Strongest Kingdom: My Op Kingdom Got Transported Along With Me-Chapter 362 - 361: Zevran Vs. Stegan (part 2)

Zevran hovers above the ruined battlefield, wings beating slowly as dust and poison haze drift below. His eyes remain fixed on Stegran, who is still kneeling in the heart of the crater, one hand braced against shattered stone.

Zevran knows it.

As much as he hates to admit it, he cannot kill this human right now.

If he pushes Stegran any further, if he corners him completely, this man will drag everyone below peak Tier 6 into the grave with him. Human or monster, ally or enemy, it won’t matter. Stegran is that kind of existence, the sort that turns defeat into mutual destruction.

Zevran exhales through his nose, a low rumble echoing in his chest.

"Tch..."

He descends a little, landing at the edge of the crater. The ground groans under his weight.

"I suppose," Zevran says calmly, "it’s time for our play."

Stegran lifts his head slightly. Blood runs down his chin, mixing with poison that smokes where it touches the ground. His eyes narrow, sharp despite his injuries.

"Oh, I thought you already forgot about it." Stegran said mockingly.

Zevran meets his gaze without flinching. "Just like we discussed, you will act as if I defeated you. You flee. Broken. Forced to retreat."

Stegran lets out a quiet, breathy laugh. He thought. ’Hah... Although, it’s embarrassing. I need to do this for my plan to work.’

For a moment, the two simply stare at each other, the air heavy with unspoken threat.

For a heartbeat, the tension tightens again—like a drawn blade held at the throat.

Then Stegran straightens fully.

Poison surges around him one last time, flaring violently before collapsing inward. He staggers back a step, deliberately unsteady, letting his aura falter just enough to sell the illusion.

"Well," Stegran says dryly, "I suppose I should look the part."

He meets Zevran’s gaze one final time, something unreadable passing between them.

"This isn’t over," Stegran says quietly.

Zevran’s wings spread, shadow swallowing the sky.

"No," he agrees. "It isn’t."

Stegran turns, and flees.

He tears through the clouds in a streak of poisoned light, leaving behind a battered battlefield, shaken soldiers, and the unmistakable image of a marshal driven back by a dragon.

Below, a roar erupts.

Monsters howl in triumph.

Humans stare in disbelief.

And high above them all, Zevran remains suspended in the sky, watching the direction Stegran vanished.

The moment Stegran vanishes into the clouds, the battlefield snaps.

The pressure holding everything in place disappears, and panic floods in.

High above, four powerful auras flare at once.

The remaining human peak Tier 6 generals react instantly.

"Retreat!" one of them roars, tearing free from his engagement. "All units, fall back—now!"

They don’t even try to regroup.

They scatter.

One use an artifact, it tears open space beneath his feet and dives straight through it, bloodied but fast. Another burns half his remaining lifespan to ignite a teleportation seal, vanishing in a flash of distorted light.

Two escape.

Two don’t.

Ruk is the first to move.

The ground explodes beneath his feet as he lunges forward, muscles swelling, earth power surging up his legs like living stone.

"Where do you think you’re going?" Ruk snarls.

His halberd comes down like a falling cliff.

The fleeing general barely manages to raise his weapon before the blow lands.

CRACK—

The impact caves in his armor and smashes him into the ground, carving a crater hundreds of meters wide. Bones shatter. The man screams once before Ruk’s foot pins him in place.

Not far away, Varesh flashes across the sky in a streak of blinding lightning.

"Too slow," he says coldly.

Thunder erupts.

The second general is struck mid-flight, lightning spearing straight through his chest. His body convulses, smoke pouring from his mouth as Varesh grips his throat and slams him downward.

BOOOOM—

He hits the ground like a meteor.

Erel’na lands beside them an instant later, poison blades forming from her arms, their edges humming softly. She looks down at the two dead generals, her compound eyes unreadable.

"...Pathetic," she mutters.

Vordon steps forward.

