Aether Chronicles: Birth Of A Legend
Chapter 195 - 195: Time To Even The Odds

Raegar, Dominique, and Zahara stepped into Professor Silvershade's room as half the students were already there. When the green-haired woman spotted them, a smile appeared as she greeted them. ''Morning, you three, today's lesson will be good.''

This caught his attention as they sat down, getting comfortable just as the professor called out. ''Dominique, Zahara! Sarah and Reece. Can you come help me with something, please?''

As the two girls rose from their seats, a piercing alarm shattered the classroom's calm, its shrill wail echoing through the stone corridors of the academy. Professor Silvershade moved to the heavy oak door and slammed it shut with a resounding thud.

Her usually composed voice carried a sharp edge of urgency as she addressed the class, her words cutting through the rising panic. ''We're under attack. The barbarian forces have breached the Empire's outer wall along the northern frontier, a few miles away from Drakenwood.''

She took a deep breath before locking the door. ''Stay calm, but prepare yourselves, this is no drill.''

The room fell silent, the weight of her announcement settling over the students like a storm cloud, as the distant rumble of chaos began to seep through the walls. Just then, Dominique and Zahara looked at him.

Raegar's sly smile twisted into a wicked, defiant grin as he sprang from his chair, his movements fast and deliberate. With a sharp ching that cut through the classroom's tense air, he summoned his twin daggers and Bloodrose armour.

The dark blades glinted with an otherworldly sheen under the dim glow of the academy's Aether lights, and the armor gave off a creepy vibe that scared some of the weaker students as they trembled.

When the other boys and girls saw this, they let out visible sighs as everyone knew what he was like. ''The Scarred One will beat them back like the Devils!'' one boy exclaimed. ''He's Drakenwood's strongest warrior!''

Without much thought, he cast Flash Step, his form vanishing in a flicker of shadow and reappearing just beyond the classroom window, only to freeze as he realized he was in the air, the ground a dizzying drop below.

Undeterred, Raegar let out a reckless laugh and plummeted toward the cobblestone courtyard. He landed with a heavy thud, the impact sending a jolt through his legs, but he shook it off with a roguish smirk.

Behind him, Professor Silvershade's voice rang out, cutting through the blaring alarms. ''Blackwood! Get back here this instant!'' she bellowed.

Raegar didn't spare her a glance. Instead, he channeled a surge of Aether to his feet, the energy crackling like faint blue lightning beneath his boots. With a whispered incantation, he cast Enhancement, his muscles humming with strength and speed.

In an instant, he took off, a streak of motion hurtling northward across the academy grounds, his cloak billowing like a storm cloud in his wake. When he reached the towering wall of the Empire's outer defenses, he didn't hesitate.

With a powerful leap, he scaled the structure, his fingers finding purchase on the stone as he vaulted to the top. For a fleeting moment, he stood silhouetted against the smoky horizon, the distant sounds of battle reaching his ears.

Then, with a daring grin, he leapt from the rampart, casting a subtle spell to slow his descent. The air shimmered around him as he glided downward, landing with a controlled thud on the other side.

No sooner had his boots touched the ground than Raegar unleashed Lightning Aether mixed with Fire to create plasma. Twin streams of blazing, electric energy erupted from his hands, coiling around his daggers like living flames.

The power surged through him, and with a burst of speed, he shot forward, a blazing comet streaking north toward the heart of the fray, his heart pounding with the thrill of battle and defiance.

Raegar rushed toward the fight and crested the ridge, his breath catching as he saw the chaos unfolding in the valley below. The Dawnfirian army, clad in gleaming silver armour, clashed against a horde of towering human barbarians.

Brutes standing twice the height of a man, their massive clubs smashing through shields and bone with ease. The soldiers were faltering; their lines buckled under the onslaught, cries of desperation mingling with the clash of steel and the guttural roars.

The ground was slick with blood and churned to mud, littered with shattered spears and fallen warriors. His wicked grin returned as the excitement hit a boiling point, his blood red eyes blazing with a reckless fire.

''Time to even the odds,'' he muttered, gripping his twin daggers tightly.

