The battlefield trembled, warped, and rearranged itself like a living creature. Riftwind tore through the air, carrying sparks of broken timelines. Shattered stone hovered, rotated, then settled again only to leap upward seconds later.
This wasn't just a war.
It was a cosmic earthquake.
And at its center stood the Wolf King, burning with a new, metallic-black fire that clung like armor.
Jimmy braced himself, breathing shallowly inside his cracked helmet. His exosuit beeped furiously, warning him of stress fractures and overheat risk.
He ignored it.
His soldiers were barely holding on.
The lieutenants were slaughtering squads at will.
The Wolf King was evolving every minute.
If he didn't act now…
The dragons would never even reach the tournament.
Jimmy raised his voice as loud as he could:
"ALL UNITS—FALL BACK TO SECONDARY RIDGE POSITION! GET TO COVER AND RECHARGE YOUR GEAR!"
Troopers scrambled across floating platforms and sliding stone ridges, firing suppressive shots to keep the hybrids back.
But the Wolf King didn't follow.
He didn't need to.
He simply pointed forward.
And his lieutenants moved.
Hallowjaw AdvancesThe skeletal behemoth crashed into the remnants of the first defensive line, ribs stretching open again to reveal that impossible furnace-mouth within his chest.
His howl shook debris loose from above.
Hallowjaw's gait was uneven, jerking, unpredictable. But every step was like a sledgehammer hitting the earth.
"STAY CLEAR OF HIM!" Jimmy shouted. "AND DON'T LET HIM OPEN THAT CHEST—"
Too late.
Hallowjaw inhaled through the ribs.
The furnace-mouth roared — a blast of black fire that melted barricades into slag.
Troopers dove aside, rolling behind shattered cover as railgun fire peppered Hallowjaw's hide.
Plasma bolts hit his exposed spine.
He took it all and kept walking.
Worse…
He was laughing.
Red Howler Breaks the LineTo the right, Red Howler smashed his molten fist into the Titan-class walker again, denting its chestplate. The walker retaliated with a piston-punch, knocking Red Howler across an entire floating platform.
Red Howler dug his claws in and cracked the stone under him with a grin.
He loved a challenge.
He sprinted up the vertical side of a rotating boulder, leapt twenty meters through the air, and brought both fists down on the Titan's head.
The Titan staggered.
Warning alarms blared from the cockpit.
Red Howler was relentless.
He struck the Titan's knee next.
The metal cracked.
"TARGET KNEE JOINT!" Jimmy yelled to nearby troops.
Rail slugs and plasma rounds peppered the joint. The Titan regained footing just enough to shove Red Howler away and fire both its main cannons straight into his chest.
Red Howler slid backward, smoking, but grinning wide.
"Still alive," Jimmy muttered. "Of course."
Shadeclaw Stalks the LeadersJimmy's visor flickered.
A shadow stretched unnaturally along a stone wall.
Another shadow flickered behind him.
His sensors glitched.
Shadeclaw was near.
"Shields up!" Jimmy barked.
His bodyguards snapped their portable shield units into a tight, triangular formation.
And then — nothing.
Silence.
Jimmy's breath fogged inside his visor.
Too quiet.
Suddenly Shadeclaw emerged from thin air directly in front of Jimmy, claws inches from his face—
BANG!
A rail-shot slammed Shadeclaw aside.
A new voice boomed across the floating battlefield.
"STAY AWAY FROM OUR DIRECTOR."
And Jimmy felt relief hit him like a breath of clean air.
They had arrived.
The Elites of the Buddies(Codename: The Iron Six)
Six figures soared across the battlefield on grav-chutes, landing in perfect formation around Jimmy. They wore heavier exosuits than the regular forces — thicker plating, reinforced joints, glowing power cores along their backs.
Each had a distinct silhouette.
Each was a walking weapon.
Jimmy nearly collapsed with relief.
"About TIME you maniacs showed up!"
The Iron Six Commander — a tall figure with a blade-wing exosuit and double plasma gauntlets — nodded without turning.
"Traffic in the rift was heavy."
Jimmy blinked. "Did you make a joke?"
"No."
"…Fair."
The Iron Six faced the Wolf King's lieutenants.
And the battlefield paused.
The hybrids sensed it — real opposition, not just prey.
Even the Wolf King tilted his head slightly, intrigued.
"Ah… warriors worthy of death."
Elite vs. Lieutenant — Round OneThe Iron Six split into pairs:
Dusk & Lancer vs HallowjawDusk raised her arm — a heavy gauntlet twice the size of a human head. It hummed with gravitonic pressure.
She punched the air.
A localized gravity well detonated around Hallowjaw, slamming him into the ground with crushing force.
