Evan Valor’s departure was as effortless as his arrival, leaving the battlefield of Wolfcrag irrevocably altered. Galehorn watched the man vanish into the horizon, a casual flick of his sleeves the only sign he’d ever been there.
"A complete and utter bastard," the wolf king snarled, though the bite in his voice was laced with pure envy.
Dusk Whitmore scoffed, crossing his massive arms. "If I knew that show-off was dropping by, I wouldn't have dragged my ass all the way out here."
Ash stood frozen, his heart hammering against his ribs. It was his first time witnessing Evan's true power, and the sheer scale of it refused to settle in his mind. Two skills. That was all it took for Evan to annihilate tens of thousands of monsters. The phantom-summoned Tide Wraiths—thousands of spectral entities—still swirled below, pinning down hordes of stragglers. But the true masterpiece had been that singular, apocalyptic bolt of heavenly lightning. It had vaporized Wolfcrag’s highest-level threats in a blinding flash. To top it off, a golden pillar of light had enveloped Evan just before he left; the bastard had actually gained a level. Dusk had muttered darkly that the man only showed up to farm experience.
Despite the spectacular intervention, the fundamental balance of power remained precariously tilted. The lingering threat loomed large.
"He's gone, Galehorn," Ash said, scanning the horizon. "What's the play now?"
The wolf king’s posture had changed. The desperate, grim resignation was gone, replaced by a fierce, burning resolve.
"We don't need Evan to win this," Galehorn growled, his golden eyes flashing. "If we can't seize this opening, we don't deserve to bear the name of the Lupine. The tide has turned, and we strike now!"
He looked back toward the inner sanctums of Wolfcrag. Millions of his kin remained within those shattered walls. When Galehorn had marched his vanguard to the front, he had purposefully left no orders for the civilians in the city. Deep down, he had wanted them to flee—to take the Rift Gate and escape to the safety of Peerless City like the other races. But the Lupine were a stubborn breed. Even the cubs and those who hadn't yet awakened had refused to run. While the vanguard held the main horde at the outer gates, the citizens had organized themselves into makeshift squads, hunting down any beast that slipped through the cracks.
A deafening howl tore from Galehorn's throat, echoing across the ruins of Wolfcrag. Almost immediately, a chorus of answering cries erupted from every corner of the city.
"Lupine brothers and sisters!" Galehorn’s voice boomed over the din of battle. "For our home, we bleed one more time! If we win, this land remains ours. If we fall, the survivors will retreat to Peerless City. But today, we do not run!"
The defeatist talk of being exiled mongrels was gone. While a shred of hope remained, Azure Prime would not yield, and the Lupine would secure their bloodline through fire and steel.
The Lupine excelled in skirmish warfare, capable of dispersing into highly mobile squads and reforming at a moment's notice. Though they were all awakened classes who could easily communicate through the system Interface, they still preferred the primal clarity of a hunt-howl. Small packs coalesced into larger units, which in turn swelled into armies. From shattered arches, crumbling barricades, and overgrown trenches, thousands of snow-white figures vaulted into the open, forming a roaring white torrent that crashed headlong into the black ocean of the void horde.
Galehorn’s form expanded, his skeletal frame stretching until he stood a massive hundred meters long and dozens of meters tall. With a thunderous roar, the colossal wolf leaped directly into the thick of the monster horde. Beside him, Dusk—now a towering tiger of equal magnitude—clashed with the encroaching tide. Back-to-back, the two apex predators tore through the endless waves of beasts.
"Lupine, advance!" Galehorn bellowed.
Dusk unleashed a primal roar that shook the very air, sending a golden shockwave across the battlefield. Even Ash, soaring high above, felt the raw energy surge through his veins.
`[System Prompt: You have received Battle Fervor (Dusk Whitmore). Attack Power +10%. Duration: 1 hour.]`
Ash grinned. It wasn't a standard Radiant Aegis shield, but a powerful wide-area combat aura.
"Tear them to pieces!" Dusk's roar echoed.
The Lupine fought with reckless, savage ferocity, closing the power gap through sheer desperation. High above, Ash steered clear of the massive melee. His objective lay elsewhere: the command units. Evan had decimated the local Voidlords, but more would eventually march from the distant Prime Citadels. For now, a few high-level stragglers were still trying to rally the chaotic frontline. If Ash could eliminate them, the horde would lose both its strategic coordination and the powerful passive buffs supplied by their commanders.
