Pyria had to shoulder the burden of protecting her clan, to be the tall tree that resisted the winds for them. It allowed her clan to prosper and live in peace. It was bad enough that some people were killed while she was in seclusion, but now they were directly under attack in her presence. Pyria seethed in rage, she'd do anything in her power to end the fight, even for a second sooner. She was anointed as the Grand Elder by her late father, she took it as her sacred duty. It went as far as that anyone harboring any type of malice against them was like touching her reverse scale. This has crossed that line multiple times over. “Rex!” Rex wasn’t fully recovered, but nonetheless answered the call of his companion. Pyria backed off a little and focused on defending against the fireballs. The warrior saw his opportunity and tried to force her hand, reducing the strength of each fireball but covering a wider range. Pyria, seeing this narrowed her eyes and raised her right arm. Trees sprouted around the warrior in quick succession, each one locking the space around him tighter. The warrior slashed the trees with his twin daggers, but the trees were too thick, they were created with the majority of Pyria’s energy reserves. He couldn’t fly away as it would be too slow, and it would leave him dry of energy. He ignited himself in a greater pyre and burned everything around him, the trees burned to crisps. It was too late. Pyria closed her right hand in a fist. The forest under them came alive, taking the shapes of wooden snakes. They hissed, charging against their enemy. The warrior was nervous, he avoided the first stakes to no avail, before eventually being swallowed in a sea of wood. In the air, only a wooden spherical chamber remained where the warrior previously was. The sphere trembled, splinters fell every second to the ground. The sphere throbbed with more and more urgency. “We don’t have much time.” Pyria said. Pyria was pale, that last attack had consumed almost every scrap of her energy, she only had enough for one last skill. Pyria laid down atop Rex, and both closed their eyes. Pyria’s body became faint, she phased through Rex until disappearing. Rex's black fur was turned into yellow-green, its previously silky fur was now coarse like bark. Its black and green eyes shone like the brightest torches, the heterochromia manifested the two different wills inside the same body. The wooden prison was finally destroyed in an explosion of flames, the warrior surveyed the battlefield with a hint of fatigue. “You will regret ever coming.” A low growl rumbled from the wolf. Its voice was both feminine and masculine. *** Rydel looked at the apocalyptic scene in the skies before focusing on his own battle. Their warriors outnumbered the enemy three to one, even then, they had to be careful to avoid the maximum number of casualties. Elder Aubron stood straight looking at the quivering enemies. “Don’t underestimate a cornered enemy, give your all!” He drew his katana, aiming at the opposite troops. The warriors were organized in their respective squadrons, it was formed like this to help each other defend, and be able to rotate those that were wounded. The enemy commander didn’t falter, he roused his troops, installing his voice with a hint of Dao. “We are in the hands of the Caretaker! Mercy shall be granted to the fearless! For even if we are weaker, united none shall obstruct our path to salvation.” The troops that had cowered under the elves' dominance gritted their teeth, their eyes shone with a fighting spirit, and stood in defiance. “For the Hiral Kingdom!” “For humanity!” “For the Caretaker!” The human troops shouted with passion, only their ragged appearance betrayed their true condition. After their ship got stranded, they had to constantly be in watch of their surroundings, without any proper rest. Every elf was emitting an aura of bloodthirst. The time for negotiations and talks was over. They advanced like an arrow straight to their target. The battlefield turned chaotic and messy, filled with shouts and curses. Rydel advanced behind his parents, looking for appropriate targets that were left behind by them. Naveena and Shael were running next to him. Rydel had used the last week to kill a few dozen beasts and level up to 7, he was as prepared as he could. He nodded at Naveena, and the latter used her skill, ‘Blessing of the Pale Maiden’, a single-target support skill that increased his strength, dexterity, and endurance by a whopping 10%. She then used a group skill ‘Vitality of the Fox’, that increased the vitality by 15% to the entire family, plus Shael. However, Naveena had her limits and wasn’t as effective on her adoptive parents, as their levels were much higher than hers. *** Shael was surprised by her newfound vitality surging with vigor through her body and looked at the inconspicuous fox. Naveena had used an ability to camouflage herself, her aura was indiscernible and her body was obscured. Between her small size and the fact that she was constantly moving back and forth into the blind spots of their assailants, she was almost invisible. Shael looked at Rydel, he had found an opponent in the limits of the early E-grade. Rydel was donned in a green-gaseous armor, with silver lines superposing where his pathways were, his longsword screamed with unreleased power. His silver hair danced with the wind, his eyes were two unperturbed lakes that observed with caution every movement of his rival. Both exchanged probationary attacks with their swords, the soldier being pushed with every slash. Rydel flashed to the right, a shadow went to the left at the exact moment. The soldier used a strong slash to his left and was confused when there was nobody there. Rydel’s armor had morphed, now it was colored black as the night, little white flecks adorning him like the starry sky. He stabbed the neck of the soldier. Rydel stood transfixed watching the soldier gurgle on his own