Ashen Dragon

Those golden rays intertwined to form a massive sun disk in the sky, the disk rotating, its sacred light blocking everything outside Esengard.

Standing at the forefront, the Angel Divine Descendant gritted his teeth and sharply said: "Evil dragons! I don't know where you stole this strength from, but as long as we are here, you shall not set foot into the Thrace territory!

Ladies and gentlemen, follow me in a life-and-death battle with this dragon! Even if we die, let him witness the power of the divine descendants!"

"Kill——"

"For Thrace!"

"For Holy Fadlan!"

The nine Angel Divine Descendants unleashed a sun disk hundreds of meters in diameter with all their might, covering the sky above the walls; even facing a demigod-level enemy, it could hold for a moment, enough to support until Thrace reinforcements arrive.

But these remaining Angel Divine Descendants overlooked one point: their enemy was not an ordinary mortal, but the dragon that once brought the Heavenly Realm Master to fall, dissipating the Divine incarnations - the Ashen Empire's Emperor Cassius.

Looking at these Angel Divine Descendants blocking his way, Cassius swung his broad dragon wings, snorting coldly: "How presumptuous...

The true Heavenly Realm Master couldn't stop me; what qualification do you so-called birdmen of angelic divine descent have to stand in front of me?"

The Red Dragon's face displayed a cruel, ferocious smile: "If so, let me show you—what a real sun is!"

Cassius took a deep breath; the Sun God Power filled in the dragon crystal surged into the vessel of dragon blood, accompanying the scorching dragon blood gurgling, finally converging into a dazzling fireball at the throat.

He had countless means to effortlessly kill these Angel Divine Descendants, but he chose the most humiliating method.

[Sun Breath]

Cassius aimed to crush them using their own powers—not just physically but also mentally!

"Boom——"

The sound of the air being torn apart echoed, and a dazzling beam of light stretched across the sky, piercing through thousands of meters of space, heading straight to that golden disk.

The wrath of the Sun could destroy everything—even itself!

Facing the incoming beam, although prepared, the Angel Divine Descendants' faces still showed looks of fear and despair, as everything before them was illuminated by the light.

This was not the dragon's breath; it was simply the Sun God's retribution!

Could that Red Dragon truly be the Catastrophe Messenger dispatched by His Majesty Amanata—to bring punishment and destroy these guilty ones?

This was the last thought that flashed through the Angel Divine Descendants' minds.

The next moment, in just an instant, the dazzling beam pierced through the Angel Divine Descendants' sun disk.

The potent divine power's brilliance enveloped all divine descendants, utterly destroying their corporeal forms, plundering their divine power origin, turning these feathered beings into ashes.

Following that, the beam struck the indestructible cast iron wall behind.

"No——"

"Quick, run! It's going to collapse here!"

The entire Esengard shook violently, the outer wall instantly melted, transformed into flowing molten iron, while the inner wall abruptly collapsed, massive steel and rubble falling crazily.

Under this breath imbued with Sun God Power, even the walls inscribed with runes, capable of repelling spell attacks, were of no use.

Each soldier's terrified eyes reflected an unbelievably radiant glow. Following this were endless dust and debris, with a final earth-shaking loud noise.

In merely a few seconds, a section of the towering wall, a hundred meters long and over twenty meters high, completely collapsed, causing thousands to either die from falling or get buried within it.

"Amanata above..."

"Is this truly divine punishment? Such an enemy...how can they possibly be defeated?"

At this moment, whether the giant dragon was a messenger of the Sun God or whether the Ashen Empire was the legitimate successor of Fadlan, it was no longer important.

Cassius had already proven to the people of Esengard—that he had the ability to destroy this city in a very short time.

The Red Dragon, swinging its enormous wings that obscured the sky, slowly descended from the sky, finally landing above Esengard, gripping the wall with its massive claws.

"Buzz——"

The sharp metallic screech resounded as the cast iron wall was pressed to indent by those heavy claws.

But the soldiers atop the wall trembled all over, standing motionlessly in place, some even fainted under the almost tangible Dragon's Might.

"God, oh God..."

"Amanata above..."

The Red Dragon, with its golden eyes larger than a human, gazed upon them, speaking in a detached tone, word by word, stating a familiar line: "Submit, or die."

"Clang!"

The sound of dropping weapons echoed in succession, starting with a few scattered clinks, then more and more, finally joining into a unified sound.

...

The flag of Sun and Wings slowly descended from the top of the tower, while the empire flag of Flames and Vertical Pupil rose, fluttering.

An airship fleet hovered over the city, casting large, mottled shadows, seemingly to engulf the entire city, making the scene particularly bizarre.

Giant armored vehicles moved through city streets, their massive bodies like mobile mountains, each step causing the ground to tremble.

They maneuvered among low-building areas, the thick metal shell shimmering with a cold light, attracting countless fearful and curious glances.

The Imperial Infantry lined neatly within the city, swiftly advancing towards the city's armory, bank, and other significant locations under the command and organization of officers at all levels.

"Boom——"

The armored vehicles equipped with machine guns moved slowly along the roads, its top-mounted loudspeakers blaring loudly: "The Imperial Army is stationed; please stay home, remain calm, and do not move around——"

"Mom, I'm scared, those Imperial people...do they really eat the souls of children?"

"Don't be afraid, child, that's just a rumor."

"But I've heard..."

Such conversations took place within many houses in the city; the people of Esengard were extremely fearful of the Imperial Army's occupation, cowering within their homes, shivering.

After all, in Thrace's official propaganda, the soldiers of the Ashen Empire were all greedy, brutal monsters.

Although Esengard was situated at the junction of Thrace and the North Aisier Region, it was, in fact, the heartland of the Thrace Kingdom, having no foreign invasions and enjoying decades of peace.

Even the southern war and northern rebellions merely increased their tax burdens, never directly extending flames of war to this city.

And now, the arrival of the Ashen Empire completely changed everything.

"Boom——"

The earth issued a muffled roar.

Outside Esengard, steam tanks sprinted across the land, bipedal wyverns soared through the sky, the Imperial Army surged like a flood through the Elbert Pass, overwhelmingly pouring into the Thrace Region.

Esengard thus fell, and the full-scale war between the Ashen Empire and the Thrace Kingdom—fully erupted.

...

Thrace Kingdom, August City.

"Extra! Extra! The Ashen Empire declared war on the Thrace Kingdom! Esengard was captured!"

"What? Esengard has fallen?"

"Amanata above!"

"That's the only gate to the north! The indestructible stronghold, how could it be breached like that?"

The Ashen Empire's army penetrated deeply, rampaging within Thrace territory, advancing with lightning speed, while within August City, pandemonium erupted, plunging into great panic.

The Ashen Empire seemed like a massive sharp blade hanging over everyone's head within the city.

For nearly a hundred years, aside from the civil wars of the Three Great Kingdoms, it was the first time a true "foreign enemy" invaded Fadlan's territory.