NOVEL NEXT Chapter 124: The Retreat
The three celestial battlefield now lay in ruins, a shattered land scarred by the fury of war. Jagged cracks split the earth, some no wider than a finger, others yawning open like the maws of ancient beasts, deep enough to swallow entire legions. Scorched craters pockmarked the ground, their edges still glowing faintly with lingering embers, whispering of the devastating clashes that had raged here. Dust and debris choked the air, swirling in restless eddies with every gust of wind, carrying the scent of charred flesh, burnt metal, and the sickly iron tang of dust.
Mountain stood as cone husks, their brown layer twisted in silent agony, their top reaching skyward like gnarled palm grasping for salvation. Boulders, once steadfast guardians of the land, lay shattered, reduced to jagged ruins by the relentless force of combat. Pools of molten rock bubbled and frothed where the earth had been torn asunder, their eerie glow casting flickering, eldritch shadows across the devastation.
Yet, amidst the ruin, the beasts pressed forward, undeterred, relentless. They emerged from the haze like specters of war, their monstrous forms twisting in the gloom. Clawed feet clicked against the cracked earth, the unnatural gleam in their eyes betraying the hunger that drove them. It was as if they moved under the thrall of an unseen will, unshaken by the carnage around them. The ground trembled beneath their march, a slow, rhythmic drumming, heralding destruction yet to come.
In the distance, the storm of battle had not fully abated. Lightning-like bursts crackled across the ruins, casting ghostly flashes against the dust-laden sky. Echoes of battle cries still rode the wind, mingling with the clang of steel and the distant roars of unseen horrors. The battlefield was not yet silent. It pulsed with the remnants of war, a wounded land that had not yet finished bleeding. And soon, the next clash would carve deeper scars upon its already broken soul.
At the southern frontline, the battle had taken a dramatic turn. Kal, Seraphina, and Centric hurled themselves into the surging tide of primordial beasts, their figures mere flickers of resistance against the monstrous flood. The battlefield roared with chaos, earth shaking beneath their feet, wind screaming as fangs and claws tore through the air.
Centric, eyes blazing with unyielding resolve, channeled his sword technique. "Flameborn Spirit: Flame Spirit Brutt!" The very air around his blade trembled as molten energy coiled around it, reshaping into the massive, horn-like weapon of a primordial rhino. With an explosive thrust, he drove the flaming horn deep into the back of one of the monstrous rhinos beneath him. The beast let out a deafening wail, its agony sending tremors through the ground. It staggered wildly, its massive frame crashing into the stampeding horde. Like an avalanche, the fallen beast triggered a deadly chain reaction, bodies colliding, hooves trampling, the unforgiving weight of the tide crushing its own kind. Yet Centric did not stop. He leaped from one collapsing beast to another, his blade a trail of fire in the shifting storm of flesh and fury.
Meanwhile, Seraphina fought against the brutal tide, her body at its breaking point but her spirit refusing to falter. She unleashed "Mountain God's Crushing Fist: Avalanche Barrage!", a relentless flurry of punches, each lighter than the devastating force of her usual technique, but more rapid, compensating for her waning stamina. Her strikes, precise yet powerful, crashed into the beasts' colossal horns, causing tremors to ripple through their skulls. She struggled to maintain her balance atop the writhing monsters, the beasts beneath her thrashing in a desperate attempt to throw her off. Every motion was a battle against the sheer force of nature itself, but with each strike, she carved pain deep into their flesh, their agonized howls merging with the cacophony of war.
On the far left, Kal danced along the edge of disaster. His body screamed in protest, exhaustion threatening to pull him under, but his grip tightened around his twin-edged sword. "Infernal Edge: Flame Surge Dash!" A burst of searing fire ignited from the flame edge of his sword towards his rear, propelling him forward like a meteor streaking through the sky. The blistering heat of his blade illuminated his path as he cut through the tide with precision, his burning steel a beacon amidst the chaos. His speed had waned, his movements less fluid, but his strikes remained lethal. With every downward swing, his blade carved deep into the skulls of his monstrous foes, leaving molten wounds that sent them into agonizing convulsions. Some toppled mid-charge, their towering frames crashing into their own ranks, throwing the battlefield into further disarray.
