Chapter 254 - 256: Aboweth Kingdom

Words : 1623 Updated : Oct 5th, 2025

Chapter 254: Chapter 256: Aboweth Kingdom Before he recovers, Sorin appears above him. She swings her dagger in a wide arc—Tempest Edge carves the air into five layered blades that slice down like guillotine winds. Thelen grits his teeth and roars, thrusting his greatsword up—Tier 4 Skill: Lightning Barrage!—and dozens of lightning bolts erupt in all directions. The storm collides with the wind. Mana detonates between them, filling the sky with blinding light. But Sorin reappears through the smoke—untouched. The Storm Veil absorbs every strike, redirecting the current harmlessly around her. She lands on Thelen’s chest mid-air, knee driving into his solar plexus. He gasps, wind knocked from his lungs. She slashes. Crack! His shoulder guard shatters. She slashes again—Tempest Edge digs into his side. Wind pressure explodes outward, sending blood flying in spirals. Thelen screams and swings wildly. Sorin leans back, spinning in the air, and delivers a reverse kick to his jaw. His helmet flies off. Blood sprays. He falls, disoriented—then catches himself mid-air with a blast of lightning beneath his feet. But he’s panting now. Bleeding. Face twisted in disbelief. He watches her descend slowly toward him, wind curling around her like ribbons. Her expression doesn’t change. Below, amid the chaos of clashing monsters and soldiers— Ruva grins wide, her shortswords crackling as she parries a Tier 4 human mage’s firebolt with a radiant burst of mana. She’s scraped up, a little burned, but standing tall over two dead enemies. Her heart pounds, but the moment she sees Sorin dominate the sky— "Yes!" Ruva cheers, her voice cutting through the screams and roars. "That’s right! That’s my big sister!" Her joy flares as Thelen stumbles, wounded and confused, barely holding himself aloft. Above, Thelen coughs blood, wheezing. His sword hangs limply in one hand. And then— He laughs. "Ha... hahaha..." Thelen’s shoulders tremble as he laughs bitterly. "Unbelievable. I’m getting thrashed... by a monster." His voice weakens, but he turns his eyes away—toward someone watching from a distance. "Sir... are you not going to move?" he says through clenched teeth. "I’m about to die here..." For a moment—there’s no response. Then— He moves. From the far edge of the broken sky, a new figure steps into view. A man clad in deep green robes lined with golden thread. He’s slim, wiry, not armored—but his presence is suffocating. His footsteps make no sound, his eyes like sharpened jade. His face is calm. The representative of the Aboweth Kingdom. He doesn’t speak. He simply raises a hand. Sorin’s eyes narrow. The wind around her stills. Something shifts. The air tenses. Without warning—a ripple tears through the battlefield. Sorin’s danger sense screams too late. A flash of brown-gold arcs through the space between them—not lightning, not fire—but stone. A pillar of compressed bedrock erupts beneath her, aiming straight for her heart. She doesn’t even see it move. A thunderous crack explodes as the stone lance slams into Sorin’s chest. Or it should have. Instead, golden light blossoms from her wrist. The bracelet. The one Alix gave her months ago—humble, almost decorative, a band she never took off. Now it glows like a miniature sun. A radiant dome of golden energy bursts outward, encasing Sorin in a shimmering shield just before impact. The earth lance shatters against it, spraying gravel and dust into the sky. The shockwave knocks Sorin back, tumbling through the air—but she’s alive. The shield vanishes a heartbeat later, fragments of light drifting like feathers. Cracks run along the bracelet’s edge. Sorin coughs, blinking through the pain. Her limbs tremble. That... would’ve killed me. Below, Ruva’s heart stops. "Sorin!" She sees the shield disappear. She sees the enemy raise his hand again—calm as ever, weaving the next spell. His mana spikes. The ground beneath him rumbles. Another one. Ruva’s instincts scream. She runs. No hesitation. No second thought. She burns every ounce of mana she has. Her whole body ignites with speed. The world blurs. Her heart hammers. She screams Sorin’s name again as the next spell forms—a spiked wall of earth rising from the ground, aimed to impale from multiple directions. And Sorin, still recovering mid-air, can’t move fast enough. "NO!!" Ruva hurls herself forward, wind howling in her ears. She tears the pendant from around her neck—the one Alix gave her for protection—and throws her arm up to activate it. But just before she can— —something faster moves. Two shadows break from the air beside her—like reality peeling apart. Figures in black, featureless masks, no sound, no names. The very air bends around them. Boom—the first shadow slams a palm into the incoming spell. Earth erupts as he counters with a precise shockwave of mana, shattering the formation. Crack!