NOVEL NEXT Chapter48- First Strike
Sia stood in front of the troops, her arms crossed, the wind brushing her coat lightly.
Sia – "Listen, mages. You all know what to do. In just a few hours, this gate will open… and we'll move according to plan."
Her voice was calm, but firm. All mages nodded in silence — their faces steady, eyes forward.
Kaen stood silently at the edge of the crowd, hiding under his gray cloak. His heart was beating hard, but his eyes held no fear. Kaen – (in his mind) "That's my chance…"
Sia pulled out the white spell scroll — a faint aura of smoke circling it. She raised it high for the unit to see.
Sia – "When I break this spell… the gate will open. We charge — silently, but fast. No mistakes."
Tension rose. Boots shifted. Fingers gripped weapons.
Veon took one step forward. His eyes closed slowly as he lifted his hand. A soft blue orb — the Perspective Sphere — began to rotate around him, spinning slowly, humming low.
Veon – "No elite detected nearby…"He opened his eyes. A sharp look in them now.Veon – "Maybe they're guarding near the wall. I'll go ahead and check the path."
The sphere pulsed once, then faded back.
The wind blew through the open trees. The Ryuki mages didn't flinch. They were ready.
"Everything's going good," Veon said.
Suddenly, a light appeared.
Veon shouted, "It's an Elite!"
Boom! A sudden attack landed on Veon. He instantly summoned his shield—sword, and the shield clashed with a deafening impact.
"Damn, he's fast!" Veon growled.
The whole unit tried to attack the Elite. From behind, a storm of magic-filled arrows came flying—fhhh! fhhh! fhhh! Some members got injured.
Kaen jumped—water splash!—and hurled his attack toward the Elite.
As he was climbing up to reach the Elite, a girl leapt in, stopping Kaen's attack with her charged stick. The water splash got deflected and hit a tree instead—splash!
Veon and the Elite kept clashing—boom! bBoom Boom!
On the right side, Mekamaru moved silently, whispering to himself, "So Veon is fighting an Elite… The battle is heating up in the central zone."
Veon, barely dodging the rapid strikes, grits his teeth.
Kaen, still focused, muttered, "Who is this girl? She's strong."
He kept attacking with water splashes, but the girl dodged every one of them. The central unit was fully engaged in the ongoing fight. Mages kept charging arrows from the backline.
Veon took a scratch on his arm.
The Elite smirked. "What's up, Veon?"
But suddenly, Veon's wound healed.
The Elite looked around. "Who did it?"
Then he saw someone sitting on a tree branch above.
"So, you're the healer," he said, and charged an arrow at the figure—tdhhhhh!
Kaen instantly deflected it with a water splash.
The Elite snarled, "You little punk… mother fucker..
From behind, the girl charged at Kaen, and from the front, the Elite came rushing too.
Veon shouted, "Zephyros!"
Boom! A massive ancient hawk, Zephyros, appeared in a flash—thuddddd!—and struck the Elite with full force.
Kaen dodged the girl's magic-charged stick just in time.
In mid-air, Kaen yelled, "Water penguin!"
Suddenly, a swarm of water-formed penguins burst onto the ground, charging fast like sharks.
The girl fought back, attacking them rapidly with her stick. But one of the penguins struck her back hard—fsshhhh!—sending her flying straight into a tree. She hit her head but managed to regain consciousness quickly.
Kaen leapt toward her.
"Water cannon!" he shouted.
Boom! Fssshhh! The powerful water cannon blasted, creating a hole in the ground. Kaen landed, breathing heavily.
The girl lay inside the hole, blood-covered and defeated.
Veon stood tall on top of Zephyros.Kaen was stunned by his presence—the very air around Veon turned red. His hair shifted to pure white, and red flames danced around him like spirits.
Kaen, in sudden admiration, whispered, "So that's how my brother fought... the Hero of Ryuki City."
The Elite mage suddenly charged."Blue Whale Echo!" he shouted.
A deafening echo tore through the battlefield. Kaen clutched his ears in pain—even the giant hawk flinched and backed off slightly.
Then Veon calmly spoke, "Summon a portal."
A portal swirled open near the Yuzen Elite.
"Rhizo," Veon called.
From the glowing portal, a massive rhino burst out—BOOM!—slamming into the Elite's back. The Elite rolled across the ground, crashing into trees and stones with brutal force.
Veon chuckled slightly. "Haha... that's enough, you Yuzen Elite."
Dust and stones were scattered. From within the rubble, the Elite laughed back. His look had changed.A silver armor now covered his entire body.
"Your stupid summon won't break me," he growled.
Slash!With a mighty swing, the warrior sent a massive energy slash flying straight at Veon.
"Hawk Blast!" Veon shouted.
Zephyros opened his beak, charging an energy ball.
"Shoot!"
The blast from Zephyros collided with the enemy slash—BOOOM!The ground trembled from the impact.
Kaen's eyes widened in awe."S-So that... is the power of an Elite..."
The Elite burst out of the air-blast impact, charging straight toward Veon.
"I am Sumasu, the mage of Yuzen!" he roared, swinging his sword mid-air—his blade aiming straight for Zephyros.
Veon remained calm."Blood Bath—technique."
His entire body was suddenly drenched in blood—his aura turning sharp and violent.
Veon launched forward. Just as Sumasu's sword was about to strike Zephyros, Veon spun and kicked the blade thnnnnnnn aside, redirecting it.
Still airborne, Sumasu smirked."Oh? You've changed your state... Never mind. I'll still devour you.
We, Yuzen, will curse you, fellow. Soon, the day will come when our leader, Zacky, will taste your mother's soft ass. hahahah
Veon's Eyes turned red, and his face was full of rage shout -What did you just say?
"Blue Whale Echo!" he roared again.
The devastating echo spread—disrupting Zephyros and making Veon flinch. Veon clenched his jaw, covering his ears.
Sumasu used the opening.He stepped on Zephyros's back and punched Veon hard in the chest—BHUMMMMM!
A sickening crack echoed through the sky.
Pain shot through Veon's body—his eyes wide with agony.