Ember Dragon

"Enemy attack—"

"Amanata above, it’s the Ember Empire! They’re almost here!"

The officers and soldiers on the walls instantly fell into chaos, rushing to their posts and defensive weapons.

"Quick! We can’t wait any longer. Activate the full-city defense system of August!"

A messenger burst in: "Lord Dayev, it’s time. The Third Defense Zone is still short-handed!"

"Got it." Dayev clenched the emblem in his hand and nodded heavily, then followed the city guards toward his assigned sector.

Atop the ramparts, a defense officer waved a military banner and shouted, "On my command! Activate the alchemical matrix!"

"Boom—"

Soldiers below strained at the winches as the alchemical matrix embedded within the rune fort bricks was activated. Over a dozen hexagonal force field shields, each a hundred meters wide, emerged beyond the walls.

At the summit of the Eternal Sun Tower, Wilhelm gazed at the vast imperial army sweeping in like a tide from afar, his face stern. He raised the Spear of Final Judgment and pointed to the sky.

"My people, war has come! They are here! Let these minions of the vile dragon witness the glory of the Lord of Eternal Radiance—"

His cold voice echoed above the walls, while the Sacred Choral Group’s hymn grew even louder and more resonant.

Moved by the power stirring the magic web, the angel-blooded raised their swords and cried out in unison, beams of light shooting into the heavens.

"For Thrace!"

"For the Lord of Eternal Radiance!"

In an instant, the summit of the Eternal Sun Tower emitted ten thousand rays of sunlight, forming a light dome several kilometers wide that enveloped the entire city of August.

The light dome, shaped like a vaulted ceiling, was ornate with glowing patterns and studded with thousands of miniature suns, each radiating a blinding glow.

"A miracle! This—this is a miracle!"

"Such power..."

"Long live His Majesty Wilhelm! Those Empire scum can’t possibly breach August!"

All eyes turned skyward to the six-winged, godlike king bathed in light.

Several kilometers away, amidst the roar of horns and engines, the Empire’s eastern and western armies converged. Expeditionary forces from various planes poured out of portals.

They formed a colossal tide, encircling the city of August.

"Roooar—"

A thunderous roar tore through the sky as a massive mutated dragon beast—nearly ten meters tall—emerged from a spatial rift atop a hill, its heavy steps shaking the earth.

On the beast’s high back stood a two-winged hobgoblin of the dragonblood line, clad in ornate, heavy armor. Towering and mighty—he was none other than the Empire’s Marshal of the Army, Dolo.

"Marshal Dolo!"

"He’s here in person!"

From the moment Dolo appeared, tens of thousands of eyes locked on him. Soldiers erupted into a commotion.

Seeing him arrive, Drol, Arturo, and other expedition commanders quickly placed hands on their chests, bowed deeply, and spoke in unison: "For the Empire."

Dolo gave a slight nod and returned the salute, placing his fist to his chest. "For the Empire."

The hobgoblin marshal rose from the beast’s back, casting a sharp gaze over the officers and soldiers. Then he hefted his Bloodfire War Axe, his voice amplified by a loudspeaker for all to hear.

"Soldiers! The shadow of the dragon’s wings now blankets August’s walls! I can smell the fear in cowardly marrow, just like when they trembled before the ruins of their fallen monarchy!"

"Victory! Victory!"

Soldiers raised fists, armor clanking like thunder.

Dolo swung his axe in a sweeping arc, roaring, "And today, I ask you—why are we here?"

As his voice echoed, the Azure Drakeserpent war horns blared like thunder, and war banners snapped in the wind.

"To conquer, to seize their lands, to fuel the Empire’s expansion!"

"To avenge, to punish those who dared insult the Empire and His Majesty! Let the Thracians taste our fury!"

"To realize the Grand Vision! To repay His Majesty Cassius’ grace!"

Eager to impress the Marshal, officers and soldiers shouted over each other. The fervor surged.

Dolo nodded approvingly.

Then his eyes blazed. He roared with thunderous might: "You’re right! For we are the children of iron and fire! Vassals of the Great Red Dragon! Conquerors of the North!

While southerners wrap their cowardice in silk, our children wield hammers by the forge; while August’s nobles build lies with gold, our blades have torn through thirteen fortress throats!"

Dolo drew his Bloodfire Axe and pointed at the distant Eternal Sun Tower. "Look! That false tower radiates its last glow—but soon, it will tremble before our army!"

Heavy infantry slammed sword to shield with thunderous resonance. Artillery fired into the sky.

"They say August will never fall? Ha!" The dragonblood goblin bared his teeth in contempt. "Ten years ago, the Northern Duke boasted the same—until His Majesty Cassius incinerated them with dragonflame!"

"Every foe of the Empire has howled the same—northern nobles, shield dwarves, even the godborn of North Aether. All crumbled beneath the Empire’s iron boot!"

Dolo raised the massive axe high: "Remember! Every stone of these walls shall bear your names! The breaker of the gate shall earn a golden medal, and power beyond measure!

Cowards’ souls shall be nailed to the anvils of our forges to scream for eternity!"

His axe blazed with dragonflame, a giant torch lighting the sky.

"When the gates fall, I want the king of Thrace’s screams to drown the funeral bells! I want their godborn to kneel on scorched earth and kiss the Empire’s crest!"

"Here and now! As Marshal, I stand with you on the front line!"

Dolo threw off his armor and tore open his robes, revealing a chest covered in terrifying scars: "This from a northern arrow! This from a frost giant’s fang! This from a godborn’s lightblade! And here—"

He pounded his heart. "—here burns forever for the Empire! For His Majesty Cassius! And you?"

