Chapter Thirty-Six
"Is that all what we have got left?" Sylvanas asked and looked down at the army which consisted out of more than three thousand soldiers from Azeroth and Runeterra. Members from every race were representing the army of the last survivors of this brutal, merciless war which had started almost three years ago. Sylvanas observed the soldiers and wondered why most survivors were elves.
"The sad thing is that it's the truth" King Jarvan said and walked to Sylvanas, who was standing in front the railings of the balcony which bordered on Jarvan's meeting room.
"Are you sure that these soldiers will be enough to conquer the Noxian capital city?" Sylvanas asked without looking at the Demacian king.
"Noxus lost most of its soldiers. I'm pretty sure that we will take Noxus without losing too many soldiers if we execute our plan correctly" Jarvan responded and looked at the army which was ready for battle.
"When will we attack?" Sylvanas asked a bit worried and looked at Jarvan who was giving her a comforting smile.
"The mages are busy with creating the portals. We will send the first group, which task is to open the gate, through the first portal and the rest will go through the other portals a few minutes later, as soon as the mages are ready. The second group will appear right in front of the gate after it was opened, if all is working out as we have planned it" Jarvan explained.
"Elise and I will go with the first group and open the gate" Sylvanas demanded, not wanting to hear any protest from the Demacian king.
"As you wish Lady Windrunner. Garen will come with you"
"You can call me Sylvanas. We know each other since three years so we can ignore the formalities"
"Good then you can call me Jarvan"
"Be careful Jarvan this battle won't be easy. Darius, Le Blanc and Swain won't give us their city without a fight"
"I will be careful, don't worry" Jarvan said smiling. He stood up and walked to the balcony's door, showing Sylvanas with a hand gesture that she should come with him. Sylvanas moved and followed Jarvan until they came in the room large main hall of the Citadel of Dawn.
Five hundred soldiers stood in the main hall and waited that the twelve mages finished creating two large portals. Sylvanas observed the happening for several minutes. The mages managed to open the two portals and the first warriors rushed through it as soon as King Jarvan gave the permission. Sylvanas spotted Elise, who stood next to Garen and gave her a quick nod.
Sylvanas rushed to her lover and kissed her passionately. Elise kissed her back and they held the kiss for a few moments. Then the Spider Queen pulled back and took Sylvanas hand before she dragged her through the portal.
They came out in a large room, which once was the dining room of a very successful tavern, was totally abandoned and ran-down. The furniture was totally destroyed and a lot of holes were visible in the walls and the floor. The floor was covered by a lot of tried blood and remains of armor and clothing, what made it seem that there had been fight long time ago.
Sylvanas drew her bow and Elise summoned a few spiderlings, which swarmed out and checked the second floor and the situation outside. The spiderlings came back and signlized Elise that they had spotted no one on the second floor and no one in the near of the pub.
Elise looked at Sylvanas who gave her a nod and walked towards the pub's exit. Thirty soldiers, who had gone through the portal first, followed her as more and more soldiers appeared through the same two portals. Sylvanas and Elise walked out of the pub and came into a small abandoned district. Most of the buildings and houses were abandoned, damaged or totally destroyed. Sylvanas looked around for guards, she spotted two guards on top the nearest wall but theirs back were turned toward the group and they looked in the entire opposite direction. Sylvanas ordered two rogues to sneak up to them in stealth and take them out without making a sound. The rogues nodded and disappeared in the shadows.
Sylvanas waited until all five hundred warriors had stepped through the portal then she started to walk towards the main gate, which was located a few hundred meters in the north from the group's starting point. Sylvanas walked a few dozens meters and spotted the first patrol, which consisted out of three warriors with massive shields, two archers and a leader who rode on a big basilisk.
Sylvanas was glad that Elise had told her about this creature, which was a big reptile and was larger than a human. It had a very thick skin which was covered by thousands of green scales. The Noxian soldiers wore well-crafted armor which covered their entire body. The leader's armor was strengthened by runes which would protect him from any magical ability.
