Floating Islands: SSS Gacha Lord-Chapter 382 - Death from Behind the Throne

The surface of Variel’s floating island soon appeared on the massive screen. Among all the islands Atlas had seen so far, this one looked perhaps the most ordinary of them all.

There was nothing particularly striking about its design. Most of its structures were made of polished white metal, shaped like domes of varying sizes, though the differences between them were barely noticeable.

Everything essential to the island’s function seemed to be spread across separate facilities scattered throughout the land. Some for farming, others for livestock.

The island itself was mostly dry, covered in stretches of yellowish savannah with only a few sparse patches of trees here and there. It was, by all means, a landscape far from ideal for long-term defense.

If not for Variel’s remarkable defensive capability, she might have been eliminated from the Lord Battle system long ago.

On the screen, Variel and her troops stood stationed along the island’s perimeter, clad in armor and armed with their respective weapons. Massive catapults and machine cannons were positioned across several points, manned by her soldiers who were ready, yet visibly ordinary in comparison to the overwhelming forces seen in the previous battle.

Bolin, watching the same view, turned toward Atlas and smirked. His expression clearly said what he didn’t bother to voice... This poor island looks pitiful, it might as well crumble from the sky right now.

From the enemy’s side, even minutes before the battle officially began, the sky was already filled with movement. Dozens, no, hundreds - of flying beasts soared into the air. They had the bodies of lions and the massive wings of eagles, cutting through the clouds with terrifying speed.

On each beast’s back rode a warrior armed with long-range weapons, ready to strike. Their shouts and laughter echoed across the sky as they swarmed above the floating island like a storm of predators, circling and waiting for the signal to attack.

Variel... if Atlas had to be honest, she possessed the weakest aerial defense among all his lords. She did have units capable of fighting in the air, but their numbers were painfully limited. Even worse, this particular enemy appeared to command flying beasts in overwhelming quantities. An army specialized for domination from above. 𝒻𝘳𝘦𝘦𝘸ℯ𝒷𝘯𝘰𝑣ℯ𝑙.𝘤𝑜𝘮

"Ha!" Bolin finally let out a mocking laugh, his tone dripping with ridicule. "That little, pathetic island - look at it! Atlas, tell me you’re not serious. You really brought a lord this weak into a battle of aerial supremacy? What did you expect? That this poor thing could win against my sky legion? Hah!"

Atlas didn’t respond. He only stared at Bolin in silence, his expression unreadable.

Because he knew Bolin wasn’t wrong. Variel was strong, incredibly strong in defense. But against an assault from the skies of this scale, even her ethereal guardians, born from the spirits of her fallen soldiers, might not be enough to turn the tide.

The battle began in an instant. As everyone expected, a relentless rain of arrows and magic descended from the sky, drenching the entire island in destruction.

Explosions erupted one after another, shaking the ground as the enemy’s attacks poured down without pause. Variel’s troops scattered in chaos, trying desperately to defend themselves. Their frontline tankers cast protective buffs to hold the line, but the sheer intensity of the bombardment left them overwhelmed. It was an unending storm of fire and steel.

Bolin looked absolutely satisfied with what he saw. He turned toward Atlas, his lips curling into a restrained, mocking laugh, clearly reveling in how perfectly his army countered the formations of Atlas’s alliance lords.

"How will you withstand an assault of this scale?" Bolin taunted, his chin tilted slightly upward, his voice dripping with arrogance.

Then, the situation grew even worse. More shadows appeared in the sky, larger, darker, heavier. Massive drakes with wings as wide as the horizon burst through the clouds, their wings beating with terrifying power.

From their jaws erupted blazing torrents of fire that scorched the ground below, sweeping through Variel’s ranks. Her troops scattered and fell into disarray, desperately trying to avoid the inferno that now consumed the battlefield.

And then it became clear - riding one of those colossal drakes was the enemy’s commanding lord, leading the charge himself from above.

From the massive screen, the image zoomed in on a young man with short blond hair, standing calmly atop the back of his drake. He wore a casual, almost modern outfit beneath his light armor, his expression composed as he commanded his army to burn, crush, and destroy everything below.

All eyes were on the screen, including Bolin’s, who looked proud of the powerful lord he had brought into battle.

But then, amid the chaos, the roars, and the explosions. The blond lord suddenly froze. His eyes widened in shock.

Bolin stiffened, his confident smirk fading into confusion. "What... what is happening?"

The young lord glanced down at his chest. Something sharp was jutting out from the left side of it. His hands trembled; his face turned pale.

A faint, burning figure appeared beside him. A silhouette wreathed in embers, its body skeletal and its right arm still buried through the lord’s chest from behind.

Gasps filled the air. Bolin’s eyes went wide, his jaw dropping open in disbelief as he stared at the screen.

Atlas, meanwhile, could barely hide the faint smile tugging at his lips. Of course... he had planned this.

He had sent Everburn, the phantom assassin whose ability rendered him completely invisible and adaptable to any battlefield, to assist Variel in this fight. And now, that hidden card had struck with devastating precision.

Everburn had only been waiting for the right moment - for the enemy lord to reveal himself. Then, with silent precision, he struck. No one saw him move. He slipped past the guards unnoticed, his blazing skeletal form hidden until the very last instant, and drove his burning arm straight through the lord’s chest.

Oh... such an elegantly simple yet devastating strategy.

If Variel’s forces could not fight effectively against an army that ruled the skies, then there was no need to. Just eliminate the enemy’s lord, and the entire battle would end in an instant.

Moments later, the drake beneath its dying master began to lose control. With a guttural roar, the creature plummeted toward the ground, crashing violently into the island below. The blond-haired lord’s body was flung through the air, rolling hard across the scorched earth until he came to a halt.

At that exact moment, Variel stood there, her expression calm and resolute, her right foot pressing down on the chest of the fallen lord whose strength had already faded away.

[Variel has successfully assassinated the opposing Lord while sustaining only 13% damage to her island.]

[As a result, she is entitled to claim 100% of the assets, resources, and remaining forces belonging to the defeated Lord.]