Four banners fluttered in the wind—

  Lagash, Nippur, Ur, and Lursag.

  Four powerful city-states had gathered substantial forces and chosen to intervene.

  Their army appeared to number nearly twenty thousand.

  Kasirgal let out a war cry and ordered the Uruk army to withdraw.

  “Main force, fall back at once!”

  The troops advancing toward Kish hastily turned around.

  Seeing the enemy retreat, Kish’s army surged with morale and began driving out the Uruk forces that had breached the walls.

  The five generals glared at the five siblings, cold sweat running down their faces.

  Before them stood five formidable ability users, and behind them loomed the allied reinforcements.

  The situation was anything but favorable.

  As the Uruk army withdrew in disarray, officers rushed to reorganize their shattered formation.

  A brief standoff followed—then, as if to shatter the silence, the allied forces roared and charged forward.

  The five siblings and the five generals clashed head-on.

  Kasirgal charged first, swinging his massive greatsword.

  Ashurgar rushed toward Tamar and Liana with dazzling footwork, while Neragalsu sprayed poisoned daggers, probing for openings.

  Marbala spread a wide healing aura to sustain the entire army, and Abarkash formed dozens of small sand shields, maneuvering them to protect his allies.

  Seeing the reinforcements arrive, the five siblings shifted their strategy to endurance.

  Tamar unleashed vines in all directions, combining defense and restraint.

  Elaton latched onto Ashurgar and refused to let go, while Eshiel targeted Neragalsu, Abarkash, and Marbala, seeking to disrupt their formation.

  Liana poured out her remaining strength to amplify her siblings’ power, and Azael gathered corpses from the battlefield, summoning over a hundred wraiths and deploying them forward.

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  While the two groups of ability users battled, Kish’s soldiers poured out beyond the walls.

  They had finished repelling the Uruk forces that had infiltrated the city.

  Pressed from both sides, the Uruk army began to collapse rapidly.

  Their numbers dwindled, and even the generals started to falter.

  Feeling the pressure, the generals resorted to increasingly powerful techniques—only to expose fatal openings.

  As Neragalsu gathered power to unleash a poisonous cloud at the advancing Kish troops, Eshiel’s explosive arrows struck swiftly at the gap.

  Abarkash’s sand shield blocked the first attack, but Eshiel clung to Tamar’s vines, spun his body, and unleashed more than a dozen explosive arrows directly at Neragalsu.

  Caught in the blast, she staggered, trying to evade—but Eshiel did not relent.

  A massive flaming arrow shot forth like a meteor.

  Abarkash hastily layered sand shields to protect her, but the arrow pierced through and struck Neragalsu directly.

  A tremendous explosion followed.

  Neragalsu emerged from the flames, looked down at her burning body, spoke a single word—and collapsed.

  “Damn it…”

  The Uruk army stood on the brink of annihilation.

  Defeat was walking straight toward them.

  Marbala made her decision.

  In an instant, walls of light sprang up densely on all sides, enveloping the Uruk army.

  The priesthood had erected a massive defensive barrier at the cost of their lives.

  Blood streamed from the priests’ eyes and noses as they unleashed the final strength of their lives.

  In that time, Marbala completed a large-scale spatial teleportation circle—

  her ultimate spell, one that also demanded her life as its price.

  Blood poured from Marbala’s eyes and nose like flowing rivers.

  “Marbala!”

  Kasirgal shouted.

  She turned to him, smiled faintly, and said,

  “There will be someone… to take my place. I have lived for this moment. I wish you victory, General.”

  A blinding light flared and swallowed everyone’s vision.

  When sight returned, the vast Uruk army had vanished without a trace.

  All that remained were Marbala and over a hundred priests, collapsed and lifeless, blood spilled around them.

  A moment of silence followed.

  Then a thunderous cheer shook the ground.

  The defense of Kish had been won.

  ***

  Kish erupted into celebration.

  The citizens poured into the streets, cheering as they welcomed the soldiers.

  The allied and Kish armies shouted in joy, savoring their hard-earned victory.

  The five siblings collapsed where they stood, utterly exhausted.

  Having spent all her strength, Liana retreated into Ella’s body and fell into sleep.

  Elaton dropped his bent, battered hammer and shield onto the ground, while Tamar muttered in a weary voice,

  “At this rate, I’ll turn into a grandmother. I used way too much power…”

  Even the usually taciturn Eshiel sat down with a deep sigh.

  Azael scratched his head and said,

  “I didn’t contribute much this time. Their high priest was too powerful.”

  General Namur Bel approached the five siblings.

  He gazed at them quietly, then prostrated himself before them.

  “Heroes… you have saved all of our lives. We thank you.”

  Following him, all of Kish’s soldiers knelt and bowed as well.

  Elaton scratched his forehead and said shyly,

  “Please stand, General. This isn’t the time for that.”

  As the general and soldiers rose, Tamar shouted playfully.

  At once, the soldiers responded with a unified cheer.

  When the noise finally subsided, the general stepped forward again and spoke.

  “I will guide you. The king is waiting.”