Chapter 17: A Battle Begins in the City**
General Arcane strode through the ruins of Perth, his boots crunching over debris. The air reeked of smoke and blood.
An Arcane Knight stepped forward, trembling. *"Sir, why have you come here?"*
General Arcane turned, his gaze icy. *"Do you have a problem with that?"*
The knight recoiled. *"N-No, sir!"*
A sudden voice cut through the silence—mocking, unfamiliar.
*"Well, well. Look what we have here. Arcane Knights, a general whose name I don't care to remember... and that strange language of yours."*
General Arcane whirled around. *"Who dares?!"*
His eyes locked onto the intruders—figures clad in tattered cloaks, their grins sharp as knives.
*"Arcane Drifters,"* the General spat.
*"Got a problem with that?"* one Drifter taunted.
The General's lips curled into a grotesque smile. *"Then die."*
In a flash, a Drifter's head toppled from his shoulders. The others barely had time to scream before the General moved again—a blur of lethal precision. Two escaped. The rest fell, their bodies collapsing like puppets with severed strings.
*"No... NO! What *is* this monster?!"* a surviving Drifter wailed. *"He's not human—he's worse than the Devil!"*
The General raised his blade for the killing strike—when a torrent of blue flame erupted between them.
The Commander had arrived.