Fallhaven’s finest thundered across the kingdom toward the southern border. The last report spoke of fire and smoke rising from the southwest, and of Voiceless among the Rond’s forces. The situation was beyond dire.

  Theodor rode astride his Twinheaded Blood Hawk, a Tier 7 beast he had hunted and tamed in his youth. Behind him flew the Winged Squadron on their Lesser Brown Gryphons, Tier 4 creatures, yet formidable mounts for the Peak Knights who rode them, bows slung across their backs.

  On the ground, Pius led the other commanders atop Shire War Horses, massive, black, battle-born steeds bred for endurance and war. Behind them, the Ember Guard charged forward on Starcrest Raptors, their fiery red armor gleaming against the earth-toned scales of the raptors, each bearing the white star-shaped crest that gave them their name. And behind them, the silver-clad Sentinels marched, their metallic forms trampling the earth.

  The force numbered thirty winged riders, five commanders, twenty Early Masters of the Ember Guard, and fifty high-ranked Sentinels forged for large-scale battle. It was not Fallhaven’s full might, but it was its sharpest blade. Theodor led them in a furious rush, anger simmering like molten steel.

  They pressed on at full speed until the chaos ahead came into view, a scattered host of a hundred Knights chasing a lone figure astride a Firehoof Steed.

  “Francis!” Theodor roared, spurring his mount into a fierce charge.

  ***

  Francis was drenched in sweat, his breath ragged as if he were running on foot instead of riding his mount. The terror that gripped him when he locked eyes with Kai in that mindless state shook him to the core. The memory of the draconic human tearing through his best soldiers like they were brittle twigs made bile rise in his throat. He had never imagined facing such a monster.

  This was supposed to be his master plan, an attack no one would expect. He could have marched straight to Fallhaven’s capital. And yet, here he was, fleeing for his life.

  I won’t give up. I still have other methods. The Voiceless will deal with the draconic one. I have soldiers left. I can still win. He forced himself to breathe, to cling to hope.

  But as he plotted his next move, his blood ran cold as he heard a scream coming from some distance straight ahead.

  Theodor was coming, his unmistakable mount soaring toward Francis like a shadow of doom, and behind him, the strongest warriors of Fallhaven.

  Francis paled and cursed his luck.

  “Fine! Come at me, all of you!” he roared, fury masking his fear. “If it’s come to this, I’ll play my strongest cards.”

  A deep blue cube floated from his storage, a magetech artifact worth a fortune. It pulsed with ethereal light before shattering into countless fragments, forming a massive portal behind him. From its depths emerged towering figures, three meters tall, clad in deep-blue plate armor bristling with spikes. High-level puppets, one after another, until three hundred stood ready, joining his hundred knights to form the last bulwark of Rond’s army.

  Another artifact, a crimson orb, hovered beside him. It split open, releasing four hundred unique-level swords that flew into the hands of his troops.

  “Come at me now, you beggars! Let me show you what Rond’s riches can buy!” Francis laughed like a madman, leaping from his mount as his own equipment flared to life.

  His golden armor blazed, veins of pure mana coursing through it like living fire. Around him, five legendary-grade longswords materialized, floating in a deadly orbit. Each radiated a deep blue glow, chilling the air with icy mana. Every weapon had been prepared for one purpose: to kill Theodor.

  ***

  Theodor chuckled as the massive army materialized from thin air. “Scraps of metal,” he muttered. He dares to take my realm with this? Puppets, sentinels, even humanoid marionettes, they had their uses, but against a true powerhouse, they were nothing but wasted resources.

  He leaned forward and whispered, “Ni, join the others. Strike his knights from above.” His Twinheaded Blood Hawk screeched in response, veering skyward as Theodor leaped from its back. His greatsword, Pyris, shimmered into existence in his hands.

  “Let’s go, Pyris, merge!” he commanded. A colossal red wyvern erupted behind him, its form blazing like molten stone before fusing into his body. Fire affinity surged through his veins, and a crimson, scale-like cape unfurled across his back.

  “Mount Vulcan!” Theodor roared, bringing Pyris down in a devastating arc. A torrent of molten aura burst from the blade, thick as lava, exploding outward like a volcanic eruption.

