Free Web NovelChapter 240: The Next Queen (2)
Alphas wielding firearms ran through the alley.
The squad leader lifted his arm, signaling everyone to stop. His eyes skimmed the edge of a trash can, searching every dark corner where someone might hide.
Two noisy rats, spooked by the number of people, scampered into the depths of a drain.
The leader looked up and saw an old, battered window above the heap of trash. It was open, and the curtain still swayed.
Squinting, he moved towards it. A single step on the wall, and he easily leapt onto the windowsill, his fingers pressed against the frame as his gaze swept across the empty room.
For a moment, he contemplated searching inside. But then, an annoying emotion swelled within him.
"A girl that small, and a beta at that, couldn’t possibly climb in here. What a waste of time," this logical thought flashed through his mind.
"No one here," he leapt down from the windowsill, gestured, and led his team forward.
Unbeknownst to him, just inside the window where he had been standing, leaning against the wall was Ren, clutching a knife hilt, his pupils glowing a luminescent purple.
If he had leaned in just an inch further, Ren’s blade would have swung out like a shooting star, severing his head without hesitation.
Next to Ren, a little girl held a picture album in one hand and patted her chest with the other, signaling to Ren that all was taken care of.
Her face was grubby, but her eyes were bright. She knew what she had to do and could subtly influence the enemy’s subconscious without panicking.
Ren responded to the young girl with a thumbs-up.
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In a dim and secluded chamber within the Imperial Nexus...
A group of people gathered around a long round table. Men and women alike, their faces stern, eyes sharp, and movements composed. Many wore masks to hide their features, but it was clear from their demeanor that each was a powerful warrior.
Outside the room, more people were continually being admitted after identity verification.
This was a meeting room, holding a secret conference. The attendees were the key underground figures of the rebels hidden within the Imperial Nexus. Representatives had also been sent from distant outposts.
For the first time, forces opposing the Tower within the Empire had come together like this.
At the head of the table was a man adjusting the glasses on his nose. Everyone present knew him—Brandon, the leader of the secret movement. He had fought on the most dangerous front lines, had once been imprisoned, and had endured all kinds of torture.
His status among them had only solidified further after the successful daring rescue mission.
Standing beside him was a tall, thin alpha in uniform, his face obscured by a black mask. This was Ren, a formidable warrior known for single-handedly infiltrating the Tower and rescuing his comrades from the clutches of the terrifying Queen.
"Today, we’ve called so many people here because we’ve found a child who escaped from the Tower," Brandon announced, bracing his hands on the table. He then gestured toward Ren.
Ren led the young Ligia forward, gently pressing her frail shoulders, saying, "Tell everyone what you discovered in the Tower."
The attendees looked at each other.
The girl was just a child, barely seven or eight years old, thin and small, clutching a soiled picture book. They didn’t believe that a beta, especially such a young child, could bring any substantial information.
Although in recent years there had been sporadic reports of individual betas entering the outposts and fighting alongside alphas, the prevailing view was that betas were merely vases supported by the Empire, dressed in beautiful clothes and cultivated as ornamental flowers in the backyard of the Tower.
Standing near the table surrounded by tough warriors, the young girl stepped up. She held her picture book super tight and started talking.
"Up in the Tower, there’s not just one beta academy. Right below the palace at the very top, there’s also a breeding farm for betas. That’s where I got out from."
"A breeding farm? Why call it that?"
"Are you sure about more than one beta academy? I’ve been in the Tower for years and never heard this."
Soft chatter filled the room.
Her voice sounded young but really clear, hitting everyone’s hearts like a bolt of lightning and making waves.
While she talked, her eyes shone super bright white, and behind her, awesome ghostly feathers spread out like glowing fire.
Right then, it felt like she touched everyone’s mind, like she was holding each person’s hand in the room.
Through Ligia’s eyes, they saw a hidden, top-secret academy at the top of the Tower. A creepy place with no doors or windows, just cages for kids.
They saw kids mysteriously vanish from their school.
People in the Empire, citizens and alphas alike, thought that betas were loved and cared for in the Tower. They had no clue that behind all the fancy talk was a scary plan.
