BOOM!
The ground trembled as ten Ironscale Crocodiles surged forward, each a ten-foot juggernaut of gleaming, metallic-gray scales and jagged, wrecking-ball tails. Their eyes burned with primal hunger, and every thunderous step cracked the battlefield.
CRACK!
WHOOSH!
THUD!
Their spiked tails lashed through the air, smashing boulders and crushing craters into the earth. Their jaws gaped wide large enough to bite a horse clean in half.
Jack's team didn't flinch.
They moved like a storm.
In their team The Warrior roared and launched forward with a..
BANG!
Activating Charge..
WHOOSH!
His body became a blur as he met the beast's crashing tail head-on. Steel clashed against scale in an earth-shattering collision.
THOOM!!
He grunted, blood spraying from his lips, but he held his ground. Then came Berserker's Rage skill.
DING!
His muscles bulged, veins lit like lava trails, and with a guttural howl, he swung his battle axe in a full arc…
SLASH!
CRACK!!
One crocodile's skull caved in under the brutal blow. It collapsed with a
THUD…
Twitching violently. Another was sent skidding back, armor-like scales chipped and bleeding.
James's eyes flashed.
"Ironfang go wild!"
GRAAAAHH!!
The black-furred beast charged with terrifying momentum. Its jaws snapped shut on an enemy's throat
CRUNCH!
Ripping through its iron-scaled neck like wet paper.
Jack darted into motion, eyes glowing gold Eye of Truth activated.
DING!
Data streamed through his mind like divine scripture:
[Ironscale Crocodile – Geo Elemental Beast]
Weakness: Pyro
Defense: High
Speed: Low
Vulnerability: Joints, Underbelly]
His dagger burst into flames..
WHOOSH!
"Pyro Slash!"
He vanished in a flicker…
SHHFF!
And reappeared beneath one of the beasts, plunging the burning blade into its gut.
BOOM!
The beast screeched in agony, scales melting from the inside. Then
"Pyro Pressure Point Strike!"
CRACKK!!
He struck again right into the nerve cluster at the beast's neck. Its entire body convulsed before slamming into the ground with a deafening.
THUD!
Emma stepped forward, calm but fierce. Her lips never moved; she invoked Arcane Agility.
DING!
Her staff glowed like a small sun.
"Fireball."
BOOM!
"Fireball."
BOOM!
"Fireball."
BOOOM!!
The earth was lit by back-to-back explosions as fireballs howled through the battlefield, blowing limbs and tails skyward. The heat singed the air, turning the surroundings into a hellscape.
Meanwhile, their Archer danced between rocks and flame.
SWISH!
SWISH!
SWISH!
Three arrows flew, each trailing fire.
"Explosive Shot!"
BANG!!
"Arrow Rain!"
WHOOSH…SHHHH!!
A storm of blazing arrows poured from above.
"Piercing Arrow!"
CRACK!!
The projectile tore through one beast's eye and out the back of its skull. It died without a sound, collapsing in a molten heap.
Within just five breathless minutes, the battlefield fell eerily silent.
Ten Ironscale Crocodiles lay strewn across scorched, smoking ground.
Thud. Thud. Thud.
Only the sound of cooling corpses remained.
Not even a drop of sweat lined Jack's brow. Around him, his team stood firm steady breaths, eyes sharp. Professionals in every sense.
But Jack knew this was going to more harder when they face 3rd Star Peak Stage Beasts overload of this beast tide.
He looked toward the horizon and saw something worse approaching.
Without a breath of rest, Jack's team scanned the battlefield, eyes sharp, instincts sharper.
SHHHSSSS...
A sinuous sound slithered through the smoke.
Jack's gaze snapped to the rear. Emerging from behind the rocks and vines came ten Bloodvine Serpents each over eight feet long, scales gleaming like wet crimson armor, thorny coils shifting with lethal grace. Their glowing red eyes pulsed with hunger.
"Incoming!" Jack barked.
Without pause, he activated Eye of Truth, a golden ripple passed through his iris.
DING!
