Rise of the Harem King
Chapter 56: Invincible swordsman.

Chapter 56: Invincible swordsman.

Leaving Sylvia behind, Alexia and Alden stood in front of the glowing floor core.

"Ready?" Alexia asked, her voice low but steady.

Alden nodded, his jaw tightening. "Let’s get this over with."

Together, they placed their hands on the core. A surge of energy coursed through them, and the world around them blurred and shifted.

As their vision cleared, they found themselves in a dense forest. Tall, twisted trees stretched overhead, their branches weaving together to form a thick canopy. The air was heavy with the scent of damp earth and leaves, and the occasional rustling hinted at small creatures moving in the underbrush.

Alexia’s hand instinctively went to the hilt of her blade, her sharp eyes scanning the surroundings. Alden raised his guard, his muscles tense. The forest was unnaturally quiet, save for the occasional snap of a twig or the distant hoot of an owl.

As if on cue, the silence was shattered by a guttural groan.

From the shadows emerged the first of the undead warriors clad in rusted armor, their hollow eyes glowing with a faint, malevolent light. Behind them, more figures shambled into view, their movements stiff but unnervingly coordinated.

At the center of the horde stood a woman with wild, dark hair that tumbled around her face in messy curls. Her pale skin had an almost doll-like smoothness, but her wide, gleeful eyes sparkled with twisted amusement. A grin stretched across her lips, too playful, too delighted, like a child about to pull the wings off a butterfly.

"Welcome!" Linda chirped, her voice dripping with excitement. She practically bounced in place, eyes gleaming with anticipation. "I’ve been waiting for you! Let’s see just how much fun my new toys can be!"

Alexia tightened her grip on her blade, her eyes burning with fury. "Who the hell are you, bitch?" she spat, her voice sharp with anger. "Get out of my way, or you’re dead."

Linda chuckled, a high-pitched, almost playful sound that sent a chill down Alden’s spine.

"Aww, don’t be so grumpy," she cooed, tilting her head with a wide, eerie grin. "Let’s have some fun~."

Alden stepped forward, "We’re not here to play games."

Linda’s grin stretched wider, her eyes gleaming with amusement. "Oh, but I love games," she purred, rocking on her heels. "Let’s see if you’re any fun to play with."

With a wave of her hand, the undead surged forward, their hollow eyes fixed on Alexia and Alden. The forest erupted into chaos as the two warriors met the horde head-on.

Alexia moved like a whirlwind, her blade slicing through the enemies with ease. She ducked under a rusted sword swing, retaliating with a swift upward slash that cleaved through her attacker’s skull. Another undead lunged at her from the side, but she sidestepped gracefully, driving her blade through its chest with a sickening crunch.

However, she was forced to step back, because there were too many enemies.

Linda watched from a distance, arms crossed, a lazy grin on her face. "Is that it?" she teased, tilting her head. "Come on, I thought you’d be more entertaining than this."

Alexia’s eyes narrowed, then she used her <air slash> vaporizing the closest undead with a powerful wave of air. The remaining soldiers hesitated for a fraction of a second, just long enough.

Alexia surged forward, her blade a blur of motion as she capitalized on the momentary hesitation of the undead. The <air slash> had carved a path through the horde, and she pressed her advantage, cutting down the staggered ranks with ruthless precision.

But the undead were relentless, their numbers seemingly endless. For everyone she felled, two more shambled forward, their hollow eyes fixed on her with mindless determination. Alexia’s breaths came faster now, her muscles burning with exertion. She knew she couldn’t keep this up forever.

"Hey, hey, are you tired already?" Linda asked with a mockery tone.

Alexia gritted her teeth, her pride stinging more than her fatigue. She didn’t need Linda’s help. She didn’t need anyone’s help. With a fierce cry, she channeled her remaining strength into a devastating spin, with a <moon slash> her sword cut in a wide arc that sent a dozen undead crumbling to the ground.

