A Journey That Changed The World.

Chapter 886: Sofia Volkovitch

[Ella, Halime, Talila, Nala and Maeveʼs POV]

The girls looked at this newcomer holding Nala and Maeveʼs blades with a pinch on each sword. This shocked the five, who got even more paranoid, but the stranger let the weapons go before speaking in a exotic accent, ”Are you the wives of the White Dragon?”

All the girls glanced at each other before Ella spoke, ”Yes?”

The young woman beamed before vanishing from the spot and suddenly reappeared in front of the half-elf, ”My grandfather hates your lover with a passion beyond anything Iʼve seen, but I find him interesting. A powerful dragon who cares for the common people?”

Ella and the four other girls stared in astonishment, but the stranger pressed on, ”Iʼve been displeased with the Church of Lightsʼ recent actions. When I learned of your presence here, I followed you and have chosen to aid you in securing the Holy Leaf.”

”Why would you betray your own family?” Halime asked in genuine shock.

The stranger started laughing before introducing herself and answering, ”I am Sofia Volkovitch, granddaughter of Pope Jeremiah and daughter of Lysandra Volkovitch, leader of the Battle Sisters.”

Everyoneʼs eyes widened in shock, but Maeve spoke, ”Iʼve heard of you. They call you the Witch of Verdantia, and your Grandmother is a powerful sorceress and head priestess of the Church of Light.”

Sofia smiled, ”Youʼre correct, Maeve Avaloch. More than one person in the Volkovitch Family is sympathetic to the White Dragon, as Grandfather attacked him first, which is wrong because the boy was not harmed.”

Ella stepped forward and offered a hand, ”Iʼm Ella Wyldheart,” she said.

”I know all of you. Iʼve been following you since you stepped foot on Verdantia,” Sofia revealed.

After speaking, she stepped back, transformed into a small burgundy-colored bird, and tweeted, causing Nalaʼs eyes to widen as she announced, ”I heard that noise for a while now, but I never saw you.”

Sofia returned to her normal form while explaining, ”The church has people follow me all over Verdantia, so I learned the secret druid spell Animalis Transmutare to hide from the watchers.”

Once she finished speaking, Sofia pointed at each girl and named them, ”Nala Lionheart, Talila Wyldheart, and Halime Nagendra. Iʼve done my homework on the devilʼs harem, as the scholars call it.”

Talilaʼs comment prompted Sofia to scoff as she regarded the silver-haired elf incredulously. ”Stop being creepy,” she retorted. You claim you want to aid us, so why not secure the Holy Leaf?”

Sofiaʼs expression shifted to amusement and frustration before she replied, ”Iʼm forbidden from approaching the garden. Uncle Anatoly has it heavily guarded and is paranoid about intruders. However, I have a plan if you allow me to join your mission. Iʼve never ventured beyond Verdantia and yearn to explore alongside Archer and all of you.”

When the five girls heard this, Ella responded, ”Wait here while we discuss this.”

The burgundy-haired girl smiled and stepped back, allowing them to take. Once out of earshot, Nala said, ”She should be in the pride!”

Everyone looked at the lioness before Meave replied, ”Not the time, Nala. We have more important matters to discuss.”

”Whatʼs more important than getting a strong girl for Archerʼs pride?” Nala asked in confusion, which made Halime giggle.

”This isnʼt the time,” Ella said. ”Should we accept her help? What if itʼs a trap?”

”I donʼt think sheʼs lying,” Halime responded.

They looked at her for an answer, and the snake girl explained, ”I can hear her heartbeat, which didnʼt change at any point.”

”We need to uncover her true motives,” Maeve declared. ”Once we understand them, we can decide what to do.”

The five girls nodded in agreement before focusing their attention back on Sofia, who gently cradled a tiny bird on her finger. They watched her speaking softly to the bird before it fluttered away.

Stepping forward, Ella asked, ”Why do you really want to help us?”

As soon as the question left Ellaʼs lips, the group watched as Sofiaʼs eyes began to glow, and a powerful aura enveloped the mountaintop, but it vanished as quickly as it appeared as she spoke, ”Grandfather killed my papa; he didnʼt like that Mother choose a lowly adventurer to be her husband.”

They witnessed a deep pain in her eyes as she continued, ”The church sent assassins when Father was out shopping in the local market. He did fight back, but there were too many of them for him to deal with.”

The five girls felt sympathy for Sofia, but Nala, unable to hold back, blurted out, ”Then why have you waited so long to move against the old man?”

