A Journey That Changed The World.

Archer smiled when he heard Kassandra’s sweet voice, but he leaned forward and kissed the black-haired woman on the forehead. As he did that, Talila’s voice echoed in his mind. ’Arch, my commanders say something attacking the patols in the east. Could you check it out please?’

He quickly placed the Kraken woman on the sofa, causing her to wake up as her black eyes flicked open and she tiredly spoke. ’’Where are you going?’’

’’Going to help Talila’s Legion,’’ he answered while wrapping a cloak around himself. ’’They are being attacked.’’

Kassandra nodded while standing up and stretching. ’’Can I come with you, please? I’d like to spend some time together.’’

Archer agreed before making sure the young woman would be warm as they wandered around the wilderness. Once she was done, he opened a Gate to the Eastern wall and stepped through.

As they appeared, Talila was there, causing his eyebrow to rise. ’’Weren’t you with Maeve and Ashoka?’’

’’Yes,’’ she bobbed her head with a smile. ’’But since my commanders reported this, I returned to help protect the wall. I believe its the Alliance up to something.’’

After speaking, Talila turned to Kassandra and greeted her. ’’Morning, Kass. Finally stopped fighting sea monsters?’’

’’It was getting boring,’’ the dark-haired woman answered. ’’I wanted to come on land with husband to get out of the water.’’

’’You both stay here and guard the wall,’’ he warned as his senses picked up a monster closing in.

He jumped off and vanished midair, only to reappear in front of the humanoid creature that was creeping around below them. The beast panicked, but his hand shot out and grabbed its neck.

Archer smirked, casting Soul Eater on it and devoured its memories, only to grow shocked. There were millions of the monsters that the Alliance captured on Placidia, enslaved, and set upon the Draconians.

With that knowledge, he crushed the humanoid’s neck with a twist of his wrist, prompting a loud snap to echo out. Moments later, he dropped the body to the ground with a thud just as Bella’s appeared.

The blonde confused him, but she spoke with an excited expression. ’’Can I show you some of my special warrior masters?’’

’’Be my guest,’’ he answered while motioning to the creatures that surrounded them. ’’Just be careful fighting these things; they’re fast and deadly.’’

Bella beamed, letting out a low rumble as a portal opened and something flew out that caught his attention. Archer spotted a humanoid Honey Bee, it quickly killed several creatures using sharp claws.

’What the hell are these?’ he mused while watching the monsters brutalizing the Alliance creatures.

Following that, cannons and Thunderbolt Throwers erupted into the incoming creature army, taking out dozens of them. Explosions shook the ground just as the Honey Bee Warriors continued to keep the humanoid monsters away from him.

Archer glanced at Bella and curiously questioned. ’’What are these things, Bel?’’

’’Dragonbee Warriors,’’ she announced with a gleeful leap, her excitement bubbling over as she bounced around him. ’’I named them after you because it was your mana that sparked their creation.’’

His sharp eyes fixed on the chaos unfolding below. The Dragon Bee Warriors, their wings buzzing, descended upon the humanoid creatures like a relentless wave of death. Their sleek forms darted through the air, stingers gleaming as they struck.

One by one, the creatures fell, clutching at their throats, collapsing in twisted heaps, their guttural cries swallowed by the relentless hum of the swarm. His lips curled into a faint, satisfied smirk, marveling at the seamless destruction wrought by them.

’These will be powerful warriors,’ he mused with glowing violet eyes. ’Are their anymore kinds?’

Archer questioned the happy blonde. ’’What other types are you making?’’

Bella let out a playful giggle, her eyes sparkling with mischief as she waved her hand. In an instant, a colossal version of the Dragon Bee Warriors materialized before them, towering, hulking beasts with shimmering wings that thrummed with raw power.

Archer’s breath caught, his gaze tracing their formidable frames; these weren’t mere insects but monstrous juggernauts, their jagged stingers and muscled forms suggesting they could crush boulders with ease.

’’These are my Dragon Bee Guardians,’’ she revealed with a grin. ’’Powerful monsters used to defeat my enemies.’’

After speaking, the blonde pointed toward a bigger humanoid creature. ’’Kill that thing.’’

A bone-chilling chitter erupted from the Dragon Bee Guardian as it surged forward with terrifying speed, a blur of fury. It crashed into the enemy with earth-shaking force, its massive claws and stingers flashing in a whirlwind of destruction.