He plants his halberd into the ground, and the earth answers him with a deep, rumbling growl. His voice rolls across the battlefield, carried by earth and mana alike.

"Everyone," Vordon commands, calm and absolute, "kill anyone who does not surrender."

The order spreads like wildfire.

The humans hear it.

And despair settles in.

"S–Surrender?" a human captain chokes, backing away as monsters close in. "To monsters?!"

Another soldier laughs hysterically, eyes red. "I’d rather die!"

And many of them do.

They break formation, not to kneel, but to run.

Humans flee in every direction, shields raised, blades swinging wildly as monsters surge after them. Spells fly in desperation, not strategy. Fireballs tear through charging beasts, only to be drowned in poison and lightning moments later.

"Hold them off!" a commander screams. "Just make space, run!"

The battlefield turns into chaos.

And in the middle of it—

The Azure Fang adventurer group is trapped.

Ronan skids to a halt, sword drawn, eyes wide as a shockwave throws him off balance. Around them, human soldiers are breaking ranks, monsters flooding through the gaps.

"This is bad," Brick growls, slamming his shield down as claws rake across it. "This is really bad!"

Lani fires three arrows in rapid succession, each one punching through a monster’s skull, but more replace them instantly.

She shouts angrily. "They’re hunting us like thier plaything!"

Solace raises his staff, sweat pouring down his face as he hastily weaves a barrier. Poison splashes against it, hissing and eating away at the mana structure.

"Ronan!" he yells. "These aren’t normal monsters! Their coordination, they’re abnormaly strong, this is a slaughter!"

Ronan grits his teeth, eyes scanning the sky.

He sees it.

A huge beast, suspended above the battlefield like a god watching ants scatter.

"...Damn it," Ronan mutters. "We walked straight into a trap."

A massive monster crashes down nearby, crushing fleeing soldiers beneath its bulk. Another lets out a howl and charges straight at them.

Ronan raises his sword.

"Brick, front!" he barks. "Lani, cover our escape! Solace, don’t let that barrier drop!"

Brick plants his shield with a roar. "Then we’re punching our way out!"

The Azure Fang fights, not to win, but to survive.

Above it all, Zevran watches.

His eyes follow the fleeing humans, the captured generals, the chaos spreading exactly as planned. His wings beat once, slow and heavy, stirring the clouds.

"I guess, my work here is done," he murmurs.

Far away, beyond sight, Stegran flees, wounded, humiliated, and smiling.

Because the war has only just begun.

---

By the time they finally break free, the sun is already sinking low.

Ronan doesn’t remember when the monsters stop chasing them.

He only realizes it when the forest ahead grows quiet, too quiet, and the pounding of his own heartbeat becomes the loudest sound in his ears.

"Stop," he says hoarsely, lifting a fist.

The small column stumbles to a halt.

They are far from the battlefield now. Far enough that the air no longer tastes of poison and blood. Far enough that the ground no longer trembles with every distant roar.

Far enough that they are alive.

People collapse where they stand.

Some fall to their knees.

Some sit down hard, staring at nothing.

One soldier vomits into the dirt, hands shaking so badly he can barely steady himself.

Brick plants his shield into the ground and leans on it, chest heaving. His armor is dented, cracked, smeared with dark blood, some his, most not.

"...They stopped," he pants. "Thank god"

Lani lowers her bow at last. Her hands are trembling, fingers stiff from drawing the string too many times. She scans the treeline out of habit, then exhales shakily.

"I really thought that was the end of me," she says.

Solace drops to one knee, staff digging into the earth as his barrier finally collapses with a soft, brittle sound. His face is pale, lips pressed tight.

Around them, people begin to gather.

At first it’s just a few, wounded soldiers limping over, adventurers clutching broken weapons. Then more come. And more.

Word spreads fast.

Azure Fang is here.

Ronan looks up to find dozens of eyes on him.

Then hundreds.

They form instinctively around his group, drawn by reputation, by desperation, by the simple hope that standing near strong people might keep death away a little longer.