Chapter 587 587 Reiko's Retinue
Reiko thoroughly ignored all protocol and standard courtesy as she barged in through the door with wild eyes, searching for Ella, who was standing in the front receiving room with most of the Noxus Elders. "What's going on, why is everyone so worried about the foreign armies when there are already two invading armies already in Morgana Coven Territory?" She asked before pulling Ella into a crushing hug.
"We should wait until everyone arrives so that we don't have to do this multiple times. I can see that most of the Coven Council followed you here, along with a number of other Family representatives. That will make things a lot easier for me, and we've only got a few minutes before the news I wanted to give you is impossible to ignore."
Reiko didn't know how to respond to that, and she had no idea what sort of news Ella was there to give her. It could be almost anything, and the way things had been going, it was almost guaranteed to be bad news, especially given that Ella had hidden her presence in the city.
Even now, she was hiding her aura, trying to remain inconspicuous. Reiko had already gotten news of their advancements through Mary, who sent back regular reports to the city, so the visit shouldn't be about their newfound power.
There was a lot of time spent shaking hands and even more polite political posturing, while the others tried to understand why the Coven Leader was being so friendly with some random woman. None of them recognized Ella, and she wasn't from a previously Noble Family, so with her aura hidden, most of them assumed that she was a Noxus Family member who was about to come of age.
Once everyone was settled into the main room, and the butlers had handed out drinks to all the newly arrived guests, Ella dragged Reiko behind her to the empty alcove that the Patriarch traditionally used as a stage to address large crowds.
"Greetings everyone. I know that this is a bit untraditional, but I will just get all the hard questions out of the way at once. I am Ella Mariel, formerly of Morgana City, now of Forest Grove in the Fae Forest. I have come back here to assist with the addition of some safety measures to the city, which are being completed as we speak.
The United World Army has been unleashing enhanced monsters on the continent without regard to the wellbeing of the civilians, and they have no intention of stopping, even if they claim that they are only trying to clear the Frozen Wastes.
The residents of Forest Grove have been somewhat successful in countering them, and we are working on advancing more of our people so that we have enough strength to deal with the possibility that they might send their Rank Five Generals and Elders against us in the Frozen Wastes, while the monsters that they have strengthened and enraged run rampant over the continent."
The room was silent, with even Reiko staring at her in shock. The words were simple, but there was a lot to take in. Stronger monsters, when they didn't even have an army to defend against a monster tide, plus the possibility that Rank Five Witches would try to take over the continent, was a lot to take in at once.
"Why wouldn't we want to work out an alliance with the United World Army if they have Rank Five Witches?" One of the Coven Council members asked.
"You can try if you like. But their stated position is that everyone on this continent should be killed, and they are just starting with the Frozen Wastes because they have declared them a war memorial, and off limits to any living being." Ella replied.
"Why would we trust your words alone as proof?" The Council Member asked, letting some of her disdain for those without magical power show in her voice.
Ella released her aura, and felt the opinion and attitude of every witch in the room change. Even Reiko stood up a bit straighter with the innate need to prove she was not inferior to the stronger witch.
"I am not just some nobody sent here with a message. You can respond how you like as a Coven, but we will be applying additional defensive measures to the city very soon because we have many friends and family members inside the city." She replied with a shrug, then gestured for Reiko to speak.
Reiko subtly pinched Ella on the butt cheek for putting her on the spot like this, and making it look like this was an agreement that they had come to together, instead of something that Ella had only informed her about as the rest of the room learned about it.
"As Coven Leader, the improvement of city defences falls within my purview. I have approved the upgrades to the city's defences, and I can assure all of you that they will not have any negative consequences for the city's occupants." She informed the others.
"What about the mana usage? Surely, we can't be expected to spend even more of our days keeping up the mana supplies. The new power generators that Headmistress Peach brought to the city have been a real relief, but a whole new defensive array will be a major drain on our limited resources." One of the Council members complained.
Ella raised her hand to quell the growing mumbles of dissent.
"This array is designed through cooperation in our city to be self-sustaining. It will feed itself unless the city is under attack. It will also purge the bloodline curse, and all other curses, from the bodies of the witches here in the city. You should be aware that if any of your family members has suffered severe mutation from curse damage, they will need medical attention, at least in the form of some strong healing potions to restore the cleansed areas.
That also means that the next generation will be born without the curse, as both parents will have had it cleansed from their systems. It is a preventative measure against the United World Army, who wants to purge the curse from existence. If we don't have it, then we can argue that we have done nothing to deserve their sanctions.
They haven't shown themselves to be reasonable in any way so far, but as the war drags on, and casualties increase, the tone of their accusations is likely to change. So, while the benefits of being curse free are obvious on their own, it will also help your position at the negotiation table, should you intend to go that route."
The gathered witches and other representatives began frantically sending messages to their families and associates, and discussing the ramifications of this new spell.
Reiko, on the other hand, wasn't fooled by Ella's diversion.
"What else is Wolfe casting?" She whispered.
"[Kind Intentions] to stop hostile forces from entering, and to stop people from killing each other, plus a barrier array and the array to cleanse the mana, and everyone in its radius." Ella whispered back.
"How long do we have?" Reiko demanded in a hushed tone, but not quite silent enough that it those nearby didn't hear it.
Ella focused on Wolfe's interaction with Cassie's grandmother, and felt him reaching the end of a powerful spell.
"About five." She replied.
"Five?"
"Four, three, two."
Ella laughed and jumped down from the stage as Reiko threw a punch at her, and the wave of magic settled in over the city.
"And that's the spells. Can someone make a citywide announcement about the healing thing? We're running a bit behind, and I didn't get a chance." Ella requested.
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