Chapter 112: The First Strike
The armies of Eldoria stood at the gates of Xelthar's last stronghold.
Banners whipped in the wind, the golden sigil of Eldoria burning bright against the darkened sky.
Before them, Xelthar's fortress loomed—a monstrous, fortified city, its walls reinforced with mana-infused steel, its battlements lined with siege weapons and battle mages.
And in the shadows beyond?
The Calamities waited.
Beasts of nightmare, created through twisted experimentation, restless and eager for blood.
Kael gripped the hilt of his sword. The air felt wrong.
Even without using his Gravity Domain, he could feel the pull of something unnatural, something warping the mana in the area.
"We're walking into a trap," Lucian muttered beside him.
Selene nodded. "The entire fortress is a weapon."
"Good," Evelyne cracked her knuckles. "Let's break it."
Darius scoffed. "You make it sound easy."
Rheon smirked. "It is easy. We just have to hit them harder."
Elira shot her elder brother a glance. "You're too reckless."
"And you're too cautious."
Kael exhaled. "Enough. We stick to the plan."
He turned toward Grandmaster Reynard Faelthorne and the generals of Eldoria—the most elite warriors the empire had to offer.
They weren't just fighting as the Vanguard anymore.
They were fighting as Eldoria's sword.
The Battle Begins
Reynard Faelthorne raised his hand.
The signal was given.
The first wave of Eldoria's forces surged forward—a mixture of elite knights, battle mages, and reinforced cavalry.
From the fortress, Xelthar's first defense activated.
The ground trembled—dozens of hidden sigils ignited at once.
A barrier of crackling dark mana surged up, covering the fortress like a dome of unholy fire.
And then—
The Calamities charged.
They poured from the gates like a tide of living nightmares—twisted beasts of mana and flesh, mutated beyond recognition.
Some had multiple heads.
Some had burning wings.
Some moved like shadows, shifting between reality.
The Vanguard moved.
Eldoria's elite forces clashed against the monstrous tide.
Rheon & Magnus—the front-line powerhouses—tore through the first wave, their enchanted weapons carving into the creatures with brute force.
Elira moved like a shadow, her precision unmatched, her crimson sigils marking the battlefield with deadly intent.
Kael activated his Gravity Domain, dragging a dozen beasts down at once before launching Crimson Sigils that exploded like meteors.
Lucian's golden flames burned through the creatures, clearing a path as he cut down enemies with regal precision.
Selene's calculated strikes severed the limbs of the faster creatures before they could react.
Mira fought ferociously, her sword a blur as she cut through the enemy lines.
Cassian, ever the opportunist, flickered between enemies, his rapier striking at vital points before vanishing.
Evelyne crushed through beasts with raw power, while Darius rained down lightning that split the battlefield apart.
Rael moved like a phantom, his daggers sinking into weak points before his targets even realized they were dead.
But still—
More kept coming.
The fortress itself began launching siege spells, raining mana-enhanced artillery down upon the battlefield.
Kael gritted his teeth. "This isn't just a stronghold. It's a damned death trap."
Reynard growled. "Then we break it. Vanguard—move in!"
Xelthar's Generals Enter the Battlefield
From the fortress walls, figures began to emerge.
Not ordinary soldiers.
Not battle mages.
But the Tyrant King's elite.
The Black Vultures—Xelthar's Seven Generals.
The battlefield shifted.
One leaped from the walls—a towering warrior wrapped in living steel armor, his massive glaive dripping with raw mana.
Another hovered midair, her raven-black wings flaring as she summoned spears of ice.
And at the center—
Ilyra Xelthar, the Blade of the Night, stepped forward.
Her silver hair gleamed under the storm-lit sky, her twin blades humming with raw power.
She watched the battle unfold with cold calculation.
"Time to see if Eldoria's so-called 'Vanguard' lives up to the legends."
Then—
She vanished.
And reappeared in front of Kael.
Blades clashed.
And the true battle began.