"You think hiding in the middle of that swarm will save you?" Ash muttered, locking onto a massive, shadow-cloaked figure lurking in the rear lines. He drew his bowstring to its limit. "Thirty Skybreaker Strikes—die!"
A volley of light-infused arrows rained down like a localized meteor shower, obliterating the beast's defensive barrier and piercing its skull.
`[Planar Broadcast: Player Ash Valor has slain a Voidlord of The Darkwater Swarm. All players on Azure Prime receive +20 to All Stats. All players in Wolfcrag receive +100 to All Stats.]`
`[Notification: You have completed a War Quest. War Merit +1,000.]`
`[Notification: Guild members receive +200 to All Stats. Guild Contribution Points +40,000.]`
Another boss down. The stat bonuses accumulated over the course of the day were staggering. Under normal circumstances, such a massive boost would have had the entire Lupine race celebrating for a week. But now, it barely kept them afloat.
"It's still not enough," Ash muttered, his eyes scanning the endless black sea of monsters. "Unless I magically get infinite mana, we're just delaying the inevitable."
He could only do so much. He kept chugging mana potions on cooldown, unleashing Tenfold Shots to pick off high-tier elites, alternating between Skybreaker Strike and Meteor Volley to clear the pressure off the Lupine forces below.
As more and more Lupine threw themselves into the fray, Ash's brow furrowed. From his aerial vantage point, the white wave was slowly being engulfed by the relentless black tide.
"This isn't working," Ash realized. "Fighting them head-on is a losing game of attrition."
To change the course of the war, he had to cut off the head of the snake. Or at least, clog the pipes.
"Thirty-Six!" Ash called out to the captain of the 36th squad flying alongside him. "Forget the frontline. Follow me out of the city. We're going to hunt down their spawn gates."
Destroying a few teleportation portals wouldn't win the war outright, but it would slow the reinforcements. With millions of Lupine still fighting, stalling for time was their best bet.
Ash hadn't flown far before a massive, glowing prompt flashed across the sky.
`[Planar Announcement: The Skystrider Guild is deploying a vanguard of 500,000 warriors to reinforce Wolfcrag. Stand tall, Lupine brothers! The races of Azure Prime stand as one! Victory is ours! Furthermore, Caden Marlowe and Ash Valor extend a warm welcome to all elite players wishing to join the ranks of Skystrider.]`
Ash nearly lost his grip on his mount. "Are you kidding me? You can use a Planar Announcement for recruitment?"
Orion was truly a shameless bastard. Helping was one thing, but turning a desperate siege into a recruitment ad was peak Orion.
But where did they get 500,000 elites? Skystrider’s total roster was barely over a million. Were they leaving their own Guild Grounds completely undefended?
Back at the Southhaven Rift Gate, Roland Blackwood was red-faced, pointing a trembling finger right at Orion's nose. "We agreed this was a joint coalition! Why the hell did your announcement only mention Skystrider?"
"My bad, slipped my mind," Orion replied with an easy shrug. "Why don't you put out your own broadcast to correct it?"
"I'm not wasting a broadcast token on your petty marketing stunt!" Roland spat.
Meanwhile, in Peerless City, Evan Valor stared out at the sea of monsters surrounding his own walls, his expression tight with stress. "What else can we do? I'll have to hold the line here myself. Pull a skeleton crew from each active squad, grab the emergency reserves, and deploy them to Wolfcrag immediately!"
He turned to his adjutant. "And get those bastards from the Stellar Pact to mobilize supplies! If we don't get heavy defensive fortifications up in Wolfcrag, they won't last an hour."
"Sir, they say they're tapped out of resources!"
"Then tell them to dock it from their next five years of funding, or sell their damn headquarters! Just get it done!"
Following Skystrider’s initial broadcast, a cascade of Planar Announcements lit up the sky as various factions pledged their support. Inside Wolfcrag, the Rift Gate pulsed with blinding light as wave after wave of players materialized.
"I am Swordmaster Kyrin Vale!" a crisp, resounding voice echoed across the southern battlements, followed by the hum of a thousand unsheathed blades. "My disciples and I shall hold the southern line!"
"The Pardine have arrived!" a sleek, crimson-furred beast roared. "Galehorn, the blood debt of old is repaid today!"
