Golden Dragon: Six Thousand Years of Empire

"What is this?"

Paladin Rand stared in shock at the imposing figure that appeared behind his student. It was a giant clad in golden battle armor, with a pair of sharp dragon horns atop its head. The giant sword it held, taller than most people and wider than a door, along with another double-edged battle axe gleaming with molten firelight, made the paladin's heart race.

"Who?"

Iliad also felt the overwhelming pressure from behind. He quickly turned around and immediately saw the Golden Giant, whose mere shadow entirely covered him and his teacher.

The Holy Dragon's Son could feel the bloodline within the giant, the same as his own. There was no doubt that this was his father's favored, although he had no memory of such an entity existing.

"Holy Dragon above!"

The Forbidden Army Soldier, who teleported across vast seas, glanced down at the seemingly frail boy before him. He could also sense the supreme bloodline hidden within the boy, the reason they were summoned here.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

The visible golden teleportation ripples didn't cease; just behind the Golden Giant, more warriors like him, though slightly different, began to appear.

"Exterminate evil, purge all threats!"

The command, carrying a heavy metallic vibrato, echoed from beneath a thickly enclosed helmet. The pure golden peeping mirror shone with a blood-red glow, more terrifying than the dark red that overshadowed the sky dome.

Yet, whether it was Iliad, sealed into human form, or paladin Rand, who mistakenly thought he accidentally summoned them, both felt an indescribable sense of safety and comfort.

"For the Holy Dragon Emperor!"

As the teleportation ripples gradually faded, fifty-one more Golden Giant Warriors had appeared, like metallic mountains. They wore heavy battle armor painted in gold, each wielding a fearsome weapon that was intimidating to behold.

Thud! Thud! Thud!

The footsteps of these giants in golden armor moved like mountains. Iliad could clearly feel the tremors coming from the ground.

"Is this also a summoning scroll?"

Paladin Rand looked at these hefty yet swiftly moving heavy equipment soldiers passing by, his shock yet to dissipate, and couldn't help but praise.

"It shouldn't... be, right?"

Iliad wanted to retort, as he believed these Golden Giant Warriors descended because of him, not because of the teleportation scroll his teacher had just activated.

But he didn't know how to explain, as he hadn't revealed his identity yet. He was still an apprentice professional who hadn't felt the Holy Light's call to become a paladin.

"Truly powerful, it seems we are saved!"

Rand paid no attention to the negligible sound of his student, his focus entirely on these warriors crossing the sea to arrive.

These warriors moved lightly and swiftly. But a glance at the ground showed the truth. Each step they took left deep, wide footprints on the rocky ground. The deep footprints were wide enough to fit a fist, and the cracks extending from them spoke volumes about their weight. Their armor was no mere decoration.

With such weight, yet maintaining agility, their physique must be unimaginable. The power and speed they possessed convinced Rand that this squad of merely fifty-one was enough to crush any obstacle in their path.

Indeed, this was the case. The Golden Giant Warriors, who had descended, did not form ranks but spread out in a semicircle, choosing their own directions to start a slaughter!

Yes, a slaughter. The demonized humans and beasts, tainted by corruption after the sacrifice began, couldn't even delay these warriors' steps. They only needed to walk through, and the demonized creatures were crushed into a slurry of flesh and bone.

Most tragically, even when they sacrificed their lives, using claws and fangs to tear and bite, they couldn't leave even a scratch on the warriors' armor.

Those monsters, rampaging through town streets and alleys, preying on citizens for the joy of hearing intelligent beings wail, couldn't even break through the outermost defensive light shield, composed of elements fused with holy light. They didn't even touch the armor's surface before being crushed.

However, the sacrifice had already begun, and demons from the abyss had descended. Regular professionals had to form teams and cooperate to challenge the demons, yet even these demons appeared small as insects against the warriors.

Crunch~ Boom!

With a light bone-cracking sound, following that, a hideous head covered with thick horny scale armor, capable of deflecting blades, exploded like a ripe fruit beneath a magic alloy-covered palm.

"Too weak!"

Seeing the headless demon corpse falling at his feet, the Forbidden Army Soldier, Shucarton—having become the thirteenth to transplant a second heart and gained a Vajra Kidney—looked at the bloodstains on his hand. He hung the Molten Mountain Battle Axe on his back and chose to walk through this Land of Fallen unarmed.

In the moment he armed his back, the demonized creatures formed from corrupted humans surged toward him like a tide. But Shucarton merely wielded his fists with casual swings, crushing all these creatures into fragments, each move carrying the power to split mountains and rocks.