64 Assessing the Situation (2/2)

”Call for him,” muttered the queen with reluctance.

”Him!?” Both captains were surprised to hear the queen asking for aid so quickly.

”Yes, call for him. We've underestimated these adventurers and we must do everything to defeat them. But facing Hell's flames at the same time, our only chance at victory is to accept their aid. Contact him and hurry to the fox. Now hurry and begone. I have something I must do,” commanded the queen, returning to her voice of a feminine dominatrix.

”Yes, your highness!”

The guard and the captains hurried off to their new duties, not so much as looking back into the main hall.

Behind the canopy, the queen anxiously twiddled her fingers on the throne's arm. She barked, ”Guards, bring me the contact crystal.”

Without a word, the guards by the door hurried to the side of the room. There they each grabbed a side of this podium-like structure. It was similar to the stat analysis podium within the association building, but the gemstone was smoother, and the podium was intricately carved around the large, sapphire-like gem. It took a minute for them to carry it up to the throne, but it wasn't too difficult for the guards.

”Thank you, now return to your posts. And face the wall; you are not allowed to see my beauty unveiled,” commanded the queen.

The guards hurried back to their posts and did as the queen demanded, turning to face the cold wall.

Satisfied with their obedience, the queen stood up from her throne and walked towards the veil surrounding her. She parted it and revealed herself to the light in the room.

The queen was a shade lighter than the other goblins, and her shin was much smoother and softer than the rest. She had the same beady red eyes, but her face was slender and easy to fit in someone's hand. Adorned with a black leather skirt, a loose crop top from the same leather, and a beautiful necklace of gold and jewels, the queen's slim, tight body was the envy of every goblin woman; many goblin women also found her attractive and were unable to admit otherwise.

With a regretful sigh, the queen placed her hands on the podium and spoke aloud in Common. ”My city is in danger and we request assistance.”

There was no response at first, but after a couple of minutes a pained, masculine voice sounded in her head. ”What's the problem? It must be bad if you're contacting me.”

”We're being invaded, but too much is happening at once and we may not hold out till the end,” replied the queen.

”Why so negative? It sounds like you've already accepted defeat.”

The queen paused involuntarily as she forced herself to admit the situation more fully. ”A party of adventurers is causing us problems. They've split up to attack the main gate and infiltrate my palace at the same time.”

”Why not just call those ugly guests of yours? They should offer plenty of help to handle a single party,” said the man.

”Most of them are gone to bring back more of their brethren, we've only got two with us right now,” answered the queen.

”So, what else is there? For you to call the busy me, you better be facing a natural disaster or hell's flames,” stated the man, letting her hear his annoyance in his voice.

”That's exactly what's happening.”

”What?” responded the man, caught off guard by her immediate answer.

”At this critical moment, a Hell-flame Fox has appeared within the walls of the city,” explained the queen. ”We're already stretched thin to face these adventurers but facing hell's flames might lead to our end. I beg for your assistance.”

No answer came for some time as the queen waited patiently, staring intently at the crystal embedded in the podium. Finally, the man answered, ”Sorry, but I can't help you.”

”What!?”

”I told you before that you grew too aggressive too fast and it would lead to your downfall, did I not?” said the man.

Struggling to keep herself from shouting back in anger, the queen was unable to reject the man's statement. Not hearing a rejection, the man continued, ”You got too aggressive before we were in a situation to better help you. Of course, this is simply due to how dire a situation you're in. Are you sure it's a Hell-flame Fox? They haven't been spotted for so long.”

”They say it's a fox made of fire running rampant through my city, what else could that be?”

”How big is it, exactly?” asked the man.

”No clue, they just said it was a crazy firefox with an unknown level,” answered the man, hoping her politeness could soften the man's heart and change his decision.

”Oh,” sighed the man. ”Either way, you're without our help for this one. If you can survive this, then we'll be ready to move forward in about a month. If you don't, well, then this is goodbye.”

As the message cut out, the queen barked back at the man but could tell that the man's contact crystal was no longer responding.

In her fury, she finally looked away from the crystal and noticed the guards' peeking eyes whip around to return to the wall. ”Was I not clear that you were unworthy of beholding my beauty?”

”Y-your highness, please have—”

Making use of the guards as an outlet for her sudden rise in anger, the queen lifted a hand as a ball of red flames began to dance in her palms. With a flick of her wrist, the flames split and blasted into the bodies of the goblin guards, staining the wall with soot and ash.