Legion Deployment
The massive gear-laden gates of Steel City swung open with a deafening roar, as if a colossal steel beast had awakened and bellowed its challenge toward the north. A flood of 790,000 allied troops began the largest northward expedition in the history of the Muret Continent.
The marching order had been meticulously refined by the nine monarchs and their council of strategists to maximize each race's strengths while ensuring mutual support:
Vanguard Legion (Spear of the Razor Edge)
Led by Soul King Erebus, with Beast King Nuti Ursa and Wing King Wyrselon acting in coordination.
- The Soul Body race forms the core. Immune to physical fatigue, their spirit forms ignore many ground traps and obstacles, and they can directly assault enemy souls to disrupt formations. The summoned spectral knights and soul-crystal behemoths serve as perfect path-clearing vanguards.
- The Beastman legions follow closely behind. Once the Soul Body forces tear open a breach or shatter the enemy line, the Beastman berserkers charge in with unmatched ferocity for bloody close-quarters slaughter, expanding the breakthrough. Kayla and General Father General Kyle are positioned within this legion, acting as the spearhead that rips apart enemy lines.
- The Wing race legion circles above the vanguard. They handle high-altitude reconnaissance, early warning, and stand ready to dive-bomb enemy ranged units, command vulnerabilities, and counter the Doomsday Rebirth variant winged beings, securing the skies over the vanguard and sharing aerial intelligence with the Soul Body forces. Celestia streaks through the air at extreme speed, serving as liaison and rapid-response unit.
Main Battle Line (Body of Unyielding Rock)
Led by Human King Aldrich, with Dwarf King Secret Forging Titan and the Elder of the Black Shell (representing the Reptilian race) in joint command.
- The Dwarf legions form the sturdiest defensive core of the main line. Their heavy-armored infantry, runed war chariots, and mobile artillery platforms create an iron wall against frontal assaults. TISK moves among the Dwarf engineering teams, performing on-the-spot battlefield repairs and reinforcements.
- The Human legions, the most numerous, constitute the backbone of the main force. Disciplined and steady in formation, they serve as both a powerful reserve and the foundation for holding the line and conducting positional warfare. Large numbers of human mages and priests are integrated here, providing wide-area magical support and healing.
- The Reptilian legions excel at irregular guerrilla tactics that exploit the environment. Scattered along the flanks and weaker sections of the main line, they use swamp spells, poison mists, and stealth to ambush any enemy attempting a flank attack, safeguarding the army's vulnerable sides. Zhamisi is active in this sector.
- Stone People (giant stone golems) are also deployed here. Brought by the Dark Elves, these towering entities move slowly but possess unparalleled defensive strength and destructive power. Positioned at the most critical points of the battle line, they function as mobile fortresses, absorbing the fiercest enemy charges or breaching heavily fortified positions.
Rear Guard & Flanks (Wings of Resilient Spirit)
Led by Elf Queen Sylvia Sunshine, with Sea Queen Fishlena Vortex and Dark Elf King Malagoth in coordination.
- The Elf legions (Sunlight and Dark Elves) form a formidable force of magic and long-range firepower. Sunlight Elves provide healing magic, nature divine spells, and precise archery, while Dark Elves contribute shadow magic, stealth assassinations, and stellar arcane arts—creating perfect synergy. They are positioned behind the main line, delivering powerful covering fire and status support. Arya and Lin Ya are located here.
- The Dark Elves' War Ancient Trees are assigned to this section. These ancient awakened trees serve as potent long-range siege units (hurling giant boulders, summoning earth spikes) and can advance to the front line when needed. Their rooting ability effectively counters the spread of Blightground Vines, resonating with Lin Ya's power.
- The Sea race legion secures the army's flanks and supply lines, using their amphibious nature to build bridges across water obstacles or launch surprise attacks when bodies of water are encountered. Yuyuer serves as their key liaison with the main force.
- This formation also allows Salsa to shuttle freely between front and rear, relaying intelligence and summoning undead reinforcements to critical points. Rex remains in the main line, utilizing his reconnaissance and analytical abilities to coordinate battlefield information, while supporting all sectors with long-range artillery and drone swarms.
The grand army set out, its vast column stretching dozens of miles, raising clouds of dust that blotted out the sky. Banners of every race fluttered in the wind; war chants, horns, war drums, and the rhythmic tramp of countless boots blended into a majestic yet somber symphony of war, rolling northward.
