Chapter 268: A Standoff. The dark spear flew through the air with devastating force, striking Queen Seraphina just as she crossed the one-kilometre boundary of Noah’s territorial protection. The shadow magic penetrated her stomach area with a sickening impact, her eyes dilating in shock as the blow sent her flying several hundred meters deeper into the neutral zone. Boom! The spear remained embedded in her torso, dark energy pulsing through the wound as she crashed to the ground within Noah’s protected area, her blood splashing across the ground. Darian smirked with satisfaction at his successful strike. "Finally! It’s time for the harlot to finally die." The attack had severely wounded the queen, leaving her barely clinging to life as blood pooled beneath her crumpled body. Time was the only thing preventing her immediate death, and soon that will also run out. "Your Majesty!" Elena screamed from beyond the boundary, tears streaming down her bloodied face as she watched her queen dying. "No! Please, someone help her!" She tried to run and protect the queen, but Kael stood before her with a huge smirk on his face. "This is the end. Today marks the day of our great victory over you; we shall celebrate this for millennia to come." Kael dashed forward towards Elena, wanting to kill the light elf that was his greatest nemesis. Grinding her teeth, Elena dashed to meet his attack head-on, wanting to eliminate him to protect her queen from imminent death. "You wish! Lightness will always prevail over darkness, whether you like it or not!" She spat out, her voice shaking. The surviving light elf grandmasters could only watch in horror as their beloved ruler writhed in agony, completely unable to cross into the neutral zone to provide assistance as the dark elves stopped them. After the arrival of Darian, the tables have completely turned. Darian’s killing of several light elf grandmasters has allowed the dark elves to gang up on the light elves and to eliminate them faster. The battle was incredibly favourable to the dark elves, and the light elves could no longer provide support to their dying queen. Darian slowly descended from the sky to the ground, his expression radiating anticipation as he prepared to finish what he had started. The boundary line wouldn’t protect her from a second attack if she remained conscious long enough for him to strike again. Queen Seraphina, realising her desperate situation, began shouting hysterically toward Noah’s shop with the last of her failing strength. "Please! Shopkeeper! I’ll pay anything! Help me!" To her amazement and desperate hope, the shop door opened and Lola emerged, immediately assessing the critical situation. Without hesitation, the succubus hurled a package of beef jerky with supernatural accuracy. Whoosh! 𝚏𝐫𝚎𝗲𝕨𝐞𝐛𝕟𝚘𝐯𝚎𝗹.𝕔𝐨𝗺 The enhancement item flew at incredible speed, landing directly in Seraphina’s trembling hand, her salvation. Recognising her lifeline, the queen immediately tore open the packaging and devoured the magical jerky despite her grievous wounds. The vitality enhancement flooded through her system instantly, her constitution increasing by fifty points and restoring her to better condition than she had possessed before the battle. With newfound strength, Seraphina gripped the shadow spear and yanked it from her stomach, casting the weapon aside where it dissolved as Darian ceased channelling mana into the construct. Darian’s expression darkened visibly as he witnessed his certain victory transform into a frustrating stalemate. His brow furrowed with anger as he turned toward the shop. "Human shopkeeper! What is this interference? I thought you weren’t going to pick sides in our conflict!" Darian called out. Noah stepped forward with firmness. Of course, he was still within his shop; he didn’t dare to take chances against someone at Darian’s power, hence why he told Lola to throw the item rather than give it. "You broke the territorial rules by fighting within my protected area; your attack landed in the vicinity of my shop, which I had warned both factions about." "I launched that spear before she reached your territory!" Darian protested. "The attack struck within my boundaries," Noah countered without backing down. "Regardless of when you fired it, the impact occurred under my protection. That shows complete disrespect for the neutrality I’ve maintained." Queen Seraphina immediately scrambled toward the shop like a child running to protective parents, her survival instincts overriding any royal dignity as she sought shelter behind Noah’s territorial authority. "Thank you, I owe you my life," she gasped with profound gratitude. Noah didn’t respond and simply stared at Darian, waiting for his next move. Darian stood motionless as several of his grandmaster subordinates descended from the air to flank him, their expressions showing obvious displeasure at this unexpected development. "My Lord, we should eliminate both the queen and seize control of this shop. Kill them all and claim those mysterious items for ourselves." One whispered urgently in his ear, using his mana to hide any eavesdropping. "The human has revealed his bias," another subordinate hissed quietly. "This is the perfect opportunity to remove all obstacles at once." "We outnumber them," a third added with bloodthirsty eagerness. "Strike now before they can prepare additional defences." But Darian shook his head firmly despite his obvious frustration. "No. We aren’t going to do that." His subordinates exchanged confused glances at their leader’s restraint, having expected immediate violent retaliation for this humiliating setback. Darian hadn’t achieved leadership through reckless impulses. Despite his burning desire to eliminate both the queen and claim Noah’s shop, he possessed enough wisdom to recognise the dangers inherent in such an approach. To protect Queen Seraphina after witnessing his enhanced power levels, the mysterious shopkeeper must possess considerable confidence in his own capabilities or hidden resources. Attacking blindly could trigger consequences that would devastate his kingdom. Rather than securing victory, he didn’t want to commit a mistake he would regret forever, when victory was within reach." Elena called desperately from beyond the boundary, "Please don’t abandon Her Majesty! We’ll serve faithfully if you show mercy!" The surviving light elves watched with hope as their queen found sanctuary, though they remained trapped outside the protective zone where Darian’s forces could eliminate them at will. The standoff had transformed from a certain victory into a crisis that would determine the fate of both kingdoms.