Chapter 170: Was It All For Naught?

"Hold on and fight with your life! The future of Rien is in our hands!" Solaris's voice boomed as he looked far off into the distance. He knew that it was the day in which either his kingdom would face a similar fate to Aurorise or defy the odds and come out on top.

He saw three Felirs charging towards the kingdom. Alongside him was his eldest son Kaissuss and Zayne, his youngest. Sirius had met his tragic fate at Andrew's hands. When he went over to confront him, he found that he was no longer in the hotel that he usually resided in.

Along with Ashley. It was as if they had vanished without a trace. As the Felirs drew nearer and nearer to the castle walls, his face grew ashen as his stomach churned with worry and fear.

Last night when he was confronting the Felir, he noticed that he had failed to inflict any form of damage to it and now here he was , facing three simultaneously.

"Now!!!"

His voice echoed through the air as numerous explosions seemed to detonate.

*BOOM*

They had laid several traps after the attack and a huge cloud of smoke could be seen from afar. Kaissuss however didn't seem all that thrilled with that attack and it wasn't just him. Zayne was skeptical whether such an attack had managed to deter the Felirs.

The atmosphere fell silent as they stared at where the Felirs were. Since they failed to give off any mana pattern signatures, it was difficult to deduce whether they were dead or not.

Thus for good measure, more explosives were thrown to make sure that those godforsaken creatures remained dead. "Stop!!!" Kaissuss ordered to which the archers stopped shooting their explosive arrows in the could smoke.

"RRROOOAAARRRR!!!!!"

The caw of the three Felirs could be heard which was bone chilling as their figures continued to make their advance towards the walls. "Fire!!" Solaris commanded to which more arrows were shot at the pack.

However instead of blowing them up, deterring them or at the very least faze them, the Felirs kept on advancing as the arrows phased through them. "What kind of creatures are these?!!" Zayne murmured as he saw this.

He had a rich background when it came to hunting and all kinds of magical beasts however the kind that could pass through all kinds of attacks, whether be it mana or physical was something that he had never heard or studied about.

"Quick!! Line up the church scholars!" A voice commanded to which the archer defense was hastily replaced by experts in white robes. They were the same from last night however they were greater in numbers this time.

Last night, some of them weren't present when the Felir had attacked as they were spread out all over the kingdom however now, they were all concentrated here. 

*WHOOSH*

They all cast different shades of attacks. Be it entrapping arrays that they had put down ahead of time, light beams which scorched the earth or other attacks alike, they all resulted in naught.

"It would seem that none of our attacks are working!" One of them pointed out to which Solaris found even more grim. He noticed that the pair were starting to split up, each taking their own side of the kingdom which made him rather skeptical.

"Quick! Launch a mana repulsion barrier!" A huge white barrier covered the kingdom in a matter of seconds. 'Maybe someone is controlling them from afar.' He thought as he saw the Felirs charge head first into the barrier.

To his shock, he thought that the barrier would stop them if not halt their advances however they charged unrestrained into it with minimal ease as if the barrier was nonexistent.

"What!?! They simply walked through the barrier as if it wasn't even there!" Solaris was even more distressed as he saw this. 'If they would blatantly charge like this then it would seem either they are not being controlled or the barrier does not break the control the summoner has with these beasts.'

"Father! What do we do now? It would seem that we have few options on our hands." Kaissuss asked as he readied himself for war. "But something about this doesn't make any sense." Zayne pointed out.

"The one that attacked us last night seemed more calm and calculating. These seem more wild and unruly. The one from last night was clearly under someone's control however these aren't. Considering how quick they arrived, it is evident that the puppeteer isn't far from here."

Solaris and Kaissuss agreed with Zayne's argument however another problem presented itself. "Even if we were to start looking for the one who was controlling them and find them, that would take too long."

"Not to mention with the likes of Orsen and Ashley, they would no doubt be at another disadvantage. We can't face them head on and they wouldn't submit and retract these abominations."

Solaris pointed out to which the three fell silent. So what if they did find the one who was controlling them, not only would the kingdom be done by then but also if it was Andrew or Ashley, it would no doubt be another losing battle.

The reason why they didn't tail the Felir from last night was due to a matter of various reasons. First their speed could barely catch up and with the poor visibility of the Felir, it would be even harder to trail it in the darkness.

Secondly, the chances of them being led into a trap were also high as the Felir chose to retreat despite having the advantage in last night's encounter and finally if it wasn't a trap then they would be forced to confront Ashley or Andrew personally and they knew how that would turn out.

"Sir! One of them has been able to breach into the walls. Due to its invincibility, it was able to bypass with minimal ease resulting with high casualties. We are using our own men as bait to lure it out of the kingdom."

