The battlefield erupted in a cacophony of sound and fury. The allied tribes surged forward like a tidal wave, their warriors and spirits roaring in unison as they clashed with the Blood Talons and Stone Hoof defenders. Dust churned beneath stomping feet, the ground trembling with the ferocity of the charge. Spears clashed against shields, blades met with bone and sinew, and the air filled with the crackle of elemental power as spirits joined the fray.

  Amid the chaos, Eris strode to the center of the battlefield, her crimson eyes blazing with fury. Her stone knife glinted in her hand as she raised it high, her voice cutting through the clamor like a blade.

  “Blood Talons! Rise and fight! Show them why they fear us!”

  As her words echoed, the air around her seemed to darken. A deep, oppressive heat emanated from her, and the sky above the battlefield dimmed unnaturally, as though eclipsed by her power. She slammed the blade into the ground, and a shockwave of fiery energy rippled outward, forcing even the bravest of her foes to falter.

  The falcon spirit appeared.

  It began as a shadow in the sky, a massive, looming shape that blotted out the sun. Then, with a deafening screech, it descended—a monstrous bird of prey wreathed in black and red flames. Its wings spanned the entire battlefield, each feather edged with fire that licked hungrily at the air. The spirit’s talons gleamed like molten metal, and its sharp, predatory eyes burned with an unholy light.

  The sheer presence of the Tier 7 Spirit Knight made the battlefield pause for a breathless moment. Its form was both magnificent and terrifying, a fusion of martial elegance and destructive might. As it circled above, the Blood Talon warriors screamed in exultation.

  The falcon spirit flared its wings, releasing waves of black and red flames that seemed to pull the spirits of the Blood Talon warriors into a visible form. All around the battlefield, bird-like spirits erupted from the warriors, each a deadly raptor wreathed in fire. These spirits screeched and dove into the fray, striking with talons and beaks while their flames scorched the ground.

  The Blood Talon warriors themselves surged with renewed power, their auras glowing brighter, their strength doubling. Titles visibly shimmered over their heads—“Slayer of Many,” “Infernal Predator,” “The Red Scourge.” With every enemy they felled, their power seemed to grow, feeding on the fear and blood of the battlefield.

  But the allied tribes were not cowed. With a deafening roar, Torran led the charge, his massive frame like a battering ram as he plowed into the Blood Talon lines. His emerald bear spirit barreled beside him, its claws rending through the fiery raptors, its roars a challenge to the infernal falcon above.

  “To me, Iron Fang! Hold the line!” Torran bellowed, his voice like a rallying cry. Warriors in green auras surged forward, their shields locking into a phalanx as they pushed back against the Blood Talon onslaught.

  Lyssara weaved through the chaos, her snake spirit striking with venomous precision. The serpent coiled around a Blood Talon warrior, its silver scales glowing as it constricted with bone-crushing force. “Their power lies in fear!” Lyssara shouted. “Break their confidence, and they’ll fall like the cowards they are!”

  Korrin’s lightning-empowered drake tore through the enemy ranks, bolts of electricity crackling with each strike. The Storm Scale warriors followed their chief’s example, their disciplined formations clashing with the fiery chaos of the Blood Talons. Sparks flew as their weapons met, but Korrin’s spear was a blur of lightning and steel, cutting through warriors and spirits alike.

  Zael and her Thunder Striders darted through the battlefield like living streaks of gold, her horse spirit leading their mounted warriors in a series of devastating hit-and-run strikes. Each pass left flames extinguished and Blood Talon warriors reeling. “Keep moving!” Zael shouted. “Don’t let them pin us down!”

  The Root Binder warriors unleashed their towering plant spirits, whose roots snaked across the battlefield, entangling Blood Talon fighters and pulling them to the ground. Sky Vine’s avian spirits clashed with the fiery raptors in a deadly aerial dance, their feathers and talons slicing through flame and flesh. The Burning Claw’s wolves wreathed in fire met the Blood Talon’s bird spirits head-on, creating bursts of flame and smoke as they collided.

  The Moon Step and Shadow Tail warriors moved like ghosts, their feline and fox spirits stalking the shadows. They darted in and out of the fray, their strikes precise and deadly, targeting key Blood Talon leaders to disrupt their formations.

  The tide of battle was shifting. Though the Blood Talons fought with unmatched ferocity, the sheer coordination and diversity of the allied tribes began to overwhelm them. The Stone Hoof warriors faltered first, their morale breaking under the relentless assault. Gastrar, caught between retreating and rallying his forces, shouted for reinforcements that wouldn’t come.

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  Eris stood amidst the chaos, her falcon spirit screeching above her. Flames licked at her feet as she stepped forward, cutting down an Iron Fang warrior with a vicious slash of her knife. She glared at Torran, whose bear spirit charged toward her.

  “I will not fall to you!” she screamed, her voice carrying over the battlefield.

  The falcon spirit dove, its massive talons extended toward Torran’s bear spirit. The collision sent shockwaves through the battlefield as flame met stone-like strength. Torran staggered but held his ground, his aura flaring brighter.

  “Your tyranny ends here, Eris!” Torran bellowed, swinging his war hammer with enough force to send a tremor through the earth.

  Eris snarled, but even she couldn’t ignore the shifting tide. Her warriors, though empowered, were being driven back. For every Blood Talon that struck down an allied warrior, two more seemed to rise to take their place.