Hallowjaw roared, body twisting to crack out of the gravity field.
Lancer leapt onto Hallowjaw's back, driving his electrified spear into exposed spinal tissue.
Black fire burst from the wound.
Hallowjaw convulsed.
But he didn't fall.
He grew excited.
Bolt & Bastion vs Red HowlerBastion activated his full-shield mode — a shimmering wall of energy protruding from his suit like an armored fortress.
Red Howler leapt at him.
Bastion caught the strike, feet digging trenches in the ground. Bolt zipped behind Red Howler on magnetic skates, firing burst-shots directly into his exposed ribs.
The plasma sizzled.
Red Howler bellowed.
Then his molten veins flared hotter.
He was heating up.
Bolt shouted, "He's ramping to overload—move—!"
Red Howler exploded in a pulse of molten flame that sent all three of them flying.
Shadeclaw vs. RazorShadeclaw flickered like a glitch in reality.
Razor's exosuit shifted into anti-stealth mode, projecting a field of red laser-lines that revealed distortions.
Shadeclaw hissed as his invisibility faltered.
"Clever. But I am more than shadow."
Razor's arm split into a triple-blade plasma cutter.
"Good," Razor growled. "I like a challenge."
They clashed in a blur, sparks raining across drifting rocks as the Riftstorm raged behind them.
The Wolf King WatchesThe Wolf King crossed his arms and observed the battles, a pleased rumble in his chest.
"Finally… prey with teeth."
But his smile faded slowly.
Because even with the Iron Six pressing the lieutenants hard, the Buddies were still losing ground.
The battlefield continued to warp.
More hybrids poured in through shattered dimensional cracks.
The Titan walker was faltering.
Jimmy could barely stand.
The Wolf King inhaled deeply.
He was ready.
It was time to call lightning into the hunt.
The Royal Howl BeginsJimmy's visor flashed a new alert:
ENERGY SPIKE DETECTED
THREAT LEVEL: CRITICAL
SOURCE: WOLF KING
MOVE NOW
Jimmy's mouth went dry.
"Oh no. He's charging something."
The Iron Six noticed too.
The Wolf King crouched low.
Black fire condensed around him, spiraling upward, forming a column of molten flame.
Floating islands shook.
Debris rose and hovered.
Hybrids dropped into submissive crouches, covering their ears.
Even the lieutenants paused, backing away slightly.
The Wolf King whispered:
"My kingdom.
Hear your true name."
And then—
He roared.
Not a normal roar.
Not a battle cry.
A Royal Howl.
The sound changed gravity.
It bent the sky.
It shattered ancient stones.
It cracked armor plating.
Broad-spectrum communications died instantly.
Buddy helmets sparked.
Hardlight shields flickered violently.
Guns misfired.
Drones fell from the air.
Jimmy collapsed to one knee, clutching his head.
"AGH—my… helmet… systems—!"
Bolts, Lancer, Razor, all the elites staggered.
Even the Titan walker shut down momentarily.
The hybrids surged forward with renewed fury.
The Wolf King rose again, eyes glowing with primal satisfaction.
"This war belongs to ME."
Jimmy Refuses to FallJimmy forced himself upright, even though every bone in his body felt like it was vibrating.
His helmet rebooted.
He coughed hard.
"Everyone—fall back—GET TO TIER TWO ISLANDS—NOW!"
The battlefield cracked again, splitting into multiple floating layers. Buddy forces scrambled onto the higher tiers, forming defensive perches.
The Wolf King's army chased them, leaping across drifting islands like wolves bounding over logs.
Shadeclaw reappeared behind Jimmy—
Swing.
The guard fell, armor sliced.
Shadeclaw lunged again.
Jimmy saw only black flame—
—until Razor crashed into Shadeclaw from the side, pinning him against a floating pillar.
Razor snarled, "You don't touch my commander."
Shadeclaw laughed, even while pinned.
"I will touch his heart. Soon."
Razor shoved harder.
The Battle Pauses on a Knife's EdgeThe Royal Howl faded.
The battlefield went quiet — too quiet.
Dust drifted through the air like falling ash.
Dozens of floating islands hovered in stillness.
The Iron Six regrouped near a fractured shelf.
The Buddies reloaded.
The hybrids retreated a few paces, waiting for the next call.
And the Wolf King stepped forward again.
Jimmy lifted his gauntlets.
Too exhausted to stand firmly.
But too stubborn to fall.
The Wolf King leveled one claw at him.
"Three roars.
One war.
And the dragons die at the end of all of them."
Jimmy spat blood.
"We're… not done yet."
The Wolf King grinned.
"No.
Not even close."
The Riftstorm intensified overhead.
The war was preparing for its next, even deadlier phase.