Solaris gave a heavy sigh as he heard this. It wasn't long before the sounds of screams and terror permeated through the kingdom sky. "Very well. Have it such that they stay away from the people."

Solaris ordered as he made his way head first into the Felir that was charging straight for him. Seeing the high tier that Solaris had, the Felir seemed to change directions and head for him personally.

"It seems that it is attracted to individuals with high tiers." Kaissuss and Zayne pointed out. Realizing this, the two each split up going their own way. 'To think that there would come a time where being strong would be such a weakness.' Zayne laughed at the absurdity.

Solaris headed for the forest as he could sense the coldness of death lurch ever so carefully and steadily towards him however he knew that he needed to make a sacrifice. 'For the glory of Rien.' He mused.

…

Somewhere in a cave, Lirien was pleased as she heard the screams ring through the air however he smile froze as she noticed that the Felirs were heading towards away from the kingdom.

"What? No." She murmured as she tried to regain control over the Felirs however a different scene played out. "Haarrgghhh!" She coughed up a mouthful of blood as her ashen face grew all the more weaker.

It was clear that she was nearing closer and closer to death's door. Realizing what she had to do, she looked at the Felir that lay dormant near her feet as she controlled it and herded it towards the kingdom.

Beads of sweat mixed with blood could be seen coming from all over her body however she kept on pushing the Felir. Solaris who was heading deeper and deeper saw another Felir charge towards him.

He noted the cave that it came from however he realized that he would be sandwiched between the two which would spell his doom. His body was coated in a hazy bright light which took a sharp turn to the left.

'It is without a doubt that the puppeteer could be in that cave.' He sighed with a small smile on his face. 'If I deal with them, then these creatures should fall into a dormant state. However if it is Ashley or Rhys, then I am willing to sacrifice my life.'

He shot in the direction of the cave with two Felirs giving chase. 'I won't make it in time.' Sure he was a tier five expert but these creatures had an ungodly amount of strength, speed and agility thus they were able to close the gap.

Zayne and Kaissuss each had a Felir chasing them as they too went deeper into the forest. "The royal family sacrificed themselves to make sure that Rien would see another day!"

Shouts and cheers of glory and proclamation rang through the air as the citizens of Rien gave reverence to the Royal family. As for the two brothers, they each got a message from their father.

"It would seem that the one summoning and controlling them is coming from a cave not far from here. I won't be able to make it in time thus I'll detonate myself at the entrance to disrupt their traps that they may have."

Solaris finished as he darted over to the cave. "What?!" The two were stunned by the choice their father had made. Persuading him was something they knew that wouldn't come to pass thus they started making their way far from the cave.

…

"Hmm...It seems that someone is heading here. A tier five expert? Wait! It's Solaris but he'll perish in the hands of the Felirs before he could set foot in the cave."

She gave a sigh of relief before realizing that something was wrong. "Wait! It is clear that he too is aware of this and wouldn't make such a silly mistake." She tried to rack her brains as she wondered what it could be.

She sensed at his figure and thanks to her soul devouring abilities, her scope of sense had been greatly increased. Sensing his body thanks to her superior array, she sensed the insane build up that was stemming from his mana disc core.

"He is going to detonate himself!" Sure she had set up multiple traps in the cave equal to warding off a tier four expert however the explosion of a tier five expert was something even she hadn't anticipated.

"If I transform into my soul state, then I will no doubt hasten the poison in my soul and if I take in head on, my body would be too distraught beyond recovery."

She had spent most of her medicinal supplies into nursing the poison which proved potent as it was barely held back. She had few supplies left and if she was to take this attack head on, it could spell her doom.

The Felirs would remain intact as they would change their attention back to the two brothers before they fell at their nightmarish jaws and Rien was only a matter of time before it was wiped.

"However in the end I would have achieved my goal but was it all for naught? What is the point of me accomplishing it if I will die in the end?" She sighed grimly as she readied herself for Solaris's attack.

Solaris who was building up a huge reserve of mana, condensing it into a small ball which if crashed into his mana disc would result in a cataclysmic reaction making it crash and explode.

He formed multiple balls coalescing in his vitals as he neared the mouth of the cave. His pursuers were relentless as they were meters away from his figure their mouths agape with tentacles ready to devour his soul. 

He gave a small sigh as he breathed in his last breath, closing his eyes as he embraced the end of his life. He was content with it considering that he protected those he loved to the best of his abilities.

*BOOM*

A gigantic blast soon followed which cleared trees and snuffed the life of creatures that were unaware of what was transpiring around them.