Is this really a Game?!

The red ball of light illuminated the battlefield, its brilliance cutting through the concealing arrays and revealing the intense clashes that had taken place. Theron had activated a signal flare, a beacon visible from a great distance, signaling for help from allies outside the affected area.

This was something that they didn't possess, in fact, the beacon was something given to them by Adrian. It was his item, given to him by his father, and upon activating it, the kingdom would realize that he was in a dangerous situation, which is when the strongest people in the kingdom, the royal guards together with the commander of the guards, a Tier VI being, will move.

Avargan stared at the red ball of light with his face red.

His anger reached the heavens themselves as he clenched his teeth so hard they started to crack. His hands were clenched into fists, his nails digging into his flesh as he glanced at his children.

"We leave, the royal guards will be here at any moment," Avargan said as he exhaled deeply before taking another glance at Reign and the others who were retreating further.

He knew that following them and attacking was no longer feasible.

His trap had been broken.

The formation and arrays he had painstakingly created with his children broken through.

All of it is because of Reign.

A Nephilim, a being that even Avargan, who can glimpse into the tapestry of fate to see what will happen once he does something, cannot account for.

Reign was never in the future that Avargan saw, the trap was flawless, but it was flawless against the two teams, not against Reign.

It was a trap designed to kill a group of 20 Tier V combatants, and even if there were more of them, the combined strength of Avargan, his children, and the many arrays was enough to defeat any foe below Tier VI.

And yet, Reign was there, a Tier V being that held the power of a Tier VI.

Even then, the chances of them escaping were abysmally low. Avargan was simply too strong and even Reign in his Nephilim form could do anything to him.

Had it not been for Avargan's foolishness and arrogance, allowing Reign to pour everything into his attack, they wouldn't have escaped.

'Why did I do that, why did I allow him to attack me back then?' Avargan asked himself as he made his way back with his children, his mind preoccupied not with the future, but the past.

'I could have easily defeated him, I could have taken him down during that one attack, and yet, I simply stood in place, but why?'

'Mind control?'

'No, he doesn't have such power, neither do any of his teammates and even if they did, they wouldn't have been powerful enough to go against me, to make me do such a ridiculous thing.'

'I was affected by something, but what, and how?'

'Nobody present is strong enough to do that to me, which means … somebody was hiding close to us?' Avargan's face changed as he thought of what happened during the battle.

It truly was too suspicious, how he simply stood and waited for Reign to strike him with full power, fully aware that it might be a bit dangerous to him.

And yet, when thinking back, it was his choice, but that was impossible, he would never make such a blunder.

'Who was it, who came here to help them, and why didn't they show themselves?'

Back outside the barrier, Reign and the others were running away, eagerly awaiting the reinforcements from the Irason Kingdom.

Right after the first ball of light appeared, another one appeared above as well.

A brilliant yellow ball that was shot up by Aragos.

It was the same as Adrian's, a beacon that would call forth the royal guards of the Elais kingdom.

"That man, why was he so stupid?" Jared suddenly asked Reign who stood still, not knowing what exactly Jared meant.

"The man you fought, why did he stand still and wait for you to finish that attack, and Master, why did you attempt such an attack, if he attacked during that time, you would have been dead."

"That's true, I was shocked to see you do such a thing, even though you did hide the true attack with the lightning, it was a very dumb move from you kid," Aethion added from the side as Reign suddenly blinked twice quickly.

'I … I don't know.'

'I knew he wouldn't attack me, and that the attack was the only way I could actually save the others and potentially escape, but … I don't know why I was so certain.'

Reign's confusion lingered as they continued their retreat. The weight of the battle and the mysteries surrounding Avargan's behavior pressed upon him. The others shared uneasy glances, uncertain about the oddities in the recent events.

As they distanced themselves from the battlefield, the red and yellow beacons in the sky began to attract attention. In the distance,the clashing of weapons echoed. The royal guards from both the Irason and Elais kingdoms were responding to the distress signals, and it seemed like they had come across one another.

Reign's mind raced, trying to make sense of the inexplicable occurrences. Aethion, sensing his turmoil, spoke telepathically. "Kid, there's something off about all this. We need to be cautious and alert. Someone or something manipulated Avargan, and we can't afford to underestimate our enemies."

Jared, overhearing the conversation, chimed in. "Master, we've known each other for a while now, and I've seen you in many battles, but today, something was different. It's like you were guided by an unseen force. Do you remember anything unusual during the fight?"

Reign furrowed his brow, trying to recall the moments leading up to the decisive attack. Flashes of images crossed his mind, but they were fragmented and unclear. "I...I don't know. It felt like an instinct, like someone or something whispered to me that this was the only way."

Aethion and Jared exchanged concerned glances. "We need to find out who or what influenced this battle. It could be a hidden player with an agenda of their own," Aethion suggested.

As the two teams charged forward, they saw the reinforcements, a combination of Elais and Irason soldiers who were battling one another. The commanding officers, a Tier VI from each kingdom, surveyed the battle and stared at one another.

"Stop the battle!"

"Stop fighting, right now!"

Aragos and Adrian quickly ran forward, both shouting with full force at the royal guards. The two commanders glanced at them in confusion before giving the signal to stop.

"None have died, thankfully," Aragos said as he glanced at the men. Other than some minor injuries, they were all fine thanks to the fact they had just arrived and initiated combat.

They didn't walk or run over here, they were teleported.

Each of the kingdoms had a teleportation array that could be used to send men across far distances.

The cost of operating the array was so high that they would only do so if the situation was dire, like when Nayle's team had attacked the forward base and almost taken control of it, as well as the reinforcements that arrived to help the Elais forward base back when Reign and the others had attacked it.

Thanks to Theron who had placed an array, the reinforcements and the kingdom were unaware of just how dire the situation was, which was why the kingdom wasn't able to respond by teleporting more men right outside of the base.

The two groups of royal guards, each one comprised of 50 Tier V combatants, stared at the two members of opposing royal families, as well as Reign and Nayle's team.

They quickly saw the injuries on them and the marks of battle, but for some reason, it seemed like they didn't fight against each other.

"Sir Waldos," Aragos called out to the leader of the royal guards as Adrian stepped forward to Lady Nesa, the leader of his royal guards.

"Can we catch up to them if we charge right now?" Aragos asked Reign who shook his head.

"He definitely knows that they have arrived, if I was in Avargan's shoes, I would have been long gone by now."

"Dammit!" Aragos shouted in anger before glancing at the guards.

"Call my grandfather, he needs to use the teleportation and come here right away, there … there is something he has to see," Aragos said as Adrian glanced back at him before taking a deep breath.

"Call my father, lady Nesa, and tell him to teleport here right away, he needs to see it as well.

The two groups of royal guards and their leaders glanced at one another in shock and confusion.

Call the two kings over, in the borderlands, at the same time?

They would try to murder one another right away!'

"Please, it's important, very important."

"If they come, they will not fight, the two of us will make sure of that," Aragos said as he and Adrian stood side by side, making the two groups even more confused.