Chapter 28: Dawn of the Great War
The night felt endless.
Very few soldiers slept after witnessing the demon army.
Fear lingered within every corner of the camp.
The creatures from ancient legends were real.
Not myths.
Not stories.
Not nightmares.
Real.
Thousands of crimson eyes continued watching from beyond the forest throughout the night.
Neither army moved.
Neither army attacked.
They simply waited.
For dawn.
For war.
As the first rays of sunlight pierced the horizon, the entire forest trembled.
A horn echoed through the Human Army.
Every soldier immediately rose.
Armor was equipped.
Weapons were drawn.
Shields were lifted.
The camp rapidly transformed into a battlefield.
Commander Aria Valencrest stood atop a rocky cliff overlooking the army.
The morning wind caused her golden hair to dance behind her.
Her silver armor gleamed beneath the rising sun.
Beside her stood Roland Ashford.
Unlike most soldiers, neither commander showed fear.
Only determination.
Below them stood two hundred thousand soldiers.
An army gathered from all Five Great Kingdoms.
The largest military force assembled in centuries.
Aria slowly unsheathed her sword.
The metallic sound echoed across the battlefield.
Instant silence followed.
Every soldier looked toward her.
Every eye focused on their commander.
Aria raised her blade toward the heavens.
Golden light erupted from her body.
Dominion.
The power born from belief.
The power that transformed ordinary warriors into legends.
The soldiers immediately felt it.
Their fear weakened.
Their confidence returned.
Their hearts steadied.
"They stole our children."
Aria’s voice echoed across the battlefield.
Silence answered.
"They hid within darkness."
The golden aura surrounding her intensified.
"They hunted us like prey."
Many soldiers clenched their weapons tighter.
"They believed humanity would fear them."
The earth beneath Aria cracked apart.
Golden energy surged skyward.
"But today..."
Her sword pointed toward the distant demon army.
"We remind them why humanity survived."
The army erupted.
A deafening roar shook the forest.
Thousands of Dominion auras ignited simultaneously.
Golden light illuminated the battlefield.
Even Roland smiled.
The soldiers were ready.
Across the battlefield.
The demon army watched silently.
Fifty thousand demons.
Every single one radiated monstrous power.
Unlike the humans, they showed no emotion.
No excitement.
No fear.
Only hunger.
At the very front stood a single figure.
Kajkha.
The Demon General.
The leader of demonkind.
The being responsible for uniting the demons hidden beneath the Infernal Crown Volcano.
His crimson eyes calmly observed the human army.
A lesser demon stepped forward.
"My General."
Kajkha remained silent.
"The humans appear prepared."
The demon expected a response.
Instead-
Kajkha laughed.
A terrifying laugh.
"They should be."
The lesser demon lowered its head.
After all.
These humans had marched across the continent to exterminate demonkind.
Kajkha slowly rose.
His massive armored figure towered over those around him.
The pressure alone caused nearby space to distort.
"Begin."
That single word echoed throughout the demon ranks.
Immediately-
Thousands of demonic war horns sounded.
The sky darkened.
The earth trembled.
The demon army began moving.
A tide of black armor and crimson eyes surged forward.
Human soldiers tightened their formations.
Archers prepared their bows.
Knights lowered their lances.
Mages activated Dominion circles.
The distance rapidly vanished.
Ten kilometers.
Five kilometers.
Three kilometers.
One kilometer.
Then-
"ARCHERS!"
Aria commanded.
Hundreds of thousands of arrows filled the sky.
Golden Dominion covered every projectile.
The heavens darkened beneath the volley.
The arrows descended.
BOOM!
Explosions erupted throughout the demon ranks.
Thousands of demons were struck.
Many died instantly.
Others continued charging despite their wounds.
Roland immediately stepped forward.
His greatsword rested upon his shoulder.
"Looks like they aren’t stopping."
Aria nodded.
"They never intended to."
The distance disappeared.
The armies collided.
The world exploded.
Steel met steel.
Dominion met Bonimeris.
The battlefield became chaos.
A human knight pierced a demon’s chest.
Moments later another demon crushed the knight’s skull.
Blood painted the earth.
Screams echoed endlessly.
The Great War had begun.
Roland charged directly into the frontlines.
His sword swung once.
A massive golden shockwave erupted forward.
Dozens of demons were torn apart instantly.
The soldiers nearby stared in awe.
The second commander continued forward.
Another swing.
Another massacre.
Roland was less a soldier and more a natural disaster.
Elsewhere.
Aria moved like golden lightning.
Her blade danced across the battlefield.
Every strike was precise.
Every movement lethal.
Demons fell one after another.
Human morale soared.
For several hours humanity maintained momentum.
Their superior numbers gradually pushed the demons backward.
Victory seemed possible.
Then Kajkha moved.
Just one step.
The battlefield froze.
Every soldier felt it.
A pressure unlike anything they had ever experienced.
Even Aria stopped fighting.
Even Roland turned toward the source.
Kajkha had entered the battlefield.
His crimson eyes swept across the warzone.
Thousands of humans instinctively stepped backward.
Dominion weakened.
Fear spread.
The Demon General simply raised one hand.
Dark crimson energy gathered above him.
The sky immediately cracked.
Clouds vanished.
Space fractured.
A gigantic spell circle materialized.
Millions of demonic runes appeared across the heavens.
Every soldier stared upward in horror.
Kajkha spoke calmly.
"Bonimeris Art."
Reality trembled.
"Abyssal Starfall."
The sky opened.
And countless crimson meteors began descending toward the Human Army.
Aria’s eyes widened.
For the first time since the war began-
Humanity faced true despair.
And the first day of war had only just begun.