CHAPTER 828: SKY WALL

The Blizzard Continent was one of the largest landmasses in the Exilon World, a vast expanse dominated by sprawling tundras and flat, open terrain where nothing could easily hide. This made it a nearly perfect place to erect a defensive stronghold, capable of spotting approaching armies from tens or even hundreds of kilometers away, thus allowing defenders to confront their enemies head-on with overwhelming force.

At the very heart of this continent stood such a fortress, known across the land as Sky Wall. This enormous city was renowned for its titanic defensive walls—towering, monolithic structures so tall they seemed to pierce the very clouds themselves. Sky Wall was strategically positioned in a critical passage between the Blizzard Continent and its neighboring landmass, a choke point that controlled the primary routes of invasion.

Within the immense fortification resided tens of millions of inhabitants. Of course, not every individual within was a trained soldier. Many were civilians, ordinary men, women, and children. Yet even these civilians were dangerous, as every individual born under the oppressive rule of the Zanis Family was indoctrinated and forged into a potential fighter from birth, whether they wished it or not.

Currently, the atmosphere inside Sky Wall was tense, charged with anticipation and anxiety. Squads of soldiers marched solemnly through the city’s streets, armor gleaming and weapons primed for immediate action. This heightened state of vigilance was justified; the Blizzard Continent lay adjacent to the Asaris Continent, now firmly under the control of the foreign invaders. An attack was not merely possible—it was inevitable.

At the center of Sky Wall rose an imposing tower, fortified and meticulously constructed to serve as the city’s command center and primary defensive bastion. At the tower’s pinnacle stood a commanding woman with long, fiery-red hair flowing behind her, clad in battle armor that glimmered menacingly in the cold light. Her name was Aurora, a Legend-level warrior assigned personally by the Zanis Family to guard Sky Wall at all costs.

Aurora was neither a descendant of the prestigious Zanis Family nor an alien. She was native to Exilon, born and raised upon this harsh continent. Her journey had begun as that of an ordinary warrior, yet through tireless training, she ascended to the rank of Legend. Unfortunately, Aurora’s potential had been nurtured under the watchful, manipulative eye of the Zanis regime. The indoctrination she underwent was so complete, so insidious, that she revered her oppressors as saviors, ready to lay down her life willingly for their cause.

From her elevated vantage point, Aurora’s eyes scanned the barren ground beyond Sky Wall’s perimeter. She remained especially wary of the enemy’s subterranean units—terrifying creatures rumored capable of burrowing silently beneath the earth. The open, treeless plains provided limited protection against such foes. Fortunately, the tower beneath her feet had been fitted with advanced sensory matrices and magical scanning systems capable of detecting underground movements and activating lethal traps at a moment’s notice.

Lost briefly in her preparations, Aurora suddenly became aware of something odd happening directly beneath the tower. Thousands of small animals—snakes, rodents, squirrels—had begun silently assembling in tight, orderly rings around its foundation. Such creatures were common sights within the sprawling city, which even contained a small forest. However, the meticulous precision of their gathering and the sheer number involved was entirely unnatural.

Aurora’s instincts screamed danger, her eyes widening in horrified realization. Yet, before she could react or alert her forces, the gathered animals began radiating an intense, unnatural glow, their artificial nature immediately clear to her experienced gaze. Without warning, each creature exploded—not with fire or lightning—but with devastating electromagnetic pulses radiating outward, enveloping the entire area surrounding the tower.

These electromagnetic bursts surged through the city, ripping through magic circuits, protective arrays, and defensive matrices. In mere seconds, every sophisticated magical defense system at Sky Wall’s heart was either obliterated or rendered temporarily inert.

Aurora’s breath caught in her throat, a pulse of panic surging through her as she realized the tower’s invaluable scanning and defensive functions had been neutralized completely. Yet, the disaster was far from finished. Just moments later, countless explosions erupted throughout Sky Wall itself, releasing massive clouds of a strange, pink mist. This substance rapidly expanded, spreading in every direction and quickly engulfing every man, woman, and child within the fortress.

Aurora clenched her jaw, instantly recognizing the pink mist’s significance—it neutralized the Blood Combustion Compound, robbing Sky Wall of one of its strongest, cruelest defenses. One of the primary reasons Sky Wall’s civilians were allowed to remain within the fortress was because, in moments of desperate need, the Zanis Family could transform them into living bombs. With this mist, that horrifying strategy had been decisively taken from them.

Before Aurora or the fortress’s commanders could regain their composure or formulate a counterattack, the ground beneath the city trembled violently. Cracks split open streets and buildings, and from those fissures surged a terrifying horde: more than twenty thousand monstrous Reapers burst upward from the depths, their shrieks of bloodlust echoing deafeningly across the devastated cityscape.

These horrifying creatures advanced immediately, a merciless stampede surging forward, slaughtering everything in their path. A group of soldiers stationed near Sky Wall’s perimeter were among the first defenders to face the relentless assault. Though initially stunned and confused by the sudden chaos, these were seasoned warriors who quickly rallied, releasing their full power in a desperate attempt to repel the invaders.

Yet even their combined might was insignificant against the overwhelming power of the Reapers. The creatures tore through the soldiers effortlessly, slicing and dismembering them, each attack cruel and ruthless. A single Reaper crushed a soldier beneath its massive claw, snarling savagely.

Suddenly, a projectile struck harmlessly against the thick armor of the Reaper’s body—a broken sword, tossed desperately from the side, that did not manage to even make a dent in its armor. The monster paused briefly, turning its feral gaze toward the origin of this pitiful attack.

There stood a child, barely seven years old, trembling yet defiant. Even in the face of certain doom, the child’s gesture was one of raw courage.