Chapter 1708: Impossible

Archer flew high above Draconia’s coastline, his white hair whipping violently in the cold ocean wind as he followed the enormous island’s shoreline. Far below, waves crashed against towering cliffs and narrow beaches, while fortified walls stretched across the more vulnerable sections of the coast. Soldiers still crowded the battlements after the Sea Dragon’s attack, and repair crews worked around damaged towers while artillery teams remained stationed beside the enormous cannons overlooking the ocean.

His violet eyes continuously scanned the horizon. The Sea Dragon was dead, but he wasn’t convinced the attack was over. The dark magic controlling the creature had come from somewhere, and until he discovered who was responsible, he had no intention of leaving Draconia’s coastline undefended. He continued around the island, occasionally glancing inland. Forests stretched away from the cliffs toward distant mountains, villages dotted the countryside, and roads wound toward the enormous city farther inland. Everything appeared peaceful.

Too peaceful.

Archer slowed. Something moved amongst the clouds ahead. He stopped in mid-air and stared toward the distant shapes. At first, only a handful, barely distinguishable against the darkening sky. Then dozens more emerged behind them. They were Giant birds. The creatures poured through the clouds in a vast flock, each one several times larger than a horse. Their gigantic wings carried them rapidly across the ocean; hooked beaks and talons made their intentions clear. More continued appearing until the sky ahead seemed filled with them. ℴℴ𝘮

He sighed. ’’You’ve got to be kidding me.’’

The flock suddenly changed direction. Every creature turned toward him. Their piercing cries rolled across the coastline as they accelerated. He didn’t move as the first bird folded its wings and dived toward him, talons aimed at his body. He waited until the creature was almost upon him, then moved sideways. Its claws snapped shut through empty air. Archer grabbed its leg. The bird shrieked as he swung it around and hurled it directly into another approaching creature. Their bodies collided in an explosion of feathers before both plummeted toward the ocean.

The rest attacked together. He surged upward as several sets of talons swept beneath his feet. He twisted in mid-air, drove his fist into the side of one bird’s skull and sent the creature spinning away before another slammed into him from behind. Its claws wrapped around his torso. He glanced down at them. ’’Bad idea.’’

Archer seized both legs and pulled. The creature screamed as he ripped himself free before throwing it downward toward the sea. A deafening boom suddenly rolled across the coastline. Archer looked toward Draconia. Smoke erupted from one of the coastal batteries below. A projectile screamed past him and struck an approaching bird directly in the chest, knocking the enormous creature backwards through the air.

Another cannon fired. Then another. Within seconds, the entire coastline erupted. Cannons positioned along the walls and cliffside fortifications began firing into the flock, thunderous blasts rolling across Draconia as artillery crews desperately tracked the creatures overhead. Cannonballs tore through the sky around him, smashing into wings, chests and enormous feathered bodies. Several birds immediately began falling toward the ocean.

Archer grinned. ’’That’s more like it.’’

He launched himself directly into the flock. A bird snapped its beak toward him. Archer dropped beneath it, drove both hands into its chest and sent it hurtling backwards into two others. Another descended from above, but a cannonball struck its wing before it reached him, ripping through the feathers and sending the creature spiralling helplessly toward the sea. He shot past it. Three more surrounded him as he accelerated directly toward the closest, slammed his shoulder into its chest and carried the creature through the air before throwing it aside.

He immediately twisted around and caught another by the beak as it attempted to bite him. For several seconds, the enormous creature desperately beat its wings while Archer held its jaws shut with both hands. ’’No.’’

Archer drove his knee into its throat. The bird went limp as he released it and watched the body fall hundreds of metres toward the waves below. Another thunderous volley erupted from Draconia. The sky became chaos. Cannonballs screamed upward from the island while enormous birds dived toward the walls, forcing soldiers to scatter across the battlements. He raced between them, intercepting anything that managed to break through the artillery fire.

