Gorgeous Jewel
Chapter IV Chapter 106

"Don't be daunted! Get your line up! I'm Marianne Ries Solus and Miss Saintess Liliana will protect you." Shouted Marianne loudly in front of the many soldiers.

Outside the Blackrock city fortress. Marianne with her hundreds of soldiers was preparing to fight back against the endless waves of monsters.

Blackrock City was one of the cities under the leadership of Marquess Matilda, the father of Liliana Matilda.

After stopping the monster rampage in several regions of Solus kingdom, Lilia and Marianne rushed towards Blackrock city after hearing the news that the city was in danger. The monsters suddenly gathered far away from the city fortress according to reports from observers who were sent for monitoring.

That endless battle had completely drained the soldiers.

When the day is still bright. The goblins, trolls, kobolds and some other humanoid monsters attacked them. However, as night fell, something even more terrifying came and it was a colony of insects whose numbers were not playing out. Although the insects were weak, their movements were so agile, coupled with the alleged presence of a queen or king who gave them orders that made them quite intelligent when fighting the soldiers.

Marianne and Lilia had minimized the casualties as much as they could. With the ability and blessing of the Saintess, a heavy or light wound could easily be healed. But still it could not treat the mental soldiers who were constantly terrorized by the horrors of those monsters.

Marianne stood on top of the city fortress watching the next wave come attacking. Hundreds of monsters walking like a catastrophe. They destroy everything they pass.

Before, after a few weeks the monsters and demon races stopped attacking them. Suddenly Solus kingdom was shaken with the movement of monsters in various regions. The Solus kingdom's defense had not even fully recovered when the disaster came.

"Mary, what are you thinking?" Lilia rebuked Marianne beside him who looked dreamy.

Marianne sighed. "I'm still thinking about him. I still can't believe he's really gone." His voice was soft and his chest was too heavy to breathe. When she re-imagined her brother's face, the sorrow in her heart felt like it didn't want to go away.

Lilia hugged Marianne so gently. "Me too, even I still miss him." Lilia then let go of her embrace. He rubbed the corners of his eyes slightly damp. "But we have to be strong. You mustn't show your weakness in front of the current soldiers."

"You're right." Marianne held her sword tightly. What Lilia said was true. This country, the kingdom of Solus was the place Alice had once saved, she could not let her struggle go to waste.

About a month ago after a few days of return Iris returned to the Strongfort residence. Iris brings happy news about the defeat of the demon race leader who attacked humans and news about Alice's whereabouts. Marianne, Lilia, father and mother as well as the entire residents of the Strongfort residence were delighted to hear the news.

Alice is alive and well. He'll be home soon.

They all rejoice. Especially for Ernard and Liana, they were so grateful that one of their beloved daughters was still alive.

Iris enthusiastically and joyfully told the heroic story of her brother as he fought against Cecilion. A look of amazement was painted on every face that heard his story. The girl had become a great figure in the eyes and in the hearts of everyone. The news then reached the ears of the Royal family and became a hot topic in the kingdom of Solus.

Unfortunately, the excitement was just a blink of an eye.

Shortly after Iris came home, the wooden plaque Alice had given Ernard which was a sign that he was still alive was suddenly destroyed. There was no strong wind or rain with lightning but Strongfort's residence was instantly overwhelmed with panic.

The servant who found the fragments and fragments from the wooden plaque immediately reported to Ernard.

Ernard did not understand what happened, he decided to call Marianne who at that time understood about the wooden plaque.

"His Highness the Princess. Sorry to call you here so suddenly." Ernard's polite speech after welcoming Marianne's arrival.

"No problem, forget the formalities. I want to see Miss Alicia's wooden plaque." Marianne looked rushed. His heart was also riled up when the news reached his ears.

Ernard brought a small box, opened it and showed the wooden plaque wrapped in a piece of cloth.

"That's impossible. Older brother... How come?" Marianne's mind was shocked when she saw the shattered wooden plaque.

Unknowingly his trembling hand grabbed one of the pieces of the wooden plaque. He took a good look at the letters of the Han script that read Alice's name.

"Lan You Nian..." Mary muttered as her hand stroked the piece of wood plaque she had taken.

Her tears instantly flowed away making Ernard, Liana and Iris become restless.

What exactly is going on?

"As I've said before. This wooden plaque is a sign that Miss Alicia is still alive. No matter if his life was in a critical state, as long as his soul was still in his body, it meant that he was still alive. But.." Marianne swallowed her saliva. She wiped her tears that were still flowing.

"Because this wooden plaque is filled with traces of the soul of Miss Alicia then this thing will never be damaged by anything as long as the owner whose name and soul are still alive."

"...." - ".The atmosphere became silent for a moment.

"That means..." Ernard began to understand. He could already guess and so did Iris and Liana who were staring at Marianne as if the two of them could not believe what Marianne had just said.

Iris yells. "No! that's not possible! My brother.my brother..he...it is impossible to die." Iris stomped her feet and ran out of the room with tears.

Ernard hugged Liana tightly. Once again, for the umpteenth time they are grieving.

~

The battle was going on fiercely in front of the gates of Blackrock city against the monsters that were trying to break into the city.

Marianne joined the battle after seeing her soldiers overwhelmed. He kept swinging his sword and using his fire magic to burn the monsters.

Sweaty sweat and tired of his body made his sword even heavier for him to swing.

"Surprisingly, the more days their number gets. They're even more aggressive than before."

Marianne was astonished because the monsters she was fighting were getting tougher. Even when he was paying close attention to her, Marianne noticed that there was a black aura enveloping the bodies of the monsters.

"I didn't notice it a few days ago. But after I took a good look, the black Auras on their bodies became thicker than the ones yesterday. What is that black aura? Is there anything that makes them more violent." Marianne's mind is suspicious.

It was almost night and he was exhausted. Marianne slashed the last monster she saw.

"It looks like the first wave is done. Quickly rest. Tell the other defense forces to get ready for the insect attack immediately." Rigorously.

Marianne's breath was already panting. The soldiers walked to embrace each other back into the city gates. Meanwhile the archery troops had changed positions on top of the fortress and the cavalry soldiers had prepared with their spears and shields.

Marianne also walked in for a short break. But somehow the cold air that was horrified to blow made the fur to sit up.

Marianne turned around, she fell silent and narrowed her eyes. A while later he was wide-eyed and immediately retreated to return inside the city.

"Retreat! Everyone prepare the line! Archery, ready to fire!" Marianne shouted while raising her sword.

What he saw was a fire ant with a large size and a large number.

Fire ants, also known as walking bombs. On their rear bodies there is a liquid that can explode with a distance of five to seven feet. Fire ants are suicide squads that will blow themselves up when they get close to their prey.

After Marianne and her soldiers passed through the gate she again gave the order. "Close the gate immediately. Use spears and other long weapons. Be careful, don't let them near you."

"Mary. What's going on?" Lilia who returned from the treatment tent asked anxiously after she heard Marianne's scream.

"It's urgent. The monsters didn't give us a chance to rest, they're getting aggressive and now." Marianne pointed towards the ants.

Lilia held her breath looking at the number of those who were so many.

Lilia glanced at Marianne with eyes that seemed to ask for a solution but Marianne shook her head.

"This time, we can only bet." Brief words of Marianne.