The Cornflower Witch

Northern Grand City, Candela, North Wind Tower.

"Sir, there is a situation to report." A guard's knock sounded from outside the door.

"Come in."

Inside the room, White Sage Kiran stood by the window, gazing out at the distance where fierce gales twisted into deep gray tornadoes along the horizon. As one of the Mage Alliance's rare Seventh Tier sages, he was Candela's highest commander, overseeing many personnel here.

The door opened, and a figure in pristine white armor with a cloak entered, holding a letter whose ink was still not fully dry.

"Reports have come in from the towers. Trains transporting Scorching Sun Crystals are en route."

"How much longer?" Kiran turned around.

"The fastest is Train No. 1. If nothing unexpected happens, it should arrive by tomorrow afternoon."

Hearing this, Kiran finally relaxed, his expression softening. He placed his hand on the armrest of the chair in front of him and reflected.

"Our current reserves are about two hundred thousand Scorching Sun Crystals. To activate the entire North Wind Defense Line's magic arrays and forge the guiding wind walls, we need at least five hundred thousand Scorching Sun Crystals. In other words, if three supporting trains arrive on time, we can begin operations."

"Yes, sir, but we also received bad news." The other man replied with a strained voice.

"Speak." Kiran frowned.

"First, on the western route, Train No. 4 lost contact and vanished in the wasteland. Train No. 7 and Train No. 8 said they'll inspect the missing area when they arrive."

"Then on the eastern route, Train No. 2 exploded while in motion. Apparently someone hid concealed explosives inside the coal briquettes loaded onto the train as an act of revenge. When the briquettes were fed into the power furnace, the blast destroyed the furnace drum. Now the train needs repairs, and because it's stuck halfway, it blocks Train No. 5 and Train No. 6, so they'll need time to move it."

After hearing this, Kiran closed his eyes, and the atmosphere grew heavy and silent.

"How could this happen? Weren't the coal briquettes sealed in warehouses under guard? Also, the furnace drums are so sturdy—can ordinary explosives really destroy them?"

"It seems some incidents occurred along the route..." the adjutant began to explain.

"In short, they clashed with locals while trying to requisition coal briquettes. Many even died in forced collections, so a local Fourth Tier alchemist hid powerful homemade explosives in the briquettes and hired a local illusionist-mage to disguise them. The result was the furnace drum exploding and the train stalling."

"Ridiculous." Kiran opened his eyes after repeating it, his expression ugly.

"Sir..."

"Enough. Any other news?"

"The central route, Train No. 3, reports it is steadily moving, just several hours behind schedule."

"As long as it arrives steadily, let it be late." Kiran gave up urging.

"How long will repairs and clearing the eastern tracks take?"

"About three days." Hearing that, Kiran shook his head.

"Too late. The second storm is coming soon. We must activate the North Wind Defense Line as early as possible."

"With the west unknown and the east delayed, we have to rely on the central route."

"Who's ahead of Train No. 8?"

"In front is Train No. 4. We departed a day later and encountered several incidents that delayed us half a day." One piece of news after another left the sage mentally fatigued.

"Hopefully they'll arrive on time."

...

The next day, western route.

The rails vanished into swampy marshes of the wasteland. Overturned carriages lay on the ground, dead monster corpses littered the mud, and metal helmets sank in filth.

Black vultures circled the sky, occasionally swooping down to peck at the corpses.

Train No. 7 pulled up slowly. Its crew disembarked to scout and quickly found the locomotive stuck in the mire, surrounded by numerous dead bodies, some drowned by the mud, others torn apart in fierce battle.

Master Walsh, leading Train No. 7, ordered caution, then went to observe above the lake surface.

An hour later, Master Walsh returned and ordered the train to keep silent. The crew boarded again and minimized noise.

"It looks like Train No. 4 was wiped out. Cedric Guard Master couldn't escape either," he answered heavily.

"Under the lake lies a sleeping monster, very likely a true dragon. It will be extremely difficult to deal with."

Dragon-class creatures often surpass their peers in combat strength. To slay a true dragon would require at least three to five experts of equal tier.

"We'll wait here for Train No. 8. Once the crews unite, we'll plan how to handle it."

