Forged in battles, those closed to Kairos knew that he is the least afraid of fighting against great numbers.

Having survived the Orcs army, the black forest’s Black Wind Wolves, the Phrixus’ Royal Guards, and countless Cave Trolls, it’s impossible not to develop a few techniques.

There are plenty of Beast ranked martial techniques that could deal with fighting against a number of enemies, but to target anything above ten thousand will require a formation usually.

With the strength of a single cultivator even Huang Grade Titan ranked techniques would have trouble against that number.

Therefore when Kairos attacked, barbarians did not think much if it at first. Those that are further back even believed it to be normal rain.

The calm was deceptive to how deadly it was.

It was until one of the transparent Ki pockets touched the unsuspecting northerners that the expressions of those around rapidly changed.

Before their eyes, those unsuspecting warriors suddenly felt the familiar scent of death overwhelming them.

At first there was little except an instinctive desire to flee, though they do not know from what.

Only moments later did they found out what had casted the shadow of death upon them, but by then it is already too late.

In the first wave of Immolation Rain, one in a hundred were affected. Their flesh, blood, and internal energy fed into Kairos’ martial technique which grew mightily, turning the victims into a cloud of fire and ash that collapse into itself.

It was so quick that over three thousand died without understanding what killed them.

They may have left this world without much pain, but for those around things were different.

“Hic… Hic… Ahhh… AHHHH…!”

“HIEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!”

When the dust of their former comrades were blown in their faces, those fully-grown men and women went into full hysterical.

However, the attack did not end there. In the place where the first three thousand died, whirlwinds of terrible power remained. It formed an irresistible pull for those that stood too close, and seven thousand more perished.

It only weakened and disappeared several breaths later.

The entire Frosthral frontline army fell into chaos by the terrifying sight, but the rain only just started.

It continued falling upon them and in panic, the army fell into disarray.

The difference of experience between warriors quickly show.

Those that were sensible enough to form Ki barriers managed to cordon off the deadly rain.

As external martial arts cultivators, their Ki Barrier were formed differently. Instead of projecting a shield around their body, it appears as thin spikes that covered their skin – the length of which is dependent on the strength of the cultivator.

When the Ki pockets touched their shields, the barbarians instantly felt the invasive force that tried to wrestle their power away and they expertly snipped off the connection.

The sound of fizzled out candles and a thick burning odour washed the battlefield as most of the Ki pockets that Kairos sent out were rendered ineffectual.

However, there were plenty more that lost their head in fear; at first figuratively, then, literally so.

The number of dead increased, and when the rain ceased, a third of the Frosthral frontline army had fallen.

The screaming did not stop until long after.

While only the weaker fighters were weeded out, there was no one unaffected by what happened.

But of all who were astonished, there were none as shaken as the person who sent out the technique.

Kairos looked at the empty spots that dotted the battlefield. Those places once stood powerful warriors, but now replaced with small mounds of ash.

He looked at his palm aghast.

Born in Rutea village where every now and then someone he knew would die from starvation or animal attack, he had accepted death as a part of life long before he come of age.

Yet now having taken the lives of so many, so easily, he felt himself paralysed.

A cold tingle covered his neck and down his back. The hair on his arms raised, knowing the implications of his action.

Then, the Saint Empire warriors roared in cheer and victory.

They looked at him as a hero.

Kairos knew logically, that his strategy had succeeded, and as a result, the battles could end early and less will fall victim.

More importantly, he had planned that when news of this battle spread, the Frosthrals will be terrified, then the number of dead that would’ve been racked up by the clash of two similar forces could now be minimised.

He had won them the battle, and probably the war.

Yet there was little joy.

The dark sky covered by dust seemed to agree.

Kairos did not persuade himself that what he did was correct, nor did he hang his head in regret and make a promise to himself never to use the Immolation Rain again.

He took a deep breath, smelling the death and blood in the air. He looked at the cultivators from both sides. The reinforcements sent from the Northern Fort is cutting a straight path towards them. Esley had rallied his men in attempt to destroy the Frosthral frontlines in one fell swoop. The Barbarian Warlord, Daichin, is struggling to wrestle back some semblance of control.

There are still two hundred thousand in their way, but now momentum is on their side.

Kairos’ once dilated pupils refocused.

Opportunity is a fickle beast. Those that waited could not seize it and Kairos know it well.

“I have not the luxury to dwell. Everyone standing in on the battlefield was given a choice. I choose to protect the Snowdrifts,” he muttered to himself.

