106 The Twilight War (2/2)

She gathered Anima around herself and said, ”Change of plans! We're moving forward to give the crewmen in the cruisers time to evacuate! All squads are to push forward to the designated location I have marked ASAP!”

Violett understood it was imperative that they save the crewmen, otherwise it'd end up ruining morale. Abandoning the stranded cruisers was not an option because it'd give the troops the impression that all was lost — that they were facing an insurmountable enemy.

Although she could not speak about the others, the conquerors and contenders of the North would not bend to despair. They would answer with fire and fury for what the damnable abomination had done…

Once the other commanders saw the North's squads head into the fray, they too realized what was at stake.

The East's ground commander, Velvund, nodded in approval when saw the North's boldly rush toward the Infested swarm without fear and said, ”We're moving too! The East will not succumb to Despair today! We fight to light a beacon of Hope for all that would follow after us!”

”We go not to die, but to protect our comrades who require our help! Stand firm, Children of the East, until the very end!!”

His voice boomed like thunder across the desolate battlefield for all to hear. The East would meet the Infested and stand together with the North. The South and the West, inspired by Velvund's speech, followed behind the East in tow, fully committed with their new cause.

They would fight to the bitter end, no matter what laid in store for them...

The fleets, recognizing that there was no escape from this fight, turned around and headed back toward the chasm that blocked them the Reef. They, too, would fight to the end.

Were they to abandon their conquerors and contenders to their fates down below, all Hope would truly be lost in the realm. That, they could not allow, even if it cost them their lives.

Hadyn bitterly smiled and said, ”So be it. All ships, fire at will! Give our friends on the ground some help! The Silver Winter will take the lead from here on out and cover the remaining fleet until the end!”

Who could have expected that at the Eve of Despair, Hope would rise again? Certainly not any of the souls present on the battlefield.

The ground squads charged into the endless hordes and cast all manner of attacks against the oncoming wave of rotten flesh and bone. Miniature lights and explosions littered the ground below like fireworks, far up above from heaven.

Warships sang songs of strife and fury in abandon as they rained molten steel onto the surface with all their might. The earth shook and the skies trembled as both sides fought each other without restraint.

The Infested Pupa derisively chuckled when it saw what its prey had decided upon. It found them detestable, to such an extent that it could no longer hold its fury back anymore.

Defiant. Selfish. Foolish. Weak. Ignorant.

Even now they still held onto Hope, despite knowing that the odds were completely against them. How could something hold such blind faith? It could not understand.

That was why it would forever be incompatible with them. There could be no coexistence between it and them.

Infested heeded his call and charged with even greater ferocity than before, tearing into everything they could get their hands on, be it metal or flesh. The eldritch eyes continued their assault, melting away at the warships. Giants made of shadow pounded the ground into dust, indiscriminately killing everything in their way.

The fight had reached a fever pitch and blood, ash, and dust filled the air. One could hardly breathe in without getting one of three in their mouth. Warships, Chosen, and Infested fell as the battle raged on without end.

It was here where the Four Empires would truly be tested for the first time in millennia. The will of the Last Peoples of the World would be tested.

Some in the future would refer to the battle near the Reef as the Twilight War because of the effects it would have on the continent. The secrets learned during that fateful day would never see the light of day, though.

Only those who were present at the fight would ever know the truth about the Twilight War. What they had witnessed near the end of the battle would go to the graves with them under oath by the Four Empires…