The Vor'talon, seemed less impressed. He threw back his head and roared, a sound that shook the dust from the ceiling. "Another fool to challenge the Discord?" he boomed, his voice dripping with disdain.
The crimson figure raised a hand, silencing the chamber with a gesture. Then, a voice, deep and resonating, echoed in Andre's mind, clear as day despite the lack of lips moving. "Shadow Sovereign," it rumbled, "we fight together, i'm on your side. Focus on his defenses, I'll exploit the openings."
Andre was briefly caught off guard when he felt the telepathic communication and he blinked in surprise. But what the Vor'talon did next brought Andre back to reality. The monstrous knight pounded his fist onto the ground, carving a fierce symbol into the stone floor with his claws. Dark mist coiled like vipers around him in the malevolent air crackling with energy.
"Pitiful mortals!" the Vor'talon roared, unleashing the trapped energy in a wave of chaotic darkness. Andre gritted his teeth, channeling his dark magic. A wave of darkness erupted from his outstretched hand, meeting the Vor'talon's attack head-on. The two forces collided in a deafening explosion, sending shockwaves that rippled through the throne room.
The Archon of War was unfazed. He then proceeded to charge. With a loud roar that shook the room to its core, he forcefully drove his massive sword into the floor. An outburst of energy emerged from the sword, buzzing with electrical current. The atmosphere seemed to flicker, and a lightning bolt, as wide as a man's arm, surged towards the Vor'talon.
The Vor'talon, caught by surprise from the sudden change in strategies, let out a defiant roar as the lightning struck him. He was momentarily paralyzed as the electricity flowed through his body.
Andre took advantage of the opportunity and propelled himself forward. Revenant which was filled with his sinister power, became a hazy blur as he targeted the vulnerable neck of the Vor'talon. As he was about to attack, a dark mist tendril suddenly emerged and coiled around his arm, tightening with a crushing force.
Andre growled, fighting against the restraining darkness. He focused his dark magic, attempting to cut the tendril, but it remained strong, keeping its firm grip. He took a quick look at the Archon of War, who was engaged in a fierce battle with the Vor'talon. The red form, a combination of metal and flames, was maintaining his position, but it was obvious that the battle would not be so simple.
Out of nowhere, the Archon of War let out a powerful war cry that appeared to shake the palace to its core with its raw strength. The Vor'talon stumbled, its massive shape twitching as if impacted by an unseen power. The vine wrapping around Andre loosened briefly.
Andre only needed that one opportunity. He cut off the tendril with a sudden release of dark energy and charged forward again. However, just as he was about to attack, the Vor'talon, appearing reinvigorated by his anger, released another burst of disordered energy. Andre was flung across the room by the impact of the dark magic.
He smashed against the wall with a jarring thud, his sight filled with darkness.
Blood was trickling down his chin as he coughed. His rib cage screamed in agony, and his sight was blurred. However, he refused to surrender. The War Archon joined the battle, giving them a possible opportunity to succeed.
He compelled himself to stand up, focusing his eyes on the fighting individuals in the middle of the room. The Archon of War, whose crimson armor was shining with an unearthly radiance, blocked an attack from the Vor'talon's massive sword. The huge warrior countered by viciously slashing his claws, creating a deep cut on the Archon's chest.
The air was filled with raw power, Andre could taste it, the throne room shaking with the fury of the combatants. Andre stumbled forward, his hand reaching for Revenant. He wouldn't let this end here. He wouldn't let the Vor'talon win.
Suddenly, a deafening roar echoed through the chamber. The entire palace shuddered, and particles of dust fell from the damaged ceiling. A huge crack, illuminated by a menacing red light, divided the ground, expanding rapidly. A monstrous shape appeared from the depths of the abyss, its figure hidden by swirling shadows.
The crimson figure, the Archon of War, turned towards the growing rift, his grip tightening on his greatsword. "Looks like the party's just getting started," he rumbled in Andre's mind, his voice laced with a grim determination.
Andre gazed at the huge figure coming out of the pit, feeling a chilling fear creeping down his back. They were too focused on defeating the Vor'talon, but they had miscalculated the full extent of his strength.
The shadow merged together, unveiling a hideous entity made of darkness, a Wyvern, its eyes shining with a threatening green glow. With a deafening roar, the creature extended its wings and flew crashing into the roof, causing the palace to tremble. Debris from the roof fell, filling the place with dust. Andre squinted and coughed.
"Looks like we have a bigger problem," the Archon of War rumbled telepathically, his voice laced with a hint of grim humor.
Andre gritted his teeth, his hand tightening around Revenant. He may have been outmatched before, but with this new threat on the scene, he had no choice but to fight. He was the Shadow Sovereign, and he wouldn't back down from a challenge.
"Then let's show them what we're made of," he growled in reply, his voice filled with a renewed determination.
.....
Res moved swiftly through the battlefield with her colored hair flowing and her twin daggers effortlessly cutting down the undead.
Next to her, Marcus fought with a controlled rage. His longsword moved skillfully, each strike carefully aimed to cut through bone and muscle with chilling effectiveness. Years of fighting together had created a seamless connection between them, like a finely tuned mechanism.
A very sturdy skeleton, its jaw hanging freely like a damaged puppet, attacked Res. With a quick movement of her hand, she blocked its rusted sword, her daggers producing a lethal tune in the air. Before the skeleton could respond, a blazing beam of white-hot energy pierced its chest, turning it into a heap of charred bone.
Marcus winked at her, his blue eyes gleaming with amusement. "Nice deflection, love."
Res smirked. "Always a step ahead, aren't you, knight boy?" she teased, her voice laced with playful banter.
All of a sudden, the earth under them started shaking with a disturbing force. A deep, harsh cry, resembling the anguished wail of a mountain tearing asunder, reverberated across the city.
Res and Marcus shared a cautious look.
Their attention snapped upwards as a monstrous shadow blotted out the already blood-red moon. A deafening crack echoed through the air as a section of the Jade Palace roof caved in, showering the streets below with debris.
A legendary beast emerged from the large hole in the roof, embodying a terrifying nightmare. A large Wyvern, almost in size to a small castle, gleamed under the moonlight with its scales a menacing black color. Its green eyes, filled with an unnatural level of intelligence, scanned the battlefield and landed on the destruction unfolding below.
Res's breathing caught in her throat. The Shadow Wyvern, an ancient giant discussed in quiet whispers by storytellers around campfires, was a being of great strength, believed to foretell devastation. Here it stood, positioned on top of the Jade Palace, exuding a sinister energy that made her shiver.
"This… this can't be happening," Marcus muttered, his voice taut with disbelief.
Res gripped her daggers tighter, her heart hammering against her ribs. They were facing an unstoppable force, a monstrous entity that could level entire cities with a single breath of fire. The battle for Xin'an had taken a turn for the absolute worst.