Yawning, Enzo sat up in awoke. He took a few seconds to clear the fog and instantly knew something was different.
This was the first night he was able to sleep without nightmares. Perhaps he was finally getting used to the blood and gore of his new daily life.
The recruitment of his new troops seemed like part of his routine. Stand in front of a dragon and phoenix carving, wait for it to move, watch for the eggs to pop out, and see what new cool pairs popped out.
This time he was happy to see yet another unique warrior pair appear. Instead of fire, wind, or ice, it was lightning that flashed out of their mouths and sizzled around their bodies. His troops all had these unique traits which was kind of strange since, after doing a little reconnaissance with the other Castle Lords, he found out no one else had troops with such varied abilities.
It was probably due to the Unique rank of his Troop Building and the fact that dragons and phoenixes were mystical creatures and should be made from a Mystical Ranked Troop Building, which was the best known Troop Building ranked above even Epic tier.
The Troop Building ranks went in order from Low-Tier, Medium-Tier, Top-Tier, Epic-Tier, and the best known Troop Building was Mystical-Tier.
The information on Mystical-Tier Troop Buildings didn't come from other Castle Lords, but from the system.
When coming into Apeiron, every Castle Lord was given basic information about Troop Buildings.
Other than their ranks, they were only told that any Troop Building could be upgraded to produce better troops and that each troop building had its own advantages.
For instance, while a Low-Tier Troop Building did produce a lower-tiered troop, it could produce a lot of them.
Level 1 Low-Tiered Troop Building could recruit 20 troops a day, while his Dragon Phoenix Pavilion could only make a single pair of warriors.
This discrepancy would only grow over time as his Pavilion couldn't produce more than one pair a day, no matter how many times he upgraded it.
Enzo asked Chua and Kai to help him understand this phenomenon. He felt like as his first companions in this world, he had a closeness to them, unlike the other Dragon Phoenix warriors.
Chua responded, "The main reason is our power at birth. Mystical creatures like Dragons, Phoenixes, Hydras, and Titans are fundamentally in touch with a specific element at birth."
Kai continued, "Our ancestors were devised from the natural elements themselves and sculpted their own bodies of pure elemental energy."
"The ancestors of the four great Mystics, as they are known, gained sentience millions of years ago, and through bloodline memories which each Mystical creature inherits at birth, we know they are the founders of our races."
Chua took over, "The Dragon and Phoenix ancestor went missing 3 million years ago which is the last time our races appeared in this Apeiron."
Looking at Chua, Enzo was shocked! So much information was thrown at him all at once, and he didn't know how to process it all.
"Wait, you mean that you have memories of Apeiron?!" Enzo suddenly exclaimed, realizing what Chua had said.
Right when Chua was about to reply, an announcement rang in Enzo's ears.
[Global Announcement: The time has come! All Castle Lords prepare for the first Castle Siege!]
[This is your first step on the path to being crowned the one and only God-King!]
[Will you stand tall or fall at the first obstacle? Will you dominate or fall into desolation?]
[Good luck future Kings and Emperors!]
Just as the last message was played, Enzo heard several loud bangs and felt the ground shake. Then the banging stopped.
He was just about to pull up the outside view of his castle walls when he heard more banging, some high-pitched tings, almost like a collection of little bells, first ringing as a group then each quickly chasing the other with sound. It was a very familiar sound to him, but he couldn't figure out where he had heard it before.
Suddenly he heard a loud "pop" and his ears felt like he was quickly ascending in the passenger airplanes back on Earth.
He ran to the outside of the castle and saw that the translucent barrier surrounding his castle was vibrating. His ears cleared and then he heard the sonic boom which sounded like a thunderclap. The boom sent ripples through the air, the ground, and the castle.
The translucent barrier that surrounded Enzo's castle began to fissure, then jagged cracks appeared, and then to Enzo's horror, the entire barrier shattered, breaking into what looked like a million pieces.
Enzo shouted, "cover, run to cover" as he dove under the nearest courtyard bench. He covered his head with his hands and arms and huddled under the bench.
Nothing happened. No glass hailstorm rained on his head.
He looked up and thought, "Clear skies, bright sun, and wait, why does it sound like a mob is about to attack me?" He looked over the wall and realized that the chants and thunderous noise came from a massive army of Orcs, wolves howling, and screams from a multitude of other beasts could be heard as they beat down the barrier.
Enzo turned to Chua and Kai and yelled, "It's time! Grab the troops and let's go!"
Enzo thought the system would at least give him a friendly reminder, but he realized he was too naive.
Even though the barrier-breaking was shocking, Enzo quickly regained his composure and relied on his battle plan.
Luckily he had run the plan past Chua and Kai and he knew they had already prepared the rest of his troops on the castle walls.
He knew his troops were strong. During this 7-day protection period, he had conquered all the tribes in his five-kilometer perimeter which included 3 Kobold tribes, 4 Goblin tribes, and 1 Birdman tribe. This gave him 1,246 total troops including his 8 pairs of Dragon Phoenix warriors.
This sounded like a lot, but all of the subdued troops were at most Tier-2, a measly 8 being Tier-3. Unfortunately, they also had loyalty in the 60s which lowered their actual fighting ability from their potential fighting ability.
Still, Enzo was rather confident. If he couldn't survive the first siege, then who could?
It's not like everyone else had a Unique Troop Building and could boast about an army over 1000 strong.
Most people would be ecstatic if they had even 10% of his firepower.
Watching Chua and Kai leave, Enzo decided to go to the battlefield as well.
He didn't need to fight in this battle as his troops would probably be enough to overwhelm the enemy, but he had made a promise to himself.
He would not hide or bow down.
Just as he reached the head of his army, there was a deafening sound of shattering glass and the remains of the barrier finally fell.
