Just as Shade predicted, though most of Admiral Figaro's troops were getting crushed, a small group of human players stood out with incredible lethality and efficiency.
It was a group of about thirty players from different classes, all wearing the same guild tag. Each one was surrounded by a purple aura, and every one of their skills annihilated enemies on contact.
Their leader appeared to be a bearded man in his fifties. Floating mid-air, he stood at the center of the group. Like a conductor, he channeled energy from one ally to another through his hands.
Spotting a wave of enemy attacks coming from the north, he raised his palm toward the allies under pressure, and their power was suddenly amplified…
Shade explained to Amélie, who didn't understand why this human group was so far above the others: "The man in the center links all his allies, transfers and amplifies the group's strength. When he needs brute force on a single ally, he draws from the others and gives it to whoever he chooses… It works for every aspect of power. His [Supreme Skill] looks extremely versatile."
A few minutes later, the only survivors of the clash between the two battalions were Admiral Figaro and the group of thirty players surrounded by the purple aura.
The bearded man at the center of the group looked exhausted, but so did the rest of the players.
Amélie, who had never seen such a turnaround, looked at Shade in surprise. "You were able to evaluate each group's strength with that much accuracy when the battle had barely started… That's incredible. Does that mean you can also predict the outcome of the final battle? Do we have a chance?"
Shade couldn't help but give her a side glance. "Who do you think I am? Of course I can predict the outcome of this war."
Enjoying the shock on her face, he gave her a small sideways smile. "But I'd rather not spoil it. Nobody likes spoilers."
Seeing her roll her eyes, he ignored her and focused back on the ongoing battles.
Lionel King, who had reached level 134 after winning his last fight, was once again at the center of a conflict where he played a major role.
This time, however, the instructions were clear on both sides.
The Dark Elves were doing everything they could to stop the young man from scoring his first kills. They even sent their elite troops to eliminate the talented human player before he could become a bigger threat.
On the other side, the high-ranking human officers were following a simple strategy: feed Lionel King easy kills, and protect him during his heating phase.
Shade watched one of the strangest battles unfold.
"What is this mess? Human assassins are kidnapping Lionel's targets and delivering them to him so he can power up by killing them, while the enemy elites are guarding their noobs or trying to take Lionel out."
Amélie also looked surprised by the tactical choices from both battalions. "They're adjusting their strategy to ours?" she asked.
Shade nodded. "Yeah, they're focusing all their efforts on Lionel. They know that once he reaches twenty kills or so, he becomes unstoppable. Everything now rests on the assassins from both sides. If ours manage to feed the kid enough 'meat' before dying, we'll win the battle. If the enemy assassins manage to take him out, we'll lose one of our key assets and probably lose this 1000 vs 1000."
On the battlefield, the human colonel in charge quickly understood what was at stake and did what any decent leader would do: he made the young squad leader bait to trap the enemy assassins.
The bait, named Lionel King, had only taken out a handful of players and still couldn't resist repeated assassination attempts on his own.
Faced with the enemy's growing caution after several failed attempts, he resigned himself to follow his colonel's plan.
That's when the tactical battle took over from the brawl. Feints, ambushes, and bluffs everything chained together, gradually giving the Dark Elves the upper hand.
As elite human fighters kept dying one by one to protect Lionel or deliver him sacrifices, he kept growing stronger and stronger.
Six hundred human players eliminated, and three hundred on the other side.
And then, the inevitable happened. The battle shifted toward one side. Humanity's side.
Twenty dark elves had died by Lionel's hand.
With darkened eyes, he stepped in to replace his fallen allies and began to massacre his enemies.
Shade had a grin on his face and pointed at Lionel. "Now that's my guy!"
Amélie gave him a weird look. "Really? You trained him?"
The commander looked surprised and replied, "No, but he's my subordinate, so technically he's my guy… Never mind, you ruined the hype."
Mildly irritated, he muttered, "Always ruining the mood, this one."
"I can hear you…"
A few dozen minutes later, it was Shade's turn to join the battalion battles—and the result surprised no one.
Just like the previous match, he gave the enemy no chance, getting an impressive number of points along the way.
When he returned, he took his seat and helplessly stared at the scoreboard.
[Dark Elf Kingdom: 280,000 points]
[New World Kingdom: 138,000 points]
He murmured, "45 losses out of 50 matches… Damn, that's even worse than I thought."
Admiral Figaro looked pale as he read the scores. "We're screwed… They crushed us. Two [Aces] against us, that's 40,000 points alone."
