"TUNG!"
The war drum thundered. It was not just a beat. It was a command.
The Great "Tran" Flag fluttered in the howling wind. An ancient light surged forth like an invisible wave, touching the earth, the water, and every single warrior.
Van Thien stood in the center of the battlefield. His breathing was heavy. Blood still dripped from his wounds.
But his gaze no longer wavered.
"This... is the real battle."
Ahead, the enemy forces still surged forward like a tide. But this time, he was no longer alone.
"TUNG!!"
Tran Hung Dao lowered his hand.
"Advance."
A single word. The entire battlefield moved.
BOOM!!!
The Tran army charged in unison. No chaotic shouting. No confusion. Only resolute, synchronized footsteps—a single collective will.
FLESH!
A spear pierced through an enemy's chest. A warrior swung his blade, shattering the opponent's weapon.
SWISH!
The remaining enemy hulls under the river and the dark shadows that had just scrambled ashore were completely cut down.
It was not brute force. It was discipline. It was tactics. This was an army that had triumphed on this very river before.
Beneath the water.
BOOM!!
An enemy warship trying to turn back WAS FORCIBLY DRAGGED DOWN.
Yet Kieu and his phantom divers glided beneath the dark currents like ghosts. Their iron spikes struck relentlessly.
CRACK!
The rudder shattered. Water forced its way inside. The massive ship tilted violently to one side.
THUD!
Sharp wooden stakes impaled the vessel straight through the hull. There was no escape.
On the riverbank, the surviving invaders panicked, retreating toward the ships. But—
THUD!
An arrow pierced an enemy's chest. He collapsed instantly. The rest froze in terror, unable to comprehend what had just happened.
Before they could react—
From the depths of the dense mangrove forests, the ancient trees, the gieng Rung ironwood logs, and the modern docks of the Bach Dang shipyard, a barrage of golden arrows imbued with ancient spirits erupted like a torrential rain.
Hundreds of golden streaks locked onto the enemy.
THUD! THUD! THUD!
The golden arrows drove into the invaders' chests. They dropped like flies, their lifeless bodies piling onto the mud.
On the flank, Van Thien plunged directly into the enemy formation. A blazing aura of blue and pink erupted from his fists.
BAM! BAM! BAM!
With every strike, a foe dropped. But this time, he wasn't driven into a corner. Behind him, an entire army marched in perfect lockstep.
"Hold the formation!"
A deep voice roared. A Tran warrior spun around, parrying a lethal blow for his comrade.
"Maintain the line!"
They did not look at Van Thien as a "savior." They looked at him as a brother-in-arms.
Van Thien clenched his fists. He stopped charging blindly. He caught the rhythm. He moved with them.
One step. One strike. One heartbeat.
In the distance, the Red-Eyed Black Dragon stood atop the deck of the last remaining flagship. His calm composure had completely vanished.
"Impossible..."
"This is impossible!"
He looked down.
The stakes. The army. The raging river.
History was repeating itself.
"NO!!!"
BOOM!!!!!
He slammed his foot down. A violent surge of black and red energy exploded, blasting everything around him away.
"I am not like them!!"
"I will not be buried here!!"
He roared, his entire frame trembling violently. A crimson light flared from his eyes. Darkness coiled around him like a raging cyclone, wrapping his body in pitch-black wind.
"I... WILL SLAUNCHER YOU ALL!"
The words left his jaws in a monstrous shriek. The shockwave erupted, warping the very space around him. Nearby soldiers could not withstand the pressure and were hurled into the sea.
The shockwave rippled outward, tearing toward Van Thien and the advancing Tran army. Every warrior stiffened.
An suffocating pressure crushed the atmosphere. The ground beneath their feet split open. Massive fissures snaked across the docks, tearing through the landscape all the way to the Dong Van Salt Fields.
Standing atop the cliff, Supreme Commander Tran Hung Dao looked down. The cracks reached the base of his boots. Yet, he remained motionless. No fear. His eyes only grew sterner.
Van Thien struggled against the crushing air, suffocating. Just as hopelessness crept in—
"Do not fall! Stand firm!"
A thunderous voice echoed. Van Thien gasped. The Tran army paused for a fraction of a second. Van Thien looked around wildly, searching for the source. Then—
From the depths of the glowing fissures, right from the sacred earth of Quang Yen—where the ancient Yen Giang stake-yard and the Dong Van Salt Fields had slept for over seven centuries—a surge of brilliant blue leyline energy shot straight into the heavens.
Every eye turned toward the blinding pillars of light.
Beneath millennia of mud and earth, the past awakened.
The ancient wooden stakes hidden deep underground transformed into pillars of pure, concentrated energy. From the rift in space, a towering, majestic figure stepped forth.
The general's spirit was clad in armor of blazing blue ether. In his hand, he wielded the Divine Dragon Ancient Blade, carrying the very soul of the Quang Yen homeland.
The heroic spirit of General Tran Quoc Bao had officially manifested on the frontlines!
BANG
He slammed his massive blade into the modern concrete ground. An arc-shaped barrier of energy erupted, colliding violently with the Black Dragon's shockwave. Deafening explosions rang out, but the barrier completely shielded every single soldier behind it.
The general's roar echoed across the entire port, drowning out the beast's screams:
"Warriors of Tran! Do not fall! STAND FIRM!!"
The words echoed as he swung his blade forward. A protective aura ripple outward, enveloping the soldiers and Van Thien.
"The northern invaders have left their corpses in the river! Our infantry on the shore shall not take a single step back! Hold the line!"
Fueled by the undying courage of the ancestral spirit, the Tran warriors roared in unison, slamming their shields into the earth to form an unbreakable fortress wall.
Van Thien felt the suffocating pressure vanish. The blue and pink light on his hands flared up, more powerful than ever before...