The defeat of the Marquis?
Sanryu's group advances through these corridors, only to find themselves in another section of these sewer prisons. Here there are many more cells, but a good part of them have already been opened, probably some prisoners have been taken away.
"Eliminate the intruders, quickly! They must not disturb the ritual." The one who appears to be the commander orders his troops to eliminate the invading group.
"I count thirty, there are thirty guards ahead of us...they seem to increase as we advance." Ros quickly counts the number of guards.
"Then this means we have to get serious." Sanryu activates his power, it's the usual dark blue glow, it envelops his body.
"Then I'll get serious too." Fenrya has never activated her power yet, in front of her classmates, but she told them about it, so they know what abilities the tabaxi girl has. Electric discharges, blue in color, run through Fenrya's body, as if she had become a living battery. "They won't even know what hit them."
"For now, only Sanryu and Fenrya will use their power, I and Lysandra will save ours for later. And you, Miss Zaria, don't cast complex or overly powerful spells, we need them in the end, support us with low-rank spells ." Ros prepares to attack, stating their battle tactics.
Sanryu and Fenrya launch themselves against the thirty guards, the latter all having activated their warrior power. Ten of these guards have crossbows, so they will attack from afar, while the rest are armed with swords and shields.
But this won't stop the couple of boys, in fact the crossbow bolts are all dodged by the two, with impressive agility.
Fenrya is the fastest to engage, her figure appears blurry in the eyes of the simple guards, and some of these are overwhelmed by the tabaxi girl, unable to accomplish anything. Sanryu is the second to reach the enemy, she is not as fast as Fenrya, but she is still very agile, she is with various techniques and skills, she manages to knock out three guards in a very short time.
Ros is the last to arrive, and with only his physical skills and experience, he can compete with three guards without problems. Lysandra stayed behind, taking on the role of shield for Zaria, the latter is throwing <Fireballs > at the crossbowmen, out of five <Fireballs > thrown, she managed to hit two crossbowmen, Zaria's aim needs to be adjusted. 'I have to improve.' Zaria seems to be frustrated with her aim.
"I will cut off your head, Captain Ros." The one who appears to be the commander, advances towards the captain, and engages in a 1v1 battle with Ros.
"Come on, Commander Tish, I'm not afraid to face a rotten man like you." Ros is not afraid to fight alone against the enemy commander.
The two men battle each other, while around them, the guards confront the two boys. Ros is forced to use his power, Tish may be a much inferior commander to Jery in both talent and power, but he is still a commander, so the captain must get serious.
As soon as Ros activates his power, there is no longer parity between the two, and after a few blows, Commander Tish loses his head, causing a fountain of blood from his decapitated neck.
In the process, the boys eliminated the remaining guards. "You! You're not a captain of our city, are you?" A voice comes from a cell, catching Ros' attention.
"No, I come from the city of Deria, who are you?" Ros approaches the cell, she notices some chained men, with no upper clothing, only with trousers and boots.
"We are Strath's guards...those who did not want to participate in this madness planned by the Marquis." One of the loyalist guards speaks on behalf of all those locked up. "If you free us, we will fight alongside you." Ros observes the men in the cells, and other guards are also trapped in other cells. "It's true that we are few, but we are still trained men, so we will be useful to you in this battle."
"Okay, if that's your wish, so be it." Ros begins to free these guards, and the boys help in opening the remaining cells. "Do you know how many guards are still in front of us?" Ros would like to know the number of enemies that are missing.
"We don't know, but if you've gotten this far, you'll have eliminated a lot of them." The guards collect the swords and shields from the dead ones on the floor, the armor they don't take, it would take time to put them on, but they grab some helmets anyway. "But even if I'm a thousand miles away, we'll face them at your side, Captain Ros!" The guard bangs his sword on his shield, demonstrating her determination to face the enemy.
"I am glad to have allies with us, I thank you for your service, guards! Half of you will have to go back, I left my fellow captain to watch over the citizens we released in the cells in that area." Ros explains to the newly freed guards. "Go to him, and tell him that I want him here by my side, while you escort those civilians out of the sewers. And while you're at it, you'll also get these newly freed civilians, the rest of the guards, come with us, move!" Ros issues orders to the newly freed guards.
""Yes, Sir!"" The guards all respond in unison and hurry to follow orders. Ten guards detach themselves from the group and escort the civilians towards the exit, while the rest of the guards join the group, heading towards the next room.
"I feel an evil presence, coming from the next room...I think we have reached our destination." Lysandra senses a dark presence in the next room, most likely Walter has almost performed the ritual.
"But I feel chaotic and agitated mana fluctuations, as if the magical power itself is trembling in terror." Zaria also feels something unnatural.
"I, on the other hand, have a bad sensation on my skin, my tabaxi instinct warns me to be careful, very careful." Fenrya's senses sharpen, she senses danger. 'And the same feeling as that time.'
"Let's be strong and let's finish this story." Ros is not intimidated, he leads the group towards the room.
'Am I the only one who doesn't feel or experience anything?' Sanryu feels a little left out, but says nothing and follows the group.
Once through the stone door, a room is revealed to the group, a very large room with a crystal with double lights in the center of it.
"Welcome, my dear guests, it's a shame you arrived at the last moment, the ritual is complete." Walter welcomes the group as if he were welcoming guests, he warns the boys that the ritual is now complete.
