"Whoosh!" Abruptly, a tiny speck manifested in the southward breeze, hurtling toward the quartet at an astounding velocity.
"What's that?" Don squinted, halting the formation alongside the three cloaked individuals.
Simultaneously, the trio of cloaked figures fixed their gazes in the indicated direction, observing the rapidly advancing black speck.
Yet, amid their puzzlement and the nearing dot, an incredibly intense surge in temperature erupted, akin to the air enveloping them being subjected to searing flames.
"Damn it! What's happening!" Don's forehead beaded with sweat, his breath growing labored as the soaring temperature seemingly depleted the oxygen in his surroundings.
Not solely Don, but the trio shrouded in robes experienced identical sensations, their perplexity mirroring Don's own.
"Boom!"
Abruptly, the black dot suspended for an instant before an immense tornado of flames materialized from its location.
This blazing tempest raced at an astonishing velocity, aimed directly at the quartet.
"We're in trouble!" The four exchanged hurried glances and swiftly summoned their mightiest elemental arts.
"Earth Elemental Art: Earth Wall!" Don's palms met, conjuring a colossal, fifty-meter-tall wall from the very earth.
The trio of cloaked figures weren't idle either; in synchronized motion, they extended their hands and invoked their incantations in unison.
"Wind Elemental Art: Wind Storm!" Simultaneously, an intricate formation seemed to evolve amongst them, causing the once gentle zephyrs to spiral into a tumultuous, colossal tornado.
"Whoohs!" The resultant windstorm surged toward the titanic fire vortex, the two catastrophic forces colliding headlong.
"Boom!"
The impact reverberated throughout the surroundings, yet the outcome was discordant with the magnitude of the crash—the windstorm disintegrated as if it held no sway over the gargantuan fire vortex.
The earthen barrier Don had raised proved equally futile, crumbling under the onslaught.
In the face of this dire circumstance, Don and the trio of cloaked figures reacted with gasps of astonishment, hastily activating their teleportation abilities.
Yet a peculiar phenomenon gripped them—the spatial space surrounding them seemed immobilized and ruptured by the fire vortex's impact.
"No!" Their collective cry rang out in desperation as the scorching flames engulfed them without mercy.
"Boom!"
In an instant, the fire vortex detonated, amplifying the catastrophic force acting upon Don and the three enshrouded individuals.
"Argghhh!" Don's agonized wail echoed, his form consumed by the unrelenting inferno.
The cloaked trio suffered no less; their robes ignited with alarming rapidity, unveiling the visage of a bald man who, oddly enough, bore a strikingly familiar countenance among the trio.
Indeed, the three shared an uncanny resemblance, as if they were identical triplets.
Gradually, the fire vortex's devastating impact and its fiery aftermath subsided, leaving the scorched earth beneath a twenty-meter-deep abyss.
Don's remains and the incinerated forms of the three cloaked figures vanished without a trace, consumed entirely by the flames, leaving behind no vestiges of their existence.
Meanwhile, Roy, who bore witness to this cataclysmic event, trembled uncontrollably, his features a blend of awe and terror.
"What an immense force..." He muttered in hushed disbelief, his expression difficult to conceal.
Only upon seeing this spectacle did he grasp that he had managed to put a considerable distance between himself and the devastating vortex.
"Oh, right! Where am I?" Roy's gaze scanned his surroundings until it landed on a young man, his form cloaked in black save for his head.
"And you are?" Roy inquired involuntarily, meeting the young man's casual glance.
"I am the general of the shadow army, under the command of Duke Asvold's mansion's butler," the man explained succinctly, his demeanor unemotional.
Learning this, Roy registered mild surprise before nodding in apparent comprehension.
"Then, the entity responsible for that devastating fire assault..." Roy's murmur trailed off as he directed his focus to the figure now manifesting in the sky, gradually revealing itself.
Indeed, the individual was none other than David Asvold, garbed in a crimson robe that exuded an unusually potent aura.
The area surrounding his levitating figure seemed distorted, evidently influenced by the sheer magnitude of his presence.
"Duke Asvold!" Roy's breath escaped in a slight sigh; he hadn't anticipated Duke Asvold's personal intervention.
Initially, he had presumed the Duke would dispatch aid to confront Don and the trio of cloaked figures.
However, the notion that Duke Asvold himself would step in hadn't crossed his mind.
No wonder the quartet met such a swift and dire fate.
"Those four truly suffered a dire fate," Roy murmured, a slight sigh escaping his lips as he harbored a modicum of sympathy for Don and the recently emerged trio of cloaked individuals.
Gradually, Duke Asvold descended from the sky, his countenance indifferent as he approached Roy.
