Chapter 889: What If We Get Trapped
[Talila & Maeve's POV]
The last two girls were heading around the city to reach the western gate. While they were halfway there, explosions rang out to the east, causing Maeve to comment, "Looks like Nala and Halime started earlier than expected."
"Something must have happened, as they know how important this plan is," Talila replied before securing the scarf around her face.
They walked through the terrain until Talila abruptly halted, her ears twitching. Sensing danger, Maeve swiftly drew her sword as Novgorodian soldiers encircled them. The two girls tensed, preparing for combat.
Talila wielded her short swords with practiced skill while Maeve gripped her longsword tightly. As the soldiers charged towards them, the silver-haired elf acted first. She dashed forward, parrying a swing with precision before swiftly driving her blade into the enemy's throat.
Chaos erupted as Maeve sent several Thunder Blasts into the crowd, causing soldiers to fly everywhere. The orange-haired girl got to work and blocked many attacks using a Wind Shield before swinging her sword that cleaved the Novgorodians in half with ease before using Thunder Blast to take out some soldiers who snuck up on Talila.
Soldiers swarmed in, causing the two girls to put more effort into defending themselves. Talila dodged many attacks and killed soldiers all over the battlefield, but more took their place, which annoyed her.
She unleashed a Moon Blast to carve out space around them without hesitation. Drawing a deep breath, she exhaled a torrent of silver fire that swept through the enemy ranks, their screams echoing until they were reduced to ash.
Maeve cheered at the sight, but their respite was short-lived as more Novgorodian soldiers emerged. In response, Talila transformed, shifting into her dragon form and crushing dozens of soldiers beneath her massive claws.
The sudden appearance of the towering dragon startled their foes, creating a momentary opening. Maeve seized the opportunity, using their shock to her advantage as she leaped onto Talila's back.
Talila unleashed devastation upon the Novgorodians with her immense claws, tail, and teeth, reducing them to meat paste and puddles of blood. Following the slaughter, she took to the air and soared over the burning cityscape below.
During this chaos, a message from Ella reached her, commanding her to scorch everything. Reacting instinctively, Talila unleashed torrents of fire upon the city, intensifying the panic and chaos that gripped its streets.
After the fiery devastation, Talila flew across the city, witnessing explosions erupting everywhere. Spotting the square where the others awaited, she descended swiftly to the streets below, returning to her humanoid form.
Maeve dismounted before they reached the group. Both wore disguise rings and hurried to join Ella, Sofia, Halime, and Nala. It took them ten minutes to reach their location. The half- elf and druid greeted them with smiles while the other two rested on a nearby bench.
"It's good you're finally here," Ella said. "We can now proceed to assault the fortress and get the Holy Lead that will bring Archer back to us."
Everybody nodded before Sofia spoke, "Follow me, ladies. I have faith that we can do this."
***
[Ella, Sofia, Halime, Talila, Nala and Maeve's POV]
When the six girls arrived at the Holy Sanctum, which the Novgorodians named, they noticed it was close to the southern gate. They were sitting outside a cafe while drinking tea.
The afternoon sun hung overhead as soldiers rushed up and down the streets. Sofia spoke, "You five will hit the main entrance once I send Ella a message through the necklace. I have to get close enough to kill the stronger guards, but we can get into the orchard once they are out of the way."
Everyone nodded, but Nala questioned, "How strong will the soldiers be in the garden?" "A little bit stronger than you, but if you work together, you can defeat them before the nearby churches and forts reinforcements arrive," Sofia said.
"What if we get trapped?" Halime nervously asked, causing the others to smile at her.
Sofia sighed, "We could use Ella and Talila to fly out, but their mana cannons would target us as soon as we were above the city, but it's doable."
Following that, the six stood up and walked toward the street next to the fortress. Sofia quickly transformed into a little blue frog, causing Ella to pick her up and throw her into the fortress walls.
Once that was done, the other girls went to wait for Sofia's message, who was now hopping along the wall while dodging the patrolling soldiers. She quickly bit them through the gaps in their armor, causing them to scream in pain, but she darted away.
