"Now."
The moment Atticus spoke, the fortress trembled, the ground splitting open at the heart of the fortress. A deep, guttural clanking echoed as monstrous artillery rose from the ground, massive cannons, their barrels gleaming with an intense glow.
Each one was lined with intricate dwarven craftsmanship, ancient yet advanced.
At their base, the members of the dwarven battalion scrambled into position, moving swiftly as they worked to get the cannons operational.
There was simply no one in all of Eldoralth who could rival the dwarves in craftsmanship.
While the other races were advanced in their own right, the dwarves, despite being a lower race, undoubtedly took the crown in this matter.
There was a huge gray area when it came to the dwarves and the higher races, with many members of their kind being forced into slavery.
Regardless, Atticus had been subtly elated to discover that he had them in his army.
'It was so obvious.'
From the very beginning, Atticus had known it wouldn't be as simple as just repelling a swarm of enemies. While that alone was a challenge, that wasn't how war worked.
'Uncertainty.'
In war, there was always something unexpected. A surprise. It was rarely a straight line, rather, it was a path filled with twists and turns. Anything could happen.
To anticipate that, Atticus had instructed the dwarves to build these massive cannons as soon as they had been transported.
And now, their purpose was clear.
The airships had no time to react.
"Fire."
The instant Atticus gave the order, the cannons detonated.
Blazing beams of raw mana-infused firepower tore through the sky, ripping apart the airships as if they were made of paper. The impact sent violent shockwaves rippling through the atmosphere, igniting the sky with cascading flames.
BOOM!
One by one, the massive floating warships exploded. Wreckage rained down, crashing into the hordes below, flattening dozens of enemies upon impact.
The once-intimidating airships were now nothing but flaming debris, plummeting from the heavens like dying stars.
A stunned silence followed as the recruits processed what had just happened.
Then, a thunderous voice shattered the stillness.
"WHOOOOAAA!! IN YOUR FACE, YOU FREAKING BASTARDS!!!"
Nate bellowed, his voice bursting with energy.
His earth-covered broadsword slammed into the ground, splitting the earth apart and hurling enemy combatants into the air.
He launched himself into the horde, his blade carving through metal and flesh without pause.
His battle cry was contagious.
The moment his scream rang through the air, it was as if adrenaline exploded within the entire army.
A surge of energy rippled through them, their bodies tensing, their weapons tightening in their grips.
And then—
"WHOOOOAAAA!!!"
A deafening battle cry erupted from millions of throats.
The army charged forward, their spirits ignited like a raging inferno. Every battalion pushed harder, their formations tighter, their attacks fiercer.
The demons roared, their hellfire scorching through enemy ranks.
The angels swooped down, their wings cutting through the sky like blades, raining divine destruction upon the hordes below.
The elves unleashed a hailstorm of mana-infused arrows, piercing through the enemy troops with precise, merciless efficiency.
Zoey dove into the chaos, her spiritual constructs shielding the artillery divisions while she herself tore through enemy units with fluid, ruthless grace.
Kael became even fiercer, his berserker state leaving nothing but carnage in his wake, piles of bodies left behind as he crushed everything in his path.
Aurora's flames erupted across the battlefield, consuming enemies in blazing storms, her fists shattering steel armor like brittle glass.
And all of this chaos, all of this carnage, all of this war—
Was orchestrated by a single mind.
From the control room, Atticus watched everything unfold, his eyes sharper than blades, his commands spilling from his mouth like a waterfall.
The sergeants observing the simulation watched with wide eyes. It was like watching a perfectly executed strategy game. It felt surreal. His commands were flawless, as if he could see into the future.
'Is this that ability?'
Colonel Zenon pondered. Reports about Atticus had spread among the higher ranks, especially regarding his battle with Yorowin and the other Vampyros elders.
During that fight, Atticus had wielded the Aurethalian abilities.
Zenon's eyes glinted.
'No, it's not that.'
Through the screens, he didn't just watch Atticus's every move, he watched his entire army's movements as well.
One of the things the Evolaris excelled at was observation. Zenon could see everything.
Atticus wasn't predicting the future with some supernatural ability.
He was reading the present with inhuman precision.
It was pure observation. Pure calculation.
The slightest hesitation in enemy formations, he exploited it instantly.
The flight patterns of the aerial units, he predicted their descent points before they even moved.
The positioning of his soldiers, he adjusted their formations at the exact moment their pressure points weakened.
The cooldown gaps between enemy weapon discharges, he timed counterattacks to strike when they were most vulnerable.
Even in the way individual warriors fought, his powerhouses, he altered commands in real-time, playing to their strengths while covering weaknesses.
Zenon smirked.
"I love him."
His fist clenched tightly.
The words left his mouth before he could stop them, and the sergeants stirred uncomfortably.
It was… unsettling to hear those words spoken in such a tone.
But right now, Zenon didn't care.
Because in his centuries of existence, he had never seen something, someone, he wanted to observe so badly before.
…
The morale of the army was at its peak.
The recruits fought without hesitation, without fear. Because every single one of them felt it, an aura surrounding them.
It was subtle, but it was there.
It was as if a higher being was watching over them.
As if they could do no wrong.
The notion of losing had disappeared.
The fear of facing their first challenge, gone.
Even the recruits who had cowered at the back surged toward the horde with an earth-shaking roar.
The trust they all felt for the boy commanding them was palpable.
And through it all, Atticus hadn't moved from his seat in the control room.
His eyes flickered rapidly across the screens, his orders coming calmly.
A smile appeared on his face.
'This is fun.'
For the first time, he had truly embraced the role of a leader, commanding an army without personally fighting.
Atticus had thought it would be boring as he wasn't even on the battlefield.
But right now, he was having the time of his life.