Ethan narrowed his eyes, mind racing.

Can't go head-to-head.

We need time—time to recharge the main cannon.

His decision came fast and sharp.

"All units, fall back! Fight as you retreat—buy us time!"

The order shot across the battlefield like a lightning bolt.

The three allied factions began to pull back in coordinated waves, a tide of soldiers flowing away from the shattered ground and the rain of lingering woodchips.

But the Elderwood Colossi didn't seem to grasp the true threat of the ultimate weapon. They pressed forward on instinct, relentless, summoning a fresh wave of Wraithwood Sentinels—gnarled, twisted warriors rising like weeds after a storm.

It was as if they meant to turn the entire Kormaldor world into a graveyard of dead trees.

The Sentinels surged toward the city walls.

And then—

FWEEEEE—

A blinding beam of light tore across the sky, so sudden and searing it made every heart on the battlefield skip a beat.

But it wasn't from the Sky Citadel.

Nor from the ground forces.

It came from—

Another Sky Fortress.

The beam struck with thunderous force, punching clean through the chest of one of the advancing Elderwood Colossi.

The impact exploded into a storm of splinters.

BOOM!!!

The giant let out a guttural roar, staggering backward as green life-energy gushed from its chest like severed vines flailing in panic.

The battlefield erupted in chaos.

"What the hell was that?!"

"Sky Fortress has that kind of firepower?!"

"No way—we've never seen it hit that hard before!"

Even the Elderwood Dominion's giants froze.

Dozens of them halted mid-step, their gazes snapping toward the smoking Sky Fortress now hovering in the distance.

One of them stepped forward—larger than the rest, its bark darker, its grain deeper, like the rings of an ancient tree that had seen too many winters.

Each step it took compressed the air around it, as if the world itself was bracing for its weight.

It stared at the Sky Fortress, and when it spoke, its voice carried something rare—caution.

"Well now…"

"Kormaldor's weapons are stronger than we thought."

It paused.

Then its tone shifted—subtle, but unmistakably calculated.

"In that case… perhaps we should work together."

Silence fell like a dropped blade.

The same Elderwood Colossus continued, voice low and deliberate:

"Kormaldor, you hunger for resources. We, the Elderwood Dominion, seek the power of worlds."

"Join us—and we'll take them together."

The moment the words landed, the entire battlefield seemed to hold its breath.

Not just the soldiers.

Even in the command tower, King Draven Korsk of Kormaldor went rigid.

It was a staggering offer.

Resources. Energy. Worlds.

Everything Kormaldor had ever craved.

And the Elderwood Dominion—infamous for their ruthless conquests—was offering to share the spoils.

If they allied…

Kormaldor's ambitions would no longer be shackled by scarcity.

But there was a problem.

Kormaldor had already allied with Emerald Castle.

And right now—

The man standing inside the Sky Citadel had just demonstrated a weapon none of them had ever dared to unleash.

A weapon that could change the course of history.

In that instant, the Kormaldor high command was thrown into turmoil.

To the left: the raw, ancient might of the Elderwood Dominion.

To the right: a mysterious outsider who wielded a beam of pure annihilation.

Both forces strong enough to shape the fate of the world.

And in the middle—

The wind on the battlefield shifted, uncertain.

Ethan didn't give the Kormaldor leadership a single breath to hesitate or backpedal.

In the few minutes he'd spent interfacing with the Sky Citadel, he'd already cracked the entire underlying architecture of its weapons system—not just for this fortress, but for all of them.

Across the Kormaldor territories, ten more Sky Fortresses were linked to the same central command.

And now, they were his to command—like fingers on a hand.

More importantly—

Each of those Sky Fortresses carried its own version of the ultimate energy cannon.

Not as devastating as the Citadel's main gun, no—but still powerful enough to take down a Tier 27 Elderwood Colossus with a single shot.

In other words: Ethan now held eleven world-piercing weapons in the palm of his hand.

And with that came a cold, almost ruthless certainty:

—He could end this invasion alone.

He raised his hand.

Gave the order.

"Fire."

The sky lit up like it had been struck by eleven bolts of white lightning.

BOOM.

BOOM.

BOOM—

Eleven beams of annihilation tore through the heavens from different angles, each one a lance of pure destruction.

Each one found its mark—driving straight through the chests of eleven Elderwood Colossi.

And the Sky Citadel's main cannon—

That blinding, razor-sharp beam of white fury—

Speared through four of them at once, punching holes clean through their massive bodies. The giants staggered like ancient trees cracked by a god's hammer.

Ethan watched it all unfold, and something in his chest ignited.

"Perfect," he breathed, barely able to contain the thrill in his voice.

He'd done the math.

A few more volleys like that, and every last one of these invaders would fall.

But—

The Elderwood Dominion's giants were unraveling.

Panic rippled through them.

They had never imagined that Kormaldor's "toy fortresses" could unleash firepower capable of wiping out their entire vanguard.

But panic or not, they couldn't retreat.

Turning their backs meant exposing themselves to another volley.

So they pushed forward, desperate to destroy the Sky Fortresses before they could recharge.

The Elderwood Colossi advanced, step by thunderous step.

And when their massive hands reached for the fortress hulls—

WMMM—

A shimmering dome of transparent energy flared to life.

The Sky Fortresses had activated their full defensive systems.

Not just one.

All eleven.

Their shields overlapped, forming a single, massive lattice of protection—like a wall woven from the raw essence of the world itself.

The giants struck the barrier.

The air rippled with each blow, shockwaves visible to the naked eye—

But the shield didn't budge. Not a crack. Not a flicker.

"Break it!!" the largest of the Elderwood Colossi finally roared.

He brought his hands together, and the green energy inside him surged like wildfire.

It coalesced into a massive battle-axe—carved from living wood, pulsing with primal force.

He swung.

THOOM!!!

It landed like the roots of an entire forest slamming into the heart of a spider's web.

The energy dome shuddered.

And where the axe had struck—

A crack appeared.

So fine it was nearly invisible, like a strand of hair across glass.

But it was there.

Ethan's expression darkened.

In that moment, he understood just how dangerous this one was.

If the first volley had been aimed at him instead…

This battle might already be over.

He pressed his lips into a thin line.

—Still time.

...