VWUUUSSHHH!!!
The battlefield churned like a storm of death and destruction.
Ater's forces, a massive legion of Undead, surged forward across the blackened ocean, meeting Adrien's overwhelming horde head-on. The air trembled with the reverberations of clashing metal, the screeches of twisted creatures, and the eerie howls of the damned.
Adrien's army was colossal, far larger than Ater's, and included numerous Dragons—terrifying behemoths of decayed flesh and cursed bones. The Undead Dragon Lords led entire squadrons, their presence radiating an oppressive aura that weakened the morale of lesser soldiers. Their dark magic pulsed through the sky, weaving into deadly beams that rained destruction upon Ater's army.
But Ater remained unfazed.
His red eyes gleamed with the calm precision of a grandmaster in the midst of a game.
"Break their ranks into segments. We will divide and conquer." His voice rang through the minds of every single Undead under his control. With expert synchronization, Ater's army restructured its formation mid-battle.
Instead of engaging Adrien's superior forces in a full frontal assault, Ater implemented a layered attack. The weakest skeletons and lesser Undead swarmed forward first, acting as disposable fodder to absorb the initial impact. Behind them, elite Death Knights and Wraiths flanked both sides, moving in a crescent formation to encircle Adrien's forces.
BOOM!
A colossal explosion erupted as a Dragon Lord unleashed a wave of corrupted flames, incinerating hundreds of Ater's weaker troops. But that was expected.
Ater smirked. 'You've fallen for it.'
He sent a mental command, and at once, his Wraiths—beings of cursed energy—swept into action. They phased through the battlefield, bypassing the frontlines and launching surprise attacks deep into enemy formations. Their spectral claws tore through the cursed flesh of Adrien's Dragons, disrupting their spellcasting and coordination. The moment of hesitation allowed Ater's Death Knights to engage the distracted Dragon Lords in direct combat.
The result was immediate.
Several of Adrien's Dragons, overwhelmed by Ater's cunning tactics, screeched in pain as their wings were severed mid-air, sending them crashing into the sea of Undead below, where they were torn apart by thousands of skeletal warriors.
Adrien's generals noticed the shift in battle and quickly restructured their army. They relied on brute force, funneling their forces into the strongest frontal push imaginable, using raw numbers and sheer destructive magic to trample Ater's comparatively smaller army.
But Ater had anticipated this.
He let them advance, then executed his next phase.
"Trigger the trap."
The moment those words echoed through the battlefield, hidden magical circles that Ater had secretly planted during the battle erupted across the battlefield.
Gigantic glyphs of necrotic energy lit up the sky and ground, forming an intricate network of hexes. These magical constructs pulsed with black energy before detonating simultaneously, releasing torrents of deathly energy.
Adrien's frontlines were annihilated in seconds. Tens of thousands of his Undead were disintegrated, their souls ripped apart by the overwhelming necrotic surge.
The explosions also created pockets of void, breaking Adrien's overwhelming numbers into isolated clusters. With the enemy army divided and panicked, Ater's forces moved in for the kill, strategically surrounding the stranded groups and executing them with ruthless precision.
From the sky, a massive skeletal dragon—one of Adrien's personal creations—let out a deafening roar and descended toward Ater, its gargantuan claws glowing with cursed flames. It aimed to rip Ater apart in a single devastating strike.
Ater merely chuckled, his form vanishing just before impact.
The next moment, he reappeared above the dragon, a wicked grin playing on his lips. "You're not the first, and you won't be the last."
With a snap of his fingers, black chains materialized from the void and wrapped around the dragon's entire body, locking its movement. The monstrous beast thrashed violently, but it was futile.
Then, Ater clenched his fist.
The chains tightened, cracking bones, tearing flesh, and causing the dragon to release an ear-splitting howl of agony before being completely crushed into dust.
Adrien's forces faltered. The moment their Dragon Lords began falling, their coordinated advance fell into chaos. Their previous unstoppable momentum turned into a slow, stumbling retreat as Ater's superior tactics and unshakable control dictated the flow of battle.
The Undead army of Adrien, which had once doubled Ater's in size, was now being obliterated at an alarming rate.
And Ater was only getting started.
"Finish them," Ater commanded.
His army surged forward with newfound aggression, executing the enemy with ruthless efficiency. The balance had completely shifted. Adrien's Undead, despite their superior numbers at the start, were now being overrun, their ranks crumbling under Ater's absolute mastery.
The first battle was won.
***************
"Hm…"
From above, Rey watched everything unfold. A satisfied grin spread across his face as he saw Ater's flawless execution of strategy. The first phase of their assault had been a complete success.
Now, it was time for the next.
His gaze lifted toward the colossal barrier that surrounded Adrien's empire. A deep, impenetrable black dome loomed over the land, pulsating with immense energy. It was a barrier infused with Adrien's magic, reinforced by layers of anti-intrusion spells and sealing formations.
A normal army would never break through it.
But Rey was no ordinary force.
He lifted his hand, and golden light surged from his body. Energy rippled through the sky, causing the clouds to part as an overwhelming presence filled the air. Every single soldier—friend and foe alike—turned to look at him, their bodies trembling in awe.
Then, Rey extended his hand toward the barrier.
"[Ultimate Ray]."
A blinding, celestial beam erupted from his palm, thick as a mountain and faster than thought. The sheer pressure of its activation alone sent shockwaves across the land. The beam collided with Adrien's barrier with unimaginable force.
For a moment, the world held its breath.
Then—
BOOOOOOOOM!!!
The barrier shattered into a billion fragments, each piece dissolving into nothingness. The entire empire of Adrien lay exposed.
Rey lowered his hand, his expression calm but resolute. His golden eyes burned with the flames of war.
"Everyone… attack!"
The entire army roared in response, charging forward with relentless fury. The final battle had begun.
Rey, however, had a different objective.
As the battlefield descended into complete chaos, he shot forward at speeds faster than light, heading straight for the massive tower at the heart of the empire.
Adrien was waiting for him.
And Rey had every intention of facing him head-on.
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[A/N]
Thanks for reading, and sorry for the delay.
I'm back!
An Extra's POV ends next month, and I'm glad to be here to finish it.