"Look at that, little Amose. I sent him along with his team. In the afterlife, he won't be alone now, will he?" Versailles proudly raised her head with a dark smirk on her fair face.
"Yep, yep!" The black puppy barked happily, seemingly pleased and in approval of her actions.
"Awaah! My little cutie understands me the most! I love you so much! Ummah!" Rubbing the beast's soft head with her nose, she smacked a loud kiss on his forehead.
The beast lowered its head shyly, its gem eyes flashing with a radiant light. Raising his tiny paws, he covered his face in embarrassment.
"Hahaha... are you shy, little Amose?" She joyously teased him as her figure blurred and disappeared.
*
"Aye, there goes another batch."
"Haha...I love this serpentine's method. She took care of that Minotaur and cut off any possibility of a future retaliation. Very direct and ruthless, just the way I like it!"
"Oh, yeah? Why don't you let the Werewolf King hear you say that? I want to see whether you'll still have the guts to repeat those exact same words."
"Hmph! Am I brain dead to speak such words before the Wolf King?"
After watching her effortlessly slaughter so many beasts, the creatures grew numb to Versailles' cruel methods. Unconsciously, they grew fond of her resourcefulness and ruthlessness that shrouded her image in an impenetrable cloak of mystery.
In their minds, she was a beast with an impenetrable depth and instantly garnered their attention.
Such was the way of the realm. The ruthless and uncompromising individuals were always revered.
On the Snake clan's side, the serpentines felt awe and pride as they watched Versailles effortlessly clear through the confrontation with the races.
"At this pace, Versailles will easily clear all of the battlegrounds."
"Before, I never realized how outstanding she was. The meticulous way she handled the other races shows her unsurpassable intelligence and sharp mind. She is unstoppable!" The White elder sighed in bitterness.
Her great wisdom was hailed by every serpentine in the Snake clan.
However, before the golden serpentine in the Viewing Platform, she felt like a fledgling flaunting her first kill.
Silence settled over the group as the serpentines looked at one another in embarrassment.
They too, thought of the elder's widespread fame in the clan.
"Of course, whose best friend is she?" Queen Nakee suddenly remarked, breaking the awkward silence.
Versailles' outstanding performance almost made her jump in joy. If she wasn't mindful of her status as the Snake Queen of the Snake clan, she would have truly shouted without restrain, shamelessly boasting of her friend's achievements.
"Hahaha...that is true. Our Queen's best friend couldn't be any ordinary beast." The brown elder rushed to get out of the stuffy situation, stirring the conversation else where.
As more serpentines joined in, the tense atmosphere dissipated and comfortable peace settled over the group.
On the other side, the clan leaders of the other four clans had dark expressions on their faces. They weren't surprised the snake was able to easily handle the lesser races, but the ease with which she handled them raised alarm in their hearts.
"At this rate, she will truly become an existence feared and revered by all the races within the realm!" The Demon Queen anxiously clenched her fists.
The more she saw, the higher the serpentine's threat to her became. If she wasn't stopped soon, her dream of becoming the Great Queen of the Nar realm will remain a dream forever.
"No, that can't happen. I won't allow it to happen." Her dark eyes turned even darker as they flashed with an ominous light.
*
On the north of the Erupting Volcanos Region, was a valley shrouded in black flames. The flames did not release any heat and were as still as thread-less strings. Black and dense, they cloaked the dull red sky.
This was the valley of the Black Flames of Nightmare, the third location of the Battle of Wars, the Battle of Courage.
At this moment, within the black, smoky flames, two violet-gold jewels glowed brilliantly as they attentively swept the valley. The jewels moved indiscriminately, consistently changing location every few heartbeats.
"Little Amose, these black flames don't have any affect on me. What about you?"
The twin violet-gold jewels belonged to Versailles, who finally entered the valley of Black Flames of Nightmare.
Now, as she strolled through the confounding valley, she felt worried for the little puppy snuggled in her arms.
"Woof, woof!" The puppy, still as lively as before, appeared completely unaffected by the black flames.
"You're not affected as well? That's great! This means we're in wonderland!"
On her earlier visit with the Scorpion King, Versailles found out that the fearsome black flames of the valley had no affect on her. At the unexpected discovery, she was both confused and exhilarated.
Confused, because in her previous life as a serpentine in the Nar realm, the black flames weren't so forgiving.
