Under the pitch black sky, a castle menacingly stood in the middle of thousands of warriors. The sky was lit by the hundreds of fireballs, lightning bolts, and meteors sent by the mages down and in the air.
The castle’s black walls remained firm despite being bombarded by thousands of angry mobs. They all looked like ants in front of the giant castle.
As far as one could see, there was nothing but scorched land around the castle, which was previously crowded with ancient forests.
Shhhhhhhhh!
Suddenly as they were sieging the castle, the castle vibrated, resonating an ear-piercing howling sound.
Boom!
As the sound traveled for hundreds of miles, a ring of dark flames expanded rapidly burning everyone in the vicinity to ashes.
”CAST THE LIGHT BARRIER!”
The hundreds of mages in white robes shouted as loud as they could and formed a human chain around the castle. Then, they all raised their staff towards the sky as it slowly split open to release a bright white light.
Just as the bright light was coming from the sky, a dark mist surrounded the castle, turning the surroundings darker than before.
At the same time, thousands of warships were approaching the castle on the horizon. The staff of the mages began to radiate a dim light on the ground. Soon, the dim light weaved a shield in front of them. When the dark flames met the shield, its movement was halted.
The dark flames tried to push through the force field as cracks formed in the white shield. Fighting one of the most powerful Primordial flames, the immortal mages broke into a sweat.
Meanwhile, in one of the warships approaching the castle, a golden-haired man was staring at the map of the Dark Forest. Several other men adorned with golden armor stood around the large oak table and they all bore serious expressions on their faces.
”General Evan, what are your next orders?” one of the golden armored warriors asked General Evan Clarke,
”Push forward,”
”Permission to speak freely General,” another golden armored warrior asked General Clarke.
”Permission granted,”
When Evan nodded, the soldier removed his golden helmet to reveal her alluring face and striking golden hair. Despite their real age, they all looked like they were in their early thirties because of their cultivation levels.
”Evan, why are we sending half of our troops to the castle where we know the Dark Lord isn’t? We all know the Dark Lord is in the Crypt,”
The other soldiers didn’t speak a word, but they all agreed with her. Unlike her, they couldn’t ask the General so freely.
”Because we have someone far more important in that castle who could end this war forever,”
The soldiers were stunned as Evan let out a deep breath,
”Listen to me men. I was instructed not to disclose the information until I got the confirmation. Now that I received it from the Queen, it’s time for you to know our real objective,”
Everyone’s gaze was on Evan for what he was about to tell them. But, instead of explaining, Evan flicked his wrist as a holographic image of an infant child appeared above the table.
”We have confirmation that the Dark Child is in the castle,” the golden-haired lady’s eyes went wide as the others looked pale behind their helmets,
”We…I…it’s a rumor. Isn’t it?” A soldier stuttered, trembling in fear.
”It’s not a rumor. The Dark Child is real. Our orders are to kill the Dark Child no matter the cost,”
The soldiers were stunned by his words as the golden-haired woman strolled to Evan from the other side of the table,
”Even if it’s the spawn of the Dark Lord and the Dark Queen, we don’t kill a child, Evan. We are no different than the Dark Lord if we did that,” She gravely said,
”Orders are orders, Victoria and this order came directly from the Queen,”
”Evan-“
”It’s General Evan, Captain Victoria,” Evan cut her off in the middle before she could finish her sentence,
”Yes General,”
Her eyes showed reluctance, but she decided to follow his lead. Because he was not only the General but also her husband,
”General, if the dark child is in the castle, the Dark Queen won’t be too far,”
”We have no idea about her whereabouts. But expect high resistance from the Dark Lord’s army. They wouldn’t let us kill the child so easily,”
With another flick of his wrist, the child’s image disappeared, and the castle appeared before them. Evan pointed to a red dot on the far east side of the castle where the castle’s fire-breathing tower was located. The tower was built to resemble a sleeping dragon and breathed fire through its mouth.
”This is our in. the Nightmare tower breath fire every ten seconds, and when it’s getting ready for the next breath, we will fly into its mouth, place these charges” Evan’s ring on his finger let out a dim glow as several dark bricks appeared on the table,
”Destroy the tower and fight our way to the center where we believe the child is,” Evan said,
”To this day, no one has stepped into the castle because of the Fear Toxin. So we are going in blind. Expect Alpha undead, the dark assassins, and every type of Dark Lord’s army to be inside,”
Although Evan heard no disagreement with the plan, he knew the meaning of their silence. He had been leading the troops for years, and they didn’t have to use words to speak their minds. Instead, Evan could understand them. Anyone with a brain could tell that the plan was suicide, yet the orders directly came from the Queen herself.