Kids from rich families grew up in the spotlight.
But betas who were poor, with no family or background, got taken to the Tower. Only a few went to the beta academy. Most were hidden away where no one could see them. ƒгeewёbnovel.com
They saw a boy pass a picture book through a window. They heard the sound of boots shuffling as the boy was gagged and kidnapped in the middle of the night by some people.
The young girl, holding the book her friend gave her, sneaked out of bed when everyone was asleep.
Copying the alphas she’d seen, she opened a ventilation duct and crawled in. She moved through the super dark tunnel without making a sound.
At that second, everyone held their breath, scared that even a tiny sigh could mess things up for the girl crawling in the dark.
Lastly, they saw a weird altar. In the middle of the academy, the floor was made of white marble with strange designs carved in it. Red blood flowed along these lines.
Every warrior in the room clenched their jaws.
A creepy chewing sound filled the quiet dark. It felt like something at the altar’s center was being eaten or melted away.
No one was there, just the flowing red blood.
Ligia paused for a sec, carefully poking her head toward the vent hole.
"Don’t look!"
"Run, don’t look, you silly kid."
Voices burst out in the meeting room.
All of these warriors were toughened by battle. Even though they knew their warning wouldn’t change what had happened, they couldn’t help but shout.
Under the vent, a freaky creature covered in blood raised its head. It had tons of eyes and all kinds of wings and arms—a total mishmash monster.
Its big, patchy body looked loose, like it could fall apart any second.
On top of this mess, half a mannequin body leaned awkwardly, wearing a special queen’s crown and a white veil.
Just when the creature was about to fully raise its head, a boy’s voice said, "Go, Ligia, get out now." The message wasn’t in words but sent through a mental connection. "I’ll keep her busy; you run, fast."
Ligia, who had just crawled out of the vent, caught a last look at a boy’s hand sticking out from the monster’s back. His little fingers, covered in paint of different colors, gave her a quick wave.
The vision stopped there.
Ligia, standing by the table, held her paint-stained sketchbook close to her chest and said nothing more. The room was so silent that people could hear a pin drop.
Everyone felt like their hearts were racing. Fury filled them, but there was no way to let it out.
Brandon clapped his hands to bring everyone back to focus. "There’s more to share with you all today," he said, nodding at Ren.
Ren moved up and turned on his opticomputer’s projection screen. Many of the images were like wall paintings he’d captured from the Eyehole and the den near the Erdtree.
Ren talked in a steady voice, not pumped-up or super descriptive. He just laid out everything he knew.
The Tower was basically a farm. The big bosses in the Empire had been bowing down to the enemy for ages. Every year, they’d give up alphas and betas to the Polluted Zone, all for a tiny bit of land to barely survive on.
The Polluted Zone got more and more powerful each day. Humans were basically like farm animals, just food for the monsters. Even the Queen of the Empire had turned into one of these horrible creatures, eating her own people.
"It’s time to fight, guys. We can’t live in a world like this anymore," Ren said, wrapping up his talk.
The room got super quiet. After a bit, some people had teary eyes and clenched fists.
"I knew something was off. My teammates died for no good reason," one warrior said.
"Getting killed by monsters, I can handle. But finding out we were tossed aside by our own people?" Another guy gritted his teeth and hit the table. "That’s how my wife died."
"Offering up fighters like they’re just meat and blood, all so those big shots in the Tower can have a good time?"
Anger filled the room. Lots of people clenched their teeth and didn’t say anything.
Everyone sorta knew this stuff, but the Tower was just too strong. It hung over them like some huge monster in the sky, making people feel like they couldn’t fight back.
"This time we’re gonna win," Brandon looked around the table at everyone. "We have to win."
Outside the secret room, there was a coded knock on the door.
Everyone looked that way.
"Big news," said the person on the other side of the door. "The Empire just made an announcement. The Queen has picked who’s gonna take over, and we’re getting a new queen."
"A new queen? Who?" people inside asked.
"You want to come see? They’re gonna show the ceremony on live TV."
"It’s a female beta. Sounds like she’s from the Queen’s family or something."
"Her name’s Kestrel, I think."
