Faceless Phantom

Drums of war could be heard at the distance. Thousands of Dark Army were marching through the plains, approaching toward the last wall of Tandor. They became cautious as unexpected reinforcements were coming to defend Tandor. They stopped and the drums were silent as well.

Everything became quiet for a moment.

Then suddenly, the drums were hit once more, slowly became loud yet the melody was grim. And then noises of several horns followed as the beat got faster. A few minutes later, Atalancia and Savanh began to hit their war drums as well, followed by vocalization of several creatures.

Hearing them, the Wandering Bards were encouraged to join. As they casted a spell to strengthen the sound, the group of Wandering Bards began to play their instruments.

Unexpectedly, electrical sound was coming out from the lute!

After a moment, they all stopped and the sound of violin came in. Not only that, Mirage's angelic vocalization followed the melody. And everyone began to join again. Drums of war, The Wandering Bards, and Mirage's opera-like high pitched voice matched really well. It created a buff for the soldiers who were about to fight within the battlefield.

///////

Unified Symphony of War

Unified music from different worlds which greatly raises the morale of allies within a vast radius.

+30% Max HP & MP

+25% Attack & Defense Power

+10% All Stats

///////

With the buff as fuel of their morale, the war began as several battle cries were shouted.

"FOR HEALLANCE!"

"TO WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRRRRRRR!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

"GAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!"

Thus, the Dark Army began to clash with Atalancia and Savanh.

"GRRRRROOOOOOOOOOOOOOAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRRRR!!!!!!!!!!!"

Hundreds of Dark Armies were frozen in fear, and they immediately wiped by the Tsunami. Feleon leaped afterwards. He threw his powerful punch onto the ground and made a huge crater. The Dark Armies within the area of effect were falling into the crater and stunned.

Meanwhile, I was so nervous that my knees could give up any moment. I was fighting a lot of battlefields before. Of course, they were within MMORPG I played. However, being in real time battlefield felt so different than looking at the monitor. So many things happening at once and I couldn't observe them all. Regardless, I tried my best to focus.

I saw the Dark Armies in front of me and my heart was beating so fast. I looked at them with my Astral Eyes. I could see something inside them. It was like they were possessed. Also, they had some kind of magic circle atop of their head which looked like a dark halo. Dark Aura was emitting from the halo and poured down onto them. It seemed the aura was a buff called Chaotic Aura which increased their stats significantly. Furthermore, my ears could catch a lot of voices in a vast radius. It was like you tried to sleep but construction and party were happening at the same time next door, but it was worse. It was really painful to hear.

I tried to calm down and move according to what I learned. I slowed down my running pace and focused myself. I evaded the attack and swung my rapier low while spinning. I cut the coverless back of their legs precisely, and then I face forward again to throw my sword like a spear. It went straight onto the Dark Army's neck. I called it back to my hand, then I thrust it onto the neck of the next Dark Army that was coming toward me. I pulled instantly and swung it again and again. I fought relentlessly without stop.

Hagwim was right behind me, and sometimes he covered me whenever there was too many Dark Armies aimed for me. Each of his strike created a mini earthquake around him which stunned the dark army for a few seconds. And his defense was impenetrable, all the Dark Armies attacks were mostly blocked by his shield.

Mirage also did the same, she supported me especially by creating barrier to parry the attacks that I couldn't avoid or aimed toward my blind spot. She also buffed us with her melody. Therefore, my nervousness was being washed away and I became confident to keep moving forward.

Suddenly, a unique sound of drum was heard from the enemy's side, and it was becoming louder than the Symphony of War.

Dum dun dum dun... Bang!

Kyaaaaaaaaaaakkkkkkk!

Sqeeeeeaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaakkkkkkkkkkkkk!

Screeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!!

"Damned Squeakers!" Hagwim exclaimed, then he shouted. "COVER YOUR EARS!"

Strange humanoid creatures were crawling from enemy's side. As they stopped, they were squeaking with their ear-piercing voices.

"SQUUUEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEAAKKKKKKK!!!!!"

Several soldiers tried to cover their ears as Hagwim commanded, but their helmet was in the way. Some who didn't wear any helmet were lucky. However, the voices could make anyone's ears ringing even though they pressed their ears tightly. Because of that, the Dark Army war instruments slowly overpowered the Symphony of War.

