CHAPTER 68

  A SOVEREIGN BEAST TAKES UP THE STAGE

  In a dramatic scene as Hans floated high, a massive prehistoric beast, with scales glistening in the sunlight, appeared as he called upon it from his trusted Knapbinder.

  The air reverberated with its deafening roar, striking terror into the hearts of everyone below. Its immense jaws opened wide, revealing rows of razor-sharp teeth, as it descended with ferocity and primal might.

  The landscape trembled with anticipation as the ground approached, while below scattered in panic, sensing the impending danger from this ancient predator.

  “It is coming—a monstrous snapjaw,” someone with good eyesight spotted. The body forged from jagged rocks and interwoven with thick, green vines and tree matter. It plummeted from the skies, splintering the very earth upon impact.

  The creature roared, clearing the dust cloud it formed. It had a massive presence as if a warlord had summoned his mount.

  “Kill them all.” Hans commanded, unleashing a colossal snapjaw, far larger than any recorded in history.

  He had revealed his trump card, his behemoth, and it wasted no time in its destructive mission. The creature's eyes, glowing with an eerie green light, scanned the battlefield before locking onto the enemy lines.

  With a thunderous bellow, the rocky snapjaw surged forward, barreling through the allied ranks. Soldiers parted in awe and fear, barely managing to step aside in time.

  The monster's enormous claws gouged deep trenches into the earth with every stride, crushing debris and remnants of shattered walls underfoot. It reached the damaged gate of Galenhall with terrifying speed, smashing through what remained as if it were made of paper.

  Dust and rubble exploded in all directions as the snapjaw, sitting atop the debris, leered at the enemy lines.

  Finally, it began another surge, dashing toward the enemy. Aura skills and defensive spells cast to stop it were feeble, barely denting the rocky hide and slowing its path. Hans had infused the creature with life, but its defence and offence were all due to Vanir’s ingenious mind.

  Slithering like a serpent, the creature breached the enemy lines. Panic erupted among the opposing soldiers as the gargantuan Snapjaw plowed through them. As if it had intelligence, its first targets were the mages and knights, not the foot soldiers that were recruited to boost the numbers.

  As it confronted the main force, aura skills of formidable strength and spells beyond the fifth circle began to rain down on Crocotian, finally providing a significant challenge to the Snapjaw golem. Yet, it wasn't enough to contain it permanently. The Crocotian clashed fiercely with the Thalorian knights and mages, battling on equal footing.

  Hans watched from a distance, his gaze fiercely locked in the battle. His creation was an epitome of advanced golem magic, surpassing even the famed alchemists of Concordia.

  Satisfied with the results, Hans descended once again. “So, that takes care of it. Now, where were we?” he asked as if what he had done was just another Monday chore.

  “You bastard,” Delimira fumed, approaching him angrily. “It was all you. That is the monster of Mystic Glades. You lured people in and robbed them—”

  “In my defence, Deli,” Hans interrupted her, “I had also put up a board with bold letters saying ‘Private Property. Do Not Enter. Dangers Ahead, Go Back.’ You can’t blame me for people’s illiteracy. It’s not my fault their greed.” He feigned innocence.

  “So, how strong is that golem of yours?” she asked, still irritated.

  But before Hans could answer, a roar, tantamount to a sovereign-class beast, reached their ears. Hans responded with a grin, “VERY…”

  And he wasn't wrong. The core used in Crocotian was an ever-evolving day seed. Over time, it had gained intelligence and was becoming more efficient with experience. It dodged like a frog and attacked like a hawk. What troubled the Thalorians most were the formulas Vanir had inserted into it.

  Crocotian spewed scalding hot water on them, knights and mages alike. It burned and boiled their skin and also jammed their equipment. The propelled water was acidic, adding to their agony.

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  When mages turned to defence, its agile burrowing skill collapsed their footing, turning the battlefield into a deathtrap. Neither in physical nor magical, the creature lacked, and the elites of the council, even those who had reached the fifth circle or were beyond grade fifty, started losing their equal footing. They became nothing more than fodder.

  Those on Clandor’s side finally managed to establish a far sight and saw the true extent of Hans’s violent capabilities. Like an instinctual beast, the Snapjaw golem butchered its fallen prey cruelly, instilling chills in the hearts of the Thalorian forces.

  The Thalorians were losing not just their fyrd but their elite forces—the knights and mages they had painstakingly trained and equipped.

