"They're finally here," Einar said as he looked at the two massive armies coming toward them from their left and right sides.

Great General Watson and Great General Sherlock had decided to use a tactic that would allow them to fight and retreat at the same time, killing as many Ammarian Soldiers as possible.

Lux, who was looking at his map, frowned at the sight of countless red dots that were headed towards them like a giant wave that would wash away everything in their path.

The Half-Elf then raised his head to look at the actual army that was represented by those dots and took a deep breath.

Countless Griffins were flying in the sky, and War Beasts of every size marched towards their camp at a steady pace.

Clearly, the Ammarian Army intended to use everything in their power to crush their opponents and make the Yelan Kingdom understand that conquering their lands had been a very big mistake.

The Ammarian Kingdom had always been the conquerors.

They had never been the defenders, and for them, wiping the Yelan Army from their lands was a way to remove the stain and humiliation of being conquered by a kingdom that was a few times smaller than theirs.

"Are you guys ready to die?" Val asked in a teasing tone.

Einar snorted as he looked at the Spider Boy with disdain.

"The only one dying here will be you," Einar stated.

Val smirked as he looked at the Barbarian Prince who seemed unfazed by the armies that were now making their way to their location.

"Wanna make a bet?" Val inquired. "The first one to die will pay the other one million gold coins."

"Sounds good," Einar replied with a sneer. "Since you want to give me your money so badly, I will gladly accept your donation."

"Prepare to cry, Barbarian Boy."

"Prepare to die, Spider Boy."

Malcolm glanced at the two teenagers who were younger than him by a year with disdain. He didn't know where their confidence was coming from, but he could tell that surviving this battle would be difficult if they fought on the front lines.

"By the way, where is Xander?" Henrietta asked because she couldn't see the young man anywhere.

"He's looking after Cai," Keane replied. "The Pig isn't feeling well, so he decided to guard it just in case some of the others decided to cook it for lunch."

The corner of Henrietta's lips twitched as she looked at the skinny swordsman, whose gaze was directed at the approaching armies.

Lux, on the other hand, couldn't help but smile when he heard Keane's words.

He had forced the skinny swordsman to get a few hours of rest and let Xander look after Cai for the time being.

The Half-Elf knew that Xander would do better, knowing he would prioritize protecting Cai's life instead of participating in the war.

This was how loyal the Rowan Tribe was to their Tribe Chief, as well as their High Priestess. Even if they failed their mission, Xander wouldn't bat an eye and remain by Cai's side until the bitter end.

"Although it is not confirmed, there is a possibility that Nero might have found a way to temporarily become a Ranker," Lux said as he faced his team members. "I'm sure that all of you know that I am on the top of his Kill List, and you guys are in second. Jasper and the others might still be alive, and there is a high possibility that all of them are working with Nero to eliminate us.

"Your role is to eliminate Jasper and his cohorts while I fend off Nero. Before you guys say anything, I will tell you now that I won't be able to fight him for a long time.

"I don't know how high his Rank is, but if he is just as strong as Second or General Revon, then I will definitely die in his hands. So, make sure to eliminate Jasper and his team then come help me right away. Do I make myself clear?"

Keane, Einar, Val, Henrietta, and Malcolm all nodded their heads to acknowledge Lux's order.

"Now this is the plan. I will use myself as bait and drag Nero to..."

Lux gave his detailed plan to his teammates, and told them about the things that they should watch out for.

Jasper had the ability to merge with the ground and move undetected, which made him a very slippery opponent.

Since Lux would be fighting against Nero, the Half-Elf decided to leave one of his clones with Keane and the others to help them locate Jasper, should the latter and his cohorts decide to sneak attack them.

After knowing that there was a possibility that Nero might be the one who had a hand in destroying the fortifications in the Mountain Stronghold, the Half-Elf had snuck outside of the Yelan Camp and set up a battlefield that would ensure his survival under Nero's assault while he waited for his friends to dispose of Jasper and his cohorts.

Just as Great General Watson and Great General Sherlock were about to give their orders to prepare for battle, something unexpected happened.

A lone person with bat-like wings fearlessly flew toward the Yelan Camp and stopped hundreds of meters away from their first defensive lines.

