"Boom!"
The standoff between the Nightshadow Fortress and the Furnace Army was like an unending grinder of flesh and blood. Along the battlefield's edges, the bodies of apprentices lay strewn like fallen stalks of wheat, their numbers beyond counting.
At this moment, the negative energy in the air was even denser than when the Furnace Army first arrived, resembling an oppressive dark cloud looming over the battlefield.
However, just as the two armies clashed in ferocious combat, a sudden, earth-shattering explosion tore through the battlefield's tense silence.
In the next instant, a sphere of light erupted violently, its blinding brilliance spreading outward at an unstoppable speed as if determined to consume the entire battlefield.
All the apprentices except for Lynn were momentarily stunned by the abrupt explosion.
But this was just the beginning.
As soon as the first sphere detonated, another followed, then another, like a chain reaction of dominoes collapsing in succession.
"Boom!"
"Boom!"
The continuous explosions echoed across the battlefield like roaring thunder, shaking the hearts of all who witnessed them.
Each blast was accompanied by the agonized cries of the apprentices, but their voices were soon drowned out by the overwhelming cacophony of destruction.
The darkness that had shrouded the Nightshadow Fortress was now illuminated by the relentless explosions of these luminous spheres. The battlefield, once veiled in shadows, now blazed as if daylight had descended.
As the light energy continued to surge, it clashed violently with the negative energy in the air.
It was as if fire and water elements that could never coexist had collided. But just as the clash of water and fire creates steam, so too did the collision of light energy and negative energy give birth to something new: a thick, ethereal mist.
The battlefield's rhythm was utterly disrupted by these explosions. Many apprentices scattered in all directions, desperate to avoid being caught in the blasts.
"This thing is dangerous!"
Within the dense, shimmering fog, Lynn gripped the barrier of Heart of Floral Language tightly, feeling the faint tremors of energy decay along its surface.
Although the decay was slow perhaps taking ten minutes to erode a single layer there was no doubt that these strange byproducts of light and negative energy posed a threat to all apprentices.
"Roar!"
Suddenly, a deafening dragon's roar shattered the sky!
Every Furnace apprentice instinctively looked up. Through the thinning darkness of the sky, a small silhouette could be seen rapidly approaching.
As it drew closer, it grew larger, until
"Boom!"
A tremendous force tore through the sky, rending the darkness apart like a divine thunderbolt.
The figure finally emerged a sleek, elegant black dragon!
Its scales were as smooth as ink, shimmering with a cold, merciless luster. In the darkness, it resembled an unyielding abyss.
With each powerful flap of its enormous wings, the very air seemed to tremble. Beneath its wings, gray-black mist unfurled like a deathly shroud, swiftly engulfing the battlefield.
Atop the dragon's back, a woman sat regally, exuding an air of supreme nobility.
Her features were sculpted to perfection her nose high and refined, her lips thin and enchanting.
But what captured the most attention were her violet eyes deep like amethyst, noble like blooming violets, radiating an aura of mystery.
She parted her lips slightly, revealing pristine white teeth, and uttered in an icy voice:
"Leave none alive. Kill them all."
There were no terms of surrender. No offers of mercy. The Lady Witch's command was to wipe out the Nightshadow Fortress and the Bitter Heart Sect's allied forces entirely!
As the Black Dragon Witch made her grand entrance, the Furnace's official wizards surged forward like a tidal wave, following closely behind her imposing presence.
The battlefield was now flooded with a terrifying surge of sorcery. The official wizards muttered their incantations in hushed voices, their spells unleashing an overwhelming pressure that blanketed the battlefield.
Lynn could feel it clearly without the protection of Heart of Floral Language, he would likely have collapsed like the other apprentices, whose faces had turned deathly pale under the crushing aura.
"That… is Lord Drey?"
Lynn's eyes narrowed as he spotted a familiar figure among the approaching official wizards the very same Drey who had once led him into the Furnace.
Beside Drey stood an eerie figure cloaked from head to toe, even his face concealed beneath tightly wrapped fabric, leaving only a pair of chilling eyes exposed.
Where his right sleeve should have been, instead, a massive black serpent slithered out, its body winding around him before resting its head on his shoulder, flicking its forked tongue ominously.
The Furnace's forces surged onto the battlefield. One after another, official wizards emerged in midair, their formidable auras pressing down upon all beneath them.
And the black dragon an avatar of death itself unfurled its wings, casting its colossal shadow over the battlefield.
The Nightshadow Fortress apprentices were instantly overwhelmed by the suffocating pressure. Their faces drained of color, they barely dared to lift their heads let alone chant spells to counterattack.
But the Nightshadow Fortress was not without its champions.
As the official Wizards of the Furnace arrived, the fortress's defenders swiftly responded. A series of powerful figures emerged, each radiating a commanding presence undeniably, they too were official wizards.
Leading them were the Fortress Lord of Nightshadow and the Sect Master of the Bitter Heart Sect.
With the arrival of their leaders, the apprentices of Nightshadow Fortress finally found respite from the unbearable pressure, regaining the strength to stand and confront the advancing Furnace Army.
"Such a ruthless little one, aren't you?"
The Nightshadow Fortress Lord smirked coldly, his sharp gaze sweeping over the battlefield, clearly seeing through the Furnace's brutal strategy.
From his vantage point, he could see the movements of the Furnace Army with perfect clarity, as well as the devious plan crafted by the Furnace's master and his protégé.
"To the high and mighty Furnace, the lives of apprentices mean nothing. No matter how many die, they are expendable."
The Bitter Heart Sect Master, a white-haired elder, sneered with evident disdain. His voice carried both mockery and contempt.
However, before the tension could escalate further, the voice of the Black Dragon Witch, Aestry, cut through the air like a blade.
Her words were frigid and commanding:
"You need not play games. To fight for the Furnace is an honor. To die for the Furnace is glory. The Furnace will remember them. As for you…"
Her violet eyes gleamed with cruel amusement as she continued:
"I just so happen to need two third-level wizard corpses for my experiments. Would you mind dying quickly so that my materials remain intact?"
Before her words had even faded, a chilling aura of slaughter radiated from Aestry's delicate face.
Beneath her, the black dragon let out a thunderous roar. Like a falling meteor, it lunged at the two third-level wizards, its power seemingly capable of tearing through space itself.
At the same time, the official wizards on both sides unleashed their respective spells.
A battle of titanic proportions ignited in an instant, filling the sky with a dazzling, cataclysmic display of magic.
-support me in Patreon for more chapter, 60+ chapters
patreon.com/LordoftheReader