High above the roiling chaos, where the air was thin and bitingly cold, Su Ping hung suspended in the vast expanse of the sky.
From his back, two massive, draconic wings sprouted, their leathery membranes stretching wide and beating every few seconds, keeping him perfectly stationary amidst the thinning clouds.
His sharp eyes, now glowing a purple black hue, remained fixed on the world below, watching with detached fascination as the wall of dark fog continued its relentless encroachment toward the stolen village.
From this height, the village looked like a small, doomed island being swallowed by a sea of ink, the once-distinct lines of the streets and houses blurring into a singular, shadowy mass.
The fog was not a direct manifestation of Su Ping's own magic, but rather a collective effort orchestrated by his undead subordinates, particularly the lesser vampires who seemed capable of such an area of effect skill.
It required a significant number of them to maintain a shroud of this magnitude, their combined mana had to come together to keep the fog thick and impenetrable to the natural eye.
Su Ping had insisted on this specific preparation because he had no intention of allowing any outsiders or prying eyes to witness the slaughter that was about to unfold.
This operation needed to be instantenious, and the fog served as both a physical barrier and a psychological veil, ensuring that the true nature of his power remained a secret to the rest of the world, while also instilling the fear of the unknown in the Montgomery soldiers.
"Yu An, I'll be watching from up here this time around," Su Ping murmured, his voice carried away by the high-altitude winds.
"Let's see if your suggestion to keep and cultivate this army was truly a sound one. If they prove themselves to be nothing more than a burden, I'm afraid I will have to make use of every single one of them to push my own evolution."
"I've been holding off on that particular advancement for a while now just to build this force and see if quantity can truly match quality, but if they cannot even be deemed a necessity in a scenario like this, then I will have to change my strategy and focus only on my own growth going forward."
Su Ping briefly glanced down at his open palm, his fingers slowly curling into a tight, powerful fist as if he were trying to crush the very air itself.
"I cannot afford to continuously remain at this level of strength," he muttered, his expression hardening into a mask of grim determination.
"There are other players out there, entities and individuals who are constantly increasing their power and expanding their influence. If I lack behind even for a moment, my inherent racial advantages won't be enough to bridge the gap anymore. And I simply cannot let that happen."
As he spoke, images of Mel, Sal, and Melinda flickered through his mind, faces of those he felt responsible for, those who looked to him for a security he was still struggling to perfect.
The memory of recent close calls and the vulnerability he had felt during past confrontations burned in the back of his throat like ash.
"I can't afford to let anyone force them into a situation like that again because of my own self-indulgence or my failure to reach the peak," he whispered, his wings giving a powerful flap that sent a ripple through the surrounding clouds.
He was done with hesitation; today was the day his army would either prove their worth as a tool of conquest or become the fuel for his next ascent.
Meanwhile, down below on the ground, the transition from daylight to a suffocating, artificial twilight had been near-instantaneous.
The moment the dark fog completely surrounded the village, the Montgomery soldiers found themselves plunged into a world where visibility was reduced to a few meager feet.
They stood at the ready, their nerves stretched to the breaking point and their hearts thumping like drums against their ribs.
Hands were clenched so tightly against the hilts of their swords and the shafts of their spears that their knuckles had turned a ghostly white, and every shift of the wind or creak of a house timber sent a jolt of adrenaline through their systems.
All the soldiers were visibly spooked by the unexpected phenomenon, their bravado from earlier in the day vanishing as they realized they were facing something that didn't follow the rules of conventional warfare.
And yet, despite the palpable fear radiating through the ranks, they refused to back down. They were the elite of the Montgomery estate, trained to hold their ground and face the unknown with steel in their hands, even if their souls were screaming for them to flee into the dark.
Whoosh!
Whoosh!
Whoosh!
....
The sudden, sharp whistling of projectiles cutting through the heavy air was the only warning they received.
"What in the hell?!" one of the soldiers at the periphery of the village gasped, his eyes widening in shock as he peered into the murky depths of the fog.
Before he could even raise his shield or alert his comrades, a volley of black-feathered arrows shot out of the darkness with unnatural precision.
The reaction time of the men was simply too slow for the speed of the incoming fire. In mere seconds, several soldiers were riddled with countless arrows, the shafts sinking deep into their chests and throats with sickening thuds.
They dropped dead onto the earth without even having the chance to scream, their blood pooling in the gutters as the fog began to roll over their cooling bodies.
The sight of their fallen brothers sent a fresh wave of panic through the survivors, but the nightmare was only just beginning.
For the others who were fortunate enough to find cover behind carts or stone walls in time, their faces turned a sickly shade of pale when they saw what followed the arrows.
