A Storm Before the Battle
As the translucent battle screen finally faded from sight, Shin released a slow, steady breath, the weight of looming war pressing against his chest like a physical force.
The last few minutes had been a blur — finalizing defensive placements, issuing orders that would decide the lives of thousands, and mentally walking the tightrope between ruthlessness and mercy.
There was no turning back now.
Just as he began to step away, a soft mechanical chime echoed in the cool, charged air.
Ding.
A new screen materialized before him, vivid, crisp, and mercilessly efficient.
A breakdown of enemy forces scrolled across it, each line a grim herald of the violence to come.
Shin leaned closer, his amber eyes narrowing, parsing the endless flood of information.
But almost immediately, something caught his eye — a gaping hole in the data.
The final two waves… missing.
Instead, at the bottom of the projection, a single line blinked coldly:
"Survive the first five waves to unlock further descriptions."
Tension coiled in his chest like a drawn bowstring.
This was no ordinary siege — it was a gauntlet, designed to grind down his body, his mind, and his very spirit.
A voice, warm and crisp, touched his mind with an almost maternal clarity.
["Lord Shin,"] Heart spoke, ["the first five waves are designed to test every fiber of your leadership — your resilience, your adaptability, your resolve. Only those who endure may glimpse what lies beyond."]
He exhaled slowly, centering himself.
There was no room for fear.
Only forward.
Projected Enemy Forces:
Total Enemy Count: 0 / 35,500+ Warborn
Wave 1: The Howling Tide
• ~3,500 Goblin Marauders
• Frenzied, reckless, disorganized
• Goal: Overwhelm defenses with numbers
• Flavor: Screaming hordes, crude weapons, desperate hunger
Wave 2: The Ironmarch
• ~4,500 Goblin Warriors and Shieldbearers
• Armored, disciplined, shield walls
• Goal: Break frontline defenses
• Flavor: Heavy boots, clashing steel, pounding drums
Wave 3: The Beastbrood
• ~5,000 Goblin Beastmasters and Warbeasts
• Mounted, savage, brutal speed
• Goal: Shatter flanks, sow chaos
• Flavor: Roaring beasts, snapping jaws, cracking whips
Wave 4: The Blightstorm
• ~6,000 Blightshamans and Plague Carriers
• Poisoned magic, biological warfare
• Goal: Corrupt and weaken defender ranks
• Flavor: Vomiting goblins, sickly green clouds, corrupted chants
Wave 5: The Redbrand Legion
• ~5,500 Elite Redbrand Goblins
• Veteran killers, berserkers, siege engineers
• Goal: Breach walls, assassinate leaders
• Flavor: Blood-slick blades, brutal war cries, relentless slaughter
The screen flickered, and the weight of it all settled deeper into Shin's bones.
35,500 enemies.
Seven waves.
Each escalation sharper than the last — tactics evolving, threats mutating.
This would not be a battle where strength alone prevailed.
No. Every soldier, every decision, every breath would matter.
["Lord Shin,"] Heart's voice resonated again, imbued with a quiet conviction, ["this is not merely to test your strength. This is to forge you into what you must become. A Lord who shapes the destiny of worlds."]
He closed his eyes, feeling the storm brewing inside him.
"I will not fall here," Shin murmured, voice steady.
"I will not waste the second chance they gave me."
When his eyes opened again, they burned with quiet, storm-forged determination.
"Bring it on."
His hand tightened around the hilt of his sword as images of war played in his mind — but then, a memory surfaced, unbidden.
A flashback — a heavy conversation mere hours ago in the war tent.
The atmosphere had been thick with tension when Heart projected the biological profiles of the Warborn goblins.
Diana stood stiff, her arms crossed tightly over her armored chest.
Her knuckles whitened with restrained fury as she read the damning information.
"They treat women like prey," Diana said, voice trembling with the force of her outrage. "They do not honor life. They butcher, enslave, defile."
The words were not shouted.
They were declared — the solemn judgment of a warrior queen.
