Yulem, Brod, Kaill and Cyrris were the ones that first arrived in the Royal Capital of Lasirion. They were running towards the gate with their clothes ragged and blood all over their bodies. Brod was carrying a small bag in his hand and it was dripping with blood. The gate guards became wary when they saw how distressed they were as they ran towards them. Also, they recognized Yulem because the king specifically gave pictures of him and the men that were with him. There were supposed to be thirteen in total, but it seemed like only four remained.
"Open the gate!" Cyrris screamed.
"Please! We're in danger!" Kaill pleaded.
Yulem didn't recognize these guards. However, from their uniforms and high-grade weapons, they must be from the faction when Renove was a Duke. Also… there was something strange that he couldn't pinpoint. The atmosphere was bleak and something… smelled funny.
The guards didn't open the gate as they still looked at each other. When the four people arrived before the gate, they opened it a little and they squeezed themselves into the small space. The gate closed with a heavy thud and their pursuers stopped ways before the city wall. The guards realized how they were almost caught and killed before them. They inwardly heaved a small sigh. However, those pursuers didn't disappear and even showed their faces. The guards flinched by the intensity of their gazes. If only looks could kill, they would be already dead. Then, much to their appreciation, they turned back and disappeared in the horizon. However, their worries didn't end there.
Yulem, Brod, Kiall, and Cyrris stopped in their tracks and saw… corpses and a sea of dried blood.
"What… happened?" Brod asked quietly as he looked over the scene before him.
"... Renove…!!!" Yulem almost yelled. Suddenly, there was a call from his ring. He answered it and Emersyn's voice broke through their ears.
"Stay where you are and stick close to the wall. Your mission officially ended. Stay safe."
With that warning, enormous fireballs rained down on the Capital City of Lasirion. The attack was endless until the whole city was engulfed with fire. From where they were standing, Yulem saw that the palace was covered with a strong barrier just like how they were being protected by a compact barrier. His anger still hadn't abated and he could feel the rising heat from his abdomen. He couldn't believe it… he really just couldn't believe this. Renove killed all the citizens of Lasirion…. Wasn't he supposed to protect all of them? But why did he kill them all? It just didn't make sense. In any case, Emersyn already knew of it once her comrades that came with them informed her. He just wished that Emersyn would handle this properly.
Contrary to what he was expecting, a sharp beam, which was filled with countless elements, pierced the barrier of the palace and it created a large explosion. The blast wave reached them as they unconsciously covered their eyes.
They didn't feel anything because the barrier Emersyn made protected them. However, their hearts were beating so loud. This was the very first time that they witnessed a war of superhumans against each other. The only things they could join back then in their country were subjugations and missions. The larger war against another species was still out of their plates. They were too inexperienced for that, so they could only join anything under that. Now, they didn't participate, but they could still see the effects of this war. After all… the one that Renove angered was none other than the Emperor of a powerful world. Even though they were still progressing, from what he could surmise from Draven's words, they already held most of the power here in Strevalia. They already controlled most of the supplies of this world with products that greatly enhanced their lifestyle. It was truly frightening for a world that was currently trying to rebuild its lost civilization.
The barrier of the palace survived, but it was cracked. From their perspective, they could already see the dreadful end of Renove and his men. Suddenly, there was a squall. Their vision of red was now filled with white. The fire ceased, and they could see the blood-stained on the stone floor and bones from the cremated corpses. The storm continued as they also advanced towards the palace.
Emersyn's oppressing energy became more oppressing as they passed through mangled bones. Their bodies shivered from the torrential rain, gulping their fears into their stomachs. That was the only thing they could do for now. Then, when they were close to the palace after a few hours of walking, they could hear the pained voices of Renove's men. They seemed to evacuate to the palace when the fire rained down on the city. However, according to the sight that they were seeing right now, there seemed to be many people that didn't get inside the barrier. Yulem and his men didn't have an ounce of pity for those that had fallen from Emersyn's attacks. For some reason, the barrier was fixing itself albeit slowly. There weren't any more attacks from the outside. That was, no more from the outside. The attacks continued inside the still barrier. Yulem settled his hands on the compact barrier of the palace and he wasn't able to go in.
Brod plopped down on the bloodstained floor and sighed deeply.
"They are too powerful…. How can we contend with them even in our spars? Even their world is too… powerful for us to live there. We'll just be chicken feed."
Kaill and Cyrris nodded.
"They're the only ones that took us into their circle," Yulem mumbled. "So, I am going to follow them."
"We are just complaining. Who said that we won't join them? We might be chicken feed, but I am going to get much stronger than I am now!" Brod proclaimed.
Suddenly, they heard faint footsteps from inside the barrier. Brod immediately stood up and grabbed his weapon and trained his eyes towards the gate that was slowly being opened. It was quite heavy, so the person that was opening it like that was sure to be a nobleman. Then, the figure of Renove came into their sight. They were shocked to see the king alive and well.
When Renove escaped from the palace, he saw the four men looking at him beyond the barrier. He immediately recognized them.
"Yulem!" he called as he ran towards them. "I'm glad you're here! Quick. Help me escape."
"Where will you be escaping to?"
Renove nodded his head then canceled a part of the barrier with a stone he was holding.
"I'll tell you as we go," Renove said as he brisked towards the Southern Gate.
A few moments later, voices that seemed to beg for the king's mercy echoed. Yulem, Brod, Kaill, and Cyrris all shut their ears from their cries. It was also those people's fault that this city had become a sea of blood and countless corpses littered the ground. They shouldn't listen to their pleas. With that determination, they left Lasirion.
"I don't think they will find us here," Kaill said as he glanced behind and to his left and right. "Now, dear king, guiding you will cost you more money. After all, we have the head of Gaius Cabrera with us."
"...what?"
"Kaill, you can't just ask the king for money when we are clearly running away," Cyrris admonished as he shook his head. He turned to the king and smiled warmly, then said, "My King, don't mind the idiot. We will do this free of charge. Let's just say that we are doing this because you accepted us even though we are running away from our motherland. Where would you like to go?"
Renove sighed in relief. After all, he didn't have anything right now.
"That's understandable. I will be accepting your help. I have a hideout in the Southern mountains. I will be contacting Marquis Sheyric there."
They all nodded in unison. Yulem assigned himself as the person who will be at the front, Kaill at the right of Renove, Cyrris at the left, and Brod at the rear. They advanced through the thick foliage of the forest at the foot of the Southern mountains. There were monsters that greeted them, but they were quickly disposed of by the group. Brod was the only one who was left behind to protect the king from the monster attacks. However, something came up inside Renove's head. He began questioning the men that were with him. When they passed through the first mountain and the night fell, the camping site was decided and they set up camp.
"You said that you successfully killed Alaric and Gaius?" Renove began as soon as they sat down to rest.
"Yes, but someone came and obstructed us. She was a woman with silvery-white hair and marbled eyes. Adlus, Karem, Dantall and Syfir died because of that woman," Kaill sighed.
"Where are the others now?"
"Rein, Aspen, Enwyld, Jarillon, and Namior were split up from us and did the most to distract our enemies. They have Alaric's head, and we planned to meet in Lasirion. However, what happened in the capital? We saw bones and blood."
"That…."