The Queen’s words were absolute. They wouldn’t have stood a chance against the Dark Lord without her. Her courageous leadership and the God Of Light’s power made fighting the Dark Lord possible.
When he first heard he had to kill a child, Evan immediately opposed the order, just like Victoria. However, the Queen showed him the future. The Dark Child held the key to opening the portals to the other universes.
According to the Queen, The Dark Lord was planning to revive the Ancient gods to life again.
”If the portal is opened, the Dark Lord can travel between the universes in his physical form. Once it happened, no one can stop the Dark Lord, not even the God of Light,” Evan recalled the Queen’s words,
”The Dark Lord must not revive the Ancient Gods, Evan”
”Ancient Gods,” Evan mumbled under his breath. The Queen had never looked so serious before. But when she spoke about the Ancient Gods, Evan saw the fear in her eyes.
”General”
”General”
The soldiers shouted, stopping Evan’s train of thoughts,
”I know its sounds like a suicide mission, and most of us won’t survive the battle. But no matter what, we must reach the child and end its life before it ends our world” Evan paused for a moment before continuing,
”While we are fighting our way through the castle, our remaining forces will focus on sieging the castle in all directions. This would keep the Dark Lord’s forces busy and give us some breathing room,”
”What about the Dark Lord general?” Victoria raised a question,
”If he decides to show up, you know our plan will go down the drain,”
Just a thought of the Dark Lord appearing gave them chills. The last time the Dark Lord appeared, he killed three thousand elites of the great eight clans and hundred immortals in a few seconds like they were nothing.
”We don’t have to worry about him. The Queen will keep him busy. Once we place these charges, it will turn off the castle’s defense mechanisms for twenty minutes,”
Even after explaining the plan, something felt off to Even, like it’s just a tiny part of the Queen’s plan.
”I don’t like this plan, not even a bit. But we will follow you to the Hell realm itself General,” Victoria placed her hand on her chest and spoke loud and clear,
”It’s been an honor working with you people,” Evan said, looking at each and every one of his men and women who fought beside him for more than ten years.
”General Evan,” a white-robed man entered the room,
”We will reach our destination in five minutes,”
Evan nodded as the man left the room, leaving them to their meeting.
”Leave us alone and regroup at the cargo bay in four minutes,” The soldiers bowed and left the room, leaving Victoria and Evan alone.
”You don’t like this plan, do you Evan?” Victoria walked toward Evan with a gentle smile on her face to calm him down,
She placed her hand on his shoulder,
”We’ll get through this Evan. We always do” Evan lost his General domineer as he tilted his head, resting his head on her hand,
”Don’t hate me for making you do this Victoria,” Evan said in an apologetic tone,
”You’re just following orders, Evan. I know. My only question is, why can’t we take the child hostage and force the Dark Lord to surrender?”
”Too many variables, the queen said. She said the child would let the Dark Lord travel between universes in his physical form Victoria. Once it happens, she said he could revive the Ancient gods,”
”I feel like there is more to the Ancient Gods than we know of Evan. Do you remember the rumors that an Ancient god revived the God of Light?” Victoria asked as Evan sighed. He took his head off her hand and looked at the castle in the distance through the windows,
”It’s just a rumor Victoria. All the Ancients gods have been in an eternal slumber,”
”It’s what the queen said,” Victoria’s brow arched up,
”We cannot doubt the queen now Victoria, not when we are so close to ending the war,” Evan took his gaze away from the castle and looked Victoria in the eyes,
”Oh come on Evan,” She rolled her eyes,
”The odds are we are going to die today. So we can speak freely. Look, I don’t trust and worship the queen as you and the others do. She and I have a common enemy, the Dark Lord. Her leadership is what gave us a fighting chance against him. I give her that. But that doesn’t mean we have to trust her blindly. There’s nothing wrong with questioning her Evan,”
Evan knew Victoria had always been skeptical about the Queen and the information she’s been providing them. But, of course, the majority of the people believed and worshiped the Queen. But a few people like Victoria questioned the Queen’s motives.
”I don’t think the Dark Lord will literally go to hell and heaven to revive good guys Victoria. Whatever these ancient gods are, they are bad news,” said Evan,
”But I still remember Lailah’s last words, Evan. You weren’t there. Lailah was about to say something about THE ancient god, but the queen killed her,” Victoria emphasized the word ‘the’,
”I can still hear her last words and her smile, Evan. Every night I closed my eyes, I could see her smiling even when she knew she was going to die,”
Victoria’s eyes watered without her control as she recalled Lailah’s last words,
”The ancient god Don is coming for you,”