Inferno

Rallying his troops, the Crown Prince Xin led the assault and charged headfirst into the enemy lines. Several brigands were trampled to death by his horse while his efficient swordplay claimed the lives of those that dare try to interfere with its stampede. Facilitating the charge were his soldiers who spared no expense in dwindling the fortitude of their enemies. With volleys of arrows and airborne boulders as support, their enemies immediately felt apprehension while they marched forward. With strength honed by strict and effective training, they were evenly matched against the brigands who lived as if they could not differentiate between life and death but were hindered by their heavy reliance on instinct and intuition.

Watching his troops die, he felt a sense of loss and anger rather than the usual indifference.

'That human's preferences are starting to affect me', the Great General thought disdainfully.

Leaving the Emperor's corpse unattended, he then signaled for the failsafe. The entire wall made to reinforce the Palace gates burst into flames before abruptly exploding. The screams of the archers could be heard as they were burned alive and couldn't escape fast enough due to focusing on their enemy in the distance. Some of the catapults were rendered unusable while the ones that were not damaged by the explosion, magically caught on fire.

Hearing the screams of his comrades, Xin couldn't help but turn back. Upon seeing the wall of fire, his expression darkened. And in that moment of shock, he was knocked off the horse and tumbled into a pile of corpses.

Narrowly avoiding a stray arrowhead on the ground, Xin rolled and swiftly got up in time to contest a spear thrust. Before the enemy could retaliate, Xin suddenly grabbed the spear and knocked the wind out of the brigand with the nonlethal end. He then sighed in relief from the near-death experience.

Standing up, he could see the organs of once-proud men littering the ground which were now merely red smears staining his armor. The stench and grotesqueness were enough to make one vomit but in this harrowing situation, the only liquid reacting was his blood which boiled in anticipation of action and danger.

With the disappearance of arrows and airborne boulders, the Great General's troops were bolstered and retaliated fiercely. Without the fear of death by projectiles, the warriors who thrived on close combat started to overwhelm the soldiers of Zin.

And right when the Great General was about to massacre the enemy, he heard death wails behind him. Turning back, he was briefly stunned. Emerging from a blood fog with a stoic expression was Shen who was somehow immaculate and seemingly demonic.

Looking at the person without a left arm, the Great General laughed.

"To think there were two of you. If I slice his right arm off, then it would be fitting to cut the both of you into halves and sew them together", the Great General sneered.

"He would never use such underhanded means like assassination and explosions. So... Who are you?", Atlas stated in a calm yet oppressive tone.

"That is for me to know and for you to worship, mortal", the Great General said with a scornful smirk.

"I would rather commit heresy", Atlas said as a firm resolve supplanted the indifferent look in his eyes.

Brandishing a steel sword, he looted from a dead soldier, Shen charged. The Great General readied his sword but in front of his eyes, Shen's figure blurred. Before he could register what happened, his body instinctively tilted his sword. Sparks flew as their blades connected.

Despite having greater strength, the Great General was overwhelmed by Shen's excessive momentum and struggled to gain the upper hand. He raised his knee to strike Shen's shin but failed as he was abruptly kicked by Shen in the abdomen.

Both staggered from their own actions before rushing towards each other once again. Each swing by the Great General would be effortlessly dodged by Shen while every move from Shen would be deflected in a jerking motion or ignored.

As the duel continued, Shen's sword began to dent and even started to bend. He then began to push Shen back as Shen's fighting style became more reserved.

"For someone that demands worship, you're not very capable", Shen stated after pivoting to the left to avoid a flying spear.

"You're skilled for a human but you are only human", the Great General retorted.

'To think he would feed the suppressant to another human. How convenient for me', the Great General thought with a smirk.

Unleashing his innate aura, Shen immediately reacted. A burning sensation parched his lungs before he felt the overwhelming urge to vomit. To the Great General's surprise, Shen did not react to the immense pain and was only momentarily halted. However, Shen's agility had decreased considerably and taking advantage of the change, he struck Shen with enough force to cause a shockwave. Landing hard, Shen continued to slide for a good distance before the momentum disappeared.

He then snickered uncontrollably.

'Another death by poison', he thought. How ironic. Even though his immunity to poison magnified every time, somehow fate would inflict upon him a greater poison than he could handle. Even with pain reduction, Shen felt as if his bones were being crushed and blood began to flow from his bloodshot eyes.

"Time to end this charade", the Great General stated in an annoyed tone. Lifting his arm, a pillar of fire formed which shot towards Shen.

Awaiting the death calmly, Atlas sighed internally. He truly underestimated his opponent.

On the battlefield, the battle soared in intensity. The Great General's troops would decimate many of Xin's soldiers, but they would overexert themselves and during these crucial moments, they would either be shielded by an ally or struck down to eternally rest.

Having decapitated another enemy, Xin's eyes widened.

As the flame neared, he awaited the message for the next world transfer. A shadow then descended over Shen and the heat dissipated.

"Get up! You brought us here so you must live to see our triumph", Xin spoke through gritted teeth.

Shen glanced up casually but was genuinely surprised to see Xin.

With a heavy iron shield, Xin blocked the flames. However, he could see that the metal of the shield was starting to deform, and they would both eventually burn to death.

"You were right. It is time to end this charade", Atlas stated while laughing.

Xin's face contorted into one of confusion but turned into one of surprise right after.

With a single hand, Shen grabbed Xin and threw him out of the way. The shield finally melted, and Xin watched as Shen was consumed by the inferno.

[Intrinsic Ability Unleashed:]

|Art of the Dead Vessel|