Along the route, the wilderness beasts had already fled in terror from the overwhelming momentum and murderous aura. Ferocious magical beasts and ordinary animals alike scattered in panic, fleeing this unstoppable tide.
The northward march revealed a harrowing scene. The farther north they traveled, the more desolate the land became, and the deeper the scars of war. Abandoned villages stood as charred ruins; gnawed livestock bones lay scattered; fields had turned to wasteland; streams ran with unnatural, eerie colors. The withered remnants of Blightground Vines remained like festering wounds on the earth, still radiating faint malevolent energy. Many town fortifications had been violently demolished—walls bore scorch marks from energy weapons and enormous claw prints, as though ravaged by some terrifying giant beast. The air carried a faint stench of blood and decay, coupled with an unsettling silence: even the most common birds and small animals had long since vanished.
The climate in the Northern Frontier grew extreme and bizarre. One moment, howling gales hurled ice shards against armor with sharp clangs; the next, thick fog rolled in, with twisted shadows flickering within it, instilling mental oppression and dread. In some areas the sky turned an ominous purple-red, crossed by silent green lightning—phenomena caused by highly concentrated chaotic energy. The nighttime cold bit to the bone; even roaring campfires could not dispel the chill rising from deep within the earth.
The allied advance was not without difficulty. Doomsday Rebirth had laid countless traps: concealed alchemical mines, camouflaged plants that spewed corrosive acid, runic arrays that induced heart-stopping fear, and even small-scale spatial distortions. Yet thanks to the army's sheer numbers, diverse racial abilities, and high state of alertness, losses from these traps were kept to a minimum. Soul Bodies ignored physical traps; Elf and Dark Elf mages jointly detected and dispelled magical ones; Dwarf engineers skillfully neutralized mechanical devices. Though caution slowed their pace slightly, the army pressed steadily northward.
After three days of arduous marching, the allied forces finally reached their destination—the edge of the Eternal Frost Wasteland, where the Sanctum of the Northern Nest lay.
The sight before them stole the breath even from the most battle-hardened warriors.
In the distance stood a fortress beyond words—both majestic and horrifying. Its main structure was not conventional stone or steel, but countless writhing, intertwining, swelling tri-colored Blightground Vines! Crimson vines pulsed like gigantic blood vessels, throbbing with searing energy; ink-green vines oozed viscous poison, forming a natural moat; ghostly-blue vines radiated biting cold, encasing the fortress surface in a layer of never-melting eternal ice. This living fortress towered into the clouds, its form subtly shifting as though it were a gigantic malevolent entity endowed with life.
Before the fortress waited an endless black sea of enemy troops, equal in scale to the allied army! Winged scouts, braving great danger, reported an initial estimate: the enemy force likely numbered between 700,000 and 800,000.
This Doomsday Rebirth army was a grotesque and terrifying assembly:
- The front ranks consisted of densely packed combat androids, their armor gleaming with cold light, formations perfectly disciplined, weapons modules uniform, silence pregnant with killing intent.
- Mixed among the mechanical legions were hordes of grotesque, muscle-swollen, madly glaring variant human soldiers and variant beastmen.
- The sky was blotted out by clouds of variant winged beings, shrieking shrilly, their wing shapes wildly diverse—some insect-like, others resembling angels fused with demons.
- Within the ranks stood blood-robed Blood Elf mage battalions chanting sinister incantations, their blood-magic auras enveloping nearby allies.
- The ground constantly writhed as endless legions of undead—skeletons and zombies raised from the fallen—climbed out of the frozen soil, green soulfire burning in their eye sockets.
- There were also numerous indescribable bio-engineered chimeric monstrosities, clearly the product of gene-splicing experiments, brimming with aggression.
- Most striking of all were the tri-colored Plant-Human hybrids standing motionless in the formation—bodies partially fused with Blightground Vines, as though the vines themselves had taken humanoid form, radiating eerie vitality and destructive impulse.
At the highest point of the living vine fortress, several figures slowly emerged into view.
At the forefront stood Roman Chronos. He towered atop the battlements, left eye a deep emerald imbued with virulent poison, right eye a roiling sea of blood-red destruction. Even from across the battlefield, the terrifying pressure he exuded caused a faint ripple of unease in the allied front ranks. His aura was even deeper and more unfathomable than Queen Sylvia had described—a blend of ancient wisdom, pure madness, and a chilling, near-divine indifference.
