The ground trembled.
A myriad of spells were launched from miles away, soaring through the air with unparalleled speed.
Some were arrows, gigantic orbs, or other irregular shapes.
On the ground were hundreds of thousands of elite warriors equipped in lavish armor that clad their bodies from head to toe, weapons made of mythical ores in their hands.
On their blades were dried blood, splotches of it staining their armor.
The world around them was soaked with fire and chaos, an orange hue taking life in the sky.
As one of the gigantic spells neared, a line of mages simultaneously chanted an identical string of words, and following immediately was a vast barrier that fanned dozens of meters across the sky above them.
It was opaque, with a slight hue embedded on the edges. This was only to the naked eye, of course.
To the innumerable soldiers waging war on each other, their eyes imbued with mana, they could see it clearly.
Each attack, spell, and even death left mana in their wake.
"LUKE! AEGIS!"
A targeted command perked the ears of a chestnut-haired man immediately, and on pure instinct, he raised his arms and conjured a spell. His azure robes fluttered wildly as the spell neared; A dominant showing of raw power.
The mana channeled to his arms and a large shield manifested in the air, intercepting a devastating ball of pure mana which dared to wreak havoc on the troops it was targeting.
The air was filled with a powerful boom, the shockwave causing dust to be lifted into the air.
Luke's arms trembled and his feet sank into the ground, staining his white boots with sludgy mud that shot out from the force.
"Cale." The same man who had spoken the orders said, his eyes peeking over to a nightshade-haired man. He peered back, his ebony eyes squinting as the dust assaulted his eyes. No emotion showed in his eyes, his mind clear and honed for battle.
He returned with a nod and instantly tightened the clasp on his sword. His figure blurred, then suddenly vanished from existence.
Suddenly, he reemerged from above everyone, gliding in the air like a deity. His gloomy eyes scanned over the battlefield before locking onto a specific target.
A man donned in flowing red cloth, a tall ruby-gem staff in his hands. He constantly released spells at a frightening pace, coupled with devastating power, which reaped the lives of dozens of soldiers each time it connected.
'You've been a problem.' Cale spoke blankly in his mind.
[Air Step]
Cale rotated his body vertically, aiming his head downward, straight at the mage. Beneath his feet, a disk of mana concentrated into a physical form manifested, and his knees bent as he built up force.
Suddenly, he blitzed through the air, his form leaving a long, ebony blur in his wake.
The targeted mage widened his eyes, and with countless decades of experience, didn't take an extra millisecond to cast a spell without any chant, immediately conjuring a thorny shield to repel Cale.
However, such measly, rushed defenses wouldn't stop him.
[Air step]
Another disk formed, albeit more tricky to utilize.
Due to his momentum, he couldn't put it right where he was, or he'd just crash into it.
Instead, he created it far past him, to the point he could use two to redirect himself, to avoid the defense and attack from a different side.
With calculated excellence, he did such a thing.
Pushing off one disk, he redirected himself to his left and conjured another one. With his built-up speed, there was no way to stop him.
The mage could only peer from the corner of his eyes as Cale cut the distance between them in the blink of an eye, and caught him entirely off guard.
[Extend]
Cale's sword tore through the man's neck, a crescent shape of blood shooting out from his neck.
While his sword hit nothing else, the mana imbued into his sword flared out, a sharpened white line cutting through the air, its shape replicating the arc his swing took.
It was a perfect copy of his swing, except his mana was discharged, releasing a deadly attack.
Some watched as it came to them and could defend themselves. The others, however, were cleaved in two and died on the spot. Their bodies pooled blood onto the ground, and some clung to their measly lives. "I-it's him! Magebane!"
This was specifically Cale's purpose: to disrupt mages and assassinate them. His expertise in putting himself in advantageous positions and quickly escaping if needed allowed him to be the perfect hit-and-run soldier they needed. And due to his efforts during the war, he received that title.
Killing mages allowed more soldiers to progress, killing more of their enemies, and capturing more ground.
Cale flared his mana sense outward, enveloping a two-kilometer radius around him.
As he subconsciously soaked in the information, a mischievous grin was plastered on his face. 'They're weak. I'll enjoy myself.' The heat of war was getting to him, and now he would let himself bask in the bloody mayhem that ravaged the World.
As quick as he killed the mage, he was surrounded and barraged with spells.
Yet, he wasn't worried.
[Omnidrift]
As soon as the toe of his shoe made contact with the ground, he burst into a full-speed dash, quickly evading any spell sent his way.
In front of him was a weak fireball; he simply let it hit him. It combusted in a raging fire before dying down, leaving a gray haze around him. The tingling scent entered his nose and his heart slowed; This was his habitat. Blood and war.
The temporary smoke cloud allowed him to mask himself in it; the mana signature from it would hide him for only a quarter of a second.
But of course, that was more than enough.
Suddenly, the mage who cast the spell was beheaded, his lifeless head spiraling in the air like a firework.
Cale appeared behind him, blood caking his sword as it trickled onto the blood-ridden ground beneath him.
He wasn't stopping there;
A warrior hastily slashed their axe with murderous power at Cale, who eyed it calmly.
He swung his sword vertically, catching the axe's blade in his hilt. Sparks flew from the clash and slowly dissipated in the air, and the axe-wielder shook as Cale effortlessly received the blow, and he didn't even budge.
Cale moved his arm clockwise, forcing the axe to move to his will, disabling the man's attack and leaving him completely open. And from that position, Cale was easily able to swipe horizontally, cutting the man's head in half.
A combination of blood, brains, mucus, and any other body fluid rushed like a torrent out of his head, his lifeless body plopping to the ground as he was soaked in his own extremities.
As he flourished his blade, another dozen attacks were headed his way instead.
7 spells, 3 swords, 2 enchanted arrows, and 1 more axe.
'Guess it wouldn't last long.' He rejoiced, his lips curling downward as he was disappointed that he'd have to disengage so early.