Archer witnessed numerous blood stains, dismembered limbs, and dead horses strewn across the Lunaris side of the bridge.
What was once a thriving trading hub had now turned into ruins, with the buildings of the town brought down and left in perpetual devastation.
The scene suggested that the defenders had been mercilessly slaughtered just before they could reach the bridge to make their escape.
As Archer looked around, he noticed the lifeless bodies of Rat-lings and Blightborn, adding to the grim aftermath of the violent encounter.
Archer activated his Aura Detector and scanned the entire town but found nothing; it was like a dead zone.
There was no sign of life here, he searched around but didn't find much. The local guild was leveled, leaving only the sign to tell anyone who passed by that it once stood there.
With a flap of his wings, he ascended into the sky to scan the surroundings. A large forest bordered the town, and he noticed black smoke rising in the distance.
Archer made his way toward it while casting Anti-Magic and getting ready to use Mana Manipulation.
It took him ten minutes to reach the source of the smoke, and what he saw tugged at his heartstrings. Piles of moon elves were stacked outside the city.
As he looked up, he saw a city in flames, raging infernos tearing through the streets and collapsing buildings.
Noticing that the swarm was still present, Archer decided to give them a surprise. He cast Stone Warden dozens of times without stopping.
An army of stone men appeared, and he ordered them to slaughter every creature they could find while he dealt with the fire.
Soaring high above the urban landscape, he cast Mana Manipulation and conjured a magnificent water dragon from the mystical energies around him.
With a resolute command, he directed the water dragon to bring forth a deluge upon the city.
The colossal creature surged through the streets, extinguishing fires that had ignited in its wake.
Meanwhile, formidable stone men advanced catching the startled horde off-guard and subduing their advances with swift and decisive action.
Archer quickly whispered to himself. ''Draconis.''
He changed into his Draconic form as he watched the stone men slam into the unaware Rat-lings taking them by surprise, the creatures were quickly put down.
As they dealt with the Rat-lings, Archer and his water dragon used their magic to fight the fire and successfully extinguished it.
He looked at the city and realized that it was already too late, all the people lay in piles outside or burned to ashes by the flames.
Archer flew off after dismissing the stone men and started to fly above the road as he started spotting Rat-lings all over the place.
While he was flying he started casting Element Bolts made of earth and fired them at every creature he saw.
After butchering hundreds of creatures he saw a town in the distance that was under attack, he got closer and stop just above the ground, and cast his new spell at the swarm.
'Azur Cannon.'
From his outstretched hand, a brilliant violet beam surged forth, fracturing into multiple tendrils mid-air as it homed in on its dozens of targets.
Each tendril of energy impacted with precision, slamming into the creatures with unyielding force.
The resulting spectacle resembled a symphony of explosions, a cacophony of brilliant bursts reverberating throughout the surroundings.
Creatures were sent hurtling in all directions, propelled by the tremendous power unleashed upon them.
Chaos ensued as the affected beings scattered, disoriented, and overwhelmed by the force of Archer's mystical assault.
He wasn't finished as he cast Flashpoint and a bright orb appeared above him and started shooting out beams of violet light that took out any creature Archer looked at.
But it raised above him and kept firing nonstop as it drained his mana, Archer didn't let that bother him so he cast Azur Comet.
That's when a violet beam appeared in the heavens and struck the center of the swarm, the cosmic wave washed through the creatures.
While he cast his spells he cast one last one, Crown of Stars. The seven violet orbs circled his head until they instantly shot off.
They struck several sneaky Rat-lings that snuck up behind him, Archer activated Aura-Detector and scanned as far as he could.
It was uncountable when he received the pings, While Crown of Stars and Flashpoint amped up their attacks.
Before Archer could attempt to cast the spell again, he sensed an impending attack directed straight at him.
Swiftly, he raised his wing, using it as a shield as a creature collided against it. With a powerful motion, he flung the creature away, keeping a watchful eye on its crash landing.
