Ard could see that the knights accompanying Ophelia were no ordinary imperial soldiers. They were Templars and monastic troops, vast in number, with their banners fluttering over every legion. It was clear their loyalty belonged solely to Ophelia, not to Edmund as their Emperor. Meanwhile, the sky turned dark, eclipsed by the sheer number of angels hovering in the air. Eva stepped forward and stood beside Ard.

"This is it, Ard... the war that decides the fate of the world," Eva said.

"You’re right. This is our final battle," Ard replied.

Then, Ophelia, still seated on her throne, raised her hand. "Stomp!" The thunderous sound of the army bracing themselves and stomping their feet echoed across the plain. When Ophelia dropped her hand, pointing directly at Ard and Eva, the commander screamed, "ATTACK!" A collective roar shattered the silence as the infantry and cavalry charged forward. Archers and acolytes let fly their arrows and magic toward Ard and Eva, but Ace and Greta suddenly appeared, raising their magical shields to protect their masters.

Ard and Eva glanced at each other, then shifted into their stances and raised their swords, Exgrandal and Exelion. The waves of Templars, monastery soldiers, archers, and acolytes—who continued to rain down fire—along with the swarms of angels hovering above, were closing in. Ard and Eva didn’t back down; they intended to charge forward. But just as they were about to take their first step,

"ATTACK!"

The two of them whipped their heads around, stunned to see Adeline, Alicia, Milia, Beatrice, Rosalind, Pyria, Mirea, and Claudia sprinting forward alongside their familiars. Behind them followed the demon army led by Irina, Varvir, and Durgat; the elven archers led by Eledar; and the vampire forces flying side-by-side with the wing tribes and harpies led by Dimitri. They were joined by the Fredonia army led by Alexis; the Durnhill forces under Geoffrey, Ainsley, and Irwin; and the armies of Rellios and Ateras led by their commanders, followed by the wild barbarian tribes.

With the dwarves led by Elmer, the giants under Grethia, and the mermen led by Tatiana all charging together, the ground shook as if an earthquake had struck, and the world seemed to fill with the roaring thunder of their footsteps. Ard and Eva immediately broke into wide grins. They looked at each other once more, then held hands and leaped onto their familiars.

"Victory for Liberta... CHARGE!" Ard screamed.

"Today we feast... ONWARD!" Eva shouted.

"Uoooooh!" the entire army roared back, their spirits soaring as their voices grew even louder.

In just moments, "clash," the two massive forces collided. War cries echoed everywhere, the clanging of swords filled the air, the thundering footsteps shook the earth, and the sounds of magic being fired and scream after scream seemed to fill the entire universe.

"Crack,"

Ard ripped his sword from the armor of an angel soldier. He and Eva, soaring on their familiars, fought the celestial enemies above alongside the wing tribe and vampire forces, joined by Rosalind, Adeline, and Irwin. Meanwhile, Geoffrey, Ainsley, Alicia, Milia, Claudia, Pyria, and Mirea battled on the ground using their magic and familiars. The air grew thick with agonized screams as casualties mounted on both sides; the once-green meadow began to turn red in patches from the splattered blood. From their vantage point above, Ard and Eva could see their forces being pushed back. They glanced toward the rear of the Templar ranks and realized that many acolytes were resurrecting the fallen soldiers.

"Eva... let’s take them out," Ard said.

"Right... all air units, follow us!" Eva shouted.

"Ready!" the troops roared back.

The two of them immediately dove toward the enemy’s rear, while their forces—comprised of vampires, wing tribes, and harpies—intercepted and slaughtered the angels trying to stop them. After that, they leapt from their familiars and directly charged the acolytes, who looked more like necromancers, in the back ranks.

Alicia, Milia, Claudia, Pyria, Mirea, Beatrice, Rosalind, Geoffrey, Ainsley, and Irwin joined Ard and Eva at the rear after successfully breaking through the ground forces. Together, they massacred the entire unit of acolytes, while their familiars tore through the archers and the backline units that attempted to strike back.

Watching her rear forces being destroyed, Ophelia—who had only been observing—actually smiled. She raised her hand, and the heavens split open. The sound of trumpets echoed as a higher rank of angels than the previous ones emerged. They landed in front of Ard, Eva, and the others, shielding and protecting Ophelia. These new angels had four wings, wore golden armor, and donned full-face helmets so tight that only their eyes were visible. Immediately, the entire unit stood ready to strike Ard, Eva, and the rest, who were now trapped in the middle between the new angels and the rear of the previous army.

