Chapter 189: The Relic Vs the Red Anchor Stone
Within the heart of the cave, tension wound itself around every breath. Queen Eli stood unmoving, her glowing serpentine eyes focused through a narrow rock window that offered a perfect, dreadful view of the enemy encampment.
There, like a beast being dragged from hell, the device arrived.
At first, it was only a shadow behind the snow and haze. But soon the truth revealed itself. A cannon. But no mortal cannon. This one was long—longer than three horses in length, with a thick barrel carved from soul obsidian alloy and runes etched in deep gouges along its length. The ancient markings didn’t just shimmer—they pulsed, twisting the air around them like heat mirages in a blizzard.
The cannon moved slowly, pushed by at least twelve masked Grand Order soldiers, each one at the peak of the soul dusciple realm in cultivation, their bodies trembling beneath its oppressive aura. Even standing near the weapon caused a warping distortion in the snow, as if reality itself recoiled from the thing.
And when its runes lit up crimson, the younger medusas behind Queen Eli cried out, covering their eyes. Their vision blurred. Some bled from their tear ducts. The cannon’s intent was an affront to their very lineage.
This was the secret weapon of the Grand Order. Just this could wipe out two Barron territories on its own.
Beside Queen Eli, the Princess, Shade took a half-step closer. Her normally cold voice dropped into a hush.
"That... that is a relic, is it not?"
Queen Eli’s jaw tightened. Her forked tongue flickered out once.
"Yes. A true one."
She turned quickly to where Victoria sat in her trance, holding the center of the array with her will.
"They brought a relic, child."
Victoria’s eyes snapped open. Her heart nearly seized. "A relic?"
Even the word made her blood chill. Victoria prided herself as a woman of the books. Of course she knew how devastating a relic could be.
But then, she also knew more. A smile curled at her lips. It was thin, but real.
"If that’s what they’re bringing... good. Let them try. The Red Anchor Stone of Destruction is not a lesser tool. It’s a divine artifact—gifted by Eros himself. If we reroute all our energy into defense, we might survive this."
She didn’t add the last thought that danced across her heart:
’Hopefully’
Across the battlefield, the Grand Order worked like surgeons of destruction. They carefully loaded soul stones—bright, crimson orbs harvested from bloodline creatures—into the cannon’s glowing chamber. Each soul stone was infused with the essence of something terrible: a chimera, a giant, a void harpy. As they dropped them in one by one, the runes on the cannon twisted and danced, almost alive with malice.
The sky darkened above them, despite the snow.
Normally, the Grand Order was a dark organisation and woukd not dare move in day light, especially not in such a manner. But the attention of the entire kingdom was on the golden anchor stone.
Powerful nobles had sent their strongest armies that way. With such a treasure under their nose, who would care about this place? Also, this was the Snake forest. It was known to be very dangerous.
Was this not an opportunity to put it in its place?
Frown raised a hand.
"Ready."
The aura around the cannon thickened like oil in the air.
"Aim."
Even some of the Grand Order began to fall back instinctively, unable to remain near its growing heat.
"Fire."
The moment the command was given, the earth shook.
A massive blast of spirit fire erupted from the mouth of the relic cannon like the breath of a god, shattering the sound barrier and tossing nearby soldiers through the air like leaves. The explosion knocked snow from the mountaintops, turning night into a crimson-glowing dawn for one horrifying second.
Inside the cave, Victoria screamed for everyone to brace.
BOOOOOM.
The blast struck the array like a hammer from the heavens. The mountains trembled. The snow outside turned into ash. Even the attackers screamed as hair on their arms burned from the backdraft.
A wave of heat and concussive force rolled outward, turning the serene mountainscape into a charred battlefield.
Smoke. Fire. Dust.
And then came... Silence.
And then... the cold wind blew.
It cleared the smoke.
And Frown’s eyes narrowed beneath his mask.
Because... the array still stood.
Cracked. Yes. Screaming with lines of pressure. Yes. But it held. And before his very eyes, the fractures began to stitch themselves together. Slowly, inch by inch, the divine magic of the Red Anchor Stone responded, healing itself.
From within the cave, cries of wild celebration burst forth. Cheers. Laughter. The clanging of fists on stone.
They had survived.
Queen Eli laughed out loud, tossing her hair over her shoulder. Shade hissed a victory snarl. Victoria dropped to her knees, panting, exhausted—but alive.
"He wasn’t lying," Queen Eli whispered. "Eros did not lie. The Anchor stone is so strong."
Even Penny and Caren celebrated, hugging each other in victory.
Outside, Frown’s soldiers looked at him for the next command.
But Frown stood still.
Frozen.
Watching.
Smiling.
"Interesting," he said again, but this time... his voice was darker. Lower.
"Let’s see how long they can last."
The laughter within the cave had not yet fully died down when Frown raised his hand again, casually, as though swatting an insect.
Those behind him sprang into motion immediately. No words were needed. They knew what he meant.
A group of masked soldiers began pulling something forward from a series of heavy-duty carriages, partially cloaked with sheets of enchanted snow-fabric. But this time, it wasn’t metal, or relics, or siege tools.
It was people.
Two bodies.
Two young girls.
Snake girls.
Nagas.
Bound in thick soul-thread chains, the two teens were dragged forward and thrown into the snow before Frown’s feet. Their lithe tails flopped helplessly. Their golden eyes were wide with terror. One had tears streaming down her green-scaled cheeks. The other tried to hiss, tried to scream, but her mouth was gagged with a runic cloth that glowed to silence her spells.
Inside the cave, the celebration halted abruptly.
Every woman, every medusa, every naga watching from behind stone slits and magical lenses felt their blood run cold...