Along the combat chaos and battlecry Aden heard a roaring voice from distant —it was vague at first—coming from the center of the battlefield.

"Wyverns! Wyverns in the sky!"

Aden heard soldiers scream over and over pointing at the sky. Aden quickly turned his head toward the sky.

Out of the blue, three flamecrest wyverns—as big as a house tent— descended from the skies, their vibrant crimson scales and flaming mane reflecting the sun's glare. The wyverns' powerful wings cast shadows over the battlefield, their presence altering the very course of the conflict.

They were not ordinary creatures of war but the fearsome companions of the Dragon Knights —a mercenary group hailing from the land of the Andal the Wessen region. Flying their prancing dragon sigil embedded on their rider's cape.

Aden didn't know which side of the opposing forces the dragon riders were.

One of the wyverns swooped down and unleashed its flame upon the soldiers engaging in the middle of the battlefield—foes and friends alike. They couldn't care less about the orcs' or the human. Burn them to a crisp. Every man and orc became a human torch.

In the distance Aden saw another wyvern descend on the hill where the main Khanadi army was, they strafe their fire down upon the soldiers. The Khanadi army didn't have time to maneuver. Commander Akbar became one of the victims. burn alive on the sandy hill. The rest of them scrambled.

It was a trap. Set up by the Yuza army's commander. Thousands of Khanadi soldiers were decimated in a blink of an eye by only three wyverns.

No one knew about the wyverns, not even Khanadi's scout units.

Using dragon riders or light cavalry to attack the rear is the basic tactic of open-field battle. as the rear is where signal bearers were present. creating chaos in communication was a basic strategy in battle.

unfortunately, the Khanadi army didn't bring with them siege weapons against the wyvern, the siege weapons were left to become dusted relics in the warehouse as monuments of the age of wyverns, they never thought about using them anymore because the age of wyverns had over hundred years ago—and now they are back.

The appearance of the flamecrest wyverns shattered the conventional understanding of warfare in Median once more. The Andal mercenaries had re-introduced a new element of surprise to the battlefield, one that held the power to change the tide of battle. Emir Khanadi's forces, who had been on the verge of triumph, now found themselves grappling with an unprecedented threat from above.

Chaos erupted on the battlefield as the wyverns descended, raining fire upon the remnants of the Khanadi army. The once-unstoppable light cavalry, who had moments ago charged into the fray with unbridled fury, now found themselves faced with an unimaginable foe – a force of nature itself, capable of unleashing a devastative inferno on an unparalleled scale.

"Incoming!" Nasser's voice rang out in a desperate warning, echoing across the ranks of the cavalrymen as they desperately sought to evade the impending onslaught.

The third wyvern, its massive form casting an ominous shadow over the Khanadi cavalry where Aden rode, unleashed a torrent of flame that scorched the earth, burning everything in its path. The once-orderly ranks dissolved into chaos as the searing inferno engulfed their comrades, creating a macabre firewall of charred corpses that threatened to entomb them all.

With a terrifying screech that shook the very air, the wyvern proceeded to pluck the yellow-bannered cavalrymen from their horses one by one, its enormous claws snatching them with ease as if they were merely fish trapped in a barrel made of fire.

In a cruel twist of fate, the hunters had become the hunted. The tables had turned, and the Khanadi forces found themselves surrounded by an impenetrable wall of flame and the smoldering remains of their fallen brothers. Everywhere they turned, their path was blocked by the inferno that consumed the bodies of their comrades and the sands that had once been their allies.

Aden's heart pounded in his chest as he witnessed the unfolding carnage, his mind struggling to comprehend the sheer magnitude of the devastation wrought by these fearsome beasts. The wyverns, creatures of past legends, had descended upon them with a fury that defied comprehension, turning the once-orderly battlefield into a hellscape of fire and death.

As the wyvern's talons closed in, Aden wheeled his steed around, urging the magnificent beast forward with every ounce of his strength. His lance, once a proud symbol of his prowess, now seemed like a mere twig in the face of this elemental onslaught. Smoke stung his eyes, and the acrid scent of charred flesh assaulted his senses, but still, he pressed on, driven by a primal instinct to survive, to live and fight another day.

At that moment, the once-glorious charge of the Khanadi cavalry had been reduced to a desperate flight for survival, their ranks shattered by the sheer, unbridled might of the wyverns.

