Boom!
A deafening explosion resounded through the sky, followed by countless meteor fragments raining down like raindrops, tearing through the clouds above and kicking up dazzling flames.
Those sparks seemed destined to devour everything. When they fell upon Elbaf's soil, they let out piercing shrieks, and the air filled with the smell of gunpowder and thick smoke.
The earth swayed beneath the violent tremors, and even the vast mountain ranges seemed precarious before that terrifying power.
Yet despite the apocalyptic scene before them, the people on the battlefield remained frozen in terror.
Their eyes held not only fear of death, but also helplessness before the unpredictable fate about to unfold.
Many of them gripped their weapons tightly, their hearts pounding like thunder as their tense gazes swept the surroundings, as though waiting for a moment that would decide life or death.
But suddenly—
"I... I actually survived!"
An excited cheer shattered the battlefield's silence.
The voice was hoarse, yet filled with uncontrollable joy and gratitude from someone who had nearly touched death itself.
It came from a battered soldier in disheveled clothes. He knelt beside a pile of rubble overturned by the blast, both hands pressed against the ground as he stared around in disbelief.
The battle intent once filling his eyes had now blurred with wild delight. They held a yearning for life, and relief after fate's cruel mockery.
For a moment, the surrounding soldiers came to their senses, as if awakening from a slumber. Their mouths fell open like beasts drawing breath again, tasting the freshness of the air.
Most simply stood there blankly or lay on the ground with both hands braced against it, gasping desperately as though they had been given another chance at life.
Nearly everyone's eyes were filled with tangled emotions—
Fear, exhaustion, but