Sofia gave a sad smile. ”Grandfather and the church convinced the family that it was an enemy empire from Avidia. But my Aunt Catherine has uncovered evidence that the Pope ordered the assassins to target my father. Now, we want revenge.”

When the group heard this, Ella stepped forward, ”Youʼre welcome to join us, Sofia. Itʼs nice to see you,” she said with a friendly smile.

The burgundy-haired girl smiled, ”Are you ladies hungry? I have some delicious desserts I stole from the kitchen.

Nalaʼs tail started swaying excitedly, causing Sofiaʼs eyes to follow in amazement as she spoke, ”Youʼre a lion demi-human? Iʼve never met anyone from your race.”ʼ

When the lioness heard this, she smirked. ”Well, at least your first meeting was with a majestic lion like me. Youʼve hit the jackpot!”

Sofia giggled before nodding, ”Yes, demi-humans are amazing. I love your ears; theyʼre so fluffy.”

Ella looked at Talila and Maeve and said, ”You girls get some wood for a fire while we set up the tarps. We might as well rest and plan our attack on Novgorod City.”

Everyone agreed with the half-elf and started settling down as the moon shone; Sofia, Nala, Maeve, and Halime were chatting about something while Talila was training off to the side with a determined look.

Following that, the girls planned to use Nala and Halime Primal forms to cause chaos all over Novgorod City to distract the city guards and soldiers while the other four would attack the fortress guarding the Holy Trees.

Ella told the two demi-humans that they must meet with them before the Novgorodians and Church of Light Knights surrounded them. After that, Sofia handed out some delicious- looking pastries, cakes, and other foods that the group loved.

After finishing their meal, the group settled to sleep. Nala volunteered to take the first watch, which everyone gratefully accepted. The following day, a horn sounded from below, jolting

them awake.

Sofia rushed to the edge, peering over with a smile. ”Ladies, we have visitors. Come join me,” she said with a beaming smile before leaping off the edge.

***

[Kassandra, Lucrezia, Demetra and Teuilaʼs POV]

The four girls were battling against a wave of Swarm sea monsters that invaded Draconia. They dealt with the larger creatures while the others bombarded them from the wall

alongside the Titan Wrath Cannons.

It had been non-stop combat for the girls who stayed behind on Draconia as the Novgorodians stopped attacking while the Swarmsʼ probing attacks got worse and managed

to breach the walls a few times.

While the battle was on the surface, Demetra dived deep down while fighting two Blood

Whales, a mix of sharks and whales. It was fast, but she was quicker and out-maneuvered the monster before biting one of them in half.

While she did this, Teuila darted through the Swarm, continuously biting down on any creature that came close as Lucrezia and Kassandra dealt with the Sea Leviathan leading the

horde.

The Kraken Princess tangled the beast using her tentacles while Lucrezia tore chunks of flesh, causing the monster to roar in agony. As the four girls fought the Draconian Navy above, they fired their cannons into the monsters they could see.

They were thinning out the hordes, gaining a lot of experience that flowed into Archerʼs body while unconscious. Hours passed, and they returned to the island only to see chaos as the sea wall was destroyed and soldiers were battling creepy-looking sea monsters. When the four girls saw this, they rushed forward, relentlessly butchering the Swarm until the creatures were driven back into the sea. Meanwhile, the Homeguard swiftly rebuilt the wall, and the healers tended to the injured during the multiple battles. Kassandra stood on the beach just outside the seawall, looking out to see. While there, she heard footsteps coming from behind her. She turned around, noticing Aisha joined her, and asked, ”Do you think theyʼll come back?”

”Yes. They have attacked many times since the girls left for Verdantia,” the Kraken girl answered. ”We were lucky Demetra returned in time to help us in the first fight.”ʼ

The dragonkin woman nodded, ”Thanks to you and the others, the monsters have only breached a few wall sections.”

”During the battle, I noticed the stronger creatures were fleeing back the way they came like they were being summoned,” Teuila revealed. ”It was strange as the Swarm normally doesnʼt stop until theyʼre all dead.”ʼ

”It has to be the Terravians ordering them back to regroup,” Aisha suggested. ”We should bolster the defenses.”

As she finished speaking, Nefertitiʼs voice came from behind, ”Deploy all legions to the Southern Seawall. The Swarm will attack there.”

They turned around and nodded at the pink-haired succubus, who transformed into her demonic dragon form before taking off and flying south. The ladies followed Nefertiti to the seawall to fight the Swarm.