A piercing shriek rent the heavens as a massive golden shadow cast itself over the valley. "The Golden One is here! Tremble, beasts of the void!" The legendary avian beast didn't come alone; a flock of tens of thousands of raptors and monstrous birds blanketed the skies behind it.
"Clear a path!" a commander roared. "Escort Sera Ashford! Let her cast!"
`[Planar Announcement: Peerless City is dispatching one million human reinforcements to Wolfcrag. Fight without fear. As long as I, Evan Valor, stand, Peerless City will not fall!]`
`[Planar Announcement (Evan Valor): Ash Valor, keep hunting those high-tier bastards. Don't stop. Our brothers need those stat buffs!]`
Ash rubbed his temples. Does this guy have to use world-wide broadcasts for private conversations? Was whispering him really that hard? Actually, considering the distance and regional interference, it probably was.
"Ash," Thirty-Six barked, looking at his interface. "We might actually pull this off. I just checked the regional network—every single Citadel with an intact wall on Azure Prime is sending troops."
If they could stabilize the perimeter, rebuild the ramparts, and erect a network of defense towers, they stood a real chance of turning Wolfcrag into an impregnable fortress.
"We can't worry about the big picture right now," Ash said, narrowing his eyes. "Let's do our job."
Leaving the chaos of the valley behind, they flew a dozen miles out. The density of the horde thinned out, replaced mostly by Level 100 roaming beasts.
Up ahead, a jagged, obsidian castle loomed against the gray sky—a primary deployment hub for Grimwind Fortress.
"Well, what do you know," Ash chuckled. "Grimwind Fortress again. Talk about bad luck."
`[Notification: You have triggered a War Quest: Slay the Grimwind Fortress Lord, Shadow Sovereign Black Que.]`
`[Notification: You have accepted a Warfront Map Quest: Destroy the Grimwind Portal.]`
It was pure coincidence. Evan had executed Grimwind's top-tier commanders earlier, forcing the system to designate a new Voidlord back at the Darkwater Swarm capital, who had only just teleported to this forward base to take command.
The newly minted commander was an Abyssal Dreadworm, bursting from the obsidian portal with a screech.
"Wrong place, wrong time, buddy," Ash muttered. "Skybreaker Arrow—release!"
Thirty streaks of blinding light erupted from his bow, converging on the colossal worm. The dreadworm didn't even have time to scream before its massive health bar vanished, its body dissolving into ash.
Back in Wolfcrag, another round of stat notifications flashed, sending the defending forces into another frenzy of cheers. Grimwind was proving to be a goldmine of attributes.
With the commander dead, Ash turned his attention to the portal. The surrounding monsters snarled, but none dared to step forward.
"I'm just here for the portal," Ash called out, his voice laced with mana. "Stand in my way, and you join your boss."
Even monsters understood basic survival. Confronted by a player who could delete a Voidlord in seconds, the remaining guardians slowly backed away.
Ash unleashed a relentless barrage on the black castle, his arrows chipping away at the portal's core. Within minutes, a critical strike shattered the magical anchor.
`[Notification: You have completed the War Quest: Destroy the Grimwind Portal. War Merit +1,000.]`
"Damn, Ash, that was clean!" Thirty-Six barked in awe.
"Just a walk in the park," Ash replied.
To speed things up, Ash spotted a Level 320 Elite Skeeter patrolling nearby. He cast Mindshackle. The giant insect’s eyes glazed over as it flew over, landing submissively before him.
"There," Ash said, gesturing to the beast. "You don't have to cling to my boots anymore, Thirty-Six. Congratulations, you've got your own mount now."
Stepping onto the skeeter's back while maintaining his active stealth, Ash ordered the beast, "To the next portal. Keep it within the Grimwind network."
They arrived at the next site, ten miles away, in a matter of minutes. Ash wasted no time, immediately raining down explosive arrows on the stone gateway.
Midway through his assault, the portal flared, and a massive, shadow-cloaked monster began to step through. But the moment the creature saw Ash drawing his bow, its eyes widened in sheer terror. It scrambled backward, retreating through the portal back to the safety of the Darkwater Swarm capital with comical speed.
"Human! Ash Valor! Do not push your luck!" a muffled, furious roar echoed from the closing rift.
Ash chuckled. "Too late."