  Francis scoffed, his five swords spinning into a frigid barrier. The fiery slash slammed into the icy wall, hissing and cracking, but it didn’t stop. The attack surged forward in a cone of molten fury, engulfing dozens of puppets and knights. Screams tore through the battlefield as knights vaporized into gore and ash. The puppets held for moments, their arg-metal frames glowing red, before collapsing into pools of molten metal.

  Francis turned, horror etched across his face. A hundred soldiers gone in a single strike. How? Has he reached Grand Master already? That wasn’t in my reports! His thoughts spiraled as Theodor landed, heat distorting the air around him like a living inferno.

  “You… you reached Grand Master?! How? When? Why didn’t I know?” Francis stammered, his confidence crumbling.

  “Hah, surprise!” Theodor’s smirk burned through his rage as his aura flared. His core glowed like a molten heart, pumping rivers of lava-like energy through his body. He was fire incarnate, his aura carrying the Law of Heat itself.

  At the Grand Master level, mastery of an elemental aspect was absolute. Xarion had begun to grasp melting , but Theodor had already conquered heat . The next step would be to learn more about fire and merge more aspects into his aura until he could partially master fire itself. That was the Seraph realm, where one would need to explode their core and rebuild their bodies from within their destined element.

  Above even that, the Godly realm, where one was the element itself, where one's being represented a specific deep truth of the universe. Few ever reached such heights.

  Theodor swung Pyris, the air screaming as a barrier of pure heat wrapped around his crimson armor. Anything that touched him would burn to nothing.

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  “Time to die, you greedy weasel!” His roar shook the battlefield as he charged, leaving scorched earth in his wake.

  Francis paled, teeth grinding. He can’t win. Not against my equipment. No way. His golden armor blazed, mana veins pulsing like living fire. His five legendary swords spun faster, icy mana clashing against Theodor’s molten aura. When Pyris struck, three blades intercepted, and the collision birthed a storm of steam and frost, painting the battlefield in white mist.

  Above, Ni led the Winged Squadron in a rain of arrows and blood upon Rond’s forces. On the ground, Pius drove the infantry forward, avoiding Theodor’s wrath as they clashed with puppets and knights. Sentinels unleashed beams of fire mana, powered by Ultra Mana Crystals, cutting off limbs from the expensive-looking puppets. Ember Guard followed with their spears, piercing through the puppet's cores and extinguishing their artificial lives.

  Pius and the commanders carved through what remained of Rond’s knights, severing heads from horseback. The clash was merciless, a slaughter fueled by rage and loyalty. Even the riches of Rond could not stand against the fury of those willing to lay their lives for their realm.

  ***

  Umbra had shifted into her beast form, stretching to eight meters in length to carry the others while they recovered. She and Zara were the only ones still in fighting shape.

  Kai placed an Ultra Mana Crystal on Umbra’s back as the rest gathered around it, channeling its energy to replenish their mana and mend their wounds. Slowly, their bodies began to heal.

  Half an hour later, they finally caught up to what remained of Rond’s forces. The battlefield was a graveyard of shattered steel. Fallhaven’s warriors clashed with metallic puppets. Not a single living soldier of Rond remained. Only a hundred and fifty puppets still fought, their movements powerful and relentless.

  Further ahead, a vast area was shrouded in white mist, the clash of weapons echoing like thunder.

  “These are my soldiers!” Nerva’s voice brimmed with relief. “And that mana pressure… Theodor. He’s finally revealed it.” A proud chuckle escaped him. “This fight is as good as over.”

  “What do you mean?” Zara asked.

  “He’s reached Grand Master level,” Nerva said, his eyes gleaming. “This is his first battle at that tier. Once the mist clears, watch closely. You won’t often see Grand Masters fight in person.” His pride was palpable; he had trained with Theodor for years and knew the king’s strength better than anyone.

  “Let’s help clear those damn puppets,” Nerva urged. “They’re tough when in numbers.”

  “Fast,” Kai agreed. “I don’t want to miss your king’s fight.”

  “Liliya, can you cast any spells yet?” Nerva asked.

  “Fifth circle and below should be fine, and more than enough,” she replied with a nod.

