Chapter 25

The Attack on Falguard

Captain Madra led Blazorus to her office in the Falguard Headquarters, since they had a lot to talk about. The office was quite large, with a large window under Madra's desk and a clear view to the furious thunderstorms that covered the skies of Falguard.

- "Please, have a seat." – Captain Madra said while circling her desk towards her chair and pointing to the guest chair at the same time. Blazorus walks towards it slowly while walking around to see the furniture and decorations. There were lots of paintings of Madra's all lined up, each one portraying her conquests in past battles and wars. Madra noticed it and thought to make a comment on it. – "Those paintings illustrate me in some of my bravest conquests in past wars Thunderforge had been in."

- "How many battles have you fought?" – Blazorus asked while still looking at the paintings.

- "Oh, hundreds of them. I have acquired more experience in battle than my men combined." – Captain Madra said. Blazorus turned to look at her.

- "Impressive." – He said. He then proceeded to sit down on the guest chair, facing Madra, who was sitting at the opposite side of the desk. They've exchanged eye contact for a brief moment before Madra broke the silence.

- "So, tell me. Are you acquainted with that Pyromancer, Xan?"

- "Yes."

- "And what is your reason for going after him?"

- "Heh… I'm sure you've seen it by yourself… the amount of power he wields. Right?" – Blazorus asked.

- "Yes, I remember…" – Captain Madra said.

*FLASHBACK*

A wave of Darkblood Warriors charges against Xan.

- "Hahahahaaa! You fools think you can actually stop me?" – Xan said, extending his hand against them. – "Burn! Hahaha."

He unleashed Shurpu's devastating Flame Vortex against the Darkblood soldiers. They were all up in flames in a matter of seconds, and they could do nothing but scream in agony and die by Xan's hand. Captain Madra, who was watching the action from a tower, was not happy to see what just happened.

- "Ugh, that heartless monster!" – She clenched her fist in anger, as nothing was working against Xan. Each failed attempt was costly to Falguard, as more and more buildings were getting damaged by Xan's slave, who was targeting the structures of the city rather than the Darkblood Warriors. – "I'm going to need something stronger…" – Madra was wondering about it until she heard a deafening thunder sound from the sky, causing her to look upwards. As she saw the fierce lightning bolts flashing between the dark clouds, she found her answer. – "The Darkblood Stormkings…"

Due to the high difficulty in taming the Thunderstorms of Falguard and use them for battle, very few were those that devoted themselves to mastering the ability to use lightning magic. They were known all across Thunderforge as Darkblood Stormkings. They were magnificent in battle, making lightning strikes a form of art and beauty in the eyes of the Darkblood people.

Among them, there was one who stood out more than the rest due to her incredible potential and battle skills, saving Thunderforge many times from certain defeat. Her name was Sorine.

- "Captain." – Sorine said, appearing behind Madra.

- "Sorine." – Madra said.

- "I heard of the commotion in Falguard and came as fast as I could." – Sorine said.

- "Well, glad you did, because it's not going so well. Our men are being killed mercilessly by that Pyromancer."

- "Pyromancer!?" – Sorine was caught by surprise. – "Why did you not call upon us?"

- "Heh." – Madra chuckled. – "I should've known. You would be where the action is."

- "Yep! You know I don't miss a show!" – Sorine said. – "I'll be on my way." – She ran off.

- "Good luck." – Madra muttered to herself.

Back at the scene of the crime, Falguard was succumbing more and more to the destructive flames coming from Xan's and his slave's hands.

- "Hahahahahaha! Nothing can stop me! NOTHING!" – Xan said, overwhelmed by the power of the Ring of Shurpu, making him practically invincible.

Just then, Xan's slave takes a hit from a lightning bolt.

- "Ugh!" – She shouted, getting knocked down.

- "Huh?" – Xan turned to see Sorine. – "What the!?"

Sorine's hands were fully charged with lightning power, ready to be unleashed at the enemy. She was glaring at Xan with those lightning blue eyes of hers and ready to face the evil duo all by herself.

Xan's slave, still on the floor, screams as she throws a fireball against Sorine, but it was easily parried by the Stormking.

- "You dare defy the might of Falguard?" – Sorine said.

- "Might? Hahahahahahaha!" – Xan burst out laughing. – "Falguard is nothing compared to the power I wield! It has perished by my hand… like you!" – Xan unleashes a Flame Pillar around Sorine just as he finishes his sentence. With sharp reflexes, Sorine makes a move to dodge it, but didn't make it out of the Pillar before it exploded. She took a bit of damage to her leg, but could still stand and fight.

- "Ugh… " – Sorine said. – "Why you…" - Sorine prepares to attack, moving her arms to throw a lightning bolt. – "Skyfire!" - She caused both Xan and his slave to be shocked, making any subsequent Storm Call attack to heal her wounds.

Xan's slave tried to fight back by unleashing several fireballs against Sorine, hitting her, but since she was under the effect of Skyfire, the damage she dealt to Sorine was quickly neutralized.

- "Thunderclap!" – Sorine stunned Xan and his slave for a while, giving her the perfect opportunity to finish them off. She charged her hand with a huge amount of lightning energy and compressed it into a ball. She aimed for Xan's slave first. – "Ball Lightning!" – Xan's slave gets projected backwards, rendering her unconscious.

Sorine found herself at an advantage and it was most likely that she would defeat Xan. As soon as he recovered from being stunned, he gets hit with another Storm Call, causing him to be knocked down.

- "Argh!"

- "Do you see now? The might of Falguard always prevails." – Sorine said, looking down at him. Xan laughs.

- "Maybe so, but everything has a flaw…" – Xan said. Just then, he swung his leg against Sorine's ankles, inverting the roles. – "As far as I'm concerned, there is nothing mightier than the insane flames that burn and consume this world."

Sorine saw herself in a tight spot. She knew she couldn't let Xan gain the upper hand.

- "Now, you die." – Xan said, charging a Burning Vengeance, the same attack that killed Shurpu. – "Burning…!"

Just then, Sorine's eyes start to glow, with small lightning bolts shining within them.

- "Oh, I don't think so…" – Sorine looked up at the sky with her glowing eyes and raised her hand. Lightning bolts from the sky started gathering directly above Xan, ready to strike. Just before Xan unleashed his Burning Vengeance, Sorine gets up.

- "…Vengeance!" – Xan unleashed his massive burst of flames at Sorine.

- "Cracking Sky!" – Sorine throws an electrifying punch at Xan, causing a lightning bolt from the sky to strike Xan, tapping into the full fury of the storm. In comparison, Cracking Sky made Burning Vengeance feel like a soft scratch.

*FLASHBACK*

- "Sorine took substantial damage from Xan, but she survived it." – Madra said.

- "Wow…" – Blazorus said. – "What about Xan?"

- "He fled Falguard."

- "Got any idea where he might have gone?"

- "Unfortunately, no." – Madra said, closing her eyes. – "I can, however, help you finding him. We have an enemy in common, so, it would be wise for us to join forces."

Blazorus agreed and nodded at Madra, making her his ally. They shook hands and proceeded to make any preparations necessary to find and defeat Xan.

Sorine was still at the hospital recovering from her battle against Xan, but she wasn't going to stay there for much longer, since she was nearly fully recovered. And thus, the Fireborn joins forces with Thunderforge to defeat Xan and end his reign of terror over Lore.