"It's time to mobilize… we'll hide among the rocks. Once Master Uriel has the tyrant's attention, we attack," Randal said.
With the plan ready, the information was transmitted to all the troops, who felt tense but followed orders.
They could not abandon the mission, because if they did, there would be hundreds of fallen abominations besieging the siege city, which was of extreme importance for the evacuation of civilians.
If they won this battle, it was certain that morale would increase significantly among the awakened and mundane forces.
The army moved silently, in a stealthy manner.
---
Shade smiled as darkness began to surround him. A moment later, he had created his dark dragon shell. Of course, this one was small—about 15 meters—to reduce essence consumption and improve control.
Rising into the sky, he felt the call of the nightmare, which he ignored.
While flying above the mountain where the corrupted tyrant was, Shade molded the darkness that formed his body, shaping a massive spear, which he then fired.
The black spear was launched under his will.
Boom!
The speed and power with which the spear was thrown were so immense that the mountain itself shook under the impact.
A tremor shook everything within a wide range, ash and dust rising into the air. However, once it settled, it was revealed that the thick shell of the nightmare creature had not suffered even a crack.
The tyrant, due to the impact, raised its massive body, focusing its multiple eyes on the winged figure above its head.
Shade smiled within his dark manifestation as he observed the tyrant's appearance. It resembled an insect—more specifically, it had six legs ending in sharp points, a large abdomen where it likely hid a stinger, and on its back were four membranous wings that unfolded.
Around it were easily about three hundred subordinates, among them corrupted ones acting as fallen generals and awakened beings.
---
The tyrant spread its wings and shot into the sky, launching itself with devastating fury against its attacker.
Masters Dale and Randal watched as both creatures collided, their clash shaking the mountain beneath them as they ascended into the dark, ash-filled clouds.
The roar of a dragon and the monstrous screech of the tyrant echoed clearly in the sky above them.
---
Lucien looked away from his captain's battle. He was certain his superior would win. Instead, he had to ensure he survived his own fight.
Holding his halberd firmly, he was accompanied by several dozen awakened, two masters, the powerful echoes of his captain, his comrades, and two thousand soldiers armed with heavy weaponry.
When the swarm of ants was distracted, they began their assault, catching them by surprise.
The awakened fell upon the swarm of awakened and fallen abominations.
Lucien wielded his halberd masterfully, slicing through the rear of an ant, piercing its chitin with ease—without a doubt, the most fragile part of its body.
Jumping to the side, he spun, driving the axe blade into the head of another ant, an awakened monster. A moment later, the spell confirmed its death.
Empowered by the Blood Flower, he felt a surge of power and vitality to fight the creatures. Combined with his aspect, his Combat Mastery ability was overwhelming for any ordinary awakened.
Lucien moved like a blur across the battlefield, methodically eliminating the army of ants that were twice his size. He wasn't the only one—after all, there were other awakened, each with unique aspects used during the siege, and mundane soldiers firing high-powered bullets at the monsters, delaying them even if only for a second.
Out of the corner of his eye, he saw his captain's echo—the dark knight—eliminating monsters at an incredible speed, locked in an intense battle against three corrupted ones.
Elsewhere, the black and gold armor of another echo wielded a powerful spear, piercing and destroying chitin with surprising ease.
Thanks to the corrupted ones being slaughtered, only the awakened and fallen remained.
Those of Demon rank and above were being eliminated by Master Randal and his cohort of powerful awakened focused on offense.
Meanwhile, Master Dale, being fast and stealthy, slipped between enemies and finished them off.
As Lucien fought, he felt overwhelmed—and incredibly happy—as if he were part of a legend that would be told for generations.
Letting out a battle cry, he continued cutting down the monsters before him, followed by a group of awakened and mundane soldiers with weapons and mobile MVP units.
---
Tiffany wielded a saber, cutting down monsters. Her sword was an Ascended-rank weapon that her captain had obtained for her and taught her to use during her exhausting training.
Tiffany noticed something peculiar.
Although the situation was bad, it wasn't desperate. She didn't feel fear either. In fact, she had felt more fear when the captain chased them in the Dreamscape, transformed into terrifying and overwhelmingly powerful things they couldn't escape, forcing them to learn to dodge.
Now, in comparison, the ants were nothing. They were large, sure—but that was all.
Tiffany was enveloped in a green mist, slipping between enemies to avoid being surrounded. The abominations were confused when they couldn't touch her.
Deactivating her aspect to conserve essence, she wielded her saber, cutting with great pressure into the abominations. Her attacks were methodical, aimed at vital areas—heart, brain, organs, eyes, and limbs.
As she cut through the chitin, the creature fell dead. Without stopping, she merged into the shadows, moving to another, then another, a smile forming on her face from the thrill of battle.
---
Asher drew his bow and fired a precise arrow at an ant's head, embedding it into one of its eyes. The arrow then exploded, destroying the head. Without stopping, he released more arrows, killing the creature.
He was positioned at a higher vantage point, with a perfect view of the battlefield.
His bow was powerful, his quiver filled with ascended arrows, and his aim was deadly.
Asher drew again and fired at another abomination. His gaze remained fixed on his enemies, seeing and sensing everything perfectly.
For a moment, he looked up at the sky, seeing the shadow of his captain locked in a violent and devastating battle against the corrupted tyrant.
Now that he thought about it, his captain was strange—in a peculiar way. His power was astonishing for a mere Ascended, and his aspect ability even more so. He could create things from darkness and had an immense combat sense, using every element to gain the greatest advantage.
