They had arrived in the castle where Akira resided, but it was empty. Aizen had wanted to take her away from this place before the Sky Field Alliance's arrival, however, the opportunity never presented itself. And now they were facing a deadly crisis.

They had seen all that had happened on the summit. When the Azereus had assembled here, they hid on this peak under Arthur’s Illusion ability. Combined with how Aizen and Viara had used their Darkness and Wind elements to erase their existence, it was nearly impossible for anyone to find them. But they had been seen through by Renera. And they now stood facing the crowd of Azereus who had hostile eyes locked on them.

He had wanted to jump in right at the moment Alyson had used Frozen Glare on Akira, but he had held back. The collar was still on Akira’s neck, and the only person that could take it off was Alyson. And if they wanted to remove it, they required her Blood.

Nothing had seemed to be going right. Alyson wanted to take away Akira and leave this place. Renera had saved her from Frozen Glare but didn’t seem like she was willing to fight over her with her sister. They had expected a fight to occur between the two, which would have given them a chance to obtain her blood, but now the ones to engage in a fight first would be them.

“I must say that Silverborn are really special.” Renera smiled as she looked at Arthur. “Your Illusion is something even I can’t see through.” She chuckled with a hint of mockery.

Her words made Arthur's brows furrow. He knew how perfect his attainments in his illusion technique were, but he had still been discovered. What mortified him was the thought that he had perhaps put his Lord’s life in danger.

“It’s not your fault.” Aizen said softly. “She had covered the entire area under her Ice and Wind elements before we had arrived in this place.”

It was the only explanation. Renera had done so to have the Wind and Ice in the area become her 7th sense. Even if they had been covered in Darkness and Wind Elements, the place where they stood would have made an alienated space in Renera’s domain. She had always been aware of their presence.

Alyson was in shock. She had no clue what was happening here. Morningstar had left last night, but now he was here again. She held him responsible for what had befallen on her. Had she been successful in capturing him, she would have not lost her honor and pride.

“You are welcome to try and live this day, Morningstar.” Renera said and gestured to the Azereus Crowd. “Stand back and do not meddle in what these deserters and intruders would indulge themselves in.”

“What do you mean?” Alyson asked as she glared at Renera.

“What do you think he has come here for?” She chuckled and answered. “For Akira. He wants her. And you want her as well.”

Aizen’s had a strong feeling that Renera was up to something more than just making him and Alyson fight over Akira. However, nothing mattered to him more than saving and taking away Akira. The collar on her neck hurt him and he wanted to see it off as soon as possible. Whatever Renera was up to, could be dealt with later. At least she had made things easier for him by calling back her people.

There was no room for negotiations. And he was not here to negotiate with these enemies. There were a total of 3 False-Origin phase enemies, and they were Alyson’s mates. Other than them, there were 13 at the peak of Ancestral Strength and 8 in early Ancestral Strength. The remaining 19 people were all in Ancient strength phase.

“Jalaisha” Aizen said to the masked Lady by his side. “She’s yours.”

“Of course” There was excitement emanating in her voice. “It has been a while since I have last been in a battle.”

Wisps of green flame emerged on her body as her Aura became concentrated and rose sharply.

Lysaria was shocked when she felt Jalaisha’s aura rise beyond the point she had remembered it to be at. This lady was one of the two masked fellows that had come to attend the coronation ceremony several months ago. Aizen had not told them about their identity, and she herself didn’t know who Jalaisha really was. It was not just her intuition that told her it was the same person that she had gone forward to receive together with Aizen. She clearly recognized the way she walked and how heavy the steps she took were. The Aura emanated held a similar flavor as well.

She didn’t linger on her thoughts for more than a moment. The stronger Jalaisha was, the better it would be for them in the situation they were in right now. She readied herself to engage in a bloody battle. Her Valkyrie blood demanded it, but her mind was focused on Aizen’s safety more than anything else. She clenched her hands tightly around her battle axes and let her Aura rise to her late Ancestral Strength.

Aizen had already known about Jalaisha’s strength, but the concentration of her Aura baffled him. She should have already attained her awakening, but somehow, she was stuck at the peak of False-Origin strength. The dangerous feeling she gave people was more terrifying than Alyson.

He looked at the enemies before him and felt agitated. He and Yuliya were the weakest in the team and those below the Ancestral strength were the only people they could deal with. The stronger enemies had to be dealt with by the rest.

“There’s no need to jeopardize your lives by focusing on my safety. You will only get in my way.” He said lightly.