Aden suddenly found himself disoriented. He watched in horror as his fellow cavalrymen were consumed by the wyvern's flames and claws. He would never thought this battle would end up like this.

He searched for Nasser, but his fellow cavalryman was nowhere to be found. His wingman must've searching for an exit route.

"Death to Khanadi!" The battle cries of Emir Yuza's soldiers echoed in his ears as they pursued him relentlessly.

Aden heard a heavy flapping sound behind him followed by a roar. It was the third wyvern. He was pursued by a wyvern. Aden rode his horse as fast as it could. tried to outrun the wyvern in the labyrinth of flame. although Himar wasn't afraid of fire, where could he be outrunning a wyvern on a vast arid land with nowhere to hide?

The wyvern lunged forward and clawed at Aden. Himar dodged left and right. The dragon rider toyed with him, he didn't even bother to blast Aden with his wyvern's flame. Aden could hear his loud and annoying laugh—a distinct Andal's laugh.

Himar was an agile horse. He was able to dodge all the wyvern's claws by outmaneuvering the wyvern. He was snaking his route, making the wyvern have to land and fly again over and over again just to chase the brown horse and its rider.

"Agna!" the wyvern rider uttered some foreign word, it was not even the word of Wessen common tongue. Aden and Nasser knew the Wessen tongue.

The wyvern puffed its chest—ready to fire upon Aden. suddenly Himar fully stopped. Flung Aden forward. Aden felt a sting of heat from his back and hearing his horse screeched in pain ruptured Aden's ear. Himar let himself burn by the wyvern's flame. It was his final sacrifice for Aden.

lying on the ground, Aden could feel the heat on his skin and inside his heart.

"Shit!" He cursed.

Aden's war garb caught on fire, he rolled on the ground slowly, and the dust and sand extinguished the fire.

The dragon rider surveyed the scene, among the smokescreen his gaze falling upon Aden's defiant form.

When Aden tried to stand up he was staggered to his feet, his body aching from the impact of the wyvern's assault. His once-proud steed lay motionless nearby, a casualty of the dragon's fiery breath. Facing the wyvern and the rider with Gritting teeth, Aden unsheathed his shamshir, the curved blade glinting in the flickering flames that surrounded him. He would not go down without a fight.

For a brief moment, the dragon rider considered finishing off the lone warrior, along with his fallen mount. However, the approaching footfalls of friendly soldiers gave him pause. With a tap of his feet to his wyvern, the dragon rider took to the skies, leaving Aden to face the oncoming enemy soldiers.

Aden's grip tightened around the hilt of his shamshir as the first enemy soldier charged towards him. With a fluid motion, he parried the incoming strike, countering with a sweeping arc that cleaved through the soldier's defenses, felling him in a single stroke.

Another soldier advanced, seizing the opportunity presented by Aden's momentary vulnerability. But Aden was no easy prey. Pivoting on his heel, he brought his shamshir to bear, deflecting the soldier's blade and following through with a lethal thrust that pierced the man's armor, ending his life in an instant.

Yet, as Aden turned to face the next wave of attackers, he found himself vulnerable once more. An enemy soldier had slipped past his defenses, blade poised to strike from behind. In that fateful moment, Aden braced himself for the inevitable, his eyes narrowing in grim acceptance of his fate.

But the strike never came.

Instead, a familiar figure emerged from the chaos, their blade intercepting the would-be assassin's strike with a resounding clash of steel. Nasser, Aden's comrade and fellow Jinn, stood before him, his sword already whirling in a deadly arc that dispatched the enemy soldier with brutal efficiency.

"Hop in!" Nasser extended his hand, a wry smile playing across his features, even in the midst of the carnage that surrounded them.

Aden couldn't help but return the smile, a fleeting moment of irony in the face of their dire circumstances. With a nod of gratitude, he grasped Nasser's hand, allowing his friend to pull him onto the back of his steed.

They rode off to find an escape route. with a horse's color that stands out among the crowd and chaos on the battlefield, the wyverns didn't even target Nasser. No wonder everyone called him Lucky Star.

Their escape was cut off by infernos, dust, sand, and smokescreen. Aden was looking for a way out until he saw a standard-bearer rider of his banner waving a retreat flag signaling the escape route.

"Head toward the west, look for twin mountains!" The standard-bearer rider's words were abruptly cut short as one of the wyverns swooped down, crushing him under its massive claw with a sickening crunch.