The Queen Who Fights Back (by Lily Hastings) novel Chapter 174

Chapter 174

Nova slid both hands behind her back, gripping the pair of long, spear–like weapons slung there. With practiced case, she drew them out, one on each side.

Those same weapons, which had looked like regular blades a moment ago, quickly snapped together in Nova’s hands within seconds.

She loaded the rocket round into the launcher housing, the pieces clicking into place to form a compact, shoulder–fired rocket launcher on the spot.

Before she came, Nova had intentionally done a rough and dirty mod job on the rocket launcher she carried.

She mainly tweaked its look to be less conspicuous, made sure it could be thrown together on the fly, and shrunk it down just enough to haul around without hassle, all while keeping its original function.

So none of Brandon’s men, not even his trusted enforcers, or Brandon himself, had any idea she was carrying a shoulder- fired rocket launcher.

If they had, Brandon’s right–hand man would’ve wasted her without a second thought, right then and there.

“Rocket launcher?! Holy shit!” someone cried out, stunned.

“Kill her! Kill her! Kill her!” The whole crew roared, totally losing it.

“Finish her off!” another shouted.

By the time Brandon’s right–hand man finally snapped out of it, he barked out a command–fifty muzzles instantly swung toward Nova’s forehead.

“Rat–tat–tat-”

Right at that split second.

Nova and Brandon, protected by his men, both reacted in a flash–moving just a breath ahead of the hail of gunfire.

Brandon, the legendary mercenary commander from Orian, was a true icon worldwide–his reputation echoed across borders.

He’d fought in 55 battles, and almost every time, he dominated the field and stole the limelight.

But among those 55 battles, there was one–the 33rd–that ended in utter humiliation.

How brutal was that defeat?

Brandon commanded an army of a hundred thousand mercenaries, only to be crushed by a terrifying woman that was called the infamous War Queen.

Brandon’s hundred thousand mercenaries were all slaughtered as prisoners of war–no one made it out alive.

Brandon himself nearly lost his life, but at the very last second, he offered up all the wealth he’d ever accumulated, trading everything just for a chance to survive.

That was the only reason he managed to walk away from that bloodbath.

In the years since, he fought his way back to power through sheer force and determination.

The war god himself–there’s no way Brandon would ever allow himself to be humiliated by a woman a second time.

Women like her–on the battlefield, all they ever do is spread their legs and play victim, groveling for pity from men like V pathetic bugs.

Like hell she deserves to stand here!

“Thud-”

Brandon wasn’t the type to freeze up or go down without a fight. With the War King’s Medal on his chest, there was no way he’d just stand there and wait to get killed.

He threw himself to the ground, scrambling fast for the cover they’d set up just for him.

On the other side, Nova stared down Brandon’s hundred–strong elite force–fifty gun barrels locked on her, bullets about to

fly.

Right in that breath before the bullets hit, she didn’t even blink.

Rocket launcher perched on her shoulder, Nova coolly swung the barrel, sighting on Brandon as he darted for cover.

She didn’t give a damn about those fifty guns–any one of them could end her right there, but it didn’t faze her at all.

Finally.

Right as Brandon was about to hurl himself behind cover and escape disaster for good.

Nova read him like an open book, predicting his every move.

A cocky smile curved her lips as her delicate finger squeezed the rocket launcher’s trigger.

“BOOM!”

The rocket burst out of the launcher like a tracking missile, zeroing in on Brandon with lightning speed–just 0.05 seconds and it was practically on top of him.

‘When death is just inches away, you can feel it, can’t you?‘ Brandon thought. ‘Especially someone like me–a war god knows that sense better than anyone.

He instantly knew the rocket was dialed in on his every move–dead to rights, no place to hide.

That killer’s intent was ruthless, hunting him down like a wild beast nipping at his heels.

Brandon couldn’t help but look over his shoulder as he bolted for cover.

Up ahead stood Nova, her lips curled in a faint, confident smile that sent chills down Brandon’s spine.

That smile–suddenly, Brandon was back in his 33rd battle, haunted by the memory of the woman who wore a blood- weeping mask.

At that instant, terror gripped his heart–the gut–wrenching fear that only comes when you know you’re about to die.

Just as something clicked in his mind, realization settling in, Brandon knew there was no escaping the rocket locked onto him. He froze in place.

His eyes went bloodshot as he stared at Nova, and he couldn’t help but cry out in shock: “Blood-” terror twisting his voice as the deadly realization hit him.

“BOOM!”

He didn’t even get to finish the word before the rocket smashed full force into him, the explosion swallowing him whole in a

merciless blast.

The shockwave and fireball tore through him, shredding his body in a heartbeat, leaving nothing behind but a haze of blood and gore.

All of it happened in the blink of an eye.

“Rat–tat–tat-”

A hail of bullets from fifty guns roared straight at Nova.