Upon examining the fallen creature, the details became clear to Archer through his acute perception:
[Name: Fiend (Mutated Human)]
[Rank: E+]
Archer scrutinized the being intently, recognizing human-like features marred by the unmistakable signs of experimentation.
Its skin bore an unnatural light green color, and its face appeared lifeless. Yet, its black eyes and sharp, decaying teeth revealed an unsettling semblance of life.
With a swift motion, he unleashed a Celestial Beam that instantly wiped the creature out, but more of them appeared, pouncing at him with malevolence.
Undeterred, Archer quickly cast Thunderwave as they drew closer, sending the fiends flying backward.
He cast Mana Manipulation, targeting every nearby fiend with precision. The earth beneath them rose like sharp blades, impaling most of them.
However, a few agile ones managed to evade the attack, continuing their relentless charge.
Archer's tail became a formidable weapon, swiping through the air and bringing them down one by one.
Once they were down he plunged his claw through their hearts, ending their twisted existence.
When Archer took down the creature, he couldn't help but feel like he heard a quiet "thank you" from somewhere.
He looked around, searching for the source, but found nothing. To remain cautious, Archer activated Anti-Magic once again, ensuring he was protected from any further surprises.
As he scanned his surroundings, his Aura Detector signaled movement behind him.
Turning around, Archer spotted a Rat-ling standing there. This creature stood out from the rest, clad in black robes and wielding a peculiar stick-like object pointed at him.
Much to Archer's astonishment, the creature spoke, expressing its intent to kill the "man-thing" for interfering with its plans.
The Rat-ling chanted a swift incantation and unleashed a spell, but it had no effect on Archer, dissipating harmlessly.
Seizing the moment, Archer swiftly cast Blink, teleporting behind the creature in an instant.
His claws found their mark, piercing the Rat-ling's chest as he extracted its heart, causing it to collapse lifelessly to the ground.
Storing away the heart, he couldn't help but wonder why this particular Rat-ling could speak and seemed so deranged.
As he shook his head, Archer decided to leave such questions for later and continued his journey by gracefully flapping his wings, lifting off into the afternoon sky.
Flying through the vast expanse of the sky, Archer remained vigilant, but no more hostile creatures crossed his path.
During his flight, he took a moment to savor the taste of sweet bread, which he had brought along for the journey.
After a few hours of soaring through the heavens, he came upon a small town that appeared heavily guarded yet eerily quiet.
Opting to land before reaching the town, Archer descended gracefully and began his approach on foot as he dismissed his Draconic Form.
As he approached the town's gates, a voice called out, demanding to know his business. "Boy, what are you doing out there? How are you even alive? Everyone south of here should be dead!"
Halting in his tracks, Archer responded calmly, "Well, I'm here, alive and well. Can I come in?"
Silence enveloped the area, but amidst the quiet, Archer could still discern their murmuring. The heavy town gate creaked open, revealing a torrent of Moon Elves pouring out, forming an imposing blockade.
A taller figure emerged from the elven group, halting just a short distance away from him. The figure addressed him, "Dragon-kin, what brings you to Petros town?"
Archer glanced at the man, who stood taller than him, and replied, "I'm merely passing through. I'm on my way to the capital, Larissa."
The man peered down at him with narrowed eyes, then nodded and stepped aside, allowing him to proceed.
As he continued, the town's commander joined Archer and struck up a conversation. "I am Kostas, the commander of the town guard. If you don't mind me asking, how was Althosia City? You must have passed it on your journey."
Archer turned to Kostas with a sorrowful smile. "It's gone. When I arrived, the people had vanished, and the city was consumed by flames."
Kostas' expression twisted with pain as he responded, "That means we may be next. The Archon will likely have to order an evacuation. Would you mind quickly explaining it to him?"
He nodded his head and the two continued walking to the Archon's home.
[A/N - Leave some comments, power stones, and gifts. It all helps support the book. Artwork in the comments or discord]
This 𝓬ontent is taken from f(r)eeweb(n)ovel.𝒄𝒐𝙢