616 The Queen’s Lair



[Everything was set in motion! The Queen wanted revenge against those who betrayed her. The battle between her and Queen Titania had begun, and only one Queen would survive this day. Both fey courts were gathering their armies and marching across the fey realm.

Any fey still on the material plane were either trying to find a way back home or attacking any fey from the opposing court they could find. The realm was in chaos!]

Welp, things escalated fast. Ren thought.

"We will stop the Queen of Air and Darkness," Ren declared, determination in his voice, and the quest updated once more to reflect their new mission.

"To do that, we'll have to journey to the throne room," Prince Zeroth added, a somber expression on his face. "And this time, we must face her as enemies."

Ren was right. The reason why he couldn't explore the Queen of Air and Darkness's lair was because of this. The lair itself was a dungeon designed to challenge those who dared oppose the Queen.

Isolde suggested, "Can't we just burn the tree?"

Elena explained, "Any mortal means will destroy the tree. It's only warded against the fey. If the tree is destroyed, the Queen loses her Eternal Winter trait and gains Reawakened Might. With it, she can cast a terrible curse on a creature she can see within 100 meters. Additionally, destroying the tree will spread a blight through the fey realm, killing all plant life in a 50-mile radius."

Isolde gulped in understanding. "Oh."

Prince Zeroth urged, "The best approach is to stop her in the Throne Room."

Agreeing with the plan, they returned to the tree, and this time, they were transported outside of the court.

"The Queen keeps four minion groups patrolling the exterior at all times," the Prince explained. "If one of these groups sounds the alarm, an additional minion group from inside the court will move to assist them, opening whichever gate is farthest away from the intrusion. The other three will stand at attention to prevent someone from sneaking in. Only wounding them grievously will prompt the four patrolling groups to converge and abandon their posts."

Ren examined the newly available map. It showed the Unseelie archers stationed in the Tower Entrances, ready to attack any intruders within 200 meters. There were two Main Entrances on the gates leading into the court, along with two Side Entrances for the secondary gates.

The four tower entrances were marked on the map, and they all looked identical. Each entrance had a ladder on the side facing the court, and two Unseelie archers were stationed at each tower.

Both main entrances to the north and south were also identical. In these areas, four fey hounds prowled around while the archers tossed scraps to them. The snowy ground was scattered with bones.

The large gates in the court were exceptionally sturdy, crafted from enchanted wood, and strengthened with magical ice. They boasted an impressive 2,000,000 hit points and could regenerate 200,000 HP per minute. This meant that any attack needed to deal more than 200,000 points of damage per minute to make any impact; otherwise, it wouldn't harm the gates at all.

To open these gates, a pair of winches located in the two towers on either side had to be operated simultaneously.

On the other hand, the eastern and western side entrances were identical in design. Unlike the main entrances, they were not under archer surveillance. Instead, each side entrance was guarded by a corrupted fey hydra.

The hydra remained hidden beneath the snow, lurking in a 10-meter by 10-meter burrow. From there, it could strike out and attack any intruders that ventured too close.

The secondary gates at these entrances were even tougher than the main ones. Similar to the large gates, they were constructed from enchanted wood reinforced with magical ice. These gates boasted an impressive 3,000,000 hit points and had a regeneration rate of 300,000 HP per minute. This meant that attackers needed to deal more than 300,000 points of damage per minute to make any headway against them. Otherwise, their attacks would have no effect.

"So, where's the best entrance to go?" Isolde asked.

All eyes turned to Ren, who confidently brandished his scepter. "It's obvious," he declared. "We'll go via the main entrance."

"Then we better deal with those archers and hounds," Elena chimed in, her whip appearing in her hands. "The Prince and I will take care of the hounds."

"We'll handle the archers, then," Isolde added, her bazooka at the ready.

As they got closer, the archers spotted their presence and unleashed a barrage of arrows. Ren calmly used his magic to burn the arrows out of the air, leaving them unscathed.

Isolde, on the other hand, aimed her bazooka with precision, firing shots that hit the archers directly in their heads, taking them out swiftly in a few rounds.

Meanwhile, Elena and the Prince engaged in a fierce battle with the fey hounds. The hounds were fast and agile, but so were the Prince and Elena. They worked together seamlessly, striking precise blows that incapacitated the hounds one by one.

As the last archer fell and the final hound was defeated, the main entrance was now clear for them to proceed.

The Prince and Elena blinked in the direction of the winches and simultaneously rolled it to open the main entrance.

The group took a moment to regroup before moving forward, their resolve stronger than ever to face the challenges that awaited them in the court of the Queen of Air and Darkness.

Once inside the court, the group found themselves in the Ingredient Storage, a massive walk-in freezer filled with all the necessary ingredients for gourmet meals. The room was icy cold, and any creature lacking resistance to cold would take damage every five seconds if they stayed inside.

Ren and Isolde were unaffected by the cold, thanks to Elena's protective barrier. Despite the party's hostile intentions, the non-combative fey living in the storage didn't stop what they were doing just because the party invaded. The workers continued their tasks, and the performers kept singing and dancing, seemingly unaware of the danger.

However, if the party were to attack them, the fey would defend themselves, either by fleeing or fighting back.

For now, though, the group proceeded cautiously, knowing that the real challenge awaited them further inside the court.