Since there were three target islands to scout during the first week of the battle phase, Atlas decided to delegate the Mission Commander role for the other two islands to Lyrassa and Karian. He himself would take the Mission Commander role for the third island, which was the rank-2 island—the most dangerous of the three.
The Mission Commander is a critical position, granting the assigned leader access to special features and skills. These include summoning reinforcents, retreating troops when necessary, and utilizing strategic abilities unique to each Lord.
It wasn't a role to be taken lightly. The Mission Commander's decisions could an the difference between victory and disaster.
[The Dominion Skirmish Battle Phase Has Begun]
[Objective: Secure and Dominate Target Islands]
[Duration: 60 Days]
In the end, each Lord would only be able to claim one island from the three they conquered by the end of the phase. The remaining islands would be awarded to those in second or third positions.
Because of this, the distribution of resources and forces would play a crucial role. How each team divided their strength and executed their strategies would determine whether they could secure the best island possible by the end of the battle phase.
Atlas stood at the head of the gathered forces, watching as each commander and crew took their positions in perfectly ford lines.
For the initial summoning, each rank-1 Lord could summon up to 50 personnel, with a cap of 100 personnel on the island. Rank-2 Lords, anwhile, could summon up to 75 personnel, with a cap of 150.
This ant they couldn't deploy their entire forces at once—they would need to summon more troops gradually as the battle progressed.
At the front of her squad, Lyrassa stood with Mira at her side.
Lyrassa took a step forward and bowed respectfully toward Atlas.
"My Lord," she said. "I will depart now and carry out our mission as planned."
Atlas gave her a slow, approving nod.
As soon as Lyrassa straightened, the gathered troops shouted in unison:
"FIRE!"
The sound echoed across the camp.
The magic circles beneath Lyrassa's team ignited. In a flash, Lyrassa, Mira, Team Blaze and Team Dusk disappeared.
Their mission had begun.
Next, it was Karian and Milo's turn to depart.
Karian stepped forward with a bright, enthusiastic grin.
"My Lord, we're heading out!" he announced boldly. "We will slaughter our enemies, just as we planned."
Beside him, Milo gave a firm nod.
Atlas watched them for a mont before offering a simple, steady response. "Good luck—and take care of each other."
Without missing a beat, the gathered troops shouted once more, "FIRE!"
In an instant, magic circles ignited beneath Karian, Milo, Team Aether, and Team Eclipse. The symbols spun faster and faster until, with a blinding flash of light, they vanished into thin air.
The second mission was now underway.
Now, it was Atlas's turn to head toward the final island—the rank-2 island, Shattered Ember Isles. Read exclusive content at My Virtual Library Empire
But before starting it, he took a mont to double-check his status.
[Na: Atlas Blackthorn]
[Level: 51]
[Strength: 239 | Agility: 135 | Intelligence: 92 | Constitution: 136 | Stamina: 152]
[Available Stat Points: 10]
[Job: The Lord]
[Class: Tempest Warden]
[Ironclad Will (S) - Tactical Awareness (A) - Instinctual Command (A) - Elental Spear Mastery (S) - Elental Dominion (S) - Commanding Presence (S) - Bloodbound Vigor (S)]
Opening his personal interface, he quickly scanned through his stats. He had 10 unassigned stat points. Without hesitation, he allocated all of them to Intelligence—his lowest stat.
He also took one final mont to review the list of skills he possessed and their current levels. He needed to ensure he was fully prepared for what lay ahead.
[Elite - Flurry of Spears (Active) Lv. 4]
Flurry of Spears, a skill he had obtained from the Skill Scroll, had now reached level 4. It was an excellent single-target offensive ability.
[Epic - Bloodlink Command (Active) Lv. 2]
[Elite - Duskbound Presence (Conditional Passive) Lv. 3]
[Epic - Bloodrush (Active) Lv. 2]
Bloodlink Command was one of the three skills he had gained from his bond with Morganna. It provided a team-wide buff that granted minor regeneration and lifesteal, useful for prolonged battles.
Duskbound Presence, weakened the attack power of enemies in range while boosting the critical rate of himself.
Bloodrush was a direct buff to speed and agility, giving him a burst of speed when needed.