Dozens of thunderous punches rained down, each strike snapping ribs and splintering bone, blood arcing through the air. The creature tore its foe apart, rending flesh and shattering armor, leaving only a mangled ruin in its wake as the battlefield trembled.

Archer watched as the monster continued attacking the surrounding monsters until a horn sounded out. This caught his attention as the humanoids started flying, followed by the Dragon Bee Warriors.

’’Can I chase them, master?’’ Bella asked with glowing blue eyes. ’’I fancy a fight, and these enemies will be fun to hunt down.’’

He couldn’t help but chuckle. ’’Go for it, just don’t let them capture you.’’

The blonde dashed off so fast that she left dust behind, which made him smile. Archer returned to the wall as the enemy soldiers who controlled the humanoids fled away from the incoming wave of death.

Without thinking, he summoned hundreds of Broodmaws that rushed after Bella and the Dragon Bee Warriors.

***

A Novgorod Commander Ivan Petrov was leading his battalion through the eastern plains as they fled back to the Duskfire Empire’s borders. The thousand-strong unit was fleeing as the White Devil used unknown monsters chasing after them.

Moments later, a menacing buzz reverberated through the air, slicing through the clamor of battle as the rear guard’s screams pierced the din. Ivan wheeled his mount around, his weathered face paling as his eyes widened in horror.

’What on earth has that fiend brought into this world!’ he thought in shock.

Descending from the sky were humanoid creatures that were yellow and black and resembled bees; the small horde swooped down upon his soldiers, its iridescent wings a blur, its hulking frame radiating dread.

The devilish creature struck with merciless fury, stingers glinting as it tore into the ranks, leaving chaos and carnage in its wake as the veteran commander’s heart sank before the onslaught.

Ivan watched as the rearguard was torn apart just as the devils woman appeared riding another massive beast. The man’s eyes narrowed while turning to his second-in-command. ’’Target the blonde! She’s the leader of these nightmares!’’

The younger man nodded as he ordered the mages to attack. They started chanting ancient spells before a wave of powerful spells flew through the sky targeting the devils woman who was smirking at them.

To their abject horror, the blonde warrior launched himself skyward, a streak of defiance against the oncoming assault. With an earth-shattering punch, she struck the magic head-on, splintering it into a thousand fragments that cascaded down like a deadly storm.

When Ivan saw the chaos, his voice roared over the noise, fierce and commanding, ’’Retreat to the fortress! The cannons will shred these monstrosities!’’

The surviving troops scrambled to obey, fleeing toward safety as the air thrummed with the promise of artillery fire poised to meet the relentless Dragonbee Warriors. When the second-in-command heard this, he retorted with wide eyes. ’’What about the soldiers fighting? We can’t leave them, they’ll die!’’

’’They don’t matter, Dmitry,’’ Ivan replied with a grimace. ’’We will all fall here if we stick around.’’

Following that, the Novgorodians continued retreating as the White Devil monsters kept fighting with the rearguard, mages, and other soldiers they left behind as explosions and horrible chittering noises echoed out.

Ivan arrived at the fortress a few hours later with a quarter of his army as the monsters ambushed them in the jungle. The humanoid bees slaughtered the monsters, and the Terravians gifted the Alliance.

As the survivors breached the fortress gates, silence swallowed them. The darkness within was thick and suffocating, sending icy tendrils of dread crawling up their spines when taking in the darkness.

Ivan’s wary eyes darted across the shadowed walls and lifeless buildings, finding nothing but blood smeared across stone and wood, glistening wetly in the dim light, as though the fortress itself bled.

Dmitry suddenly bolted toward the command center, his boots echoing in the eerie stillness. Behind him, a faint rustle sliced the quiet. The younger man stepped onto the cracked road, and in an instant, his head was torn from his shoulders.

A sickening spray of crimson arced through the air before his body crumpled to the ground with a dull, wet thud, the sound reverberating like a grim toll in the forsaken gloom. Ivan was about to speak, but his heart dropped when they were surrounded.

They were horrifying, mantic-like monsters with long talons and multiple legs that creeped them out. Moments later, they lunged at them, and Ivan felt something impaling through his chest before coughing up blood.