Arya and the Others Enter the Fray
After Arya and her companions joined the battle, they cautiously controlled their strength and did not immediately unleash their full power.
Arya drew her Storm Bow to full moon; "Rain of Light Arrows" poured down. Each arrow carried sacred radiance, precisely piercing the energy cores of the variant winged troops before exploding in a deadly web of light that tore entire flocks apart. Celestia's six wings thundered; her form became an elusive streak of purple lightning darting back and forth across the sky. She formed a perfect synergy with Iron Crossbow Marga—Marga's armor-piercing bolts first weakened enemy defenses, then Celestia's "Wind-Thunder Dance" sliced through at speeds too fast for the eye to follow. Variant winged corpses rained from the sky. Rex's nano-drone swarm coalesced into an ice-blue metallic storm that merged with dwarven rune artillery; every shell now carried devastating ice-burst effects. Cannon fire exploded among the mechanical legions—not only shredding metal shells but freezing internal energy circuits, paralyzing them completely. TISK fought shoulder-to-shoulder with Blazing Fist Mark; he wrapped his unique "Burning Vine" around Mark's lava gauntlets. Mark's next punch carried dual extremes of ice and fire—its power multiplied explosively, instantly vaporizing clusters of Siste-reinforced soldiers.
The battle raged from dawn to dusk. Doomsday's assaults came like endless tides—one wave barely repelled before the next crashed in. With the reinforcements holding the line, the Alliance defenses stabilized considerably, yet the threat of the three-colored Blight Vines remained undiminished—crimson vines slithered like fire serpents across the battlefield, incinerating positions; dark-green vines spread corrosive poison fog that peeled away armor; ghostly-blue vines froze the earth, immobilizing dwarven heavy artillery. TISK and the others still held back their full strength, supporting with conventional means and relieving pressure on the defenders. At night, Doomsday launched sporadic harassment raids—variant winged troops dropped explosives, undead slipped through shadows for sneak attacks—but under the vigilant defenders and Arya's squad, every attempt was crushed. Celestia's aerial patrols wove a deadly net; Rex's nano-recon network detected every hidden flow; Arya's shadow arrows sealed every blind spot. Night raiders gained nothing.
The situation at Cinder Moon City was equally locked in brutal stalemate. Beast King Nuti Ursa swung "Axe of the Savage Beast," cleaving through gray tides of undead; his flame spear complemented Flame Lance Mias's fire, burning variant soldiers to ash. Iron Wall Balg's steel defense line stood immovable; Dominant Bow Komir's arrow storms wove a net of death, mercilessly sealing every enemy charge; Earth Mage Simeng An's earth spells constantly reshaped the terrain below, creating pits that devoured attackers. Kayla and her squad also joined the fight: Kayla's fourth-stage transformation made her the raging core of the battlefield—thunder claws flashing, shredding undead and variants alike. Yuyuer wielded her dragon-bone gem staff, summoning water currents to wash away poison vines and purify the corruption brought by the undead. Zhamisi's poison mist corroded mechanical joints; Lin Ya's living thorn walls stubbornly blocked the vines' advance. Salsa's summoned skeleton soldiers and shadow wolf riders clashed with Cthulhu's undead legions in a brutal undead-versus-undead slaughter. From sunrise to sunset, the Alliance held the line through sheer tenacity. Night harassment was likewise repelled by their tightly coordinated shift defense.
The Battle of the Undead Dragon and Tiger
On the fifth day, Doomsday's high command finally lost patience. In the Doomsday camp outside Cinder Moon City, Cthulhu's twisted, colossal soul-body manifested. His voice exploded like ten-thousand-ton thunder in every living being's soul:
"Shux, Virginia. This game has dragged on too long. Continuing will only breed more variables. Shux and I will take the field ourselves and tear their defenses apart. Virginia—you stay and hold the base."
Shux bared his jackal-like fangs in a wide grin. His third-form elongated body rippled with knotted muscle; poison dripped from ear and tail tips. His laughter grated:
"Kekekeke… Finally time to move! I've been going mad waiting for this!"
Virginia's figure melted into the heavy shadows of the army; she merely nodded calmly in response:
"Go. Our legions will keep up constant pressure. They will have no chance to breathe."