Sylvanas pulled one special arrow, which was forged with the purpose to shatter armor, out of her quiver and she shot the arrow at the leader. The arrow pierced through the helmet and through the leader's brain, killing him immediately. A very large spider appeared in front of the basilisk and devoured it with one bite. The other soldiers broke out in panic and started to scream but they were killed immediately by arrows, magical abilities and throwing spears from Sylvanas' group. The small army hid the corpses in the abandoned houses and continued walking towards the gate, taking out every soldier who stood in their way.
The group came to the big main gate and spotted a small army of hundreds of soldiers, from Noxus and Freljord, in front of it. The enemy army was led by Darius, who wore a new massive, dark silver coloured armor. Darius' hair was silver coloured too and he carried a new axe in his right hand. The axe's head was formed like the head of a wolf and the axe's blade, which came out of the head, was made out of a dark-red glowing, rare and firm material.
Garen, who wore a new massive light-silver coloured armor which was made out of petricite, said "I will handle Darius"
"Good then we will defeat this army and open the gate" Elise responded. Garen looked at Elise and Sylvanas then he nodded and his gaze shifted to Darius. He ran a few meters to the right and shouted "DARIUS YOU ARE A BUTCHER AND NOT A LEADER! COME TO ME AND FIGHT ME IF YOU ARE BRAVE ENOUGH COWARD!"
Darius groaned in anger, unable to ignore the bait and then he rushed towards Garen. Garen ran backwards and separated Darius from the group, enabling that both warriors had enough space for duelling.
Sylvanas drew her bow and killed a few Noxian soldiers with a hail of arrows. The Noxians didn't hesitate and charged forward. Two dozen of them were blown up by a large invisible explosive spider before they reached Sylvanas and her group, who had three times more soldiers than the Noxian troop.
Sylvanas and her dark rangers took care of the archers and mages in the fortress' towers while the rogues made sure that the defensive engines like catapults or cannons were destroyed. Sylvanas' soldiers won the fight with ease while Garen fought against Darius, none of them had the upper hand.
"Give up Darius. Your soldiers are lost the battle. We have outnumbered you, there is no chance for you getting away"
"A Noxian will never give up, especially not in his capital city. I will fight as long as I stand" Darius hissed and charged at Garen, his axe's blades glowed even more intense than before. Garen blocked the attack with his massive sword. Darius pulled his axe back and executed another strike but Garen dodged the strike and tried to hit Darius with a sword blow but the Noxian commander blocked this attack.
Darius prepared another attack but wasn't able to execute it because an arrow hit him. The arrow pierced through his right shoulder plate and stuck in the flesh of his shoulder. Darius stepped backwards and spotted an angry Alleria who stood in front of the opened main gate. She had transformed to her void elf form and her eyes were distorted in anger.
"FIGHT ME DARIUS YOU COWARD! YOU WILL PAY FOR YOUR CRIMES AND WHAT YOU DID TO MY FAMILY! YOU BASTARD!" Alleria shouted. She was really angry, even furious and she drew her bow and shot another arrow, aimed at Darius' head. Darius managed to destroy it with a shockwave before it reached him. He was almost hit by Garen's sword but he managed to block it with his axe. He managed to dodge Alleria's next arrow but he wasn't able to dodge Garen's next strike which heavily damage his corselet and forced him to stagger a few steps backwards.
Darius jumped backwards and observed his surroundings. Sylvanas was fighting with Elise and a few hundred soldiers against the last remaining Noxian soldiers who tried to defend the main gate. Darius noticed that Garen, Alleria, Turalyon and King Jarvan stood a few meters away from him. He turned around and spotted King Anduin, Tyrande and Malfurion behind him. He looked to the right side and saw his last ally in the near. It was Zed who was surrounded by Shen and Akali.
Zed looked at Darius and shook his head slowly before he suddendly disappeared and left Darius alone on the battlefield. Darius looked around and searched for more allies but the only one he spotted was the unconscious Talon who had lost the fight against Katarina, Valeera and Ahri. He also spotted Cassiopeia but the half snake was also defeated by her sister and her companies. Katarina had cuffed her sister's hands with shackles with prevented her from using any form of magic.
