The battlefield of God Valley had become a living nightmare.
Flames burned across broken fields while wounded soldiers screamed in agony. Steel clashed endlessly as both armies fought with everything they had.
The army of the Kingdom of Flowers was struggling to hold the defensive line.
Only 10,000 soldiers had arrived.
Meanwhile the Obsidian Dominion still had nearly 25,000 soldiers advancing.
But the greatest battle was happening at the center of the valley.
Sam stood there surrounded by enemies.
The King of the Obsidian Dominion and his commanders had entered the battlefield themselves.
Sam's armor was cracked and blood ran down his arm.
Yet he still held his sword firmly.
The Obsidian King smiled coldly.
"So this is the strongest warrior of the Kingdom of Flowers?"
Sam spat blood onto the ground.
"You talk too much."
The battle exploded again.
Iron magic erupted from the ground while waves of ice surged across the battlefield.
Sam fought with everything he had.
But the enemy king was an S+ Rank warrior.
And he wasn't alone.
Five commanders surrounded Sam.
Each one powerful enough to destroy entire battalions.
Inside the command tent Leo watched in silence.
Carl slammed his fist against the table.
"We have to do something!"
Elias shook his head.
"If we send reinforcements now they'll be slaughtered."
Leo's mind raced.
But every strategy he imagined ended the same way.
Defeat.
The Shadow Awakens
Across the battlefield another fight raged.
Seraphine Vale, the Shadow Assassin of the elite warriors, moved silently through the chaos.
Her twin daggers flashed through the air as she eliminated enemy soldiers one after another.
But the battlefield was overwhelming.
Hundreds of Dominion soldiers surrounded her.
A blade slashed across her shoulder.
Another struck her leg.
Seraphine stumbled.
Blood dripped from her armor.
One of the Dominion commanders appeared before her.
"Well… looks like the assassin is finished."
Seraphine tried to stand.
But her body refused to move.
Her breathing grew heavy.
For a moment…
she thought it was over.
Then something inside her changed.
The shadows around her began to move.
Dark energy slowly spread across the battlefield.
Seraphine's eyes glowed faintly.
Her voice became calm.
"…So this is my limit."
The shadows beneath her feet exploded outward.
Dark tendrils spread across the battlefield like living creatures.
Soldiers screamed as shadows swallowed them whole.
One.
Ten.
Hundreds.
Thousands.
The shadows moved like a tidal wave of darkness.
In seconds entire enemy formations disappeared.
Seraphine moved like a phantom through the battlefield.
Every step she took, shadows followed.
Daggers flashed.
Bodies fell.
By the time the darkness settled…
five thousand Dominion soldiers had fallen.
The battlefield froze in shock.
But two enemy commanders stepped forward.
Their magic flared violently.
"You think that's enough to stop us?" one of them growled.
Seraphine's breathing was heavy.
But she raised her daggers again.
The Battle of Commanders
The two commanders attacked simultaneously.
Blades and magic collided with Seraphine's shadow techniques.
Despite her exhaustion she fought with terrifying speed.
Dark blades of shadow sliced through the air.
One commander fell.
The second collapsed moments later.
But Seraphine's body had reached its limit.
Her shadow power slowly faded.
She fell to one knee.
Across the battlefield she saw Sam struggling against the enemy king.
Without thinking she moved.
Using the last of her strength she rushed forward.
Her shadows struck the battlefield again.
The attack forced the enemy king to step back for a moment.
Sam looked at her in surprise.
"You came all this way…?"
Seraphine tried to stand beside him.
But her body shook violently.
She had used too much power.
Now…
she could barely move.
Reinforcements
Suddenly five figures landed on the battlefield.
Kael Draven
Magnus Stoneheart
Roderick Ashfall
Arlen Stormbreaker
Valen Frostwind
The remaining elite warriors had arrived.
Kael lifted his flaming sword.
"Looks like we made it just in time."
Magnus raised a wall of stone around the injured Seraphine.
"You did enough."
Sam wiped blood from his face.
"So… ready for round two?"
Across the battlefield the enemy commanders stepped forward.
Five commanders remained.
The battlefield fell silent.
Five Elite Warriors
vs
Five Dominion Commanders
The battle began instantly.
Fire clashed with ice.
Lightning shattered iron defenses.
Stone walls rose and collapsed under magical strikes.
The battlefield shook with each attack.
Minutes passed in brutal combat.
One by one the Dominion commanders began to fall.
The elite warriors fought like legends.
Finally…
three enemy commanders collapsed.
Only two remained.
But then the battlefield changed again.
The King of the Obsidian Dominion stepped forward.
His aura alone crushed the air around him.
Even the elite warriors felt the pressure.
They were exhausted.
Injured.
Yet they still stood together.
Now it was five warriors against the king.
The King's Power
The Obsidian King raised his hand.
Iron pillars erupted from the ground.
Ice storms filled the battlefield.
The elite warriors struggled to stand.
Sam stepped forward again.
He could barely hold his sword.
The king walked slowly toward him.
"So this is the hero of your kingdom?"
Sam tried to move.
But his body had reached its limit.
The king raised his blade.
"This war ends here."
He swung his sword toward Sam.
But before the blade could fall—
A massive explosion of lightning tore through the sky.
The entire battlefield shook.
A blinding bolt crashed into the ground between them.
Everyone turned in shock.
Dust and smoke filled the air.
Slowly…
a figure appeared within the lightning.
A man stood there calmly.
His eyes glowed purple light.
The wind moved around him as if the storm itself answered to his presence.
No one spoke.
No one understood what they were seeing.
Only one question filled the battlefield.
Who was he?
To be continued…
Next Chapter — The Voice