“What in the world…” Absalon gaped in astonishment at the carnage in the skies. The drakul swarmed the obviously unprepared wyvern squadron and eliminated them with extreme prejudice. They crushed the wyverns’ heads, and shredded their wings, sending the beasts crashing to the ground. It was like the drakul did not permit anyone to share the skies with them. Only one type of race had this level of arrogance.
“Dragons...” Leila murmured as she watched the drakul. They might’ve been smaller than the wyverns, but they were much more nimble in the sky. Despite just attaining wings, they maneuvered like experts, making it impossible for the wyverns to keep up with their movements. Within a few minutes the wyverns were down to their last few.
“Not yet.” Absalon’s eyes narrowed. “They still can’t use magic.” Every dragon could use magic as easily as breathing. This was the main distinction between dragons and the numerous dragon-like creatures. “Probably need one more evolution.”
Absalon had watched the drakul for many months. He’d seen enough to know they experienced an evolution when something happened to Kashi. This evolution meant that Kashi had also transformed in some significant way. “Looks like Kashi grabbed something good in there.
Leila issued the faintest of smiles as she glanced at Oni Hill. “As expected. He always find a way to get something out of even the worst situations.” She then turned back to the battlefield. “We should have the drakul retreat. The undead will soon retaliate.”
Absalon nodded. He understood the importance of recalling troops after completing an objective. It would be too late for regrets if the drakul overextended and got wiped out by a surprise attack. Absalon took out a rink and called, “Good work. Retreat to the wall. The undead will be wary of aerial attacks from now on. That much is enough.”
Above the battlefield, a drakul paused after receiving Absalon’s orders. Although he wanted to revel in the overwhelming powerful feeling, Kashi stated that Absalon’s words were as good as his. So, with a roar, he ordered the drakul to collectively retreat from the battlefield.
Anyway, the drakul had completed their mission. Only a handful of wyverns remained. Leila alone could wipe them out if they dared to approach the walls.
“Awesome!” “Way to go you lizard bastards!” “Nah! They ain’t lizards! Those are the drakul. Put some respect on their name!” “Haha you absolute beauts! Well done!”
The drakul were shell-shocked when the wall erupted with cheers upon their return. Some ignorant soldiers used some derogatory terms, but were promptly corrected by the more familiar Rosen soldiers.
In times of war, most people forgot trifling things like races, religion and creed. Enemy attacks did not care for either or these things, so why would any soldier? All that mattered was whether you could trust your back to the person beside you.
Previously, the drakul were a private unit in Absalon’s army. Even within his army, they often kept to themselves, and their missions were often different from the rest. This grand battle was the first time they fought hand-in-hand with the other soldiers from Rosen and beyond.
By eliminating the feared wyvern threat, the drakul immediately won the soldiers’ hearts.
Absalon smiled when he saw the reactions along the wall. As expected, the fastest way to integrate clashing personalities in any army was to give them a common enemy.
Changing the Rosen citizens’ view of the drakul would not be so simple. But, this was a good first step. Especially now that it appeared the drakul had begun to gain independent thought.
“What will you do next?” Absalon’s gaze hardened as he looked into the dense forest. The being hidden there was far from done. Absalon could not relax until Kashi completed his mission.
Meanwhile, within the dense forest, a seven-feet tall Undead Knight lowered his lance as he glared at the retreating drakul. The will-o-wisps in its eye sockets pulsed with apparent rage. It wanted nothing more than to tear those lizards to pieces! More importantly, it had the power to do so.
“Relax, Serapon. We are merely testing them.” A raspy voice called from behind.
The knight, called Serapon turned around, but was met with a gigantic throne made from several crushed skulls and bones. A dense mist shrouded the figure seated on the throne, leaving only its bony hands visible.
“Yes, my liege.” Serapon shockingly got to a knee before this great being.
The cloaked being did not react to Serapon’s obeisance like it was expected. Instead, it softly tapped the throne and then murmured, “Send out the wolves…”
***
Elsewhere, Kashi revealed a smile as he looked at Sonic and Brilith. “So, we’re in agreement? Zuri will go with Shadow while the rest of us remain on the first floor.”
Sonic gently nodded. He could not shake the feeling that Kashi was plotting something in secret, but he could not deny the logic. Among their group, only Shadow could realistically sneak through the various floors unseen.
Zuri, meanwhile, could utilize [ Beast Soul Possession ] to mimic an avian.
Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.
“Yes, we shall go with that.” Brilith’s angry eyes were far less conspicuous. She made her displeasure clear and known despite agreeing to Kashi’s proposal. “But if I find out you have tricked us—”
“I swear I won’t do anything that jeopardizes our mission.” Kashi grinned, and as if to prove his innocence, approached the portal first. “I’ll go ahead. You all come when you’re ready, or you can wait here.”
With those words, Kashi stepped into the portal and disappeared from their view.
The perceptive Gentle Breeze murmured as he adjusted his glasses, “He never promised not to trick us.”
“I wouldn’t trust him if he did.” Sonic chuckled and tapped Gentle Breeze’s back. “Let’s go. I want to see this Heaven floor. It’s hard to believe a player played a part in this.”
