Free Web NovelChapter 217: Under Attack
Before the group departed from the city, where they previously spent the night, Tija was seen talking with a local. And based on her shock and loss of self-control, she must have received bad news.
"I apologize in advance but please let me be selfish for once." she stated with a shaking voice when she approached the group.
"What’s the matter?" Ophelia asked, noticing the seriousness of the situation.
"I want us to arrive in Youra tonight." Tija said.
Usually, the group would have arrived there tomorrow morning at the earliest with their current pace and the occasional breaks.
"Tonight already? What’s the rush for?" Sara wondered.
Just before she answered, Tija bitterly bit her lips.
"The North has made their move."
For some of the group, it did not sound alarming as they were not familiar with the politics in Grat, however, it was a great deal for those who knew.
"They were last seen heading to Youra." she added tensely.
"!"
Ophelia turned to her students immediately.
"Get ready! We’re leaving now!" she commanded.
The students understood the urgency and thus, everyone departed in a rush and made their way to Youra.
Sharing the carriage with Ophelia and Sara, Tija held a discussion with them while Mika was driving the carriage.
And in that matter, the group continued their trip without breaks or a moment where they could catch a breath from the tense mood.
It was only until Youra was in sight that they finally came to their first halt.
"Are you serious...?" Asak muttered flabbergasted from his driver’s seat.
The others also peeked outside and saw for themselves what the commotion was about.
"Hurry!" Tija raised her voice worriedly.
Mika narrowed his eyes as he picked up the pace.
The others followed after a small delay as they were still taken aback by the sight of a Youra which was apparently under attack.
On the town’s borders, huge icicles pierced upwards as if they were serving as walls. Smoke and fire rose into the air from multiple places inside Youra. Screams of people and the sound of metallic weapons clashing echoed from there.
"Head to the palace!" Tija stated.
The group entered Youra and passed by crashing and burning houses. People cried for help but they had to painfully ignore them for now.
"!"
From the side, a large icicle was stabbing through buildings and almost hit the carriages. But the impact was enough to shake them up.
"There are people at the front!" Mika warned the others.
However, some of them already jumped out of their carriages to deal with the people, who wore a piece of white cloth, which was hanging from their headpieces, in front of their faces. It was therefore not possible to recognize their faces and because of their identical clothes, they could not be differentiated.
They all wore black clothes, covering most of their skin. Those clothes were somewhat baggy so that even the build of the person wearing them could not be concluded. They also wore black boots and black gloves.
"..."
Even Mika could tell that they were not some ordinary people.
"Out of the way!" Tija yelled.
She launched a water slash at those people, who drew their saber swords.
Her water slash may have not hit them but it separated them instead as they jumped into different directions.
But in the air, Ophelia and Belian, who were both charging up their attack, awaited them.
Ophelia equipped herself with her relic and threw a ferocious punch at the blocking person, whose blade shattered. The person received the punch right in the gut and crashed into a nearby building.
Belian gripped his sword and melted through the sword of his enemy. But before his relic could touch the person Belian quickly rotated his sword, sending the enemy flying with the non-lethal side of his sword.
"Sara!"
Tija threw her sword into the air.
Then with a smile, Sara jumped up and grabbed the sword. The enemy in front of her was also starting to fall down. And even though it was difficult to maintain one’s stance midair, Sara made it possible and effortlessly cut off the person’s hands before she could get hit. Following that, she kicked him away.
The path was cleared.
Despite them being quite skilled fighters, they were still no match for the likes of Belian and the rest.
Soon, the renewed palace was in sight, however, on the way there, the number of corpses of either locals, soldiers or intruders increased.
It was not possible to pass through with the carriage so the group advanced by foot.
"Ugh...!" some among the group groaned due to the stench in the air.
Sara and Tija led the group as they entered the palace, which received some damage from outside. Fortunately, there were no fights or intruders inside the palace but there were signs of past battles due to the blood trails and bodies lying on the ground.
"Mother!"
"Mom!"
The two siblings slammed the door open.
"Tija...? Sara...?" Cylia muttered surprised.
Cylia was on her throne and put away her sword once she realized that the group was not a part of the invaders.
Even though she was not critically injured, the queen still had some wounds and bruises on her body, which she tried to hide with bandages.
"Mother! Are you alright?" Tija asked.
"What’s going on here?! And where’s Yarjak?" Sara panicked after not seeing Yarjak around her mother.
Cylia pressed her eyes shut, trying to explain her children and the others the situation.
"The North has finally decided to attack Youra." Cylia stated.
"It seemed like I failed as the queen as I underestimated their strength..." she admitted frustratedly, palming her face.
"Mother..."
"I thought that we still had time to prepare ourselves but the northern force took over the nearby places far faster than anyone could have anticipated..."
Her gaze shifted to the anxious Sara.
"Their ambush began last night. Yarjak is currently leading a troupe to fight against them." Cylia reassured Sara.
She walked over to Mika and the rest.
"It’s frightening how quick and strong they really are. In just that short time, they managed to make the academy their temporary main base." she elaborated, facing the group sternly. freēwebnovel.com
"?!"
Cylia knelt down in front of them.
"At this point, I don’t care about status or pride."
"P-please, get up, your Highness!" Ophelia said taken aback.
"Can I- No... Please. Please, help us!" Cylia said firmly.
"Many civilians managed to evacuate but we are still busy with helping the remaining ones outside. And as much as it pains me to say it our remaining forces are currently overwhelmed by the enem-"
"We will do it." Mika cut her off sharply.
Cylia lifted her face.
"M-Mika!"
Ophelia grabbed his shoulder and turned him to her.
"Usually, I would agree with you but think again for a second! Think about the North’s goals and about Vira, the demon from back then!" she whispered to him frantically.
"I already know." Mika replied, slapping her hand away.
Both parties had the same goal in mind: The defeat of Leviathan.
If one would connect the pieces together, then it would be most likely that the two parties were in cahoots.
"Can I ask you something?"
Mika directed the question to the still-kneeling queen.
"?"
"What is your stance on this matter as of now? Do you want to send a troupe out to defeat Leviathan?"
Her eyes widened for a moment but then she closed them.
"I... Personally, I want to kill that monster, however... I put the feelings of the people in front of that matter."
She looked Mika in the eyes.
"I can’t force people to fight that monster. Even if I knew that they had the power to do so." she explained with a faint smile.
"I see."
Mika raised his face, looking at the high ceiling.
’What are the odds of me or us beating Leviathan?’ he asked the system internally.
[It is not completely impossible to beat it. However, you will have to face great losses.]
’Meaning?’
[Many of you will die.]
Mika opened his eyes again.
"Please stand up."
"..."
Slowly, the queen rose up again.
"I will take care of this mess." Mika declared.
"Huh...?"
The queen was still surprised. But not as surprised as his own friends.
"H-hey, are you serious?" Harik said.
"And what do you mean with ’I’?" Rachel asked.
"I won’t force any of you to take part in this. If that Vira woman is truly behind all of this, then I will kill her this time for sure." Mika said, clenching his fists.
Ophelia sighed.
"It would be simpler to just accept the North’s suggestion but I have the feeling that we can’t convince you to do that..." she stated tiredly.
"How confident are you?" she added.
"..."
Mika stared at her blankly.
"How confident I am? I don’t know how to answer you. However..."
He took a deep breath.
"I feel like I can’t lose."