Dolo swung his axe, its blade ripping the air. His roar shattered the clouds.

"Will you crawl home in shame, cursed by your bloodline? Or forge a new monument with August’s ashes?"

"Destroy August!"

"Conquer the Kingdom of Thrace!"

In an instant, the Empire’s army roared. Wyverns, flame dragons, pseudodragons, and shadow drake beasts rose into the air, their necks stretching, howls deafening.

"In the name of the Empire, by the power granted by His Majesty Cassius! Crush these lambs huddled behind their walls!"

Dolo raised his arm: "Let their blood soak your armor, their cries become our victory chorus! Today—August becomes our stairway to eternity!"

Hundreds of thousands of Imperial soldiers raised weapons and roared like thunder, their voices shaking the skies.

"As long as life endures, conquest shall not cease!"

Dolo swung his axe toward August, face twisted, voice thunderous: "Fire—"

Instantly, ten thousand cannons roared. Countless shells streaked through the sky, weaving a burning net that blanketed August.

"Boom!"

"Boom! Boom!"

Explosions rocked the glowing dome above August. Fire and smoke obscured the sky, engulfing the city.

Even with the light dome as protection, the walls trembled under the force of the shockwaves. Chunks of stone fell, and within the city, Thracian soldiers looked on with terror, whispering anxiously.

"This is a damn natural disaster!"

"Amanata above... th-they’re not really going to break through, are they?"

"They shouldn’t... right? With His Majesty Wilhelm watching over us..."

Even Thracians well-versed in cannons and firearms had never seen such a spectacle—so many shells, such overwhelming firepower.

Bombardment of this scale would doom any other city. Fortunately, this was August, the legendary "City of Sunrise," home to the Eternal Sun Tower.

"Second volley!"

"Boom—"

Tanks roared across the wasteland. Muzzle flashes burst from thick barrels, and armor-piercing rounds hammered the outer walls, causing the light dome to flicker.

Thanks to the relentless research of the Church of the Machine God, the power of these rounds rivaled that of high-tier arcane spells. Each shell packed deadly force.

Meanwhile, squadrons of airships flew toward August. Elemental cannons on their undersides unleashed beams of immense energy.

Accompanied by deathly shrieks, wyverns in Inferno Armor soared over August, releasing bombs like rainfall.

"Boom!"

Even the light dome emitted by the Eternal Sun Tower shuddered faintly under the bombardment. Explosions knocked defenders from the walls, and stones tumbled everywhere.

"Hold your ground!"

"Damn it, Karn fell!"

Tyrena raised her flaming longsword, divine light blazing in her eyes, and shouted, "Angelblood, heed my command! At all costs, hold the line against the vile dragon’s minions!"

As holy hymns echoed, columns of light surged skyward. The solar divine power of the angelblooded poured into the sacred domain, strengthening the dome’s glow and density.

From above, they could see steam tanks and armored vehicles charging across the plains, wyverns sweeping past overhead.

"Counterattack, counterattack!"

Behind Dayev, Thracian officers bellowed and roared, but their voices were drowned in the thunder of the barrage, faint as mosquitoes.

Listening to the shrieks and blasts, Dayev stood frozen on the rampart, gripping his medal tight, overwhelmed by a sense of unprecedented shock.

So this was how the Ember Empire waged war?

The Empire’s troops didn’t even radiate powerful auras—many weren’t even Professionals.

Yet armed with their terrifying weapons and gear, they unleashed destruction rivaling that of archmages—perhaps even legendary mages.

Still, this was Thrace’s army. Under heavy attack, they mounted a proper counteroffensive.

The rune bastion absorbed the blasts’ energy and transmitted it via the alchemical matrix into various elemental towers, where arcane legion mages took control.

"Boom! Boom! Boom!"

In an instant, scorching fireballs launched from the elemental towers, striking steam tanks and blowing them to charred scrap.

With heavy booms, bolts of lightning then struck, blasting armored vehicles into the sky and sending their smoking husks crashing down.

Some towers unleashed searing fire pillars that punched clean through charging steam tanks.

Atop the walls, forty-eight Sun God ballistae unleashed their terrifying might—just as they had repelled chromatic dragon hordes a century ago.

"Quick, shoot those dragon lackeys down! Let them taste the Sun God’s fury!"

"One, two, heave—!"

Soldiers cranked winches with all their might, aiming skyward.

"Whizz—"

With thunderous cracks, giant glowing bolts screamed skyward, tracing golden arcs through the air.

"Screee—"

In just one volley, over a dozen wyverns were pierced, falling from the sky in agony, flailing and shrieking.

Yet the dragon swarm didn’t falter. They shrieked louder, wings beating, surging toward August like a spreading storm cloud.

Wilhelm, expressionless, swung the Spear of Final Judgment, his voice echoing above August: "God has spoken—grant them annihilation!"

Even before his words faded, the Eternal Sun Tower in the city center blazed with radiant light.

Its golden disk slowly turned, and the light dome trembled.

The miniature suns embedded in the dome quivered—then shot in all directions.

"Boom!"

Each tiny sun triggered a blinding explosion, fire blossoming across the earth like divine punishment, engulfing the leading steam tanks.

"Armored Legion, advance!"

Through the smoke appeared towering figures—giant armored units bearing massive magic forcefield shields. Steadily, they pushed forward, breaking through the haze, halting less than two hundred meters from the city walls.

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