A sea of monsters could be seen, much more than Enzo anticipated.
Hopping onto one of his newer dragon's backs, he and Shaz the Shadow Dragon disappeared.
Shaz had been his go-to flying companion as Shaz could easily avoid detection and fly perfectly even in the dead of night.
Shaz claimed that if he got strong enough, he could even enter the shadow realm and travel through objects.
Scouting the battlefield from up high Enzo found his first target, a Tier-5 Orc.
The Orc bellowed its warcry and leaped through the air, mud flinging off its body, and nearly knocking Enzo off of Shaz with his putrid smell.
Shaz and Enzo disappeared and the Orc brought his sword down, narrowly missing the dragon's wing. The Orc hollered a frightening cry and tried to bring up his sword to slash it in the air, when Shaz and Enzo appeared again, Enzo's sword slicing through the upper part of the Orc's massive green thigh.
The Orc's dense legs almost buckled, and his fanged mouth screamed in pain.
Leaping off Shaz's back, Enzo sailed through the air and landed on the Orc's gigantic back.
Screaming with adrenaline, Enzo stuck his prized sword into the Orc's thick neck, bringing an early end to the fight.
This sword was something he had bought off of the Trading Hall for a total of 5 Tier-4 Beast Cores which was worth a lot to other Castle Lords. However, to Enzo, it was chump change.
[Item: Sword of Shadow
Rarity: Earth
Quality: Medium
Effect: When activated, this sword will enter the "shadow state" and be able to pass through solid objects and defenses.
Charges: 5]
[Note: When the last charge is used up, the item will be destroyed]
Having dealt with the Orc, Enzo surveyed the battlefield littered with a bloody patchwork of mutilated monsters.
Climbing on Shaz's back, he set off to find his next target.
On the opposite side of the battlefield, the enemy commander had a grim look on his face.
"Captain," an Orc Lieutenant yelled, "We're losing too many troops!"
The Commander shook his head. "But we still outnumber the Bastards."
"Yes, Commander," his Lieutenant agreed, "Although we could win, it would be too costly for us to continue! Remember what the King ordered!"
Looking at his trusted lieutenant and sworn brother, the Commander sighed and nodded, indicating he agreed with his brother's assessment.
Just as the lieutenant was about to call for the retreat, he looked up and saw 4 pairs of wings blocking the sun and covering his view of the sky.
Since becoming Tier-6 powerhouses, Chua, Kai, Tormu, and Arvu had undergone a fundamental change.
They were no longer the adolescent dragons and phoenixes that they once were and had stepped into their growth phase, which for mystical creatures like them, was a big step up in both physical size and power.
From Tier-5, they had gotten at least 5x as large and 3x as strong.
Their wingspan was about as big as a school bus in length and from the top dangerous heads to the back of their razor-sharp tails, they were longer than an 18-wheeler.
As the four majestic beasts landed they folder their wings and approached the Orc captain.
"Lowly creature, either surrender or accept the rath of the Dragon Phoenix Nation!" Chua roared, his voice filled with the arrogance of a supreme mystical creature.
For a moment the Orc Commander was confused, but then soon burst out laughing, "Who do you think you are to threaten me?"
The Commander snorted, "A lowly Tier-6 flying lizard dares to insult the mighty Orc race?!" His final words oozed with malice
Just as he uttered those words, his aura changed.
His appearance shifted from a Tier-6 Orc to a Tier-7 High Orc.
High Orcs were higher both in standing and power in the Orc family.
It was said that 10 Orcs of the same rank couldn't defeat one High Orc.
The Commander thundered, "I was going to leave but you left me with no choice! You have doomed yourselves!"
He raised on hand and a giant axe appeared, his bloodthirsty aura swept through the battlefield. As the violent aura swept over the combatants, there was a momentary pause, and each soldier, no matter how decorated, felt a slight shiver.
Around Enzo, ear-piercing screams, metal clashing, and blood-curdling yells filled his ears. Time seemed to slow as the Orc Commander hammered his axe down towards Ezra.
Seeing the threat to her Lord, Arvu blew a wind tornado, spinning Enzo away from the axe. Shaz sent a lightning bolt down and zapped the axe out of the Commander's hands, sending the axe swirling through the air, only to land, and embed in the Orc Lieutenant's head, killing him.
The Commander shrieked in anger throwing his huge fist towards Fingal, who was at that moment swooping down for an attack.
Before the fist connected, Fingal hissed a line of water, which instantly turned into long, sharp icicles which hurtled toward the Commander's eyes, popping them like water balloons bursting on a hot day.
Hot green blood spurted out of the Commander's eye sockets, soaking Ezra.
Ezra jolted the axe from the Lieutenant's head and sliced through the Commander's neck.
Breathing heavily from the adrenaline rush, Enzo was both happy at the outcome and yet was slightly disappointed in himself.
Although a victory was a victory, he felt like he was a burden to his own troops.
He had needed Arvu to save him, which for a self-proclaimed macho man like himself, was a big blow to his ego.
He wanted to get stronger. He needed to get stronger.
Coming out of his thoughts he saw his troops flying and cleaning up the rest of the battlefield, which was relatively easy thanks to the death of the Orc commander.
About five minutes later it was all over and right when the last body dropped a string of notifications appeared in Enzo's view.
[Congratulations Castle Lord! You've survived the first Castle Siege!]
[Completion rating: SSS]
[Completion rewards:
50000 Wood
50000 Stone
5000 Iron
5 Top-Tier Bloodline Tokens
5 Top-Tier Recruitment Tokens
20 Azure Crystals
Special Reward (SSS ONLY): Alliance Creation Token]
"Collect all the corpses and let's return to the castle. It's time to count our spoils." With a smile on his face, Enzo collected his war trophies and headed back inside his castle to take stock of his well-earned rewards.