(ˉˉ) You didn't see that coming, did you?
The letter Elena had received contained Claire's plea for help. According to the date on it, Claire and the others had left for Pieta, the starting town on the northern front, three days earlier, preparing to launch an assault against Isley of the North.
Besides Claire and Jean, the warriors accompanying them reportedly included a large number of elite warriors from various ranks, possibly more than half of the entire force.
Elena and Ophelia naturally had no idea who "Isley of the North" was. They had barely heard of him before and had never seen him, let alone learned anything about his true strength.
But!
They had fought Riful of the West, one of the world's three most terrifying Abyssal Ones. Even with two against one, the Judgment armor bolstering them, and the ability to unleash their yoki without limit, they still hadn't been her match. They knew better than anyone just how terrifying an Abyssal One was. No matter how many warriors Claire and the others gathered, they simply couldn't hope to stand against one.
And on top of that, Isley of the North reportedly had a vast number of subordinates!
For example, there were the numerous, powerful Yoma, and even male "Awakened Ones," who were far stronger than Yoma!
Based on the information available, those creatures had long occupied the north, wreaking havoc and virtually never meeting defeat. They were so powerful that even Riful of the West had to recruit a large number of underlings to fight them.
And that was why Riful had captured several Claymores in the mountains called Mount Zakul and tortured them to induce their Awakenings. She'd resorted to such despicable methods to increase her forces and oppose Isley of the North!
It was easy