[Bloodvine Serpent
3rd Star Mid Stage Beast
Type: Poison Element
Appearance: Crimson-scaled serpent with thorn-covered coils.
Behavior: Constricts targets while draining blood. Common near jungle ruins.
Power Level: Equal to a 3rd Star Mid Poison Warrior.
Loot: Blood Thorns – 4-Star poison weapon material.
Weakness: Fire Element | Inner Maw | Soft underbelly during constriction.]
"Pyro element's the key aim for the mouth or belly when they coil!" Jack relayed instantly.
SHRIEEEK!
The first serpent lunged but Ironfang was faster.
CRUNCH!
With a deafening snap of its jaws, the beast tore the serpent's head clean off. Blood sprayed across the vines as the jungle trembled.
WHOOSH!
BOOM!
BOOM!
CRACK!
Emma stepped forward, hands already alight with swirling elemental magic. Her Arcane Agility kicked in..
DING!
Her movements blurred, spellcasting at a blistering pace.
"Fireball! Earth Bullet! Wind Cutter! Hydro Spear! Pyro Vortex! Anemo Hurricane!"
BOOM!
BANG!
SLASH!
WHOOSH!
THOOM!
It was an orchestra of destruction.
The battlefield lit up with explosions and elemental storms, twisting vines and beasts into ash. Her hybrid magic left glowing scorch marks on the ground and gaping holes in the jungle canopy.
Behind her, the Archer was a relentless storm of arrows.
TWANG!
TWANG!
WHOOSH!
She loosed Quick Shots, followed by a Multi-Shot Barrage, and then a deadly Arrow Rain arrows whistling down like a meteor shower.
"Explosive Shot!"
BOOM!!
A serpent burst into a cloud of fire and gore.
The team moved as one precision, aggression, and synergy blending like clockwork forged in war.
Within two brutal minutes, the ten Bloodvine Serpents were reduced to nothing but smoking, torn corpses, their blood seeping into the cracked jungle soil.
----
Jack inhaled slowly, steadying the storm within.
Then
FWOOSH!
A phantom surge erupted from his body as four spectral clones split off in a dazzling blur. Each radiated half his might, their figures flickering like mirages in moonlight. They vanished.
WHOOSH!
WHOOSH!
WHOOSH!
WHOOSH!
Leaping across tree lines, slipping through dense smoke like wraiths.
Up high, above the war-torn barrier walls, the clones surveyed the battlefield. Screams echoed below. Steel clashed. Beasts roared. Jack's consciousness synchronized with each clone four perspectives flooding into one mind.
DING!
A signal pulsed in his head.
He regrouped with his team moments later, boots thudding against scorched dirt. His expression was carved from stone.
"We've got a problem," he said coldly, voice sharp as drawn steel. "The other Ascendant teams… they're falling apart. Ten-man squads can barely kill a single beast. Their weapons are shattered. Half their members are bleeding out."
CRACK!
Emma's knuckles tightened around her staff, her jaw clenched.
"But we've already killed thirty," she said, glancing at the bodies strewn in their wake. "And we're still standing."
Jack gave a slow nod, eyes hard as obsidian. "They're strong, yeah. But they lack what we have synergy, discipline, and more importantly…"
His gaze swept across his comrades, pausing on each one.
"PowerfulBlessings. The gods favor us."
THUD.
A dead beast collapsed behind them, steam rising from its carcass.
A heavy silence fell, thick with unspoken truths. The stench of blood, smoke, and fear choked the air.
This wasn't a adventure guild mission anymore.
It was a war.
And they weren't just survivors.they were predators.
Emma stepped forward, voice quiet but fierce. "So what now?"
Jack turned toward the battlefield. Flames crackled in the distance. Shadows danced through the smoke.
"Now?" he whispered, eyes gleaming with cold resolve.
"We help those in need. Help them much as we can afterall we all came from same place Blue Planet. It's Our duty."
BOOM!
A distant explosion shook the ground, shaking their bones and igniting their fury.
They moved.
Like phantoms through the smoke.
They are like like war gods.
------
To Be Continued…!!