Black Flame wrapped around his body as he took out the Chaos Blade and drew it out of its scabbard. His aura became frenetic and his pupils took the shape of a star. The sword was urging him to bath it in the Blood as he gripped it tightly.

“Nothing matters more than your lives, not even the task we are here to accomplish. Remember that.” His words made it clear that he was not willing to see them sacrifice their lives here.

Viara concentrated her Light Element and two blue orbs enveloped her hands. Her Aura was on full display, and her Peak Ancestral phase strength made the enemies fear that concentrated light energy even more. Her mind was focused on Aizen’s safety, but she understood that his safety depended on how fast she could eliminate her enemies.

Arthur too had his Short Blade out and looked ready to draw the blood of the enemies. He wasn’t someone who indulged in honest warfare of strength since his forte was assassination. His strength was at the peak of Ancestral strength, and so he couldn’t deal with the stronger enemies. Right now he could only assist Lysaria to deal with those Peak Ancestral strength enemies.

Yuliya turned into her wolf form and howled in excitement. Her lustrous black eyes scared everyone who stared in them. Death Glare was something even the Immortals dreaded.

Alyson understood the danger clearly. Even if the Death Glare couldn’t annihilate her soul entirely because of the difference in their Strengths and Mana concentration, it could still shave off part of her soul. No one would ever want to have a part of their soul shaved off. If she did lose it, she would not only lose her appearance but some memories and emotions as well.

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She didn’t give time to Yuliya to ready herself and made her move. The death glare needed to be taken out of the frame first.

Dozens of spears of Ice formed in the air and on the ground where Yuliya stood. They launched towards her at an astonishing speed that surprised the Wolf. She was taken aback and hurriedly jumped up in the air to save her from the spears that appeared from under her feet. She called forth her Darkness and Earth elements. The darkness could not devour the Ice Spears because of the difference in the realm of the strength and only managed to bind them for a fraction of a second before they broke through. The rocky walls that emerged were pierced through like paper and those spears advanced towards her.

Her heart thumped, and the gloom of death descended on her mind. However, the spear that was meant to pierce her stopped and then broke apart in thousands of pieces. She felt herself rise in the air and then descend right behind the masked Lady. The other spears that approached them were similarly destroyed into thousands of pieces that sprinkled on the ground.

“Your opponent is me, White Wolf.” Jalaisha disdainfully taunted.

Azereus had already evacuated the platform and now only the ashen-faced Alyson and her people stood there.

“Interesting” Renera said as she looked at what had just happened. This was the mastery of Wind Element to Perfection realm. Thousands of wind blades that were too quick for normal eyes to catch had butchered and minced those ice spears in no time. She was certain that she could perhaps not successfully replicate the same art. Alyson was clearly not going to have it easy. A smile crept on her face, and she tightened her grip around Akira’s hand who was struggling to get free and help Aizen.

“Stay Calm and observe the battle.” Renera said to her and pointedly looked at her collar. “You would only add to his problems if you join in.”

Some reasoning finally returned to Akira’s frenzied mind. And the helplessness she felt was heavier than ever before.

A space channel opened right behind Aizen, and Xiena walked out. He only glanced at her and turned back to face the enemies that were standing on the platform. He hadn’t signaled her to come, but he understood that it was Vienna who had made her come here. The situation he was in right now, he had to admit that he needed her help.

“Help your Sisters deal with those enemies and don’t worry about my safety, Okay?” He lightly stroked Liafina’s head and told her.

The little dryad now had her early False-Origin Aura on full display. It didn’t matter to her what he told her to do right now. His safety was what held the topmost importance to her. However, she was not ready to lose anyone on their side, and so she planned to get rid of the enemies as soon as possible.

Jalaisha moved first leaving behind a blurry image. She barged right through the enemy defense, leaving behind the Ice Wall that had been raised to stop her in shambles. Her scimitar cut the two Wolves in half that had lunged on her to prevent her from approaching Alyson. Their blood rained down on the platform soaking the coats of the nearby wolves that had just transformed.

The three mates of Alyson covered her flanks and channeled their Ice Element. Sharp icicles formed a forest around Jalaisha and caged her from all sides. The sky was her only way out but she didn’t fly up. It would have been suicide if she had, as Alyson was ready for that with Ice Spears floating around her.

Viara, Xiena, and Liafina jumped in and all of them took on a Wolf that was holding the icicle formation around Jalaisha. The wolf was taken aback by all three of them jumping on him. Viara and Xiena were too fast for him, and he didn’t even get the time to summon the Ice Element to protect him. He tried using the frozen Glare, but unfortunately for him, the target he had chosen was only an illusion of Viara created by Arthur.

