CHAPTER 133: THE THREE GENERALS

The street was silent.

For the first time since entering New Chicago, no waves came. No skittering crawlers. No shrieking fliers. No endless tide of soldiers.

Just the generals.

By now, Korrath already accepted the fact that nothing he sent could stop the advance of the enemy force, it would only delay the inevitable. His endless army of drones and biomechs was nothing in the face of the enemy’s willpower.

They were determined to go through to the end.

And now, his three generals were all that separated them from him. By now, Korrath no longer held on to the force delusion of superiority and control that he felt he once had over the war.

The war already spiraled out of his control

Three titans stood at the base of the Nexus Engine. They were different from the rest of Korrath’s horde. More refined. More terrible.

The first was Ironfang, a beast-shaped monstrosity with the frame of a wolf fused into steel. Its fangs gleamed white-hot, its claws long enough to shear through walls. It’s back bristled with spines of bone and alloy, each twitching like living antennae.

The second was Graven Maul, a giant humanoid construct plated in black stone and metal. Its arms were not arms but massive hammers, fused with veins of molten core. With every step, the ground cracked under its weight.

The third was Silken Shade, the most disturbing of all. A feminine figure, draped in living tendrils that writhed like snakes, her face hidden behind a mask of bone. The tendrils stretched across the ground, tasting the air, whispering against the pavement.

Behind them, the Nexus Engine loomed, gears grinding, energy pulsing. The tower’s shadow swallowed the street whole.

Clayton’s strike force stood still, eyes locked on the generals.

"Three against eight," Torren muttered, hefting his axe. "Almost feels unfair."

"They’re not just soldiers," Clayton said. His voice was low, steady. "Each of them carries a shard of Korrath’s core. This is his real wall."

Clayton was right. They were all Luminous Seed, but they all could feel the palpable pressure emanating from the 3 constructs in front of them.

These three abominations were a culmination of the apex form of Korrath’s Aspect, and a result of decades of experimenting with his Aspect powers.

Soren cracked his neck, Emberblade glowing faintly. "If these are his real wall, then we break it."

The generals moved first.

Ironfang lunged, claws gouging the street, its maw snapping toward Clayton. At the same time, Graven Maul stomped forward, both hammer-arms raised, swinging down with the force of a collapsing building. Silken Shade’s tendrils shot forward, dozens of them, each one sharp as a blade, striking at the enemy’s flanks.

The street became chaos in an instant.

Clayton met Ironfang head-on.

Vines surged from the pavement, coiling around its legs, pulling it to the ground. Regalia slashed, biting into its flank, sparks spraying as steel tore. But Ironfang twisted violently, its body flexing like liquid metal, breaking free. Its maw snapped down, jaws clashing with Regalia in a deafening clang.

Clayton gritted his teeth, holding firm, roots wrapping tighter as he forced the beast back.

"Down, damn you!" he snarled as adrenaline surged through his veins, forcing Regalia deeper until green sparks spilled from the wound.

Torren clashed with Graven Maul.

The giant swung, its hammer-arms slamming down. Torren met it head-on with his Pyreaxe, flames roaring. Since becoming Clayton’s Sporelink, his Aspect mutated, growing beyond its original limits.

His Aspect’s base power increased, but not just that, he was now a far versatile Awakened warrior now. He was well equipped to face multiple combat scenarios, and this was one.

BAM!

The impact of their clash blasted heat across the street, fire and molten sparks exploding outward.

Torren slid back, boots grinding against stone, teeth bared in a snarl. Then he charged, axe blazing. He slammed upward, striking one hammer arm, forcing it high.

"Try crushing this!" Torren shouted, his axe glowing white-hot as he swung, flames bursting in a wide arc, searing across Graven Maul’s chest.

The giant staggered, cracks glowing where the flames struck. But it didn’t fall. It bellowed, raising both arms again.

Silken Shade struck at the others.

Her tendrils lashed out, wrapping around Kaelin, yanking him off his feet. He vanished into shadow before she could crush him, reappearing behind her. His dagger slashed at her mask, only for her tendrils to whip backward, deflecting the strike.

She hissed, voice a hollow echo. "Little shadow, I see you."

Dozens of tendrils whipped out. Kaelin darted through them, his movements fast, sharp, but even he couldn’t dodge them all. One sliced his shoulder, another caught his leg. He grunted, rolling back, blood trailing.

