The goblins snapped their fingers and the army of crabs turned towards Caroline. They peppered her with water bullets from a distance, forcing her to hide inside a crystal ball.

'My identity has been exposed… Even if the entire city is silenced it will only attract more attention from the capital. I should let them capture me. After the humans leave, the rumors of my affiliation with other species will cease. I can then escape and…'

"Send word to the capital. The princess has returned with demonic reinforcements. She wants to bring doom to us all!"

The echidna let go of a goblin he had grabbed and it immediately sprinted towards the tunnel exit. Halfway there, there was a black crystal ball.

"No, no, no you don't!"

A black flame came out of the crystal, enveloped the goblin and burned him to cinders.

The rebel princess then came out, an ugly frown prominent on her child-like face.

"Reason is lost on you people." 'I can still silence the witnesses and blame it all on the fox-kin. Yes, there's still time.'

"You will be executed for your crimes!"

Caroline lifted her one functional arm, clenched her tiny fist, and hundreds of black fireballs came out of her crystal.

"The raid against the fox-kin has failed," she then thought out loud. "After allying herself with the hydra, she buried everyone under molten lava. The shapes of the rebel princess and the demon have been identified among the dead, right next to the army's commander who helped them in their final battle."

"Blasphemy!"

"No, this will become the truth."

Caroline shot the first wave of fireballs, piercing almost a hundred crabs and goblins. The echidna blocked most of them with his trident, though a hole appeared where his spleen used to be.

"She will run out of energy, overwhelm her with numbers, you fools!"

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The echidna retreated into his army while the crabs climbed over their fallen comrades and shot water bullets. Caroline could tank them all if necessary, but accumulating damage pointlessly was not wise.

She flew all over the cavern, making sure to keep an eye on the exit. At the same time, she took out the crabs at an increasingly fast pace, until sweat started pouring down the commanding echidna's forehead.

"Goblins, swallow!" he suddenly shouted.

Caroline raised an eyebrow, and the goblins ripped a blue gem strapped to the bracelets they wore on their right arms. Without hesitation, they swallowed it whole.

Moments later, the energy inside their bodies swelled like the raging tide, breaking apart their tissues and causing massive bleeding. However, at the same time, their power more than doubled. The goblins started flying, and after setting their own bodies ablaze, they attacked Caroline in a last ditch, suicide mission.

Because they were already covered in flames, Caroline's attacks were weakened. Because they had already forgone their lives, her dark flames were ignored.

The blue girl now needed six fireballs to take out a single goblin. Soon, she was forced to retreat, and moments later she was surrounded.

One of the goblins struck her face. She eviscerated it along with the others near him. Another goblin pushed her from behind. Caroline turned around, shot lasers from her eyes and cut the opponent to pieces.

"Do not forsake your lives."

The goblins ignored her warning. One by one, they sacrificed their bodies to get just an extra feeble blow on their opponent. It was a futile endeavor and they were aware of their fate. Even so, they had no choice but to obey.

"Goblins!! Order the crabs to attack, climb on top of one another, do whatever it takes. Kill her!"

With the entire army pressuring her in a limited space, Caroline was forced to retreat more and more. Eventually, there were no more places for her to run inside the cave.

She retreated to a corner while hundreds of enemies approached from every direction.

Most of the goblins had already died from their own actions. All that was left was a twisted echidna and the army of mutant crabs at his disposal.

"Do not damage her head, I will send it to the capital."

The echidna grinned so wide at the thought that he tore the hole in his spleen and started coughing up blood.

"Fool." Caroline covered herself with a crystal. "You have already lost control of this army."

The crabs surrounded her bubble and started smashing it with their pincers. They climbed one on top of the other, becoming more and more violent the more goblins perished.

Then, they suddenly stopped. When the last goblin perished, the crabs lost focus. Some of them dispersed while others stopped moving.

Caroline quickly dispatched the few which still attacked her and flew up to look for the echidna. She searched the cave back and forth, again and again, but to no avail. Eventually, her eyes grew wide with realization.

'He's gone… That man, I underestimated him.'