The Mercenary Queen Strikes Back (Lily Hastings) novel Chapter 93

Chapter 93 Crisis Unfolds

After hyping up Zane, it was finally his turn to shine. John thumped his chest, feeling like the real star of the

show.

“The underworld? Honestly, it’s not as legendary as people make it out to be,” he said with a smirk.

“We’re going to build our own empire here! We’ll carve out our own power in the underworld!”

At that moment, John felt larger than life.

He was about to keep going when-

“Click.”

The unmistakable sound of a pistol being cocked cut through the air.

In the very next instant-

Nova spun a Desert Eagle around her finger, then jammed the barrel straight into John’s mouth.

Her eyes were icy cold, like the frozen ice world.

Nova snapped, her voice cold and impatient.

“Shut up and drop dead.”

Her shot cracked through the air, sharp as a blade.

“Bang!”

Nova pulled the trigger to kill–no hesitation.

Now that she was back in the game, Nova was no longer the innocent girl from before. She was the

Mercenary Bloodforge, returned with blood on her hands and ice in her veins.

Luckily, Zane had a bad feeling just before Nova pulled the trigger. While John was still running his mouth, Zane instinctively tried to pull him closer, out of harm’s way.

Because of that, the shot whizzed past Kaelin’s cheek, just barely grazing him.

“Ah! Ahh!” John screamed.

When he realized just how cold–blooded Nova was, his bragging mouth started screeching like a rubber chicken.

He flailed his arms and legs, scrambling backward in a panic.

Who would’ve thought that Zane’s goddess was actually the kind of badass who says she’ll kill you–and actually does it!

Zane’s eyes nearly popped out of his head.

He’d just grabbed John without thinking, and ended up saving his life for real.

But what really blew his mind was-

‘When did Nova get so ruthless?‘ Zane was totally floored.

‘She actually almost shot him!‘

“With that kind of backbone, you really think you can build a power base in the underworld?

“What a joke.”

Nova scoffed, her laugh dripping with contempt.

With that, she turned and walked away, not even sparing Zane and his crew a second glance.

She didn’t give a damn about any of them.

Tiana, who’d been clinging to Zane like he’d disappear if she let go, and the other Zorian students, including Christopher, were all frozen in shock.

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Chapter 193 Crisis Unfolds

In that split second, they all looked like they’d just seen a ghost, their faces drained of color.

Tiana, especially, was still trying to act all high and mighty, showing off in front of Nova like she was still back. at school.

But it was obvious.

Nova had just shown them in the most brutal way possible–their whole mindset was laughably naive.

“Boss,” Yellowcat called out.

She’d been chasing after Fierce Python all this time, but that guy was all brawn and zero charm–no matter how hard she tried, she just couldn’t get him to agree to work together.

Seeing that something was going down with Nova, she hurried back, shooting a look at Zane and his crew, silently asking what the hell was going on.

“Just some random strangers. Not even worth talking about,” Nova said with icy indifference.

“Go tell the team to gear up–we roll out in three minutes.”

Nova called it.

Three minutes later, the ever–present voice of Chief Instructor Lionel came over the intercom again.

“See those armored vehicles in front of you?

“Hop on. Someone will escort you to the wild forest.

“Your first trial is simple: make it through the primeval forest in three days. Easy enough, right?

“For your information, there’s a little something waiting for each of you out there in the wilds.”

Nova propped her foot up on a wooden plank, strapping every weapon she had–pistols, knives, grenades- onto her waist, thighs, and anywhere else she could carry them.

She bit down on a hair tie between her red lips, and in a couple of quick flicks, pulled her long, straight black hair into a high ponytail, ready for action.

Then, she led the Blood Dolls Mercenary Squad and climbed aboard the armored transport vehicle.

Not far away, Zane couldn’t take his eyes off Nova, totally obsessed.

He just couldn’t look away.

He thought to himself, ‘Woman, what are you turning into?

‘I was only gone for a few months, and now you’re like this?

‘No matter how much you’ve changed, this time, I’m the one who’ll protect you!‘

**

The primeval forest near the International Mercenary Training Ground in Verecula looked like any other forest -nothing special, nothing out of the ordinary.

At first glance, getting through it seemed like a walk in the park.

After hopping off the armored transport, Nova led her crew–Eder, Sham, and a bunch of burly mercenaries- straight into the wild forest.

Nova could feel Zane and his crew trailing behind them, never letting up.

“Boss, those guys are still tailing us. Want me to take care of them?” Yellowcat asked, sidling up to Nova. Yellowcat leaned in close to Nova, her gaze flicking back over her shoulder, eyes glinting with danger.

Without anyone noticing, she made a subtle, lethal gesture.

“Just ignore them. Save your energy,” Nova murmured.

Then, addressing the Blood Dolls Mercenary Squad, she spoke a little louder.

“Everyone, stay on high alert. Lionel won’t make it easy for us to get through this forest.”

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Chapter 193 Crisis Unfolds

Eder, Sham, and the rest of the mercs still had their doubts about Nova.

They couldn’t believe a woman like her thought she could lead their barely–formed squad–less than three months old and not even thirty people-

to crack the top three in this year’s training ground rankings. That was just impossible.

But after Nova proved herself in a fight, they had to admit–they respected her, at least a little.

So for now, they stuck with her.

Everyone followed her lead–her word was law for the squad.

“A woman dragging another woman around, always surrounded by guys? What else could they be but flirts,” Tiana scoffed, her tone full of disdain.

Standing right next to Zane, she let out a snide little snort.

Obviously, she was throwing shade at Nova and Yellowcat.