On one of her many exploration ventures with Queen Nakee, the flames affected her so terribly that she was traumatized from the experience.
However now, the situation was the complete opposite of her previous life.
This was an exhilarating news for her, because now, she was like a fish in a water.
While the beasts chasing after her would be dragged down by the hallucinations and illusions created by the black flames, she could move freely and unrestrainedly in the area.
"Hehehe..." A dark smile surfaced on her cherry lips, her bright eyes glowing brighter, as she mirthfully looked forward to her encounter with the ignorant creatures.
"If they know what's good for them, then they won't appear before me. Because if they do, then they can't blame me for whatever misfortune befalls them." Her voice grew dangerously low, ruthlessness turning her sacred features cold.
Flapping her black sleeves, her figure flickered yet again, appearing a mile from where she previously stood.
"Little Amose, I heard the flames of the Black Flames of Nightmare are perfect for training and testing willpower. The two of us are not affected by the flames. Does this mean our willpower has reached the required threshold?" Her gaze swept over the new location, and she nodded her head in approval at the motionless flames.
At this moment, Versailles was checking on the previous traps she had set with the Scorpion King. As a cautious person by nature, she liked to double check any arrangements she made to ensure no problems occurred at the critical moment.
"Woof, woof!" As usual, her little friend replied in a loud bark.
Versailles did not know how, but she seemed to understand the beast's every gesture and expression.
"Great! That's an area I don't have to worry about, then."
At this moment, a group of various beasts led by a tall vampire appeared outside the valley, peering doubtfully into the dense black fog.
"This is the Black Flames of Nightmare? No wonder it was named as such. It truly fits its name."
"Be quiet! Do you think this is the time for such nonsense?"
"Boss, what do we do? The Black Flames of Nightmare are not to be taken lightly. For now, we can withdraw and wait for the serpentine to leave from her hideout."
Versailles' brows rose in curiosity as she heard this. She paused in mid-step and looked at the group in interest.
As she leisurely scanned them, her eyes flashed and suddenly paused on a tall, pale figure. She recognized the vampire leading the group.
It was the same vampire that she had pummeled in the plaza of the Vampire City. The vampire that she had beaten up when the Supreme Elder had deceived her and addressed her as Sailles.
"What was his name again? Mark, Mike? Max! Yes, that was his name. Hehehe...perfect! Since the kid's here, I might as well clean him up along with the rest."
In the Vampire City, even though the kid immediately knelt before her after getting defeated, Versailles knew the young vampire wasn't truly convinced of his loss.
She knew that he was putting on a show of being humble and sensible to gain the Supreme Elder's favor through her. She also knew that sooner or later, he would've stabbed her in the back.
Engrossed as she was in her thoughts, she missed the flash of doubt that surfaced in the black eyes of the little creature in her arms. A curious and thoughtful expression appeared on his face as he looked at her, his black gems looking as sharp and intelligent as an immortal beast.
The creature's eyes swept towards the entrance of the black flames valley as he shifted uncomfortably in her arms. If he wasn't a puppy, one would think he was jealous by the sudden display of displeasure in his eyes.
"Woof, Woof!" Donning a pitiful expression, he looked at her with grievance filled eyes.
"Huh? What's wrong, little Amose? Are you feeling uncomfortable anywhere? Are you in any pain?"
Distracted by the sudden drop in his spirit, Versailles worriedly raised the tiny puppy, checking all over him for wounds and injuries.
She was worried that the little creature wasn't immune to the black flames affect, and that it just took a little longer for the reaction to show.
But she instantly discarded the thought when she saw his gaze trained on the beasts gathered outside.
"You don't like them, Amose?"
"Woof, Woof!"
There was a fierce glare in his eyes that settled her hanging heart. She was glad that he wasn't uncomfortable in the black flames.
Smiling softly, her enchanting voice gently drifted in the enshrouding darkness.
"Hehehe...then that makes two of us. Since we are going to play and have fun anyway, why don't we do it splendidly?"
Glancing at the still conversing crowd, she spoke words that were completely mismatched with her angelic appearance.
"I'm sure they won't mind taking the valley as their graves. It will have an enormous benefit in nurturing their wandering spirit."
Before she left the valley of Black Flames of Nightmare, she wanted to take care of all the little flies and annoying mice.
This was the last stop before the Soul Sundering Pit, the battleground for the Battle of Ranks.
This time, she planned to bring all the pursuing creatures to their end.