God Ash: Remnants of the fallen.

Hunter sucked in a deep breath, then let out a loud bellow,

"Shields, up!"

Hunter had an experience when it came to coordinating fights. He had engaged in numerous bloody fights even before the apocalypse. It was something that was already a part of him.

Understanding the enemy and taking advantage of their weaknesses... This was where he excelled. In this, he was far more capable than Cain, or anyone else for that matter...

A natural-born general...

"Swordsmen, move to the sides. Spearmen, behind the shields." Hunter barked out orders as the ring of death surrounding them became smaller and smaller.

Although the {Blood Abomination} army had a large distance to cover, these aether beasts were incredibly fast. This distance could be covered in less than twenty minutes.

"Let's meet the charge. We must not allow them to gain more momentum." Cain said, his eyes fixated on the approaching army. It was almost as though he was searching for someone, or something within the mass of baleful fangs, hooves, and horns.

With a nod, everyone took their positions...

Susan was located dead center of the group. She was the main and only healer. As long as she was alive, it would be difficult for any of them to die. Jenny was at the head of the group of marksmen. Hunter, Ignis, and Cain stood at the forefront of the army. They were going to be the tip of the spear that pierced through the ring of death.

Evangeline was nowhere to be seen. For now...

Cain summoned the {Heart of Scourge}. The armor materialized on his body in a few seconds. He was covered from head to toe in the thick, yet light metal of the armor. The army of beastmen sent looks of awe his way.

Even the beastmen in the other camp sent mindless stares of enthrallment at him. That was just how captivating his armor was.

With a snort, Floki summoned his weapon and armor of choice. And it was in no way inferior to Cain's.

A large, horned helmet appeared on his head. His body was immediately covered head to toe, in thick, heavy armor with light blue and white runic lines and symbols. A large war hammer that was as broad as his shoulders appeared in his hands as well.

Slinging it across his shoulders, he took a step forward. The ground beneath him shook violently as he walked to the forefront of their own army.

There, a large group of beastmen sporting heavy tower shields and broad swords stared at him in reverence and awe.

With a grunt, Floki spoke in his signature baritone,

"Charge on my signal..."

Thunderous roars rose to the dark skies as the beastman army was riled up once again.

"Kekeke! Trying to show off, aren't you, Floki..."

Galip, who was already dressed in dark brown leather armor sneered at Floki. Two menacing daggers hung at the sides of his waist, as though he was making it known to all that he preferred to kill using unsavory methods...

Malcolm on the other hand had a long wooden staff that was adorned with a blue, green, and red gem. He also wore leather armor but had no other weapons on him.

The sight of them gave their camp the hope they needed...

Cain glanced at them, then let out a chuckle,

"Susan..."

With a nod, Susan began chanting. A rather large magic circle appeared before the group. An absolutely gigantic being made from light and adorned with huge pieces of thick, heavy armor manifested from the magic circle.

The Light Guardian stood before the group like an absolute protector, unfazed by the sight of absolute death approaching.

Snorting, Malcolm waved his staff and chanted under his breath,

"Come forth, Bulwark of the Blizzard!"

A magic circle materialized before their army as well. A towering giant made completely of ice, more than five times the height of Floki, and three times as wide appeared and let out an ear-piercing shriek.

'So they have a main tank of their own? Not bad.'

Cain smiled as he realized he had really gotten into their heads. Even if it was for the sake of appearances, they had to appear to put in just as much effort as Cain had.

Cain turned around to face his army. Most of them looked frightened. However, every single one of them had looks of conviction on their faces.

At that moment, something stirred in his chest.

'So that's how it is...' Letting out a chuckle, he turned back to face the approaching wall of {Blood Abominations}.

His hearts pulsed so hard in his chest, all other noise was momentarily drowned out. He could feel the fires of excitement burning once again.

"Charge!"

"Charge!"

Both armies roared in unison as they charged to meet the {Blood Abominations}. For what it was worth, no one even thought of attacking the other. Regardless of what was going on in their minds, the three leaders seemed to unanimously agree that attacking Cain's group now had no meaning to it...

As he kicked against the ground, Cain felt like he was soaring in the sky. Leading the charge were Cain, Hunter, Ignis, and the Light Guardian.

