Aden and Nasser heeded the call, spurring their mount toward the west, where the escaping friendly soldiers were headed. As they drew nearer, they caught sight of Captain Akim leading the way, his figure a beacon of hope amidst the carnage.

But just as they had a chance to regroup, a heavy roar echoed behind them, sending a chill down their spines.

"They are back!" Aden yelled at Nasser's ear as he warned his comrade about the impending doom coming at them.

Three wyverns had taken up the pursuit, their massive forms cutting through the air with terrifying speed.

"Spread out! Head to the twin mountains!" Captain Akim's voice rang out, a desperate command that reverberated across the battlefield. "Look for caves!"

The soldiers scattered in every direction, seeking to evade the relentless onslaught of the wyverns. Captain Akim's strategy was clear: by spreading out, they would become more elusive targets, making it harder for the dragons to pick them off one by one.

His bannermen had to survive at all costs. With that thought driving him forward, the captain ordered everyone to disperse, their only hope of survival lying in the treacherous terrain of the twin mountains and the shelter of its caves.

The three wyverns split off, each pursuing a different group of the fleeing Khanadi cavalry, their talons and fiery breath leaving a trail of destruction in their wake.

Aden glanced over his shoulder, his heart pounding as he heard the heavy flapping of wings approaching closer from behind.

"Jynx!" he cried out, alerting Nasser to the impending danger as another wyvern took up the chase, its jaws agape and its eyes burning with primal hunger.

"What is it?" Nasser asked, his focus unwavering as he guided their mount through the chaos, his only concern finding a safe haven amidst the raging battle.

"Wyvern on our tail," Aden shouted, his voice strained against the roar of the wind and the thunderous beats of the dragon's wings.

"Shit," Nasser cursed, his expression hardening. "Aden, look for an escape route!"

Aden scanned their surroundings, his eyes straining against the thick clouds of dust that obscured their vision. "The dust is too thick, I can barely see."

Frantically, he searched for any sign of their standard-bearers or any friendly banners, but none could be seen through the haze of battle.

Suddenly, a flash of light caught his eye from behind, and before he could react, a torrent of flame engulfed them.

"Gahh!" Aden cried out, his voice mingling with the agonized screams of their steed as the searing heat licked at their exposed flesh.

The wyvern behind them unleashed its flame. Aden and Nasser were blown away from their horse. The wyvern's blast made the dust around them get thicker. Aden didn't see Nasser anywhere again. He might have been burning to a crisp or ripped apart by the wyvern.

Aden ran in the opposite direction to split up. If Nasser survived he might've done the same—to make them a harder target for the dragon rider. The dragon rider must choose between one of them. The wyvern took off to the sky again instead of having a headache to pick between two insignificant targets. The dragon rider had better things to do.

Lungs burning, legs leaden yet propelled by sheer terror, Aden ran blindly away from the scorching apocalypse that had erupted across the battlefield. Only when the roars and screams faded to a dull throb in his ears did he finally falter to a stop, chest heaving.

He whipped his head around, eyes wild, scanning the hellscape that surrounded him. No wyverns wheeled overhead, and no goblins or Yuza soldiers gave chase. Only the crumpled forms of the dead and dying littered the ground, wreathed in billowing banks of acrid smoke. The airborne grit stung his eyes, coating his skin with a grimy layer of pulverized sand and char.

Aden allowed himself a shuddering breath, then another. He was alive, at least for the moment. Cracked lips parted in a silent prayer of thanks as he snatched up a discarded canteen, guzzling down the tepid dregs to slake his raging thirst.

All around him, the world had descended into madness. Dark silhouettes flitted through the roiling haze, the shapes of men locked in a desperate battle. Screams and the clang of steel split the air in an unholy chorus. Yet the skirmishes seemed almost... background noise, mere accessories to the true horror that had been unleashed.

The Yuza onslaught was relentless, their foul army of beasts and inhuman monstrosities cutting an unstoppable swath across the field. But Aden realized with a mixture of relief and cold dread that he now found himself on the very periphery of the conflict. The wyverns' fiery barrage had kicked up such dense clouds of obscuring dust that he was rendered practically invisible to the melee raging all around.

A slim chance, but a chance nonetheless. He had to seize it while he could.

Scanning the churning maelstrom, he caught flashes of movement - the unmistakable silhouettes of wyverns winging their way westward, hot on the trail of the shattered Khanadi forces. His gut clenched. The obvious escape route toward the Twin Mountain passes was cut off, at least for now. East, then. He would have to circle around and make for the eastern valleys. It was a longer road, but his only path to potential safety.

Jaw set in grim determination, Aden began loping eastward, staying in the concealing shroud of the dust storm as he put one foot in front of the other - fleeing from the abject devastation crashing in his wake.

⁕⁕⁕