George's eyes narrowed as Alisha's domain faded, her arrows still sizzling from their divine burn. The goblin captain she had targeted lay in a crumpled, charred heap surrounded by shredded bodies.
"Impressive" George muttered under his breath, both impressed and satisfied.
But before he could speak further, the sound of thunderous stomping came from the left flank.
The ground cracked.
Goblin bodies flew through the air.
George looked to the side, and a grin tugged at the corner of his lips.
"…Knuckle," he said, recognizing the trail of destruction. "Already gone in, huh?"
And indeed—there he was.
Knuckle, the warrior who never waited for orders when battle called, was charging through the enemy ranks like a siege engine let loose. Clad in red-tinted armor, a colossal greatsword resting easily in his hands, his presence was like a living avalanche.
A Silver Tier goblin captain stepped forward from the pack—eight feet tall with twin serrated axes and war paint smeared across his green chest.
"Face me, human! I'll cleave you in two!"
Knuckle didn't slow.
He stopped only when he was a few meters away—his crimson eyes locking with the goblin's.
Then, he stabbed his sword into the ground, and a slow, menacing smile formed on his face.
"I was hoping one of you would step up," Knuckle growled. "Let me show you… my Crimson Warfield."
A sudden burst of crimson aura exploded from his body.
The earth beneath him turned dark red, almost molten. Cracks of glowing scarlet light spread like spiderwebs in a hundred-meter radius. The air shimmered with heat. It felt like a battlefield born from rage itself.
And it was.
Knuckle's domain had awakened.
Inside the Crimson Warfield, his power grew every second he stayed in battle. Wounds didn't slow him. Pain only made him stronger. And the enemies caught within it?
They felt it too.
They began to tremble.
The goblin captain roared and charged, twin axes flying down in a lethal arc—but Knuckle moved faster.
A flash of steel.
A violent clash.
And then—Knuckle caught **one of the axes with his bare hand.**
Blood trickled down his palm.
And he grinned wider.
"Thanks," he said. "Now I get even stronger."
He slammed his forehead into the goblin's face. Bone crunched.
The captain staggered.
Knuckle didn't wait. He wrenched his sword from the earth and launched forward. One swing—two goblin elites fell. Another—three more were crushed by the shockwave.
The goblins trapped in his domain tried to flee, but their feet faltered. Their hearts beat faster. Sweat drenched their bodies.
Fear wasn't a feeling here.
It was a rule.
"Don't run," Knuckle laughed as he carved through another squad. "You walked into my war!"
The goblin captain screamed, trying to rally his soldiers. "Focus! We outnumber him—attack!"
They did.
Dozens of goblins charged.
Knuckle didn't care.
He let them come.
And then he raised his greatsword high.
Scarlet energy surged through the weapon. It hummed like a living beast.
"Let me show you why I'm feared," Knuckle said, voice deep and cold. "Let me show you…"
His blade ignited with power.
"Great Sword Destruction!"
He swung in a full circle, and the ground exploded outward in a wave of red force. The blast shredded goblin soldiers in every direction—**over a hundred wiped out** in a single strike.
The goblin captain was sent flying, bouncing across the battlefield like a broken doll.
Silence followed.
Only the crackling energy of the Crimson Warfield remained.
Knuckle walked forward, dragging his sword behind him, sparks flying from its edge.
The goblin captain coughed blood and tried to rise—but Knuckle lifted him by the throat.
"You entered my domain, beast," he said quietly. "Now die in it."
He crushed the captain's neck with one hand and tossed the body aside like trash.
The goblins near him **broke instantly**. They turned to flee, their morale shattered beyond repair.
And then—just like that—the left flank collapsed.
Knuckle stood tall in the blood-soaked soil, his domain still pulsing beneath him.
---
From the center, George had seen it all.
He nodded approvingly.
"Left flank secured," he muttered. "That's two captains down."
But his eyes drifted to the center of the battlefield—where a whirlwind of violet energy had begun to spiral upward, twisting the very air around it.
A familiar hum of mana echoed in the distance.
"Now it's Zara's turn," George whispered.
---
Center Battlefield
The goblins here had grown overconfident. They had seen Knuckle's rampage on the left, but believed themselves safe in the center. After all, they had numbers—and more importantly, a Gold Rank Tier-9 goblin captain leading them.
A towering figure with a staff of bones and runes, surrounded by chanting silver-rank lieutenants.
And then, the sky shifted.The wind calmed.Mana began to spiral.
Like a storm forming above their heads.
And Zara stepped forward.
She didn't run.
She simply walked, her violet robes flowing like shadows, her staff pulsing with inner light.
"I am Zara," she whispered, though her voice echoed across the field.
The goblin mages looked up. The staff-wielding captain narrowed his eyes.
"Kill her," he growled.
Dozens of spells fired toward her.
But before they could hit—Zara slammed her staff into the ground.
"*Arcane Spiral.*"
The world twisted.
A glowing violet spiral expanded from beneath her feet, spinning outward like an arcane vortex. Colors inverted. Sound warped. Mana screamed.
"Her domain had awakened."
Within the Arcane Spiral, she controlled all magic.
Spells cast by enemies began to flicker and destabilize.
Bolts of fire turned to smoke.
Ice shards exploded mid-air.
Meanwhile, her power surged.
Zara raised a hand—and summoned Flame Rain.
But this time, each droplet of fire was as large as a spear.
Dozens of goblins were engulfed instantly.
She cast Explosion next—one after the other, without pause. Her spellcasting speed was nearly tripled.
"Impossible," the goblin captain gasped.
Zara turned to him.
Her eyes glowed white.
"Magic Amplification."
Her next spell was Mind Control.
She pointed at the goblin's lieutenants—and suddenly, three of them turned against him.
"Wh-What have you done—?!"
"Holy Light."
A beam of purifying energy struck him in the chest, burning his flesh.
The goblin screamed.
Zara advanced, not running, simply floating now—lifted by raw mana.
"Explosion."
"Ice Spear."
"Flame Rain."
Her spells rained down like death from the heavens.
The Gold Rank goblin tried one last desperate move—raising a barrier of dark energy.
Zara's voice echoed.
"Arcane Sever."
A pulse of violet light cut through his barrier like paper.
He staggered.
Zara landed in front of him.
And with a final whisper:
"Mana Implode."
She tapped his chest with her staff—and the mana inside him exploded.
The goblin captain disintegrated into ash.
The remaining goblins fled in blind terror.
And Zara stood amidst the ruined earth, her domain spinning calmly beneath her feet.
Another flank broken.
Another victory sealed.
---