Without wasting any time, Cain drew the {Hand of Midas} handguns from his {Armament Armory} and aimed. Seeing this, Hunter, who was also charging headfirst drew his bow. A magic flaming arrow materialized onto the bowstring, ready to be let loose...

The {Blood Abominations} were so close now...

The details of their terrifying, wretched faces could be seen at this point. Hunter took this moment to tell as loud as he could,

"Bombs away!"

The moment Hunter let out the thunderous yell, the marksmen in the group opened up a special leather bag that thing from their necks. These leather bags had been purchased from the system. They didn't have any special enchantments, but they're useful for individuals who didn't have access to the system inventory. It could be used to store potions or other small items.

In this case, it was being used to store something very important. The{Black Egg} explosive device crafted specially by Cain...

During the time he had been making the {Magnum GT-01}, Cain had also been making numerous {Black Egg} explosives. As time passed, he had gradually gotten the hang of it. As such, he was able to make quite a number of them.

The moment Hunter barked the order, the marksmen knew what they needed to do. Opening the bags, they grabbed their contents and threw with all their might.

The explosives drew complex arcs in the air and landed just before the frontlines of the {Blood Abomination} army. That was all it took to send these creatures to meet their maker...

BOOM!

Pillars of flames rose to the sky and the battlefield was filled with a scalding air that fought back against the bitter cold that permeated the fragmented lands...

The runes on the {Hand of Midas} spun gloriously as Cain squeezed down on both triggers. Two golden bullets flew out from the muzzle of the gun and struck two {Blood Abominations} in the temple, blowing their brains out and ending their lives in an instant.

A savage grin appeared on his face as he let loose a torrent of bullets, shaving off a large portion of the {Blood Abominations} that were rushing at him.

At the same time, the marksmen all had their {Magnum GT-01} firearms at the ready. The bombs had cleared away a large portion of the {Blood Abominations}, so it would take some time for that area to be filled back up.

"Push forward!" Hunter yelled as he let the arrow of flames fly, burning tens of {Blood Abominations} to a crisp.

The marksmen aimed and pulled the triggers of their weapons, causing another huge batch of the {Blood Abominations} to fall and never rise again.

Cain's trigger finger moved rapidly as bullet after bullet shot out, reaping the lives of the damnable aether beasts. Blood stained the ground as they died one after the other.

However, there was barely a denial made in the entire army...

Cain and Hunter fell back behind the shields as the Light Guardian and Ignis got to work.

"Burning Ocean..."

Muttering an incantation under her breath, Ignis charged forward. A huge magic circle blossomed behind her as the ground began to melt away.

A pool of magma spread forward with her as the epicenter. The {Blood Abominations} that were unfortunate enough to be standing before her were melted away into oblivion, not a trace of them left.

The Light Guardian on the other hand was like an unmovable aegis. With its incredibly large body, it held off the {Blood Abominations} that tried to get past it. At this moment, the Tanks and the melee fighters are able to get close enough.

The spearhead tore through the ring of death like a hot knife passing through butter. Thanks to Cain and the rest, the beastmen had an easier time plowing through the {Blood Abominations}.

Susan had previously chanted a few buffs and blessings that greatly boosted their physical conditions. Hence, they were able to bring out roughly two hundred percent of their combat potential.

Flashes of steel glimmered through the air as the {Blood Abominations} fell one after the other. The spearhead kept pushing through, finally breaking through the first layer of the ring of death.

***

Author's Note: What's up, everyone. It's your favorite author here!

So, I was thinking of doing something special this month since this is the first month of the year. Before the month runs out, I will be doing a special mass release.

For every 1000 coins worth of gifts, I will be posting three extra chapters. For example, if you gift this book a Dragon, I will be posting six extra chapters before the month runs out. However, the absolute limit I can get to is 5000 coins, which will equate to 15 extra chapters as I am not Superman.

So if you really like this book, and you are interested in reading more of it, SHOW SOME LOVE AND GIVE ME A MOTIVATIONAL PUSH!!! 🙂

Thank y'all for the timeless support. I'm looking forward to some positive feedback...