"What do we do now," Beatrice said.

"Don’t falter; we will definitely win," Geoffrey replied, propping his greatsword on his shoulder.

"Right, there’s no need to be afraid," Irwin added, bracing himself.

Ard looked back; the battle was still raging. The zeppelins, wing tribes, and harpies were still fighting in the sky against the angels, while the rest of the forces remained on the ground. But when Ophelia stood up, Ard and Eva’s faces suddenly turned pale.

"Do you think I would just let you be?" Ophelia asked. Though her voice didn’t reach Ard and Eva, her eyes were fixed on them.

Ophelia raised both hands toward the sky. The heavens opened in several places and "blam," pillars of lightning struck the earth. "Whoaaah!" The ground forces caught in the crossfire couldn’t avoid it; they were sent flying in all directions, and some were instantly charred to death inside the light.

Eledar, seeing a beam about to descend upon him, immediately cast his green dome magic shield and summoned his green phoenix to intercept it. But "blam," "akh!" Eledar’s green shield shattered and his phoenix was instantly incinerated, reverting back into an egg. Eledar was blown backward, but his troops were saved.

"Chief!" the elves around him screamed.

"I’m... fine... hurry, keep going! We will win!" Eledar shouted.

Seeing their chief’s sacrifice, the elves glanced at one another. They let out a roar and charged forward, jumping and leaping as they rained down their arrows. Ard, Eva, and the others watched in fury as the forces behind them were thrown into chaos. It wasn’t just their own allies being struck; Ophelia had ruthlessly blasted her own troops as well with those massive beams from the sky that looked like giant bolts of yellow lightning.

"Damn her... that is absolutely crossing the line," Ard said, his voice trembling with rage.

"You’re right. We have to stop her," Eva replied.

"Let’s move... together," Alicia said.

"Exactly. If we stand together, we can’t lose," Mirea added.

"I’m ready whenever you are," Beatrice added, dropping into her combat stance.

"Let’s go... what are we waiting for," Claudia added.

"Look... what is she doing now," Pyria screamed, pointing toward Ophelia.

They watched as Ophelia spread her arms wide, opening two massive black vortexes. From within, an endless tide of acolytes, undead soldiers, and undead wyverns emerged, forming ranks behind the four-winged angels. Seeing the new arrivals, Ard and Eva knew exactly what they were looking at.

"Malekh’s army... she’s using Malekh’s forces," Eva said.

"She is," Ard replied.

"What do we do, Ard?" Milia asked.

"We’re surrounded," Ainsley noted.

By the time they realized it, they were completely surrounded by Templars, four-winged angels, and monastery warriors. They immediately stood back-to-back, forming a defensive circle. The situation was turning dire; their forces were being hammered by lightning from the sky, they were trapped, and enemy reinforcements were growing. Ard thought hard, searching for a way to break free and defeat Ophelia, but suddenly,

"Let us take the lead, Your Majesty," Baalbel’s voice echoed in Ard’s head.

"Huh?"

Before Ard could even react, three massive portals swung open right beside Ophelia’s troops. "CHARGE!" The demon army, led by Varvir, Durgat, Xeria, and Baalbel, surged out from the flank along with the Raven units led by Abel, the dark elves led by Bhadra, and the Orthus Imperial forces led by Bernard. It turned out that when the giant lightning had struck, they had retreated into a portal Xeria created to return to her nest, only to re-emerge at the flank of the core force protecting Ophelia. And that wasn’t all.

"The entire Orthus Imperial Knight corps and the imperial soldiers are heading this way to join us. Hold on, Your Majesty," Baalbel said.

"He’s right, Ard. Focus on the goddess Ophelia," Abel’s voice echoed in Ard’s head.

"Thank you, Abel and Baalbel," Ard replied. "Everyone, attack them! For Liberta!" Ard screamed.

Immediately, Ard, Eva, and the others tore through the troops surrounding them, charging forward alongside their familiars who had grown to giant proportions. Seeing the forces protecting and surrounding her under attack, Ophelia stood up and glared at her assailants.

"Bastards... demons... wipe them out," Ophelia commanded.

"Attack!"

The four-winged angels and the undead soldiers immediately shifted their focus to engage the demon army, the Orthus soldiers, the dark elves, and the Raven troops.