Shin turned toward her, reading the old fires of Themyscira blazing in her eyes.
In that moment, she was not just a champion; she was the very wrath of betrayed innocence.
Heart shimmered into view atop the strategy table, her holographic form casting a soft glow.
["Princess Diana, your anger is righteous,"] Heart said gently, ["but the roots of this tragedy run deeper than mere malice."]
The room grew still, every officer leaning forward, sensing the weight of the truth about to unfold.
["Long ago, goblin females were revered — natural magic vessels, coveted by alchemists, slavers, and warlords alike. They were hunted by elves, humans, and dwarves without mercy. Their communities shattered. Their hope erased."]
Heart's projection dimmed, a respectful silence settling over them all.
["Deprived of mothers, sisters, and daughters, goblin society collapsed into savagery. Their violence, their madness — it was not born from nature. It was forced upon them by the so-called 'noble races.'"]
Diana closed her eyes, breathing deeply, pain and grim understanding mingling in her soul.
"I will not pity them," she said at last, voice low and final. "But I will give them the justice this world has long denied."
Shin spoke then, his voice heavy with a decision that had been brewing since his long conversations with Aether.
"My dears," Shin said quietly, looking around the tent, "I've decided. After this war, after we defeat their emperor, I will not slaughter the goblin race."
Murmurs rippled through the officers.
"I will do as I have done for the others — the Orcs, the Beastmen, the Drakes. I will give them a new name… and my blood."
Diana whirled on him, eyes flashing.
"Husband — how can you show mercy to monsters?"
Shin met her gaze calmly, unflinching.
"Because not all goblins are evil," he said. "To condemn an entire race for the sins of the few would make me no better than Hera, who persecuted your mother for Zeus's failures."
Silence.
Tense. Heavy.
"I am not asking for blind forgiveness," Shin continued. "I ask only this — give them a chance. A chance to repent."
Diana's fists tightened, the battle between rage and honor raging in her heart.
At last, she let out a long, frosted sigh.
"I will give them a chance," she said coldly. "Only because of you, my husband. But if they betray it…"
Her voice sharpened like a blade drawn across steel.
"I will end them all. Even if it means genocide."
Shin bowed his head slightly.
It was enough.
For now.
Back in the present, the low rumble of war drums stirred the ground beneath their boots.
The storm was here.
Shin turned to his assembled commanders.
Boa Hancock stood like a poised serpent, serene yet lethal.
At her side, her Kuja Warriors shifted eagerly, eager for blood.
Diana adjusted her bracers, her very presence radiating defiance and honor.
Behind her, the Amazonian ranks stood disciplined and resolute, warriors carved from myth.
Shin raised his voice, carrying it across the walls and battlements:
"Boa. Diana. I entrust the first two waves to your command."
Boa gave a slow, knowing smile, her beauty like a blade's kiss.
"Leave it to me," she said, her voice like velvet and steel. "Their screams will be the sweetest music."
Diana nodded solemnly, fist thudding over her heart.
"For justice. For honor. We will not falter."
Heart's voice projected across the command network:
["Command authority temporarily delegated. Commander Boa Hancock and Commander Diana of Themyscira are authorized. Wives of the Stormbringer."]
Shin watched them march — no fear, no hesitation, only unbreakable purpose.
Deep within him, he felt it stir —
a pulse,
an ancient beat,
his Lord Core beginning to wake in response to the mantle he was preparing to bear fully.
The battle erupted like a thunderclap.
The first two waves slammed against the defenses —
a tide of screaming goblins, a hammer of iron-clad warriors —
but Boa and Diana stood like twin pillars against the flood.
Boa danced at the heart of the slaughter, her serpents striking with divine fury.
The Serpent Tempesta rose behind her, their spears glistening with storm-forged magic.
On the northern flank, Diana drove her bloodstained spear into the earth, standing tall among the battered but unbowed Amazons.
A silver radiance pulsed from them — valor incarnate.
