The air outside hit like a furnace when the three of them dropped from the Sanctum’s hangar. Heat rolled off the valley in waves, smoke stung their lungs, and the ground below was nothing but shattered stone and burning huts. The missiles had done their work. The nation was cracked wide open.
Lucian landed first, boots sinking into blackened soil that still smoked. He straightened slowly, cloak snapping behind him, his gaze sweeping the battlefield. The map in his mind clicked into place—their plan, their lines of attack.
Lucy landed next, Infernal Eclipse drawn, the blade already humming as it tasted the fire in the air. Black flames streamed from her hair, the heat around her sharp enough to warp the air.
Karl came down last, his aura spilling red and gold, his laugh carrying over the chaos. He cracked his knuckles like he’d been waiting his whole life for this.
Beastkin soldiers surged from the ruins almost at once—wolf-headed warriors in black steel, boar-men swinging massive axes, vultures dropping from the cliffs with spears clutched in talons. Their roars cut through the firestorm, desperate but sharp.
Lucian raised one hand. "Stick to the plan."
Lucy nodded once, already stepping forward. Karl’s grin only widened.
A pack of wolf-kin lunged at Lucian, their blades glowing with glyphs, their claws tearing the ground with each stride. Lucian shifted one step to the side. Space folded. The first wolf froze mid-lunge, his strike locked in air like glass. Lucian’s palm snapped forward, reality collapsing inward. The beastkin’s body folded in on itself, vanishing into a warped crack in space.
The rest snarled, circling. Lucian’s eyes narrowed faintly. Another fold in the air snapped open, like a door slammed sideways. Their bodies tore in half before they could blink.
Across the field, Lucy carved through the enemy’s flank. Infernal Eclipse screamed with her swings, every slash spilling sheets of fire that cut through ranks like paper. A group of boar-men raised their shields, bracing together in formation. She grinned faintly, pivoted, and drove her sword into the ground. Black fire erupted like a fountain, pillars of flame swallowing the formation whole. Their screams barely carried before the blaze consumed them.
Karl charged headfirst into the chaos, laughing like a madman. His claws glowed red, tearing through armor and flesh in one sweep. A vulture beastkin swooped at him, spear aimed for his chest. Karl caught the shaft mid-thrust, snapped it in half, and hurled the vulture into the burning ruins. He turned, swinging his fist, and flames burst outward like a shockwave, throwing bodies across the ground.
More beastkin poured in, their formations breaking apart in the chaos. Commanders screamed orders, their voices drowned by the firestorm. Arrows laced with glyphs rained from the cliffs, streaking toward them. Lucian tilted his head, raised a finger—space twisted, and every arrow bent mid-flight, slamming into the archers who’d fired them.
Lucy spun her sword, flames coiling tighter along its edge. She looked toward Lucian. "Shields first?"
Lucian gave a faint nod.
The wards feeding the citadel still flickered faint at the edges of the valley—dark glyphs embedded into the cliffs, glowing like veins. They had been weakening since the first barrage, but they weren’t gone. If the wards were left standing, reinforcements could regroup behind them.
Karl smashed through another line of beastkin, his grin wide. "Then let’s tear them down."
Lucian moved with precision, space bending around his steps as he tore through the nearest guard post. Beastkin scrambled to intercept, their spears and claws striking where he wasn’t. His hand flicked, and their bodies unraveled, pulled through seams in the air like threads cut from a cloth.
Lucy pushed straight for the glyph towers, Infernal Eclipse dragging lines of fire across the ground with each swing. The sword’s flames flared, alive with her aura, and when she reached the first tower she leapt—one clean slash, and the entire structure split in two. Fire poured into the glyphs, the runes shattering in a burst of black sparks.
Karl tore through the other side. His claws ripped into the cliffs themselves, flames spilling from his body in waves. He smashed his fists against the runes carved into stone, each strike cracking the glyphs until they shattered. The wards dimmed with every blow, their hum faltering.
The beastkin panicked. With their defenses breaking, their formations began to collapse. Commanders barked orders, voices cracking with desperation. One Epilson-ranked officer finally stepped forward—a hulking minotaur with twin axes glowing blood-red. His aura surged, strong enough to stagger weaker soldiers around him.
Karl grinned, stepping into his path. "Finally. Someone worth hitting."
The minotaur roared and swung both axes. Karl caught one, sparks erupting as the weapon ground against his claw. The second axe came down—Karl twisted, slammed his head forward, and flames burst from his mouth, engulfing the minotaur’s face. He screamed, blinded, and Karl drove his fist through his chest. The shockwave rattled the ground, leaving nothing but a smoking crater where the beast stood.
Lucy toppled the second tower. Infernal Eclipse cut through stone like paper, its black flames flooding the glyphs until they exploded outward. The wards flickered violently, their hum breaking into static.
Lucian raised both hands at once, folding the space around the final glyph array. The cliff cracked, runes twisting in on themselves before imploding into nothing. The hum cut off. Silence replaced it.
The valley burned freely now, no protection left.
Lucian lowered his hands, his cloak snapping in the heat. "Phase one complete."
Lucy smirked faintly, resting Infernal Eclipse on her shoulder. "That was easy."
Karl wiped blood from his mouth with the back of his hand, laughing low. "Easy? That was fun."
Kaelis stirred on Lucian’s shoulder, his molten gaze fixed on the citadel looming in the distance. "Don’t celebrate yet. The beast you came for hasn’t moved."
Lucian’s lips curved faintly, sharp. "He will."
Below them, the settlement was still burning. Soldiers screamed, civilians scattered, commanders scrambled. The Lion King’s guardians had yet to strike, but their auras were rising now, pressure thickening in the air.
Lucy twirled her blade once, fire spilling brighter along its edge. "Then let’s see how loud the king roars when his walls are gone."
Lucian’s gaze never wavered from the black citadel. "Exactly."
The plan was working. Newest update provided by novèlfire.net
And the real fight was about to begin.