Led by Cthulhu and Shux, the elite forces marched on Cinder Moon City. Cthulhu's undead legion surged like an endless gray tide—countless decayed limbs clawing up from the soil, forming an unstoppable flood. Shux's variant beastmen roared wildly and charged in frenzy. The three-colored Blight Vines spread at unprecedented speed, attempting to completely encircle the city from the flanks.
Upon reaching the city outskirts, Cthulhu immediately locked onto Salsa's unique soul fluctuation atop the wall. His cold mockery swept the battlefield:
"You again, traitor of the soul lineage! You've ruined my plans time and again. Today I will show you what true dominion over the dead looks like!"
With a wave of his massive tentacles, the undead tsunami assault intensified, crashing straight toward the gate.
Salsa stood on the wall; her soul form fluctuated violently. She chanted ancient, obscure incantations. Countless pale skeleton soldiers, swift shadow wolf riders, and towering shadow behemoths were summoned forth. They clashed with Cthulhu's undead legion across the wall in savage combat. Skeleton soldiers raised bone shields, forming pale lines to hold the charge. Shadow wolf riders became streaks of darkness, darting through to tear at undead cores. Shadow behemoths roared and crushed enemy clusters. Cthulhu's undead countered with sheer numbers—zombies tore with teeth, specters ignored physical barriers to pass through walls. Both sides' summons entangled in a vortex of shattered flesh and wailing souls.
Shux's malicious gaze fixed firmly on Kayla. Transforming into his jackal third form, his body swelled—claws extending into curved, dripping poison blades. His voice dripped with venomous hatred:
"Kayla! The shame of the Mo Erosion Mountains, General Grum's blood debt, and the scars you left on me—today I repay them a hundredfold! Get out here! Let me see if your thunder claws are still as sharp as they were!"
Kayla stood atop the wall, beast eyes blazing with fury. Yet she forcefully suppressed the impulse, swinging her thunder claws to cut down variant beastmen scaling the wall:
"Dream on! My thunder claws fight only to protect our home—not to satisfy your madness!"
The battle reached white heat. Doomsday's assault raged like a storm.
Finally, under the relentless, cost-be-damned charge of undead and variants, and the frenzied coiling corrosion of Blight Vines, the heavy beast-head main gate let out an unbearable groan—a massive crack suddenly split open! Shux's elite strike team, wielding a gigantic battering ram combined with his own terrifying strength, delivered the fatal blow—smashing open a huge breach!
"Now! For Doomsday—crush them!" Shux roared in bloodthirsty ecstasy.
At the critical moment, Yuyuer flew to the breach. Raising her dragon-bone gem staff, she poured all her magic into it:
"In the name of the Abyssal Sea Domain—raise the barrier—Sea Wall!"
Poundingly vast water-element energy erupted. It was as though a channel to the ocean had opened in the void. Surging azure seawater gushed forth and instantly froze into an incredibly thick, gleaming ice wall—completely blocking the tidal wave of undead. Undead crashed against the ice wall with teeth-grinding cracks; ice shards flew—but Yuyuer gritted her teeth and kept pouring magic, holding the barrier firm.
Seeing this, a flash of decision passed through Salsa. She rose into the air; her soul form reached peak fluctuation. She chanted even more ancient, taboo-laden incantations:
"Shadow for bone, eternal night for blood… cross the abyss's barrier, descend upon this place! Eternal Watcher—Shadow Demon Dragon!"
Space was forcibly torn open. A colossal figure roared forth from the rift! The adult Shadow Demon Dragon descended upon the battlefield. Its body blotted out the sky; membranous wings spread to cast a despairing shadow. Cold dragon eyes burned with shadow fire. Its massive form firmly blocked the shattered gate.
Cthulhu's reaction was shock mixed with greed:
"You traitor—you can actually summon an abyssal demon dragon? It seems the soul lineage bloodline has awakened in you! But this still changes nothing!"
With a wave of tentacles, the ground heaved violently. A death tiger forcibly stitched together from countless undead bones and tormented soul fragments crawled forth—its size matching the demon dragon, empty eye sockets burning with sickly green soulfire.
