Ten pairs of crimson eyes ignited the battlefield like glowing embers in a sea of corpses.
They shimmered in the distance ominously… watching… waiting.
For most, that sight was pure terror.
But not for Jack.
His gaze didn't flicker. It gleamed not with fear… but with thrill.
His lips curled into a crooked grin.
His heartbeat pounded like war drums in his chest.
This… this was what he had been waiting for.
Until now, every beast had fallen under a single strike. Too weak. Too slow. Too boring.
But now?
Now, he faced something real.
Peak 3rd Star Beasts. Leaders of the tide. The apex among monsters.
And Jack?
He was ready to test his strength.
Behind him, the battlefield crackled with fading heat and echoing screams. Earthclaw Rhinos and Icefang Wolves littered the earth shattered, slain, silent.
The Otherworlder Ascendants of Jakartha City didn't cheer.
They reloaded. Reshaped their formations.
Prepared.
Because the ground was shaking again.
THUD... THUD... THUD...
They were coming.
"Brace yourselves!" a Guild officer shouted.
WHOOSH!
A blur of green streaked out of the tall grass.
Ten beasts burst from the front
Four-foot-tall mantises with blade-like arms, thorn-covered exoskeletons, and glowing amber eyes.
Daggerthorn Mantises.
SLASH!
SLASH!
SLASH!
Notorious for ambushing travelers in Daggergrass Fields, their strikes came faster than blinking.
3rd Star – Low Stage Beasts.
And then
SSSSSSSssssss....
Black-scaled serpents slithered into view, tongues flicking, eyes glowing red-hot.
Ashfang Vipers.
Five feet long. Scales charred like volcanic stone.
Fangs pulsing with burning venom. Their tails sparked with cinders, lighting small fires where they passed.
CRACKLE!
HISS!
3rd Star – Low Stage Beasts.
Behind them came the heavy stomps
BOOM!
BOOM!
Ten jackals. Molten-orange fur. Claws wreathed in dancing fire. Eyes glowing like burning coal.
Blazeclaw Jackals.
ROOOAAARRR!
Every swipe left blazing trails behind.
They didn't charge alone; they hunted in packs, surrounding, pinning, and burning prey alive.
3rd Star – Mid Stage Beasts.
And then
CRASH!
The sound of ice cracking.
Ten massive beasts trampled the battlefield.wingless drakes, eight feet long, their scales glowing with frost.
Frostmaw Drakes.
Their breath spilled out in a cold mist that froze the air, the grass, the very soul of the land.
SHHHHHHRRRRRHHHH!
3rd Star – Mid Stage Beasts.
But worst of all were the shadows.
Grrrrrrr…
From the dark came ten predators.
Shadowfang Panthers.
Six feet long. Bodies cloaked in smoke.
Eyes like fading amethysts. Claws dipped in cursed magic, their strikes infused with death.
THUMP.
THUMP.
They didn't walk, they hunted.
Masters of stealth. Lords of fear.
They came from the lands near Nightbloom Ivy, where even moonlight feared to shine.
3rd Star – Mid Stage Beasts.
Fifty monsters. Each a nightmare. Each thirsting for blood.
And they all came charging…
BOOM!
BOOM!
BOOM!
Like an unstoppable tide. But the Ascendants? They didn't flinch.
Their blades were ready. Their eyes locked. Their hearts ablaze with resolve.
"NOW!"
A command tore through the battlefield like a bolt of thunder.
CRACK!!
"Archers, release your arrows!"
WHOOSH! WHOOSH! WHOOSH!
Dozens of arrows soared into the sky, blackening it like a swarm of steel-winged crows.
Each shot fired with precision. Purpose. Fury.
THWIP! THWIP! THWIP!
The air screamed as the arrows descended.
THUD! THUD! SHUNK!
Beasts fell. Screams rose. Their defence shattered. Blood sprayed.
The sky wept iron and death. Yet amid the chaos no hesitation. Only fire in their veins. Only battle in their bones.
This was not just war. It was retribution.
