Chapter 417: Red Empress

Although her response was quick and short, everyone else couldn't help but pause. It wouldn't be easy to reveal such details and the manner she did so had taken them by surprise. As for the soldier who asked, he found himself unable to speak.

"I-I see, I apologize for asking such intimate details." 

He could only stumble through his words and speak in a much more respectful way. 

Ming Yue looked at him. 

"It's alright, I have no reason to hide it and it happened years ago."

However, it had gone quiet. Everyone quietly focused on recovering and did a few spot repairs on their equipment. She looked at them before doing the same, examining her dagger and armor. 

"I probably shouldn't have said it", she thought. 

And Xue Yue suddenly piped in.

"Of course not, you've ruined the happy atmosphere. It's just like the forest elder said, you're still not over it, far from it. Don't think I don't know that you're just trying to convince yourself otherwise."

"Stop, I know. If it comes to be then it comes but me telling them is by no means a way of convincing myself", Ming Yue replied. 

"Sure, sure, fine, whatever you want but you better remember."

And just like that Xue Yue''s voice no longer came out. Her counterpart just stared at the Pearlstone Dagger, checking it for any nicks or cracks. Although she didn't show it, her mind was elsewhere, preoccupied with sudden change. 

But why now?

Normally, she wouldn't have been so bothered by it but she couldn't stop thinking about it, her own tragedy.

"No, I should stop. It's going to ruin my focus."

She pushed those thoughts to the back of her mind as she had done before, finishing up her inspections. 

Looking around, Ming Yue noticed the captain standing over the wound he made on the creature that called these lizards. He studied it carefully, picking at it with his axes. 

"Strange, how strange..." he muttered. 

The others noticed him as well, mulling over the gash he created. 

"Is there something wrong captain?"

"Wait, don't tell me we're going to kill this thing too? I don't think we have the power for that!"

He glared at them and shook his head. 

"Of course not, I'm not stupid. I just find it strange that we're standing on a much larger lizard", he answered. 

"What? What's so strange? We have monsters like these back home, don't we?" one of them pointed out. 

"Yes but were those lizards really its children? The gap is simply too big. With its size, it could certainly give birth to more than just these few and they can't be adults, can they? With such a difference in size, there has to be a parent but where could they be?"

Ya Lang then turned to everyone else. 

"We should investigate this. We're not returning until we get to the bottom of this. I better not hear a sound coming from you all, my orders are final."

However, none of them groaned or showed any sort of opposition.

"There he goes. Guess, we're not going back."

In fact, it seemed that all of his subordinates had expected something like this to happen.

"After discovering a new race, of course, the captain would want to learn more."

"Well he is the captain, we can't exactly say no to him."

With that said, the group went on the move, heading deeper into the marshes. But by night, they had yet to see anything out of the ordinary.

"There really is nothing but these marshes... Where does it end?"

It was the same thing for as far as the eye could see, just an endless swamp paired with an army of insects. 

As much as Ya Lang wanted to continue, they needed to return. He couldn't risk the lives of his soldiers as well as Ming Yue on a gut feeling. 

"Let's go back."

As he turned to leave, Ming Yue stood there and looked around once more only to find nothing. But that wasn't until Xiao Yin returned from scouting. 

The owl tweeted and whistled as it landed on her shoulder. 

"Wait."

Ming Yue suddenly spoke up as she looked at Xiao Yin. 

"There's something ahead, not far from here."

Ya Lang looked at her as did the others with a curious look.

"Are you sure?" he asked her. 

She looked at him and nodded. 

Ya Lang thought for a moment before deciding. 

"We march on then."

And so they continued on their path through the marsh before coming across what Xiao Yin had spotted.

It was a camp, built upon the largest swamp, a murky lake large enough to fit several warships with room to spare. It stood several meters above the lake, with dozens of wooden posts where rope connected it to stones in the waters. 

But everyone knew that these were no stones. 

"These are the lizard's parents! They've been captured and used as mounts!" Ya Lang exclaimed. 

They quickly hid behind any grass or tree, watching this base for it was still occupied. 

The camp itself was well built, created from rope and vine to sit over the lake. There were multiple smaller houses connected to one large hall through bridges. And someone walked out of the hall, stepping onto the dock, and looked around. 

The person was a demon, one with three short horns on her head and porcelain white skin. Her eyes were large and red. But everything else was obscured by a mask, covering the lower part of her face. If it wasn't for the mask, she would've been considered beautiful but that mask was there for a reason. 

More noticeable was her size, a curvaceous woman whose height was nearly double that of the average man. Her clothes were slovenly dressed robes that covered only the bare essentials. 

This demon gazed into the waters where the lizards resided. She just stood there and looked, her mind seemed to wander elsewhere until another demon approached her and kneeled. 

"Congratulations Qing Chai, you have become one of the new kings!"

She turned around and looked at him. 

"It was only a matter of time before it happened. Is there any other news?"

Her voice was very low but sweet.* Most of all, it carried a very commanding yet intimate feel. The kneeling demon nodded as he continued the message. 

"Under Lord Kong Zhi's command, we have to attack the new human fortress and slow down its development. Outside of that, the Roaring King wants you to choose your new title."

Although the mask was hiding it, she was smiling and bent down, bringing her face towards the demon's ear. 

"King isn't a great title for someone like me, I think I'll pick... 'Red Empress'. Now, be a good little messenger and tell that to them."

Straightening back up, she turned around and went back to gaze into the swamp. The demon held his hand up to his ear, looking at her in shock. 

"Ye- yes, I will tell them."

He turned to leave but glanced back at her every few seconds, unable to forget what had just happened. But Qing Chai merely looked at the waters, perhaps admiring her reflection. Looking around her were the tied lizards, over a dozen of them floating around the camp. 

"Hmm, Red Empress was a good choice, don't you think?"

Suddenly, the water trembled as one of them revealed itself, snapping its jaws as it tried to engulf her. It was quick and sudden, enough to take anyone by surprise but not her. Lowering her mask, it revealed her mouth which seemed to open in an unnatural manner, like a snake's mouth but with rows of sharp fangs. 

She hissed at the beast, a terrifying sound that crept into its ears and shook its heart. 

In an instant, the lizard fell back into the water, returning to its original form. 

"Quiet now?"

She laughed before putting her mask back on and moving off, after playing with the lizards.