Knowing a monster lay under the lake made everyone tense and careful. The train lights were dimmed, voices hushed, and defenses reinforced. Compartments storing Scorching Sun Crystals were sealed to prevent aura leakage.

Half a day later, Train No. 8 arrived as well. Upon learning the situation, the two crews joined forces.

"To clear the track under the lake, we must defeat that plesiosaur-like dragon," they agreed.

"Load and fire the crystalline cannons on the trains. This is not the time to be frugal."

"Yes!" Several squad leaders took out keys, engaged the locking mechanisms, and loaded Scorching Sun Crystals into the cannons' large furnace bases.

Fourth Tier mages from the Solar Furnace faction stepped forward. Following training procedures, they activated the arrays on the cannons. The furnaces spun as the Scorching Sun Crystals inside glowed orange-red; the Scorching Sun power within slowly flowed into the array channels and converged into the cannon cores.

The half-meter-diameter cannon barrels, rotating on their bases, slowly aimed at the lake-swamp ahead.

For a moment it looked as if two small suns rose from the ground. Even a little overflow of the compressed infernal power inside the barrels could melt nearby objects.

The sleeping plesiosaur awoke from this force, lifting its massive head. The lake's mud surged with its motion and rolled toward the trains.

A towering fifty-meter-high wave smashed forward, then two blinding torrents of white-hot energy pierced the mud and struck the plesiosaur's body.

The intense heat vaporized the water instantly. The expanding shockwave detonated across the lake, flinging corpses and carriages into the air before they crashed back down.

Through the rising steam, the plesiosaur writhed in pain. It lifted its head and sprayed a dazzling azure breath toward the crystalline cannons, melting one of them.

In the emergency, the mages operating the cannon leaped aside. Two Sixth Tier masters ascended into the air. Working together, they formed an immense interlocking gear gate that opened slowly, out of which trudged a roughly seventy-meter-tall war machine.

Purgatory Siege Beast (Eighth Tier · Gold Steam · Beast Fang)

Shaped like an elephant with tusks and molars, clad in thick heavy armor. Though slow in movement, its power was immense. It could not smash down walls by ramming, but it spat flames capable of melting stone and performed seismic stomps.

Compared with the plesiosaur, such war machines were still clumsy, but there were three of them available.

Engineers assembled and started parts under the train as the two smaller Eighth Tier war machines also rose and joined the assault.

Thorn Shell Fortress

(Eighth Tier · Gold Steam · Castle)

A mobile wall fortress housing five large turrets. When deployed, it anchors firmly to the earth, becoming nearly immovable.

Riftback Fire Centipede (Sixth Tier · Gold Steam · Scorching Sun)

A giant machine whose back plates open to reveal thirty-six high-grade flame cannons, providing sweeping battlefield fire support.

Mud, water, and explosive flames churned as the dragon's brute body tangled with the metal contraptions. The Purgatory Siege Beasts, which drew the dragon's attention, were seized and wrapped by the plesiosaur's powerful neck, emitting metallic screams as heavy components fractured. Their thousands-of-ton armored bodies were crushed and ground under pressure.

Elsewhere, the Thorn Shell Fortress and the Riftback Fire Centipede unleashed full firepower. Countless shells and beams converged on the dragon's back, tearing its silvery-blue scales apart and ripping flesh beneath. A smell of scorching spread across the land.

In agony, the three-hundred-plus-meter plesiosaur twisted, releasing the damaged Purgatory Siege Beast. With surprising agility, it swam through the mud, hiding its injured flank beneath the murky water.

Then it howled to the heavens. The booming dragon roar shattered anyone attempting to approach. Even distant mages suffered brutal mental shock, collapsing unconscious.

At this moment, only those Fourth Tier and above could barely withstand the dragon's roar and avoid fainting or death.

Recovering, the plesiosaur narrowed its vertical pupils and glared. It opened its maw and unleashed a brilliant azure breath that swept across the land for kilometers, slicing the lead trains clean in half, tearing them into segments, and vaporizing countless crew members.

Since the Covenant Epoch of the Ninth Epoch, true dragons had been rarely seen on the mortal continents. Many had forgotten their terrifying might. Only now, facing this enraged plesiosaur, did the mages on the scene realize how dreadful the ancient overlords once were.

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