Ferris Harrowshard raised her greatsword as she charged with her knights. The Krepsunas, over five thousand of the Scavenger Rank, paused almost instinctively, sensing the imminence of death.
Commander Arletta gave a mischievous grin. She twirled her priestess staff. The top of it flared like the barrel of a cannon before projecting a sleek, glowing plasma beam that shot through the air with uncanny accuracy. One Krepsuna turned its beady yellow eyes toward her only to explode mid-step. Its body evaporated into ash before it even had a chance to scream.
Commander Peccavi lurked at the flank with her chains. The moment the horde advanced, she flung them with a velocity that made the wind scream. Each chain ensnared multiple Krepsunas, wrapping them in a metallic, suffocating grip before crushing them. Even Farrynelle, who had trained in the brutal, straight-forward tactics of the Skyrover way, had to respect the fluidity of this trio.
"Kill them!"
And like that, Insignia surged forward. Greatswords bisected Krepsunas in half. Each strike was followed by another and then another, leaving barely a second for the creatures to react before another would tear them apart. Farrynelle winced as she watched one particularly vicious Krepsuna get impaled mid-leap, only to have another knight catch its tumbling body with the flat of a greatsword and throw it into the mass behind it, crushing ten more.
Arletta laughed as she launched her plasma sniper beam across a group of Krepsunas attempting to flank them. The plasma split in midair, branching into three separate streams that exploded simultaneously, reducing a cluster of the Scavenger Rank into piles of ash. Yet, Arletta's grin never faded.
"This is fun!"
For a moment, the absurdity struck Farrynelle so hard she almost laughed at the scene.
Peccavi didn't speak. Her chains whipped and cracked across the battlefield, hitting with an audible snap that echoed through the horde. One chain coiled around a Krepsuna's arm and yanked it clean off before another chain latched onto its leg and yanked it down like a rag doll. Farrynelle noticed her own army's soldiers staring wide-eyed as if they'd just witnessed some kind of war maniacs in motion. This was brutal, even for her. Skyrovers were trained to endure, to slaughter and to never falter, yet even she felt sorry for the Krepsunas.
The other knights moved like one organism. A sweeping wave of swords and greatswords cleaved through the Krepsuna ranks. Limbs, tails, claws, everything that belonged to the monsters was slashed, leaving the battlefield strewn with the shredded remains of the Scavenger Rank. Farrynelle's army could barely keep up and she noticed her own soldiers muttering under their breath. They have never seen this level of efficiency in weapon combat. Some even flinched when Ferris swung her greatsword casually, cutting through five Krepsunas in one stroke as if it were nothing more than cutting through air.
Farrynelle herself chuckled under her breath.
"They've… they've turned it into a show. I forgot how dangerous Insignia was."
The battle raged on for minutes or at least, it felt that way to Farrynelle. The Krepsunas were relentless but every time a wave surged forward, Ferris and her elite knights dismantled it with almost playful brutality. The Scavengers didn't stand a chance. Each strike, each maneuver, was calculated to extract maximum efficiency and maximum psychological impact. Farrynelle could see her own army learning and mimicking the flow, trying to keep pace. Some succeeded, some failed but all were invigorated by the demonstration of precision and ruthlessness.
By the end of the engagement, the horde was annihilated. Bodies littered the field, shredded, scorched, impaled, or ensnared. Farrynelle's own soldiers staggered forward, exhausted but their cheers rose into the sky. Even Farrynelle herself felt relief and disbelief. She had led countless battles, yet watching this unit dispatch more than five thousand Scavenger Krepsunas with ease was something else entirely.
Ferris Harrowshard wiped the viscous black blood from the edge of her greatsword with a practiced flick of the wrist as she, Arletta, and Peccavi approached Farrynelle Skyrover. Ferris stopped a few paces away and planted her sword point-down into the ground, resting both hands atop the hilt.
"We were sent by Monarch Vastarael. Figured you could use the extra muscle."
Farrynelle let out a slow breath she hadn't realized she was holding, then gave a sharp nod,
"I'm glad you came. Navaraza doesn't turn down help these days, especially not from Richinaria."
