The Kingmaker System

Chapter 731 - 730. Dance Of Fire And Shadows (2)

The Eldarf Team arrived at the harbor noticeably later than the groups that had been dispatched toward the other battlefields.

By the time they reached the western districts, reports from the communication brooches had already informed them that several of the other teams had successfully engaged the dark mages and begun turning the tide of battle. Yet upon arriving here, Anore quickly realized that rushing into the fighting immediately would accomplish little.

For once, their intervention was not urgently needed.

The battlefield was already occupied by a monster of a different caliber.

The rain had stopped some time ago and the dark clouds that had smothered the skies throughout the afternoon were gradually dispersing. Shafts of fading sunlight broke through the clouds and illuminated portions of the ruined harbor in gold and crimson.

Anore stood atop the remains of a collapsed warehouse overlooking the battlefield below.

The others occupied nearby rooftops and broken structures, their black cloaks fluttering softly in the sea breeze while they silently observed the chaos unfolding beneath them.

The harbor had become a graveyard.

Countless corpses littered the flooded streets while shattered ships drifted aimlessly against broken docks. Entire sections of the district had been reduced to rubble beneath the fighting.

Yet despite the devastation, nobody’s attention remained fixed upon the destruction itself.

Their eyes were drawn toward a single figure.

A flash of brilliant red erupted across the harbor.

The attack illuminated the entire district.

The younger members of the Eldarf Team instinctively shielded their eyes as a wave of scorching heat swept through the battlefield.

"That’s Drac!"

One of the dwarven boys pointed immediately.

"Look at the fire!"

The harbor itself seemed to tremble beneath the attack.

Dragonfire exploded outward in a massive arc and swallowed everything standing before it. The undead gathered around Carlos and the surrounding knights never even had an opportunity to react.

The flames consumed them completely, their rotting flesh disintegrated and their black bones crumbled.

The dead mana sustaining the corpses evaporated beneath the overwhelming heat.

Within seconds, hundreds of undead had been reduced to ash.

A powerful gust swept through the harbor immediately afterward, scattering the remains into the air until nothing remained but drifting black dust.

Several of the younger members of the Eldarf Team stared openly.

Even though many of them had witnessed Drac fight before, the sheer scale of destruction remained difficult to become accustomed to.

The surrounding knights looked equally stunned.

To them, it appeared as though an entire army had simply ceased to exist.

Yet Drac himself seemed entirely unsatisfied.

The dragon-blooded swordsman lowered his blade and immediately urged his horse forward.

He shot across the battlefield like a blazing meteor.

Every undead unfortunate enough to stand in his path vanished beneath the waves of fire accompanying him. The harbor streets became rivers of flame while the remaining undead desperately fled toward the inner sections of the district.

The two dark mages fighting nearby reacted instantly.

Neither was foolish enough to remain where they stood.

The vine-wielding mage abandoned his position and retreated across the rooftops while the gauntlet-wielding mage launched himself backward, creating distance before the Dragonfire could engulf him as well.

For the first time since arriving, both dark mages appeared genuinely pressured.

The surviving undead followed suit.

The creatures scattered in panic and rushed deeper into the harbor district, fleeing from the approaching inferno with whatever instinct for survival remained within them.

Anore watched the movement below with narrowed eyes.

His gaze shifted from the retreating undead to the two dark mages who had become entirely focused upon Drac and the battlefield ahead.

Neither of them had noticed the black-clad figures observing them from above.

A faint smile appeared on Anore’s face.

"Let’s head in."

The dark elf spoke calmly, though the anticipation in his voice was impossible to miss.

The younger members immediately straightened, they had been waiting for that order.

"All right!"

Several eager voices answered at once.

The figures vanished from the rooftops almost immediately.

One moment they were there.

The next, only empty ruins remained behind while the Eldarf Team descended silently toward the battlefield below.

The moment the last of the undead scattered from the streets, Alyssa moved.

Her boots splashed through the shallow floodwater covering the harbor road as she surged forward, refusing to waste the opportunity Drac had created. The dark mage had been forced onto the defensive by the sudden eruption of Dragonfire and for the first time since the battle began, his attention had shifted away from her.

That was all she needed.

The chain sickles in her hands spun through the air.

The curved blades traced silver arcs against the fading sunlight while the chains linking them rattled sharply behind her. Across from her, the dark mage reacted almost immediately. The twisted staff struck the ground and dozens of black vines burst upward from the flooded streets.

They met one another head-on.

The chain sickles and the dark vines twisted through the air like living serpents fighting for dominance. Steel collided against the thorn-covered tendrils while severed fragments of vine scattered across the battlefield.

Alyssa pushed forward and the dark mage retreated.

Both of them understood that the next exchange would likely decide the fight.

Then a voice spoke.

"We’ll take it from here."

The words seemed to come from nowhere and Alyssa instinctively froze. The dark mage did the same.

For a brief moment, neither could locate the speaker.

Then something flashed through the corner of Alyssa’s vision.

A silver line shooting so fast that her eyes barely followed it.

The dark mage’s expression changed, confusion appeared first and then shock.

A heartbeat later, his head separated cleanly from his shoulders, black blood erupted into the air.

The severed head spun across the flooded street before crashing against the stones and rolling to a stop. The body remained standing for a fraction of a second longer before collapsing heavily into the water.

The twisted staff slipped from lifeless fingers, the dark vines immediately lost all movement. The writhing tendrils recoiled and withered before collapsing into piles of blackened vegetation scattered throughout the harbor.

Alyssa remained motionless for a moment and then her gaze shifted.

