An Understated Dominance by Marina Vittori

“Damn! What the heck are these things? Why are there so many of them?

“I can’t kill them all! It’s like a relentless wave, one after another.”

“We have to find a way out. If we continue like this, we’ll exhaust ourselves and die here!”

“”The fog is everywhere. I can’t even see which way to go, and these shadows just keep

coming. How can we find a way out?”

Chaos engulfed the Dragon Guard members, transitioning from disdain to shock and fear.

Ultimately, it descended into despair. The issue wasn’t their incapacity to defeat the

shadows but the absence of hope for survival.

With each shadow they vanquished, two more emerged, steadily increasing in numbers.

As their comrades fell in each assault, the attrition pushed them closer to total

annihilation.

To them, escape seemed impossible.

“Elder Reed, the situation is worsening. What should we do now?” The black- clad man,

fending off enemies, sought assistance from the red-robed elder beside him.

The black-clad man had to fend off shadow attacks while navigating the surroundings

carefully. A single misstep could leave him mired, restricting movement and making him

an easy target for the shadows. After all, most of their fallen companions had succumbed

to this trap earlier.

The red-robed elder replied irritably, ” Why are you asking me? Who the heck else should I

turn to?”

If it were a simple fog formation, breaking it with his eye technique would have been easy.

However, the complexity arose from an additional, more intricate layer of the formation

over the fog.

Hence, it made the challenge a hundred times more difficult. Despite pushing his eye

technique to its limits, identifying a weakness remained elusive. At that moment, he found

himself in a dilemma.

While the shadows didn’t present an immediate threat, being ensnared with no escape

plan wasn’t a viable solution.

If all their elite subordinates succumbed, the red-robed elder would be helpless. Despite

his power, continuous assaults from the shadows would eventually drain his energy.

Soon, it would lead to his demise.

“Damn it! Who’s playing tricks on us, ambushing Dragon Guard members like this? When I

escape, they’ll pay dearly with their blood!” the red-robed elder swore, persistently

attacking the shadows.

The black-clad man shouted hysterically, “Show yourselves, you cowards! If you’re brave

enough, confront us directly!”

As a Dragon Guard official, he had faced numerous challenges. Still, nothing had prepared

him for a situation where he felt utterly powerless.

The prospect of death without ever laying eyes on the enemy was a frustrating agony that

he had never experienced before. He added, “Since we’re all going to die, let’s go all out

against these guys! Charge!”

Driven by desperation, the black-clad man, in a moment of madness, led his team in a

futile charge. Despite their hopes, luck wasn’t on their side, and the impregnable

formation proved insurmountable.

Even a grandmaster martial artist would find breaking it an impossible feat. After a futile

struggle, each of them was surrounded and killed by the shadows. They eventually

disappeared into the ground without a trace of their bodies remaining.

Soon, a group that initially numbered dozens was ultimately reduced to only the red-robed

elder.

“Ah!”

“Go to hell, everyone!” The red-robed elder, consumed by anger and descending into

madness, frenziedly darted around within the formation.

He launched wild and furious assaults on everything in his path. However, instead of

breaking the formation, this action only hastened the depletion of his energy. Before long,

he was exhausted and sweating profusely.

Yet, the shadows persisted, seemingly endless and relentless. Filled with despair and

resentment, he questioned who had betrayed them.

Following the Chief Guildmaster’s orders, the red-robed elder undertook a covert mission

where discretion was paramount. This top-secret assignment was known only to a select

few high-ranking officials in the Dragon Guard.

At that moment, he suspected that there was a traitor within their ranks. In the area

outside the formation, the experts remained on standby while waiting for the order.

Equipped with a compass, Dustin analyzed the situation within the array by observing the

points of light and shadows.

It became clear that the points of light representing human lives were rapidly diminishing.

Ultimately, only one light remained. Even that light gradually faded after persevering for

nearly an hour.

Finally, all signs of life within the formation were extinguished.

“Clear the formation and inspect the area,” Dustin ordered. After ensuring everything was

in order, he directed his subordinates to dispel the fog and deactivate the octagram array

formation.

As the formation dissipated, the shadows vanished, and the lingering white smoke quickly

cleared. Within minutes, everything returned to normal, as if nothing had happened.

The Dragon Guard members who were present moments ago had vanished. Everybody,

including that of the red- robed elder, disappeared into the ground, leaving only weapons

and bloodstains.

“Inspect all areas thoroughly and determine if there are any survivors,” Dustin ordered.

A team of guards immediately began a meticulous search, scouring the entire battlefield.

However, they found no traces of life.

“Your Highness! The remnants of the Dragon Guard that entered the ambush circle have

been eradicated,” a guard reported.

“Logan, something feels off,” Austin spoke up suddenly. He added, “Being an ultimate

grandmaster, Reagan shouldn’t be so easily defeated with just two formations.”

“Yes, it does sound fishy,” Dustin acknowledged.

He went on, “I sensed a powerful figure within the formation. But the difference between

that person and Reagan, the top-tier expert, was significant. So, I suspect that Reagan was

not in that team earlier.”

Austin’s eyes widened, and he couldn’t help but blurt out, “Are you saying we’ve been

tricked?”