Ethan drew a deep breath, steadying his thoughts, dragging them back from the chaos of monts ago.
The Elderwood Colossus had landed like a boulder dropped into the heart of the battlefield. Whatever grudges or rivalries had existed between the factions were instantly swallowed by the sheer, overwhelming presence of this new threat.
He didn’t hesitate.
"Erald Castle—full turn. Target: Elderwood Colossus."
The order shot through the ranks like an arrow.
Most of the soldiers didn’t even know what they were facing. But they didn’t need to.
Ethan’s command was direction.
It was the line they held.
It was the way forward.
In an instant, the army shifted like a tide of iron, formation snapping into place as they surged toward the towering figure carved from ancient wood.
Elira moved first.
Her long hair arced behind her in a bright, fluid ribbon as power surged through her body like a rising tide.
Behind her, the phantom wings of the Skytear Demon Moth unfurled—vast, razor-edged, as if they could slice open the night itself.
Boom!
The impact echoed like a thunderclap as the spectral wings slamd into the Colossus’s chest.
And yet—
The giant didn’t budge.
The sound rippled through the air in rolling waves, but Elira was flung back like she’d struck a mountain face. An invisible force hurled her through the sky, her body twisting midair.
Still, she didn’t retreat.
The violet light pulsing from her skin only grew stronger, as if the battlefield itself had called her na.
She dove again.
And this ti, the rest of Erald Castle’s elite followed. Power flared in every hue, streaking across the sky in a dazzling storm of light.
That was when Sol’Rakka’s forces finally snapped out of their daze.
The initial shock and confusion were swept away by the fury of Desert Queen Kaelira.
With a unified roar, her warriors surged forward, trailing behind Erald Castle like a second wave of fire and steel.
For a heartbeat, the battlefield beca sothing rare—sothing almost sacred.
Three factions, once wary, even hostile, now turned as one toward a single enemy.
And then, the most unexpected thing happened—
Kormaldor moved.
The soldiers who’d monts ago been frozen in fear now scrambled into motion. Whether it was survival instinct or the sheer force of Ethan’s resolve, sothing had lit a fire in them.
They donned their exoskeletal armor with practiced speed, joining the charge.
The hum of powered suits filled the air, a rising chorus of tal and will.
For the first ti, the Elderwood Colossus paused.
Just half a second.
But it was there—a flicker of hesitation, almost like... confusion.
As if this ancient wooden behemoth had never imagined that humans might actually stand and fight.
Then it raised its head and let out a roar that split the sky.
"RRRAAAHHHHH!!!"
The sound hit like a hurricane dragging a flood behind it, tearing through the air in concentric shockwaves.
And then—
The space behind the Colossus tore open, one jagged rift after another.
From the darkness poured the Wraithwood Sentinels, a cascade of twisted wooden forms.
They were tall and gaunt, their movents stiff and unnatural. Dim green lights flickered in their hollow eye sockets—like the last embers of souls drained dry by so ancient forest.
In seconds, the battlefield was choked with blackened branches and splinters.
The world split in two:
On one side, the blaze of light and fire from the united front of three mighty factions.
On the other, the relentless flood of Wraithwood Sentinels, surging like a dead forest co back to life.
Ethan hovered high above the battlefield, surveying the chaos below—a storm of fire, splinters, and steel teetering on the edge of collapse. And yet, his breath remained steady, anchored like bedrock.
Soone had to take command.
Soone who could actually lead—not just a faction, but everyone.
He opened the global comms channel. His voice cut through the battlefield’s roar like a blade through cloth.
"All units—follow my command!"
Far off, King Draven Korsk of Kormaldor froze. Just for a second.
A lifeti spent buried in labs, not battlefields. He didn’t know war. He didn’t know leadership. But he raised his hand anyway, stumbling backward as he shouted:
"Do as he says! Everyone—follow him!"
He didn’t know if he was surrendering authority or just trying to survive.
He only knew one thing, deep in his bones—
If they didn’t hand control to this man,
Kormaldor would be trampled into dust.
And so—
Three armies answered as one.
In the skies, fire-wielding warriors dove into the densest clusters of wooden soldiers, igniting the battlefield in a blaze that spread like a storm through the branches.
On the ground, exosuit soldiers tore open the enemy ranks with brute force, punching through the wooden tide.
Above, winged fighters and spellcasters rained down beams of light and thunder, carving streaks of brilliance through the chaos.
Sawdust fell like rain.
Fla, steel, magic, and splinters spun together in a blinding storm of dust and light.
The battle had entered—
Its white-hot phase.
The Elderwood Colossus stirred, as if finally registering the full weight of the alliance against it. It lifted its massive head, green light flaring deep in its hollow sockets, and let out a voice like a landslide made of gravel and rage:
"What are you?!"
"This war is between The Elderwood Dominion and Kormaldor! Who gave you the right to interfere?!"
It wasn’t just fury—it was the frustration of a predator interrupted mid-hunt.
Ethan’s brow furrowed. That na—The Elderwood Dominion—was new.
He pulled up the system interface, fingers flying.
[System Analysis: The Elderwood Dominion — Ancient Empire]
[Threat Level: EXTRE]
The screen flickered, data cascading. One line made Ethan’s eyes narrow.
[Target: Elderwood Colossus — Capable of draining the energy of a small Plane World in minutes.]
No wonder Kormaldor had been raided again and again, its tech stunted, its progress strangled.
No wonder their scientists had panicked the mont this thing appeared.
This Elderwood Colossus—
Was a world-eater.
Ethan saw it clearly now. And instead of fear, sothing else sparked in his eyes.
Interest. Dangerous, electric interest.
"The energy inside that thing must be off the charts," he muttered. "Damn... that’s a goldmine."
He scanned the battlefield.
The Colossus’s chest glowed with pulsing light—not ordinary energy.
It was the compressed essence of a Plane World. Maybe more than one.
If he could absorb it all...
Erald Castle’s entire army could leap to a new tier of power.
He didn’t hesitate.
"Kaelira, Elira—keep the pressure on!"
Then he turned—and vanished in a blink, streaking toward the floating fortress above.
The Sky Citadel.
Inside—
It was like stepping into the nervous system of a god. tallic walls pulsed with light, energy veins flowing like tides. Circuits danced across the surfaces in glowing patterns.
Ethan stord into the central control chamber, slamd his hands onto the interface.
The system flared to life.
HUMMMMM—!!!
Light surged. The entire Citadel trembled, as if waking from a long sleep.
If the Kormaldor scientists had seen this, their jaws would’ve hit the floor.
The weapons platform they’d spent decades trying to understand—
Fully activated in under a minute by an outsider.
"Insane tech..." Ethan muttered, fingers flying across the console.
Weapon systems unfolded like blooming steel flowers:
Encircling energy cannons.
Orbital disintegration beams.
A main cannon capable of slicing through dinsions.
Each one powerful enough to level a city-state.
And the Sky Citadel treated them like standard loadout.
The only problem?
Kormaldor had no idea how to use any of it properly.
Ethan’s lips curled into a faint, amused smile.
"You built a god-sword," he said, "and all you’ve ever done is cut fruit with it."
...
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