MMORPG : Ancient WORLD

Once everyone had emerged from the portals, they closed behind them, leaving the army stranded at the edge of the miasmic land of Vozentar.

Alex felt that it was strange that they teleported at the edge because while the land of Vozentar housed the entire Clan Venenox, it was a vast biome that stretched for thousands of kilometers, and the nearest Skaven city was still tens, if not hundreds, of kilometers away.

But Alex and the others did not have to wait long to find out why they had stopped at the edge and not been directly teleported to the locations of a city.

Alex and everyone present felt a crushing pressure engulf them, followed by a sickening stench that made even the strongest hold their breath as they buckled under the mountain of weight pressing down on them.

Alex's void sense was crushed before it could expand, but he could hear the gathered soldiers dropping like flies, screams beginning to echo among the explosions as those airborne fell to the ground under pressure, crushing those unfortunate enough to be beneath them to death.

"I heard that you were looking for me, so now that you have found me, tell me what you desire from this KING," A calm voice sounded loud and clear amidst the growing chaos.

Alex felt the mountain-like aura become mild enough for him to raise his head and look not at his bloodied surroundings but at the source of the voice.

It was a towering creature, nearly six meters tall, with hulking muscles cloaked beneath a coat of immaculate white fur, lending it a regal appearance.

He was draped in virulent green loose pants that flowed like living smoke, leaving his massive frame exposed, adding to its ethereal and intimidating presence.

His face was pointed like a rodent's, but not in an ugly or grotesque way, rather it was fierce and commanding, while his virulent green eyes shone like two revolving beacons, radiating a palpable sense of power and authority.

Atop its head rested a pitch-dark nine-pointed crown filled with cracks, each fracture glowing faintly with an ominous light as if holding the very essence of darkness within it.

"Creature, I am Skvard the Mountain, the fourth Division Marshal of the Thirteenth regiment of the Magi Empire," A fully transformed werewolf stepped forward, his voice booming through the sounding, his aura twisting his surrounding space.

The soldiers cheered, thinking that Marshal Skvard had protected them and shielded them from the aura, but Alex felt otherwise, and he did not need to wait long to get the confirmation.

"With the Authority of the Magi Empire, I command you-- - -," The werewolf was forced to stop talking as the creature appeared before him.

"I am Ratanak, the King of Skaven, and today I declare the creation of the Ratanak Empire and declare war on the Magi Empire," The creature said in his deep, resonant voice as his fist tore through the chest of the werewolf.

Alex felt the pressure disappear completely, but before he could even get up to his feet, the ground surrounding him began to shake as if hit by a devastating earthquake.

An instant later, the earth caved in as virulent green spikes tore through it, impaling the unlucky few in their path.

Alex instinctively used thought acceleration at its maximum, allowing him to avoid getting impaled and save his teammates and another soldier's life.

The surroundings once more rang out with screams that had dulled for just a moment. Blood painted the ground red, and massive explosions began to shake the fabric of space.

Alex felt the fear of death gripping his heart as he watched all those even touched by the virulent spikes wither, their bodies breaking into piles of dark liquid.

The massive titans were impaled and lifted off the ground as if they were not harbingers of destruction wielding enough power to outclass tens of Elemental Rulers but rather dense hunks of metal.

Their enhanced metallic structures withered to dust in mere moments, and the same fate befell other war engines on the ground.

The warships began to unleash their energy weapons, tearing through space like fire through the air, but even when three massive laser attacks hit the creature head-on, they bounced away, not even leaving a scratch on the creature.

The Annihilator ships, each capable of rivaling the strongest figures in firepower and defense, had their void shields impaled after seconds of struggle and their protected armor pierced after slightly more resistance.

The virulent spikes were being destroyed by heavy fire, yet they were like an endless tide that could not be stopped, and within seconds of their appearance, nearly half of the army was gone, turned to an unrecognizable state.

Before anyone could recover from the ongoing onslaught, a single message telling everyone to save themselves reverberated in every soldier's mind as hundreds of space rifts began to open.

Alex didn't have time to think whether this was the doing of the Legion Marshals or the Rat King, as every second, thousands were losing their lives, and while he and his teammates were lucky to survive, it would not stay as such for long.

So, without a moment's waste, he began to use his darkness manipulation to throw every nearby soldier inside a rift.

Alex successfully threw Skrel and DB inside the rift, who were standing frozen like the majority, not knowing how to react. But because his attention was shifted, he failed to notice the spike coming at Mius, the third member of his team.

Alex was a step too late to save Mius, who got impaled through the body, his body turning to liquid before Alex's very eyes.

While not connected with that man, his loss did remind Alex of what they were going through at the moment, so he recovered quickly, knowing that the same end awaited everyone who failed to leave in time.

Alex moved using Void Walk, aiming to save as many as he could, knowing his death would cost him nothing but a few minutes of respawn time since it was at the hands of a Realm Inhabitant.

Seconds after the rifts appeared, they began to twist and collapse, and he did not need to look further than the Rat King to find out the reason.

Ratanak was holding a female whom Alex recognized as one of the Division Marshals by the neck, her skin cracking as veins of pungent green spread through her body.

Alex began to throw anyone and everyone into a rift, and amidst doing so, he saw from the corner of his eye the Marshals, who were doing damage control and vanishing like ghosts.

Alex instantly knew they were not moving to engage with the Rat King but rather running away to save their lives.

Frustrated by everything but knowing he still had a job to do, Alex kept saving as many as he could before his inevitable death came.

Moments later, he saw Licinia Catilina lying motionless in an earth crack, her right arm and shoulder completely gone, as if burned to ash.

Alex picked her up using a dark tendril, aiming to toss her into a rift like others, but just then, he felt an impact to his side that flung him away, throwing him into a rift with the unconscious Licinia in tow.

The last thing Alex saw in the growing chaos was one of the ships torn into two pieces, crashing onto the ground, creating a shock wave that was responsible for throwing him off and doming the few soldiers that had survived till now.