Igni tore the anchor post free from its socket, the stone was crushed into pieces and the ropes holding everything together—

They loosened.

And together with it, the entire bridge of ropes and planks twisted, the connected platform shuddered.

"AAAAGGGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHH!!!!"

Two Stormcallers who had been running over it screamed as the bridge rolled under their feet.

One of them grabbed a rope, barely hanging on, but the other? 𝕗𝚛𝚎𝚎𝐰𝗲𝗯𝗻𝚘𝚟𝚎𝗹.𝕔𝐨𝕞

The other wasn’t that lucky. He slipped and...

He fell down, his scream going together with him, dying as his body was lost in the storm and dense cloud underneath.

He wouldn’t be surviving, neither would his body ever be found.

Kael watched it all happen without any change in his expression; he simply turned towards the other side, towards the Stormcallers approaching him.

There were six of them.

Stormcallers were known for their lean build, terrifying speed, and control over storm. They used an ancient form of magic that hadn’t been developed for generations, but was still quite lethal.

And this would be the first time Kael would face that magic.

The six Stormcallers saw Kael, then Igni, and in an instant, their faces changed.

They recognized him.

"Zar’vok Othraan!"

{It’s the outsider!}

One of them shouted in Skaarn Tahl, the Stormcallers’ language.

"Vek’tar kraa’vak!"

{They are attacking!}

Another’s eyes widened in horror, thinking that the Velmourns were here to attack them.

"Raal’koon vah’kara! Vek’sha ven drok’tem!"

{Call reinforcements! We can’t defeat him alone!}

Another shouted, the panic was finally setting in.

"Taar’du, rak’tesh vah! Vorn’kul, kraa’tem naahl!"

{You two, run and report! The rest, fight with me!}

The last one, the possible leader of the lot, gave orders before charging towards Kael without giving him any time to react.

As he dashed forward, the space around him trembled and four Bonds flew out. The others were the same. Three of them glared at Kael as their Bonds came out as well, while the other two prepared to run.

The plan was simple: two would come from left, two from right, surround and then capture the enemy.

With their speed, the tactic always worked but—

Slash

While the two Stormcallers were preparing to move to the left, one of them paused. The other running behind him frowned; he wanted to shout, to ask what happened suddenly but—

Before he could even say a word, blood spurted out and... his head fell.

He was beheaded.

"Vah’r..."

{No...}

The Stormcaller’s eyes widened in horror when he saw his comrade beheaded like that. He turned towards the other two, wanting to grab their attention but—

They weren’t there.

His heart squeezed, a bad premonition. Everything felt... too silent.

Slowly, he looked down and...

They were there.

On the ground, without their heads.

"Vah’r!"

{No!}

The Stormcaller screamed, prepared to face the enemy all on his own but—

Slash

With another slash, another head rolled.

Within seconds, the four Stormcallers perished, and their beasts—for a moment—they didn’t react. They stared at the man who had killed their partners; what they first felt was anger—

But the moment they looked behind that man—

Those big amber eyes that were staring right at them, the beasts felt it.

The primordial fear.

The fear that they were in the presence of a superior being, fear that...

They cannot win.

And the instant they realized it—

Flap Flap Flap

The beasts flew away in fear, abandoning the battlefield.

In an instant, what should have become a loud battleground became silent with four headless bodies.

And Kael—

"Next anchor."

He climbed on top of Igni again and commanded.

The Primordial Fire Dragon took off again, carrying his father on his back. They crossed the terrace and reached their next location.

There were only two guards, guards that Igni burned to cinders without wasting even a bit of time.

At the level Kael had reached, normal warriors truly did not stand a chance against him, at least not when there were only a few. They needed at least forty to fifty warriors of this level with nigh perfect teamwork to actually become some level of hindrance to Kael.

Two just wouldn’t cut it.

And they didn’t.

After dealing with the two, Igni destroyed the next anchor as well. With that, another bridge collapsed.

And this time—

The damage was bigger.

The whole section of the settlement shuddered and split apart. People began to come out of huts, mothers pulling children back, elders limping, their eyes widened in horror.

The warriors started running, shouting commands to act. Those who had beasts instantly got on top of them to begin patrols, to understand what was happening and confront whoever was behind it.