To his left stood Mandras, body entirely wrapped in red, blue, and green vines, only a pair of deep purple eyes visible. The vines writhed like living serpents, resonating with the living fortress beneath his feet. To his right was Maris, whose flowing living-metal body gleamed with ghostly blue and dark gold in the frigid air; the geometric optical sensors on his head coldly scanned the armies below, devoid of any emotion.
Slightly lower and forward on the fortress, four more powerful auras erupted skyward—the Doomsday Rebirth commanders who held sway over the vast army below:
- Virginia's figure appeared faintly at a command nexus, her hooded gaze full of calculation.
- Cthulhu's soul form seemed fully restored—indeed even more solid—surrounded by wails of phantom souls.
- Sister's lips curved in an evil smile as she toyed with a pulsing blood-colored energy sphere.
- Shux roared, his massive body bearing the marks of recent modifications, his single eye blazing with savage battle intent.
The two armies faced each other in silence: more than 1.5 million souls locked in a deadly standoff across the frozen wasteland. Swords drawn, tension strung tight as a fully drawn bowstring; clashing energies warped the very air. The atmosphere of the final apocalyptic battle pressed down on every living being, making breath itself feel heavy.
In the midst of this absolute stillness, Roman Chronos's voice rang out. It was not loud, yet strangely it pierced the entire battlefield, clear in the ears of every allied soldier—calm in a way that chilled the soul:
"You finally arrived. A little later than I anticipated, but you made it here in the end." His gaze seemed to cut through the countless ranks and land directly on Elf Queen Sylvia Sunshine.
"Sylvia Sunshine, my old comrade-in-arms, the Dawn Lion Legion's Light-Chaser." His tone held no mockery—only statement. "Look at you, leading this patchwork coalition of every decaying and divided remnant of the old world, coming before me. All to defend a past that is already doomed."
Sylvia Sunshine rose into the air, her silver-moon eyes meeting Roman's terrifying gaze without flinching. Her voice rang clear and resolute, carrying across the entire field:
"Roman Chronos! Look beneath your feet! Look at those around you! Is this what you call 'rebirth'? A living fortress built from endless stolen life? An army twisted from the flesh and souls of the innocent? This is not evolution—this is utter corruption and madness! You have long abandoned the original dream we once shared: to explore the world and protect all that is good!"
Roman gently shook his head, the blood-light in his right eye slowly swirling: "Original dream? Sylvia, you remain so naive. Back then, we only saw the surface rot of this world's systems. But I saw the root. Racial boundaries, individual greed, resource conflicts… these cancers have already penetrated to the marrow of this world. Minor repairs are meaningless."
He spread his arms as though embracing the entire battlefield, the entire world: "Only total destruction can bring pure rebirth. I will dismantle every fragment of this old world and use its wreckage as nourishment to cultivate the truly perfect, harmonious, eternal 'New Species'! They will have no racial divisions, no useless emotions, no birth, aging, sickness, or death. They will usher in a brand-new chapter for the Muret Continent under absolute order and reason! This is not corruption, Sylvia… this is ascension! The ultimate realization of the dream we once held!"
"A 'ascension' bought with the lives of billions is worthless!" Sylvia retorted fiercely. "Every life has the right to choose its own future—not to be sacrificed on the altar of your mad experiments! The 'perfect world' you pursue is nothing but an empty throne built on countless agonies and departed souls!"
"Rights? Choices?" The venomous green in Roman's left eye suddenly flared. "Weak lifeforms have no right to choose—they only circle endlessly toward self-destruction. I will grant them eternal 'existence' in the new world. That is the greatest mercy and gift."
His voice abruptly turned ice-cold, carrying the finality of an irrevocable verdict: "Enough words. Old races—since you choose to embrace the end… then here, beneath the Northern Cliffs, offer your last blood and struggle as the grand opening overture for my new world!"
With those words, he slowly raised his hand.
In an instant, the entire Doomsday Rebirth army sprang to life like a wound-up slaughter machine! Combat androids' energy weapons began charging, variant creatures unleashed earth-shaking roars, the undead tide surged forward, and Blood Elf spell radiance lit the sky!
On the allied side, the nine monarchs roared in unison!
"For the Alliance! For Muret! Advance—!"
"For everyone! Crush them!"
"For the Heart of the Mountains! Charge!"
"Purge the evil!"
One and a half million troops collided like two colossal tidal waves across the frozen wasteland. The battle of the end had erupted!