The Countess Lives Twice in the Apocalypse-Chapter 44: Forty-three

[Petrify:

• This skill has an ability that will render opponents completely immobile by turning them into stone statues.

• The target will completely frozen in place, unable to move or attack, making them vulnerable to further attacks.

• Some variations of Petrify may also cause additional effects, such as causing the target to crack or break if they attempt to move. ]

Jannah’s eyes narrowed in fury as she fixed her gaze upon the men who looked terrified on her sudden appearance.

She could feel something warm seeping to her eyes the moment she used the skill of petrification.

They let out a strangled gasp as the transformation overtook them, their limbs and body turning to hard, cold stone.

Jannah observed their faces which was frozen in an expression of shock and terror, both of their eyes wide and unblinking— the petrification has captured the beautiful look of terror.

The Countess stood before them, a satisfied smile crossing her lips as she surveyed the result of the new skill.

Although, that feeling of satisfaction didn’t last long when a series of yells echoed in the air.

"Hey! What are you doing up there?!"

"What are you doing with Niho?!"

"Get down, woman!"

"Who let you out of the basement?!"

Knowing that they don’t know who she is, she pushed the stone statue to the edge, erupting another series of yells.

"What are you doing?!"

"Get her down!"

She pushed the statue down the watch tower to the other side of the wall, she was quick to push the other one, just in time for a man to get on the tower.

Jannah turned around, catching the man’s eyes looking over to her feet where the dead man laid down, her dagger on the back of his neck.

"You.." The man hissed, his eyes turning into a menacing glare, "What did you do to my brother?!"

He screamed, running to her at full speed, which was a mistake because his anger blinded him, taking his rational thinking which resulted of him falling off the watch tower when she stepped aside.

"Agghh..! Get off me! Don’t! Don’t bite— ack!"

She heard the man’s agonizing cries before she went down the tower.

The group of ten men stood before her, their eyes scanning her from head to toe. The one who looked like who has more authority compared to others, stepped forward.

"Listen here, missy. If you want to live, don’t do anything stupid and come with us."

She glanced at the map, checking how many enemies are still alive, she saw ten red dots in front of her, five men by the blacksmith shop, and five by the town’s hall.

Though, those five men slowly disappeared from the map, one by one.

"Come with you?" Jannah asked with a sickly sweet tone, "Why should a noble lady like me come with the likes of you?"

The man scoffed, not buying her words, "A lady like you is a noble? I know no noble lady carry a bow and a sword with her. Stop with your lies, I ain’t believing them."

"Hah.." Jannah let out a disappointed sigh as she shook her head, "Here I thought I could kill you guys just like how I killed your friends."

"What?" Another man asked, a bewildered expression on his face.

"Haven’t you see the dead bodies around you?" Jannah tilted her head, raising an eyebrow at them in a taunting manner, "There are only ten of you, right in front of me, too."

Of course, she knew that there are other five men by the blacksmith shop, but they are quite far from the gates.

"What are you implying?" The man in charge growled, drawing his sword from its sheath, revealing a nasty, rusty, blade.

"Are you going to kill me with a dull blade?" Jannah’s face scrunched up in disgust, "I’d rather die by a flying arrow than be killed ungracefully by a rusty sword."

"You..!" The man seem to take the bait, attacking her first.

He raised his sword in the air with two hands, leaving himself exposed on the ribs and stomach.

A amateur move by someone who wields a sword, she merely clenched her fists and delivered a quick yet devastating punch to his gut.

She was fast enough to step aside before he could cough out— he coughed and coughed, sending his saliva flying in front of him.

He dropped to the ground, holding his stomach with his sword clanging loudly on the hard surface. His obvious defeat had alarmed his friends, making them attack her all at once.

"Die!"

"How dare you?!"

"Just die!"

They screamed at her, drawing their swords and knives, running at her with all their might, which was pointless because they are still too slow for her eyes.

"You’re all cowards." Jannah murmured under her breath and faced them, drawing her sword, "Punisher."

As the men runs towards her, their leering eyes, making their intentions clear. Just like what happens whenever she uses her skills, she felt something warm seeping to her fingertips from an unknown spot in her body.

That energy enveloped the sword and imbued it with a red glow.

She gripped the sword’s handle tightly and delivered a powerful swing to the men’s direction, she unleashed a strong blow towards the men, the blade cutting through the air with a loud whoosh.

The force of the strike knocked four of the men off their feet, and they crashed to the floor in crumpled heaps.

The remaining men? Well..

Jannah watched with wide eyes as the men who didn’t survive the skill stared at her in shock, their bodies cut in half. The blood flow out of their body, flying everywhere and painting everything around them a disgusting shade of red.

Some of their arms landed on her feet before the blood seeped out of those severed limbs.

Jannah took a step back, not wanting to dirty her boots with their tainted blood. Their blood has their crimes engraved on them, and she’s sure that it’s what made their blood look black.

"Ohh.."

"Crap..!"

The pained groans and strained grunts of the remaining men made Jannah snap her head up, watching them struggle to stand up.

Once they did, they scanned the area, finding that the ground was littered with the bodies of the fallen men.

The surviving men stared in shock and terror at the sight, their faces white and drawn as the full reality of what had happened sunk in. They could hardly believe that just moments before, their friends had been alive and full of confidence, their chests puffed out with their swords.

Now they were lying motionless on the ground, their empty eyes staring up at the sky. Their torso separated from the lower part of their body, a few of them have lost a limb or two.

The men who remained standing stood trembling uncontrollably, their voices choking as they struggled to grasp the sight before them.

"Well, I wouldn’t use this skill next time." Jannah commented, rubbing the back of her neck as she gaze on her blade, blood dripping to the hilt to the ground.

The aftermath of using a new skill was messy, and bloody— gore-y, if she beg to differ.

"Yo..You!"

Jannah blinked owlishly, her eyes landing on the cowering man.

"Yes?" She tilted her head to the side, a small, creepy smile appeared in her face, "What about me?"

"What are you?!" The man cried out, "There’s no way a woman like you could just kill.. Kill so many people all at once! You’re a monster! A witch!" 𝑓𝓇𝘦ℯ𝘸𝘦𝑏𝓃𝑜𝘷ℯ𝑙.𝑐𝑜𝓂

"T-That’s.. That’s right!"

"You’re a monster!"

"A witch!"

Jannah scoffed, the absurdity of the situation made her shake her head. The irony of being called a monster when the men themselves had done something monstrous to the women and children of the town.

"How ironic." Jannah mumbled, rubbing her temples, sighing deeply.

She stepped aside, avoiding the severed limbs and dead bodies, walking towards the remaining alive men.

As she gets closer to them, they scramble to get away, tripping on their feet and staggering backwards, falling into their bottoms. All of them looked so out of it, calling her names and all sorts of things.

"Get away, monster!"

"Step back, witch!"

She kept a small smile on her face, slashing her sword vertically to get rid of the blood from the blade.

"Ekk!" They let out a terrified shriek, scared that she’ll kill them.

"You lots are pathetic." She insulted them, sheathing her back to its sheath and shook her head at them.

Are these really the same men who abused the children and women?

"Shut up, monster!" The man closer to her had the confidence to keep calling her names, but the moment she raised her clenched fist and reeled her arm back, he let out a scream.

"AHHH! SHE’S GOING TO KILL ME!"

Right then and there, she felt her desire to kill the man seep out of her body. The man was so pathetic and exaggerating to the point she lost the urge to end his life.

Once again, she let out a sigh.