Hao. The Awakening of the Chosen (Finish)

Chapter 10.3

"— Come on, come, sit down and tell us," Mafalda tried to calm the young man.The young man, panting, stumbled closer to them, probably from exhaustion. As he was about to sit down, he fainted from exhaustion, hitting his head hard on the stone bench.Gonzalo and Berto were frightened, thinking he was dead. However, Mafalda approached the young man and laid him on the ground, revealing a serious head injury. If they didn't hurry, they wouldn't be able to save him. Quickly, Mafalda instructed the others to form a circle around the young man and say the words,"— Aliki eni," they all shouted at once.The young man was enveloped in a series of healing green rings that lifted him from the ground while the wound on his head began to heal rapidly. When the healing was complete, the rings gently lowered him to the ground, and Mafalda quickly held him to prevent him from falling again. The young man introduced himself."Good afternoon, sorry, my name is Juan, I'm the one you sent to find Lukotico. Natalia has explained everything to me; I am at your disposal for whatever you need."Without warning, Natalia appeared on her steed, stopping abruptly in front of them."Chosen ones, we must do something; the entire kingdom is once again surrounded by the orders of darkness. I've counted at least three full battalions of soldiers, but there could be more; not all have arrived yet," explained Natalia."Let's get out of here," suggested Luis."We can't. This square is surrounded by orbs. They let me pass because they are allied with the Union Army," said Natalia.Gonzalo had an idea. They all formed a circle, holding hands, and placed Giorgi on the ground to enhance their power. One by one, they began to focus on themselves. Mafalda was the first to show her primal power—a green aura formed around her. Luis's was blue, Gonzalo's was red, and Natalia's was pink.Each of them began to rise a few meters from the ground, their eyes still white. Mafalda's power revealed itself—animal control. Luis had the power to create objects, while Gonzalo could control the elements, and finally, Natalia had the power to create dimensional portals.Metaphorically, they activated a metaphorical switch within their powers, allowing them to unleash special abilities against their adversaries.Berto with his sword and Juan with his fists stood around the chosen ones, covering their backs. The first shot came from Gonzalo, who unleashed a concentrated torrent of water, causing several orbs to implode. This was the signal the Luther's army was waiting for. They began to advance slowly towards them, then, seconds later, they sprinted towards the chosen ones. The chosen ones were outnumbered a hundred to one, but they didn't give up; instead, they continued to unleash their powers, some effective and others not. Mafalda kept casting powers, but none went where she aimed; they dispersed in the air as if from a sprinkler.They fought like this until the orbs had completely surrounded the chosen ones, Juan, and Berto. They couldn't do anything until they heard a sound coming from the forest.Moments later, waves and waves of orbs shot up into the sky. Berto and Juan couldn't see the origin, but the chosen ones could. Mafalda was proud—her hundreds of deer, boars, elks, bears... had managed to break the ranks of the orb army, filling everyone with hope. They quickly continued to unleash their powers, each one more powerful than the last.Finally, the hundreds of animals defeated the orbs, giving the chosen ones a much-needed relief. They fell onto a bed of leaves created by Gonzalo to minimize the impact. Berto and Juan had several serious injuries, but with Giorgi's help, they healed quickly.The problem arose when the Union Army approached the square, commanded by Delma. In total, three complete battalions appeared, all armed with war animals and artillery.Delma approached them in a gesture of peace."Good afternoon, you are all under arrest in the name of our emperor Ferro. Surrender now or prepare to suffer," announced Delma.They looked at each other in astonishment, without answers. Natalia was the first to speak."Do you even know what these chosen ones have just done? They saved the city; you should treat them as heroes, not as wretches," Natalia protested."Regarding that, Natalia, hand over your sword and armor. You're suspended until further notice from the Union Army, and by order of Emperor Ferro, you've been banished from the kingdom. You have a day to leave the kingdom; say goodbye to your new friends. Thank you for your service; capturing Lukotico has been very useful to us," Delma thanked her.They all looked at each other, not sure if they had heard correctly what Commander Delma had inadvertently revealed."I'm sorry; don't think badly of me. They set a trap for me; they have my children imprisoned for crimes they didn't commit," Natalia said, crying.Mafalda was the first to sympathize with her and went to hug her. The rest, seeing this attitude, also felt compassion for her, and they all went to hug her together."Delma, give us a minute to gather our things, and we'll go with you. We surrender," Berto said suddenly.Everyone was astonished, but seeing Berto turn around and wink at them calmed them down. He told them to form a circle around him, and they did."I have a plan; it's simple, it could go very well or very badly, but we must try it. Luis, your pure primal power is to create dimensional portals, isn't it?" asked Berto.Luis nodded."Good, this is what we'll do. You, Gonzalo, create a 360-degree water shield around us so they can't see what we're doing. Meanwhile, Luis, create a portal. It doesn't matter where it leads, as long as we leave this traitorous kingdom," Berto continued.Everyone agreed with this proposal and started working on the plan. Gonzalo created a three-meter-high and one-meter-wide water shield. Delma shouted at them from the other side of the shield."You can't escape. Hide all you want, but we'll find you, and it will be worse," Delma threatened.To distract them, Mafalda ordered the birds to attack the soldiers. This created a distraction big enough for the soldiers not to hear or see the five-meter-high portal. Luis hadn't calculated the portal's dimensions well; it was his first time.Delma ordered the attack. The three battalions surrounding the square began the siege, putting their elephants with catapults and crocodiles with ballistae in the front line. They didn't stop shooting projectiles at the chosen ones, while Berto and Juan fought against the soldiers. Natalia had given Juan a samurai katana, which he wielded magnificently.Luis was taking too long to create the portal, and the accumulating fatigue made it increasingly difficult to defend the position.In the distance, in addition to the Union soldiers, another five battalions of orbs of darkness approached. Berto was surrounded by soldiers who launched themselves at him, immobilizing him. Luis finally managed to create a stable enough portal for them to cross. He told them that in order to set a destination in the portal, he must have been there in person at some point in his life, which ruled out many places such as the dungeons where Lukotico was imprisoned.The first to cross the portal was Luis himself, followed by Natalia, Mafalda, and Gonzalo. Juan tried to drag Berto through the portal; he was almost dying, suffocated by the soldiers. Finally, after many attempts, he succeeded, dragging his badly wounded body along with several soldiers on top of him. The two jumped into the portal.