High in the sky, Orion unleashed the last of his spider spears. Then, he shot horizontally, positioning himself directly over Dragonflame Island.
"Thunderclap Apocalypse!"
His voice was cold, devoid of all emotion as he activated the forbidden-class spell bound to his Lightning Cloak. To wipe out the low-level Dragonkin in droves, it was the most efficient tool for the job.
The elemental lightning in the atmosphere began to coalesce, and jagged bolts of raw energy tore through the heavens. The lightning then condensed into massive thunderballs, crackling with immense power. Radiating intense heat and pressure, they plummeted to the ground and detonated.
But that was only the beginning. Upon impact, each thunderball spawned a massive electrical grid across the ground, which then pulsed outwards with an electromagnetic wave of unimaginable power.
This was a true Thunderclap Apocalypse.
The entire island was submerged in a world of lightning. Every dragon and dragon beast caught within the electrical field was instantly vaporized, not even leaving a corpse behind.
On the other three fronts, the Kraken, the ancient giant-horned whale, and the skeletal dragonâall colossal beings in their own rightâunleashed their full power as the number of fleeing enemies swelled.
The Kraken summoned a boundless tsunami from which countless tentacles of pure seawater erupted, mercilessly crushing any who tried to break through. The ancient giant-horned whale activated its Gigantic Form, swallowing swaths of living creatures with every opening of its cavernous mouth. The skeletal dragon cast an ice-aspected domain, flash-freezing the earth and turning every enemy in its sector into a grotesque statue of ice.
The outcome was no longer in question. The Champions Alliance had won a crushing victory, delivering a brutal slap across the face of the Dragonkin. This was retaliation for the descent of the Dragonkinâs gods on the Dusk Continent, and it was a declaration of power to all.
On the coastline, fires burned and smoke billowed. The Merfolk warriors, whale-back riders, and countless other undead units intercepted the fleeing enemy. With four arch lords holding the sky and an army of Sea Race warriors blocking the waters, the Dragonkinâs armies finally broke.
Dragons were slain, dragon beasts were torn limb from limb... the battle for Dragonflame Island had become a one-sided slaughter.
The Human Kingdom, Soaring Bird City.
The war to drive the "barbarian" races from the north was still ongoing, with the main armies of all factions still at the front. However, the key figures had already begun to return. With the high-level conflict concluded, the Human Saint and King Harold had gone back to the capital.
Now, Prince Theodore, Delilah, the blood elf Lireesa, and the Glacial Dragon Jorikâthe primary representatives of the four allied factionsâwere gathered in Soaring Bird City.
The time had come to divide the spoils of war, a negotiation of territory and resources that would drag on for weeks. There would be endless haggling, not just over who got which piece of land, but also the complex trades and sales that would follow.
The blood elves and the dragons faced the most significant logistical challenges. Squeezed into the southwestern corner of the continent by the human kingdom and the Stoneheart Horde, the new territory the blood elves had won was not contiguous with their homeland. The blood elf Grand Elder, Lireesa, desperately hoped to negotiate a land swap to create a corridor connecting her domain to the new acquisitions. That alone would be a monumental task.
The dragons, whose territory was in the far south, had a similar problem. To access their new northern lands, they would have to bypass the human kingdom entirely, which meant occupying the former territory of the dwarves. This, too, would require extensive negotiations with King Harold.
"With all the great nobles focused on the vast new lands in the north, no one will dare to question my fatherâs decision to grant you Soaring Bird City," Prince Theodore said. He and Princess Ava stood on the highest balcony of the castle, looking down at the outer city, which was still under construction. This would soon be her domain.
With King Haroldâs backing internally and the Stoneheart Horde as a powerful neighbor, Theodore knew his aunt Avaâs control over the city was a foregone conclusion.
"And I have your heroic efforts to thank for that," Ava said, turning to her nephew. His wounds, sustained during his defeat at Torinâs hands, had finally healed. After King Haroldâs return, Theodore had been dispatched here to oversee the territorial negotiations.
"In the eyes of some, Iâm just a deserter," Theodore said, his voice low. The loss to Torin and his Avenger armies had been a devastating blow to his pride. Worse, with the death of Grand Duke William, Williamâs entire faction of nobles now held Theodore in contempt.
"These negotiations will draw the attention of every major power," Ava said gently. She reached out, straightening the collar of his tunic and brushing a speck of dust from his shoulder. "Perform well, and you may win back the prestige you lost."
"Compared to how things were, the situation is better than we could have hoped for, isnât it?" she continued. "While theyâre all focused on the northern territories, we can focus on consolidating our own power base. Thatâs more important than anything."
Theodore nodded, a determined smile finally touching his lips. "When will you bring Kronos here, Aunt Ava? Itâs not far from the Stoneheart Horde. Iâm sure heâd want to be here."
Princess Ava fell silent, looking thoughtful. It was a question she had considered many times. But the situation was too complex. She had to assist Theodore with the conference while also supervising the cityâs reconstruction. It wasnât the right time for Kronos to come.
"Letâs wait and see," she said, sidestepping the question. "After the conference is over."
Sensing her hesitation, Theodore quickly changed the subject. "A new alliance is about to be formed. Every race will be jockeying for position, trying to connect their lands to the new northern territories. A whole new web of interests is being spun."
"These talks wonât be easy," he continued, his strategic mind clicking back into gear. "The stakes are too high. It probably wonât be long before my father has to come to Soaring Bird City himself."
It was an accurate assessment. The war in the north wasnât officially over, but everyone knew it was only a matter of time. Without their arch lord leaders, the Northern Coalition was a joke.
The southern alliance of four races was about to redraw the map, pushing the border far to the north. It was a chance to reshuffle the entire deck. Even defeated races would be forced to choose a side.
The four southern allies were partners, but they were also competitors. They were all there to slice up the same cake, but how they sliced itâand who got the biggest pieceâwas critical.
One wrong move could inadvertently propel one of the three major powersâthe Stoneheart Horde, the human kingdom, or the dragonsâto a position of absolute dominance.