In that moment, for anyone else, taking out Brandon would’ve meant certain death–a kill for a kill.

Brandon would die.

And she would have been gunned down by fifty rifles, too.

But Nova was already one step ahead.

As soon as she fired that rocket, she chucked the launcher hard, sending it sailing far away.

“Clang! Clang! Clang!”

The crisp ring of bullets smacking into the launcher filled the air.

Nova lunged forward, slipping perfectly through the gap her tossed launcher created in the hail of bullets–effortlessly dodging the first deadly volley without leaving a single opening.

Then, slick as ever, Nova snagged a grenade off her thigh, ripped the pin out with her teeth, and chucked it right into the bedlam–straight at the squad of elites, now leaderless and scattering like headless chickens.

“BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!”

Explosion after explosion rocked the place, hurling up clouds of dirt and debris.

From 6,500 feet away, Mavis, Eric, and the rest of the college crew were watching Nova’s every move through binoculars. The moment they realized what she’d just done, shock hit so hard they all dropped their binoculars.

“Thud!”

Vivian dropped straight to the ground, stunned speechless. Then she managed to stammer out, “Is she even human? She-”

*****

Once the smoke and chaos finally cleared, the battlefield was a scene straight out of a nightmare.

Brandon’s elite squad of a hundred men was wiped out–only a handful of survivors were left, and they were nothing but broken, bloody wrecks, limbs torn off, bodies mangled, sprawled across the ground.

They howled in agony, their cries echoing through the ruins.

Bulruce and his crew of mercenaries, who’d always looked down on women, were now staring at Nova like they were already dead–frozen and terrified.

Bulruce especially looked like death itself had come for him–eyes practically bulging out of his head, frozen with terror.

His pupils were dilated, locked on her in utter disbelief.

Only now did Bulruce and his crew finally understand why Columbus treated Nova like the big boss, and why he’d said

having her on this 5S–level job made it child’s play.

It was already too late.

After Nova single–handedly wiped out Brandon’s elite squad, the rest of his forces–scattered like a flock of sparrows, cach group sent out to hunt down the Uria team.

Without Brandon calling the shots, they were like headless chickens, running around in circles, totally lost.

The Uria forces swept through them like a hot knife through butter.

Putting Yelloweat and his crew in charge of the armory was claiming the strategic high ground–real next–level tactics.

To a fighter, their weapon was their lifeline.

Locking down those armories was the key–it made mopping up the scattered squads from Orian a total breeze.

On top of the armory, with the chaos finally turned on its head by a girl nobody saw coming, the Uria’s ex–commander–the one who bailed midway through–finally made an appearance.

With a swarm of troops at his back, Jonah came up himself to greet Nova, all eyes on her.

“Damn, thank you! You’re a once–in–a–thousand–years battle prodigy!” Jonah couldn’t help blurting out, pure awe in his voice.

“So, Nova–have you ever considered fighting for our nation? What do you say to joining our elite squad?

“Anything you want–money, power–just say the word and our country will make it rain for you!”

Jonah was here for one thing only: trying to snatch Nova for his own squad.

“Sorry, but Nova’s ours,” Eric said, stepping in front of her and shooting Jonah a look.

“I’m good here. No switching sides,” Nova replied, firm and cool as ice.

Jonah, all decked out in that old–school Western military getup and trying to look all fierce, just deflated right then and there. “Alright then.”

Jonah hesitated for a moment, then added, “Nova, I respect your decision.

“There’s something else, though–if you don’t mind, I’d like to make a humble request. There’s a major figure in the mercenary world who wishes to meet you.

“He’s an old friend of mine, and he’s waiting just downstairs at the entrance. Would you be willing to grant him a brief audience?”

‘A big shot from the mercenary world?‘ Eric, Mavis, and the rest of the crew couldn’t believe their ears.

“Wait, and he wants to meet Nova?‘ they all thought, jaws basically on the floor.

None of them ever imagined Nova could actually catch the attention of a top dog from the mercenary ranks.

Every single one of them blinked in curiosity, eyes popping with disbelief.

Heeding Jonah’s cue, Nova let her gaze drop, slipping into the shadows at the edge of the rooftop and casting a quick look

down below.

Down there stood the guy Jonah meant–a mysteriously cool young man with killer looks, all clean–cut yet wild at the edges. He had that wolfish vibe–dead handsome, clever in the eyes, but you could tell he wasn’t about to let anyone in on what he was really thinking.

The instant Nova saw his face, her eyes darkened, a chill settling deep in her gaze.

A shadow flickered across her expression–wariness mixed with cold resolve.

Was this a coincidence, or was it meant to be?‘ Nova thought, tension tightening in her chest.

And now, the man waiting downstairs for her was none other than the infamous traitor from Bloodblade–Snowfang.