Darius facial features were distorted in anger and despair. He charged at Garen and tried to take him out but the Demacian general countered his attack and managed to fling him to the ground. Darius tried to reach his axe but Alleria stepped on his axe and prevent that, although she was not very heavy, he lifted his axe. Darius tried to get up but Alleria landed a forceful kick in his face. Darius fell back to the ground and held his hands in front of his bleeding and broken nose.
"This is for Arator and my family. Bastard" Alleria hissed and drew her bow, aiming at Darius' head. She was about to shot that arrow but Turalyon stepped in front of her and shock his head, showing her that this was not the right way. He was shocked that Alleria was acting in this way, that she wasn't able to control her feelings. The last time were he had seen her so angry, furious and thirsty for revenge, was when she had travelled to outland and had hunted hundreds of orcs because they had been responsible for the death of her brother Lirath.
"You are not better than him if you kill him now" Turalyon said with a low and calming voice. He looked at his lover and tried his best to comfort her and calm her down. Sylvanas appeared behind Alleria and hugged her from behind. She placed her head on Alleria's right shoulder and spoke calming words, in a low voice, in her ear. Turalyon managed to calm down Alleria, with the help of Sylvanas then he managed to take Alleria's bow out of her hands. Alleria hugged Turalyon tightly and started to sob. Sylvanas and Turalyon did their best and managed to calm down Alleria after a few minutes. Alleria looked at Darius who was crouching on the ground, his hands were bond up behind his back.
Alleria walked to Darius and spit in his face before she slapped him hard. Tears formed in her eyes but they didn't run down her cheeks "You will pay for your crimes. You will have a fair trial but you will pay for your actions and crimes Darius" Alleria hissed and slapped him again before she turned around and walked to her sister who hugged her tightly. Two Demacian guards forced Darius to stand up and brought him through a portal which would lead them to the Demacian prison.
"Everything is going to be fine sis. We are winning now. This war will be over soon" Sylvanas whispered and continued to hug her. Elise hugged Alleria too and together they manged to calm her down and prevent that tears rolled.
Alleria got her bow back and followed Sylvanas who lead the group of soldiers and heroes to the central place of Noxus. The came to the main building, the heart of Noxus, were more than one thousand Noxian and Freljordian soldiers fought against the superior number of allied soldiers from Runeterra and Azeroth. Sylvanas spotted Lissandra and Sejuani who were fighting against Illidan Stormrage and Rhonin. Although Rhonin was using fire magic against the Ice-Witch who was only using ice techniques, he still wasn't able to beat her alone.
Illidan on the other side had better chances against the boar rider. He was too fast for Sejunai and managed to dodge or block all of her flail swings. He caught her flail with his left hand, in exact the same moment as the Sylvanas and the others came in his sight. He pulled on the flail and managed to fling Sejunai off from her boar. The boar charged at him but he jumped in the air so that the boar missed him and tackle a Demacian soldier instead. The boar sent the Demacian soldier to the ground and squashed his body with its massive weight.
Illidan landed next to Sejunai and picked her up then he lifted her in the air and flung her towards the group. Sejunai landed in front of Anduin who bond her feet and arms together with binds made out of light. Sejunai struggled to get free without success. A night elf mage created a small portal through which was Sejunai was brought, accompanied by a human paladin and an orc warrior.
Lissandra, who had witnessed her partner's apprehension, tried to flee but Jaina froze her feet to the ground and Karma tied her up, with spiritual shackles, to the statue of a Noxian soldier, which stood next to her. The shackles prevent that she could move or use magic. Anduin put a silence spell on her which prevented her from speaking and also from using magic too. Karma dissolved the shackles and two night elves brought the Ice Witch through the same portal, through which her partner was brought a minute ago.
Jarvan spotted a small group of Noxian soldiers who were about to flee but he focused his power and created a circle out of impassable terrain around the Noxian soldiers. The walls were at least five meters tall so that the soldiers could not climb over the terrain. The soldiers were taken out quickly and the group fought its way through the battlefield.
