Hearing the order to salute, Baines had no choice but to obey, but his mind was lost in thought.
'They're just arriving now?' Baines blinked. Vole had spoken like they had already arrived, but they just arrived, fifteen days after he told them they were coming to help.
'Then, how did he know? Are the Malakars more influential than I thought?'
Whoooosh…
From the skies, specks appeared, growing larger by the second until they became more visible.
Flying beasts, about three meters in size with thick, red-scaled hides and wings that thundered across the sky, ridden by armored warriors.
Thud. Thud. Thud.
One by one, they landed.
Dozens turned to hundreds, and hundreds to thousands.
The Darkan Family.
Just like any other family, their humble beginning started as descendants of an ancient red dragon. As descendants, they were meant to be dragons, but unfortunately, they turned out to be humans. To remedy the dilemma, the said ancient dragon gave his descendant dragon eggs, in hopes of resolving the situation.
However, unable to resolve their dilemma, the family turned into a dragon-knight family. As the name suggests, they specialized in fighting with dragons, meaning they were aerial-based fighters.
Along the way, they also became a power under the empire and earned two suns.
Two massive dragons landed in front of the gathering. These dragons were almost twice the size of the other dragons that had landed earlier.
DOOOM…DOOOM.
After releasing a thunderous roar, the riders dismounted from the dragons.
Without waiting, High Commander Dinkret bowed to the towering man, "You are most welcome, Lord Darkan."
Lord Darkan was a tall and bulky man with long red hair and a beard. He radiated the air of a powerful family that commanded thousands, and the energy around him was oppressive.
But it wasn't his stature that gawked the crowd.
7 star.
The recruits all retreated several steps. The arrival of the dragons had already caught them off guard, and then the appearance of a 7-star. Even Baines stiffened in place.
Other than Martos, whose level he couldn't yet confirm, this man was the strongest he'd seen.
"Dinkret?" Lord Darkan smiled and returned the greeting after seeing a familiar face.
"You must've had a long flight." Drinket approached with a smile. His focus then shifted to his left, the person the Darkan lord came with. "And welcome, Lady Tasha." Dinkret bowed to the woman behind with a light smile.
With beautiful, flowing red hair, gorgeous curves, and a pretty and indifferent face, she was the woman referred to as Tasha, the daughter of the darkan family head and sole heir of the darkan family.
'4th star,' Baines noticed before shifting his focus back to the Darkan family head.
"Hahaha," Lord Darkan laughed at the atmosphere, until his gaze finally landed on Baines, who hadn't moved a single inch beneath his presence.
"And who is this one… so unshaken under pressure?" His voice showed surprise.
"He's the most talented of the recruits," Commander Dinkret replied, recognizing who he was referring to.
"Fifth star? At such an age?" Darkan's voice held disbelief.
The talk also seemed to have attracted Tasha's attention as she looked at him.
However, with his scarf covering his mouth, she couldn't get a full view of him, but her interest was piqued.
Dinkret quickly pivoted, "Lord Dinkret, we believe an attack may happen today. Please come in, as we will fill you in."
The entrance of the recruits ended up being stolen by the arrival of the Darkan family.
...
Later that day, in the residence given to the Darkan family...
After hours of meeting, Lord Darkan had finally reunited with his daughter, relaxing in the living room when,
Whoosh…
A figure appeared kneeling before them.
"And?" Tasha asked, glancing at the figure.
"His name is Jin, and he was recommended by Vole Malakar, who claims to have trained him."
"That's all?" Tasha asked, unimpressed.
"T-There's more," the figure stuttered. "Since arriving, he's said to have mastered all the techniques, formations, and strategies of the three legions. It's said he even created one." The figure didn't seem to even believe the information he was delivering.
"What?" Lord Darkan's eyes narrowed.
The figure quickly added, "He defended it before a panel. The report said his knowledge even gave them insight."
Father and daughter shared a long look of shock, unbelief, and then an unspoken conclusion formed.
Before they could speak further—
WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
A loud alarm bell went off.
The two instantly shot to their feet at the call.
The bell signified something.
The outliers had arrived, just as they had predicted.
Subordinates rushed in after the other, and orders were given as preparations were made.
*
In the main barracks, the recruits were finally in before finally splitting into their respective legions.
Unlike the 'special treatment' Baines received during his recruit days, here, he was jammed into the same room with several others.
Then a short tour was given to them.
It was when they were finally released to rest that the bell echoed around the barracks.
The recruits hadn't even settled when they were made to gear up and appear before the Pyre Vanguard Central Ground.
Several feet moved, several warhorses were gathered, several orders were given, and within thirty minutes, an orderly line was formed by the pyre vanguard soldiers, with the recruits stationed at the back of the line.
Soon, over a hundred thousand soldiers on war horses were formed in the assembly yard, facing a grand platform.
Atop it stood the Grand Commander of the Pyre Vanguard, Wastin Ploot, also donned in his special armor and warhorse. His form was battle hardened, and his 7th star presence that towered over the whole army as he spoke, rather shouted,
"Lately, we've had little skirmishes between the outliers, and now it seems they even learned how to form allies," he roared. "They think they can break us. But who are we?!"
"THE VANGUARD!!" The hundred thousand soldiers replied in a thunderous motion that shook the core of every recruit.
Suddenly, everything was turning real, too fast. They even cursed their luck for facing such a situation, but nothing could be done about it.
"I SAID—WHO. ARE. WE?"
"THE VANGUARD!!" The vanguard replied once more.
"OPEN THE GATES!" He roared.
DRRRMMMMMMMMMMMMM
The colossal metal gate centered the castle, leading outside rose, revealing a thicker, more piled snow-covered plains that stretched into an unknown depth. Snow fell like rain, obscuring the vision of many.
However, the distance rumble like an avalanche wasn't difficult to pick up. The feet of at least two hundred thousand ran towards their location.
And for the few who could see. In the far distance, shadows could be seen rumbling toward them.
No one needed to be told. These were the enemies, and a bloody battle was about to occur.
"MOVE!!"
Commander Ploot commanded and led the charge, with the vanguard storming out behind him.
The sight of several large red horses racing across white snow was such a sight. They rode tirelessly until about seven hundred meters away from the gate, when his voice rang out again:
"FORMATION 1: INFERNAL CHARGE!"
Like a well-oiled machine, the army shifted into a flaming arrowhead of a hundred thousand.
Riders and horses burst into flame, melting the snow underneath their feet and undeterred by the pain from the heat. Among the reasons warhorses were used was to beat the cold and turn it into an advantage. Another was to match against their terrible enemies.
Minutes later, the distant rumbling shadows became visible. And their number, at least three times the pyre vanguard still rushing in.
"WE HAVE MOMENTUM AND ADVANTAGE. CRUSH THEM!!!" The Grand Commander raised their momentum, raised his lance, consuming hundreds of outliers in his flame.
Soon, the blazing formation of the Vanguard collided with the enemy line.
BOOOOOOOOOOM
The battlefield erupted in chaos.