Princess's Struggle for Survival-Chapter 66: Battle in Underground Dungeon (2)

In less than half a second, the dismembered monster dissolved into a pool of blood, which began to coalesce along the dark red soil.

Sensing the danger, Astrid immediately threw a bottle of intermediate fire potion.

The scorching flames ignited the liquid, filling the air with the acrid smell of burning protein.

However, this method proved ineffective in stopping the monster's regeneration.

The blood began to reform, its body recovering at a visible rate.

The flames lasted only a few seconds before being extinguished by the encroaching darkness.

A heavy aura of death filled the already cramped underground space.

Through elemental vision, Elise observed that the monster's life force was drawn from the entire cavern, with the sarcoma on its back continuously feeding it.

Life and death, two opposing yet interdependent forces, circulated within its body, achieving a strange balance.

The blue flames burning in the monster's eyes seemed to reflect the resentment and pain of being buried alive.

In the darkness, the monster completed its regeneration.

The sound of labored breathing, accompanied by the pumping of blood, echoed through the space.

Elise clenched her sword, her eyes cold and sharp.

She sensed a large herd of Dark Spirits sheep approaching from behind.

If they were caught between the two forces, she might not be able to protect both Astrid and Lyra.

To ensure their safety and to fight without distraction, they had to escape immediately.

"Your Highness Astrid, I will create an opening for you to retreat. You and Miss Lyra must leave at once," Elise said, her voice firm and commanding, unlike her usual tone when seeking Astrid's opinion.

She raised her knight's sword, its metal spine glowing with the full surge of her mental power.

"Elise?" Astrid's mental senses were less acute than Elise's, but she too could feel the danger closing in from behind.

"Miss Lyra, I entrust Her Highness Astrid to your care. I will hold the line here and join you once you're safe. Don't worry about me," Elise continued, her tone leaving no room for argument.

The sword in her hand began to rotate, and the mental energy radiating from it surged like a wave, carrying a force of wind and thunder that swept through the area.

A pale blue phantom emerged from the blade, its cold sharpness palpable even to the naked eye.

"Let's go," Elise said firmly.

With those words, she accelerated once more.

The virtual sword she wielded left afterimages in its wake, and in an instant, the two sheep-headed monsters were obliterated.

Even the monster behind them was sliced open by the residual sword energy, leaving a bright red gash.

The sudden eruption of power from Elise caused the monster to accelerate its supply of life force.

Viscous flesh membranes sprouted tentacles, writhing and surging toward Elise and her sword.

Seeing that she had drawn the attention of the enemy, Elise glanced coldly at Astrid, signaling her to follow the plan.

Her purpose was to protect Astrid Calliste Valeria at all costs, and Astrid could not die here.

Understanding that staying would only hinder Elise, Astrid whispered an incantation for an ice shield, ensuring the magic enveloped Elise.

She then hurled a bottle of Holy Light Purification Potion down the narrow corridor to slow the advance of the Dark Spirits.

Lyra swung her sword, severing a slender tentacle.

Preoccupied with the surrounding dangers, she didn't notice that the spell Astrid had chanted was in an ancient language, unfamiliar to her.

Pushing back another tentacle from the monster aimed at Astrid, Lyra activated a primary thunderbolt enchantment.

As her sword crackled with lightning, she took Astrid's delicate hand and moved swiftly in the direction Elise had indicated.

Lyra knew her current strength was insufficient to aid Elise in such an intense battle.

As the protagonist, she understood this was not the time for self-doubt.

Her priority was to protect Astrid and ensure their escape from this peril.

The clash of metal against flesh reverberated in her mind.

This chapt𝒆r is updated by frёewebηovel.cѳm.

Lyra lost count of how many tentacles she had severed.

With the aid of Astrid's light-body enhancement, the pink-haired girl surged forward, covering dozens of meters in one breath.

Holding her sword in one hand and Astrid's slender hand in the other, she pressed on, her chest rising and falling with each labored breath.

"No way... Gotta keep walking..." Lyra muttered to herself, biting the tip of her tongue to stay focused.

Listening to the whistling behind her, she forced her spirit to retract.

------

On the outskirts of the imperial capital, within the count's private estate, a beautiful woman with a bewitching figure bathed peacefully.

Charlotte lay in the home bath, the water temperature moderate, her pink lips slightly pursed and her eyelashes lowered as she silently enjoyed the hard-earned rest after a day of teaching.

Perhaps due to the long soak, her delicate, jade-like face was tinged with a faint blush from the water vapor.

A few glistening droplets clung to her exposed shoulders, trailing down to her elegant and alluring collarbone, its curve perfect and just right.

Two slender, well-proportioned legs were hidden beneath the water's surface, occasionally rippling, their white knees faintly visible with each movement.

The bath was powered by a magical energy device, a combination of fire-attribute crystals engraved with a temperature-control array and water-attribute crystals that provided an ample supply of bathing water, all mechanically connected to form the sophisticated equipment.

After a while, sensing the water had cooled slightly, Charlotte straightened, revealing her snow-white back.

Her fingers gently pressed a bulge on the pool's edge, and soon the temperature rose to the most comfortable range for the human body. Charlotte sighed in contentment.

Though the magic energy device was convenient, its operational cost was exorbitant, especially the various attribute crystals it required, making it far beyond the reach of ordinary families.

Thinking of the dream she shared with Fanya, to make magic energy equipment truly accessible to the common people, Charlotte sighed again.

