The lands were tainted red. Blood flowed through them like rivers. Every step was made more difficult by the sheer amount of bodies that lay on the ground. Intestines were splashed around the ground, and shattered bones and shredded limbs adorned them.

The cries of battle and the screams of pain filled the air. The occasional sounds of explosion as powerful cultivator felled many were present as well. The battlefield was a cacophony of violence and blood. Perhaps most horrifying of all were the moans and screams of those fallen soldiers incapable of moving.

Those damned humans.

They had grown too bold, and their continuous assaults led only to more death and destruction. My tongue clicked against my teeth in annoyance.

I weaved to the side as a sword slashed at me. I was given no time to breathe as the blade seemed to blur and blow after blow was thrown at me. I was on the backfoot of this confrontation. There was a half-second as my opponent attempted to restart their barrage. I give him no such opportunity.

My tail raced through the air and slammed against his side. The Crack of bone and groan of pain was all I needed to push on further. My strike put me on the offensive, but the outcome of the battle was unknown.

Thrust after thrust was parried away. Even with the advantage of my tail, this human was able to evade most of my attacks and block those that he could not.

My qi roared through my body as I pushed it to greater and greater feet of speed, but we were stuck in a deadlock. None able to overcome the other.

I growled in frustration as my tail flicked around. I had to end this.

Once again, we engaged each other. Sword slash met spear thrust, kick met tail, and punch met claw.

We weaved in and out of each other attacks. All other soldiers that approach were shredded instantly.

This was not a battle that ordinary people had the right to intervene in.

I grunted in pain as he slashed at my arm and tore past my scales and into my flesh. I had made an error.

He pushed on his advantage.

A thrust to my chest. I made no moves to dodge.

As the spear pierced through my chest, I grabbed ahold of him and clamped my arms around him. The sword sunk deep in my chest, but he was unable to move.

The pain was like fire, but I kept holding on. He struggled but to no avail. My limbs had been locked by qi, and with the natural strength advantage of my species, he could not escape. I hugged tighter.

Crack! The sounds of bone-shattering were audible.

Crack! His arms snapped as they were pushed too deep against his armor. The bones were visible, but I did not stop there.

His struggling had turned savage. He rained kick after kick into the stomach, but I held fast. Each blow was heightened by qi, and each left me straining from their strength.

The pain was brutal, but this was my last chance to get rid of him. He was too much of a threat.

I continued to crush him.

Blood gushed out of his mouth.

His kicks turned frantic. His chest erupted in blood and guts. He screamed in his language, but my men kept his from approaching.

Soon after, his movements turned still. My body was covered in blood and bones. My arms ached from the effort, but I kept ahold for a couple more seconds before dropping him.

My body ached in pain, but now that the biggest threat was down, this battle would be much easier.

I channeled qi through my wounds and closed them temporarily. This still burned, but that would have to do for now. The medics would come after.

I grabbed my spear off the blood-ridden floor.

My eyes did not linger on the latest addition of bodies to the ground.

"Aaggghh." I dodged to the side as a human rushed at me with his blade outstretched. The desperation and anger in his eyes were pathetic.

With a flick of my tail, I dragged him to the ground. There was a splash as blood and organs were thrown into the air.

I stabbed my spear through his head and deep into the rocky ground. Many of his companions charged after him.

Each was dispatched with practiced ease.

They were not like their general. The madness of the mist hampered them too much.

They did not stand a chance.

Humanity didn't stand a chance.

So why keep attacking? My frustration only grew at the question.

I shook it out of my mind. I was in the middle of combat. Unnecessary thoughts weren't needed right now.

"Keep attacking men. They will all fall soon. Victory will be ours. Their general has fallen."My voice boomed out unto the battlefield.

My men pressed on harder. The enemy's forces started to falter at the renewed pressure. It was clear to see that we would emerge victorious from this confrontation.

I leaped into battle again, and like a hurricane, I tore through the battlefield. Even with my wounds, I was still at the 5th stage of the 3rd realm.

The Sky Realm.

They stood no chance.

Warm blood splashed over me as I tore limb apart and cut down men by the dozens. As my rampage continued onwards, the strength of the humans continued to decrease.

They had none to challenge me.

Their general and their greatest warriors had been targeted first. They had no one to give them orders and could not retreat. We had pushed them in the direction of the southern mountains.

There was nowhere for them to go but up into the cold and unforgiving terrain of the mountain. There some of the most fearsome beasts fought for supremacy. A weakened army would be picked apart and eventually die in the mountains.

They knew that, and it was clear to see the fear in their eyes.

I tore off the head of another human before channeling my remaining qi through my body and drawing on the power of the void mist. I opened my mouth, and instead of my voice, what came out was the scream.

It sounded like madness and pure destruction. Words could not do it justice.

My lizards immediately shut off their eardrums. Some were too slow and began to froth at the mouth and screamed in pain as their minds shattered.

An unfortunate circumstance.

The humans fared much worse.

They had earplugs, but amid combat, many of them were too slow to put them in. They all screamed in pain as pure insanity fell upon them. Their screams added only to the bizarre symphony of battle. Many of the remaining ones tried to rush to me, but my men stood at my guard. All attacks were halted.

Finally, I closed my mouth and nearly passed out from exhaustion. I could not continue the battle. I had no qi left to spend.

I was quickly escorted off the battlefield by a platoon of my men. It wasn't necessary given how little of the humans remained, but it had to do. I would pass out from any more exertion.