Veyra’s arrow struck then, glowing bright, piercing a tendril mid-swing. The limb exploded into dust. Another arrow followed, then another, her shots hammering Shade’s defenses.

Shade’s mask turned toward her, tendrils spreading wide.

"Then I’ll eat the archer first."

Her tendrils rushed at Veyra.

But Harrick stepped in. His spear spun in wide arcs, smashing through the writhing limbs. His strikes were brutal, each one glowing with verdant light. "Not while I’m standing."

The street became three duels.

Clayton and Ironfang.

Torren and Graven Maul.

The others against Silken Shade.

Ironfang fought like a storm. It darted, faster than its size should allow.

Each swipe of its claws shredded pavement. Each bite clanged against Regalia, sparks flying. Clayton’s vines lashed again and again, binding, cutting, restraining, but Ironfang broke them with sheer force.

Its spines crackled, and with a roar, it launched them. Bone and alloy shot like arrows, ripping through walls, gouging the street. Clayton raised a shield of roots, the projectiles thudding into it, but the impact forced him back.

Ironfang lunged through the dust, jaws open wide.

Clayton thrust Regalia upward.

The blade pierced through the roof of its mouth, bursting from its skull in a spray of green sparks. Ironfang convulsed, shrieked, then collapsed, twitching, vines tearing it apart from within.

Clayton ripped Regalia free, chest heaving.

"One down," he muttered.

Torren and Graven Maul’s battle shook the street.

Each swing of the giant’s hammer-arms smashed craters into the ground.

Torren dodged, flames trailing, his axe glowing brighter each time it struck. He targeted the cracks already spreading across its chest, chipping away, burning deeper.

The giant swung both arms down at once.

Torren didn’t dodge. He raised his Pyreaxe high, roaring, and met the strike.

BOOM!

The explosion of fire blinded the street. When it cleared, Graven Maul’s arms were split apart, both shattered, molten steel dripping.

Torren’s axe was buried in its chest. Flames erupted from the wound, spreading fast.

The giant staggered. It let out one last roar then collapsed backward, its body burning from within.

Torren pulled his axe free, flames still dancing across its edge. "Two down."

Silken Shade fought like smoke.

Her tendrils never stopped, a wave of writhing blades and chains. She moved with them, flowing like liquid shadow, slipping between strikes, countering every assault.

Kaelin darted through the chaos, his daggers flashing. He carved through tendrils where he could, always aiming for her mask. But Shade anticipated, blocking him again and again.

Soren cut through tendrils in bursts of ember flame, his blade burning hot. But every time he severed one, two more struck from another angle.

Veyra’s arrows pierced deep, each shot hammering her defenses. Harrick stood in front, deflecting tendrils with his spear, shielding her.

But Shade pressed harder. A dozen tendrils lashed out at once, wrapping Harrick’s arms and legs, lifting him into the air. His spear fell with a clatter.

Shade’s mask tilted. "Mine."

But before the construct could cause the first casualty though, Lorn’s roots erupted from the ground, wrapping Harrick, yanking him free and pulling him back. Healing light spread across his body.

Shade hissed in fury, her tendrils striking wildly.

That was the opening Kaelin needed.

He slipped into shadow, reappearing behind her, daggers glowing with every ounce of his power. And then he struck the mask.

This time, the blade sank deep. The mask cracked and split apart, falling away.

For the first time, her face was revealed. Behind the mask was a hollow skull lit with green flame.

Veyra’s arrow struck an instant later, piercing the flame.

Silken Shade froze, shrieked, then burst into ash, her tendrils collapsing into dust around her.

The street fell silent again.

All three generals lay dead.

The strike force stood, bloodied, breathing hard, but alive.

They looked at one another. No words were needed. They had survived the worst Korrath had thrown yet.

Clayton lifted Regalia, pointing it at the Nexus Engine.

"Three walls down. One left."

Behind him, Torren raised his axe. Soren wiped blood from his blade. Veyra notched another arrow. Kaelin melted back into shadow. Harrick gripped his spear tighter. Lorn’s roots glowed faintly around them, steadying their strength.

The Nexus Engine loomed. Its gears turned, faster now, as if sensing their approach. And far above, within its heart, Korrath waited.

His voice echoed through the steel, soft and hungry.

"Good. Very good. Come closer, Verdant King. I will welcome you into my heart."

Clayton didn’t flinch.

He stepped forward.

"Then let’s cut your heart out."