Level Up: Voidwalker

Atlas left the women in the Otherworld while heading for the forest in the Frostfang Kingdom. He was riding on the back of Theo the Blood Bat King. The creature let out a screech that echoed across the landscape.

'It shouldn't take us too long to reach,' he pondered while flying over the grasslands.

While doing this, Atlas spotted a fortress in the distance, causing him to speak. ''Theo head toward that place! I want to cause some chaos.''

Atlas gripped Theo's fur as the creature's massive wings beat rhythmically against the icy wind. The cold bit at his face, snowflakes stinging his skin as they flew through the endless expanse of white.

Below them, the snowy landscape sprawled, broken only by jagged cliffs and frozen forests. Theo let out a deep, rumbling growl as the silhouette of a fortress appeared in the distance, its towers barely visible through the storm.

With a powerful downward thrust, he began his descent, landing with a soft thud on a snow-covered mountain peak. Atlas slid off Theo's back, his boots crunching into the frost as he surveyed the fortress.

A glint of determination sparked in his eyes. ''This is where the fun begins,'' he murmured.

Atlas sent the Blood Bat back to the Otherworld while summoning an army of Kenkus, who swarmed around him. This made him chuckle before giving out his orders. ''We're attacking that fortress guys, surround it and make sure no Achaemenids escape, and start when you hear my signal.''

When the birds heard this, they let out quiet shrieks before leaving the mountainside and heading toward the fortress. After the monsters were gone, Atlas summoned even more while giving them the same orders.

Hundreds of Kenkus descended onto the enemy stronghold, which made him smile as he used Void Step to follow behind. Ten minutes later, Atlas appeared a few meters from the front gate.

A group of bird assassins joined him as he crouched behind some boulders while watching the guards. When seeing this, he turned toward the Kenkus and ordered, ''Take the soldiers outside down, make sure they don't see you.''

The creatures let out a quiet chirp before going to complete their mission. The birdlike warriors moved with incredible speed and precision, their dark feathers blending into the shadows of the battlefield.

While seeing this, Atlas thought, 'So glad I got the Kenku's, they will help me and the women with are fighting.'

With a flurry of strikes, they butchered the empire's soldiers, their blades flashing in the pale light. The defenders barely had time to react before the Kenkus overwhelmed them, their movements a deadly dance of efficiency.

Atlas's lips curled into a smirk as he observed the carnage. ''Like clockwork,'' he muttered, the chaos below playing out exactly as he had envisioned.

Following this, he quickly cast Void Bomb at the fortress's gate. The azure projectile sliced through the sky and slammed into the metal, causing a massive explosion to shake the entire area.

When Atlas felt this, he ordered the Kenku's to attack as he Void Stepped onto the wall. He quickly killed the shocked and dazed soldiers with ease as the creatures joined him as they appeared out of nowhere.

'These creatures move like shadows! They are so useful,' he mused while readying his swords.

Screams, shouts and the sound of clangs rang out across the stronghold as a battle erupted. Atlas started casting dozens of Void Bullets at the groups of Achaemendians that appeared from a corner.

Explosions sent them flying all over the place as some crashed into the surrounding buildings with a sickening thud. Atlas smiled before dodging several spear thrusts, causing him to spin while cutting the attacker down.

'Too slow, motherfucker!' he thought as the excitement boiled over.

A group of Kenkus surrounded him as guards. The birds killed any soldiers that got close as he headed for the gold. Ten minutes later, Atlas arrived at the fort's command center, which was guarded by the remaining survivors.

When he saw this, his smile grew before ordering the Kenku's to clean out the building. A fierce battle erupted as the experience poured into his body thanks to the monster's kills they were racking up.

An hour later, the fortress fell silent, which creeped Atlas out as the Kenku's brought his chests full of gold. His greed exploded before he stored them in his Item Box while sending a message to the women, 'Cleared out an Achaemendian fortress and stole their wealth.'n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

Estelle and Amethyst decided to join Atlas and let him know when replying. With a wave of his hand, he opened a portal to the Otherworld, and the two women stepped through to his side.

'So beautiful, I can wait until Amethyst is eighteen and I can claim her,' he thought while admiring their beauty.

They welcomed him warmly, showering him with kisses and cuddles that lit up his face with a smile. ''Why didn't you tell us you were attacking the empire, my love? We would have helped you?'' Estelle commented with a concerned expression.

Atlas pointed up, causing the women to glance up, only to see hundreds of Kenku's littering the rooftops. When the creatures saw this, they let out screeches that echoed across the snowy landscape.

Following this, the three of them made their way to the commander's quarters, where they would rest for the night. After killing out the bodies by throwing them into the Otherworld, just as Nuilia, Grisha, Amethyst, and Zena.

When the four women appeared, the Orc woman commented while glancing around, ''Can't believe you and those creepy birds took out a fortress. You know the survivors will spread tales about you?''

Atlas shrugged before answering. ''I don't care, honestly. I want the empire to know someone targeting them. They will become paranoid and make a mistake along the way.''

Grishna nodded in agreement as Estelle blocked the entrances with stone walls while Nulia covered the windows in sheets of ice that would slow any attackers down. Once that was done, he fired a Void Bullet into the nearby fireplace.

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