The rest of the battle was a massacre.

At least it was short.

There were roars and hisses of victory. The celebrations started almost immediately after the men returned to camp. Booze flowed, and songs were sung. I even saw Mukera telling his story of having felled hundreds at a time.

That self pretentious lier.

I could only chuckle at the jubilation of my men.

They needed this. The constant pressure of the human attacks was getting to them. We had won all of our confrontations, but that could not be said for all the empire's armies. The eastern and northern borders were safe, but the southern borders were in chaos.

And unfortunately, we could not get to their aid due to the constant pressure from humans. Their recent aggression was confusing.

But their sudden unity under the "Oracle" was worrying.

The medics were able to make quick work of my wounds, but they would still take time to heal.

As I lay in my bed and recovered my strength for the inevitable next confrontation with the humans. I couldn't help but recollect how many we had lost.

The empire kept sending new recruits our way, and they kept dying nearly as quickly as they were arriving. This had to be true for humans as well.

What would they gain from this? The land they wanted was not worth all the losses.

At this rate, we would both weaken ourselves too much. And then the Flexian Monkeys could wipe us both out in one fell swoop.

I could only sigh at my unanswered questions.

I was the [Emissary of the Void Mist]. Yet, I couldn't stop this blasted war. That oracle of theirs needed to be dealt with.

"General" My attention turned to the dark green-scaled lizard that walked in.

"What is it, Bruerban?" I hissed out in annoyance. I needed my rest now.

"Orders from the grand patriarch." My blood nearly froze as I heard the name.

"The gran..grand patriarch?"

He nodded his head vigorously. "Yes, General."

Immediately I sat up, but I wished I hadn't as a searing migraine that assaulted me. I held my head as I waited for it to abide slightly.

"Are you okay, sir!" Bruerban hurried over to my side and steadied me.

"I will be fine." I grimaced slightly at the pain but pushed through it.

"What is the order of the Grand Patriarch?"He still looked worried, but as he saw my gaze, he gulped slightly before speaking.

"You have been ordered to return to the Holy capital."

" What!"

I grimaced again as the migraine flashed. "Why?"

"The message does not say. It only says that general Cruenlan will be taking over your position."

My worry eased slightly at the name. Cruenlan was one the most competent lizards I had ever met and, I would trust him with my cohorts, but I was confused about the withdrawal.

I had been doing the best of all the empire's forces. It didn't make sense to recall me. My tail twitched at the uncertainty.

"When does he want me back?"

"Immediately. The return carriage is already here." Despite my migraine, I stood up and pushed past him before peering outside the command tent.

Sure enough, there was a carriage carrying the emblem of the grand patriarch. I had to go back. As I drew my head back in, I continued to rack my mind and figure out what exactly was happening.

Yet no reason came to me.

The grand patriarch hadn't recalled anyone in the past thousand years, at least according to the history books.

"Is Cruenlans here?" I asked as I turned my attention back to the still present Bruerban.

"Yes, Sir. He has already set up his own command tent. All he requires is that you tell the men about the transference of power. "

" Well, then I'll have a lit talk with him." I reached to the desk and put on my uniform before rushing past Bruerban and looking for the tent.

It didn't take me long to spot it.

Cruenlan was never the type to lay low. The tent was rather extravagant looking. The bright red and gold coloring could belong to no else but that lizard.

The two guards at the front saluted and opened the tent entrance as I approached.

"Cruenlan, you warm-blooded fool, what is going on?" I barged into the tent and was given pause at the sight of multiple crimson-tailed female lizardfolk feeding him. He lay on his gold-embroidered bed and wore what was decidedly not battle attire.

"Well, good to see you too." As he spoke, he was fed fruits.

"Get out." I hissed. The crimson-tailed ones exchanged glances with the general before he waved his tail, and they exited. They shot looks of fear at me as they skittered out.

"Well, then Mukerkan, what can I help you with?" He continued to lay upon his bed as he spoke. He was an indulgent person, but I thought no less of him for it. When it came to business, he was always on point.

What is going on? I asked as I approached him.

"I have no clue Muker. One minute I'm still guarding the forest, and the next, I've been ordered to take over your position." He shrugged his tail as he spoke.

"So you haven't been informed of anything?"

"No, I have not. You are higher ranking than me, Muker. If they haven't told you, they definitely haven't told me." He rose from his bed before heading over to his cabinet and grabbing some wine.

"Did you mess up?" My tail twitches violently at his suggestion, and I hissed at him.

"Relax. Relax." He raised his hands as he spoke. "I was just wondering. I don't really see why else they would want to remove you from combat."

I sunk into a nearby chair and sat in silence. I had no clue what was going on, and I didn't like it.

"Hey, listen to me, my breven. I understand it's confusing but don't worry about it too much. It's the grand patriarch. You'll be fine. It would be foolish to do anything harmful to you. You are the best general in millennia." His words of comfort were touching, but my unease remained.

"That's the problem. I don't know what to expect from the patriarch. The last person that he called for was killed."

Cruenlan took a swig from the wine bottel. "That's is true, but all those before were rewarded. You worry too much."

"Yeah, I guess so." Perhaps I was overthinking this.

"Anyways, if you don't mind, could you leave? I was just bout to have some fun with those crimson tails."

I spluttered in surprise at his question before bursting out in laughter. That was Cruenlan, alright.

"Yeah, sure."

As I made to leave the tent, he called from behind. "Stop worrying, and can you tell them to come back in?"