. The darts exploded into a web of magical energy that completely shattered Zinia's wall before it could even fully form.

"They are too organized!" Zinia grunted, shielding her face from the flying rock dust.

"Every time I try to set up a defense, they break it instantly!" Ira swung her high-pressure water whips, aiming for the legs of the shield-bearers. But the 16th Unit moved in perfect unison, stepping backward at the exact same time to easily avoid the strike, before instantly snapping back into place and pushing forward again. The 13th Unit was strong, but they were individuals fighting side-by-side. The 16th Unit fought like one giant, terrifying machine.

Hestia's team slowly and systematically began pushing Iris's team away from the center of the room, inching closer and closer to the stone pedestal where the glowing Core of Luminus was resting. Meanwhile, completely ignoring the intense tactical warfare happening in the middle of the room, Ken Eliot was doing his absolute best to stay out of the way. He was currently crawling on his hands and knees behind a cluster of glowing crystals, trying to keep his nice navy blue suit clean.

"This is ridiculous," Ken complained loudly to himself, completely oblivious to the danger.

"I just wanted to grab the shiny rock and go home. Why do rich people always have to fight over everything? They could just buy their own shiny rocks at the mall! Now my knees are getting dusty." He stood up, brushing the dirt off his expensive pants. He slouched his shoulders and let out a long, loud yawn. He looked around the cavern, trying to find a comfortable place to sit down and wait for the girls to finish their argument.

But as he turned around, he found himself staring directly at a very sharp, very pointy silver sword. Ken blinked his sleepy eyes. Standing right in front of him was Elma, the highly vain, incredibly arrogant servant from Hestia's team. She had perfectly curled blonde hair, a spotless white uniform, and she was holding two razor-sharp short-swords. She was glaring at Ken with a look of absolute, pure disgust.

"Well, well," Elma sneered, her voice dripping with venom.

"Look what I found wandering around in the dirt. The little stray dog got separated from its owners." Ken put his hands on his hips and let out an annoyed sigh.

"First of all, rude. Second of all, I am not a dog. I am a highly respectable servant. Look at this suit! It is navy blue! It is very modern and classy." Elma scoffed, stepping closer and spinning her swords intimidatingly.

"You look like a clown who broke into a tailor's shop. Zaima was right. You are a complete joke. I am going to do the entire Empire a massive favor and put you out of your misery right now." Ken took a slow step backward.

"Look, lady, I am really not in the mood for cardio right now. Can we just pretend you didn't see me? I promise I won't tell anyone. I will literally just go back to sitting behind that rock."

"Stop talking, you filthy peasant!" Elma snapped, raising her swords.

"Hold still so I can cut you down!"

"Wait! Hold on!" Ken shouted, suddenly throwing his right hand directly in front of her face. Elma stopped her swing, totally caught off guard by his sudden movement. She looked at his hand. Ken was proudly holding up his right index finger, wiggling it back and forth so the cheap, shiny blue plastic ring caught the light of the cavern crystals.

"Behold!" Ken yelled loudly, making sure his voice echoed across the room.

"You cannot defeat me! I am currently wearing the legendary Blue Dragon's Flame Core! It grants me absolute, unbreakable good luck! If you try to attack me, the universe itself will protect me!" Elma stared at the ring. A few feet away, Zaima glanced over her shoulder at the noise. Even Princess Hestia paused her elegant walking to look at the boy holding up his hand. They all stared at the piece of cheap blue plastic.