A sword pierced right through his head. He had no idea what had transpired and when Viara had jumped on his head. The massive body of the wolf fell on the ground like a sack, and a pool of blood oozed from his head.

Seeing her mate’s death, Alyson was furious. She hurled the spears of Ice on Viara, but they were destroyed on their way. Jalaisha had taken advantage of the confusion and had freed herself from the icicle formation now that an opening presented itself.

Her scimitar clanked right onto Alyson guarding sword. The Ice Element tried to freeze the scimitar, but a green flame covered the blade and prevented it. The sounds of their swords colliding echoed on the platform.

Lysaria and Arthur together lunged forward and joined the fray against the peak Ancestral strength wolves. With one less False-Origin enemy, Liafina stood in the center and provided support to the team. She would summon her Earth and Wood element to prevent any surprise attacks from reaching Viara and Xeina who were engaged in a battle with the False-Origin wolves.

They were no match in strength with these massive monsters, but their Elements were on a clear advantage. Their light element provided them with a speed that helped them evade the sharp claws and deathly bites. They were unharmed so far and their opponents had started to have light slashes on their coats. Their battle would eventually come to an end.

“Yuliya. Guard Liafina so that she can concentrate better on supporting everyone else.” Aizen said to the Black Wolf that still stood by his side.

Yuliya didn’t say anything and jumped on the platform to stand at guard by Liafina’s side.

Enemies were crowding on Lysaria and Arthur. But they were still unharmed. The reason was Liafina who was preventing the enemy attacks from reaching them. The pointed vines and the sharp rocks not only stopped the enemy attacks but countered them. There was a formation around Lysaria and Arthur that would harm anyone who would try to approach them.

Eventually, the weaker enemies gave up and only the remaining 11 of the peak Ancestral strength kept their assault on the Lysaria and Arthur. The illusions Arthur created were really a pain for the enemies. The only attacks that landed resulted in enemy’s disappointment as their target vaporized and Liafina’s Formation of sharp rocks cut through their skin.

The wolves drew back and gathered in a formation. They gave up the plan to approach the two physically and summoned their Ice Element.

This was the moment Aizen had been waiting for. The Black Flame danced excitedly and Aizen vanished from his place. He appeared right in the middle of the enemy group and his darkness element unleashed itself with complete force. Those on the outer edge and in peak Ancestral strength managed to get away in time, but the unlucky 17 were bound and engulfed in his Darkness Element. It would only take a few more moments for them to break free from these shadow bindings since Aizen was not strong enough to hold them all together for long. He was already exerting himself.

The ones that had gotten away tried to lunge at him but Lysaria and Arthur got in their way and engaged them. Liafina knew what Aizen was about to do and she surrounded all the bound enemies with wooden spears.

Aizen took back the bindings and vanished right that instant. He appeared under the strongest of the lot and his sword decapitated the head like it was made of paper. Before the first drop of blood fell on the ground Aizen was already under another wolf and its fate was the same.

The next target was already prepared, but unfortunately for him, his claw clashed with Aizen’s Chaos Blade. The blade was already deadly sharp and to top it off he had coated it in Wind element. The claw cleft in two and the monster wolf wailed in agony. Aizen jumped up and threw an orb of concentrated light energy right in its mouth. It was not his Light Element but an orb that Viara had formed just before jumping in the battle. Aizen had stored it away when Jalaisha had created the confusion. The massive wolf had eyes wide in shock right before he exploded taking 3 more around him to a cruel death. Aizen had already teleported away.

The confusion rose and the remaining enemies tried to run away, but they were already surrounded by spears of Wood. They all summoned the ice element to break free from the cage, but just as they managed to, Aizen left the other Orb of light right in the middle of them.

The platform shook under the explosion and the sound reverberated throughout the surroundings. Nearly all of the targets lost their lives with the exception of 2 that were on the verge of death and covered in blood all over. One even had nearly half of his body missing, with the guts and body parts splattered all over the platform it could not be discerned which belonged to him. He was freed of his agony as Aizen skewered his head with his sword. The other one tried to crawl away but was decapitated by him.

To the Azereus standing on the Peak and watching him, he looked nothing less than a Death God surrounded by the blood and splattered flesh that made their stomachs sick. And his blood-crazed eyes made their hearts tremble.

He had nearly spent half of his strength in this fray, but his mind shivered in excitement. His sword craved for more blood.