The battlefield lay in ruins - scorched earth, broken vines, and shattered ice scattered across the land.
A sickly purple mist still lingered, the remnants of the Poison tribe's venom bombs. The air was thick, not just with poison, but with the silent defeat that weighed on the warriors who remained standing - barely.
Wine, his expression a cruel mix of satisfaction and mockery, led his Poison tribe as they calmly strolled through the battlefield, stepping over the fallen leaders and soldiers. His boots crushed brittle leaves from Sylvia's weakened vines and kicked aside frozen shards left by Glacius' attacks. His soldiers followed closely, their toxic aura making the air feel heavier with every step.
Stopping beside Hax's collapsed form, Wine crouched down, tilting his head. Hax's body still quivered, poison pumping through his veins, yet his eyes burned with fury. Wine smirked.
"The mighty Dragon king..." Wine said softly, his voice like venom itself. "All that strength, all that fire - yet you still fell. Poison doesn't care how tough your scales are."
He straightened up, giving Hax one last look before moving toward Mystra. She was on her knees, her usually commanding presence reduced to a gasping, weakened shell of herself. Without her swarm, she seemed... small. Her fingers twitched as if trying to summon another wave of bugs, but nothing came.
Wine chuckled.
"Poor Mystra... the queen without her army." He leaned close, whispering: "Without your swarm, you're just another fragile creature."
Mystra's lips curled into a snarl, but she was too weak to respond.
Wine's soldiers continued their cruel survey of the battlefield, taunting the wounded warriors. They jeered at the Magma tribe soldiers, mocking their extinguished flames.
They sneered at the Nature tribe, ridiculing how their plants withered in the face of poison. Even the Ice tribe's remaining warriors found themselves the target of insults, with the Poison tribe gleefully noting how their frost couldn't stop a toxin from spreading.
Dune, despite the pain rippling through his sand-covered body, watched all of this in silence. His jaw clenched, but he refused to give Wine the satisfaction of seeing him break.
Queen Veyra's Aqua soldiers, still reeling from the battle, stood tense but didn't dare make a move. They were outnumbered and outmatched in their current state.
Wine, satisfied with the fear and devastation he saw, finally spoke loud enough for all to hear:
"You all fought so hard... yet you still lost."
He spread his arms wide, as if claiming the battlefield for himself. "Strength means nothing without cunning. Power means nothing if you can't protect yourself from the unseen."
Meanwhile...
From afar, a mysterious black hooded figure and a white hooded figure were walking on the Sand districts, slowly heading in the direction of the battlefield.