  "Damn it," Lord Varys of Thalorian grunted. It was true that he came here to die, but at this rate, he would be the only one to be put to slumber permanently. He was eager to leave a mark in history but not this way.

  Desperate, he activated the devastating spell of their dark tower. Eight concentric circles of black light illuminated the ground where Crocotian was rampaging through the Thalorian mages.

  In an instant, the entire area was consumed by a black flare, so intense that it swallowed all sound. The cries of the Thalorian collateral damage were eerily silent.

  Despite the destruction of his beast golem, Hans was smiling.

  “Creak! Creak!” A burrow opened right beneath him, and a monitor lizard the size of a forearm emerged, climbing onto Hans's shoulder. Its earlier roars were now the shrieks of a baby snapjaw.

  “Good boy,” Hans cooed, touching the baby Crocotian’s chin and praising it like a cherished pet.

  However, Crocotian's rampage was not its only contribution to the battlefield. As it plowed through the enemy lines, it sowed countless VeganBind seeds.

  Hans, with a swift motion, knelt and touched the ground. Instantly, he spread his control from one seed to another, weaving a web of network that made him feel the whole battlefield within his palm.

  As the impact of the eight-circle spell from the Thalorian tower subsided, a bizarre scene unfolded. Strong green vines, which had borne the brunt of the spell, emerged, shielding parts of the Thalorian army—though primarily the fodder troops.

  These protective vines swiftly entwined around the soldiers, cocooning them before dragging hundreds towards Galenhall, straight to Hans through the path Crocotian had carved.

  “What are you doing?” Reina stormed over, furious at Hans for acting independently and disregarding the chain of command.

  “Now, Clandorian mages can attack without fearing to hurt the innocent people forced by the council. Just as you asked, Queen Reina,” Hans said innocently, bowing with respect as if he had merely fulfilled her command.

  The crowd, including the captured soldiers and her own commoner troops, watched her with anticipation. Trapped between a rock and a hard place, Reina couldn't refute Hans when her own soldiers were looking at her with hope.

  Reluctantly, she accepted.

  “Great. I’ll keep them coming,” Hans shouted. “Soldiers, we are going to save as many people as possible from the council’s tyrannical rule. Get ready!”

  The commoners cheered at Hans’s words, their morale surging. “Now that is the motivation I was talking about,” he declared.

  Chris and others were looking at Hans with their mouths opened, while Delimira remarked silently, “I don’t know how much he knows about wars. But manipulating masses, that right flows down in his veins.”

  Her remark was meant for Reina to hear, and she didn’t stop there. With a tone dripping with irony, Delimira continued, “When you sit so high, you fail to see the struggles on the ground. If you don’t act now, the people will only hear how Hans saved the Clandorian asses countless times. And believe me, I know him well. He is here to build his reputation. He’ll seize any glory he can to build his fame, Dear Aunt.” She chuckled, then turned to join Hans.

  Delimira didn’t have to tell her twice. Reina finally ordered her elite forces to jump in. She directed them to dismantle the Thalorians and their tower. The battlefield erupted as Clandorian elites stepped in, unleashing sixth and seventh circle spells.

  The war where only soldiers were fighting from both sides now became a war between knights and mages. Storms of fire, rivers of burning lava, and sudden landslides dominated the scene. Every conceivable natural disaster was invoked by the mages from both sides.

  This marked the major milestone in the civil war. Countless were injured or killed on both sides. But when the Warlords—efficient mage killers—joined the Clandorian side, the stalemate began to tilt in Clandor’s favour.

  Meanwhile, Hans gained fame among the commoners. He tirelessly saved the fodder army from both sides, standing firm even as destructive spells rained down. He protected them, healed them, provided evasion, and sometimes blocked spells by sacrificing his summoned forest.

  His focus was on providing perfect cover while the stronger forces clashed. The number of soldiers he saved grew every moment. From a few to hundreds, and then thousands.

  Finally, with the help of the Reverends—the sole knight family of Clandor—Galenhall got their revenge. It took them the whole day to isolate Varys and his family. Several were sacrificed in doing so, but at last, they managed to execute and erase the Thalorian name from Elven lands.

  This forced the remnant army to surrender and helped them acquire the dark magic tower, which needed repairs but was still capable of raining assaulting spells.

  This became their new stronghold, a step toward the east where the Council had firmly established its presence. But before they could relish their victory over Thalorian, a grim news arrived from both the south and the north.