At this time, Shane didn’t have time to be worried about his shelter’s defense back in the mainland...

He had to deal with wyverns in the sky, or they’ll be in danger!

However, as he glanced at Tris, he actually gestured for him to stay. It seemed that the man had a plan.

’Oh? You can deal with this? Let’s see...’ Shane mused as he understood Tris’ gesture.

At this time, even the people hidden in the evacuation shelter within the fort could hear the noise brought by the Zombies, Vampires, and Wyverns.

The Tyrants roared, Juggernauts slammed their armored fists into the earth, and wyverns circled above, with their screeches disorienting the weak...

Tris had to act now if he wanted to protect the first line of defense!

As the defenders braced themselves, Tris turned to the group behind him...

"Activate the barrier!" He commanded.

At that moment, A deep hum resonated through the fortress as the Shelter’s Barrier came to life.

Whom~

It was a dome of mana, and it enveloped Draconic Fort!

Thud! Thud! Thud!

As soon as the barrier came, the wyverns swooped low, but their claws scraped harmlessly against the shield!

They shrieked in frustration as they were unable to dive directly onto the defenders!

"Good," Tris muttered. "That buys us time."

This time, it was time to show how the Draconic Fort survived the Dragon Awakening Apocalypse!

From the ramparts, massive ballistae creaked into position.

Thirty in total, each loaded with bolts as thick as tree trunks, were prepared...

The defenders aimed skyward and soon, the commander signaled them to fire!

"Loose!" Garron shouted.

THUNK! THUNK! THUNK!

Bolts streaked through the air, piercing wyvern wings and torsos.

Screee~

One beast spiraled downward, crashing into the horde below.

Another shrieked as a bolt tore through its chest, sending it tumbling lifelessly to the ground.

The ballistae continued raining destruction upon the circling monsters in the sky!

Still, the wyverns were many, and their blood‑curdling cries rattled the defenders. They couldn’t focus on the enemies on the ground with those huge creatures in the sky!

Tris then turned to Nika. "It’s time. Use it."

Nika, usually calm and reserved, nodded.

She raised her hands as she soon used up all her gathered Spirit Points!

For a long time, she had been known as the Fort’s second‑in‑command, the one who managed supplies, records, and internal affairs.

Few realized the truth... she possessed a Legendary Talent.

And it was only being used whenever the Fort was in trouble since it requires a huge amount of Spirit Points, and it had 6 hours of cooldown!

"Overturn..."

Nika muttered, and soon, a wave of energy rippled outward, covering the battlefield in a vast radius.

There was no need to ask what it could do as the effect was immediate.

Zombies turned on one another, with their claws and teeth raking against their own kind.

Spitters spewed acid at nearby Crushers instead of the walls.

Low-Tier Vampires and Thralls shrieked and tore into fellow vampires, their fangs sinking into pale flesh!

Even the wyverns were affected as they started, snapping at each other mid-air!

Their wings collided as they fought in confusion!

The defenders stared in shock.

"What... what is this?" Shane muttered as he stopped releasing his Lightning Surge.

Tundra blinked, momentarily forgetting the bombs in his hands. "She just made them fight each other... all of them."

This was definitely a useful ability in this apocalypse. There was no doubt about it.

"What an interesting ability... Even the Zombies were affected. I thought mind control wouldn’t work on them." Lysandra muttered as she saw what was happening.

There were many other Survivors with Mind Control abilities. However, all of them couldn’t really control other Zombies...

The only possible method was through puppetry or dark magic like the one that Asad was using.

At this time, Travis’s Clone was also surprised as he watched a Tyrant slam its fist into a Juggernaut, sending the armored zombie sprawling.

It was so incredible!

"Incredible... So you’ve been hiding this?"

Nika, who had been observing everything unfold, smiled.

It wasn’t surprising that everyone was surprised. After all, this was a Legendary Talent that only works well against a huge number of enemies...

She even went to the rampart to increase the intensity of the effect!

As soon as she arrived, she saw Shane and the other defenders on the wall.

"Is that your doing?" Shane asked.

"Yes... It’s called Overturn. Hostile opponents within range... they fight each other instead. It doesn’t always work on stronger enemies, but at my level, the success rate is fifty percent."

