The Queen Who Fights Back (by Lily Hastings) novel Chapter 150

Chapter 150

Nova’s voice, cool and full of swagger, rang in the air as she made a bold move that no one saw coming.

The mercenaries stationed by the entrance all stiffened up, their hearts skipping a beat.

The mercenary who got kicked flying by Nova was left with his mind reeling, totally dazed.

‘Return?‘ The word echoed in the minds of the mercenaries, uncertainty flashing across their faces.

‘Block?‘ For a moment, everyone was at a loss.

Why does this girl’s way of speaking remind me so much of someone?‘ one mercenary wondered, a chill creeping down his back.

‘Could it be…?‘ The thought struck, sending his heart racing.

‘Am I just imagining things?‘ he questioned himself, trying to shake off the uneasy feeling.

Within the Bloodblade Mercenary Corps, the members are split into several ranks–third, fourth, and even fifth tier squads.

At the very top, no question about it, stood the King of Mercenaries himself: Bloodforge.

Following him were his four trusted deputies–Ghost–Hammer, Snowfang, Yellowcat, and Parromerri.

Parromerri had left the Bloodblade Mercenary Corps a year ago, setting off to roam the world and toughen herself up, and she still hadn’t returned.

Besides them, there were also a few old–timers in the Bloodblade Mercenary Corps.

These veterans had joined the corps later on, bringing with them years of battlefield experience and some of the most crucial combat techniques.

While their rank in Bloodblade wasn’t as high as Ghost–Hammer, Snowfang, Yellowcat, and Parromerri,

each led their own squad, and when it came to influence and power among their followers, they were on par with those four.

Below them were the subordinates of Ghost–Hammer and the others.

Dorken, for instance, used to serve under Yellowcat.

This group was the very core of the Bloodblade Mercenary Corps.

After the core members, the rest of Bloodblade was sorted into three main ranks, from highest to lowest-

Elite Mercenaries, Regular Mercenaries, and Rookie Mercenaries.

The guys guarding this spot? They were just rookies from the Bloodblade Corps.

But compared to Madan and his gang from the guild, these Bloodblade rookies were honestly in a league of

their own.

Even if you put all five of Madan’s crew together, they wouldn’t even last ten moves against a single Bloodblade rookie.

That’s because Bloodblade’s standards for recruiting rookies are ridiculously high.

If these Bloodblade rookies ever hit the international scene, trust me, they’d be recognized as elite mercenaries anywhere.

Even so, none of the rookies from Bloodblade guarding this spot had the faintest clue that the girl before them was actually their illustrious leader, Bloodforge–Nova Blake herself.

There was simply no way for them to recognize her identity.

It is absolutely impossible. None of them suspected a thing.

But even so, Nova’s commanding presence had every one of them stunned, almost forgetting to breathe.

“What on earth is she talking about?” Maria, and the rest of the college crowd were left completely speechless by Nova’s outburst.

Maria couldn’t help complaining as she shot questions at Madan.

“What’s with all this ‘returning‘ and ‘blocking‘ stuff anyway?

“She’s not even one of the Bloodblade Mercs. Do they even need a reason to stop her?

“If she keeps tangling with the Bloodblade guys, are we gonna get dragged into this, too?”

Maria had no clue what Nova was really getting at.

For college kids like Maria and Jake, Nova just seemed to be spouting nonsense.

Maria was getting even more annoyed with Nova by the minute.

‘Right now, she’s still trying to show off in front of everyone?‘ Maria grumbled to herself.

“I mean, yeah, probably…” Madan said, not taking his eyes off Nova for a single second.

He watched wide–eyed as the Bloodblade rookies were left completely stunned by Nova’s words.

And right then, Nova did something that nobody saw coming…

But Nova didn’t have time to mess around with them.

Ghost–Hammer had been cornered in the canyon, hunted relentlessly for two days and three nights–not to mention whether he’d even had anything to eat.