Ferris snorted, rolling one shoulder as if working out a kink.
"Honestly? I was bored staying in Richinaria Palace. Too quiet. There's not enough things trying to rip my face off. This is way more my style."
"Then you picked the right continent."
Farrynelle glanced around the battlefield, now littered with nothing but scorched ground and shallow craters.
"Thanks to you three, the Krepsunas won't bother coming back here. They're not brave, but they're not stupid either. Intimidation works on them."
Arletta shook her head "Maybe. But intimidation fades."
She raised her staff before anyone could ask what she meant.
She began to chant, speaking in Xinoraci. The staff responded immediately, its core igniting with a radiant gold that spilled outward like a rising sun. Light swept across the battlefield. Every trace of miasma energy left behind by the Krepsunas unraveled, dissolving into motes of harmless light. The scattered corpses vanished next. Their forms turned into nothingness as if they had never existed at all. Even the corrupted soil seemed to breathe again.
When the light faded, the battlefield was peaceful. Arletta lowered her staff with a satisfied nod.
"Now they won't come back here."
Farrynelle stared openly this time. "How did you—"
Arletta shrugged like she'd just performed a party trick.
"I'm the High Priestess of Dynasty Richinaria. Technically speaking, I have more Divine Energy than most Divines these days, second only to Monarch Vastarael himself."
She tapped her staff lightly against the ground. "And this? He made it for me. It's loaded with Divine Energy. Comes in handy."
Farrynelle exhaled slowly, then bowed her head just enough to be respectful without undermining her own authority.
"Thank you."
Arletta waved it off. "It's nothing."
That's when the three of them noticed the stares. Hundreds of women warriors were openly watching them now. Some were curious. Some were impressed. Some looked like they were trying very hard not to stare and failing miserably. Peccavi noticed first. She made a series of rapid hand signs with her chains shifting slightly at her sides. Ferris glanced at her hands, nodded once, then looked back at Farrynelle.
"They're amazed, Peccavi. They didn't think Richinaria had women Commanders who could stand on equal footing with a Supreme Commander."
Farrynelle smirked faintly. "Fair assumption. Most people don't."
She studied the three of them again.
'If I fought all three at once, I wouldn't last long.'
They weren't just elite. They were Vastarael's personal army and veterans of the Fallen Bridge who fought Krepsunas for three and a half years.
Out loud, she said, "We're heading back to Rednuht Borough. You're welcome to come with us."
Ferris didn't even hesitate. "No. As much as we'd like to, we're Monarch Vastarael's personal army. Our orders are to deal with the Krepsuna chaos in Navaraza."
Peccavi nodded once in agreement.
"This?" Ferris gestured broadly at the battlefield. "This is real training. No breaks, no comfort. We can't afford to rest."
Arletta grinned, spinning her staff once. "And honestly? We're having fun. We're going to roam the continent and wipe out Krepsunas wherever they pop up. I will cleanse your lands where we end up. See you soon, Miss Farrynelle!"
Farrynelle watched them leave with their figures growing smaller against the vast horizon, then turned sharply and barked orders to her own troops.
"Rednuht Borough. Move!"
The army responded instantly,
Further ahead, as Ferris, Arletta, Peccavi and the rest of Insignia moved away from the battlefield, Arletta's tone shifted, losing some of its playfulness.
"We should focus on the Krepsunas now, not just killing them. Master ordered us to do this and this will also clear some mysteries as well."
Ferris nodded. "It's time to find out why they're here."
Peccavi raised a finger, pointing skyward toward the distant cracked moon that Narisva destroyed seven millennia ago during her ascension.to Divine Rank.
"Exactly. They first emerged from Erna. Also, this region is where they first started appearing on Spheraphase."
Ferris smiled slowly, gripping her greatsword tighter.
"Perfect place to investigate. And if nothing else, it's damn good training."
The three of them and their army vanished into the landscape, leaving behind a purified battlefield and soldiers celebrating a victory that was absolutely deserved.