[Next Day.]
[6:38Am.]
THUD!
A hundred miles from the city gates, the Wendigos halted, their collective gaze fixed on the imposing, closed barrier before them.
The Wendigos' general, known as General Volkov, dismounted his carriage with a grunt, his eyes narrowed.
"What is this?" he boomed, turning to Xanor. "Didn't you say they had a new, powerful king? Then why is the city deserted?"
Xanor, clad in elite-class black armor and gripping a long sword, merely offered a cold, clipped reply. "We just got here."
"Alright then," the General conceded. "Take some soldiers and enter the city through the tunnels. Leave the front entrance to me."
Xanor gave a curt nod, turned, and strode away, his armor clanking softly with each purposeful step.
"The remaining six thousand, follow me!" Volkov bellowed, addressing the rest of his Wendigo army. "Let's give our brothers time to enter."
A guttural "GRAAAAA!!" erupted from the throats of the Wendigos, a chilling battle cry that echoed across the plains.
"Now!" the General roared, his voice laced with savage glee. "Attack and burn this city to the ground! Kill all men and capture the women and children! And bring me the babies… their flesh is far more delicious!"
The Wendigo soldiers responded with a unified roar, surging forward. Their powerful legs propelled them with incredible speed, their clawed hands eager for carnage, while General Volkov calmly followed behind, a predator observing his pack
___
[At the Gate.]
Sunny landed lightly on the city wall, his eyes calmly surveying the six thousand Wendigos rushing towards them. The sheer number would have intimidated most, but a faint smirk played on his lips.
"Why aren't we attacking?" Star asked, descending beside him, her bat wings flapping softly. She was a in her golden armor, hugging her purple sword.
"Not yet," Sunny replied, the smirk widening. He turned to her. "Are the Mercenaries in place?"
"Yep," Star confirmed. "Just waiting for your command."
Sunny activated his system, his gaze falling upon the Mercenaries Storage:
{Mercenaries Storage: 5,000,000/5,000,000… All Grand Class.}
'I now have ten million Grand Class Mercenaries,' he mused. 'Why not check their strength? What am I saying? Ten million against ten thousand… Is that even a match?' He stared at the shattered Mercenary chips scattered on the ground directly in front of the charging Wendigos. 'I'll make sure none of you escape.'
He turned back to Star. "What about the tunnels?"
"Oh, all the bombs are set," she answered, a flicker of confusion crossing her face. "But why are you destroying the tunnels? It will affect the city."
"I told you already," Sunny said, squatting on the wall, his red fur coat draping over the stone.
"This city is too small. Our target will be the strongest faction on this Planet: the Dragons. We will take over their city and use it as our capital. After that, the other factions will either submit to us, or they die."
He picked up a small stone from the wall, holding it between two fingers, and aimed it at the charging Wendigos, who had just entered the zone where the Mercenary chips lay shattered.
"These pests will be the first."
With a casual flick of his finger, the stone shot forward.
"…...?!"
Star watched in stunned silence as the tiny projectile launched itself with terrifying speed towards the Wendigos.
BOOOM!
BOOOM!
BOOOM!!
"…?!"
Star was flabbergasted.
Nicolas, Blood Eye, and Nioh, who stood by the open gate below, stared with wide eyes as the stone continued its deadly trajectory, bursting the heads of every Wendigo it encountered.
'Is that just a stone?' Mila, observing from the tallest building in the city, wondered in utter confusion.
The Wendigo General, Volkov, raised an eyebrow as the Wendigos before him dropped one by one. He narrowed his eyes to the size of a needle before he finally detected the tiny stone hurtling directly towards him.
"This?!" he roared. He swiftly summoned his elite-class equipment, which enveloped his massive body in a flash of dark energy.
BAM!!!!
The stone smashed into his newly formed armor, the impact pushing him a full ten feet backward.
"What the fuck?!" Volkov growled, lowering his gaze to his elite-class armor. A clear dent marred its surface. "Did a stone do this?" he muttered to himself, looking up at the distant city.
"Who sent it??"
_
{Congratulations Master for killing a Grand Master stage 5 Wendigo: Gain 880 EXP.}
{Congratulations Master for killing a Master Stage 4 Wendigo: Gain 700 EXP.}
{Congratulations Master for killing a Grand Master stage 5 Wendigo: Gain 880 EXP.}
{Congratulations Master for killing a Master Stage 3 Wendigo: Gain 650 EXP.}
{Congratulations Master for killing a Grand Master stage 2 Wendigo: Gain 750 EXP.}
{Congratulations Master for killing a Master Stage 1 Wendigo: Gain 600 EXP.}
"Hmm… Masters and Grand Masters," Sunny murmured, standing up.
"That must be the general," Star said, her gaze fixed on the armored Wendigo.
"Hehehe… Only Elite Wendigos put on armor," Sunny chuckled. "Bring him to me alive." He then looked over at Nioh, Nicolas, and Blood Eye. "It's time to show your strength. Show the soldiers why you are their commanders."
The four nodded in unison. Without a second thought, Star shot into the air, flying directly towards the charging Wendigos. The city gate swung open, and Nioh, Blood Eye, and Nicolas burst forth, each on a black super bike.
"The city doesn't have much, but at least they have some vehicles," Sunny muttered. He then issued a command to the system:
"Activate the 10,000,000 Grand Class Mercenary Chips…"
{Ok, Master.}
_
WHOOSH!!
The charging Wendigos came to a screeching halt, not because of the four figures hurtling towards them, but because of the glowing objects surrounding them, all over the damn place.
"…?!"
The Wendigo General raised an eyebrow in confusion. "Are those Mercenary chips?!" he muttered, a hint of mild horror in his voice.
A Wendigo soldier lowered its gaze to an object before it, watching as it began to expand rapidly.
The next moment:
WHOOSH!!!
"…!!!"
The other Wendigos stood stunned as the head of the unfortunate soldier flew into the air, landing with a sickening THUD on the ground. They all looked around them, seeing countless figures in gleaming golden armor.
"We… we are surrounded," the Wendigo General muttered, pure horror now etched across his face. "Why are there so many Grand Class Mercenaries?!" he yelled, then roared an order to his remaining forces: "Be calm, soldiers! Wipe them all out!!!"
_
{Master Gained 1 Exp.}
"…Huh?" Sunny was momentarily stunned.
{Master will gain EXP when a created Mercenary kills an enemy.}
{Exp gain will increase once Master unlocks more bloodlines.}
'Wait… If I gain EXP with every kill then… By killing the ten thousand, I will gain ten thousand EXP… Not much, but it's still something,' he thought. "System, new order: all Mercenaries bought shouldn't engage, but if a Wendigo gets close to them, they should attack."
{Command Passed successfully.}
"Good… Now let the show beg—"
"Love!!"
He paused, looking over his shoulder. Josephine stood below the wall, her expression cold and intense.
"You? Why are you up?" Sunny asked, a hint of mild confusion in his voice.
"What did you do to me?!" she yelled back, her voice laced with anger and accusation.