After taking a closer look, they noticed that it was only a teenager with long dark-brown hair that fluttered in the breeze.

The first thing they noticed aside from his bat-like wings were the two crimson horns protruding from his head, as well as his eyes that glowed blood red.

"Lux Von Kaizer! Come out!" Nero shouted.

Lux didn't recognize him right away because of the drastic changes in his appearance. However, after hearing his voice, he confirmed that the devil-like person hovering in the sky was none other than Nero, who had a grudge against him.

Lux coated his entire body with the Favonius Legacy, which allowed him to fly, and flew above the Yelan Camp, facing Nero who now reeked with the smell of Abyssal Monsters.

"So you fell into the corruption of the Abyss," Lux said before crossing his arms over his chest. "What do you want?"

Nero calmly gazed at the person whom he wanted to kill the most. With his current strength, he could easily crush the Half-Elf in an instant, but he didn't do that because he wanted to see despair on the Half-Elf's face before he gave him the killing blow.

Also, he knew that Henrietta had an artifact that allowed the Headmaster of Barbatos to see and hear what she was seeing and hearing. Since that was the case, he was confident that Iris was also able to view the war through Henrietta's eyes.

He wanted her to witness the moment when he crushed the Half-Elf's heart and tore Lux's head from his body. Because of this, he was able to endure the strong urge to attack the Half-Elf this instant.

"When the war starts, do you dare to fight me one on one?" Nero asked with a sneer. "Or do you plan to hide behind those Rankers down there to protect you?"

Lux was tempted to give Nero the middle finger because of how shameless he was. Right now, the Guildmaster of the Storm Dragon's Guild was a Ranker, yet he was challenging the Half-Elf whose rank had degraded to that of an Apostle.

"I guess your shame also disappeared the moment you lost to the seed of corruption in your heart," Lux replied.

Nero shrugged off Lux's words because, for him, it didn't really matter whether the Half-Elf accepted his challenge or not. He just wanted everyone to see that he was no longer the same person who had lost to Lux in the Tournament that was held a few months ago.

"So, do you dare to accept or not?" Nero asked again. "It doesn't really matter what your answer will be. I'll crush you and the Yelan Army together if that is what you want."

Right now, he was oozing with confidence. Even though he was only hundreds of meters away from the Yelan Camp, he showed no fear because he had the ability to escape anytime he wanted.

"You've already lost to me twice," Lux replied in a teasing tone. "First in the tournament, and second in the Marshlands. You were an Initiate and yet you ran away after fighting me, an apostle, in a fistfight. Since you can't beat me in the Initiate Rank, you are hoping that you can beat me as a Ranker. Nero, do you even have the face to show yourself to the people of the Six Kingdoms?"

Contrary to his expectations, Nero didn't have an angry reaction. In fact, the devil-like young man even chuckled after hearing Lux's words.

"True, I lost to you twice." Nero nodded to acknowledge Lux's words. "But, what of it? In the end, the last one standing is King. When this battle ends, the only thing that everyone will remember is that I am the winner, and you are the loser."

"You talk too much," Lux stated. "If you want to fight then let's fight. Since you are the one that challenged me, I will choose the time and place where we will fight. Are you fine with that?"

Nero nodded. "I don't mind. Consider it as me being generous to you."

"Good, when the sun is at its peak, meet me over there." Lux pointed in the direction that was a distance away from where the two armies were going to fight. "We will have our duel there."

Nero shifted his gaze in the direction where the Half-Elf was pointing before giving Lux a brief nod.

"Very well," Nero replied. "Let's use the first clash of both armies as a warm up for our duel. Make sure that you don't die before I kill you."

Nero turned around to fly in the direction of the Ammarian Camp.

Since the Half-Elf had already agreed to duel with him, he would just kill some time by watching the battle between the two sides.

Even if he didn't lend his hand, Nero was sure that the Ammarian Army still had the advantage in the battle. Now that he had the power to tilt the tide of battle in his favor, he believed that everything was within the palm of his hands.

That included the Half-Elf, whom he thought was stupid for accepting his one-sided proposal despite the vast difference between their ranks.