NOVEL NEXT Chapter 285: Fire Spirit
Ravok steps forward, his aura a crushing tide of molten iron. His voice carries the fury of a lifetime of resentment.
"You lived fat while we begged for scraps, Brarth. Tonight, the scales balance. Tonight, we take what should have been ours all along."
Brarth's chest rumbles with dark laughter. He spreads his arms wide, his aura exploding outward like a volcano. Flames roar into the sky, blotting out the stars.
"Hahaha! You dare lecture me? You just broke through peak Tier 6 and already act like you're better than me! I'll burn you all into ash tonight."
The sky itself trembles as the two sides face off. Ember light and bloodlust fill the night.
Brarth's aura erupts in a blazing inferno, heat waves rippling outward. The stones under his boots glow red from the sheer intensity. His fiery cloak lashes behind him, crackling like a living beast.
The five traitor rulers sneer back, their auras clashing against his, splitting the air into jagged currents of power.
Kaelen's storm-charged voice booms.
"Bold words from a man who hides behind his rank! Let's see if your flames can withstand our storm!"
Brarth doesn't wait. His pride won't allow hesitation.
He launches forward, his fists wreathed in fire thick enough to melt steel. His strike crashes toward Ravok and Kaelen both.
BOOM!
Kaelen meets him with a thunderclap, lightning dancing down his arms. Ravok intercepts with a stone fist fists, every blow echoing like an anvil strike. The three clash midair, fire, storm, and stone exploding in a shockwave that sends tiles and rubble scattering below.
Brarth snarls, pushing back both of them with sheer force.
"Teaming up?! Fine! I'll bury you both in the same grave!"
Their battle explodes upward, firestorms and lightning bolts splitting the night, molten sparks raining down on the city.
On the ground, the other peak Tier 6 Ember warrior charges Malrik, his greatsword ablaze.
"You frost-blooded coward! You think flame will bow to ice?!"
Malrik's eyes flash cold, frost curling along his fingers as he summons a blizzard around his blade.
"Fire burns bright… until it's smothered by winter."
The two collide, flame and frost exploding in a hiss of steam that blankets the battlefield.
The remaining five Ember Tier 6 roar as one, rushing toward Gorvak, Selira. They know they can only fight the two of they are together, so they carry the burden together.
"Formations!" one Ember high-level tier 6 bellows, fire sigils spiraling around his body. "We fight as one flame!"
Selira's lips curl into a smirk, fire gathering around her hands.
"Pathetic. Five against three, and yet still, you'll fall."
Her flame crashes forward, unnatural and violet, clashing with the Ember clan's scarlet blaze. Gorvak barrels into their formation, his massive axe cutting through wards like paper. The fifth ruler follows, his voice booming curses as his aura presses hard.
The air fills with fire, blood, and screams as the two sides collide.
Inside the blacksteel carriage, the battlefield spreads before Alix's eyes like a living tapestry of blood and flame. The gates of Ember City lie shattered, burning timbers scattered like bones. Human clashes against human, monster against ember warriors, fire drowning fire.
Alix sits unmoving, one arm resting against the armrest, crimson eyes half-lidded as though the destruction below is nothing more than a performance staged for him.
"Mhazul," he says softly, without turning. "What do you think of those humans?"
Mhazul tilts his head, his gaze sharp, his voice calm and smooth.
"They are… acceptable, your Majesty. They did not hesitate. The moment you offered them strength, they turned their blades on their former allies. Efficient. But…" he pauses, eyes narrowing at the battlefield, "…they may do the same to you, should a greater benefit present itself."
Alix exhales, neither amused nor offended.
"That is how it has always been. Even monsters betray when it suits their survival. Loyalty is a word men like to hide behind. I am not naïve to that truth."
He leans forward slightly, his presence pressing down like an unseen weight on the carriage. His next words are measured, absolute.
"But whether human or monster—betrayal only matters if they are strong enough to act on it. I am not concerned."
Mhazul bows his head. "As it should be."