Their blades pulsed with Aether, the air around them humming with energy. Without hesitation, he launched himself into the fray, a blur of shadow and steel. He moved like a phantom, too fast for the eye to follow.

Using Flash Step, Raegar darted between them, his daggers weaving a deadly dance of slashes. Each strike was skilled, a thousand cuts blooming across the foe's thick hides in mere moments.

Blood sprayed as he carved through tendons, severed arteries, and brought the towering foes crashing to their knees. One barbarian swung a massive club, but Raegar was already gone, reappearing behind it to drive his blades into the back of its neck.

The beast roared, collapsing with a thunderous crash that shook the earth. ''Keep up, you oversized oafs!''

Raegar taunted, his voice carrying over the din of battle as he spun through the air, Lightningfire erupting from his hands. Streams of blazing, electric energy lashed out, scorching through armor and flesh alike.

Dozens of barbarians fell, their bodies riddled with glowing wounds, as Raegar danced through their ranks, untouchable and unrelenting. His daggers sang with each strike, leaving trails of light that dazzled the Dawnfirian soldiers below.

The tide began to turn thanks to his intervention. The Dawnfirians, inspired by the whirlwind of destruction that was Raegar, rallied with renewed vigor as commanders shouted orders and soldiers prepared.

Archers found their mark, spearmen reformed their lines, and swordsmen pressed forward, exploiting the gaps his onslaught had created. A cheer rose from the ranks as a particularly massive barbarian toppled, its body crumbling under the weight of its blades.

Raegar landed atop its corpse, daggers dripping with blood, his chest heaving as he surveyed the battlefield. The empire's soldiers surged forward, their war cries echoing through the valley, seizing the chance he had carved for them with his thousand slashes.

He stood atop a fallen corpse, his daggers still crackling with Aether as he surveyed the battlefield. His allies pressed their advantage, their blades and arrows finding new purpose in the chaos he had sown.

Barbarians roared in fury, their massive forms lumbering toward him, but he was a storm of motion, untouchable. With a flick of his wrists, he sent waves of Stormfire Bullets slicing through the air, each strike killing another towering foe.

His Enhancement spell pulsed through his veins, granting him unnatural agility as he darted between them, his daggers a blur. One barbarian swung a jagged axe, but he vanished using Flash Step, reappearing above its head to plunge his blades into its skull.

The beast collapsed with a bone-shaking crash, and Raegar landed lightly, already seeking his next target. The barbarians, for all their brute strength, were no match for his speed and precision.

Dozens fell in minutes, their bodies piling up like toppled monoliths, each one marked by a thousand precise slashes that bled them dry. Raegar's laughter echoed across the valley, a wild, defiant sound that mingled with the Dawnfirians' rallying cries.

''Is that all you've got?'' he shouted, spinning to sever an enemy's hamstrings, sending it crashing to its knees before delivering a final, fiery strike to its heart.

Just as he prepared to charge deeper into the fray, a bone-chilling aura swept over the battlefield, silencing even the barbarians' roars. From the shadowed mist at the valley's edge, three towering figures emerged, their presence radiating dread.

Clad in blackened armor that seemed to drink in the light, the Death Knights strode forward, their eyes glowing with an unholy crimson beneath spiked helms. Each wielded a massive, jagged greatsword, the blades wreathed in dark energy.

The ground trembled faintly beneath their steps, and the Dawnfirians faltered, their courage wavering as they backed off just as the undead rushed passed them. Ignoring the soldiers completely.

Raegar's grin widened, undaunted. 'About time Dominique sent some real help,'' he muttered.

The knights, summoned by Dominique, moved with a terrifying grace, their blades cleaving through the enemy with precision. One knight raised its sword, unleashing a wave of Death Aether that withered flesh, reducing it to a husk in seconds.

Another charged, its blade splitting a man's chest in a single stroke, while the third parried a club strike with unnatural strength, countering with a slash that severed the arm at the shoulder.

Raegar joined their deadly dance, his Lightningfire weaving seamlessly with their dark magic. He Flash Stepped to flank a barbarian distracted by a Death Knight's assault, his daggers carving glowing gashes across its back.