New World - A New Beginning

Keeping her word, Jean decided to acknowledge and support Human involvement in the war effort, marching into the royal chambers alongside Amelia and delivering an ultimatum. King Roy was left with two simple options: support the Dragons, or lose both of his S-ranks.

I sighed, relieved that my mobilization to Imania had not been a waste of time. I had considered the possibility that my time here would be futile, but thankfully, Jean believed in demonstrations of strength.

"Are you going back?" asked Jean, Amelia following close beside her as both girls came to see me off.

"Yeah," I said, covering myself with a dark cloak. "I look forward to seeing both of you again on the battlefield."

Jean smiled.

"I'm sure we will, One."

I shook the girl's outstretched hand, cementing our alliance once more. I noticed Amelia's slightly confused face in the background, wondering why I had been called a random number. Jean swiftly left the scene, returning to her quarters. Extensive preparations were required before the Human armies would be ready to mobilize into enemy territory, but hope had finally risen again.

"Thank you, Amelia," I said, shifting my attention to the remaining S-rank.

"You're very welcome, young man," joked the girl, her emerald-green eyes shining with pride. "You did great yesterday, Jay. I'm sorry I didn't congratulate you sooner."

I smiled, my heart warming from the heartfelt compliment.

"I was only able to do that because of the countless hours of training I had with you. Thank you for helping me grow, Amelia."

"A few more centimels to your height couldn't hurt," she responded, avoiding the embarrassment of accepting gratitude.

I laughed. My height was already pretty average for an adult of Auroria, but it was true that a few more wouldn't hurt.

"Cya, Amelia," I said finally, turning back and covering my face with a white mask, an owl's eyes engraved on the left side.

"Bye-bye, Jay."

I took off into the air, swerving through the trees. I converted the neutral bind to wind bind, enhancing my speed even further. Slow acceleration and gradual conversion of elements allowed my aura to remain relatively hidden, making it the most effective way of traversing the continent.

Small green particles of wind bind crackled with energy, yellow lightning zapping around me as I took a stance on one of the nearby branches.

BOOM

I shot off into the night, the howling cries of the wind piercing my ears.

ARES HEARTH'S POV:

I looked at the palm of my hand, noticing the slight uneasiness still lingering within my body. World Eradication was a double-edged sword, not only obliterating all enemies that it struck but also severely hindering the user's ability to fight for the next few weeks.

Asthia Darck, the Royal Princess of Lares. Her power levels were similar to mine, and yet for some reason, I believed that she was still holding back her trump card.

"Sir, we've received word from Miss Rena's forces," announced a soldier as he walked into the tent, laying out a piece of parchment on the table. "They are currently being held back by the Empress herself."

Rena was being held back by the Empress?

If the fourth S-rank could be halted by Selena Darck, then it was clear that we had underestimated the power of the Dragonkin. Simply because they didn't possess any official S-ranks didn't mean they were powerless.

"I see. Then we'll need to apply pressure on our end to facilitate their attack," I said, turning around and facing the giant map hung against the walls of the tent. "We'll abort the attack on Lares and head westwards."

"Abandon the attack?" asked the general, clearly surprised by the sudden change in tactics.

"They're waiting for us, general. We can't afford to take a fight in unknown territory simply because we outnumber them."

"But sir, they're weak! We Dwarves are better trained than they are-"

"!!"

The Dwarf's throat refused to produce any more sound, his eyes shaking in horror as I looked at him menacingly, my aura leaking forth in frustration.

"I don't appreciate it when subordinates talk back, general."

"Y-yes, sir. We'll prepare our advances westwards immediately," stuttered the Dwarf, hurriedly exiting the shelter as he barked orders to the mobilizing troops.

If we could cut off the Dragons currently engaged with the remainder of our forces, we'd be able to smash through their backline and wipe out their main Western armies in one decisive sweep. That being said, our intentions were sure to be understood sooner or later by the enemies, meaning we had to move swiftly if we had any hope of catching the Dragonkin off guard.

A few days, that was all the time we needed to move a small death squad into the enemy's rear. If we were to take any longer than that, Asthia Darck's forces would begin moving north and recapturing uncontested grounds.

I walked out into the brimming sunshine, squinting as I watched thousands upon thousands of iron-clad soldiers marching into formation.

"We bring 20,000 troops. No more," I signaled the general, the Dwarf nodding obediently.

"Yes, sir. We'll begin our attack in a few hours."

SELENA DARCK'S POV:

BOOM

"Empress, the enemy has re-engaged our frontlines!" cried out one of my scouts, my body immediately rising from my seat and setting aside all plans and letters I had been writing.

"Where is the Emperor?" I asked, worried that my husband was nowhere to be seen.

"He was located near the frontlines when the enemy engaged."

My eyes widened in horror, fear spreading across my body. Was this a targeted attack? Was the enemy aware of Irox's position?

I marched out into the light, a massive wyvern landing in front of me. I mounted the beast, communicating telepathically as I looked around.

The wyvern roared, calling upon its brethren other wyvern riders heard the call and began mounting their own beasts.

"Infantry battalion one and two, reinforce the frontlines! Riders, with me!" I bellowed, the soldiers immediately cheering as they charged towards the designated location. Four wyverns rose into the air, my eyes glancing at each and every one of them.

Let's go, I ordered, the giant wyvern lifting off into the air as it finalized the aerial formation. The wyverns zoomed across the battlefield at terrifying speeds, my eyes analyzing the situation as we approached the location where both forces had clashed.

I raised my arm, bind erupting around my palm as it concentrated into a giant spear of crimson flames.

"Dive!" I yelled, the squadron obeying my orders as they plummeted downwards. I focused my energy into my eyesight, attempting to locate my target. A girl covered with plants and leaves caught my attention, her long blonde hair vibrantly standing out from the stainless steel armor of her soldiers.

Rena Vye...

I charged back, releasing the attack as I launched the spear right towards the S-ranked Fei. The weapon of fire screeched through the air, ripping apart the strands of neutral bind as everything disintegrated around it.

BOOM