Below, the battle becomes a storm.
A wave of humans under Ravok's banner charge through the splintered gates, their earth element aura blazing as they carve through Ember defenders. Flame-clad warriors meet them head-on, the streets exploding with heat as scarlet fire collides against molten iron.
"Hold the line!" an Ember captain roars, his sword a pillar of fire. He slashes down, severing three traitor soldiers in a single strike—only for Kaelen's storm-born generals to sweep in, lightning spears piercing his chest. His scream is drowned by thunder.
Elsewhere, Selira's fire licks across the rooftops, spreading like a living plague. Ember mages rush to douse it with flame, but her laughter cuts through the chaos.
"Your fire burns red… mine burns to devour!"
The clash is relentless—walls crumble, streets run molten, the sky splits with lightning and fire.
Then—Brarth's roar shakes the heavens.
High above, he collides with Kaelen and Ravok again, his fists like volcanic meteors. His flames scorch through the clouds, his voice booming over the battlefield.
"Traitors! I'll incinerate every one of you!"
The impact of their clash sends blazing fragments raining onto the streets below. Soldiers—human, monster,—are vaporized in an instant, their screams cut short by firestorms none of them can endure.
Still, the tide does not falter. Alix's army pushes deeper into the city, step by step, banner by banner. Ember civilians scream from their homes, the clash of fire and steel shaking their world apart.
The clash at the eastern quarter rages like a storm contained within walls.
Gorvak swings his axe in a brutal arc, the force of it splitting through a line of scarlet flames and sending one Ember tier 6 flying into the rubble. Beside him, Selira moves like a serpent of fire, flames twisting around her fingers before lashing out, consuming two more in howling bursts.
The five Ember Tier 6 stagger, wounds painting their armor black with char. Their breaths come ragged, their auras dimming. Even with their unity, even with centuries of training, fighting three peak Tier 6s is a weight too heavy.
Gorvak spits to the side, his grin gleaming.
"That it? I didn't even sweat fighting you all."
Selira tosses her silver hair back, fire dancing in her violet eyes.
"Let's finish this quickly. Then we'll aid the soldiers below and seize this city—the faster we take it, the more we earn a military points."
The Ember warriors, bloodied and wavering, exchange glances. One, his face burned and his arm trembling from holding his weapon, bares his teeth.
"Don't… underestimate us. Even if you stand as peak Tier 6, we are Ember Clan warriors!"
Another shouts, voice breaking with desperation yet filled with iron resolve.
"Everyone—let's do that thing!"
At once, all five step into formation. Their movements are heavy, final, but resolute. One produces an obsidian vessel inscribed with writhing flame sigils. Without hesitation, each slices open their palms, pressing them to the vessel.
Blood streams unnaturally fast, as though sucked into the item. Their faces pale, but they don't falter. The suction grows violent, veins bulging as their lifeforce is dragged out.
Selira's eyes widen, fury and disgust flashing in her voice.
"What kind of evil technique are you using?!"
None of the Ember warriors answer. They only grit their teeth, blood pouring until their bodies shrivel, until their eyes dim. One by one, they collapse lifelessly onto the stones, the last of their essence devoured by the vessel.
The obsidian cracks.
A sound like a furnace erupting fills the air—then, from the vessel's shattered remains, a pillar of crimson fire roars into the heavens. The sky turns red, clouds boiling away under its heat. From within the inferno, a towering figure emerges: a spirit wrought entirely from living flame, its form humanoid yet monstrous, towering twice the height of a man. Its eyes blaze molten gold, its mouth a constant roar of fire.
The very ground beneath it glows, stone melting into magma.
Gorvak's grin falters, his axe vibrating in his grip.
"Tch… they summoned a damned peak Tier 6 fire spirit."
Selira hisses, violet flame coiling tighter around her hands.
"Fools. They traded their lives for this thing."
The fire spirit raises its hand, and an ocean of flame surges forward, consuming the street in a tidal wave.
BOOOOM!