  The four fighters leaped from Umbra’s back, leaving only Scry and Liliya aboard. Umbra’s voice rumbled like distant thunder. “Mage girl, hold on. I’ll rain Abyssal Lightning.”

  Black arcs crackled across her massive wings as she soared higher. With a single sweep, feather-shaped bolts of lightning tore through the battlefield, electrocuting puppets with surgical precision. Umbra’s control had sharpened since her evolution.

  “How did you know lightning works best against these types of puppets?” Liliya asked, puzzled.

  “Oh, it does? I just felt like using it,” Umbra replied honestly.

  Liliya laughed, shaking her head, then raised her arms. “Lightning from the heavens, punish those who defy you, Thunderbolt!” Bolts as thick as a thigh crashed down, charring puppets and cracking their power cores. The constructs hummed and collapsed lifelessly, their lifelines cut.

  “Good. Those we can take as payment,” Liliya grinned, floating down to collect still usable puppets.

  “Seems Rond is bleeding money,” Nerva chuckled, moving like a living siege engine. His shields, wrapped in Grand-level aura, shattered joints with every strike. Puppets crumpled as he pierced their cores cleanly.

  Zara and Xarion danced through enemy lines, a duet of death. Her green-lit blade corroded metal while his burning scimitars melted it effortlessly. Each strike was precise and deadly.

  Kai fought with less grace but equal ferocity. “Poison Jet Barrage!” Dozens of deep blue magic circles spun in the air, locking onto targets through his draconic sight. His first serpentine circle spun fast as the jets of venomous water melted through the puppets’ cores, instantly disabling the enemies.

  He then marched forward with Noxblade in hand, unleashing Lightning Spears with every slash, felling constructs in arcs of crackling light with each strike.

  In less than ten minutes, the puppet army lay in ruins. The few survivors were left for the Ember Guard to practice on.

  Pius and the commanders rode up, bowing deeply. “Lord Nerva, thank you for your aid!”

  “Raise your heads,” Nerva said, slapping Pius on the back. “Now watch our king fight.”

  Umbra landed beside them, shifting into her human form and cradling Scry in her arms, while Liliya darted across the battlefield, scavenging whatever she could.

  ***

  Within the mist, Theodor battled against five legendary weapons. Three circled defensively around Francis, while the other two darted in from blind angles, striking with lethal precision. The swirling fog thickened with every clash, shrinking Theodor’s vision to mere shadows.

  “Is this your plan?” Theodor snarled, his voice echoing like molten steel. “Hide like a coward and let your toys fight for you? You damn weakling!” Patience had never been his virtue.

  Francis said nothing. Instead, he calmly produced three artifacts: a pair of glowing goggles, a sleek magetech bow, and a vial of shimmering blue liquid. His lips curled into a silent laugh. What good is strength against wealth, fool? Everything was unfolding exactly as planned. Rond’s finest minds had crafted this strategy for him.

  He slipped on the goggles, their lenses blazing as they pierced through the mist, making everything clear as day. Then he uncorked the vial. The liquid writhed like a living serpent before surging outward, forming a towering water elemental, a humanoid wave with amorphous arms and a faceless head. Francis willed it forward as he strung his magetech bow, a masterpiece forged by Rond’s finest artisans, capable of firing arrows of pure ice with power rivaling the spells of Circle Eight magi.

  Theodor, growing impatient, unleashed waves of molten aura through the mist, hitting nothing but air, only to feel the ground vanish beneath him. The elemental slid like a phantom, wrapping around his legs before surging upward, engulfing his body in a crushing embrace. Steam hissed as its liquid form battled his blazing aura, but it didn’t relent. Tendrils of blue seeped into his mouth, his nose, invading his body, racing toward his core to annihilate it.

  Theodor’s eyes widened. What?! Vulnerability clawed at him like never before. Fury ignited, his aura boiling the elemental from within, but before he could break free, a volley of ice arrows slammed into him. Frost exploded across his body, freezing the elemental’s outer shell into a jagged prison that smothered his heat.

  The five legendary swords whirled faster, surrounding Theodore, pulsing with icy mana. The shell thickened, deepening to a glacial blue as Theodor’s fire dimmed to embers. Pyris, his greatsword, lay trapped in his grip, entombed in ice as he struggled against the invading elemental clawing toward his core.?

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