At the end of the large square, on which the battle took place, was a huge staircase which led to a massive building in which Swain hid. On top of the staircase stood Le Blanc who observed the scene with an angry expression on her face. Next to her stood three of her clones which started to glow and they took the appearance of Lana'thel, Vladimir and Jhin. The Jhin-clone stayed on the staircase and took his massive rifle in his hands. He loaded it and started to shot. The first shot exploded in a small group of twelve soldiers from the allies of Runeterra and Azeroth and killed them all. The second shot was aimed at Sylvanas and her group but Jaina, Karma and Khadgar created a powerful barrier in front of them which neutralized the shot.
Jhin was about to shot the third shot as blue bird landed on the clone's head and scratched his only healthy eye. The clone dropped the rifle and tried to shake Quinn's bird off but Valor was persistent and hurt Jhin before he took his rifle between its claws and flew away with it. The clone picked his revolver and tried to kill the bird but he missed the shot because he saw nothing and was only able to shot blindly in the air. The Jhin-clone was shot with his revolver again as one of Sylvanas' arrows hit him in the head, causing that the clone died immediately and dissolved quickly. Le Blanc hissed and created another clone before she opened the main building's door and sneaked it. The clone copied the appearance of Caius and started to form a dark matter sphere between its hands.
Fortunately the clone was killed by a combination of various attacks and abilities from the heroes before it was able to deal cause massive damage and destruction with that sphere. The Vladimir clone was defeated by Elise and Alleria while Alexstrasza and Shyvana burned the Lana'thel clone with their flames. It was just a clone but fire was still effective against the vampire-clone, which death was slow and painful. Ragnaros destroyed a few towers on which catapults and cannons had been built. Anduin was busy with healing the wounded while Sylvanas' val'kyries raised as much fallen as they could.
The group fought for an entire hour until they killed or captivated all Noxian and Freljordian soldiers around the main building. They climbed the staircase and opened the door which led them into a gigantic hall, large enough that at least ten thousand soldiers could fit in it.
In the middle of the room stood Le Blanc who had changed her appearance to her original appearance, also known as her true form. None of the heroes had ever thought that Le Blanc's real form was a massive tentacle creature, out of which's back came dozens of thick, long and slimy tentacles. Le Blanc's face looked like everything except a humanoid face, she had three eyes and massive, sharp teeth. She had two irrational long arms and her hands were replaced my massive claws with seven fingers on each hand.
"This is your real form Emilia? Now I will have nightmares forever considering that we had a relationship together" Katarina said in disgust, barely looking at the ugly monstrosity.
"Shut the fuck up betrayer!" Le Blanc shouted with a loud and dark voice.
"Tell us where Vereesa, Lor'themar, Ashe and Tryndamere are and we will promise you that we will spare you.
"You will find them in the famous prison of Noxus" Le Blanc hissed and stepped forwards.
"Give up Le Blanc and we will spare you" King Jarvan shouted and tried to read the monster's facial expression which turned out to be impossible.
"Never" the monstrosity shouted and lifted its left arm in the air, it performed a smash and tried to hit King Jarvan but the it was faster and avoided the attack with a quick sidestep. The massive arm landed on the ground and the heroes didn't hesitated and managed to chop a huge part off. The monster cried out in pain and lifted its arm in the air. The arm stump started to glow and it regenerated to its full size within less than a second.
The creature groaned in anger and opened its ugly jaw as wide as possible. The monsters' long, thick and slippery tongue shot out of its mouth and sneaked around Katarina's waist. It seemed that the monster's plan was to devour the red-haired assassin but Valeera was faster and cut the monster's tongue off so that Katarina dropped to the ground, the tongue was still wrapped around her waist. Ahri rushed to Katarina and helped her to get free.
Meanwhile the mages beneath the heroes had started to bombard the monster with fireballs, frost techniques and arcane spells. Alleria, Sylvanas and her dark rangers shot hails of arrows at the monster, almost all of their missiles hit.