[Epic - Inferno Fortitude (Passive) Lv. 3]
Inferno Fortitude, a passive skill he had acquired through his intense training in volcanic environnts, boosted both his endurance and speed when fighting in such conditions.
[Epic - Instinctive Elental Sense (Passive)]
Instinctive Elental Sense was a passive skill that sharpened his awareness of elental shifts in the environnt—a result of his training without relying on any of his senses.
[Epic - Elental Convergence (Active, Versatile)]
[Epic - Lifebound Shield (Passive, Defensive)]
[Epic - Elental Markings (Verdant Shadow)]
From his bond with Lyrassa, he had gained three more skills.
Elental Convergence allowed him to temporarily fuse two elents to create powerful, versatile attacks.
Lifebound Shield, a passive defensive skill, ford a protective elental shield around his body, absorbing damage.
Finally, Elental Markings was a unique mark on his back that boosted his elental damage output and enhanced his combat performance in shadowy areas.
Next were the three skills he had gained after his intense training with the spear, fighting without senses and learning to rely solely on elental particles in the environnt.
[Epic - Resonant Spear Field (Passive Skill) Lv. 2]
[Epic - Elental Spear Resonance (Passive Skill) Lv. 2]
[Epic - Crystalline Spear Flow (Passive Skill) Lv. 2]
Resonant Spear Field was a passive skill that created a resonant energy field during combat, amplifying elental effects in the area. Depending on the dominant elent in the environnt, it would provide subtle enhancents to his abilities.
Elental Spear Resonance was a passive skill that allowed him to channel elental energy more efficiently through his spear. It enhanced critical damage and generated area damage whenever he successfully perford a parry. Additionally, it provided a bonus to stamina regeneration.
Crystalline Spear Flow was a powerful enhancent skill that infused his spear with water and ice elents. It boosted his damage output significantly and generated a protective shield around him, capable of absorbing a portion of incoming attacks.
[Elite - Thunderpierce Thrust (Active Skill) Lv. 7]
[Elite - Tempest Guard (Conditional Passive Skill) Lv. 8]
[Elite - Tempest Arc (Active Skill) Lv. 4]
The next three skills ca from rging abilities after Atlas unlocked the Tempest Warden class.
Thunderpiece Thrust focused on single-target damage, Tempest Guard was a defensive skill, and Tempest Arc was an area-of-effect attack.
[Epic - Spiral Tide (Active Skill) Lv. 1]
[Epic - Lightning Step (Active Skill) Lv. 1]
[Epic - Tidecaller's Flow (Passive Skill) Lv. 1]
The next three were his new skills from the Tempest Warden class.
Alright all set.
With him stood his elite team: Morganna, Edrik, Kurogasa, Baldric, and the troops of Team Cinder.
Their arrival point would be random, scattered across unknown locations on the targeted island. There was no telling what they might encounter upon arrival—monsters, enemy forces, or the brutal environnt itself. Whatever awaited them, they had to be ready.
Atlas addressed the entire group.
"Cast all buffs and ready your weapons," he commanded. "This island is most likely volcanic, so we should be familiar with the harsh conditions. But no matter what we face—we adapt."
"FIRE!"
The troops gave a unified shout, steeling themselves for what lay ahead.
The magic circles expanded, and one by one, the entire team was consud by the blinding light.
The sensation was instant.
The familiar pull of summoning magic tugged at their bodies, distorting ti and space. The transition was quick, but the mont they felt the change in the air, sothing was off.
The temperature wasn't what they had expected.
It wasn't scorching hot.
It was freezing cold!
Atlas opened his eyes, and his vision blurred for a mont before a blinding light pierced through the fog. His skin prickled from the frigid air, and when he adjusted to the brightness, his surroundings ca into focus.
What lay before them wasn't a sea of molten lava.
It was a volcanic landscape completely frozen over—blackened rock and jagged peaks covered in layers of glittering ice, with cracks of blue frost veins running through the ground. Steam hissed from the frozen earth, rising into the sky like ghostly tendrils.
"This… isn't what we expected."
"Stay alert," Edrik warned.
Kurogasa stepped forward from the front of the formation, his chain blade already in hand.
"My Lord, we have guests," he said, his tone calm but with a hint of warning.
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