Reincarnated with a lucky draw system

Chapter 406 406: FEAR THAT BIRTHS CHAOS

Some of the soldiers retreated backward out of sheer terror, their boots scraping against the jagged asteroid surfaces as they stumbled away from the shadowed horror before them.

Panic etched deep lines on their faces, breaths coming in ragged gasps through sealed helmets, hearts pounding like war drums in their chests.

But as they turned, hoping for escape into the vast emptiness, they met only more opposition,.another wave of their own comrades fleeing in the opposite direction.

Those soldiers were backing away from Flameborn, the dragon's massive silhouette dominating the northern flank like a living storm.

His wings flexed slightly, casting elongated shadows that danced across the rocks, and the heat from his body warped the nearby void, creating faint mirages in the cold vacuum.

The retreating groups collided in confusion, a chaotic tangle of armored bodies bumping and shoving, realization dawning in their wide eyes.

At that moment, the grim truth finally sank in: they were going to die, one way or the other.

The void offered no mercy, no hiding place, only the relentless advance of shadow and flame on either side, closing like the jaws of a cosmic predator.

"I… I surrender!!!" one soldier cried out, his voice cracking over the comms with desperate finality.

He thrust a hand skyward, the shadowed coin clutched tightly in his fist, glinting faintly under the distant starlight like a cursed talisman.

"No! Give me that! I don't want to die!!!" another soldier nearby bellowed, lunging forward with wild eyes.

He grabbed at the first man's arm, fingers digging into the armor plating, trying to wrest the coin free in a frantic tussle born of survival instinct.

"That's not allowed," Aaron informed him coolly, his deep, unified voice echoing across the battlefield like a decree from the abyss.

"You can't claim the coin from a soldier who has his hands raised in surrender with it in his grasp."

In a blur of motion, Aaron struck the aggressor down, his shadowed dagger flashing once, slicing through armor and flesh with ruthless precision.

The man crumpled, body twitching as blood froze in crystalline droplets, drifting away like macabre confetti.

After Aaron's words pierced the air, audible to every soldier through some unseen amplification of his power, the dynamic of the battlefield shifted swiftly and irreversibly.

The organized ranks dissolved into pandemonium, the fight against the intruder forgotten in the grip of raw self-preservation.

The soldiers abandoned any pretense of defending against Aaron.

Instead, they plunged into a frenzy, scrambling over debris and bodies alike in a desperate search for the scattered coins.

Eyes darted wildly, hands pawed at the asteroid ground, kicking up dust that hung suspended in zero gravity like a hazy veil over the chaos.

"I… urgh!" one soldier gasped, his fingers closing around a coin just as a blade plunged into his chest from behind.

His ally, eyes hollow with guilt and necessity twisted the knife deeper, the victim's body going slack as life ebbed away in a silent gurgle.

"I'm sorry," the killer muttered, his voice thick with remorse even as he pried the coin from the dying man's limp fingers.

"But I also don't want to die. I have a wife and children waiting for me."

He retrieved the coin, a thrill of fleeting hope lighting his face despite the blood on his hands.

Excitement bubbled up, and he lifted it high, the etched faces of shadow and dragon catching a glimmer of light from a nearby exploding ship.

But before he could utter a word of surrender, his throat was slit by yet another ally,.a swift, betraying stroke from the side.

The new thief snatched the coin from his falling grasp, warm blood spraying in frozen arcs that painted the asteroid red.

"Now this is getting interesting," Aaron muttered, a hidden smile spreading beneath his veil of writhing shadows.

He watched the unfolding bedlam with detached amusement, the crimson glints in his eyes flickering like embers in the dark.

The void around him seemed to pulse in rhythm with the growing anarchy, the scent of fear and desperation thick even in the airless expanse.

Soldiers turned on each other without hesitation, alliances shattering like brittle ice under the pressure of survival.

Blades clashed, lasers hummed and fired at point-blank range, bodies piling up in grotesque heaps that floated lazily amid the wreckage.

Warships hovered overhead, their crews no longer unified, some even opened fire on their own ground forces below, plasma bolts raining down to eliminate competition and prevent anyone else from claiming a coin.

Their mindset had transformed drastically, twisted by the cruel game Aaron had imposed.

Facing him directly now promised only one outcome: certain death, swift and merciless.

But the coins represented a slender thread of hope,.a ticket to survival amid the carnage, a way to escape the devouring shadows and flames.

As was the nature of all beings, desperation and fear seized control, overriding loyalty and reason.

They struck down comrades with savage abandon, hands slick with the blood of friends, eyes wild with the primal urge to live just one more moment.

Aaron observed it all, choosing not to interfere.

He leaned against a floating boulder, arms crossed within his shadowed bulk, savoring the drama as it unfolded before him like a twisted theater performance.

The sounds of struggle,.grunts, cries, the clash of metal, echoed faintly through comms, a symphony of betrayal.

With a casual shadow leap, he vanished and reappeared by Flameborn's side.

The dragon's warm scales thrummed under his touch, a comforting heat against the cold void.

"Quite the entertainment we're having, buddy," Aaron said, stroking the dragon's massive head affectionately.

Flameborn rumbled in agreement, his golden eyes fixed on the fray, smoke curling from his nostrils.

Together, they watched as allies struck down allies without a care in the world.

Bodies tumbled, coins changed hands in bloody exchanges, the once-disciplined army reduced to a mob driven by terror.

The general observed it all from his perch, his heart breaking with each betrayal.

The weight of failure crushed him, chest tightening as if squeezed by invisible shadows.

He gritted his teeth, jaw aching from the strain, staring at the Celestial Devourer, the architect of this downfall who stood nonchalant amid the storm.

He clutched his fists together, knuckles whitening under his gloves, trying to hold back the surging anger in his heart.

Powerlessness burned like acid in his veins, knowing he was utterly outmatched before this enigmatic being.

"I surrender."

The words hung in the void, cutting through the din like a thunderclap.

The entire battlefield grew silent in an instant, the frenzy halting as if frozen in time.

"Oh?" Aaron murmured, caught by surprise, his shadowed form tilting slightly in curiosity.

Every soldier forgot what they were doing, the grappling hands released, weapons lowered mid-swing.

The chaos paused, breaths held in collective shock.

Each pair of eyes.wide with disbelief, glistening with sweat and fear glued themselves to the source of the voice that had called out for surrender.

The general stood alone on his asteroid, shoulders squared but spirit broken, the coin raised high in his trembling hand.