I could hear Mirage's voice. She was also screaming with her high-pitched voice to counter the Squeakers.

"Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhh!!!!!"

The squeakers crawled fast forward and leaped toward their target.

"Gwaaaaaaaaaahhhh!!"

"EEeeeeeeeeeeekkkk!!"

"Noooooo!!!"

The frontline soldiers were frozen in fear, and they became easy targets for the Squeakers. One by one got killed within seconds. It was almost becoming our disadvantage, but then there were several bizarre-looking mannequins appeared in front of them.

"Gahahahahaha! YES! YES! MY BABIES! KILL THEM ALL!" Gepetto shouted with villainous laugh.

I scoffed and smiled.

The Squeakers screamed toward the mannequins. Unfortunately, the dolls didn't stop and rammed them without fear. Thus, the frontline regained their courage back and attacked once the Squeakers got confused.

• • •

"Old man..."

Sylraim didn't respond and waited for Vallas to continue.

"Will you help me once? Just for this time..."

Sylraim smiled. "I guess I will do it once."

"Thanks." Vallas smiled. "Please take care of the ritual over there."

Sylraim opened his mouth and shouted, "Hoh Zavar!"

The sky which was cloudy suddenly completely covered by clouds, and it got dark in seconds.

Sounds of thunder were blaring here and there. Then, hundreds of thunder were striking down.

KRAKABOOM!

Each one of them hit the Dark Armies far in the north where the ritual happened, and the battlefield was covered in bright light for a few seconds.

Vallas dropped down and followed by Ylvaark. He saw Randolph was about to get hit. As he landed, he immediately rushed toward him to block the attack.

Once Randolph realized he was still alive, he drank a potion and went toward Irelia. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah." Irelia answered. Then she looked at Vallas curiously. "That man..."

"He seems to be with us." Randolph said as he also turned his gaze toward Vallas.

Ke'Bal pulled his fist back and immediately punched Vallas in the face.

BAM!

Vallas didn't even try to evade. He took the hit and smiled.

"My turn."

BAM!

Vallas punched Ke'Bal in the face as well. Imitating Vallas, Ke'Bal didn't avoid it because of his pride. While standing still, they punched each other in turn and gradually increased their power as time went by.

Each of their punch slowly released a shockwave. At first it was weak, and then it was like a bomb. Slowly, the radius increased and it also caused a tremor. The Heroes, the soldiers and the Dark Armies could feel the mild earthquake and the strong wind against them every five seconds. Everyone tried to balance themselves to keep standing still while they were watching the battle of power.

Eventually the shockwave was becoming too strong and they got pushed away. So they had to flee and watch the punch battle in the distance.

The ground cracked, the hills split, and each punch made a mushroom cloud in the sky which slowly getting bigger and taller.

An hour passed, and Vallas expression turned...emotionless. Eventually, he was yawning while punching Ke'Bal. However, his yawn's voice coincidentally made a word of Dragon Tongue. In an instant, Ke'Bal head was gone and his body dropped on the ground. Thus, their battle was over.

Everyone who was there witnessing such raw power was frozen in disbelieve. How could they not? Gordull Hills was no more, only messy flat landscape was there. Moreover, Vallas killed the Commander as if he was nothing.

After that, they easily defeated the rest of the Dark Army with Vallas on their side.

• • •

I had been fighting for hours, probably half a day. It was the first time that I felt I could collapse at any moment, and my body couldn't move anymore. However, with Mirage's Healing Serenade, my weariness was lifted. It felt really strange yet relieving. Like, I wanted to rest but I was also feeling better at the same time. That's the best way I can explain it.

I looked around. It seemed like the battle could last forever since a lot of our side turned into Dark Armies. Although it felt like it was our lost, I believed in Atalancia and Savanh's power to win the war. And I had the role to make that happen.

"Zeroth, laddie! It is time for us to advance!"

I nodded and immediately ordered Misty to cover our surrounding with mist. And so we began to move away from the battlefield to flank, travelling to the sideline and proceed towards their rear.

A moment later, we eventually found where the ritual was taken place. At the very end of their side, there was a cemetery, and they conducted such immorality on graves. M.o.a.ns and screams of p.l.e.a.s.u.r.e could be heard simultaneously.