blood, before decapitating him. He watched at the ground for a moment, before quickly locating another objective, his armor gradually turning back to his original green colors. Shael was surprised, Rydel had probably never killed anyone before, and he only hesitated in the last instant before coming back to his senses. She was greatly disturbed when she was made to execute a death-row prisoner. She even puked, it didn’t matter that she had already killed elves on her Trial. She admired his courage. It wasn’t time for introspection, she needed to help. It wouldn’t be seen in good light that a member of the Imperial Family stood still without helping in the middle of a war. Shael took her lance and went in search of her own battles. *** Rydel looked at his parents who were against two captains in the peak of E-grade and decided to help. He stood at a careful distance and unleashed his wings, he applied his Mantle of Night making the black feathers have an illusory aspect. He looked at the sky. The Sun shone with his last rays of light, night would soon descend. “Neena.” Rydel let the wind carry his message to her companion. She understood his intentions, she lifted her three tails aiming at him before shooting a transparent wave that veiled his body. Rydel had been applied the same camouflage that she was using, he couldn’t waste more energy as his wings were costly enough. Rydel and Neena squinted, calculating their opponent's moves. A task made more difficult because of the dexterity that made one of the captains move at extreme speeds under their perception. Naveena lifted her tails before dropping one each second, at the third, both synchronized their attacks. Naveena eyed one of the captains directly in his eyes, he became paralyzed for a second. From his point of view, two red eyes were indifferently gazing at him from the sky, he shuddered for a second before coming back to his senses. He was met with dozens of shooting stars the size of a basketball that were already upon him. They were weak, but he was forced to cut them with his sword because of the sheer amount, he couldn’t allow them to bring harm to the other soldiers behind him. Edyrm didn’t miss the distraction, he propelled one of his machetes with a gale and aimed at the captain’s torso. The captain shifted at the last second, getting the machete stuck on his ribs, he grunted and moved his hand to extract the weapon. Edyrm was on him in the same instant, leaving a trail of wind with each step. He gripped his machete, they both fought in a battle of strength to reclaim the hilt of the weapon. Edyrm quickly lost, as he was someone specialized in dexterity. He backed off and overcharged his hand in spiritual energy, forming a sharp blade that had its edge infused in wind. The captain wouldn’t simply wait for his death. He ripped the machete from him, throwing it far away. He took out a talisman from his spatial ring and tossed it to Edyrm. Edyrm charged at the incoming talisman without thinking, the captain sneered at his stupidity and prepared his finishing move. Rydel and Naveena were waiting for this moment, they both repeated the same tactic as before, this time against Thalia’s opponent. She had been stalling his rival and was prepared. She changed opponents, using her brush to paint a blue wave that prevented some of the incoming explosion, before creating a black cage to seal off the remaining blast. A muted explosion rippled through the cage before dispersing in the air. Edyrm hadn’t diminished his charge at any moment, such was his trust in his family. The captain felt overwhelming terror. He stopped his attack, overloading his pathways to muster a last-minute defense. Edyrm swiftly attacked his head, bursting it. The headless corpse dropped into the ground, a cone of blood painting the brutal scene of his death. Edyrm didn’t spare any other glance to the defeated before joining hands with Thalia to kill the other captain. Such was the fate of someone who stood at the precipice of D-grade, having survived for hundreds of years before reaching his position. A mistake cost him everything. Rydel scanned the battlefield. Their battle was almost won, Shael was dashing from enemy to enemy, only an afterimage accompanying her. Her lance was precise and deadly, she focused on those elves that were losing, to get Death away from them one more day. Even then, he noticed with sadness the corpses of some elves strewn on the field, having already departed to the embrace of Mother Earth. As the Moon made her presence known, the ground battle finished with a devastating win for the elves, no human remained alive. The Elders came and gathered everyone together. “We need to get away.” Elder Roshia said with finality. Everyone nodded in understanding, the battle wasn’t finished until the Ascended returned. They looked with trepidation at the apocalyptic battle in the sky. Where the true monsters warred. *** Pyria-Rex looked around, the battles were almost finished. The only battle that was at a stalemate was between Lady Allyna and the Priest, and only because she was specialized in defense and he was a slippery bastard. The two Ascended of the Imperial Family were easily winning against their opponents. ‘A pity, it would be nice if the rats from the Marshal Faction were at least maimed. They had the courage to send them to counter the influence of Lady Allyna.’ Pyria thought in rage. ‘It’s normal, they wouldn’t allow her to rack all the achievements of this war.’ Rex responded in a soft voice. Pyria snorted but didn’t say anything else. Even while talking to each other, Pyria-Rex didn’t interrupt their attacks. The warrior was on his last leg, only a little more and he’d die. It was then that happened. Priest Caden disengaged from his opponent. Allyna didn’t pursue him, expecting a trap. “Little lambs, it’s time for you to rejoin the Caretaker.” Caden said in a hypnotic voice. The human Ascended stiffened all at once.