Amélie added, "Good thing the commander got an [Ace] and a [Flawless] in his battle. It's the only match we won easily…"
Shade looked at the four generals behind him and sighed. "You all really need to train before the next wars. I won't always be around to bail you out."
The group dropped their heads all at once, and Shade shook his, staring at their defeated faces.
'We're in trouble if we're counting on them… Sora might be a little too optimistic if he wants humanity to contribute to the win. I think we're gonna have to solo carry this whole thing.'
Sure enough, in the next series of battles between legions, ten battalions on each side, the results of the first three fights were clear: crushing victories for the Dark Elves.
However, that winning streak was threatened when Shade's legion entered the arena.
On the Dark Elves' faces, fear and anxiety mixed with hope. Hope that this human wouldn't wipe them out again before they could even fight back.
Shade stepped forward, and feeling the concentrated auras of thousands of players locked onto him, he focused.
'I have to treat this as training. Ten thousand enemies, and only one objective: win without any losses…'
He began a countdown in his mind, and once the timer hit zero, he shrouded his allies in his darkness and shadows, sending them into his [Umbral Realm].
Now alone against his enemies, a hint of relief crossed his face.
'They didn't catch anyone! I have to finish this before they use their spells or react.'
Eyes on the ten thousand enemies, he bent his knees slightly and clapped his element-charged palms together.
A shockwave mixed with darkness and shadows swept through the Dark Elves, who seemed completely unable to react to the devastating, lethal attack.
Shade ignored the thousands of notifications flashing before his eyes and focused instead on the most powerful enemy players.
'1... 2... 4... 7... 9... colonels down! And there goes the general too.'
Scanning the enemy legion for the last colonel, he was surprised to find no trace of them.
'I saw her before the battle… She was to my left. Could she have a way to hide from my senses?'
Perplexed, he looked at the spot where the Dark Elf woman specialized in melee combat had last stood, and froze.
Where he had last seen her was now the corpse of a human, lying on the ground, consumed by his shadows…
'That's Milo, an English soldier under Colonel Reyel's command... What is he doing there? Did I kill him by accident?'
Shade instantly realized that the [Flawless] reward wouldn't be granted but a sinking feeling told him that wasn't the worst outcome of this battle.
Turning toward his [Shadow Realm], panic hit him. He raised his hand quickly and expelled all humans from the dimension.
As the crowd reappeared in the sky, his heart nearly stopped.
"Oh no… Those idiots…" he muttered.
The missing colonel was falling slowly, lifeless, from the sky… The woman's body was ravaged by the elements, and her mutilated form spoke of a brutal fight against thousands of humans.
[Your Legion won a Legion War. +10,000 points.]
[XP Gained: War Experience Boost x5]
[Level Up!]
[Level Up!]
From the smile on her lips, Shade knew she had completed her mission. She had reversed the outcome of the battle all on her own…
Shade was moved back to the stands and opened his interface to summon all ten colonels from his legion upon sitting.
When the ten individuals arrived, each wearing a guilty or hesitant expression, he asked a simple question.
"Who ordered the attack on the colonel inside my hidden dimension?"
The answer was a deafening silence, and Shade's irritation and anger began to rise.
A player named Patrick stepped forward to speak. Shade gave him a nod.
"That woman switched places with one of my soldiers, Milo, the moment we entered the dimension. I saw him vanish with my own eyes. Once she appeared among the legion, she started slaughtering players. We did everything we could to avoid killing her, but then she began using skills that sacrificed her vitality, and others that taunted our mages… The ones with weaker mental strength began to bombard her, and eventually she died under their attacks… No one ordered her to be taken down. Quite the opposite."
Turning to the other players for confirmation, he was met with nods.
He told the group, "Thanks for the report. You can return to your positions."
As the players walked away, he grabbed his forehead, thinking, 'This is costing us so many points... I'm screwed… Don't tell me I'm going to ruin Sora's [Supreme Quest] on the very first battle. If that happens, I'll be the laughingstock of our entire family…'
'That woman predicted my attack and swapped places with a soldier without me even noticing. What an incredible skill… And she managed to keep it hidden until now.'
Turning to Amélie, who was trembling like a leaf beside him, he asked, "What's wrong with you?"
Amélie pointed to the battlefield with a shaking finger.
Shade turned his head and upon seeing the scene in the arena, he stood up.
"Holy shit!!" He blurted out.