Chapter 1058 Dorian"s Rage

Skyline regarded the man with suspicion and unease. His displayed agility and confidence made her doubt whether she could defeat him, but there was no way they would hand over their artifact.

"Our lord gave us a simple command," said Skyline as she raised her sword again. "We either bring back the artifact or die trying. This makes our conversation simpler, does it not?"

"It saddens me how death has lost its status in this tower," said the unnamed soldier with a darkening expression. "Fear of dying does not hold us back but gives us the wisdom to survive. Once that is lost… all that remains is foolery."

"There is nothing we can do about that," answered Skyline with determination. However, she was surprised to see sadness seeping from the once-arrogant golden eyes. As he looked at her, he then turned toward the sky.

"Oh, well," muttered the man in uniform as the air began buzzing and rising around him. His uniform fluttered, carried by an unseen aura. "There is nothing we can do."

"Wha—"

Boom!

Skyline found herself lifted off her feet, sent flying by an unknown force. As she tried to stabilize herself by stabbing her sword into the ground, she looked at the young man before her.

Still carrying the same sadness in his eyes, the soldier turned toward her with black lightning crackling around his body. The entire world heard a wrathful cry as he raised his hand, as if summoning the dead. A bolt of black lightning gathered in his palm.

"The next war will be the last. Tell that to Crestview," said Arthur as he tightened his grip on the thunderbolt, making it rage. "After that, there will be no more."

Skyline realized that she had to stop him, but the aura he unleashed made it impossible to move her body. She realized there was nothing pushing her back nor sending her flying, but her body was paralyzed from confronting him. Her grandfather once told her a saying that explained what she was witnessing:

"Wrath is a well, and at the bottom is grief."

As the man threw the thunderbolt like an ancient G.o.d, wrath exploded from the sadness. It made their blood boil with both fear and anger. As the sky was split in half by the bolt, Skyline was helpless to stop it.

The giant vessel was struck by the bolt of lightning, which exploded and crackled around the entire ship. After a momentary pause, the soldiers were confused that nothing else happened. However, the vessel began to fall to the ground.

"This is now a proper war," muttered the man, making Skyline turn toward him. The black lightning began disappearing as it was replaced with a blank expression. "Brace yourselves."

Rumble!

The vessel began plummeting to the ground despite the countless cries to restart the ship. However, the runes did not work to make it fly. Skyline watched with panic as her treasured vessel became a pebble thrown from atop a mountain.

The giant vessel crashed onto the ground at unstoppable speed due to gravity. It caused a heaven-shattering explosion as if a meteor struck the ground. Skyline found herself unable to keep her footing and was sent flying once again.

A fist appeared in her view as dust rose from the explosion. It was the same scout she had underestimated, striking her in the face. Skyline was like a broken kite cutting through the destruction before slamming into her fallen vessel.

In less than a minute, the world had turned upside down, and she realized the fatal mistake she had made. If she had handed him the artifact, none of this would have happened. However, there was no medicine for regret in this world.

Her armor protected her from the impact, but the ship was again destroyed by the force of the crash. Skyline did not stop until she was deep inside the ship, her nose broken and bleeding. The world turned blurred with tears as she tried to rise but could not control her body.

"General!" shouted soldiers within the ship, who were working inside to keep it afloat. "General, are you alright?"

"Do not... touch me..." muttered Skyline as she used her shattered sword for support. Her mind was still shaken, but she could not comprehend what kind of monster had joined the Xelorian Army. Their ambush had turned into the worst-case scenario.

When she was hidden in the sky earlier, Skyline had heard the same man declare this to be the worst-case scenario to them. She thought he was arrogant and immature, but it might have indeed been the beginning of their end.

"To all my soldiers!" shouted Skyline as she stood tall amidst the falling debris. "We might not survive this battle, but we will stand proud until the last moment. Accompany me on this final journey, my mountains and hills!"

Though disorganized and in disarray, the soldiers roared a battle cry as they emerged from the wreckage. Each of them possessed an undefeated spirit as they stared down the man who had brought about their fall.

In response, the man gritted his teeth with annoyance. Their resilience caused him to momentarily lose his composure, and his wrath was evident on his face, but he quickly regained his composure and took a deep breath.

"Although foolish... you"ve earned my respect, Crestview Army," muttered the man as his black lightning dissipated, and then he turned to walk away. Skyline climbed out from the ship to see his figure disappearing into the forest. "I leave your fates to them."

As she wondered what he meant, Skyline saw the Xelorian Army arriving with their runic carriages. None of them had witnessed how the vessel fell, but all of them were determined to seek revenge for the ambush.

"If he had fought alongside them, we would have no chance of survival," said Skyline as she retrieved a necklace from underneath her armor. "My soldiers... disappear and take them all down!"

The battle began as the soldiers rushed out from the vessel, charging toward the incoming enemies. Many of them vanished from sight as they clashed with the surrounding soldiers. Meanwhile, the man responsible for tipping the balance between the two forces disappeared into the forest.

***

Blood and armor.

Ashes and ice.

Victory and defeat.

Dorian smelled the stench of burning corpses as he heard the cries of agony. His spear tore through the next Crestview Soldier as he felt himself become a killing machine. As he searched for his next target, he was surprised that no one came toward him.

The entire battlefield, aside from the fallen vessel, was covered in destruction. Many of their soldiers had fallen, and even more from the Crestview Army. The young lord had never witnessed such a horrific scene before, but it somehow failed to faze him.

As he wiped sweat from his face, he felt blood replace it. His eyes scanned the battlefield to see other soldiers still fighting for their lives, but he had no interest in that. He turned toward the forest where he sensed a pair of golden eyes watching him.

Dorian struggled to walk toward the forest, but he needed to confront the man who had brought down the vessel alone. Although he hadn"t witnessed the feat before he joined the battle, he knew only one person capable of it.

As he crossed the blood-soaked ground of the battlefield, he made his way between the trees. Just a few meters into the forest, atop a boulder, sat the soldier with golden eyes as he faced him.

"...What are you doing here?" asked Dorian with confusion as he saw Alexie gazing at the battles still raging on. "If you had joined this battle, we wouldn"t have lost a single soldier."

"That wouldn"t have been fair to the Crestview Army, would it?" muttered Alexie as he turned toward Dorian. "Xeloria still had you on its side. I had no doubts about who would win."

"We lost most of our soldiers!" Dorian heard himself shout, unable to contain his anger as he saw the apathy in those golden eyes. "How is letting them die any different than killing them yourself?"

"I was never on their side to abandon them, Dorian," confessed the man, who then turned back toward the battlefield. "Xeloria needed a chance to win. That was what I gave them."

"Do you enjoy watching them fight, as if you are some G.o.d?" muttered Dorian as he gritted his teeth. "You sat here and watched the men you traveled with die without a thought of helping them. Their deaths might be temporary, but their pain is real!"

"There is no enjoyment in watching their suffering, Dorian," said Alexie as he closed his eyes. "I had to witness the suffering that I brought. This is the responsibility I have as the one who wields strength to change the world."

"d.a.m.n your strength," said Dorian as he raised his spear toward the man. "Fight me here and now."

"You know you cannot win against me," warned Alexie as he turned toward Dorian with confusion. "Not to mention, anyone can defeat you in your current state. What are you fighting me for?"

"A man who abandons his comrades in battle will never understand my reasons," said Dorian through gritted teeth. "I"ve lost all respect for you."