The two titans instantly clashed! The Shadow Demon Dragon opened its maw and spat a dragon breath mixed with extreme cold and shadow energy—freezing half the death tiger's front limbs in an instant. The death tiger let out a soundless roar; its claws tore through the demon dragon's wing membranes, soulfire eating into shadow scales like maggots. The demon dragon's massive tail smashed down like a falling star, shattering huge sections of the tiger's bones. The tiger leaped madly, sinking fangs into the dragon's neck—soul shock forcing a pained roar from the dragon. Their rolling, savage struggle shook the earth; energy shockwaves hurled soldiers of both sides into the air and crushed them.
Kayla saw the gate crisis temporarily eased but knew the ice wall could not last forever. She unleashed a heaven-shaking roar—her full power erupted. Fifth-stage transformation! Her body swelled massively into an even more colossal Beast Soul Titan. Thunder claws wreathed in astonishing ice-thunder energy, like a mythical thunder giant:
"Come then! Filth! Whoever dares take one more step—I'll tear them to pieces!"
Shux laughed maniacally:
"Finally getting serious, little leopardess?! Now this is fun!"
He activated the jackal variant's fourth form—his body twisting and expanding horrifically into a double-headed jackal monster! One head spat burning venom fireballs; the other unleashed twisted psychic corrosive sound waves. His size grew even larger; power surged explosively.
The double-headed jackal lunged at Kayla—venom fire and sound waves attacked simultaneously. Kayla's giant fist shattered the venom fire, but the pervasive sound waves made her dizzy; her movements lagged for a moment. At the critical instant, Lin Ya's thorns tightly coiled around the jackal's body—reinforced barbs sinking deep. Zhamisi flashed like a shadow to the flank; her venom-fang scimitars stabbed precisely into the jackal's relatively vulnerable abdomen. Her unique ink-green toxin reacted violently with Doomsday genes, causing internal destruction and making Shux howl in pain. Kayla seized the fleeting opening—gathering all her remaining strength into her final punch. Titan power exploded, smashing the double-headed monster backward and hurling it heavily into the enemy ranks.
Arrival of the Soul-Body Clan Reinforcements
Just as despair began spreading like plague among the exhausted Alliance forces, the sky suddenly changed—not from magical light or smoke, but from a strange, soul-deep energy fluctuation—like a massive stone dropped into a still lake, rippling across the entire firmament.
"This is…" Salsa was the first to sense this power—so similar to her own yet infinitely vaster and purer. She looked up in shock.
The sky was forcibly torn open. A gigantic ghostly-blue teleportation gate boomed into existence. Then, one hundred thousand soul-body clan warriors surged forth like a breached flood. They took varied forms—all pure energy constructs radiating heart-shaking soul pressure. Leading them was the sovereign of the soul-body clan—**Soul King Erebus**! His burning soulfire flared violently, filled with rage sufficient to incinerate the void.
"Cthulhu! You shameless traitor!" Erebus's soul voice exploded like billions of thunderclaps in every living being's consciousness. "Thirty years ago you colluded with outsiders, overthrew the soul lineage homeland, and were finally sealed in the Eternal Night Abyss! Now, unrepentant, you escape your prison and dare wage this war that endangers the entire Muret Continent! Today, I—Erebus—come in my name as Soul King to purge the sect and execute you, sinner beyond redemption!"
Cthulhu's massive soul-body tentacles writhed uneasily:
"Erebus… after all these years, you're still disgustingly nosy! Doomsday gave me new life—freed me from that damned Eternal Night Abyss! Today I will let you witness who truly deserves to be the master of the soul lineage!"
"Soul lineage warriors—follow me! Slay the traitor! Purify this place!" Erebus roared. Soul energy coalesced in his hand into a gigantic soul-energy halberd pointed straight at Cthulhu.
The arrival of the soul-body army instantly reversed the battlefield. These pure-energy beings were nearly immune to physical attacks—and every soul warrior was a master summoner. Silver-white soul warriors summoned galloping phantom knight legions, soul swords slashing through undead. Ghostly-blue soul warriors called forth frost undead—freezing variant soldiers solid wherever they passed. Higher soul warriors even summoned soul-crystal giants like moving mountains, mercilessly crushing Doomsday legions.
