The sea churned violently as the fleet cut through the waves, engines thrumming with restrained fury. The Vanguard led at the front, the Stormbreaker following close with its runed hull glowing faintly, flanked by the refitted frigates and the captured war-barge. The drones buzzed overhead in layered formations, a mechanical flock blotting out the sun.
Ten kilometers out from the Patron's fortress, the waters broke with a thunderous swell.
The lizard rose.
Its massive, jagged form ripped through the surface, water cascading down its obsidian scales. Fifteen meters of mutated muscle and rage towered before them, its glowing eyes fixing on the fleet. Each movement radiated restrained violence, a predator testing its prey.
"Contact," barked the Vanguard's operator. "Apex-class mutant, closing on intercept vector!"
Kane stepped to the Stormbreaker's prow, his crimson cloak whipping in the sea winds. His hand rested on the hilt of his blade, his gaze locking on the beast.
For a tense moment, the world held still.
The lizard didn't charge. It didn't attack. Instead, its eyes glowed brighter, a pulse of raw intent slamming into Kane's mind. He staggered, teeth clenched, as the system flared before him.
[Mythic-Class Beast has initiated Contract Recognition.]
[Condition: Only one worthy of command shall be accepted.]
Kane's breath hitched. It's… choosing me?
Inside his inventory, the Mythic Beast Contract Scroll ignited with golden light, responding to the beast's call. Not by Kane's will—but by the creature's.
The lizard lowered its massive head, water cascading off its snout, as though bowing in acknowledgment. A psychic whisper threaded into Kane's mind, filled with pain, fury, and the weight of countless roentgens burned into its veins.
You… strong. You… command. He—Patron—made pain. I obey. You lead.
Kane steadied himself, forcing his voice to carry across the crashing waves. "Then hear my command, Leviathan. If the Patron caused your suffering, then it is to him your vengeance belongs. Strike his fortress. Tear down his walls. Leave none of his brood unscathed."
The creature's roar split the skies, a thunderous bellow that rattled steel and bone alike. Seagulls scattered from the waves. Even the Greywatch leader staggered, eyes wide with awe and horror.
"By the Abyss," he muttered. "The beast… has bent the knee."
Kane raised his arm, voice cutting through the storm.
"Fleet—fire at will! Drones, scatter and strike! Warships, bring your cannons to bear! Let the Patron choke on chaos!"
The first volley unleashed hell.
Vanguard's siege batteries thundered, hurling plasma shells that split the air and carved glowing arcs across the sea.
Stormbreaker's storm cannons lit the skies with streaking lightning, jagged bolts slamming into the mountain ridges.
The frigates and war-barge opened fire, their newly fitted guns roaring with deadly precision.
Overhead, the drones rained down missiles and kinetic strikes in perfect synchronization.
And then, the lizard moved.
With terrifying grace for its size, the beast surged through the surf, its massive body breaking the waves as it charged. A radiant glow pulsed along its spine where the stolen orb still burned, and with a guttural roar, it slammed into the sea wall protecting the Patron's fortress. Stone shattered. Water erupted in geysers. Defensive turrets rotated frantically, spitting fire at the beast—but their rounds pinged harmlessly against its irradiated scales.
The fortress descended into chaos.
Kane stood firm at the prow, eyes locked on the carnage. "Exactly as planned," he murmured.
The Leviathan's wrath would be their spear. The fleet's guns, their hammer. And the Patron—soon—would face both.
The sea boiled with fire and steel. The mountain fortress of the Patron, once an unbreakable bastion looming above the waves, was now engulfed in fire, smoke, and chaos. The lizard's roar still echoed across the water as it clawed through the seawall and tore into the outer defenses.
But the Patron's fortress was not defenseless.
Sirens blared, echoing across the cliffs. Hatches in the mountainside yawned open, belching smoke as concealed gun batteries slid into position. Mana-fed turrets whirred to life, spitting streaks of molten energy into the skies. Dozens of ballista-sized bolt throwers emerged from their slots, launching glowing steel javelins at both the Leviathan and Kane's warships.
Inside the fortress, runed glyphs etched into the mountainside pulsed with ominous light. Entire wards began to rise like shimmering domes, overlapping in layers of defense.
"Fortress shields active!" barked a Greywatch scout beside Kane. "They're pulling everything into overdrive!"
Kane narrowed his eyes. Expected… but too late.
