"Shit…" Boznan Burnak cursed in response the moment he was teleported back to the Burnak Kingdom, staring at the various cities of his Kingdom go up in flames.
His expression was twisted upon hearing the screams of the people that were dying in droves. But, he was helpless now, for the Witch Apostle had already given his verdict.
He was to charge into the Xetuka Kingdom until his last breath. The Burnak Kingdom should go up in flames, resulting in as few Birdmen survivors as possible. Moreover, it shouldn't just be against the Xetuka Kingdom but he should also involve Gormana to the north and Lethuna to the south. All four major Kingdoms of this region should go up in flames, with the end survivors being less than a thousandth the current population.
And they all must suffer the aftermath of war. This was the command given to him.
Unfortunately for him, despite his unwillingness, Boznan Burnak couldn't go against the Witch Apostle's wishes, for this command was being transmitted through the professions. If he went against them, he would lose his status as a Saint.
After all, the professions took the Apostle's side, as they always did, which was why a Saint became an Apostle in the first place.
"Are the efforts of mine, my father, grandfather and our entire ancestry going to go up in flames now?" He muttered, staring at the sky, lamenting his fate, "The fate of four Kingdoms and the loss of most of the lives there, is it worth it to create a mere profession?"
His hands were being forced now to do something that went against the very thing he had advocated towards all his life as the Guardian Saint of the Burnak Kingdom.
He raised his hand upon hearing the cries of his people, shuddering upon feeling a mystical gaze upon him. It was from the Witch Profession, urging him to take action already to proceed with their plan.
"Even you…?" He sighed upon seeing the Doctor Profession remain a bystander, locking his powers as a Doctor to prevent him from healing the injured Birdmen that were suffering in every nook and cranny of the Burnak Kingdom.
"Fuck this shit!" In the end, Boznan Burnak gritted his teeth, refusing to take action as he flew forward, intending to help his people when suddenly, his eyes dimmed as he crashed into the ground.
His power rapidly began to crumble, falling from a Saint to the Pseudo-Saint level, continuing to plummet until he became a mere Novice Witch and Doctor.
"Why are you being so stubborn?" Saint Calvos landed next to him, snickering as he commented, "You're trying to go against the very entity that had protected your actions until now. And even that entity couldn't win against Lord Slayer. So, you best give in to your fate."
"If you want as many Birdmen to survive, you might kill our enemies harder." Saint Calvos said before flying away, "After all, the end goal of the Plague Doctor Profession is to empower the Birdmen better. And that can only happen if there are enough Birdmen to wield it. So, think this through better and don't go against the Witch Apostle."
"Fuck!" Boznan Burnak punched a nearby wall in anger.
…
Hisss!
Lizardmen rushed through the marsh lands, heading straight towards the Xetuka Kingdom, intending to crush this thorn that had been on their side for ages. Leading the Lizardmen at the front was the Lizardmen Guardian Saint, Limokrocus, a fabled Transformation Specialist, and the only Transformation Specialist of the entire Lethuna Kingdom.
"That's the Xetuka Kingdom's Marsh Fort." Limokrocus muttered, staring at its massive reinforced Metal Walls coursing with Metal Mana as he shouted, "We'll destroy that and march into the Xetuka Kingdom."
Roar!
He transformed into a gigantic fro-looking lizard with a bulbous head that revealed a large mouth, condensing a dense stream of mana into a sphere before shooting it straight at the walls.
The longer it moved towards, the smaller the mana sphere became, compressing itself further and further as its might continued to become ever imposing. After all, it was also absorbing the ambient mana to fuel itself further.
Boom!
It broke through he sound barrier, passing with a series of vapour cones as it approached the walls of the Marsh Fort. But right when it was about to make contact, a mysterious barrier appeared, rippling with Space Mana as the sphere vanished.
Ka-Boom!
Suddenly, appearing high up in the skies was the mini sphere that exploded to create a gigantic sun of mana, blanketing out the entire skies in the region as the Lizardmen stopped their march, staring at the scene in concern.
The attack of their Guardian Saint had been deflected so casually.
"Wait…" Limokrocus frowned, noticing a figure appear on the walls of the Marsh Fort, an old man with wavy hair resembling a mantle of flames, akin to lava that churned around his neck nonstop.
And held in the hands of the old man was a tiny wine cup, seemingly as if the old man was just taking a casual sip. But upon staring at the cup, the eyes of Limokrocus widened in shock as he bellowed in a hurry, "All Harpooners, shoot into the sky, NOW!"
Thunder resounded as suddenly, the sky turned reddish, painting the scene akin to one of apocalypse as the surroundings turned hot immediately.
And…as the Lethuna Kingsom's Guardian Saint had mentally prepared himself, there they arrived, bursting through the massive explosive mana sphere in the sky, riddling it with enough holes to vanquish it in a matter of seconds.
The expressions of everyone paled in response, induced with despair as the old man's raspy voice resounded, "I've warned you multiple times that this would be your fate should you ever invade my Kingdom. Now, be annihilated."
The sky turned into a sea of flames as dropping from high up in the heavens were celestial bodies ejecting copious amounts of heat, generating enough force to rend the earth.
Even if they wished to escape, the Lizardmen couldn't, for even if they were to run for an entire day, they still wouldn't escape the range of the shower, of one where the sky itself seemed to collapse, with its stars dropping first.
Millions of meteors spanned the sky, blazing towards the marshlands as the Xetuka Kingdom's ultimate trump card had been activated.
Relic—Starfall.
