The Black Necromancer

The forces of the Cromwell Empire took the next few seconds to prepare for the next wave of creatures. What had come out before had not surpassed B rank, but they were sure that whoever was sending these monsters was no fool. Stronger beings would begin emerging from the portal soon enough.

"Brother, go and prepare to lead our elite. I will remain here." Darren told Raegan.

As the Emperor and the highest figure of power of the Cromwell Empire, Raegan had the duty of leading the armies into battle in situations like these.

Raegan nodded and disappeared from his spot in the next second. Meanwhile, Darren remained where he was and began to brew up a nasty surprise for whatever enemies would emerge next. He held the middle of his staff and swirled it in a circle on the ground. He began to weave an intricate magic rune formation that glowed with power. All the excess Mana and Divine Power that was present in the atmosphere began to rush into the runic formation.

Whoosh!

An invisible shockwave passed through Darren's body and spread in all directions. It did not take long for it to spread through the entire Cromwell Empire and even Fort Bender which was on its borders.

This shockwave did not push back anyone, nor did it disorient them. Instead, they felt a heat bubble up within them and their fighting spirit and morale shot up!

This was a buff spell that Darren had been taught by none other than Grokus, the Ultimate Support amongst Leon's elite summons.

While Grokus could achieve more drastic effects like boosting the damage or healing rates of those that he applied buffs like this to, the effect was much more muted when it was done by Darren, not to mention that he had to make its effect spread over the entire Empire's territory.

However, the boost in morale was something very valuable, as it could act as a force multiplier, allowing the soldiers to fight fearlessly. Even if they were under pressure, they would not easily break and be pushed back by the enemy forces.

Ten minutes passed quietly before the portal began to show signs of activity again. The light that glowed around it turned brighter and the space within it grew chaotic.

BOOM!

A small shockwave shook the air around the portal before several powerful auras began to radiate out of the portal. The portal grew larger before a stream of much stronger monsters began to rush out of the portal. There were still many C ranks, but the ratio of B rank creatures had more than doubled!

Darren's attention spiked when several A rank creatures stepped through the portal. However, in the next moment, shock was what he felt as he realized that he felt something strangely familiar, but also unfamiliar from them.

'They contain a hint of Father's flavor?' Darren thought with shock and immediately reached out to his brother.

'I feel it too, brother. But they are not Father's. Instead, they belong to a Necromancer with similar powers and ties to Father.' Raegan told his brother.

'But how?' Darren was still confused.

'You are the thinker among us, brother. Perhaps another Obsidian Skeleton might have been born amongst the enemies. Maybe we are not as unique as we had thought.' Raegan responded. His curiosity was also at its peak, but there was no way to find an answer at this time. They would have to fight their enemies first and find out the story behind this later.

As the creatures that fought for the Army of Destruction swarmed out of the portal, the soldiers of the Cromwell Empire did not sit around and watch. Spells and magic cannon fire filled the sky, lighting it up and bringing destruction to the enemy. Bodies fell to the ground, lifeless, while more were obliterated midair.

However, this wave of creatures were much more resilient than the ones that came before. They were also smarter. Some pooled together their strength to create shields that could cover them from the firepower of the Empire's forces, while others used their fallen comrades as shields. Many others retaliated and attacks rained down on the defenders from the sky.

But the defenders were not without preparations for this outcome.

Colorful shields lit up and blocked the rain of attacks before they could land on the settlements down below. Ripples spread out over the surface of the shields but none of them were pushed to their limits. Yet.

It was at this time that the A rank powerhouses of the Army of Destruction made themselves known.

Powerful auras poured out of the portals as ten figures wrapped in black, hazy auras slowly emerged from the portal. As they passed through, no other creature passed through with them. But after they passed, the flow of creatures continued, unabated.

Several powerful figures also made themselves known from within the Cromwell Empire. Ten of them emerged, the same numbers as those of the invading enemies.

None of them were the strongest amongst those of Leon's subordinates that had been left behind, but each of them was a Peak A rank!

"Are these all the enemies we have to face? If that is it, then we should be able to handle it easily." Fenrir scoffed when he saw the opposing A ranks.

"Your recklessness and failure to consider your opponents will lead to your downfall one day." Ignis scoffed as he played with a trail of flames over his hands.

The two of them still had their rivalry going on, and it had only become even more heated as they competed to see which of them would ascend to Godhood first.

Behind them, Tyrant simply folded his arms and stared at the enemies, a thick fighting intent causing the air around him to grow hazy. Heat leaked out of his body and if a B rank came in contact with that heat, they would instantly die.

Not far away, Axel, the unique and talented mercenary that had fallen to Leon in the Demon War, remained unfazed. He looked disdainfully upon the others, but he also acknowledged their strength.