The four invaders exchanged a nce before raising their weapons, then hesitated. One of them muttered something through their modtor.


    "We should just shoot him. It will make them die too quick."


    Hearing that, the others chuckling darkly as they put away their rifles. Then each drawing a sword with a gleaming redser de. The leader stepped forward, his stance radiating both confidence and contempt.


    "What are you natives doing here?" he asked with de humming ominously in his hand.


    Elena, Darek, and Tovan instinctively took a step back, fear flickering across their faces. They were vastly outnumbered, with minimal weaponry, and fighting the invaders openly like this was far from ideal. The three of them knew that fighting these invaders in a direct fight would likely end badly for them.


    But ar seemed entirely unfazed, his light smile unwavering as he shrugged casually.


    "We kinda got lost," he replied, his tone calm. "So, you''re the ones responsible for invading this world, huh? That''s a lucky coincidence. I''ve got some business with you all."


    The invadersughed at his words, the sound cold and mocking. One of them sneered through his visor.


    "Business, huh? You sound pretty stupid for someone who''s about to die painfully."


    ar only raised an eyebrow, unbothered by the taunt.


    "Really? You sure you can kill us?" he asked, his voiceced with a quiet confidence that unsettled the invaders despite themselves.


    One of the invaders, clearly irritated by ar''s audacity, stepped forward, eyes fixed on Elena. He took in her tense determined stance and his lips curled into a grin beneath his visor.


    "You," he sneered, "you''d make a fine ve. Don''t worry, we won''t kill you right away. Got ns for you. Hehehe."


    Elena clenched her jaw, her eyes zing, but she said nothing, refusing to give him the satisfaction of seeing her fear.


    Without warning, the same invader that had talk to Elena lunged at ar, hisser de slicing through the air in a powerful arc. But


    ar moved like lightning and faster than him. His hand shooting up to catch the invader''s wrist in mid-swing. The invader''s surprise was evident even through the mask, his body jolting as ar''s iron grip held him in ce and rendering the strike useless.


    "Nice de," ar said with a smirk, tightening his grip until the invader groaned and then dropping the weapon.


    With a swift and fluid motion, ar swung his other fist,nding a solid punch into the invader''s helmeted face. The force sent him reeling backward, his body crashing heavily to the ground.


    The remaining invaders paused, their mocking arrogance turning into a wary silence. They nced at each other, hesitating as they reassessed their odds.


    Elena, her confidence rekindled by ar''s disy of strength, took a step forward, eyes narrowed. Yes, this is the power of th Dragonborn. They don''t need to be afraid of them right now.


    "You think we''re easy targets?" she taunted, her voice steady despite the adrenaline surging through her veins. "Big mistake."


    Darek and Tovan also start to drawing courage from her defiance and ar''s disy of strength. The readied their own weapons that look crude but still deadly in capable hands.


    The leader straightened, gripping his de tightly.


    "You''ll regret that!" he snarled. He signaled to his remaining invaders who fanned out to surround ar and hispanions.


    ar rolled his shoulders, his smirk returning.


    "Bring it on," he said, his voice low and challenging. He looked back at Elena, Darek, and Tovan, nodding toward their opponents. "Time to show them what we''re made of, guys."


    ar tightened his fists. Despite what he had said he recognize the urgency of taking charge first before the odds tipped any further against them.


    He threw a quick look at Elena, Darek, and Tovan, noting the fire in their eyes but understanding their limitations. They had courage right now and that''s good. But courage alone wouldn''t turn the tide here. If they went toe-to-toe with these invaders they might still be overwhelmed.


    Without a moment''s hesitation, ar lunged forward first,unching himself straight into the remaining three soldiers. He moved like a shadow through the ashden air, closing the distance in a blink. The invaders barely had time to react before ar was upon them.


    The first soldier raised hisser sword to block ar''s strike but ar ducked low, sweeping out a leg and throwing the soldier off bnce. Before the man could recover ar surged upward with a powerful uppercut, feeling the satisfying crunch of armor giving way under his knuckles.


    The soldier staggered back, his helmeted head snapping to the side as he tried to stay on his feet.


    ar didn''t stop. He whirled around and meeting the next soldier mid-swing. The invader brought his de down in a vicious arc but ar sidestepped then grabbing the man''s arm and twisting it sharply.n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om


    The invader grunted in pain as his grip loosened, allowing ar to wrench the weapon free. ar tossed it aside.


    The third invader moved in from behind, trying to take advantage of ar''s exposed back. But ar''s reflexes were top notched.


    He spun around, dodging just as the red de sliced dangerously close, singeing the air where his shoulder had been a second ago.


    ar responded with a swift elbow to the soldier''s chest, the blow powerful enough to send him stumbling back several steps.


    For a moment, the soldiers regrouped, their eyes narrowing as they reassessed this unexpected threat.


    ar now surrounded, but he took a steadying breath, savoring the weight and rhythm of a fight without his Dragon Scales. He wanted to feel their strength for what it truly was, to test their limits against his own body. Its not so bad.


    The three invaders closed in, their des shing in calcted and coordinated moves. ar ducked and dodged, weaving through their strikes with graceful precision.


    One invader aimed a thrust at his ribs but ar sidestepped and countered with a quick jab to the soldier''s side. The blow hit hard making the invader''s grip falter just enough for ar to punch an forcing him back.


    Another de came down from his right, the soldier swinging with brutal force. ar caught his wrist mid-swing, feeling the heated edge of the weapon close to his skin.


    He then twisted the soldier''s arm back, hearing the satisfying clink of armor joints straining as the man cried out in pain.


    The third invader took a desperate swing, aiming directly for ar''s head. But ar ducked low, the de whizzing harmlessly above.


    He rising then drove his knee into the soldier''s midsection, knocking the wind out of him. The man staggered back, clutching his chest as he gasped for breath.


    The two remaining invaders tried to capitalize on ar''s exposed position after standing up, their des shing in tandem as they struck from both sides.


    But ar sidestepped one while deflecting the other''s strike with his forearm, his molten armor barely brushing the lethal edge.


    He followed up with a powerful punch thatnding squarely on the closest soldier''s visor, shattering it and sending the man sprawling into the ash-covered ground.


    ar breathing calmly and straightened, his gaze shifting to the final soldier still on his feet. The invader''s stance wavered, doubt flickering in his eyes as he nced between ar and his fallenrades.


    ar offered a challenging grin.


    "You still think we''re the ones who''ll die painfully?" he taunted, taking a slow, menacing step toward him.


    ---