Her slender arm swiped lightly through the water, the ripples glowing warmly under the lamplight.

In truth, today's magic equipment seemed more a luxury for the nobility than a practical tool for the masses.

She couldn't blame Astrid; even she herself often succumbed to its allure, indulging in its pleasures.

Perhaps by the time she passed away, affordable elemental crystals would still be a distant dream.

Without solving the cost issue, the day when magic energy equipment could truly benefit the people would never come.

After half an hour, Charlotte rose from the pool.

Her slender feet stepped into silver flat-heeled sandals, and her damp hair quickly dried under the influence of wind magic.

Sitting before the mirror, she changed into a close-fitting lilac silk nightdress.

Charlotte then picked up a piece of non-attribute crystal and began her daily practice of sketching magic circles.

A blade dulls without sharpening, and so does magic.

Maintaining sensitivity to the elements and familiarity with various magic circles was essential for every high-level mage, even an Arcanist.

After completing the first layer of the circle, she moved on to the double circle, followed by the three-dimensional model...

By the time she reached the third layer, a strange sensation surged in her mind, like a taut rubber band snapping.

The mental connection faltered, and the incomplete circle collapsed.

Charlotte stood abruptly, her fingers clenched white.

The connection on the headband was broken... Something was wrong with Astrid...

The staff floated to her hand as if guided by her thoughts, and a loose mage robe draped over her nightdress.

Without hesitation, Charlotte summoned the wind and sped toward the last known location of the headband, Jones Farm on the outskirts of the imperial capital.

----

Meanwhile, deep within an underground cavern, Lyra stared at the sheep-headed Dark Spirit before her.

No matter what she did, she couldn't destroy it. Her hand, gripping the knight's sword, trembled slightly.

This was the third time she had breached the Dark Spirit's defenses.

Though she could briefly immobilize it, within moments it would revive, relentlessly attacking them once more.

"Smack..."

A bottle of lightning strike potion landed, and several blue-white beams of light erupted directly in front of Astrid.

The spirit figure within the light vanished instantly upon being struck, and for a long time, it did not reform.

"Your Highness Astrid... Will Miss Elise really be able to escape...?" Taking advantage of the brief respite, Lyra leaned on her sword, her body trembling as she asked.

As they moved away from the center of the lair, Lyra glanced back and saw at least a dozen sheep-headed Dark Spirit rushing through the corridors in all directions, along with two fully manifested sheep-headed monsters and a grotesque, tentacled sarcoma.

Even though Elise was a Master Knight, facing an endless horde of these unnatural creatures was a daunting task.

The human body had its limits, and Lyra doubted Elise could defeat such resilient necromantic beings alone.

"I don't know."

Noticing the light sheen of sweat on Lyra's forehead from the prolonged battle, Astrid took her hand and cast a basic healing spell to ease the girl's muscle fatigue.

A faint warmth flowed from Astrid's palm into Lyra's body, revitalizing her.

Her legs felt less sore, and the hand gripping the sword regained some strength.

"Our priority now is to find the exit. I have Elise's mental imprint on me. Only by finding the exit will she have a chance to survive," Astrid said firmly.

Turning back now would be suicidal.

Without another Magnus or Grand Knight to assist them, Astrid and Lyra would only be a burden to Elise rather than a help.

"But..."

Lyra opened her mouth to protest but fell silent. Astrid, without hesitation, poured an intermediate-grade pain-relief potion into her mouth and spoke coldly.

"Elise has been by my side for seven years. I care more about her well-being than you do."

They needed to hurry and find the exit to this space and send a distress signal to Charlotte. Otherwise, they would all perish here.

"Feel the wind in one direction and let it guide your body forward."

After chanting a spell, Astrid and Lyra's bodies grew lighter.

Lyra, unfamiliar with the incantation, thought Astrid was merely muttering under her breath.

As the spell of lightness took effect, Astrid, as she had done when they first met, subtly released an electric paralysis spell without Lyra noticing.

"Lyra, fall back!"

With a soft crack, the sound of breaking ice echoed from behind.

The ice shield Astrid had conjured was pierced by the sheep's horns, shattering into countless tiny fragments that scattered in the air.

Lyra twisted her delicate body with effort, the knight's sword in her hand slashing hard against the horns, sending sparks flying.

"Free wind element, grant me the strength to cut through iron."

The blade's inherent strength, combined with the primary spell Flowing Wind Guard, managed to deflect the horns slightly.

The sharp tip grazed past Lyra's pink hair, narrowly missing her.

"The flame that flows with the spirit condenses and explodes quickly at the extreme."

In the next moment, a scorching fire ignited at Astrid's fingertips.

The rolling heat wave cut through the darkness like a spear, striking the horned ghost with precision.

"Your Highness, behind you!"

Seeing there was no time to warn, Lyra instinctively raised her longsword and hurled it toward Astrid.

The silver-white blade suddenly loomed large in Astrid's ruby-like eyes.

For a brief moment, she even had the illusion that the pink-haired maid before her was the fully realized Lyra from the original story, and that this sword was meant to end her life.

Her body stiffened momentarily, frozen in thought. Lyra's sword sliced through the air, grazing Astrid's fragile neck and leaving a faint red mark, not too deep.

It continued its trajectory, striking the sheep-headed dark spirit behind Astrid and pinning it firmly to the ground.