"Are you unharmed?" David inquired casually, assessing the wounds adorning Roy's physique.
In response, Roy opted against feigning or evading, choosing instead to be forthright.
"Reporting, Lord Duke! I'm well, though the injuries I sustained are rather substantial and will necessitate a considerable duration for recovery," Roy conveyed candidly to David.
While Don's demise at the hands of David's seemingly minor assault might suggest otherwise, not everyone possessed the exceptional might of a being like David.
Don himself was immensely potent.
Roy himself narrowly escaped death at Don's hands, underscoring the unfortunate happenstance of Don encountering David, an extraordinarily formidable figure.
David's demeanor didn't shift to anger upon hearing Roy's admission; rather, he offered a slight nod, appraising Roy closely.
"Very well. Take your time to recuperate, and I shall assume command of the troops," David articulated casually to Roy before vanishing into thin air, leaving faint sparks in his wake.
"As you command!" Roy offered a respectful bow, even in the absence of David's immediate presence.
...
Suddenly, David materialized in the sky above where the troops were engaged in fervent combat, his demeanor composed as he observed the unfolding chaos.
"Savaran's forces do possess remarkable strength," David remarked, acknowledging their prowess.
True to its reputation, the barbarian army stood as the foremost non-elemental contingent on the human continent.
Their robust physiques, superhuman strength surpassing that of ordinary humans, and array of physical advantages were indeed commendable traits.
Relying on the might of the barbarian army, the Savaran Empire had the potential to transform into an exceptionally formidable dominion.
The entire force comprised merely five hundred thousand troops, with Don's battalion likely having several million soldiers alone.
This assessment didn't even account for the battalions commanded by the three other generals, who had yet to make their presence known.
These units likely dwarfed Don's forces as a whole.
"Their abundance of resources and the scale of their troops defy logic, enabling them to forge such a formidable army within just a century," David mused, narrowing his gaze as he observed the barbarian forces adroitly overcoming his own well-trained troops.
The art of warfare and combat expertise exhibited by the barbarian soldiers matched their muscular and robust physiques, rendering them a truly fearsome force.
While devoid of elemental prowess within their physiques, they had the potential to cultivate alternative abilities, specifically the martial techniques honed by the entire barbarian army.
"Regrettably, today shall witness their downfall." David ascended further into the sky, his gaze locked on the barbarian army.
"Fire Elemental Art: Rain of Fire," he murmured, conjuring a pale crimson fireball into his palm.
The diminutive sphere swiftly ascended toward the clouds overhead.
"Boom!"
The initially clear skies swiftly turned overcast and somber, the reverberations of thunder resounding amidst the darkened expanse.
Sensing the transformation, both armies ceased their combat, gradually shifting their attention to the heavens.
"What the hell is this? Rain in the desolate borderlands?" A soldier hailing from the Southern region queried, baffled by this unexpected phenomenon.
Having long safeguarded the border, they were accustomed to the arid environment and had never experienced rainfall in this region.
The term "barren land" had been coined due to the region's consistent lack of rainfall, resulting in an inhospitable environment incapable of sustaining life amid its arid conditions.
However, amid the bewilderment pervading the ranks, an authoritative voice erupted from the commanders.
"Southern region troops! Fall back!" The command reverberated, its echoes spanning the entire expanse of the army.
"Fall back?" This query reverberated through the minds of the southern soldiers.
Nevertheless, as per the directive issued by the commanders, they promptly reined in their horses and initiated a retreat.
Meanwhile, this withdrawal bewildered the barbarian forces, whose attention was fixed on the retreating southern troops.
"What on earth?! How did they manage to escape?" One of the barbarian commanders fumed, his rage palpable.
"All units! Pursue and eliminate them all!" The order echoed urgently, a rallying cry that reverberated across the entirety of the battlefield.
However, at the very moment they were poised to act, an abrupt sensation of stiffness gripped their entire bodies, rendering them immobilized.
"What's happening?" Pervasive confusion reigned as this peculiar phenomenon afflicted every soldier.
Around five hundred thousand or fewer barbarian troops fell victim to this rigidity, their bodies rendered immobile, while their battle steeds shared the same fate.
Amid this prevailing bewilderment, a desperate and fearful voice pierced through.
"Look upward!" The voice trembled, a potent mix of dread and puzzlement weaving into its tone.
Instantly, the collective gaze ascended, settling upon a profoundly chilling spectacle.
"What in the world... is that?"
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I don't know if there is a bug in updating, and I have found it twice like this.
Sorry!
The source of this c𝐨ntent is freewe(b)nov𝒆l