However, what unsettled him the most was that, unlike humans who possessed only one soul core, he could feel that his captain had more than one—like a nightmare creature.
Despite his doubts, Asher trusted his captain.
"Guess the title 'Human Monster' isn't for nothing," he muttered, firing another arrow with a slight smile.
Although the situation was somewhat under control, they were still losing awakened. They needed something to turn the tide quickly.
---
Above the battlefield, hidden by a sea of clouds that released falling snow, Shade was locked in a devastating clash with the aberrant ant.
His dark manifestation had several damaged parts that were rapidly breaking apart, while his enemy's chitin showed signs of damage from claw marks. One of its pincers and two of its legs were missing.
Rather than weakening it, this only increased the winged beast's fury and attack power, beginning to overwhelm Shade.
Gritting his teeth within his dark manifestation, Shade reconstructed it and launched himself once more at the corrupted tyrant.
Their clash was devastating—a shockwave of wind scattered the clouds, briefly revealing the situation below.
Raising one of his claws, Shade brought it down upon the tyrant's body. The tyrant avoided the blow, opening its mouth and biting the dragon's arm, trying to crush it—unsuccessfully, due to the transcendent sixth-level armor fused into his scales.
Instead of crushing it, the tyrant hurled him downward with force.
Shade spread his wings, regaining flight as the tyrant pursued him.
Out of the corner of his eye, he glanced at the battlefield again. He saw his two dark creatures on the verge of destroying the corrupted monsters and joining the human army. He even saw Lucien fighting a corrupted beast, covered in wounds that only strengthened him.
Smiling, Shade changed form—his body shifting into that of the Stone Saint, with two massive wings on his back. The transformation lasted only a few seconds.
Materializing a war hammer, he flew toward the corrupted tyrant.
If he couldn't cut the chitin, then he would simply break it with a sharp pick hammer.
The enraged tyrant lunged at Shade, who raised the hammer and brought it down with overwhelming speed and power.
Bam!
The impact between the hammer and the chitin created a deafening sound, chunks of white chitin breaking off the corrupted tyrant.
Smiling within his dark manifestation, Shade attacked again, now having the advantage in aerial combat.
Launching several attacks, the tyrant barely managed to dodge.
Its insectoid body shot forward, colliding with the dark manifestation and pushing it backward.
Shade took advantage, creating black chains that bound the tyrant for several seconds.
The tyrant struggled, breaking the chains—but more formed, preventing its escape.
'It's time to finish this,' he thought, a wide smile on his face.
Raising the hammer, he brought it down—this time targeting the most fragile parts: the thin wings.
Though thin, they were as resistant as a transcendent memory—but not enough against his titanic strength.
The pick destroyed the first wing, then the second, leaving the tyrant unable to fly.
Discarding the hammer, he summoned the Wyvern Claw.
The sword began forming in black sparks. The tyrant tried to bite through the darkness, but it was useless—its injured, bleeding body couldn't break through.
When the memory fully formed into a massive sword about seven meters long, Shade drove it into the tyrant's chitin, struggling for a few seconds until the hardened exoskeleton finally gave way, piercing through its body.
Without hesitation, Shade grabbed the sword—with the still-living tyrant impaled on it—and hurled it toward the side of the mountain with all his strength.
The sword shot through the sky at incredible speed. After a second or two, it embedded deeply into the solid rock, leaving the corrupted tyrant impaled.
The impact shook the entire mountain, causing the battle to pause momentarily as everyone saw the tyrant pinned by a massive sword, its legs twitching weakly, thick black blood flowing from multiple wounds, its wings torn apart by overwhelming force.
Immediately after, a second blade—a saber—pierced the tyrant's head, killing it.
With the tyrant's death, it was as if a silent wave spread, affecting its subordinates, who became weaker and more sluggish without their leader.
The awakened let out a powerful battle cry, attacking with even greater force and ferocity, making it hard to tell whether they themselves had become nightmare creatures.
"Fight! The tyrant has fallen—finish off the insects!" Randal shouted, wielding his axe with renewed fury.
The irregulars, the awakened, and the mundane soldiers all felt a new surge of determination and strength.
At the same time, the two echoes had finally killed the corrupted creatures, joining the humans to turn the tide completely, beginning a one-sided massacre of the remaining monsters.
Shade, in the sky, smiled.
[You have killed a corrupted tyrant, Devouring Conquest]
[You have obtained a memory]
Shade smiled as he watched the human army slaughter the last remnants of the tyrant until the final one was killed by Randal.
Silence took over the mountain—only to be broken when a strange creature, clad in black armor with white eyes, landed before them, causing the soldiers to tense.
However, a moment later, the ten-meter-tall colossus dissolved into darkness, revealing a young man no older than twenty, with an attractive face and red eyes, bearing a few wounds that were rapidly healing.
It was Uriel, the Lord of Darkness—the slayer of the corrupted tyrant.
Shade sighed and looked at Randal and Dale.
"I told you. Look—I killed the tyrant," he said, pointing at the lifeless body embedded in the mountain, a proud and mocking smile on his face.
"You're crazy, kid," Randal said with a grin.
"I'm not crazy—the world is crazy," he replied, as a mysterious wind moved his black hair, making several people laugh, since every time he said that phrase, a wind would appear out of nowhere, giving him a wise aura.
Soon, the survivors began to rest after the arduous battle—which had lasted no more than twenty minutes, but for them, felt like an eternity.