Then she charged forward furiously, trying to attack the girl in front of her. Because of this, Linda was forced to drop her playful smile and take a few steps back, desperately trying to avoid her own death.

"Damn it, don’t ruin the fun so soon!" the girl hissed, trying to maintain a playful tone, but she was clearly annoyed to see all her "toys" being massacred.

To keep Alexia at bay, she dropped some seeds on the ground, which rapidly grew into vines that acted like tentacles, attempting to grab Alexia.

However, the swordswoman managed to dodge by leaping backward, and Alden quickly created a barrier around her, protecting her.

Soon after, the plant, unable to absorb any life energy, began to wither from exhaustion and died. This only frustrated Linda even more.

However, before she could say anything, a massive explosion echoed through the forest, temporarily halting the fight.

Linda fell to her knees, overwhelmed by an immense pain coursing through her entire body.

"No way..." she murmured, realizing what it meant. "How did they defeat my masterpiece?" Linda muttered, still trying to get up.

It made no sense. No matter how powerful the explosion had been, it shouldn’t have been enough to kill the Queen. So how? How had they defeated her greatest creation? She couldn’t comprehend it.

Her eyes widened, and she clenched her teeth in fury as she realized that the Fungal Zombie Queen had died.

To make matters worse, since she had used the <Possession> ability to connect with the Queen, part of the damage suffered by that creature had been transferred to her.

Linda coughed up blood as she tried to stand, and soon her vision began to blur. Davi had no idea about this, but his actions hadn’t just saved his group, he had also taken down this enemy.

Alexia, of course, wouldn’t miss an opportunity like this. She quickly advanced and, with a single strike, severed Linda’s right arm.

Then she moved with the intent to decapitate the girl but stopped at the last second, her blade gently kissing Linda’s neck. A thin line of blood trickled down the pale skin of Linda, who was still struggling to stay on her feet.

"If you answer my questions, I might let you live," Alexia said coldly.

"Not even in death," Linda retorted, struggling to rise.

"Stay still. If you try anything, I’ll decapitate you."

Hearing this, Linda grinned bizarrely and quickly attempted to activate her ability. However... before she could even realize it, she saw her own body in front of her. Looking down, she could see the ground rushing up to meet her.

However, no matter how much she willed it, her body no longer obeyed her commands, and she couldn’t activate her powers.

Perhaps because she was facing death, Linda saw her end in slow motion. Until, finally, her head came to rest on the ground, and everything went dark.

In an instant, the woman was dead.

Alexia sighed. "I was hoping she’d be a bit more cooperative..." She had genuinely wanted to extract information, but she wasn’t someone who would take foolish risks. There was no way to know what tricks that woman might have had up her sleeve, and the moment Alexia sensed the slightest movement of mana, she made her final decision.

Alden, witnessing the brutality, was stunned for a moment. If it had been up to him, they would have spared the girl. After all, he wasn’t someone ready to kill.

That said, the decision had been made, and all he could do was take a deep breath and move forward. They still needed to find Davi.

"Should we head to where the explosion happened?" Alden asked.

Alexia considered saying yes, but it seemed too risky. Instead, she decided to focus and spread her mana outward, trying to sense anything.

The site of the explosion was so saturated with mana that it was impossible to distinguish anything. But she did notice something: people fighting monsters—likely students—and they seemed to be in danger.

"Follow me," Alexia said.

Alden didn’t argue and followed the pink-haired girl as she swiftly advanced through the forest, heading toward the entrance of the mountain range.

It was there that she came across the following scene: a student who could transform into an ogre, or something similar, fighting with all her might to protect a more effeminate boy with a bow. Around them, several students were unconscious, and a few others were still trying to resist.

Immediately, Alexia joined the battle, cutting one beast in half, while Alden drew the remaining enemies toward himself, giving the others a chance to catch their breath.

Finally, Alexia easily dispatched the rest. With that, she noticed that, with the exception of one person, all the students they were looking for were there, even if some seemed on the verge of death... or perhaps already dead.

The problem was that the exception was Davi.

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