*Slash*
“Keeik-”
*Tear*
Sounds of screams and tearing flesh engulfed the center of the battlefield.
The drought-stricken land finally found a way to quench its thirst. Like the hungry maws of starving beasts, the cracks on the ground absorbed the blood that flowed through the alien’s corpses.
Unlike the ophidian warriors, the glemorax weren’t quiet when facing their death. They flailed and screamed for help, but it was too late.
Hundreds of ophidian warriors were dying every second and even the empowered ones didn’t fare much better.
“Those damned maniacs!” The captain roared in anger. He was infuriated by the sudden change in the outcome.
He had realized the summoner's intentions too late. It wasn’t his fault as no one with a sane mind would sacrifice 40000 troops to kill 2000.
“Be on guard, something’s off about this summoner,” the captain rallied his personal troops and charged towards the battlefield.
He believed that the summoner had more troops than the ones here. Otherwise, there was no way he would leave himself vulnerable by sacrificing all his troops.
‘They’re taking the corpses,’
The captain frowned as he looked around. Only a few thousand remained from the original summons. Time trickled by and soon, a dead silence descended upon the wastelands once again.
Few managed to survive from the wedge formation, and as for the 2300 that died, not even their corpses remained.
“Notify other advance parties to head back” The captain commanded as he looked at the blood-soaked ground with a heavy expression.
From this battle, he had figured out many important facts about their enemy. He was Cruel, decisive, and most importantly, he had the means to travel at very high speeds.
The captain was no moron. If the summoner was neither nearby, nor did he summon more creatures from afar to lay out an ambush. He most likely used his full force to whittle away their strength. These clues were enough for him to guess their enemy’s tactics, and if he was right, he had to alert the rest as soon as possible.
…
On the other hand, Zyrus was running towards a desert that separated the center and the north of the continent.
Originally, this wasn’t on his route as he had avoided this land on this travel. However, he had noticed that the glemorax troops were charging in a straight line towards the warehouse.
They were sure to cross this land unless they changed their route.
‘They’re smarter than expected,’
Zyrus observed the red dots' movements and became warier against these invaders. Previously, they were marching out like a beast’s claw that aimed to engulf the surroundings. Now, their formation looked like a turtle shell.
He hadn’t even killed 3% of his troops and they were already on their guard.
*Flash*
The surroundings blurred by in his sight as he once again used teleportation.
‘This is good enough. They should be here in a day,’
Zyrus plopped down on the sand dune due to exhaustion as he thought about the past events. Compared to his days in the sanctuary, his stay on earth was much more tense and filled with excitement.
‘Status’
After leisurely lying on the sand he skimmed past the other information and clicked on his class. Unlike in the sanctuary, he was able to open the screen here.
[Class: Balaur Summoner]
[Awaken the ancient bloodline by sacrificing your vanquished foes. With your authority as the last Sylvarix you bring forth the fallen warriors of the past.]
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[Note: You cannot use sacrifice in the sanctuary]
[Summoned Subordinates: 5000]
[Dead subordinates: 40,000]
CD: 11h 26m
[Note: Summoned warrior’s species, class, and rank will depend upon the quality of the sacrifice]
[Note: Summons can level up as well. For evolution, special items are required]
[Note: Immortal attribute. Upon death, the summoned creatures will recuperate in another dimension depending on their statue]
Rank I units: 50,764
Regular units: 40,664
Empowered: 9500
Enhanced: 0
Empowered & Enhanced: 500
???: 100
[Current highest rank of the summon: 1]
[Skills unlocked: 1/1]
[Empower: You can use monster remains and other mana infused objects on your summons. The number of times the skills can be used corresponds to their rank]
[Note: Depending upon the assimilation rate with the summoned creature the skill's effect may vary]
[Note: The changes are irreversible]
Nothing else had changed apart from the increase in his summons. Zyrus guessed that his summons could only level up and evolve in the sanctuary.
From their current capabilities, they should be around level 10 while the empowered and enhanced ones would be between 15 and 20. From what he had observed so far, the glemorax should be as strong as the average monsters in the second ring.
