Chapter 71 Aristoria.

"How far are we from the city?" Callistor asked Archelaus who was running at the front since he still had the responsibility to guide and be the first to fall if something bad happened to the group. "We are close. We should be able to see the city wall very soon," Archelaus answered as he put his map away and looked at his surroundings back and forth, making sure there was no Corrupted waiting for them. Lenin looked at the long straight road ahead of her, and she initiated by releasing a spell. She created two massive walls made of stone on the sides of the road to prevent an ambush. She then connected the two walls on top and it became a tunnel to protect them. It helped everyone feel at ease and made Archelaus's job a lot easier at the same time. "I don't see Lady Sanya..." Astrea looked back at the empty road. "She can handle herself," Moriganne responded as she focused on controlling the horse. "Our priority is to reach the city. When we arrive, I want everyone to prepare for the worst!" She warned everyone around her. Everyone ran with all their might as they checked the ring of Mana that Lenin had given them. They wanted to make sure they were ready at any time if something happened once they arrived at the city. "I see the city wall!" Archelaus shouted with a smile on his face. "It's on fire..." his smile disappeared when he saw a blazing fire in the city with thick black smoke going up to the sky. "That's a good sign. That means Lady Sanya's sisters are still there! Be prepared because they might need our help!" Arthor responded as he unsheathed his greatsword from his back. Everyone could see the city was on fire as Archelaus said earlier. They could see the entrance and saw someone was standing there. They could tell immediately that the person was Sanya because of her silver braided hair and the long black robe that she wore. They were confused by how fast she reached the city even though she stayed behind to fight the Corrupted. "Lady Sanya!" Archelaus said when he was close enough to Sanya. Sanya suddenly lifted her right index finger, telling everyone to not make any loud noises. Everyone stopped running and began to walk quietly because they wondered what made Sanya stand there quietly and keep her eyes on the front. Everyone stood behind Sanya and looked inside the city because they were curious about what she was seeing. They noticed the city was in ruins, and they could tell that the damage was done recently or even fresh. After they were done checking the scene, they saw someone standing in the distance. A woman with silver hair in black full-plate armor standing still surrounded by fire with her massive long sword that was as tall as her, stabbed to the ground. She was staring at them with a cold and sharp gaze filled with hatred and anger. "Follow me, quietly," Sanya said quietly and began to walk toward the silver-haired woman. "Is she your sister, Lady Sanya?" Novia asked quietly. "Yes, so be quiet," Sanya answered coldly as she kept making eye contact with her sister who was glaring at her. As soon as they were close enough to see Sanya's sister's face clearly, Astrea, Lenin, Thalior, Archelaus, Ulric, and Esper were terrified. The others could see their scared expressions with their eyes wide open when they looked at the woman's face. "Master?" Novia looked at Lenin who was scared. Lenin didn't say a word, but her hands were clenched as she gathered Mana from her surroundings stealthily. Novia who saw that made her even more disturbed by her master's sudden change in her behavior. The answer to that was because it reminded Lenin and the others of the scene when Aristoria destroyed the Refenus capital city. "Where's Illidan, Aris?" Sanya kept staring at her sister. "Is she gone?" She asked, and yet she didn't show any sadness on her face. "It would be great if she's dead, but her fate is far worse than death," Aris answered coldly with her deep and yet soft voice. "What took you so long to get here, Sanya?" She slowly raised her eyebrows, still with a dead stare toward her sister. "Worse than death? Who's powerful enough to defeat her?" Sanya asked back. "That's exactly why I asked what took you so long to get here, Sanya?" Aris began to clench her right fist tightly on the handle of her long sword. "Oh, I see. These humans were dragging you down, weren't they?" Her eyes slowly stared at the groups behind Sanya as she pulled her sword from the ground. "Especially those two religious women..." She began to walk as she dragged her massive sword and stared directly at Astrea and Moriganne. Sanya didn't say a word. Her silence was enough to answer Aris' question that they were indeed dragging her down and that caused her sister's demise. Aris had no more questions and walked toward the group. "Aristoria!" Sanya grabbed Aris' left arm when Aris was about to walk past her. "We don't have time for this!" She warned, her eyes were glaring at Aris'. Aris glared back at Sanya and in a blink of an eye stabbed Sanya's chest with the back of the sword's handle. Sanya was sent flying and landed so far away from the group. Everyone who witnessed it couldn't see the attack at all even though they were watching her. "Aristoria?!" Astrea's pupils were shaken and her hands began to tremble in fear. seaʀᴄh thё nôᴠel Fire.nёt website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. Everyone couldn't believe what they heard when Sanya said her sister's name. Lenin immediately created multiple Mana barriers, creating layers of barriers. The other began to grab their weapons and readied their stances. Aris who saw the barriers, suddenly raised her right brow and smirked coldly at them. She lifted her sword up into the sky and swung it down quickly. It was so fast that the air was cut and created a shockwave toward them. The moment the shockwave hit the barriers, they all shattered into pieces instantly. Lenin was in disbelief because those barriers that she created could endure her own strongest spell that she had invented. Aris dashed forward as she prepared to swing her sword at Astrea and Moriganne. Arthor, Callistor, Ulric, Esper, Nior, Aluca, and Thalior charged at her and swung their swords to block her. They drained all the Mana in the ring and turned them into Aura because they knew that the woman in front of them was too powerful for them. Aris' sword was so long that it could clash with the seven swords of the few strongest people in Neva. Unfortunately, the moment they clashed their swords with Aris' sword, they were sent flying before Archelaus and the Templars could prepare an attack on her. Aris swung her sword toward Astrea and Moriganne, but Lenin released lightning bolts toward her while Novia prepared a magic circle to bind Aris' movements. When the lightning bolts struck Aris, her silver hair rose like a blooming white rose, and the scariest part was the fact she was unaffected by that spell. Novia activated the magic circle and bound Aris' movements, but it only lasted for a mere second because she could easily break the spell off. Although it was short, it was enough for the Templars to attack her from all directions. Unfortunately, when they swung their weapons at Aris' armor, their swords shattered. Aris stomped her right foot and it was enough to lift all the Templars from the ground. She swung her sword at those Templars, cutting their bodies in half. At that moment, they realized it was impossible to stop her from killing Astrea and Moriganne. Aris thrust her sword and pointed it at Astrea and Moriganne, but suddenly Sanya landed right in front of the tip of the blade. Aris immediately redirected her sword away from Sanya's face and stopped right next to Sanya's left cheek. The wind that she produced from thrusting the sword was so sharp it cut Sanya's cheek deeply. "Aris..." Sanya slowly put her left hand on the blade as she stared into Aris' eyes. "Where's Illidan? Where is she?" She furrowed, still disturbed by the fact Illidan could be defeated by someone or something. "As I said, you were late..." Aris slowly lowered her sword. "They took her away," she answered reluctantly because she was still furious at the fact Sanya didn't come to help them in time. "Who are they?" Sanya squinted as she slowly closed the gap between her and Aris. "I'll show you who are they," Aris said as she turned around. "We don't have much time, so if you want to know, come, if you don't, you should leave this place immediately," she warned as she walked toward the heart of the city.