Witnessing that, I looked away and gripped my sword tightly. I had a mixed feelings which made me a little nauseous. I gritted my teeth and observed them again. I saw each one of them had the same Chaotic Aura. It came from the ritual they were doing, and it produced dark-colored aura that was swirling around and went into their body. It also went up into big magic circle above the graveyard. Moreover, I saw a lot of astral beings with them. They were grinning creepily and laughing in joy.

"It seems like their Commander is elsewhere." Hagwim said. "Perhaps because they don't know about us yet. This is our opportunity. Let's kill them all!"

He was right. We were there because of that very purpose. However, I felt something was wrong since I saw the Astral beings.

"Yeah, but..." I suddenly opened my mouth. "They're also people."

"Laddie, they are Dark Army. Why are you suddenly hesitating?" Hagwim looked confused. "What do you mean?"

"Imagine someone telling you to do bad things and you don't have another choice but to do it." I gave an example. "Some probably don't know what's right or wrong as well. So they just do it because the majority do it."

"Then it's their own fault for listening to that person. They should realize it by themselves that it is bad for them." He answered. "We also have a choice to reject."

"Still, they probably got manipulated. They can be forgiven if they change, right?" I looked at him with a faint smile. "They just need a second chance."

"Look at them, laddie." Hagwim sighed as his gaze turned toward the cemetery. "They are beyond help. They crazily worship something that deceive and destroy them. They will be forever blinded for doing everything what their idol tells them. Sometimes, death is a form of mercy to those kind of people, so they won't do anymore bad deeds."

"..."

We went quiet for a moment. I could feel Mirage's hand holding mine. Then I began to open my mouth again.

"Let's just end this war."

Thus, we both threw our weapons and rushed forward. My rapier and Hagwim's axe went through the nearest Dark Army's body easily. As their body fell, we called our weapons back and began our slaughter. Since they were n.a.k.e.d, it was easy to massacre them all. As I expected, the astral beings who were there immediately left when we attacked.

Once we cleared our objective, I heard a familiar voice from the sky.

"Well, well, well. You have done well."

Everyone's gaze focused to something that was flying above the battlefield.

It was a skeleton with black robe.

"Uruzak!?" Hagwim exclaimed.

"I have a little gift for you since I just regained my power... Khuhahaha..." Uruzak laughed. "Please enjoy it well!"

It was then, a huge meteor was spotted falling from the sky. Seeing the very disaster, everyone's eyes widened and their jaw was dropped low. Because of that, some were panicked and ran away in fear. The same with the Dark Armies. The war stopped in some areas and the battlefield suddenly cleared as everyone rushed toward every direction, away from the meteor. They even passed us and didn't even have the will to attack us. It was strange since they didn't have the fear to die when they fought us. In the end, they were all just corrupted people, and the meteor made their survival instinct surfaced.

The size of the meteor could wipe everything in a vast radius, including Navencore. Furthermore, the destructive shockwave might even reach every human kingdom since Tandor was the center of Heallance.

'Shit! This is bad' I paused and thinking.

I felt powerless all of sudden. I couldn't do anything but watched the very disaster in front of my eyes. Still, I could be respawned back if I died. However, not for the NPCs.

'How can I save them all?' I looked at Mirage.

Even though I went back and created a portal for them to escape, there was no time. The meteor would hit within less than a minute. And with that time, let alone a hundred of us, there's no way a dozen of us could go into the portal.

"Hagwim..."

"I know, laddie. That bastard is trying to wipe us all." Hagwim said in angry tone.

Suddenly, I saw Neptos leaped forward and faced the meteor, he raised his Trident toward the sky.

KRAKABOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOMMMMM!!!

A massive thunder came out from the Trident and hit the meteor. Regardless, it only chipped a small portion of the gigantic meteor. Still, he didn't give up, he kept striking with his thunder to slow down the meteor's speed. But then, he stopped and noticed something.

From the sky above Savanh and Atalancia, countless shining stars were visible. Everyone on the battlefield was dazzled since it was a beautiful scenery that could probably happen once in a lifetime. Unfortunately, it was a disaster and they knew it very well. Still, they couldn't move an inch because of fear, and it was already impossible to run. The huge meteor itself would impact a wide area and there was nowhere to go. Even Neptos and Feleon were frozen.

