"The Sovereign demands absolute control over this continent before we invade the next," Iron-Scale announced. He drove a star-iron dagger directly into a cluster of red markers on the map. "We will systematically dismantle every Fourth Continent base, outpost, and supply depot remaining in the Sea of Glass."

He pulled the dagger free and pointed the blade toward Krax.

"Take fifty thousand heavy infantry and the Kingdom Knights," Iron-Scale commanded. "March south. The map indicates three major surface fortresses harvesting iron from the mesas. Shatter their walls and burn their siege weapons."

Krax grinned, gripping his Ley-Crystal greataxe. "They will be dust by tomorrow."

Iron-Scale turned toward Gulag. "Aethelgard buried their magical artillery bunkers deep beneath the northern dunes to avoid the sun. Take the Troglodyte sappers. Collapse their ceilings and bury them alive."

Gulag cracked her neck. "I will turn their bunkers into tombs."

"Syra," Iron-Scale continued, looking toward the dark corner of the room. "The enemy relies on a network of hidden oases for water. Poison the wells and assassinate their logistics commanders. Starve whoever survives the initial assaults."

Syra slipped briefly into the shadows. "Consider the supply lines severed."

Iron-Scale looked at the native deities. Ignisar and Nyxara watched the Vanguard commander dismantle a decades-long occupation in a matter of minutes.

"Your warriors know the dunes better than anyone," Iron-Scale told the gods. "Have them ride alongside my forces. Hunt down the fleeing survivors. We leave no witnesses."

Iron-Scale looked out over the assembled commanders, Kingdom Knights, Troglodyte captains, and desert mystics. He rested his hands on the edge of the stone table, ensuring every soldier in the hall held their absolute focus on him.

"Even those who haven’t awakened their mana core, they should be able to understand and use it," Iron-Scale projected his voice across the room. "We all belong to different races and serve different gods, but we have one simple goal. This war will be different from all the other wars we have fought so far."

He paused for a moment and continued. "When we step into the Fourth Continent, their forces will use magic, artifacts, and powers we can’t even comprehend. We can’t solely rely on our core strength. We have to adapt to fight them. And we have to win! Ever since we stepped into the Third Continent, the Spiral and the benevolent Ignisar have been helping us."

Iron-Scale glanced around at the army and shouted, "Do you think we would have been able to survive without their help? If all the four Heralds had attacked us at once in the open, we all would have been standing in front of the Spiral by now, answering his questions as to why we failed!"

The Vanguard troops slammed their fists against their chests in unison. The Kingdom Knights drew their swords, raising the steel high into the air. The combined military branches roared their agreement.

Iron-Scale had successfully pushed their motivation to the absolute limit, filling the soldiers with unparalleled vigor and maximized morale.

Ignisar and Nyxara exchanged a knowing look. They finally realized why Iron-Scale was assigned the position of commander and why he was known as the supreme commander of the Seventeenth Continent. He commanded unshakeable loyalty through brutal, undeniable truth.

A few hours later, Krax marched south with fifty thousand armored infantry and the entire Kingdom Knight battalion. The golden dunes eventually gave way to a vast expanse of hard red rock. A massive Aethelgard fortress stood at the center of the mesa, built entirely from reinforced steel plates and manned by hundreds of Earthling loyalists.

"Shields up!" Krax ordered.

A barrage of massive ballista bolts launched from the metallic ramparts. Fortunately, the Kingdom Knights formed their phalanx flawlessly, deflecting the wooden shafts with angled steel.

Krax gripped his greataxe and charged directly at the main gate. He channeled the violet Ley-Crystal embedded in the hilt to invert his own gravity, gliding across the rocky terrain at terrifying speed.

He leaped into the sky directly above the fortress. Krax focused the absolute weight of his core into the head of his axe and brought it crashing down upon the central keep.

The localized singularity detonated on impact. The reinforced steel roof completely buckled under the impossible density. Support beams snapped loudly. The entire structure collapsed inward, crushing the Aethelgard siege weapons and their operators in a single, devastating blow.

Meanwhile, far to the north, Gulag led her sappers across the rolling dunes. They bypassed the surface entirely to infiltrate the deep subterranean sand. Aethelgard’s magical artillery bunkers rested in carved caverns below ground to avoid the extreme heat.

Gulag pressed her palms flat against the tunnel wall. Her amber core flared brightly to map out the hollow spaces housing the enemy casters.

"They think hiding in a box makes them safe," Gulag whispered to her captains. "Break the supports."

She twisted her wrists violently. The surrounding bedrock immediately obeyed her command. Gulag shattered the foundational stone holding up the massive cavern ceilings. Millions of tons of sand and compressed dirt plummeted downward.

The subterranean bunkers imploded. The magical barriers erected by the Aethelgard mages failed instantly against the sheer physical mass of the collapsing earth. Gulag turned the fortified bunkers into permanent tombs without shedding a single drop of her own soldiers’ blood.

While the fortresses fell, Syra operated in complete silence across the hidden oases scattered throughout the central desert. The enemy’s surviving mobile outposts relied entirely on these secret water reserves.

She melted into the elongated shadows cast by the setting sun. Moving completely undetected past the elite Aethelgard guards, she materialized directly above the primary water basin of a highly fortified supply depot.

Syra unstoppered a small glass vial. She let a concentrated drop of alchemical rot fall into the pristine water. The toxin dissolved immediately, leaving no trace or scent.

Suddenly, an Aethelgard logistics commander stepped out of his tent to inspect the perimeter. Syra dropped from the ceiling, driving her condensed shadow blade straight through his vocal cords. 𝐟𝕣𝕖𝐞𝐰𝕖𝚋𝐧𝗼𝚟𝐞𝕝.𝗰𝐨𝐦

She lowered his lifeless body to the sand without making a sound. By the time the remaining mobile fortresses arrived to drink, the entire desert supply chain would already be dead.