High above, a swarm of missile drones dove in synchronized arcs. At Kane's signal, their payloads released—raining destruction onto the hangar entrance hidden in the mountain's southern slope. Explosions ripped the reinforced gates apart, molten metal cascading like waterfalls. Fighters waiting inside never got the chance to launch; their hangar became a tomb.
Simultaneously, the scout mines Kane had seeded beneath the water drifted into position. With eerie silence, they detonated. Shockwaves rattled the base of the mountain. The water foamed with eruptions as turret emplacements along the cliffs collapsed into rubble.
The Patron's defense grid flickered. Holes opened in the barrier wall.
"Two objectives down," Kane muttered. "Now we bleed them."
He leapt from the Stormbreaker's prow, landing on the waves with unnatural force as mana surged through him. His aura blazed crimson and gold, the Warlord's mantle unfurling like a storm.
[Skill Activated: Warlord's Command (Tier II)]
Every drone, every warship crew, every Ironbound soldier felt it—the weight of command. Their strikes grew sharper, their accuracy deadlier. The synchronized fire intensified, and the Patron's fortress groaned under the unrelenting storm.
The Leviathan roared again and slammed its tail into a defensive tower, reducing it to dust.
From the cliffs, a squad of Patron's elite soldiers—mutant-enhanced knights clad in jagged armor—leapt into the fray, riding beasts warped by radiation. Their weapons glowed with runic enchantments as they descended toward Kane's front line.
Kane's response was instant.
[Skill Activated: War Cry]
His roar blasted across the battlefield, shaking morale and snapping the will of lesser foes. Some of the beasts faltered mid-leap, thrashing in hesitation.
[Skill Activated: Warpath Dominion]
The sea itself churned at his command, paths of energy widening around him. The Ironbound Legion surged forward, their armored forms glowing with war-etched symbols.
"Advance!" Kane thundered.
Arrows of fire and shadow streaked from the fortress walls. Kane raised his hand.
[Skill Activated: Iron Will]
The projectiles struck him—but shattered harmlessly, his body shimmering with indomitable resolve. He charged forward, cutting through the crashing waves.
One of the knights lunged, spear crackling with lightning. Kane swung.
[Skill Activated: Warlord's Execution]
The strike cleaved through both rider and beast, tearing their fused forms apart in an eruption of crimson light.
Another knight tried to flank him, muttering a spell. Kane's fingers sparked with elemental fury.
[Skill Activated: Fire Bolt][Skill Activated: Wind Slash]
A fireball slammed into the knight's chest, and a cutting gust split him in two before he could scream.
The ground itself trembled as Kane raised his arm.
[Skill Activated: Earth Spike]
Jagged spears of stone erupted from the shallow seabed, skewering three beasts mid-leap. Their shrieks vanished into the spray.
Above, the drones carved open another turret nest, missiles exploding in bursts of smoke and fire.
But the fortress retaliated. A massive mana cannon emerged from the highest ridge, runes glowing with gathered energy. The air hummed as it aimed directly at the Vanguard.
Kane clenched his fist, channeling destructive mana.
[Skill Activated: Cataclysm Bolt]
A blinding pillar of pure destructive energy erupted from his palm, lancing across the battlefield and colliding with the mana cannon just as it fired. The resulting explosion shattered the ridge, molten stone raining down the fortress face.
"Fall back!" shouted one of the Patron's commanders from the walls. "Fortify the inner sanctum! He cannot be stopped!"
Kane's eyes glowed. "You're right. You cannot stop me."
His figure blurred.
[Skill Activated: Phantom Rush]
In the blink of an eye, Kane closed the distance, appearing on the cliffs themselves. Soldiers barely had time to scream before his blade cut them down. His gauntlet surged with power.
[Skill Activated: Titan's Grasp]
One of the towering mutated beasts was ripped from the ground, lifted into the air as though weightless, then hurled into the fortress gates with bone-crushing force.
Behind him, the Leviathan smashed through the second seawall, flooding the lower barracks.
Kane raised his sword to the storming skies.
[Skill Activated: Dominion Tactics]
His fleet adjusted instantly—drones strafing vulnerable barracks, warships bombarding collapsed ridges, and the Ironbound pushing through newly opened breaches.
The Patron's fortress, once thought impregnable, was drowning in chaos.
And Kane, cloaked in fury and fire, stood as the storm's center—the warlord, the executioner, the necromancer of the apocalypse.