But at the same time—

WHOOSH WHOOSH WHOOSH

The winds strengthened even further, swallowing their voices, discarding their commands, and ruining whatever little teamwork they had.

And it wasn’t just the wind.

Cirri wasn’t a Wind Dragon.

She was the Sky Dragon. She had control over every single element of sky, and that included storms and thunder.

The only difference was, in the clear sky, she was powerless. While she could create lightning and storms using her power, it needed too much mana.

But in a region where dangerous elements of sky like storms and lightning already existed, and that too, at such a dense level?

Cirri was... an absolute entity of mass destruction.

An entity far more dangerous than her brother and even her father.

And it showed.

THUNDER THUNDER THUNDER

Lightning flashed again. A huge bolt that should have stayed in the sky was moved directly towards the Stormcallers’ territory, towards the section that now... did not have the bridges to escape.

BOOOOOOOOM

"AAAGGGGHHHHH!!!"

"VEK’TAR KRAA’VAK!"

"GGAARRRHHHHHH!!!"

In an instant, the entire Stormcaller Section lit up. The screams rose—pain, anger, desperation, helplessness—even though Kael couldn’t understand their language, he understood those emotions well.

And Kael—

He once again stayed expressionless.

Almost as if he had... killed his ability to feel emotions.

By now, the entirety of the Stormcaller Tribe knew. Even if the storms swallowed voices, the flash lightning alone was more than enough to alert the Stormcallers.

And the Stormcallers retorted. Their warriors flew out, preparing their defenses, some even came out of the settlement that was just attacked.

It felt like the grand battle between them and Kael was about to begin but—

"Move."

Kael ordered, and Igni moved. The thick clouds around them began to surround them naturally, hiding even Igni’s large body, making it next to impossible to find him, especially in a situation as chaotic as this.

The Stormcaller warriors continued their search. Igni and Kael, with Cirri making the way for them, flew through the enemies, even cutting down one or two—those who had moved too far away from their formation lines—and moved up.

Towards the lightning pillar that stood on the highest peak.

The Lightning Pillar, or the iron rod planted into an ancient stone with old runes carved around it.

It was a holy sign for the Stormcallers; it was what they used to "invite" storms and study and pray to them.

Kael flew above it, staring at it for a long, long moment, then he gave the command.

"Cirri."

The Primordial Sky Dragon understood what her father wanted. The thick clouds above the Lightning Pillar thickened even further, the lightning coursing through them began to gather at a single point.

Turning into something... far, far greater and... dangerous.

So much that even the clouds churned, and when it looked like the clouds themselves wouldn’t be able to hold onto the lightning they had created—

THUNDER

The bolt came down, striking the lightning pillar at the dead center and—

BBOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM

The impact exploded light so bright that for a moment, it looked like the night sky had turned into afternoon white.

A sight every single Stormcaller saw without fail.

And for the first time in their entire life, they felt... fear as they gazed at the storm above. For the first time in their entire life, they felt the lightning... had brought death with it.

The white remained for a good few seconds, until it turned orange, then dimmed low, returning to normal night sky.

And the Lightning Rod, the Stormcallers’ holy sign...

It had shattered into pieces.

The stone around the rod was crushed, crumbled into dust. The iron rod had completely melted down and the runes... they were nowhere to be seen.

But that wasn’t it—

No, that was the least horrifying sight.

Because Cirri’s lightning bolt didn’t just destroy the Stormcallers’ holy sign—

It shook the entire mountain.

Not figuratively.

Literally.

The entire mountain shook so strongly that a shockwave blasted the settled snow outward. The Stormcallers screamed in horror, the ground shook so strongly that many lost their footing—

Many Stormcallers rolled towards the edge and—

"AAAGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHH!!!!!"

"VAEL’TRA NAAH!!!!!"

{SAVE ME!!}

"VAEL’TRAAA NAAH!!!!!"

"VAEL’TRA NAAAAAHHHH!!!!!"

They fell, vanishing into the fog.

And Kael—

For the first time ever since he came here, his face reflected an emotion.

His jaw clenched at the horrifying sight in front of him, his heart rate increasing, but he—

I need to do this.

He could only calm himself down.

And do what he came here for.

With that thought strengthening in his mind, Kael closed his eyes. He gestured to Igni, and the Dragon disappeared into the cloud again.