A final explosive volley shattered the frame, collapsing the rift into a shower of sparks.
"You see that, Thirty-Six?" Ash said, checking his mana bar. "As long as we avoid the massive meat-grinders, we're basically untouchable out here."
"And if we run into something we can't handle, we just fly away," the wolf added, grinning.
"Exactly. I'm the polar opposite of Evan. He thrives in massive, destructive clashes. Actually, scratch that—the bastard is a monster in single-target fights too. No weaknesses." The memory of Evan's lightning storm wiping out dozens of high-tier bosses still sent a shiver down his spine.
With Thirty-Six's mount leading the way, they blitzed the remaining portals. Within two hours, five Grimwind teleportation hubs lay in ruins. The steady stream of War Merit and passive stat boosts for his guildmates was intoxicating.
"Should we hit another one?" Thirty-Six asked, his eyes gleaming with excitement.
"No," Ash said, shaking his head. "We've hit five in a row. They aren't stupid. Every remaining portal will have an ambush waiting for us the moment we show up. By staying active but refusing to engage, we force them to keep heavy guards at every gateway, which takes the pressure off Wolfcrag."
"So where to?"
Ash checked a private message that had just popped up on his screen. "We're going straight to Grimwind Fortress."
Thirty-Six nearly fell off his mount. "Are you insane? Grimwind is their stronghold!"
"Their main army is tied down at Wolfcrag, and their high-tier champions are dead," Ash countered.
"Even so, it's a Fortress!"
Ash agreed it sounded suicidal, but the message from Orion was clear. The guild leader wanted him at Grimwind.
`[Ash: Orion, what the hell is this? You want me to infiltrate Grimwind? Are you trying to get me killed?]`
`[Orion: Who said anything about infiltrating? I'm telling you to conquer the damn place.]`
`[Ash: You've lost your mind. Stop playing.]`
`[Orion: I am dead serious. Evan couldn't pull this off, but you can. You're about to write your name in the history books, kid.]`
Ash's heart did a nervous flutter. He's not joking.
`[Ash: Orion, explain. I'm an archer. I steal last-hits and snipe towers. Taking a Level 100+ fortress is not in my job description. Tell me what's going on, or I'm turning back.]`
`[Orion: Wait, Evan didn't brief you? Classic. Let me connect you to him directly. Hold on.]`
A friend request popped up. Ash accepted, his chest tightening slightly. He was now messaging the absolute pinnacle of Azure Prime's power scaling.
`[Evan Valor: Ash. There are over three hundred monster Citadels active on Azure Prime. Their endless numbers are crushing us. But if we can capture just one—if we prove we have siege capability—every single Citadel will be forced to hold back a massive portion of their garrison for defense. It changes the entire geopolitical dynamic. I can't do this, but you can.]`
`[Ash: With all due respect, how? That sounds like a pipe dream.]`
`[Evan Valor: Dusk is joining your party now. He's going to escort you to Grimwind.]`
`[Ash: Still doesn't explain how I survive a fortress's defenses.]`
`[Evan Valor: Dusk awakened a unique skill: Aegis of the Iron Shell. It grants absolute invincibility to a target for one hour. Sixty minutes of total damage immunity. With your attack speed, if you can't trigger a single Death Strike on the core within an hour, I don't know what to tell you.]`
"Total immunity?" Ash whispered. That was a cheat code.
`[Ash: If it's that simple, why me? There must be other players with the Death Strike trait.]`
`[Evan Valor: We've tried this before. Every single time, it failed. The world's rules seem to suppress standard Death Strike triggers on Citadel cores. But your build, your origin... you're an anomaly. We need to see if your system can bypass the restriction. If it works, we can systematically dismantle their strongholds one by one.]`
A thrill of excitement shot through Ash's chest. If this worked, the balance of power on Azure Prime would flip overnight.
`[Notification: You have triggered a War Quest: Slay the Voidlord of the Darkwater Swarm.]`
A shadow-draped figure suddenly crossed his flight path.
"Well, look at that," Ash muttered, drawing his bow. "A parting gift."
A flurry of arrows streaked through the air, obliterating the newly spawned Voidlord before it could even register his presence.
As the system notifications flooded his feed, Ash barely looked at them. His eyes were fixed on the horizon, toward the dark spires of Grimwind. The true hunt was about to begin.