  The coalition pressed forward, their spirits tearing through the remaining Blood Talons and Stone Hoof fighters. Torran’s voice rose above the clamor once more, rallying his warriors. “Now! Drive them out!”

  The allied tribes surged as one, their combined might overwhelming the fragmented resistance. Blood Talon warriors fell, their fiery raptors dissipating into ash as their strength waned.

  Eris and her Tier 7 falcon spirit screeched into the battlefield like a living inferno, a whirlwind of black and red fire that scorched the earth and sent allied warriors staggering backward. The sheer intensity of her presence forced the coalition momentarily into disarray. Warriors shouted orders to regroup, but the falcon’s massive wings unleashed devastating waves of flame that shattered shields and scattered ranks.

  The tribal chiefs stepped forward, their spirits at their sides, their auras glowing fiercely against the oppressive heat.

  Torran hefted his war hammer, his bear spirit roaring beside him, its claws raking the earth as it readied to charge. Lyssara’s silver snake coiled protectively around her, its glowing eyes locked onto Eris like twin moons. Korrin brandished his lightning spear, his drake spirit snapping at the air, arcs of electricity crackling across its body.

  Eris pointed her stone knife at them, her expression twisted in fury and triumph. “Fools. You think unity can save you? I will burn it all to ash!”

  The falcon spirit dove, its talons outstretched, aiming directly for Torran. His bear spirit lunged to meet it, their collision sending a shockwave of fire and energy rippling across the battlefield. Torran staggered, his war hammer raised to deflect another strike.

  “Stay focused!” Lyssara shouted, her snake spirit darting forward. It struck at the falcon’s fiery feathers, its venomous fangs sinking into the flames. The falcon screeched in pain, twisting violently as it flapped its massive wings to dislodge the serpent.

  Eris leaped into the fray herself, her blade slicing through the air with deadly precision. She was fast—inhumanly so—her movements like a shadow weaving between the chiefs. She slashed at Korrin, her knife grazing his shoulder as his drake spirit lunged at her. Sparks erupted as the drake’s claws raked against her fiery aura, but she countered with a burst of flame that sent Korrin skidding backward.

  “You’ll have to try harder than that!” Korrin spat, his spear crackling with lightning. He charged again, his strikes like a storm unleashed, forcing Eris to parry and dodge.

  Lyssara’s snake spirit lunged again, its coils wrapping around Eris’s falcon spirit. The spirit struggled, its flames flaring wildly, but Lyssara kept her focus, her hands glowing with silver light as she directed her spirit’s movements. “Keep her grounded!”

  Meanwhile, Torran roared as he swung his hammer with unrelenting force, the earth trembling beneath his strikes. His bear spirit joined in, its massive claws swiping at Eris’s falcon, tearing through the fiery aura with sheer brute strength.

  For a moment, it seemed as though the coalition chiefs were gaining ground. But then Eris screamed, her voice raw with fury, and her falcon spirit exploded in a burst of black flames. The force sent the chiefs sprawling, and she strode forward, her knife blazing with molten energy.

  In the chaos, Rice saw an opening. From his vantage point on a ridge, he raised his bow, his hands trembling slightly as he aimed an arrow directly at Eris. He hesitated, his breath catching in his throat.

  Do it! a voice in his mind screamed. But as Eris turned, her face illuminated by the hellish glow of the flames, he faltered. He just couldn’t

  “Dammit,” he muttered under his breath, lowering his bow. “Dammit, dammit, dammit!”

  Darius, standing nearby, saw the hesitation. Without a word, he hurled his bronze spear with all his strength, the weapon cutting through the smoke like a streak of light. Eris caught it mid-flight, her hand enveloped in flame. She sneered, her eyes locking onto Darius as she melted the weapon into a puddle of molten metal.

  “Pathetic,” she spat, tossing the molten remnants aside.

  The chiefs surged back into the fray, undeterred. Torran’s bear spirit lunged at the falcon again, pinning it to the ground as Korrin’s drake struck with its lightning-coated claws. Lyssara’s snake spirit coiled around Eris’s legs, pulling her off balance as Lyssara herself unleashed a series of precise strikes with her curved blade.

  The battlefield became a hellscape of smoke, flame, and glowing auras. Eris fought like a cornered beast, her knife slashing wildly, her falcon spirit screeching as it flailed against the combined might of the chiefs’ spirits.

  Finally, with a deafening roar, Torran slammed his war hammer into the ground, creating a shockwave that shattered the flaming barrier around Eris. The chiefs struck in unison—Korrin’s lightning spear, Lyssara’s venom-coated blade, and Torran’s crushing hammer.

  Eris was thrown backward, landing in a smoking crater. Her falcon spirit screeched one final time before dissipating into embers.

  Kneeling in the center of the crater, Eris gasped for breath, her aura flickering weakly. Her stone knife lay shattered at her side, its fragments glowing faintly before fading into ash. For the first time, her fiery confidence faltered, and she looked up at the approaching chiefs with wide, defiant eyes.

  The battlefield fell silent, save for the crackling of dying flames. The Blood Talons, seeing their leader defeated, began to falter and retreat. Torran stepped forward, his bear spirit looming behind him, as he looked down at Eris.

  “its over”