🔥 Chapter 13 — Tactical Engagement
The southern forest was alive with tension. Shafts of sunlight pierced the canopy, illuminating swirling sparks of Ember and faint glimmers of green energy. Kael and Rhyne moved cautiously, each step calculated, every sound analyzed.
Rhyne whispered, "He's close, Kael. I can feel it. The general is probing us again, testing our defenses."
Kael nodded, Ember coiling around his arms like liquid fire. "Good. Let him reveal his patterns. The moment he overextends, we strike."
From behind a cluster of jagged rocks, the green aura of the general flickered. A whip of emerald energy lashed toward them, slicing through branches and stone. Kael reacted instantly, Ember spiraling into defensive arcs, redirecting the strike harmlessly into the ground. Sparks and fragments of ice erupted, scattering like rain.
"He's aggressive," Rhyne muttered, slashing at a secondary whip. "But not reckless. We need to manipulate the battlefield, force him to commit."
Kael's eyes glowed fiercely. He extended the Ember into spiraling whips, forming barriers and traps that danced between the trees. The general's green aura surged as he tried to predict Kael's movements, but the Ember moved unpredictably, flowing with instinct and intention simultaneously.
The general's attacks became erratic—he lunged, struck, and retreated, trying to force openings that Kael didn't provide. Finally, a misstep: the general overextended a whip to strike Kael from above. Kael reacted, twisting the Ember into a concentrated spear, striking the gap between the general's attacks.
The general stumbled backward, green energy flickering. "So… this is the Ember's true potential," he hissed, adjusting his stance.
Rhyne landed beside Kael, panting but ready. "He's forced onto the defensive. Now's our chance to press the advantage."
Kael's flames surged brighter, Ember extending like living tendrils, probing the general's defenses. "We don't just attack—we dictate. Every move, every strike, every pulse of energy is ours. He reacts; we control. That's how we win."
The forest trembled as fire and green energy collided, marking the beginning of a deadly tactical duel, a battle of wits, speed, and mastery of power that would decide the fate of this general—and test the limits of Kael's Ember like never before.