[Notice: Diana and the Amazons have reached Level 2.]
The message flickered across Shin's mind, but he was already moving — already thinking ahead.
Shadows loomed on the horizon.
Faster. Wilder. Mounted on snarling beasts.
The Beastbrood had come.
Thousands of goblin beastmasters and their twisted mounts thundered toward the defenses, eyes wild with bloodlust.
Shin's eyes narrowed.
"Serafall, Sona, Grayfia," he ordered. "Move to engage."
In a flash, the next vanguard appeared.
Serafall Leviathan, brilliant and deadly, spun her enchanted staff, ice and magic swirling in her wake.
Beside her, Sona Shitori — calm, calculating, focused — summoned streams of runes, weaving a lattice of defense.
And behind them, Grayfia Lucifuge glided like a specter of frost, silver hair trailing like a comet's tail.
Kael'Rath juggernauts thundered beside them, mythril armor gleaming.
The Neiman Guard formed a shield wall, unwavering and absolute.
Serafall grinned mischievously, her voice bubbling with excitement.
"This is gonna be so much fun~!"
Sona sighed, a smile tugging at her lips.
"Focus, Sera. These enemies are faster. Caution first."
["Deploying Kael'Rath forward units. Neiman Guard in wedge formation. Synchronization in five seconds,"] Heart instructed crisply.
The storm broke.
Serafall unleashed a blizzard vortex at the charging beastmasters, snapping jaws and howls swallowed by swirling frost.
Sona followed, magical snares erupting underfoot, binding mounts and riders alike.
Then came the countercharge —
Kael'Rath juggernauts smashing into broken ranks, Neiman Guard carving a path of pure devastation.
Grayfia moved almost unseen through the carnage, a ghost of silver death among the chaos. Every motion was precise, clinical. Enemy commanders barely had time to scream before she struck them down, her magic freezing the very blood in the air. Ice blossomed from their wounds, statues of death marking her silent path.
Within minutes, what had once been a ferocious cavalry charge turned into a massacre.
A slaughterhouse.
The third wave collapsed entirely, shattering like brittle glass against the unbreakable unity of Shin's champions. Their banners, stained with blood and flame, still flew high above the battlefield. The defenders did not waver; if anything, their spirits blazed hotter.
A soft pulse of silver radiance enveloped them — not merely light, but recognition. The world itself seemed to honor their valor.
[Notice: Serafall, Sona, and Grayfia have reached Level 2.]
⸻
A New Power Awakens
Above the battlefield, Shin watched in solemn silence.
And then — he felt it.
Deep within his core, beyond flesh and spirit, something ancient stirred.
A slow, rhythmic pulse.
Heavy.
Inevitable.
Like a drumbeat that had echoed since the dawn of all things, now answered by his soul.
[System Notice: Lord Core Awakening – 37%.]
[Your soul has resonated with the spirit of leadership. Further victories will accelerate the process.]
He closed his eyes, briefly surrendering to the tide pulling at him. It was not pain. Nor was it pleasure. It was purpose — a weight and a promise all at once.
When Shin opened his eyes again, the world had sharpened. Every blade of grass, every bloodstain, every breath of his soldiers — he knew them.
He was no longer a participant in this war.
He was its axis.
Its rising sovereign.
And he would not falter.
"Prepare for Wave Four," Shin commanded, his voice rolling across the field like thunder, galvanizing the weary troops with newfound resolve.
On the distant horizon, a new nightmare churned into view — green clouds swirling with foul magic, grotesque goblins bloated with disease staggering forward in endless waves. The air thickened with a nauseating stench as their sickly chants twisted reality itself.
But Shin's army was ready.
Stronger.
Hungrier.
United.
And at the heart of them stood Shin Tempest — no longer merely a leader. A future Lord.
⸻
The Tide of Blight
As the embers of the third wave dimmed, a vile mist descended over the land — a living, rotting entity in itself.
The Blightstorm had arrived.