Trapped in that canyon, with nowhere to run or rest, he must haven’t slept for a single moment.

He was running on pure exhaustion, with hunger gnawing at his gut, and nerves stretched to the breaking point.

Even if the ones sent to hunt down Ghost–Hammer were just run–of–the–mill Bloodblade Mercs,

or maybe one of those veteran squads,

they didn’t have to be top–tier fighters. As long as they kept swapping out, tag–teaming him in a marathon chase, it was only a matter of time before Ghost–Hammer’s stamina ran dry.

Drag it out long enough, and even someone like Ghost–Hammer will eventually fall.

No matter how formidable, he was still flesh and blood after all.

Even someone as strong as iron will run dry someday–Ghost–Hammer’s strength wasn’t endless.

Every single second slipping away was costing Ghost–Hammer precious life.

So, while the Bloodblade rookies were completely knocked off their game by Nova’s overwhelming presence and they frantically dug through their memories–was there ever anyone called Nova Blake in the corps?

Nova had already darted past the guard line and disappeared into the depths of the canyon.

In a flash, not even a shadow of her was left.

“What now? Should we intercept her?” The mercenary Nova had sent flying struggled to his feet, clutching his chest where he’d been kicked, heart still thumping, face set dead serious.

His gaze locked onto Nova’s fading silhouette, eyes sharp and wary.

“Don’t chase her. If she’s someone big, we’ll be the ones in trouble,” another rookie said quickly.

Rookies like them were basically nobodies in the corps–nobody cared what happened to them.

Tick off the wrong person and they could wind up dead before they even knew what hit them.

Just from that one kick, they could tell she wasn’t some random nobody–she had to be a big deal internationally.

‘What if she really is one of the top brass in our corps?‘ one rookie worried, cold sweat running down his back.

‘If we fail to recognize her and mess around, that’s pretty much asking to die!‘ another thought, his heart racing.

“So what now?” The mercenary Nova sent flying rubbed his chest, brows drawn tight with worry.

“But, if she’s just a random nobody and we still let her stroll into the canyon, wouldn’t we be in deep trouble anyway?”

One of the other rookies quickly piped up, thinking on his feet.

“Let’s just radio the higher–ups and say we tried, but this girl slipped past us before we could stop her.”

“On it!”

The rookies kept their voices low, barely above a whisper.

Madan, the Shepherd, Maria, Jake, and the rest couldn’t hear a thing.

All they caught was Nova’s one–liner and a glimpse of her disappearing into the canyon like it was not a big deal.

And, shockingly, the Bloodblade rookies just started whispering among themselves–none of them even tried to give chase.

“They really let her in?!” Maria exclaimed, rolling her eyes in shock.

She’d been dead sure Nova would never get past the guards, but now all she could do was gawk, absolutely gobsmacked.

“Seriously? Just saying some random stuff and she actually managed to slip through?” Jake stammered, blown

away.

He’d honestly thought Nova was just bluffing with a bunch of clever talk, somehow sneaking her way inside.

“Listen up, you little brats–don’t get cocky just yet. And seriously, don’t even think about pulling a stunt like that,” warned one of the veteran union mercs, idly stroking his yellow beard and narrowing those cunning old

eyes.

He was standing right next to Madan, radiating the kind of seasoned sharpness you’d expect from someone who’s seen it all.

“That girl…

“Her going into that canyon isn’t some lucky break but the start of a whole lot of trouble.

“When Bloodblade goes after a traitor, it’s basically bullets flying and chaos everywhere–explosions lighting up the whole sky…”

The old mercenary gave a dismissive snort. “She walks in there, huh? Good luck with that.”

“She’s a dead girl walking.”

Madan’s brow furrowed as he replayed every move Nova had made. Without meaning to, he blurted out in front of everyone, “Why does she move and talk exactly like Bloodforge–the one I idolize?”

“Seriously, she’s got the exact same vibe as Bloodforge,” Madan muttered, unable to shake off the uncanny feeling.