Erebus himself went straight for Cthulhu. The clash between two pinnacle soul-body powerhouses transcended the material plane, causing violent tremors in the soul realm—many low-tier undead unable to withstand the aftershocks simply wailed and dissipated into nothingness.
"Dark-Gold Soul Crystal Dragon!" Erebus summoned his mount partner—a gigantic dragon entirely formed of dark-gold soul crystal. The soul-crystal dragon fought side by side with the Shadow Demon Dragon, immediately gaining overwhelming superiority over the death tiger.
Shux saw the tide turn and tried to struggle up and retreat.
"Want to run? Not so easy!" Kayla would give him no chance. She poured every remnant of her power into her thunder claws:
"Thunder-Frost Cataclysm • Final Impact!"
Blinding thunder light fused with extreme frost into a destructive torrent that instantly tore through Shux's remaining head.
Shux let out a piercing, ultimate scream. His massive body staggered backward; wounds sprayed foul venom blood and shattered energy. The remaining torso twitched with terror and madness.
Just as Erebus swung his soul-energy halberd to deliver the killing blow to Cthulhu, the entire earth shook violently without warning—not from magic or giant footsteps, but from a terrifying power deep underground. Countless three-colored Blight Vines erupted from the soil at unprecedented speed and scale. They did not attack the armies—instead, like living things, they swiftly coiled around the gravely wounded, near-death Cthulhu and the torso-remnant Shux. In the instant before Erebus's halberd fell, they dragged both into a deep underground fissure—vanishing completely!
"Mandras…" Salsa said in a low voice, her soulfire flickering violently with a trace of profound gravity.
With the defeat of both leaders, the leaderless Doomsday legions began a full-scale rout. The soul-body clan and Alliance forces pressed the advantage, jointly purging the remnants. The long, bloody battle beneath Cinder Moon City finally ended—at least for now—in a hard-won Alliance victory.
After the battle, Beast King Nuti Ursa—exhausted yet still proud—approached Erebus and performed the highest beastman salute: fists pounding his chest.
"We thank the soul lineage homeland for your timely aid. Without you, Cinder Moon City would have fallen today. The beastmen will remember this debt forever."
Erebus's soulfire flickered slightly; his voice returned to calm:
"Doomsday Rebirth is the public enemy of the entire Muret Continent. Cthulhu is a traitor my soul lineage must purge. We did not come to aid—we came to fulfill our duty."
He turned to Salsa beside him; complex emotions stirred in his soulfire. "Junior sister… I'm glad we made it in time."
Salsa's soul form bowed slightly in respect and gratitude:
"Thank you for your aid, Senior Brother Erebus. Your mastery of soul magic has shown me what true abyss control looks like."
In the distance, Kayla—returned to her beastman form—leaned wearily against a broken wall section, watching warriors clean the battlefield. Her father Kael silently walked to her side. No words were spoken—he simply patted her shoulder firmly. In his eyes—scarred by countless trials—shone inexpressible pride.
"They escaped—but this is far from over," Yuyuer said, gazing at the horizon still shrouded in Doomsday gloom, worry heavy in her voice.
Lin Ya nodded in agreement, voice gentle yet grave:
"Lord of Vines Mandras personally intervened to rescue them. Whatever they're plotting behind the scenes goes far beyond the battles we see now."
Zhamisi wiped dried blood and venom from her scimitars, voice still bold and ringing:
"Then let them come! One comes, we kill one. Two come, we kill both! Until we wipe them completely from this continent!"
Erebus's gaze also turned to the distance; his soulfire burned deep:
"The soul lineage army will remain here temporarily to assist in defense. At the same time, I will immediately dispatch envoys to contact the Steelforge City front—learn their situation and provide necessary support."
Night slowly fell. The beacon fires of Cinder Moon City temporarily went out, leaving only the smell of gunpowder and blood lingering in the air. Every survivor clearly understood: this was not the end—merely a brief, uneasy calm before the greater storm. A larger shadow was gathering; harder battles still waited in the unknown future.