Affinity: Chaos

Chapter 2209: Thunderbird Clan’s Retaliation

The vast open battlefield stretched as far as the eye could see.

On one side, the Thunderbird army and the supporting Dragons filled the sky in dense ranks. On the other, the combined forces of Gnomes and Necromancers stood ready, their numbers greater and their formation steady.

The Magical Beasts did not waste time on words. After only a few seconds of silent confrontation, their roars and cries erupted across the field. Lightning crackled along wings, fire and wind surged, and the entire Magical Beast force charged forward in a single violent wave.

A voice sounded in the ears of the Peak Sovereign Gnomes.

”Go. Make them regret coming here so foolishly.”

Among the leading Peak Sovereign Gnomes, one of them snorted and raised a hand.

He led the Peak Sovereigns upward into the higher clouds, the designated zone for their level of combat. The other Peak Sovereign Gnomes and Necromancers followed, many of them licking their lips in open anticipation.

Below them the battle exploded at once.

Elemental light flooded the sky. Bolts of lightning, roaring flames, blades of wind, and waves of darkness crashed together as the two armies met. The Gnomes and Necromancers did not hesitate. Puppets appeared beside them in large numbers, matching the Magical Beasts blow for blow and immediately tipping many of the lower-level exchanges in their favor.

Higher up, the Peak Sovereigns spread out and selected their opponents in the same manner they had used for months. The Gnomes held the numerical advantage and were used to controlling the tempo. Whatever had driven the Magical Beasts to attack so suddenly, the Gnomes intended to punish them for it.

Three Peak Sovereign Gnomes locked onto a brown Thunderbird. The bird let out a sharp screech when it saw them coming, yet instead of retreating it folded its wings and dove straight at them. Lightning burst from its body as it closed the distance, forcing the three Gnomes to separate and meet its charge head-on.

At the same time, three other Thunderbirds abruptly changed direction mid-flight. They abandoned the opponents they had been heading toward and veered sharply toward a different section of the sky.

In that section, the Peak Sovereign Dragon that carried Grey’s black shard stood between two Peak Sovereign Necromancers. Its eyes were cold. Without any preamble it exhaled a wave of freezing mist and lunged, claws tearing through the air.

The two Necromancers responded at once, summoning their puppets and meeting the Dragon with coordinated darkness and corrosive techniques. The exchange was intense. Ice and darkness collided in repeated bursts, forcing both sides to adjust constantly. The Necromancers quickly realized that killing this Dragon would take more than the two of them.

As the fight continued, the two Necromancers began to notice something strange. The number of powerful auras around them was rising. At first only two other Peak Sovereign battles were taking place within a kilometer. Within moments that number climbed to five.

They exchanged a brief glance but did not break off. Their side still held the advantage overall. One of them spoke coldly.

”Focus. Kill the Dragon first.”

The Dragon answered only with another burst of freezing mist and a low, threatening sound from deep in its throat.

....

Back in the Gnome camp, the two lords had left their room and now stood on the watchtower of the main building. From there they observed the distant battle with casual clarity, as if the fighting kilometers away were unfolding right in front of them.

One of them frowned.

”Why does it look like they are all drifting toward the same area?”

”Because they are,” the second replied, a faint note of amusement in his voice. ”What do these Magical Beasts think they are doing?”

”What can they be doing? They are simple creatures. They start fights over the smallest things.” The first Gnome saw little reason for concern. This was not the first time the Thunderbird forces had launched a sudden attack. The only detail that had drawn extra attention this time was the earlier activity of the seven who had returned from the deeper part of the territory. Sir Astarot and the two Half-God Thunderbirds were also watching, but that was expected during any major clash.

The second Gnome continued to study the battlefield. Something about the pattern still felt off, yet he could not pin down exactly what. In the end he set the feeling aside and focused on the fighting itself. If the Magical Beasts truly had a plan, it would reveal itself soon enough.

From their vantage point the overall picture remained favorable. Across every layer of the battle, from the weaker combatants all the way to the Peak Sovereigns, the Gnomes and Necromancers held the edge. Magical Beasts and enemy corpses alike fell from the sky as the intensity continued to climb.

In the Peak Sovereign zone, the brown Thunderbird that had charged the three Gnomes was already carrying fresh wounds. One of its wings was torn and blood trailed behind it, yet it showed no sign of fear or retreat. It continued to attack with reckless speed, twice nearly striking the eyes of one opponent with its lightning-coated beak. The targeted Gnome twisted aside at the last moment, only to realize the Thunderbird had used the motion to change direction again.

Instead of continuing the fight in place, the injured Thunderbird suddenly dove toward the one-kilometer radius around the Dragon that held the shard.

Its arrival brought the total number of overlapping Peak Sovereign battles in that tight zone to seven. Twelve enemy Peak Sovereigns, nine Gnomes and three Necromancers, were now clustered against seven Magical Beast Peak Sovereigns. The air in that section of the sky had grown thick with clashing auras and residual elemental energy.

The Dragon carrying the shard judged that they had done enough. They had held the area and drawn in as many targets as they reasonably could. Continuing further risked the formation breaking apart and them losing such an opportunity.

After the injured Thunderbird entered the zone, the Dragon swept its tail in a wide arc. A violent blizzard exploded outward, forcing the two Necromancers back several dozen meters. The sudden burst caught them off guard; they had not expected the Dragon to expend so much power in a single motion.

While the freezing storm still covered its body, the Dragon brought out the small black crystal shard and crushed it without hesitation.

The moment the shard shattered, the expressions of the two Gnome lords on the distant watchtower changed drastically.