While fear and astonishment course through the battlefield, the Snowdrifts were working hard.

Kairos who is at the Formation Heart looked sharply at Daichin, his pupils constricted, as he barked a command, “Yin-Yang Array!”

Augmented with everyone’s Ki, their array shimmered, and a beautiful and mystical-looking black and white runic symbol hovered above them. A spiral within a spiral, it was the same emblem carved on Kairos’ old tome of the Origin.

A powerful wave of energy burst forth from the Yin-Yang array. It was a shockwave that spiralled outwards, knocking back all who are around the group, then with equal force, it reversed upon itself and became a suction force that pulled everyone back.

It is as if someone poured a large bucket of water into a sink, causing the water to splash outwards then spiral down the drain.

It pulled all who are nearby towards them and drained the Ki from their bodies. The Yin-Yang Array forcefully takes over close-by energy sources.

Obscured by the overcast above, the morning’s sun could not reach them. The darkness created by the ash dead seemed to linger.

The screaming had not ceased but was beginning to fade as Daichin quickly executed any who disobeyed him.

“THE BATTLE IS FAR FROM OVER. STAND YOUR GROUIND!”

Few listened willingly but the Warlord and his aides soon remedied that.

The army reformed itself, ready to continue its march on the Snowdrifts, but at this time, a great pull gripped them.

The barbarians panicked, stabbing their weapons in the ground to resist the force.

They had never fought such a strange battle, moreover such a deadly one.

Every unexplained occurrence made them jittery.

The power gathered by the Yin-Yang Array were collected in the centre of the Runic Symbol, concentrated at a single point above the heart of the formation where Kairos is at.

He locked on to his target.

A clap to thunder. The world turned monochrome.

Then, a sphere of black mixed with white appeared above their heads, and abruptly but powerfully a pillar of white light smashed Daichin into the ground.

*HRGNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNN*

A frightful grunt was the only thing they could hear in that glaring flare. They could tell that Daichin was struggling, but half a breath later, everyone saw a black lightning bolt pierce through the luminosity and struck the Warlord right on his forehead.

The wailing stopped, the world turned silent.

The commander of the Frosthral Frontlines had fallen.

The Snowdrifts are worn out, unable to fight any longer, but the barbarians’ spirits were crushed.

The tides had turned now, and not even an immortal could be able to reverse it now.

The Frosthral frontline army is still strong with two hundred thousand of their stronger warriors standing ready, but with every Barbarian Lord and Warlord killed, they only want to flee.

“Everyone run! The commander is dead!”

“Run, run, run!”

“Get away, quick! They are monsters! The Saint Empire are full of monsters!”

The barbarians ran into each other, trying to get away.

A couple of minutes later, the reinforcements arrived. Their numbers were hardly diminished by the trip here, largely thanks to Kairos’ immaculate control over where his Immolation Rain technique lands.

The leaders that brought the two thousand strong from the Northern Keep stared at Kairos.

When they heard that the godly technique that wiped out a-third of their enemies had been unleashed by their young lord, they could hardly believe it.

Furthermore, it was done for the sake of granting them safe passage, as well as to create a path towards their target: the Ku Kang Camp.

They couldn’t wrap their heads around the existence of such a martial technique, one that could rival Grand Spells and wipe out a hundred thousand in one go, but the energy needed for the Immolation Rain wasn’t sourced from the user. The victims themselves provide the power needed for the implosions.

It was a horrifying technique to use on the battlefield, as proven today.

The reinforcements took a while to come to terms that they reached after the need is over.

Kairos, accompanied by his closest friends and advisers, greeted with the new arrivals.

“Welcome to the team.”

“Sir! I hope we’re in time?”

“Exactly as planned. Any losses along the way?”

“Everyone reached intact. What are your orders, Sir?”

“First, let me know the actual team makeup.”

“Yes sir! We number a thousand five hundred exactly. The Purple Turtle Clan sent five hundred of their fighters. Another five hundred are the best mercenaries in the world – the Hurkgas - hired by Fritzgen, merchant owner of the Treasures Pavilion. Also, there are three hundred master thieves, compliments of their King, Rielon. And, lastly, there are three hundred quartermasters of the Trade Federate, here on Grand Elder Feng’s command.”

“Very good! Now is the time to charge.”

Kairos took a look at their escaping foes and the advancing Saint Empire soldiers under Esley’s orders. The fight is becoming more chaotic than ever with the Frosthrals scattering. While they no longer hold firepower, it is difficult to route them, and if the barbarians managed to return to the north then things will turn tricky later on.