And so, the tide that once surged with unstoppable fury began to falter, its momentum crumbling under the sheer will and technique of the warriors who dared to stand against it.
Amidst the chaos, near the beast's towering form, a shadowed figure stood encircled by a ring of primordial beasts. Only its twin purple eyes flickered through the gloom, like distant stars peering through the night. A low, guttural growl rumbled from its throat as it absorbed waves of transmitted messages from the battlefield, processing the dire situation unfolding at the frontlines.
Then, without warning, the figure released a faint roar, first a whisper of sound, then two successive, deeper growls that reverberated through the air like the tolling of a war drum. In response, the primordial rhinos surrounding it began to radiate waves of blistering thermal energy, their thick, armored hides glowing with an ominous heat. The atmosphere itself seemed to warp, the scorching air twisting into ghostly mirages, making the beasts appear as though they were wading through layers of shifting wind.
Kal, Seraphina, and Centric were the first to feel the suffocating effects. Their bodies sweltered under the oppressive heat, sweat pouring down their faces in relentless streams. For Kal and Seraphina, already drained of their stamina, the very air seemed to betray them, turning thin and unbreathable. Their chests heaved, but the oxygen they desperately sought refused to reach their lungs. Their vision blurred, dizziness seizing them like a vice, and within moments, their consciousness wavered. The two collapsed, slipping from the backs of the towering beasts.
Centric, caught in the thick of it, reached out instinctively. His left hand shot toward Kal, fingers trembling with urgency, but when he opened his mouth to scream, no sound escaped, his voice devoured by the smothering heat. Panic struck as he turned his gaze leftward, where Seraphina plummeted, her limp body descending toward the unforgiving earth. The ground beneath her was a graveyard of dust and charging beasts, their massive hooves a crushing tide.
Dust surged around Seraphina, almost swallowing her whole. Just as the monstrous foot of an oncoming rhino prepared to end her existence, a blinding blue streak carved through the battlefield, a vision of speed rivaling light itself. In the blink of an eye, the figure grasped her frail form and dashed away, escaping mere seconds before the beast's foot slammed into the earth with a thunderous impact.
Kal, meanwhile, tumbled from one beast's back to another, his body rolling like a fallen leaf caught in an unforgiving storm. He barely had time to register the crushing presence of an oncoming rhino, its massive horned head barreling toward him like a battering ram of destruction. Death loomed, inevitable, until the same white blur reappeared in a flash, seizing him before the beast's deadly charge could reach him.
Centric's gaze danced frantically, searching for the blurred figure amid the chaos, when a voice rang out from behind him. He spun on his heels, scanning the battlefield before instinctively tilting his head upward. There, suspended high in the midair, was Hung, his presence a defiant beacon against the storm of destruction. In his powerful grip, he held Seraphina in his right hand and Kal in his left, his wings unfurled like a celestial guardian braving the abyss.
The primordial beasts, sensing their defiance, unleashed a barrage of devastating energy beams, each one tearing through the sky with merciless intent. Hung, his three pairs of wings beating like rhythmic thunder, maneuvered through the onslaught with impossible precision, his figure weaving between the glowing trails of death.
"Assistant Astro Lord..." The words barely escaped Centric's lips, his voice caught between awe and disbelief as he watched the spectacle unfold.
Hung's voice cut through the carnage with unwavering authority. "Prepare to retreat in five seconds." The words were an order, not a suggestion, before his figure blurred and vanished into the distance.
Centric barely had time to register the command when the Mountain Astro Aether Glide appeared, its massive silhouette breaking through the chaos like a herald of salvation. In that instant, clarity struck him, this was the plan. Without hesitation, he leaped off the beast's back, his body soaring through the air as he raced toward the approaching Aether Glide.
Then, three projectiles erupted from the vessel, streaking across the battlefield with a deafening whistle. Their impact sent shockwaves rolling through the sky, explosions tearing into the monstrous tide and forcing them into a momentary halt. Centric didn't need another cue. With a final burst of speed, he boarded the Aether Glide, retreating alongside his allies as the battlefield raged behind them.