"Our satellite communications have been canceled. All connections to the area have been shut down!"
"The drones have been destroyed. All of them!?"
An angered voice thundered from a group seated around a round table, eyes locking onto the huge figure who stood at the head, a device pressed to his ear, which he roared into.
A large hologram had previously taken up the majority of the room, but it was now down, crackling with a myriad of lights as if it had been broken.
"But sir, the trackers placed on the human ships show that they have appeared in the Thunder Waters. That doesn't make sense! One second, they were on the battlefield, and now it shows they are 1,000 miles away from it. Such speed is beyond the power of their aircraft in such an amount of time."
"It's like... it's like they've been moved! And so fast too!"
The man, a burly Titan standing at about 3.5 meters in height, clicked his tongue as he threw the device in his hands against the wall, sending it splattering apart, reduced to nothing but ashes.
"Just when the true fun was about to happen?"
A female voice rang coquettishly in the background, coming from a lady dressed in crimson red robes, her sharp ears and red eyes making it clear at first glance—she was a vampire.
"Well, what to do? We've lost connection to the battlefield, and the soldiers have been sent away. Should we be worried about Knulls running amok amongst Grade B right now? It will only take about an hour or so before they reach the nearest settlement... and bring ruin upon it."
A man with long green hair and pointed ears—an elf—called the group's attention from his seat at the high table.
"Or," he continued, "we might start by thinking about how all of this went south?"
The Titan man took a deep breath, his eyes sharpening. Silence descended in the room before he began.
"According to the reports… the drones have been destroyed. All of them. And just so you know, those drones are some of the most powerful we have. All A-grade, equipped with the best defense technology against threats that might try to tamper with them."
"We assessed the scale of destruction that would be left behind in the battle between the Knulls and the humans, and we made damn sure that those drones wouldn't be shot down from the sky. Yet, all of them were instantly wiped out before they could even pick up on the one who did it."
The Titan's voice was grim as the leaders furrowed their brows.
"Secondly… the human army. One second, they were on the battlefield, and the next, they were in the Thunder Waters. A total distance of 1,000 miles… in less than a few seconds."
"The humans' ship travel power has been assessed. Such a distance is beyond its capability in such amount of time… yet the truth is what it is."
"If their ships can't move that fast, and yet they are there, it means they must have been teleported away. That's the only explanation."
"So, let's link this together. One second, our most powerful drones—resistant against the most powerful attals—were gone. And the next second, all of the human warriors were teleported away."
"What can we deduce from these observations?" The Titan leader asked before taking his seat, silence reigning for a while.
"If one thing is certain…" A voice rang out, coming from a golden haired fallen man.
"That is that a new presence has entered the battlefield. Someone we never expected to be here."
He paused, and then another voice spoke from his side.
"And he also seems to be on the side of the humans. Teleporting them away when he could have just watched them die."
"The only human who's ever given us such problems is that bastard MadWhite! Don't tell me he's out of prison again!"
The vampire lady ground her teeth, her crimson eyes flashing with rage as she looked at the Titan man, who silently took out another device and dialed.
But then, after a moment, he placed it on the ground and shook his head.
"No. It's not MadWhite. He won't be getting out of that place. It's a miracle he's even still alive in that condition..."
The Titan man's tone was certain as he placed the device down, and the leaders looked at each other with furrowed brows.
"Well, if none of our warriors are responsible… then just who? What other expert with such power could have interfered?"
"We need someone to go to that battlefield and bring us information on our guest. Now!"
The Titan man slammed his hand on the table, sending cracks across the gem-like surface. Immediately, one of the leaders tapped on her device before saying,
"I've sent two of our most powerful spy scouts to the area. It will take them about twenty minutes to get there."
"Hopefully, our unnamed guest will still be there in twenty minutes…"
The Titan man's voice was low, and the room descended into silence once more, yet a palpable pressure lingered in the air.
This scene… this scenario of pushing the humans to the front lines of battle against the Knulls was what they had been planning for years.
Everything had seemed to go perfectly, and they had ensured thorough preparation to watch this fight and access the Knulls power level.
Only for their plan to come crashing down to embers.
They had no idea who was responsible for such an interference. Except that he was on the side of the humans.
There was a chance of another war brewing, with such a powerful force not being on their side… and lurking in the shadows.
'This is troublesome. Very troublesome...'
That thought echoed in all of the leaders' minds as each of them began typing into their communicator devices, sending various orders to their families.
The war with the Knulls had begun.
And now… there was a new presence in the game!