?


    [E, Sofia, Halime, Tal, N and Maeve''s POV]


    Once Sofia secured the Holy Trees, the enemy soldiers went wild and pushed the three girls further into the garden. Maeve, Tal, and N regrouped, and all six started attacking the Novgorodians.


    As the battle went on, they were overwhelmed by the sheer number of soldiers. When E saw this, she turned to Sofia. "Give Tal your ring," she said before turning to the silver-haired elf. "Escape back to Draconia. Archer needs this, and we''ll catch up."


    Tal looked hesitant, but Sofia gave her a ring holding the Holy Trees, "I don''t want to leave you, girls. You will be defeated."


    E beamed, "We will get out of here and meet you back at the kingdom before you even give Archer the potion."''


    She hesitated, but E and Sofia got back to the battle. Tal transformed into her dragon form, took off, and started her escape by flying out of the garden as spells shot at her, but she skillfully dodged them.


    Tal soared into the sky as the sun set and vanished into the clouds. When the other five saw this, they beamed before fighting through the soldiers. Maeve carved her way through flesh and steel like a bulldozer.


    Halime and N transformed into their Primal forms before demolishing the remaining soldiers. E, Maeve, and Sofia jumped on them as they escaped through the city and headed for the southern gate.


    Just as N climbed up the city''s wall, followed by Halime, who made easy work of getting over it. When the five made it to the other side, they stopped short as an army stood in front, and a shield blocked them inside with the neers.


    A young woman with short gray hair and bright blue eyes was riding a massive Tundrawalker that looked like a fashion of lions and horses. When N saw this, she let out a deep growl as Halime sprayed her poison on the enemy army.


    That''s when a man appeared out of nowhere and blocked the poison before sending a massive Fireball at them, which Sofia and E deflected using their magic as Maeve readied for battle. The tension hung heavy as the girls stood poised, but then a woman on a Tundrawalker rode forward, her voice echoing with an ent familiar to Sofia and Lysandra. "Cousin Sofia. Why do you betray the homnd? What have I done to you?"


    All eyes turned to the scarfed figure, who defiantly removed her covering and stepped forward. "Grandfather killed Father! Do you think I''d ever forgive that? If so, then you''re foolish, Yevdokiya."


    E observed as the grey-haired woman scoffed dismissively. "So be it. You will perish here, cousin, alongside the ''devil''s wives.'' Once we capture the escaped dragon and retrieve the Holy Tree, I will personally lead the Imperial Army to raze Draconia to the ground."


    As the woman finished speaking, she had to dodge an arrow that streaked past her head swiftly. All eyes turned to E, who stood firm with a bow in hand, firing at Yevdokiya without hesitation.


    Yevdokiya pulled back momentarily, her expression hardening before she barked orders to her army, "Kill them all!"


    A tsunami of steel and flesh surged forward. N and Halime reacted first, crashing into the advancing army with primal fury. They were followed by Sofia, who transformed into a Giant Mountain Bear, her massive ws swiping through hundreds of soldiers with devastating force.


    Maeve noticed a group of soldiers rushing toward E, peppering the enemy with explosive mana arrows. As the enemy approached, she blocked the attacks before slicing them in half with one swipe.


    As chaos erupted, blood sprayed in all directions amidst the sprawling battle. Maeve caught sight of Yevdokiya engaged inbat with Sofia and swiftly intervened, delivering a powerful punch that sent the enemy princess sprawling.


    Amidst the melee, Maeve closed in on her adversary, sword raised high. She swung her de with precision, but Yevdokiya adeptly blocked the strike and swiftly countered with a lunging attack.


    Maeve deflected the iing attack before reacting by kicking the woman in the stomach, sending her skidding backward. Still, she didn''t ease up and charged forward whileunching several powerful attacks.


    Meanwhile, Sofia found herself overwhelmed as Novgorodian soldiers swarmed around her, pinning her to the ground. She roared angrily as a massive golem appeared to fight Halime and N.


    As the chaos intensified, the two Primals, N and Halime,unched their assault. But amidst the fray, a golem seized N by the throat while another tackled Halime, who defiantly coiled around the massive stone construct, attempting to crush it even as soldiers swarmed from all sides.


