I landed on top of a bruiser, crushing him under the force of my leap. I grabbed another one and ripped his head off. I held the head by its snout and used it to bash nearby bruisers in the head. My tails never stopped, stabbing and clubbing any bruiser or windclaw that tried to surround me.

  Dozens died every minute as I tore through the enemy. Blood soaked the ground and the screams of the dying could be heard from every corner of the city. I had originally been smiling but it quickly disappeared as the fight continued.

  The fight didn’t feel glorious as usual, it didn’t feel like a fight at all. It was a massacre. I took no pleasure in the killing. My life wasn’t at risk for the majority of the fight. A lucky bruiser could kill me if he managed to land a powerful blow but I didn’t let any get close enough to try.

  After almost thirty minutes the force of hundreds had been reduced to one. I walked up to the last bruiser who was frozen with fear. He soiled himself when I walked up to him. I stared down at the poor creature and said. “Take me to where the broodmothers are held. I’ll let you live if you do as I say.”

  He stared up at me and with a shaking voice said, “I-I, I am…” He stopped talking for a second, tears streaming down his face. He stared up at me and screamed. “I am loyal to the Queen! I will not betray her!” I nodded and said. “Very well.” Every one of my tails slammed into his head, stabbing into his brain and killing him instantly.

  His loyalty was misplaced but it was respectable. True loyalty should never be scorned. I laid his corpse onto the ground and sprinted towards a different part of the city. It took less than a minute for me to see another skink. This one was a caretaker.

  He was sitting on a rock beside one of the many streams within the city. He was with two hatchlings, watching them as they swam and played. I quietly walked up to him and placed my ginormous hand on top of his head.

  He continued staring forward as we both watched the hatchlings for a few seconds. I broke the silence by saying. “Take me to where the broodmothers are kept.” The caretaker quietly got to his feet and said. “If I say no will you harm the hatchlings?”

  I stared at him for a few seconds and wondered if I would. He would probally take me if I threatened them. But why would I? I’m a noble! We do not threaten children. “No, I won’t hurt them.” He smiled and said. “I will not betray my people.”

  I nodded and slammed my fist into the top of his. His head crashed into the ground as I smiled and walked away, So much loyalty! It’s refreshing after being betrayed! Maybe I just got all the weak willed followers?

  I found another skink nearby, this one was a bruiser. I was a bit surprised no one had tracked me down but perhaps Tuobella was more occupied with her injury. Thankfully this bruiser was more weak willed.

  I grabbed him by the throat and lifted him into the air. The blood on my scales was starting to dry, that was how long this was taking. I glared at the bruiser and said. “Where are the broodmothers held?”

  The bruiser trembled and said. “I’ll take you to them! Just don’t hurt me!” I smiled and said. “Alright, let's go.” The bruiser nodded and I let him go. I motioned for him to get going as he sighed and said. “Please follow me.”

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  We made it around a hundred feet before I heard the sound of thundering feet in front of us. I sighed as I saw the force of over five hundred bruisers in front of me. I grabbed my guide and turned to go the other way but a similar number of skinks blocked my way.

  The army began to circle me as I dropped my guide and said. “Why? Why can’t you just let me leave in peace? I’ll take the broodmothers and leave!” None of the bruisers responded. My guide shook with fear and asked. “Will you protect me in the fight, my queen?” I sighed and said. “If it comes to it, yes. I dragged you into this, it’s my responsibility to make sure you don’t suffer because of me.

  I stepped forward and yelled at the horde. “This does not need to end in needless bloodshed! I will fight one of you! If I lose then you can kill me! But if I win you need to give me the broodmothers.”

  The surrounding army didn’t say anything, but soon they all scooched as a heavily armored bruiser walked forward. It looked as though he was wearing plate armor made out of scales. He was ginormous too. Weird that I didn’t notice him.

  He was around twenty feet long and ten feet tall. His claws were the biggest I’d ever seen and his tail had a ginormous ball of what looked to be iron. How the fuck is this guy part metal? And what is he? I’ll check my notifications after I kill him, although I really don’t want to see how many of my kind I’ve killed.

  He bowed his head and lowered himself as I did the same. He picked his head up and said. “Announce yourself intruder!” I nodded and said. “I am Aya! Queen of the mud flats and the destroyer of rats! Richest person in the world! Mud dragon of the east! I am the harbinger of change within the seven tribes region. I am the father of Marlow and James. I am the queen of the unclaimed and emperor of my empire. It is an honor to fight you.”

  He nodded and smiled before saying. “I am Okok! Champion of Queen Poh! Captain of the royal guard for Queen Poh. I am the great bear slayer and greatest warrior of the twelve peaks! It is an honor to fight you, Queen Aya. May your children enjoy good health for years to come.”

  I nodded and said. “Here are the terms, whoever dies or can’t continue fighting loses. If I win you will give me the broodmothers. If I lose you can kill me.” Okok nodded and said. “I accept your terms. May our fight be spoken of for years to come. Let us fight! For glory!”

  Both of us sprinted forward and collided with great force. I slammed my fist into his snout and he tried to hit me with his tail. His tail barely glanced at me but I could feel the power behind his strike. My wounds from earlier ached as I staggered backwards.

  My tails rocketed forward, sinking into his underbelly but not penetrating more than a few inches. He smiled and said. “Is this all? I thought you’d be more impressive after all those titles. Tsk Tsk Tsk.”

  I gawked at him and said. “Excuse me? How dare you? I’m gonna rip your head off!” I leaped into the air and slammed my feet into his back. He let out a grunt of pain as he collapsed to the ground. I began to slam my fist into his face as he laughed and said. “Good… Good!”

  His tail swatted me off of his back and he continued as I crashed into the ground. He laughed as I hopped to my feet and tried to think of a way to defeat him. His tail was the biggest threat, although his claws looked like they could do a lot of damage if they hit me.

  He was basically a better version of my war queen form. Okay, so act like you’re fighting yourself. What were your weaknesses? Think damn it! My sides were vulnerable, his aren't. Removing my tail made me incredibly weak, so go with that?

  Eh, good enough. I slammed my tails into his face, harassing and distracting him as I hopped around, looking for the best opportunity. After almost a minute of this he grew frustrated and swung his tail at me.

  I smiled and leaped onto the large ball. I grabbed it and immediately began chomping on the actual tail part, not the club. He let out a roar of pain as my jaws sunk into his flesh. Blood poured into my mouth as I bit clean through.

  I leaped away as he glared and said. “How dare you remove the tail gifted to me by Queen Poh?” I shrugged and said. “Shit happens, deal with it.” I walked over to the sphere that had been dropped on the ground and grabbed it.

  My muscles strained as I lifted it over my head and tossed it at Ok Ok. It slammed into his face, forcing him to fall backwards. I followed up by jumping and landing on his face. My tails began to rip into him as I repeatedly punched down.

  OkOk screamed as my tails went through his eyes into his skull. It took ten minutes for him to finally stop struggling. I did my best to wipe the blood off my scales as I hopped off of the corpse and said. “Alright, I won. Get the fuck out of my way.” The bruisers surrounding me seemed a bit hesitant as they stared at me and the ginormous corpse beside me.