Suddenly, the falling stars were acting strange. They flight towards the meteor, all of them. Within seconds, they hit the meteor.

KABOOOOOOOOOOMMM!

The meteor shattered into small pieces.

Because of the impact, those small pieces were falling toward the Dark Army side. I immediately opened a portal to Navencore and called Mirage and Hagwim to go through.

"To the portal!" I exclaimed.

Once we safely arrived on the other side, I saw the meteor pieces were showering the ground and killed hundreds of Dark Army.

FWOOSH BOOM!

FWOOSH BOOM!

FWOOSH BOOM!

Their screams were heard even from Navencore, and their number decreased significantly. Thus, everyone could easily defeat the rest of the Dark Army at ease.

Once the war was over, my gaze turned toward the sky. At the distance, I could feel Uruzak was looking straight at me before he teleported away.

I saw him gone with puzzled look.

• • •

Bastal

"Go forth! I will take care of this place."

Eleya chanted something and buffed the Elves, then they immediately leaped from building to building toward the north. Somehow, the Dark Armies didn't notice them. With their nimbleness, they passed through their rear in an instant and then leaped beyond the wall.

Eleya and Cyllia looked at each other. After a moment passed, Eleya stretched her hands forward and casted lightning.

KRAKABOOM!

The lightning hit the paved road. Cyllia evaded by jumping back, and immediately casted dark orb with her left hand. Eleya deflected it upward while flying toward Cyllia who prepared her sword and readied herself to attack. In an instant, Eleya blinked forward and appeared in front of Cyllia. She was surprised and tried to block with reflex, but it was too late. Eleya covered her arms with electricity and uppercut Cyllia.

POW BZZZT!

It didn't stop right there, Eleya blinked again and punched her gut. It was powerful enough that Cyllia was thrown back beyond the wall. It was intentional since Eleya wanted a clear view to throw her spells.

Eleya blinked atop the wall and then she did it again toward Cyllia. She expected it and swung her sword.

With her reflex, Eleya evaded by leaning backward. However, Cyllia kept attacking.

PING PING PING!

Eleya parried them with mana barrier which focused on her hands. A moment later she blinked away and began to barrage Cyllia with arcane spells.

Cyllia slashed the arcane projectiles and attacked with dark shockwave that came out from the sword. Eleya blinked to evade, but Cyllia was right next to her and immediately swung her sword.

SLASH!

Eleya took the hit. Cyllia then punched her and she was thrown several meters backward. She landed with her feet safely, she smiled as barrier could be seen covered her body.

Cyllia's eyes widened and looked down. A magic circle appeared below her. It activated and thunder chains were coming out and bound her. They were damaging her with electric shock afterwards.

BBBZZZT BZZZT!!!

Cyllia's eyes were wide open, and her veins could be seen on her face and neck. She g.r.o.a.n.e.d, growled, and then it turned into a scream. She used her sheer strength to swing the sword and cut the binds. However, several projectiles already shot toward her.

Fire balls, electric orbs, arcane missiles.

BOOM BOOM BOOM! KABOOOM!

Regardless, Cyllia still standing and became more powerful by releasing Chaotic Aura. Her stance became different from before. The aura covered the sword and formed like a whip, and she began to swung it toward Eleya. However, Eleya caught it like it was nothing.

She sighed, "Here I had high expectation of you. You bunch only depend on that demon's power. And you don't even use it properly like the previous commander."

Suddenly, the powerful Chaotic Aura she possessed was gone. Cyllia got mad and struggled to pull the whip from Eleya's hand.

"Oh well, I will end your sufferings." Eleya flicked her fingers as she chanted something.

The Chaotic aura became uncontrollable and swirling around Cyllia. They were slowly dispersed and created galaxies, then it was s.u.c.k.e.d into Cyllia's body. She got confused and scared. She dropped her sword and ran as far as possible while screaming. Unfortunately, as her body couldn't deal with overflowing mana, it exploded.

SPLAT!

Eleya turned around toward the city. She then swept the remaining Dark Army with only three spells. Thus, Bastal's defense was successful.