When Zane didn’t say anything, Tiana just got even more jealous.

She was totally green with envy.

Not only was Nova drop–dead gorgeous and had Zane wrapped around her finger, but she could just whip out a gun and pull the trigger like it was nothing. That really pissed Tiana off.

She was acting like a real underworld badass.

‘Is she seriously not scared of blood at all?‘ Tiana thought, her mind swirling with envy and disbelief. ‘Who knows which guy she cozied up to for those skills?‘ Tiana thought, her jealousy flaring even hotter. ‘And now she’s out here, flexing in front of us students like she owns the place!‘

“Say one more word about her and just leave. I don’t want you tagging along with me anymore,” Zane said coldly, not bothering to hide his annoyance.

Zane gazed at Nova with obvious affection, then turned to Tiana and snapped, not holding back at all. Tiana’s lips quivered, her eyes brimming with tears–she looked totally miserable, like she might break down any second.

“Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!”

Right at that moment, Nova suddenly stopped dead ahead, senses on high alert.

From the towering trees above, several masked men, decked out in full tactical gear, leapt down without hesitation.

At the same time, more masked attackers who’d been lying in wait among the treetops sprang into action, launching a coordinated assault on Nova and her squad.

Sharp blades came swinging at them, putting everyone’s reflexes to the test.

Gunfire suddenly ripped through the air, forcing everyone to dodge for their lives.

In the darkness, two masked figures lunged at Nova. She dodged left in a split second, moving with deadly speed.

Her right hand shot up, grabbing the dagger mid–stab from the masked guy coming at her.

She jerked her head to the right, dodging a spray of bullets from the other masked man’s gun.

Her left hand came up.

Out of nowhere, two blades flashed in her grip. She spun around, slipped behind the guy with the dagger, and sliced his neck open in one swift move.

With her back to the masked man, Nova flipped her left hand around and drove the blade straight into his

heart.

“Thud!”

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Chapter 193 Crisis Unfolds

Both masked men collapsed instantly, their bodies hitting the ground with a heavy, lifeless thud.

The other masked men lunged at the Blood Dolls Mercenary Squad at the front of the group.

Yellowcat swiftly took one down, her movements quick and ruthless.

The mercenaries from Eder and Sham’s teams just weren’t strong enough–even two or three working together couldn’t stop a single masked attacker, and were killed on the spot.

It was clear–these masked men were undeniably stronger than elite mercenaries.

“Ah! Ahh!”

Zane, Tiana, and the others were behind.

Tiana had never seen anything this terrifying before–she let out a blood–curdling scream on the spot. Zane, John, and Christopher had all spent time running with the underworld crowd–dead bodies weren’t anything new to them.

But seeing people get killed right in front of them still drained the color from their faces.

But what really made their blood run cold wasn’t the bodies or the ambush.

It was something way worse.

After Nova effortlessly took out the masked men that none of the other guys could handle, her figure blurred like lightning, slicing through the crowd.

Every masked man she passed ended up with a deadly gash across his throat.

Then they dropped to the ground, dead before they even hit the dirt.

Her moves were vicious, fast, and lethal.

Her knife work was flawless–every strike hit its mark.

Zane, John, Tiana, and Christopher were frozen like statues, totally shell–shocked.

“This can’t be… How is this even real…?” Tiana stammered, her whole body shaking.

“Has she been through the same warzone as you, Zane? Did she really survive that kind of battlefield?” Zane could only manage a bitter, helpless smile.

He just kept quiet, saying nothing.

“Bang! Bang! Bang!”

The masked men were clearly part of the trial, deliberately set up by the organizers.

If they didn’t eliminate the masked men, they’d be the ones getting killed.

After the masked men were taken care of, the air was still thick with tension.

Then, overhead, the thundering roar of helicopter rotors filled the sky as one after another flew overhead.

Each helicopter dropped off a massive red crate, easily 6 feet 9 inches tall. As soon as the crates hit the ground, the ropes were cut, and the choppers took off again.

‘So this must be the “surprise” Lionel was talking about, Nova thought, her eyes narrowing.

“Weapons! We’ve got weapons!”

“Food and supplies! Perfect timing!”

You could hear the excited shouts of other merc squads echoing from all around.

The whole place buzzed with joy and excitement.

Nova barely reacted to the weapons and supplies drop, showing almost no excitement at all.

Her expression remained icy cold.

She signaled for Eder, Sham, and a few others to step up and open the huge red crates–each one big enough to hold two people.

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Chapter 193 Crisis Unfolds

And then-

As each of those massive red crates was popped open right in front of them,

they realized it wasn’t weapons or supplies hiding inside.

Nope–it was something else entirely…

Five actual, living, breathing people!

And Zane was in the mix too.

It was the top beauties and heartthrobs from Saint Laurel Royal Academy–Maxwell, Hannah, Claire, Ethan, and Jessica!

Somebody had just dropped all five of them here, and no one had any idea who did it.

Nova’s gaze turned icy.

Before she had a chance to think, that prickling sense of being watched raced up her spine.

Just then, Lionel’s voice crackled over the forest speakers, sounding way too pleased with himself. “Hey everyone, I’ve got some great news for you.

“The boss of the Bloodforge Mercenary Squad–the squad that took first place in the 74th training ground rankings-

“That’s right, the legendary Bloodforge, the reigning King of Mercenaries, is right here among you! And to celebrate our champion’s return, we’re about to crank the difficulty way up for the next round!

“Tsk… poor souls–get ready for a bloodbath. Unless you can hunt down Bloodforge, the punishment just keeps coming!”

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