General Grandall’s eyes narrowed as the two blazing figures cut across the battlefield like blazing suns. Chapters first released on noveⅼfire.net
His instincts screamed at him to brace, yet his pride refused to allow him to retreat again.
He slammed the butt of his halberd into the ground, runes exploding with radiant blue light.
A dome of shifting energy burst outward, layers of overlapping sigils forming a barrier thicker than steel.
"Artemian Bulwark," Grandall intoned, his voice like stone grinding against stone. "Break if you dare."
Arundel’s lips curled into a manic grin. "Gladly."
The Majin Prince’s spear whistled through the air, flames roaring as he drove it against the barrier.
At the same instant, Cristopher’s bastard sword, wrapped in flames, struck it as well.
The battlefield erupted.
Flame and runes collided, tearing into each other with a deafening crack.
The shockwave blasted soldiers into the air like ragdolls, and even Roen and Princess Fiora were forced to brace as a wall of fire and light rolled across them.
For a heartbeat, it seemed the barrier would hold.
The runes flared brighter, the dome trembling but unbroken.
Grandall sneered, "You’ve overreached, boy."
"Do you know why Arundel is called The Destroyer?" Cristopher asked as he pressed the palm of his hand on the powerful runic barrier. "It’s because he can literally destroy anything if he puts his mind to it."
The young man who had reached his limit moved his lips, speaking the word that would allow them to overwhelm their foe.
Just like the sound of countless wine glasses breaking, the Runic Barrier crumbled, making General Grandall’s eyes widen in shock.
At that exact moment, the flaming spear arrived, stabbing at his armored chest.
"Disintegration!" Arundel sneered.
The Majin Prince’s spear pierced through the Mythical-Grade Armor like a hot knife cutting through butter.
General Grandall didn’t even have time to blink as his chest was pierced, hellish flames invading the interior of his body.
"Ahhhhhhhhhhhh!" General Grandall shouted in pain, disbelief, and fear as the flames engulfed his entire body.
"Generaaaaaaaaaaaaaaal!" Roen roared in fury as he tried to get past Princess Fiora using brute force.
However, the Majin Princess knew that this was the moment of truth, so she also put her life on the line to block Roen’s attempt to save the General of the Artemian Army!
Grandall’s howl shook the battlefield as his body burned from within, the runes on his armor flickering violently before they shattered one after another.
His halberd slipped from his grip, the ground splitting open beneath him as the flames consumed his flesh.
Cristopher fell to one knee, his vision blurring.
Using the skill, Disintegration, twice had drained the last of his strength, leaving his body trembling like a puppet with its strings cut.
Arundel, however, towered above the fallen Archon, his spear still buried in Grandall’s chest.
The Majin Prince leaned close, his voice like a demon’s whisper.
"Fall, old man. This battlefield belongs to The Destroyer."
With a savage twist of his weapon, the flames erupted once more, bursting out from Grandall’s back in a pillar of inferno that reached the heavens.
The scream was the Archon’s last defiance before it cut off, swallowed by fire.
When the flames finally died down, nothing remained of the strongest Artemian Archon but smoldering ash and fragments of his once-mighty armor.
Arundel picked up the General’s halberd as if it was his spoils of war.
The Majin Prince then glanced at the rest of the Artemian Army, a devilish smile plastered on his face.
The battlefield froze.
Every soldier, Artemian or Dragonkin, stared in disbelief.
The Artemian General who had killed Commander Dravon of the Dragonkin had been reduced to ashes!
Roen’s eyes bulged with fury, his roar tearing from his throat like a beast in agony.
He slammed into Fiora with such force that her shield arm nearly shattered, but she gritted her teeth and refused to yield.
Blood trickled down her forehead, her body screamed in pain, yet she stood firm.
Arundel raised his flaming spear, his aura swelling once more. But this time, Cristopher grabbed his arm, shaking his head.
"No... Enough. Your time here... it’s over."
The Majin Prince scowled but did not argue.
He could feel it too. The contract was nearing its breaking point. If he lingered longer, Cristopher’s body might be destroyed alongside him.
"Tch. Fine." Arundel’s form flickered, flames curling around him as his figure began to dissipate. He looked at Roen one last time and grinned wickedly. "Another day, bug. Pray you survive long enough for me to crush you myself."
With that, his body dissolved into a torrent of fire that surged back into Cristopher’s chest.
The Wanderer collapsed to his knees, pale and drenched in sweat, barely conscious.
But the damage was done. The Destroyer had risen, and the strongest Archon of the Artemians was gone.
Princess Fiora slammed her shield forward, knocking Roen back a step. She glared at him with fire in her eyes.
"Your General has fallen," she declared, her voice ringing across the field. "And so will the rest of you!"
For the first time, doubt flickered across the faces of the Artemian soldiers. The tide of battle was turning.
Yet Roen’s murderous gaze promised one thing.
This war was far from over!
Roen’s killing intent surged like a storm, his aura lashing out in waves that made even hardened veterans tremble.
"Don’t falter, you worms!" Roen roared, glaring at the Artemian ranks that had begun to waver. "Do you fear death more than you fear me?! STAND AND FIGHT!"
His voice cracked like a whip, forcing the shaken Artemian soldiers to steady themselves.
But no matter how loudly he screamed, the image of their General’s fiery death lingered in their eyes, corroding their morale like poison.
On the other side, the Dragonkin raised their weapons high, their voices rising in a thunderous cry.
"For Commander Dravon!"
""For the Alliance!""
The battlefield shook with renewed vigor as the tide shifted violently in their favor.
Fiora staggered back a step, her arm throbbing from the clash, but when she looked at Cristopher, who was barely conscious, she found her own strength reignited.
She planted her shield into the ground, raising her sword high.
"Forward!" Princess Fiora shouted, her voice carrying across the lines. "Their strongest General has fallen! Crush them here and now!"
The Dragonkin surged forward with roars, colliding with the wavering Artemians like a tidal wave of steel and fury.
Roen bared his fangs, wielding his sword like a War God.
His pride wouldn’t allow retreat, not after Grandall’s death.
Not when his own rage demanded blood.