The battlefield was strategically picked by Alexander. An area thick with vegetation and full of natural cover. Alexander had carefully planned everything... the system assisted him, though.
Both sides of the battlefield were bordered by dense foliage that led to hidden routes.
The more he studied the map, the more he realised this might be the best place to start up something. But first, he needed to win this battle.
[Blood core: 100/1000]
His blood core steadily rose as more foes fell to Joro, the Blood Hunter–his Blood summon.
Watching the battle for a while, he finally decided to begin the next phase of the plan. During the last war council meeting, he had informed them about the signal that would mark the beginning of phase two.
At one hidden path leading into the battlefield, Commander Hale waited in silence with his squad.
They had taken enough precautions to remain undetected by the high warriors of the enemy force.
"What's taking that damn bastard so–"
Suddenly, a crimson figure appeared before him, his glowing eyes burned so intensely that Hale had to look away.
The figure walked forward, drawing out his giant sword and stretching it forward.
"This... that's the signal?" With one look, he could tell right away the being before him wasn't human.
"Summon magic... Commander Ren is truly a monster." That was his thought as he gave his men orders.
"Advance!"
On the other side of the battlefield, another force of Valerian soldiers stood in tension.
Two Captains, one from Valeria and the other from the Eternal Dynasty, stood at the front discussing quietly.
Without warning, the temperature dropped slightly.
Drawing their weapons, they stood, alerted by a figure that was materialising from the orb of red mist before them.
The figure finally emerged, his red, spiked armour and chained sword rattling softly. His blazing crimson eyes scanned the two warriors before pointing towards the battlefield.
"Finally... let's get this done." One of the captains muttered, banging his shield.
"Gear up!"
"Warriors, Advance!"
Alexander watched in eerie calmness as the hidden warriors advanced.
The second unit consisted mainly of elite Eternal Dynasty warriors, handpicked for the moment.
The battlefield was thrown into further chaos as warriors broke from both sides of the field, disrupting the enemy formation.
The Drakarhold force fell into confusion as Commander Hale charged forward, cleaving through the enemy's ranks with ease.
Easily destroying a group of soldiers, he prepared to push forward when he instinctively raised his sword.
Clang!
The sharp sound of metal clashing against metal echoed briefly.
Gritting his teeth, he slowly pushed back the crushing weight of the metal–spiked ball and then slashed down.
His opponent easily evaded the attack with a large grin etched on his face. "What do we have here?"
"A bloody weakling...haha!" He let out a cackle as he swung his weapon–a flail.
Spinning his weapon rapidly, he charged forward with a swing.
Dammit!
Hale blocked once again this time around, getting pushed back by the force.
Channelling more mana essence through his body, he finally parried the attack. But the attacks kept coming, each heavier than the last.
Eventually, his defence shattered. The metal ball slammed into his chest with a sickening crunch.
"Arghh!" He groaned, spitting out blood.
His opponent was already before him, the metal ball momentarily suspended midair before crashing down.
"That's it... I couldn't even land a good hit," he muttered with a pained expression.
CLANG!
A strong gust of wind blew past his face momentarily blinding him. Slowly opening his eyes, a figure stood–that same red warrior who had given them a signal– blocking the attack head–on.
The attack had pulverised his arms, but they were regenerating instantly. The Blood Knight, Lin, looked backwards, staring at Hale.
"You're here as backup, right? Fine. Let's do this." Hale muttered, gripping his sword tightly.
Before the guy could get his bearings, they were already upon him.
Suddenly roles reversed. He was the one on the defensive now.
Around the battlefield, the clashing sound of metals and anguished cries of warriors echoed over the battlefield.
Captains screamed out orders as the battle continued.
Alexander watched from afar resisting the urge to join the battle. It wasn't the countless lives that were being lost with each passing minute that pained him.
Rather, it was the blood.
"So much blood wasting away." He muttered with a soft groan.
His senses weren't doing any good.
To him, it was like being trapped in a bakery filled with freshly baked bread. He could smell it, almost taste it, but... he wasn't allowed a single bite.
"Argh," letting out a subtle grunt. He closed his eyes, trying to shut off his senses.
The gnawing hunger wasn't helping. As his summons were getting injured, they healed back, draining the little energy he had in reserve.
That was one reason he hadn't unleashed all of them. Another was his suspicion...
Someone was after his life.
It wasn't the enemy that had taken his life in that ambush. No... it was his very own man who had delivered that crunching blow to his chest.
The crazy thing was that he didn't get to see the killer face. But he knew something...
Be it Ren, one of the captains, or even among the soldiers...
The killer would reveal themselves soon enough...
And when that time comes, he'll be ready.
Pushing that to the back of his mind, he observed the battle, watching his three summons fight.
Alexander was able to assess the strength of his summoned warriors.
Lin was around the strength of a Tier–3 magical warrior. Joro, a bit stronger, was around the strength of a Tier–4 magical warrior.
Rohr was at the early stage of a Tier–5 magical warrior.
Even with their not so profound strength, their unique Traits were enough to further increase their combat capability.
The battle raged on. The big fights were still going on with no victor yet. But it wasn't time yet to make an entrance.
Alexander waited, eyes scanning the battlefield for the true threat.
And then she appeared.
The General of the Drakarhold force finally entered the field.
Wearing light–blue leather armour and ravishing dual short swords strapped across her back, she advanced with a calm stride.
As she stepped into the battlefield, the temperature plummeted.
Shards of ice materialised from thin air floating above the battlefield like sentient weapons.
With her command, they descended with astonishing speed, weaving through the vast expanse and hitting their targets with deadly precision.
Just that attack alone had caused quite a disturbing change to the battlefield. Lin was caught by one of the ice shards, instantly getting caged in a block of ice.
The momentum of the battle shifted as panic rippled through Alexander's forces.
Judging by how it was going... he knew it won't be long before the Drakarhold army seize victory.
That was when Prince Ivan made his move...