Chapter 423: First victory
When the Tristan Kingdom Awakened heard this, they were slightly confused. Who was this kid talking to, exactly?
Just as they were doubting him, several shimmering blue portals popped out behind him. Under the stormy sky, the glow cast flickering shadows on the bloodstained ground.
"What's that?"
"Is that another portal break?"
The Tristan soldiers flinched back in fear when they saw the portals emerge. The special-class students were the only ones who remained in their positions.
They had already seen Nox summon this portal a couple of times; however, every time, there was just something mesmerizing and fascinating about it.
"It's just like last time in Snowhelm," Glen, the full-bodied armored figure, mumbled to herself in a low voice, not able to peel her gaze away from Nox's presence.
Meanwhile, Kali, his giant sledgehammer casually resting on his shoulder, also watched with a slightly agape mouth. This wasn't because of the portals; rather, it was the terrifying power Nox had displayed just now.
"Could he really be worth the hype?" he said in a daze, his voice barely above a whisper.
Although Nox came in first place in the entrance examination, Kali had never seen him as the strongest student. To him, it was the full-bodied figure, Glen, Zara, and Theo Fanum.
But after witnessing this, he was seriously reconsidering his thoughts now.
At that moment, one after the other, Nox's pets began to step out of the portal.
The first beast that stepped out was the golem, Granite Colossus; then Blazy, the supreme spirit wolf; Thirteen; Fluffington; Astralux; and Solora.
"Beasts... Those are beasts!"
"I knew it was another portal break!"
"Everyone, stand on guard!"
The moment the shock of Nox's overwhelming display settled, the battlefield fell into a tense silence. The air was thick with the metallic scent of blood and burning flesh, but now, a different kind of pressure weighed upon the Tristan Kingdom soldiers.
The head soldier, a broad-shouldered man with a scar over his left eye, stomped toward the students, angry, his glare locked onto Brandon.
"You! Are your people the reason for this mess?!" he shouted, his voice sharp and unyielding.
Brandon's smug confidence cracked. "W-What do you mean?"
"Don't play dumb with me!" The soldier pointed a calloused finger toward Nox. "That kid—he called that thing out, didn't he?!"
Murmurs broke out among the soldiers. They were already struggling, barely holding the line, and now this? To them, it looked like the students had brought disaster instead of reinforcements.
Several of the Tristan Awakened tightened their grips on their weapons, eyes flickering with barely concealed fear.
Their apprehension wasn't baseless—among the monsters, there were a handful of Elemental Beasts, creatures far deadlier than normal magical beasts.
The mere thought of facing them sent shivers down their spines.
Brandon opened his mouth, about to argue, but before he could say anything—
"Enough."
A voice cut him off.
Nox took a step forward. He didn't even acknowledge the accusing glares. Instead, he turned slightly, his fingers twitching.
Then, he gave a single command.
"Go."
At that moment, the battlefield shifted.
All his pets lunged forward, barreling past the students and straight into the enemy lines.
The Tristan soldiers barely had time to react.
"What—?!"
"They're… attacking the monsters?"
Shock rippled through their ranks as they watched the creatures—the same ones they had feared—tearing through the horde of beasts.
The towering Granite Colossus slammed its massive fist down, crushing a monstrous centipede with a sickening crunch, while Blazy incinerated dozens of beasts with his raging flames.
Below, Fluffington moved through the chaos, a pair of glowing eyes the only sign of its presence before it struck with deadly precision.
One soldier stood frozen, his blade raised defensively. He had been moments away from being torn apart by a mutated ogre—until a panda appeared in front of him and slammed its fist into the monster. It effortlessly cleaved through the creature's torso, cutting it clean in half.
"W-What the hell?" that soldier gasped, stumbling backward.
The others weren't faring much better. The beasts weren't just fighting—they were saving people.
The battle had changed completely.
The Tristan Awakened exchanged confused glances. This wasn't what they expected at all.
One of them finally voiced what they were all thinking.
"…Who the hell is this kid?"
The answer came almost immediately.
