Blacksmith of the Apocalypse

A figure was watching a different battle from the distance. Tree Station 9 was a smaller base in the middle of the mountains. The dryad had not spent much time on raising this tree, this was the same for all trees in the direction of Y-City, except TS12.

Situated at the foot of a smaller peak, it was close to a handful of dungeons and ore veins of interest to Minas Mar. The small city below its canopy was still in the middle of construction but its unique and elegant style was already apparent.

Currently, the base was swarmed by weird creatures that could have originated from the beyond. However, she saw no reason to intervene, as the ugly beasts were easily handled by the myriad of roots shooting from the ground.

She had been worried about her people and lurked around the place without revealing herself. Back then, she had left Delta but she had not returned to them. At the time she was struggling with herself and her emotions.

It was not easy to let go of the thirst for revenge and the feeling of having been wronged, after centuries of nurturing the grudge. Genevieve had been unable to face her brother, the people of Sigma, or her own people.

She had been traveling around aimlessly, exploring the ever-changing wilderness of Urth. After experiencing her own adventures, ups and downs, she thought she had found her answers. When news got around that her people were not just leaving Sigma but even wished to settle in Minas Mar she felt the urge to approach them, yet she didn’t.

The lady vampire knew it wasn’t her proudest moment when she decided not to reveal herself, but she couldn’t just leave at the same time. Her resolutions quickly wavered when it actually came to making them a reality. Finally, she decided to watch over them from the shadows waiting for the “right moment”.

What was the right moment? She was sure she would recognize it if it came. For now, she was just watching the situation unfold. Watching the roots and the tree simply swallowing the attacking hordes was quite impressive.

Genevieve had been enraptured by watching the carnage unfold until a sudden change came to the battlefield as several figures entered the scene. Among them were some creatures of utmost beauty, even rivaling her own, as well as a bunch of humans with dangerous auras.

The tide on the battlefield turned as they started to take control of the mindless troops. Suddenly, the grotesque monsters started attacking their own allies, killing the berserkers in well-tailored suits over and over, coloring the frosty mountains in hot red blood.

The vampiress furrowed her brows when she saw this, but their plan revealed itself quickly, as the blood started pooling together, controlled by the exotic chants of the newcomers. As a true vampire, she had a fair share of knowledge when it came to spells and magic working with blood.

Like her brethren in the city, she immediately recognized a ritual to open a passage. They were calling upon an entity to cross realms and enter this world. The descent of an avatar or the rise of a divine subordinate.

Once the signs of the ritual became clear, several dozen figures left the fortification of the tree. The shadows of powerful vampires zipped across the land to stop this unholy mass. If they left them to their own devices, the possibility of something coming into existence that could destroy their base was highly likely.

However, their goal of quickly getting rid of the casters was rudely interrupted by the humans that had stood by until now. They proved extraordinarily powerful, as they easily stopped the high-ranking vampires in their tracks.

…

---A few minutes earlier---

They arrived at the battlefield of Tree Station 9, finding the situation less than optimal. What were these pretty faces doing all this time, simply grinding away their own troops on the tree’s defenses?

“Captain, why are we even here? I get that the higher-ups have a deal with that snob from the Scene, but why did that guy send us so far away from Y-City?” one of them complained as they arrived, watching the tragedy that was this battle.

“Maybe we are needed here?” an audibly brainless voice suggested.

“No. I agree that there is something suspicious about this. It’s obvious that he wanted us out of the city. However, we were ordered to follow their instruction, so there is nothing we can do but win this,” their captain lamented.

As elite agents of Spatia, following their orders had the highest priority. if this meant they were used, that was okay. If they were betrayed or burned, it just meant they were not strong enough. (It was stupid but) This was their pride as Agents of Spatia.

“Hey, you, don’t you think it’s time to get to work?” he suddenly asked the air beside them. Except for a thin haze, there was nothing out of the ordinary there. However, at his prompt, a group of Tuatha De appeared beside them.

Although they held pride in even following stupid commands, it didn’t mean they had to follow these commands stupidly. The first thing the captain decided to do was make other people do their job properly.

The Tuatha De neither spoke nor moved at his word. Their cold silver eyes simply looked at him in arrogance and disgust.

“I read the reports. Do what you did in Agra,” he spoke menacingly. He used his aura as a sword master on the path of legends to put pressure on the disobedient creatures. He had no patience with something that posed as a human

With his power bearing down on them, they started getting to work, much to his satisfaction. If they were able to finish this quickly, they might be able to return to Y-City earlier than expected and surprise the “young master” with whatever they were not supposed to see.

“Oh, now I see why we were sent here. Those are vampires, but I have never seen anything like them,” the scout of the group commented, when a group of dozens of humanoids suddenly rushed out from the tree station, clearly aiming to stop the pretty faces.

“How strong?” the captain simply asked, not surprised by the scout’s comments.

“So-So. We should be able to handle them if we are ready to sweat a little,” he estimated vaguely, shrugging his shoulders.

“That strong?” the captain asked in subtle surprise.

It was a shame Minas Mar had been unsuitable to approach as their partner on Urth since they already had a strong bond with Chrona. Otherwise, he would have preferred to work with an organization that could amass such power in mere months.

He had also heard that the Tower Master of Minas Mar was a master blacksmith. With his own power and sword aura constantly growing, the captain had been in need of a powerful weapon that could withstand his energy for a long time.

“What are you waiting for? Intercept them already!” he ordered his men, who had just been waiting for his signal. Like a pack of hyenas, the elite agents of Spatia jumped into battle against the defending vampires.

As the scout has said, they were by no means weak prey, but they were manageable. That was if they fought in a fair fight. Now, the men of Spatia had entered the domain of the tree. Apart from the savage power of the vampires, they also had to look out for the attacks of nimble roots from below.

“Are you really going to make me enter this fight?” the captain roared when the fight was not going as fast and one-sided as he wanted it to.

With the help of the root field, some vampires were able to push back the men from Spatia and aim for the casters to interrupt the ritual. With a sigh, the sword master got ready to intervene, when his senses suddenly warned him to duck down.

A pair of vicious claws barely missed his head, leaving three deep cuts on his cheek.

“I don’t think you have the time to intervene,” Genevieve said with a haughty smile.

She had seen her perfect moment and jumped into the fray.