    Growing increasingly incensed, arrows suddenly rained down on the soldiers below as E transformed into her dragon form. With a deep inhtion, she unleashed a torrent of fire that swept over the enemy ranks before briefly scanning the battlefield.


    Maeve fiercely fought Yevdokiya, holding off even more soldiers, while N and Halime continued their struggle against the Chuch Golems. Meanwhile, Sofia remained ensnared in a magical trap, surrounded by relentless Novgorodian soldiers.


    Without hesitation, E charged towards Sofia''s predicament, plowing through enemy lines with her colossal dragon form, crushing adversaries beneath her immense weight. She shouted to the girls, "Fight! We need to escape this trap."


    After that, she was hit by several spells that caused her body to grow weak, forcing E into her humanoid forms alongside N and Halime as they crashed beside her. Maeve managed to get the upper hand on Yevdokiya and retreated to protect the others.


    "You girls are defeated; there''s no shame in surrendering to live another day!" Yevdokiya shouted as the enemy army regrouped and surrounded them.


    Maeve stood firm and responded while readying for another battle as the other girls joined her, "What we do in life echoes in eternity; we shall not bring shame to our husband by giving up. We will fight to the end or escape."


    ***


    [Tal''s POV]


    Once she had left herpanions behind, Tal soared peacefully through the clouds, reveling in the serene freedom of the skies. However, her tranquility was abruptly shattered by the piercing screeches of the Novgorodian Eagles.


    ''Damn. Concerntrate and I can deal with them,'' she thought.


    Upon hearing their cries, Tal spotted several of the enemy below her. Without hesitation, she dove down with the speed of a bat out of hell, colliding with one of the eagles and tearing it to shreds.


    Swiftly recovering, Tal unleashed a torrent of silver fire that engulfed another eagle, even as she came under attack. With a few well-ced swipes, she got the creatures away from her. This allowed her to fire a stream of fire that sshed over one and burned them to ash. Tal stopped diving when she spotted the ocean below, but when she got closer, thousands of yellow mana bolts weaved around her and struck the eagles.


    ''What was that!'' she thought while looking around and soon spotting a Draconian warship firing at the Novgorodian Eagles.


    The sheer volume of projectiles effortlessly obliterated the creatures and their riders. Tal aimed directly for the ship, but it exploded, forcing her to swiftly veer away from the debris and head straight for Draconia.


    More eagles appeared behind and closed in, forcing her to exchange spells with the pursuers while trying to escape. Tal dived toward the ocean surface before soaring back up to confuse them as she peppered the creatures with Sun sts.


    While doing this, Tal cast Moon sts at them, catching several off guard. She couldn''t shake them for hours, but soon, Draconia appeared in the distance, causing hope to surge


    through her.


    Tal pressed on with her fight, sending Aisha a quick message that she had secured the ingredients but was now being pursued. As she focused on evading her pursuers, she noticed small dots emerging from the nearby ind, initially confusing her.


    Soon, however, the mystery was solved when wyverns came into view. They swiftly raced past Tal, engaging the Novgorodian Eagles in a fierce aerial battle. She witnessed dozens of monsters falling into the ocean below.


    After witnessing the wyverns'' aerial prowess, Tal swiftly flew towards the ind. As she approached, Aisha''s message directed her to the pce where Archer awaited. It took her only ten minutes to reach her destination.


    Uponnding and assuming her dragon form, Tal was greeted by the unexpected sight of Lucrezia standing before her. The mosasaur woman smiled, "You look tired, Tali; hand over


    the ingredients and get some rest."


    She nodded but warned while handing over the storage ring, "The others are back in


    Verdantia and are about to be surrounded."


    Lucrezia''s concern was evident, though she quicklyposed herself. "They will be fine, but


    we must create this potion and give it to Archer as soon as possible," she said, her voice


    steady despite her worry.


    With that, Lucrezia hurried off, leaving Tal to be guided by the maids to where Archer


    awaited. Along the way, they informed her that Fianna was trapped within the coon that


    encased him.


    Finally reaching the garden, Tal sat down on a nearby bench. Exhaustion washed over her, and soon she sumbed to sleep.