The Devil's Warrior Queen
Chapter 344: In The Woods

Chapter 344: In The Woods

Getting on their horse, they galloped through the woods, the midnight air whipping through their hair as they took turns through the dark forest path where the dim moonlight lit their path for them.

The quiet night air was disrupted by the constant howling of wolves from near and afar, the hooting of owls continuously pricking through the distance.

Reaching a certain distance, as they galloped through a narrow path enclosed with bushes and shrubs, an arrow whisked through the air, slicing through the wind like a dagger cutting through thin air.

In an imperceptible pace, the arrow drifted toward them, aimed for his head, but as quickly as it sliced through the air with an indistinguishable motion, Draco effortlessly caught hold of the arrow midair while pulling the reins with one hand to halt the horse.

Rama yelped when the horse stopped abruptly, unaware of the situation at hand, until Draco stepped down from the horse with a swift motion while helping her down afterward.

Whispering into her ears, he said "They’re thieves here, they shot an arrow at me." He smirked with a sadistic glint in his eyes as he showed her the arrow, splitting it in two with one hand before throwing it away.

"Thieves? Don’t they know who you are? Why are they attacking us?" Rama exclaimed, wide eyed.

"We have masks of illusions on, they can’t recognize us." Draco said.

"Then tell them who we are..." Rama trailed off as the shrubs shook slightly before five shadowy figures emerged from within the thicket, wearing camouflage clothes that made them blend with the forest.

"Why do that? I could easily get rid of them and we’ll be on our way." Draco said with a sheepish grin.

"Right, I’ll leave you to it." Rama said as she stood behind him.

"If I were you, I’d leave this place right now and let us be on our way." Rama warned, but the thieves drew closer, unsheathing their tools consisting of daggers, swords, hammerhawk and bows and arrows.

"If I were you, I’d listen to her and leave, she’s had a long day already, I wouldn’t want to extend it any further." Draco said in a polished tone, but his calmness was more terrifying to her than when he showed his anger.

The thieves cackled loudly as though a comical play had been displayed in front of them. They didn’t look in the least intimidated by him, thanks to the mask of illusion. Perhaps, if there was no mask on, then they wouldn’t even be in their midst in the first place. His sight was the manifestation of terror, but it was cloaked beneath the shadows of illusion.

"Are you blind, fucking twat? You’re obviously outnumbered and we’re armed, what will you do? It’s fists against weapons." A gruff man spoke as he unsheathed his dagger.

"Never be deceived by the outer appearance, what you see is never always real." Draco remarked casually.

"Enough talking, boys! Take the horse and strip them of whatever valuables." The gruff man who was seemingly their boss spoke up as he ordered the others.

Without hesitation, they approached them with stealthy footsteps while their boss watched. Draco stood still, feet rooted to the ground as he watched them with a silent hawking gaze, but when they closed in halfway, the gruff leader yelled from behind "Make sure to bring the lady unharmed, we could have a midnight snack after taking care of the man."

The thieves nodded and continued marching towards them, while Rama moved her feet back, hiding behind Draco while staying a safe distance away from the scene as she anticipated what would ensue next.

Closing the distance between them, one of the thieves stretched his hand toward him in a bid to grab him, but before he could reach for him, Draco grabbed his wrist instead and before they could transpire what took place, a veil of shadow engulfed him for a moment before it faded away to reveal his true form.

They gasped in horror, eyes reflecting their fear and confusion as they gazed upon the terrifying demon that stared down at them like measly rats with a hellish gaze.

"D-Demon." The gruff leader stuttered, frozen in shock.

He could feel every heart throbbing pulse in fear, every adrenaline of horror rushing through their veins, their shaky breaths and quivering lips. The fear he fed from them, only made his sadistic intent heighten.

Without giving them another second to process their situation, his hand moved with brute force as he wrung the thief’s wrist with one swift motion and SNAP! his bone fractured as it impaled out of his flesh, leaving him screaming in agony while the others watched him with horrid eyes as he easily snapped a man’s wrist into two like a twig.

"F-Forgive us, please..." They stuttered in fear as they backed away, while the wounded one’s shrill cry of pain pierced through the night.

"Draco, lets just be on our way." Rama whispered behind him, unable for them to hear except him.

"He wanted a midnight snack, why not give it to him? After all, it was his request." As soon as Draco spoke, he pummeled his balled fist straight into the chest of the thief, penetrating out of his back with an effortless yet brute motion.

Blood oozed out of the puncture and the man immediately fell dead with a gaping, bloody hole in his chest.

Driven by their survival instincts and understanding that no apology could drive it’s way into the heart of the monster in front of them, they attacked with relentless vigor, perhaps hoping for some sort of miracle to take place, hoping they could come out alive, but hope was as dead as light in his world.

The remaining four thieves attacked him relentlessly, but his stance and strength were unmatchable as he easily took them out without breaking a sweat.

With an elegant gesture, his claws elongated and as they attacked him with their weaponry, he easily evaded their hits. Rama, on the other hand noticed that he was barely using a tiny fragment of his strength and then she realized he was rather toying with them to prolong his fun while she watched in boredom as he slashed and ripped.

One came at him with both vigor and fear, fueling his determination to live, but within an effortless pace, using his claws, he slashed at his neck, giving him a deep gash that almost took off his head, with only a fragile piece of flesh holding his neck and head together.

The others watched him fall down dead as blood poured out of the severe wound like a stream of crimson bathing the floor. They trembled with trepidation overwhelming them, but they couldn’t back away without a fight or a struggle to live.

"P-Please, we’ll just leave and never say a word to anyone..." The other thief pleaded but before he could say another word, Draco’s hand flew to his neck, squeezing with a tight grip that made it impossible for the man to breathe.

As he squeezed harder, he caught a glimpse of the gruff leader trying to run away and with an undetectable gait, he wrung the man’s neck and the sound of bone snapping filled the air before shoving the dead body on the floor.

As the last thief ran with wobbly legs, he caught up to him, manifesting through the shadows in front of him as he caught him by the neck, his golden eyes burning into the man’s teary ones.

"Running before you could have a taste of the midnight snack?" Draco growled, a sinister smile curving through his lips.

"W-What are you?" The man asked with a shaky voice.

"Whatever you name me." Draco breathed out and without wasting another second, he extended his free arm toward the ground and in that instant, shadowy tendrils spurted out of the ground, reaching for the man as it coiled around his limbs.

The man screamed in pain as the tendrils extended, pulling his limbs with vicious force until they could hear his muscles stretching and his flesh tearing.

Rama gulped as she watched, her heart pounding with anxiousness as she watched the man scream in unbearable torture, his limbs pulled with extreme force, his flesh tearing, his bones breaking with spine tingling snaps that resonated in the silent air.

She immediately looked away as his limbs were ripped apart by the tendrils and his ear piercing screams stopped.

She didn’t need to look to know what happened, he was dead, they were all dead but there was no sense of relief in her. They were armed, but against Draco, they were nothing more than measly humans in the presence of a god with unmatchable powers, their weapons useless against him.

She could hear his footsteps behind her as he approached closer.

"I apologize for keeping you waiting, we should leave now, I doubt there be any more problems on the way." He said with a chuckle.

Turning her face away from him, she said "You didn’t have to kill them, they were only ordinary men." She said and without waiting for his reply, she mounted the horse without his help.

Mounting the horse as he sat behind her, he whispered into her ears as he said "I wouldn’t have killed them, if they hadn’t disrespected you, it’s intolerable."

"Or perhaps it was to satisfy your sadistic urge. I saw that look in your eyes, bloodthirsty and excited to soak your hands in it." Rama remarked.