Chapter 855 Familiar Face
Achim and Nahir were shocked by the surprise attack. Both were in an underground chamber, preparing what the former wanted to try out when the ceiling shook from an overwhelming pressure from above ground.
That pressure obviously did not come from someone in Somuli. The pressure was too foreign and did not appear to have been caused by a knight at the level of an Arch Knight or a Legendary.
It came from an outsider.
Achim and Nahir never expected an outsider to appear suddenly and launch an attack.
'No... it's not unexpected...' Achim thought through gritted teeth. 'I failed to comprehend Master's words that time.'
When Kyran appeared before the Armakea to convince them to join them, he hinted at the possibility that an outsider met the King of Armakea and offered a deal. Achim and Kesiah were there but did not take their Master's words to heart. They thought those words were meant to make a point— to ensure his message came across well.
Apparently, that was not the case. An outsider indeed made contact with the King of Armakea, and apart from Filren, the outsider made a move.
"Continue what you are doing," Nahir told Achim, "I'll assist them outside."
Achim could only reply with a nod before Nahir left.
Hovering above the fort, a silhouette of a woman shrouded in black mist stepped out of the space distortion.
All the knights and officers gathered below had already taken out their Divine Armament and entered into formation. Most of the Eidums also went into position and were on standby at all rally points around the fort.
Meanwhile, a few elites from the Eidums' ranks were inside the tower Nahir had requested and observed the woman hovering in midair. They planned to cast Lethargy and Restraining Spells at her if a chance presented itself.
By this time, the pressure coming from the woman had been lifted. Nevertheless, her presence still caused a suffocating impact that affected most officers.?At least the knights were able to endure better.
Finally, the black mist that enshrouded the woman slowly dissipated, revealing the person within. In an instant, all of the complete beings below felt their soul stir erratically at the sight of the woman.
The woman was dressed in a long, thin black gown that hugged her figure seductively. But that was not the reason the complete beings below reacted that way. It was because of the woman's beauty, which was hard to express in mere words. Her light brown hair flowed over her slender shoulder, and her sapphire blue eyes gave off a hypnotic glow, which made it hard for the complete beings not to stare at her in fascination.
However, though the knights and officers gathered near the woman were mesmerized by her, the Eidums who saw her could not help but gape in shock.
Though the woman's eye color and the aura she projected differed, she still looked very similar to their Saint!
How was this possible?
That was right. The woman was none other than Layla, who retained Haylee's image after managing to escape from Cyneah.
Back then, Ruin used his magic to separate Layla from Cyneah's essence, Haylee. As a matter of fact, he acted the way he did then— staging that commotion— so he could retrieve Layla and escape. Unfortunately, he could not retrieve the Macabre Glacier. But that was unimportant. At least, back then, his priority was to take Layla alive rather than taking the Macabre Glacier.
"Your strengths are far too weak compared to the King's army," Layla started, looking down at every complete being on the ground.
Her alluring yet gentle voice reverberated in the air, causing the souls of every Armakean and Eidum to tremble. Nevertheless, they still managed to keep their wits about them, knowing full well that her voice was enchanted and allowing her to influence their emotions would be their undoing.
The Eidums hidden in the tower also prepared another to cast Dispel to remove the woman's influence over them.
"Once they arrive, they will crush you in one fell swoop, and that will be the end. Don't you think that is a sad way to go?" Layla asked, looking at them sympathetically.
Doubts started to sprout in the hearts of some weak-willed officers. Seeing this, the knights around them immediately activated their Divine Armament's aura. But they did not attack the woman. They only did this to allow their armament's aura to muddle the latter's influence, albeit a little.
"There is no need to shed blood. If you surrender, the King is willing to take you back."
"Lies!"
A deep and powerful voice boomed, causing an invisible shockwave to spread in all directions.
Layla's brow furrowed slightly as she noticed the shockwave that followed that voice had managed to dispel some of her influence. It should be noted that she was not using her voice to affect others but Soul magic. For someone to have such an effect on her magic influence meant that complete being possessed a rather powerful magic with a dispelling or even purification effect.
Boom!
Seven pillars of fire shoot up from below, confining Layla in an instant. An imposing figure appeared behind the ranks of the knights and officers, who looked at her with a mixture of disbelief and anger.
"You.... Dare use that face..." Nahir spat through gritted teeth, his emotions on the verge of turmoil. Nevertheless, he kept his wits about him and convinced himself that the woman before them was not Cyneah but an imposter.
Besides, for all he knew, the woman's face might not look the same as Cyneah's and, instead, was an illusionary attack on his emotions.
He did not attack the woman because he knew she was an outsider. Based on what Kyran told them, outsiders were Sovereigns, and their magic level far exceeded theirs. Although their levels were suppressed inside Somuli, that only applied with their magic output. Their body would still possess the strength of a Sovereign, albeit their magic defenses would be lowered a little. They could also cast powerful magic attacks that would usually be impossible for a low-level mage to perform.
While it was true that Somuli's Magic Law would prevent an outsider from using their own magic law, that did not mean they would not cast magic according to the plane's law. Besides, Kyran discovered from Dusk that some planes had similar rules of possessing Divine Armaments.
Until Nahir found what the woman before them could do, he would not make a move.
"You are not an Armakean," Layla commented with a frown. After which, she waved her hand and extinguished the blazing pillars of fire around her.
Seeing this caused every complete being below to feel dread. They tightened their hold around their Divine Armaments and prepared themselves. Once Nahir gave the signal, they would attack in full force.
The other leaders, waiting to attack inside the other towers around the fort, were also looking at Nahir. Although they had reservations about working with the Eidums, especially with Nahir, they knew ignoring their collaboration under their current circumstances was unwise. Besides, they knew the latter showed up alone because Prince Achime was currently held up with an important task.
Nahir was very clear about his objective when he decided to confront the woman. He was not there to start an all-out battle but to buy some time for Achim to complete his preparations. Frankly, he did not know if the latter could pull off what he was doing, but if he did, they could fend against powerful enemies until Keisah and her group arrived.
"You are an Eidum."
A smile suddenly appeared at the corner of Layla's lips as she finally understood the situation. She was not knowledgeable about the affairs of the Eidums. However, she did pay close attention to the matters happening in their borders because of the rumored blind Saint with almost omnipotent healing abilities.
She also received a piece of intriguing news from Ruin— that Kyran came to aid the Eidums during the recent raid the Armakeans pulled off.
Seeing an Eidum among the Armakeans, Layla guessed that Kyran had a hand in why Prince Achim and Princess Kesiah suddenly decided to rebel against the King.
"This is starting to get exciting," she said, spreading her arms.
In an instant, a strong, invisible force erupted from within her and enveloped every complete being below. As soon as this force swept through their bodies, they felt as if they had been doused in cold water. Their insides shivered, and they felt something tighten around their very soul.
Layla's eyes sparkled as she brazenly used the complete beings' energies to amplify her Soul magic's influence.
This was one of Soul Magic's advantages over Void Magic. The energy from the former could be found anywhere. Layla did not have to worry about a shortage of magic energy as long as there were living beings around.
While Void magic could absorb any form of energy and convert it to Void, the problem with Kyran was that he could not freely absorb energies inside another living being. Only when such energy was freely moving about in the surroundings could he absorb them.
This was why he could absorb magic attacks but not touch a person and forcefully absorb their magic energy. True Void was the one who could do this. If Kyran wanted to absorb someone's energy, he would have to cast Absorption and absorb the person as a whole.
Layla wanted to know what Kyran had been up to and if the Eidum's Saint had also lured him to Somuli. She wanted to search the souls of every complete being below. After that, she would control and use them against him.
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