"He's a beast tamer." Wendy smiled, her chest puffed out with pride. "It allows him to control beasts."
They all looked at Nox again, blinking in disbelief.
"There's a class like that?"
At first, they were confused. However, when they thought back to how the beasts had stood by Nox's side instead of attacking—
Waiting.
For his command.
They realized the white-haired girl wasn't lying to them.
And this, more than anything, terrified the Tristan soldiers the most.
Because it meant that he was indeed the one controlling them.
The realization hit like a sledgehammer.
This wasn't just some overconfident student.
This was something else entirely.
"He's gotten stronger," Brandon muttered in a low voice as he watched Nox, who stood in the middle of the battlefield, his hair hovering in the air, his expression unreadable.
After a moment, he added, "It will be troublesome to get rid of him."
The battle went on for hours. The monster horde got smaller and smaller as Nox's beasts and the students of the Vermilion Kingdom kept fighting. At first, the Tristan soldiers were afraid of the creatures, but after seeing them in action, they started to fight side by side with them.
The Granite Colossus stomped around, smashing anything in its way. Blazy burned through everything with fire. Thirteen dashed in between the monsters, appearing and disappearing as monsters fell around him. Astralux flew above, swooping up enemies from the sky with her tentacles.
And Solora, with her venomous fangs, was also a menace.
And then there was Fluffington.
When the shadowy cat moved, it was terrifying. One second, an ogre was standing there. The next, its head was gone. Just like that.
It was crazy.
By the time the sun came up, most of the beasts had been pushed back. However, the fight was anything but over—they had only barely cleared the outer perimeters closest to human settlements.
The real fight had not even begun yet!
And the monsters they faced now were the weakest of the bunch. If they moved further down, they'd encounter more fearsome beasts.
The first rays of sunlight painted the battlefield in hues of gold and crimson, illuminating the carnage left behind. Corpses of monsters and shattered weapons littered the blood-soaked ground.
But despite the destruction, a strange sense of camaraderie had settled among the Tristan Kingdom Awakened.
They no longer looked at Nox's beasts with fear but with something closer to awe. These creatures, which had initially terrified them, had fought alongside them, turning the tide of battle.
"Never thought I'd be glad to have a monster watching my back," one soldier muttered, still shaken.
Another soldier, a young woman with short auburn hair, nodded. "That beast with the tentacles—what did you call it? Astralux? That thing saved my life."
Brandon, who acted as the leader, let out a slow breath before turning to his students. "We set up camp here," he ordered. "Rest while you can." Find exclusive stories on My Virtual Library Empire
The Vermilion Kingdom students nodded, immediately setting to work. Blake and Kali took charge of fortifying the area, dragging debris to form a makeshift perimeter. The Tristan soldiers hesitated at first but, seeing no better option, began to assist.
Meanwhile, Wendy walked over to Nox, a smirk playing on her lips. "You really enjoy making a dramatic entrance, don't you?"
Nox arched a brow but didn't answer.
Instead, the sounds of admiration and whispers from the Tristan Kingdom soldiers caught his attention.
"That kid… he controlled those beasts like it was nothing."
"This beast tamer class must be very powerful! If I could go back in time, I'd have definitely chosen it!"
"No wonder he placed first in the entrance exam," a special-class student sighed.
"I still can't believe he single-handedly killed that emperor-tier beast with one attack."
A soldier who wasn't present on the battlefield scoffed. "You're joking. Someone his age?"
The murmurs of astonishment only grew louder. A few of the soldiers even approached him hesitantly.
One particularly bold man, still clutching his battle-worn spear, grinned. "Hey, kid. You just saved our asses back there. If you ever need an extra hand, let me know."
Another soldier pounded his fist against his chest in a salute. "With you and those beasts on our side, we might actually survive this damn war."
"They're right," the broad-chested man with the scar on his face, who seemed to be the leader of the battalion, nodded his head in agreement. "Sorry for ever doubting you."
Nox barely acknowledged them, his mind already moving ahead. He glanced toward the horizon. How was he supposed to tell them that he really didn't want to be here?
***
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