This was a stark reminder of how powerful the sanctuary was. Even the trash-level mobs from the first ring were capable of destroying worlds with their sheer numbers.
Sharp winds blew across the desert as he devised plausible strategies. The sand in the air would have bothered him if he were a human, but that was no longer the case.
*Grumble*
'Welp, human or not, I need to eat.'
Zyrus stood up with a jump and took out the cube. It was his bread and butter in a literal sense.
He also retrieved a few glemorax corpses while he ate his lunch.
‘Every part of their body is sharp and strong…’
He kept observing more corpses while kicking the intact ones to the side. Since the fight was brutal, there weren’t many intact ones to begin with. Still, there were around 150 that remained mostly unharmed.
They were the only ones who had died due to bows on their head and necks. After separating some more that were torn into pieces, he left 2000 on the sand and stored the rest.
*Gulp*
"Mango juice is the best," Zyrus threw the empty can and rubbed his claws in excitement.
[Your summons have killed a Glemorax]
[You can sacrifice the slain creature to summon a fallen warrior]
He moved his hand atop a corpse and channeled his mana. The violet-red insignia shone on the back of his hand, and the dragon with nine blue horns reared his head and opened its pitch-black eyes.
*Crackle*
A purple light flashed from the insignia that made the space tremble.
“AWAKEN”
Zyrus commanded in a voice filled with mana and in the next instance, the purple light transformed.
The muscular alien shriveled at a visible rate.
Gray strands of energy sucked out the remaining life-force of the glemorax, and soon, they all converged above its head.
*Shatter*
A black crack extended from the gray mass of energy.
*ROOOAR*
And a beast that shouldn’t exist in the current era walked out from the other side.
…
A day later, near the edge of the desert.
*Thud* Thud* Thud*
Thousands of glemorax warriors marched in straight lines.
Unlike the previous time when they were behaving like a hunting party, their current demeanor showed a sharp and orderly aura.
The glemorax chief ordered via telepathy when the army reached the borderlands.
Even the boisterous captains stood like cattle in his presence. For those who rarely saw their king, the chief was their main target of envy and respect.
They admired his strength and aspired to be like him one day. Their species followed a clear hierarchy where the weak revered the strong and chased after them.
As for the King? No one even thought about reaching his level. The king was like a god to them. He was like a sun in the sky that they could only look up to.
Each and every one of the glemorax looked at the desert with red eyes. They were born for war, and conquest was their only goal in life.
Thus, losing in a battle was the greatest humiliation for them. Unlike the intelligent captains and squad leader, the soldiers didn’t care about strategy and battle tactics.
All they knew was that 2000 of them had died while the enemy remained as strong as ever.
That was unacceptable.
This time, it was the high ranking glemorax who were looking at the desert with red eyes. However, their gaze wasn’t filled with hatred and anger.
‘Greedy bastards,’
The chief snickered as he looked down on the captains. He knew all too well what they wanted. Riches, strength, honor, conquered lands… nothing like that came close to getting recognition from their king.
He was someone who could change their fate with a flick of his finger.
Now, that high and mighty being had personally given them a task.
Their red armors gleamed under the crimson sky as they marched into the desert. The five-meter-tall chief walked in the center of the formation. From above, it looked like a cog with 16 teeth was moving in the desert.
Blowing winds carried along the sand thrown off by the army’s steps, but even then, not a speck of it landed in the center.
Just like a cog, the center of the formation was empty except for the glemorax chief.
With his three unfolded wings he was as tall as a two-story house. The single eyes on his wings, along with the one on his chest, all gazed in the same direction.
The chief didn’t know how, but he felt that they were being observed by his target.
‘Look all you want, but the outcome will remain the same,’
*Boom*
An explosion resounded in the center of the formation as he flapped his wings.
*Boom*Boom*Boom*
Without a second of delay, the captains and squad leaders also followed him in the air. The desert trembled as if a chain of dynamite had been set off.
This was a formation that sealed both the land and the air.
‘Unless you burrow into the ground like a rat, there’s no way to escape.’