He struck one creature hard enough to shatter its beak, seized another by the wing and spun it into the path of a third, sending both tumbling toward the cliffs. Yet more appeared through the clouds. He stopped. His amusement disappeared. There weren’t dozens anymore. There were hundreds. They stretched across the horizon in a vast moving swarm, their wings turning the distant sky almost black as they approached Draconia from across the ocean.

The cannons below continued firing. Soldiers shouted across the walls as officers desperately redirected batteries toward the approaching mass. He hovered alone between the island and the incoming flock. His violet eyes narrowed. The Sea Dragon hadn’t been the invasion. It had been the beginning. Archer disappeared into the flock. What followed was a massacre. He tore through the first creature with his claws, ripping across its chest before launching himself toward another.

His fist smashed through the second bird’s skull, sending its enormous body tumbling from the sky. A third attack from behind, but he twisted around, caught its talons and swung the creature directly into several others. Feathers exploded through the air as enormous bodies collided. The cannons continued roaring beneath him. Volley after volley tore through the flock while Archer butchered anything that survived long enough to reach the coastline.

He moved too quickly for the creatures to surround him. One moment he was above them, the next he was underneath, claws ripping through flesh before he accelerated toward another target. The sky became filled with falling bodies. Birds crashed into the ocean around Draconia like enormous stones, sending columns of water into the air. Others struck the cliffs or disappeared into the forests beyond the walls.

The flock’s numbers collapsed with terrifying speed. Archer caught the final creature by its throat. Its wings beat frantically as his claws tightened. ’’Enough.’’

He snapped its neck. The bird went limp before he released it, allowing the corpse to fall toward the ocean below. Silence gradually returned. He hovered above the coastline, surrounded by drifting feathers while hundreds of enormous bodies floated amongst the waves beneath him. Smoke still poured from Draconia’s artillery batteries, but the cannons had stopped firing.

Then Archer felt it. His entire body froze as a strange man floated through the air. It wasn’t coming from the surrounding sea but from the island. His head snapped toward Draconia. ’’What?’’

Space distorted. Dozens of points across the island suddenly twisted simultaneously. Black fractures appeared in the air fields, forests, roads and open ground. They expanded rapidly, each crack widening into a swirling portal filled with violent foreign energy. His eyes widened in surprise. Impossible.

The protections surrounding Draconia should have prevented exactly this. Another portal opened. Then twenty more. ’’No.’’

The first monsters emerged. Humanoid creatures poured through the portals in numbers. Some were twice the height of men, covered in crude armour and carrying gigantic blades. Others were smaller, hunched creatures armed with spears, axes and shields. Hulking beasts followed behind them, alongside twisted humanoids with horns, scaled skin and burning eyes. Hundreds became thousands.

Thousands became tens of thousands. Warning horns erupted across Draconia. The peaceful island transformed within seconds. Bells thundered from towers. Soldiers sprinted across walls and through fortifications while civilians fled toward protected districts. Gates opened across military compounds as heavily armoured formations began marching into the surrounding countryside.

The Draconian Legions were mobilising. Archer remained motionless in the sky. His protection had been bypassed. Someone had found a way onto his island, causing him to grow enraged as a roar escaped him. It wasn’t human. The sound rolled across the island with enough force to make soldiers look toward the sky. Moments later, he vanished. He struck the first horde like a meteor. The ground exploded beneath him.

Dozens of monsters were thrown through the air as the impact carved a crater into the field. Before the survivors could recover, he was already amongst them. His claws came out. He seized the nearest creature by the face and drove it into the ground before tearing through another with his opposite hand. A massive armoured humanoid swung an axe toward his head. Archer caught the weapon in one hand.

The creature stared at him. He crushed the axe blade between his fingers. Then he punched through its armour. From that moment onward, there was no technique. Archer became an animal. He tore through the horde with claws and overwhelming strength, smashing bodies aside whenever they surrounded him. A creature lunged toward his back. He spun, ripping through its armour before hurling it into a group charging from behind.

Another attempted to bring down a gigantic hammer on him. He caught the monster by its throat and threw it hundreds of metres. More poured from the portal. His eyes began glowing. ’’GET OFF MY ISLAND!’’