She navigated the fortress, systematically neutralizing the troublesome soldiers until none remained. As Sofia approached the entrance, she observed twenty Church Knights mingling with a dozen Silver Knights from the Novgorodian Empire.
Determined and focused, Sofia unleashed the Poison Jungle Frogs' unique ability, a sleep mist that would hinder the soldiers. With her mission complete, she departed from the fortress, sent the necessary message, and transformed into her human form.
Sofia waited patiently until she spotted the five girls. Upon seeing them, she wore a scarf to conceal her identity and joined them as they used one of Talila's explosive arrows to blow up
the entrance.
The six rushed in, and Talila, Maeve, and Nala took out many of the soldiers or knights while Halime, Ella, and Sophia attacked the remaining enemy with spells that blew them away. The burgundy-haired girl led them through the fortress.
Maeve and Nala took point while Talila protected the rear as more soldiers forced the girls to put in even more effort. Halime moved the silver-haired elf to the side before sending a Poison Bomb toward a group of Church Knights.
When the spell hit the enemy, it exploded, causing the men and women to melt into toxic sludge and blocking one route. The group rushed forward as Ella used Eart Spikes to impale
many Novgorodians.
Sofia shouted to the group as they sprinted through the long corridors, taking out even more defenders: "We have to pass through one hall, then the gardens are within our reach, but there might be a small army of soldiers there."
"Don't worry about that," Ella said with a smirk. "We will deal with them, but I've changed my mind. We're taking all the trees to spite the empire and church."'
The druid girl's eyes widened before a devious smile appeared, "Good idea, El! That will anger that old man."
Following that, they ran for five more minutes until they saw a massive metal door, causing Sofia to explain as they came to a stop, "Beyond this door is the Hall of Heros; beyond that is the Holy Garden where the trees are, but were going to have to fight our way through."
Everyone nodded determinedly as Talila took six explosive arrows and aimed them toward the door before releasing them. The projectiles flew through the air, followed by Thunder and
Earth blasts.
When it all hit the door, it caused a massive explosion, forcing Ella and Talila to summon their wings to keep the others safe. The group didn't let the dust settle before rushing into the Hall of Heros while casting all their spells into the crowd.
A shield wall blocked their attacks, but that didn't stop the two dragons from sending a yellow and silver flame that washed over the enemy soldiers. Shortly after that, they all started screaming in agony.
Following their opening attacks, Nala and Halime lunged forward while transforming into their primal forms and crushed the enemies, who were shocked by the sudden attack that
wiped out many of them.
Maeve charged forward and dodged a spear thrust by leaning to the side before slashing the Knight Captain across the throat. Then, she moved on by deflecting several strikes as she
counterattacked.
The orange-haired warrior girl moved like the wind. She slaughtered many soldiers as a storm of mana arrows rained down on the Novgorodian soldiers, thanks to Ella and Talila, whom Halime protected.
She coiled around them, using her body as a shield while devouring any enemy who came too close, as Nala went berserk, turning countless foes into a mist of blood. Sofia turned into a wolf and attacked some of the Novgorodians before the hall was cleared after a five-minute
battle.
"Let's get to the garden before the reinforcements arrive," Ella shouted as Halime and Nale returned to their humanoid forms.
Everyone agreed and rushed toward the door to the Holy Trees; Talila used more explosive arrows to send them flying into the waiting soldiers. Following that, Halime sent a Poison Bomb through the opening.
It exploded among the enemy troops, allowing them to rush in and put them down easily. Nala looked at Ella and said, "Go for the Holy Leaf; we will fight the soldiers."'
The half-elf nodded before rushing off with Halime and Sofia, leaving Maeve and Talila to stay and fight. A fierce battle erupted between the three girls and the remaining Novgorodian
and Church Knights.
Maeve skillfully attacked the bewildered enemies while Talila peppered them with explosive arrows. This caused chaos, allowing Nala to get in the middle of the soldiers, where she used her sword to kill many of them.
While they were fighting, Ella and the other two made it into the heart of the garden where
three Holy Trees were. When the half-elf saw them, they were giving off a beautiful glow, but Sophia moved in and sucked them into her storage ring.