Twenty-five archers let loose dozens of arrows each, enchanted with fire, lightning, ice, wind, and water raining down like divine judgment.
WHISTLE!
WHOOSH!
BOOM!
CRACK!
SIZZLE!
Simultaneously
"CAST! NOW!"
Twenty-five Mages unleashed their fury
Fireballs. Water Bursts. Thunder Spears. Earth Bullets. Ice Arrows.
KRRRRRAAAA-CCCOOOMMM!!
Spells collided with beasts..Fire swallowed mantises…Ice pierced vipers…Lightning split jackals in mid-air.
HISSSSSS!!
SHRIEK!
THUD!!
In seconds twenty beasts were obliterated.
Their bodies burned, shattered, frozen, or blown apart into a mist of gore.
But thirty still came.
Faster. Angrier. Hungrier.
And Jack? He took a single step forward…Eyes locked on the incoming tide.
His grin widened.
"Finally," he muttered. "Let's dance."
The remaining 30 beasts now furious howl and roar.
ROOOAAARRR!!
Their eyes blaze crimson, filled with raw hatred and savage vengeance.
The earth trembles beneath their charge. But the frontline holds. Knights and Warriors don't move.
Not yet.
It's Assassin time.
Under the veil of midnight, shadows ripple silent, deadly.
WHOOSH!
Like ghosts, 25 Assassins vanish from sight, melting into darkness. Shadows stretch, twist, and swallow them whole.
Then
SHINK!
SLASH!
THUD!
They strike.
Backstab Skill perfectly executed. Each blade pierces with lethal precision, fueled by unique techniques, poison-laced daggers, and soul-cutting arts.
The beasts don't even scream.
Ding!
Critical Hit!
Ten monsters drop. Just like that. Frozen in their last breath, eyes wide in disbelief.
Cloak of Night activated.
WHOOSH...
Gone again. Like they were never there.
Then
"CHARGE!!"
The Knights and Warriors explode into motion.
BOOM!
BOOM!
THUD!
Steel slams into flesh.
Clang!
Clang!
SWOOSH!
SLASH!
Warriors unleash:
Power Strike….BOOM!
Shield Bash…BANG!
Sweeping Slash…SWOOSH!
Spinning Cleave…CRACK!
Leap Strike…THUD!
Knights press through the chaos:
Shield Strike…CLANG!
Piercing Thrust…SPLURT!
Every strike, an execution.
From the flanks and rear, the Beast Tamers roar commands feral companions leap into the fray.
GRRRR!!
SNAP!
BITE!
RIP!
Jaws sink into scales. Claws shred armor-thick hide. The battlefield becomes a slaughterhouse.
Beasts fall. One. Two. Ten. Twenty.
Until only silence remains. The battle ends.
Fast. Precise. Brutal.
This wasn't just combat.
It was art.
The Art of War.
But every masterpiece demands a price.
BOOM!
The ground trembled as the dust cleared.
Fifty Ascendants dropped to one knee gasping, bleeding, scorched, and poisoned. Some clutched their ribs, others screamed in agony. Crimson stained the earth like spilled paint across a battlefield canvas.
"HURRY! MEDICS!!"
A shout tore through the chaos.
WHOOSH!
White-robed priests raced in, their robes snapping in the wind, staffs aglow with sacred light.
Ding! Ding! Ding!
Heal. Cure. Cleanse.
Waves of divine magic surged out.
CRACK!
Bones snapped back into place.
SZZZT!
Flames hissed out as scorched flesh mended.
THUD!
Bodies collapsed, saved, but drained.
They would live.
But none of them would fight again for at least two weeks.
And yet no deaths.
None.
Thanks to the Adventurer Guild's flawless precision…Top-grade enchanted gear…
High-tier potions…Elite tactical coordination…
They survived. But this? This was just one wave.
More were coming. More screams. More blood. More death.
And standing there still, silent, untouched by the chaos was Jack.
Eyes like blades. Gaze like ice. Breathing steady.
He hadn't moved.Not even once.
Because the real storm…
…is just beginning….
-------
To Be Continued…!!