Thousands of plaguebearers lumbered forward, their flesh split by tumors and disease, chanting in guttural voices as sickly magic seeped from their bodies. The air around them twisted with unnatural corruption.
Shin raised his hand high, voice cutting through the filth like a blade.
"Deploy! Scáthach, Lulu — lead the charge. Sins, support. Elizabeth and Eliane — cleanse the field!"
At once, the ground shuddered beneath the force of the living weapons he had unleashed.
Scáthach erupted forward, a storm of shadow and death. Her twin lances whirled in her hands, tearing through the cursed mists, shattering goblin lines like driftwood before a hurricane.
Beside her danced Lulu Tempest, her every strike a conflagration. Wherever her burning glaive swept, the noxious clouds ignited into blinding infernos, consuming the blight with cleansing fire.
Behind them, the Seven Deadly Sins advanced, each embodying their aspect with brutal artistry —
Wrath roaring through monstrous beasts with savage strength,
Pride forging shimmering golden barriers against foul magics,
Envy, Sloth, Gluttony, Lust, and Greed carving paths of bloody defiance through the ranks.
Above it all, two figures shone like twin suns.
Elizabeth, the Angel Princess, hovered gracefully, her white armor gleaming with celestial light. Her voice, clear and commanding, echoed over the battlefield.
"Sanctify!"
A brilliant pulse of divine energy erupted from her, ripping apart the corrupted mists and disintegrating the Blightshamans where they stood, their twisted bodies burning with holy fire.
Beside her, Eliane, the Fairy Princess, sang an ancient song — a melody of life and hope. Green runes shimmered in the air around her as the earth mended and blooms sprouted from the ashes of despair. Her pollen carried the scent of spring, empowering the soldiers, knitting their wounds, fortifying their spirits.
The goblins shrieked, their corrupted magic unraveling, their power crumbling before the twin might of the divine and the natural.
Still, the enemy pressed on.
Blight-carriers vomited acidic bile, but Lulu's infernos consumed it before it could reach the frontline.
Spectral claws lashed from shattered totems, but Elizabeth's shields of pure light deflected every blow.
Corrupted roots clawed up from the earth, but Eliane's life magic rebalanced the land, casting the blight aside.
At the center of it all spun Scáthach, an avatar of death and elegance, her momentum driving the Sins deeper and deeper into the goblin ranks.
But the numbers were overwhelming. The Blightstorm was endless.
In the midst of the mounting chaos, Heart's voice whispered urgently in Shin's mind, crisp and calculating.
[Strategic deployment advised: Reinforcement at critical point. Recommend Benimaru and Mountain Splitters for shock breakthrough.]
Shin didn't hesitate.
"Benimaru — hammer them down!"
From the rear lines, a new rumble tore across the field.
Benimaru, crimson flames roaring from his body like a living inferno, charged with terrifying speed, the Mountain Splitters thundering behind him — massive warriors wielding enchanted hammers that pulsed with runic energy.
When they struck, the earth itself cracked.
The shockwave shattered the goblin lines. Disease magic screamed and sputtered into nothingness. Shamans exploded into mist, their curses undone by sheer force and fury.
In mere minutes, the fourth wave was broken.
Shattered.
Purged.
A fresh pulse of silver radiance swept through the army — a sign of the heavens themselves acknowledging their triumph.
[Notice: Meliodas, Scáthach, and the Seven Deadly Sins — with Elizabeth (the Angel Princess) and Eliane (the Fairy Princess) — have reached Level 2.]
The battlefield was theirs.
The tide had turned — not just because of strength, but because of something deeper: belief.
They believed in Shin.
And soon, the world would, too.
————————————————————
A/N
Please leave feedback on what you would like to see added to the story.
Thank you to Ragingluantic,jojolu, and everyone else for sending power stones.
Join my discord for we can discuss possible summons and bloodlines at https://discord.gg/vuPByfve
I have updated some of the earlier chapters to make them more interesting in my opinion.
See you in the next chapter