Many civilians have been positioned around the crystal, they are on their knees, among them, there are also some nobles, guards, soldiers and knights, who have come from Deria.
"Commander Jery!" Ros also notices the presence of the commander, without his armor, as well as the other men of the army.
"Captain Ros, you have arrived." Jery looks towards the captain, and a hint of a smile emerges from the old man's lips. 'It is late for us now, but I am sure that under your leadership, you will be able to defeat this Marquis.' Jery already knows what is about to happen, he has no vain hopes of being saved.
Ros's group tries to advance immediately, to free the prisoners, but a large number of guards, standing between the group and the crystal. "Tish couldn't stop them, but you will have to, we've reached the grand finale, don't let it ruin it just now." Walter orders his guards to stop the invading group.
About fifty guards position themselves in front of the group, with the pure intent of stopping the advance of the invaders.
"Activate all your powers! This is the final battle, give your best." Ros activates her warrior power, and so do the guards, apparently the Marquis's magicians did not weaken the power of the imprisoned guards, as they did with Lysandra.
Sanryu follows soon after, as does Fenrya, activating her electrical power, becoming a lightning swordswoman. Lysandra also does the same, a golden light envelops her body, illuminating her eyes with a golden glow, making the irises, sclera and pupils disappear. Zara is preparing to use her most powerful magic, even if she will remain almost without energy afterward, she wants to dispose of the number of enemy troops.
The two fronts hurl themselves against each other, starting this final clash. Crossbowmen target Ros' group, but Fenrya is fast enough to eliminate all the bolts that were thrown at them.
The two fronts clash, and even though Ros' group is outnumbered, it still manages to hold its own against the enemy guards. Not only thanks to Ros' guidance, but also thanks to Lysandra's champion aura, which gives courage and hope to her allies nearby.
The crossbowmen are unable to hit their enemies well, since they are positioned behind their allies in melee, so they decide to surround the enemy group, in order to hit them in the sides with their bolts. But just as they are thinking about this, a large fireball is hurled at them, like a mortar ball.
"AAAAAAAAAAAAARRGHHHHH!" The explosion shakes the large room, and ten crossbowmen die instantly, while the remaining five suffer serious burns, and their armor is on the verge of melting due to the intensity of this heat.
"Ahhhh now it's your turn to ahhhh...guys." Zaria sits on the floor, from her purse, she takes out a vial with a blue liquid inside. And a mana restoration position, thanks to this you will be able to recover the lost mana, but you have to wait some time before it takes effect.
'Nice shot, Zaria.' Sanryu congratulates Zaria, but in her mind, now she doesn't have time to go tell him in person, with guards to defeat.
Now only the melee guards remain to be eliminated, and six of them have already died, while since Ros' attack, two guards have been killed.
"And the moment has come, the ritual is finally over." Walter says these phrases, while giving the signal to his ten magicians. The latter channel the astral energies that pervade this room, targeting the prisoners.
From the crystal, stripes of colors, including azure and pink, come out of it, these stripes seem to be made of disturbing magic. The strips head towards the prisoners, it is one by one, they attach to their bodies, more precisely, on their chests.
"AAAARRGHHH!!""IT HURTS! ENOOOOOUGH""PLEASE MAKE THEM STOP!!"
The prisoners' screams echo throughout the room, reaching Ros' group. "NO! Get out of the way, damn you!" The captain tries to make his way, but fails. These guards, it seems as if they did not care about their lives, are trying in every way to block the advance of the invading group, gaining more time for their marquis.
"Walter! You'll pay me for this!" Lysandra can't stand the screams of these innocents, she promises that she will make the Marquis pay.
'We won't make it in time, damn it!' Sanryuy also tries in every way to continue, but these guards are becoming stubborn.
"Ahahahaha, finally! The time has come! Soon my master will give me what awaits me!" A disgusting smile pervades Walter's face, anticipating the moment of his rise.
These strips, as soon as they cling to the chests of the prisoners, extract from them foggy figures, with a humanoid figure, they are none other than the souls of humans. These strips drag these souls screaming in anguish, inside the crystal, the latter absorbing the souls, seems to illuminate more, drawing strength from them.
{You worthless slave, these souls are not enough to open a portal into my domain!} The ethereal voice echoes in Walter's mind.
'What are you saying?! It won't be the souls we agreed upon, but it's still a lot of souls, right?' Walter is starting to drip with sweat, and tries to earn a cape from his master.
{We had made an agreement...and you didn't respect it, so I don't see why I should. If you think that you are so useful to me that I will grant you my favor, even if you have not fully performed your duties, you are wrong, you are just a useless mortal.} The voice seems to mock Walter.
"WHAT?! But I was faithful to you until the end, please! Give me one last chance, give me a chance to redeem myself." Walter kneels on the ground, in front of the crystal that is continuing to absorb the souls of the prisoners.
{One last chance you say, mhh, okay.} Walter's eyes light up with hope as soon as he hears his master's words. {I will give you part of my power, to you and your subordinates in that room, but know that it will not be so easy for you to fully use this power. I will use the souls of these sacrifices that you gave me, and after you get rid of those intruders, sacrifice other victims, so as to open the portal once and for all.} Walter is not sure of his master's words, but he does not intend to go against him, is waiting for the great power of his master to be granted to him.