Sonic’s team stepped into the portal, followed by Syèl, Shokō, Hektor and Larsial.
Brilith coldly glanced at the remaining Shadow and Zuri and warned, “Do not fail.”
“Meanie!” Zuri angrily stuck out her tongue, but Brilith ignored the daeben as she entered the portal with her guildmates.
Zuri frowned as she watched Brilith and co disappear into the portal. “Zuri doesn’t like that mean girl.” She clenched her fist and then said with a sinister smile, “Zuri thinks it will be good to punch her once.”
Shadow let out a wry smile. He found it hard to harmonize the little girl’s bloody words with her cute appearance. “Forget her. You can transform now that no one’s here.”
“Okay, Whitey.” Zuri nodded and activated her [Eagle] soul. She grunted as he bones transformed, creating a pair of seven foot wings. Clumps of black feathers then grew from her skin, giving her a strange, otherworldly, but deadly beauty.
“Incredible.” Shadow murmured as he observed the transformed Zuri. Indeed, she matched Kashi’s descriptions of the avians. She should not draw too much suspicion. Shadow’s only job was to provide support. He would not show himself if he could help it. After confirming they were ready, he held Zuri’s hand and stepped into the portal.
“Ugh.” Shadow nearly threw up from the immense suction force. This portal was far more violent than the previous floors. What’s more, it felt like it wanted to drag he and Zuri in different directions. Luckily, he held her hand on entry, or who knew if they would have been separated.
Vwoosh!
Fortunately, the journey did not last long. In about ten seconds, Zuri and Shadow groaned as their visions slowly returned to normal. They found themselves on a large grassy plain with a cliffdrop to their south. There did not seem to be a sun, but the sky overhead was bright like a midday summer. Unfortunately A terrible, shrill noise that seemed to come from everywhere assaulted their ears and spoiled the nice weather.
It took Zuri and Shadow a few minutes to recover from the portal and then acclimatize to the sound. Once they felt better, Zuri held Shadow and then flew into the sky to get a better view of their surroundings.
“We’re at the edge.” Shadow frowned when he noticed the cliff dropped to absolutely nothing. There was no ground; just endless clouds. He then turned and noticed a thick distortion in the light that seemed to form a pillar. He followed the pillar and saw an earthen ceiling many miles above on what looked like a floating island.
“That must be the wind tunnel that Kashi wants us to use.” Shadow murmured as he observed the distant distortion. He then glanced at the gap between himself and the floating island above. “But first, let’s see what this wind barrier is like. Zuri, can you go a little higher, please? But be careful, don’t go too fast.”
“Okay. This is fun!” Zuri flapped her wings and then pushed higher into the sky. At first, she was enthusiastic, but the higher she climbed, the slower she got. This was because the insufferable shrill noise got exponentially louder the higher she climbed.
Soon, the noise was so loud, that blood began to seep from Shadow and Zuri’s ears.
“Stop!” Shadow put two and two together. That shrill noise was most likely a resultant of the wild winds Kashi talked about. If they were this loud, he did not dare imagine how powerful they were. Shadow took out an old dagger, and flung it with all his might upward.
Kiiing!
Shadow’s brows twitched when something shredded the dagger to pieces after a certain altitude. “That powerful? Seems Kashi was right. The wind tunnel is our only option.” Shadow nonchalantly wiped blood leaking from his nose. “Let’s go, Zuri. We need to be quick. Everyone is waiting on us.”
“Okay, Whitey.” Zuri dropped Shadow on the plains, and then flew toward the wind tunnel. As planned, Shadow kept a low profile and sprinted after her on the ground. The avians rarely looked at the ground, so coupled with Shadow’s Stealth Mastery, he should be capable of avoiding most sentries.
The island was not that large, so it did not take long before Zuri met with an avian. While flying, she came across a group of brown feathered avian men and women. They were dressed in loose robes and held a basket filled with fruits. Like Zuri, they had long wings, and clumps of feathers growing on their bodies. One of them even had the head of a sparrow.
The group glanced at Zuri and then continued flying, obviously not paying her much heed. Avians did not live in large communities, but were rather scattered into thousands of small little homes.
On the ground, Shadow relaxed as he watched the avians fly away. “Kashi was right. Seems this will really be easy. It should be fine as long as the others don’t do anything crazy.” The assassin sheathed his blade and then melded into the shadows as he followed Zuri’s trail.
Meanwhile, elsewhere, a smiling Kashi approached the floating island’s edge. He unfurled his wings and then flew until the shrill noise reached a deafening level. Kashi, unperturbed by the turbulent winds, took out a stone he picked up along the way and tossed it into the maelstrom.
Fffft!
The winds pulverized the stone to dust, but Kashi was not discouraged.
He took out several more stones and began throwing them at the same spot at regular intervals. The stones shattered one after another, but Kashi, as if possessed by some demon, did not stop.
The draconian’s lips curled up in a smile as he continue tossing rocks. “Let’s see who finishes first, Zuri.”