The melee warriors were busy with dodging slaps from the irrational long arms while they were doing their best to hurt the creature by digging their weapons in its feet and lower body. Green, slimy blood flowed out of the monster's wounds. A few soldiers came in contact with that blood, which burned through armor, flesh and bones. A few soldiers were hit by a massive amount of blood which led to their death while a few others were luckier and were just heavily hurt but survived.
The elemental lords came in the room and combined their power in a thick ray. The ray hit the monster in the chest and left a huge yawning hole. The monster groaned loud in pain and it spit a large amount of blood out. The blood dripped onto the ground and burned deep holes in it.
The monster managed to kill almost two dozen soldiers but it wasn't able to seriously harm one of the heroes. The heroes fought together as a team and they managed to defeat that monster after an entire hour. The monster's body started to glow and its form changed back until it had taken Le Blanc's favourite appearance, the woman with the purple hair and the outfit which revealed a lot of her skin. Valeera appeared behind Le Blanc and cuffed her hands with magic-preventing shackles before the Deceiver was able to get away.
Le Blanc's facial features were distorted by anger and hated, she shot deadly glares at the heroes, especially at Katarina and Elise. "Betrayers" Le Blanc hissed and spit in Katarina's face which earned her a hard slap from Valeera. Jaina and Karma created a portal to Demacia together through which Le Blanc was brought. The portal was closed after the fallen soldiers were brought through it too.
Sylvanas looked around and started to walk toward the door at the other side of the room, after she had received nods from almost all heroes. A few Forsaken opened the massive door and stepped through it first then they came back and told the rest of the group that they could enter.
The group walked through the door and came into a room which was larger for more than two times than the previous room. In the middle of the room was a massive rostrum on which the last man stood, who was jointly responsible for the deaths of million in an unnecessary war.
Sylvanas was glad that they finally stood in front of the last living leader who was jointly responsible for the loss of Azeroth, the loss of beloved family members and friends, the loss of million living being, which weren't involved in the war and he was also responsible about the war in general.
The person was Jericho Swain, the leader of Noxus and the last remaining leader of the military alliance between Noxus, two tribes of the three Freljordian tribes and the Monarchs of the Darkness. He stood a few dozen meters away from the group who were staring at him, their faces showed anger, rage and fury.
He had replaced his standard long, black leather cloak with armor. His face was hidden behind a helmet through which only his piercing, green glowing eyes could be seen. His armor was decorated by massive shoulder plates and a long cape which was made out of blue feathers. His armor had a dark silver colour, his tasset was covered by purple cloth which also served as a decoration. His left arm was hidden beneath this cloak while he held his other arm in front of his upper body.
Jericho Swain looked at them, the face beneath his helmet didn't show any emotion. "So we finally meet. You think you are about to win but I have to disappoint you. You already lost. You lost Azeroth and you will lose this entire war too" Swain said with a very dark and resounding voice.
"You will pay for your crimes Swain. You are jointly responsible for the deaths of millions of soldiers" Alleria shouted angrily.
"War always demands the death of a lot of people. It's just natural. I don't see the problem there"
"It's not natural. They died for nothing and it's your fault" Alleria responded.
"You lost almost your entire army. Doesn't it matter for you? Doesn't it mater that you lost your entire army for nothing?" Sylvanas asked with a loud and aggressive voice.
"Sacrifices must be made! And I'm not seeing myself losing this battle and this war. I've planned everything and this battle is only one last step to my victory"
"You are mad. You lost your mind Swain. Give up, for the glory of Noxus" Katarina shouted to her former leader.
"I will never give up! NEVER" Swain replied insistently.
"Then we have to stop you"
"If you insist on dying then come on and fight me" Swain said with an unemotional and cold voice. He pulled his left arm out of his cloak and revealed it to the group. His arm glowed brightly green and the heroes knew immediately that Swain was infected and strengthened by fel energy.
"We are at war, do not forget that, fools. Come and get me or does your fear prevents you from moving?" Swain responded provocatively, trying to bait the group into doing a rash decision, without success.
"You will pay for your crimes Swain" Alleria shouted and drew her bow.
"My ravens will feed on your corpses after I'm done with you" Swain shouted and shot dozens of green fel lightnings at the group.