Shane whistled low. "Fifty percent... across this entire battlefield? No wonder you were confident. How long will it last?"

"Just about 10 minutes, or it could be even shorter." She explained.

"I see... We could use this time to take a break then..." Tundra muttered.

The chaos spread like wildfire. Vampires lashed out with blood whips against their own allies. Wyverns clawed at each other in the sky while bolts from the ballistae struck some of them down.

The horde had obviously fractured since their unity was shattered by Nika’s power.

However, since it wouldn’t last that long, they would have to join in and inflict massive damage while they were still busy...

When the effect was about to end, the defenders seized the opportunity.

Pascal, the commander of the militia, ordered his men to charge! This was after Caesar and the others moved forward!

At the same time, Shane’s warriors also joined it!

"Forward!" Asta roared, leading the Super Soldiers into the battlefield!

They cut down distracted zombies and killed them faster!

Warden Units also advanced in formation, killing those Zombies and Vampires who were too busy fighting one another.

Even the Enhanced Warriors leapt from the ramparts as they used their Draconic Essence against the weakened Zombies!

"Well done... The only problem is that the newcomers weren’t affected." Shane muttered as he saw that there was another batch of Zombies, Vampires, and Wyverns coming their way!

"Hahah! That’s fine, Shane! We just need to collect those Wyvern Cores!" Nika said with a laugh.

"Wyvern Cores?"

"Yes! We use Zombie Cores now for trading, but back in our previous Apocalypse, we use the Cores of the Dragon Army to power up our weapons. Actually, we’re worried that we’d no longer have a chance to use them. Thankfully, the dragon army came..." Nika said with a smile.

These were her genuine thoughts.

Apparently, they had used up all their wyvern cores, dragonkin cores, draconic mantis cores, drake cores, and other cores brought by the Dragon Army.

Now that the Cross-Apocalypse had begun, they could finally unleash some of their secret weapons!

They just needed to obtain those cores that they thought they’d never obtain ever again!

"Very well! I trust you! Take all the Wyvern Cores... Let me help you bring them down." Shane said as he planned to loot them as well.

Shane unleashed another surge of lightning, frying a wyvern locked in combat with their own kind.

"Alright... Let me handle the enemies on the ground." Tundra, who was listening from the start, hurled a Fire Bomb into a knot of confused Hunters. The explosion incinerated them, leaving only charred remains. 𝚏𝐫𝚎𝗲𝕨𝐞𝐛𝕟𝚘𝐯𝚎𝗹.𝕔𝐨𝗺

"Nice! Bring it on!" Travis shouted as he roared at the Wyverns using his Draconic Aura!

The sudden aura released from his shout froze every wyvern in the sky!

Thanks to that, it had become a lot easier for Shane to kill them all!

[ You have eliminated a Wyvern. ]

[ You have eliminated a Wyvern. ]

...

[ You have eliminated a Wyvern. ]

The notifications continued and soon, the sky was clear again!

***

Outside the walls, the wyvern corpses littered. It was thanks to the barrier that they didn’t drop to their houses and were brought to the walls instead.

At this point, their wings were torn, and their bodies were charred, but that didn’t matter.

Survivors rushed to harvest what they could, but one figure moved like a shadow.

He was one of Tris’s secret soldiers, rarely seen and never spoken of.

His Talent was unique... Core Extractor.

Unlike ordinary looters, he could guarantee the retrieval of cores from slain beasts, no matter the condition of the body.

With a touch, his hands triggered his Talent, and from each wyvern carcass, a crystalline orb pulsed into existence. One after another, the cores were drawn out and they were filled with corrupted draconic energy.

"Wyvern Cores secured!" the soldier called immediately.

Soon, he carried them in a reinforced chest, rushing it to Tris.

Tris’s eyes gleamed as he accepted the chest.

"Excellent. With these, the barrier will no longer be stationary."

He raised the chest high, and the cores dissolved into streams of light, merging with the Shelter’s Barrier.

This could only be done by the Shelter Owner!

Whummm~

The dome of mana that had been a simple shield began to shift.

Its surface started rippling, similar to water before glowing brighter, and then... it changed.

Even the Vampire Lord, who was secretly watching everything from the sky, let out a gasp!