Vlad cast a brief glance down at the vast host assembled beneath him and waved his hand. The gesture was subtle, but the effect was immediate. Tens of thousands of soldiers rose to their feet, and then, like smoke scattering on the wind, they began to vanish in disciplined formations.
For over a year, they had basked in the radiation of the Red Sun of Wrath, their bodies and souls steeped in its power. Many had broken through long-standing barriers, some even surpassing the fabled limits of the Sage Realm. Yet now the time of cultivation and waiting was over. Each soldier dispersed to fulfill tasks crucial to the greater campaign.
Marshal Maximo could not restrain the awe that welled within him. His sharp eyes followed the disciplined retreat of the Xaos Forces, and a flicker of admiration passed across his weathered face. Hundreds of thousands moved as one, their cohesion as perfect as the turning of gears within some great celestial machine.