—the second shadow appears in front of Ruva, arms spread wide as a wide dome of darkness unfurls from his cloak—neutralizing the lingering fragments. Everything goes still. The dust settles. The two shadows stand firm—one beside Sorin, the other shielding Ruva. Then one turns to her and speaks, voice smooth and emotionless behind the mask. "Princess Ruva," he says. "Please take General Sorin and withdraw immediately." Ruva stares, panting, adrenaline still raging in her veins. "You—you’re with the Shadows?" she gasps. The second one nods once. "We’ve been tasked with your safety." Ruva swallows hard, eyes flicking between the two silent figures and the distant mage already preparing another spell. She hesitates—but only for a heartbeat. "...Thank you," she breathes, voice low but fierce. She rushes to Sorin, grabbing her arm and wrapping it over her shoulder. Sorin groans, but she’s still conscious, barely. "You’re going to be okay," Ruva mutters, forcing calm into her voice. "I got you." As she lifts into the air, flying low and fast, one of the Shadows watches them go, then slowly exhales. "Looks like our job’s done," he murmurs. The other shadow rolls his neck, drawing two slender curved blades from beneath his cloak. "Our job’s ending," he replies. "We’re not dying with clean hands." The first chuckles, a dark edge in his voice. "Damn right." --- Above the battlefield, Sorin forces herself to her feet mid-air, blood in her mouth, breath shallow—but her voice is still steady. "Retreat," she calls out. The word is clear. Laced with authority. It slices through the chaos like a command from the heavens. "All units, fall back! Now!" The monsters hear her instantly. Across the battlefield, all pause mid-assault. One by one, they turn, disengaging fluidly. Even though they’re winning, they don’t question the order. They’ve seen what she saw. A Tier 6 is here. And no victory is worth facing that alone. The beasts howl once, calling the retreat. Monsters scatter and fall back in coordinated bursts, dragging their wounded, leaving scorched ground and shattered weapons in their wake. Ruva, still holding Sorin, glances over her shoulder as the tide turns. She sees the enemy troops hesitate—some try to pursue, but their officers hold them back. The green-robed representative of Aboweth watches them flee, his expression still unreadable, eyes following the monsters like a hawk eyeing prey. Then he lifts his hand again—this time slowly, deliberately. "Monsters," he says, voice calm but venomous. "Don’t think you’ll leave here alive." Mana floods the air, heavier than before. But before his spell forms— —they move. The two Shadows vanish from where they stood. No words. No sound. Just motion. Crack! The first shadow appears beside the representative like a phantom, dagger already aimed for his throat. The green-robed man turns, catching the blade mid-air with a barrier of compressed stone—but the force of the impact hurls him backward through the air. The second shadow drops from above, blades spinning in a spiral of black steel. Sparks fly as his twin strikes clash against summoned shields, parrying his every blow. But he doesn’t stop. He keeps pressing—blades carving arcs too fast to follow. The representative grits his teeth, forced onto the defensive. "You dare?" he hisses. The Shadows say nothing. They don’t need to. This is not about defiance. It’s a message. You do not touch what we were told to protect. The representative’s foot skids across broken stone as he slides backward. His expression twists—not in fear, but in cold calculation. He raises his hand to strike back, mouth opening to chant a spell, but the first Shadow surges forward, both daggers gleaming with cursed wind. He drives them deep into the mage’s defenses. The earth splits under their feet from the impact. BOOM! Mana explodes in a violent shockwave. Dust billows. The world trembles. The explosion punches through the battlefield like thunder. Dust and debris swirl through the air in a choking cloud. For a heartbeat, everything vanishes—sight, sound, thought—swallowed in the blast. And then— Silence. A tremor rolls across the broken ground. The dust clears just enough to see two figures standing—barely. The Shadows. One is hunched forward, blades buried into the cracks of the representative’s shield, blood leaking from his side. The other kneels behind the mage, his curved dagger driven deep between the shoulder blades, pinning them both in place. Then— A pulse. Stone erupts in jagged pillars beneath them. CRACK! The second Shadow is skewered clean through the abdomen, lifted into the air by a spike of compressed bedrock. He doesn’t scream. He doesn’t flinch. He simply holds on—long enough for the other Shadow to drive one last blade through the barrier. The representative grunts. Blood seeps from the corner of his mouth as the wind blade nicks his cheeks. He tears free with a burst of mana, flinging the first Shadow back like a broken doll. The Shadow hits the ground hard—rolling, coughing blood—but doesn’t stop. He claws himself upright again. The representative raises his hand again—fingers glowing. "Die."

Chapter 254 - 256: Aboweth Kingdom

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