The banners of over a dozen factions fluttered in the evening wind, gathered around the newly expanded Alliance Hall in the heart of Sanctum.
War leaders, strategists, emissaries, and commanders from across the realm filled the circular chamber—stone benches rising like an amphitheater around Iden's elevated seat. The stained glass dome above them depicted a stylized image of the shield that had protected Sanctum during the Fallout's launch—now revered as a miracle.
Iden sat silent for a moment, his black-and-gold mantle cast wide behind him like wings. Around him were his trusted few—Kael standing with his three Tyrants now clad in gleaming bone-forged plate, Rael and Nyra seated just behind, each marked with the seal of their respective contributions in recent battles.
"We've survived," Iden began, his voice low, rippling outward with power, "but this was only the beginning."
A hush fell.
He gestured, and a projection formed above the table—runes glowing in crimson and frostblue: a rising bar, segmented by hours.
[BEAST TIDE: WAVE SEQUENCE ENGAGED][Confirmed: Continuous Monster Assault Every 12 Hours][Final Wave (Tier S Threat): Scheduled – Day 14]
Shouts rang out.
"What madness is this?"
"Fourteen days?! We'll be torn apart—!"
Iden raised a hand, and silence returned.
"Then prepare. We either adapt, or we vanish."
Raid Points Gained: [49,500 RP]
The rewards had come swiftly after the previous victory. Not just for Iden—but for every unit and ally within his territory. The exp overflow had turned into a torrent of Raid Points, and the system had acknowledged his continued survival by unlocking deeper access to the Raid Arsenal and Core Integration Tier-II.
Iden opened the interface mentally, skimming through categories.
He passed over the Summon Capacity Booster—unnecessary now, thanks to the doubling triggers—until his gaze landed on what he needed.
[Blueprint Purchased: Etheric Node Stabilizer – 12,000 RP][Blueprint Purchased: Deep Spire Array – 8,000 RP][Blueprint Purchased: Mobile Forge Drone – 6,000 RP][Skill Token: Skeleton Class-Linked Passive Amplification – 15,000 RP][Remaining RP: 8,500]
"Kael," Iden called.
Kael turned, eyes gleaming with a mixture of joy and exhaustion. "Yeah?"
"Deploy the Etheric Node blueprints to District 2 and 5. The spire arrays go to the perimeter line. We'll need overlapping field coverage by nightfall."
"Already on it."
Rael leaned in, "What about the skill token?"
Iden held it in his palm, letting it glow.
[Skill Learned: Commander's Bond – Passive]Effect: All summons gain +5% stat scaling from their linked class origin. Synchronization with summoner's energy increases resistance and reaction time in combat.]
A quiet grin passed his lips.
"We've needed this for a while," he muttered.
As the summit resumed, alliances were tested. Some weaker groups demanded to be allowed into Sanctum's inner walls, others offered tribute or tech in exchange for protected zones.
A delegate from the western bastion approached: a cold-eyed strategist named Velryn, wearing redplate armor etched with thunder motifs.
"You're asking us to fight twelve more waves?" Velryn asked.
"No," Iden said simply. "I'm telling you to prepare for thirteen. The fourteenth won't be a wave. It will be extinction."
The war room grew grim.
A projection activated again—this time Nyra's doing, showing real-time movement of minor beast packs converging toward various outposts. The second wave was already forming.
[WARNING: SECOND WAVE DETECTED – ETA: 3 Hours]
"They're not waiting for night," Nyra murmured. "They're adapting."
Back within the central forge sector, Arlen was already overseeing the assembly of the Mobile Forge Drone—a disk-like device that would allow construction teams to work on field repairs and forge ammunition or barricades under fire.
Kael distributed Etheric Nodes personally. Each began humming with a pale red energy, burrowing into the ground like living roots—linking the mana threads of Sanctum into a defensive lattice.
And in the training yards, skeletons stood by the hundreds, eyes glowing. Skeleton Mages practiced chain-burst patterns. Scouts darted along rooftops with cloaked gear. And in the distance, General Orys—Ikaros' second—trained twenty war units on tower-led formations.
Skeleton Warrior [Lv. 28] – EXP: 72%Archer Elite [Lv. 30] – EXP: 45% (Tier D+)Tank Unit [Lv. 31] – EXP: 39%
Even the Tyrants now stood like living monuments of wrath, preparing for the next trial.
In the moments before the second wave, Iden stood on the parapet of the spire, gazing toward the now-darkening forest.
Rael joined him, her presence soft and calm.
"We've done a lot in a short time," she whispered.
He didn't answer at first, then exhaled, "We'll have to do more."
She smiled faintly. "You will. That's what you do."