Figures stood amongst the ruined streets, their black cloaks billowing behind them like dark phantoms, their movements silent and the blue insignia embroidered upon their backs caught her attention immediately.

The tension in her shoulders eased ever so slightly, she recognized them or rather, she recognized what they represented.

There was only one force beneath Ocean’s direct command that carried such a reputation.

The Eldarf Team. The hidden blade of the Blue Dragon.

Alyssa had never truly fought beside them before. Most of what she knew came from stories and reports. Yet even those stories had been enough to leave an impression.

The last time they had been dispatched, a disaster capable of consuming entire regions had been stopped before it could fully unfold.

To see them here now could only mean one thing.

The situation was far worse than most people realized.

Alyssa slowly exhaled and turned her attention elsewhere.

Her gaze landed upon the prince or rather, the entity currently occupying Prince Carlos’s body.

The possessed prince stood amidst the ruined battlefield with his sword still drawn. For someone carrying another soul within him, he had survived remarkably well.

Even now, he seemed more irritated than exhausted.

She watched his eyes widen slightly as the dark mage he had been fighting suddenly lost his head as well.

The black-clad figures had not stopped at one target.

The gauntlet-wielding dark mage collapsed moments later, his body crumpling onto the flooded street before he even understood what had happened.

The possessed prince followed the movements of the black-clad assassins with his eyes.

Then he released a deep sigh, a faint smile appeared on his face.

Alyssa found herself looking away once more.

Farther ahead, beyond the ruined streets and burning harbor, a lone figure continued advancing toward the inner district.

Drac.

Even from this distance, the aftermath of his earlier attack remained visible. Entire sections of the battlefield had been reduced to scorched ruin while lingering traces of Dragonfire continued burning amidst the wreckage.

The display of power had shocked her.

It would have shocked anyone.

Yet the feeling quickly passed.

Alyssa had served under Ocean long enough to understand a simple truth.

The people surrounding her Master had never been ordinary.

Some were monsters disguised as soldiers, some were legends hidden behind titles and some were powerful enough to alter the course of wars entirely.

Watching Drac ride deeper into the harbor, Alyssa could not help but wonder which category the dragon-blooded swordsman belonged to.

Then again, perhaps it no longer mattered.

The battlefield had already begun shifting in their favor.

Azar’s expression darkened the moment he saw the battlefield shifting.

The harbor, which had been firmly under their control only minutes ago, was rapidly slipping away from them. The endless tide of undead that had overwhelmed the knights throughout the day had been reduced to little more than scattered remnants. Entire streets now stood empty where countless corpses had once advanced, and the source of that destruction continued moving relentlessly toward the harbor.

Drac.

The dragon-blooded swordsman had become a disaster unto himself.

Azar watched another wave of Dragonfire sweep through the streets and felt his jaw tighten.

Three-fourths of the undead army had already been annihilated.

Years of preparation and countless resources had been consumed to build such a force, yet one individual had reduced the majority of it to drifting ash within a matter of minutes.

The situation had become untenable. He could not afford to remain here any longer.

The plan was still moving forward elsewhere.

As long as the greater objective succeeded, the loss of this battlefield could be tolerated.

His own death, however, could not.

Azar immediately swung his arm through the air and issued a command through the dead mana connecting him to the remaining undead.

The creatures reacted at once.

Those still capable of movement abandoned their attacks and began retreating deeper into the harbor district. Others climbed over ruined buildings or disappeared into narrow alleyways, all moving away from the advancing Dragon as quickly as possible.

"I’m heading to the ship!"

His voice carried sharply across the rooftops.

"Keep him engaged!"

The remaining dark mages turned toward him briefly before nodding, none of them argued as they understood the situation just as well as he did.

Azar leapt from the rooftop.

His cloak billowed behind him as he landed atop another building before immediately pushing forward again. He moved with desperate speed, crossing rooftops and shattered structures while keeping the harbor docks firmly within sight.

A ship waited there.

An escape route prepared long before the battle had begun.

All he needed to do was reach it and wait till it was time.

Behind him, Drac’s eyes narrowed.

The dragon-blooded swordsman had noticed the fleeing presence almost immediately.

His gaze locked onto Azar’s retreating figure.

There.

That was the source.

Without slowing down, Drac increased his pace.

The dark mages standing between them reacted instantly.

Spells erupted from the surrounding rooftops. Black projectiles tore through the air while waves of dead mana surged toward him from multiple directions.

Drac barely spared them a glance.

His sword moved and Dragonfire exploded outward.

The incoming attacks vanished within the crimson blaze before they could even reach him. Entire sections of rooftops disappeared beneath the inferno while the resulting shockwaves blasted apart walls and shattered windows throughout the harbor.

Ash scattered through the air.

The buildings behind him blackened and burned.

Yet Drac never once slowed his advance.

His eyes remained fixed upon Azar’s retreating silhouette.

The distance between them was steadily shrinking.

Several dark mages repositioned themselves atop nearby rooftops, clearly preparing another attempt to stop him.

Drac noticed them but he simply didn’t care.

His senses had already detected the reinforcements arriving throughout the harbor.

The silent, swift and deadly presences with whom he had trained in the past and knew very well of what they were capable of.

The Eldarf Team had entered the battlefield.

A faint smirk appeared on Drac’s face.

Those dark mages were no longer his problem.

If they were foolish enough to remain behind, they would soon discover exactly why Ocean trusted those assassins with the most dangerous tasks.

Drac tightened his grip around his sword.

Dragonfire surged around the blade once more.

Ahead of him, Azar continued fleeing toward the harbor.

Behind him, death and fire consumed everything in his wake and with every passing second, the distance between hunter and prey grew smaller.