The sky was drowned in darkness so black, so complete not even a single star dared to shine. Only the ghostly silver glow of the moon pierced through the suffocating midnight mist. The world held its breath.
Silence.
That unnatural stillness clung to the battlefield like the calm before a storm. Time itself seemed frozen, as though the heavens were bracing for what came next.
Then
RRROOOAAARRR!!!
A monstrous tide of howls shredded the silence like blades tearing through silk. The very air trembled as a thunderous chorus of bestial fury echoed across the plains.
In the distance, shadows surged.
Not walking. Not run. Surged.
Like a living avalanche of fangs, claws, and madness.
Across the battered, crumbling walls of Jakartha City, five hundred Otherworlders stood ready gathered from guild, every corner of the stronghold. Veterans with eyes like steel. Rookies with hands that trembled. All turned their gazes northward Jakartha Forest.
And then…They saw it.
BOOM!
BOOM!
BOOM!
Each colossal footstep sent shockwaves rippling through the cracked, blood-soaked ground. Dust exploded skyward with every impact. Even the wind seemed to recoil as the Third Wave arrived, its full, monstrous might unveiled beneath the moonlight.
A stampede. Not an ocean of beasts.
They came crashing through the haze, a swarm of twisted nightmares. Eyes glowed crimson, alive with bloodlust and hatred older than time itself.
This was no attack. This was annihilation incarnate.
At the vanguard thundered two distinct breeds.
Twenty beasts, each towering over six feet tall, trampled the earth in bone-shaking unison. Their armored hides were sheathed in jagged, earthen plates. Every synchronized stomp unleashed a
CRACK!
THUD!
BOOM!
THUD!
Chunks of stone ruptured beneath their hooves. The ground moaned like it wept beneath their weight. Their colossal horns glowed with a pulsating green light dense, seismic, alive.
"Earthclaw Rhinos…" whispered a grizzled veteran from the Adventurer's Guild, his face pale and voice grim. "Third Star. Low Tier. Their charge shatters steel and bone alike… They're drawn to Earthbind Root veins. If they breach the walls…"
He didn't finish.
Beside them, another pack surged forward with terrifying grace. They moved like ghosts through the frost-bitten night.
WHOOSH!
Snow-white fur shimmered beneath the moonlight. Crystal fangs gleamed. Every breath hissed into icy vapor. Their glowing blue eyes cut through the darkness like daggers of winter.
Awoooooooo!
The haunting howl of an Icefang Wolf swept across the battlefield, followed by a gust of cutting, frozen wind.
"Icefang Wolves," murmured a young mage, clutching his staff until his knuckles turned white. "Third Star. Low Tier. They freeze the ground with every step. hunt in pack… no mercy. They guard the Glacier Poppy."
The two packs advanced in perfect disharmony stone and frost, brute force and ruthless grace. Yet they were only the beginning.
Behind them came more.
Crackling flames. Slithering shadows. Screaming wind. Poisoned fangs. Blades of steel.
Firebeasts belched smoke. Thunderclaws sparked with lightning. Venomspitters hissed. Each one marched toward Jakartha City's Protection barrier Walls Of Central Zone of City, a nightmare given form and fury.
Each step brought them closer. Each beat echoed in the hearts of the defenders.
Thump. Thump. Thump.
Like war drums pounding from the belly of death itself.
----
BOOOOM!
A sharp, commanding voice cracked through the tension like lightning through storm clouds.
"Battle formations! Ready arms!!"
THUD! THUD! THUD!
The ground seemed to tremble in sync with the pounding of war drums. A low, primal rhythm echoed across the field, followed by the WAIL of horns that cried out like mourning wolves under the moon.
Then
A hymn.
Ancient. Heavy. Holy.
The battle hymn of Jakartha.
Its solemn chant soared into the night, carrying on winds of steel and death. Every heart felt it past battles, fallen comrades, and the oath they carried in silence.
CLANG!
WHOOSH!
THUMP!
All 500 Ascendants moved without hesitation.
Steel clashed. Magic flared. Shadows twisted.
Trained. Tempered. Ready.
They fell into formation with precision only forged through fire and war, every motion drilled into their bones, every step guided by the Adventure Guild's iron discipline.
Frontline 25 Knight Ascendants.
Unbreakable.
They slammed their tower shields into the ground with a unified
BANG!
Forming a gleaming wall of silver and resolve. Their swords pointed forward, eyes narrowed behind helms.
Second Line 25 Warriors.
A storm waiting to be unleashed.
With a cry of war, they raised their weapons: swords, longswords, claymores, sabres, katanas all forged for carnage. Blades gleamed under the moon, thirsting for the blood of monsters.
Third Line 25 Beast Tamers.
Growls echoed.
Loyal beasts crouched beside their partners fangs bared, tails whipping, eyes glowing. From scaled panthers to armored bears, each one a living weapon.
GRRRR…
Instinct met instinct. Man and beast were one.
Fourth Line 25 Mages.
CRACKLE!
WHOOSH!
Magic sparked at their fingertips. The Staff glowed. Wands trembled. Fireballs hovered. Lightning arced.
"Let them burn," one whispered, eyes glowing with Pyro light.
Fifth Line 25 Summoners.
Their auras pulsed like storms barely held in chains. Behind them, mystical figures began to take the shape of winged serpents, elemental giants, and spectral warriors.
One snap of a finger... and chaos would answer.
Sixth Line 25 Priests.
Calm amid madness.
Their sacred tomes opened, pages fluttering despite the still air. Light swirled around them warm, pure, and defiant. Shields of mana flared into life.
They were the salvation in slaughter.
Seventh Line 25 Archers.
Silent precision.
Bows were drawn. Quivers full. Eyes sharp. Their arrows glowed with enchanted tips, ready to pierce flesh, bone, and spirit.
"Targets locked," one whispered.
Twang!
Eighth Line 25 Assassins.
Now you see them.
Now you don't.
Shadows rippled. Cloaks fluttered. Daggers vanished into thin air. They had already disappeared into the dark, into the wind, into death itself.
They whispered in the beast's final breath.
BOOM!
WHOOSH!
RUMBLE!
Across the battlefield, beasts roared and howled furious, endless.
The earth cracked.
The air screamed.
Ascendants clenched their weapons, mana swirling around them like coiled serpents and blazing suns.
Every breath was a prayer.
Every heartbeat, a drumbeat of fate.
Every second, a countdown to the bloodstorm.
And then
CLANG!
The first clash echoed like the sky splitting apart.
The Third Wave had begun.
A wall of claw and fang collided with a wall of steel and will.
BANG!
ROOOAAARRR!
CRASH!
WHOOSH!
Screams pierced the air.
Magic lit the sky.
Blood kissed the soil of Jakartha once more.
This was no longer a defense.
This was war with Beast Tide's strongest beasts.
------
To Be Continued..!!