https://novelcool.info/chapter/Chapter-121-Ascension-and-Terrifying-Illusions/13676274/
Chapter 120: Fire and Breaker of Armies
The Battle of Tiriel was over. Ashen Hollow had suffered heavy losses—over ten thousand Goblins and Goblinoids lay dead—but their remaining forces still bristled with fierce strength and unshaken morale.
Meanwhile, the allied armies of the Lakanman, Bosk, and Nuo Te duchies—three full legions totaling over thirty thousand—had been utterly annihilated. Senior commanders from Bosk and the Duchy of Notte were all captured and imprisoned in the dungeons beneath Dragon Vale.
It had been decades since Anzeta’s Great Wasteland had witnessed a war of such scale. Since the Lion Alliance War thirty years prior had reshaped the continent’s fate, the Northern Regions had enjoyed a fragile peace. Now, as flames once again scorched the land, every faction across the vast wastes held its breath, waiting for the final outcome.
When news of the complete destruction of the Allied Forces spread, it traveled faster than wildfire.
Whispers grew into legends: Kai Xiusu of Purgatory Cataclysm had reduced the enemy army to ash with fire alone.
The entire Northern Regions erupted in shock. At first, no one believed it. How could an army of three allied duchies—its finest warriors, its most elite forces—be obliterated so completely?
Then, brave Rangers risked their lives to infiltrate Tiriel Valley.
They returned with proof: charred, blackened earth, thick layers of ash, and the skeletal remains of fallen beasts and soldiers. The truth was undeniable.
From that moment on, the once-obscure Red Dragon became a name whispered in fear. A terror so fearsome it could silence crying children at night. He became the final villain in countless Minstrel ballads, the greatest evil that Adventurers sought to destroy, and the central focus of every faction in the North—whether good or evil, all watched with bated breath.
"If they wanted war, then I shall give them war."
"But when it ends? That is no longer their choice."
These words, spoken by the Red Dragon himself, quickly spread through Ashen Hollow—and then beyond, echoing across the kingdoms of the Northern Regions.
Ashen Hollow, that monstrous, grotesque war machine, had not yet unleashed its full fury.
Dragon Vein Beasts, their claws sharpened and eyes alight with bloodlust, paced eagerly, restless after days of rest. With the fire still smoldering in their hearts, they surged southward, carrying the blazing inferno from Tiriel Valley deep into the heart of the Duchy of Lakanman.
Yet this time, not a single power moved to stop them.
The Duchy of Bosk, nominal leader of the Northern Union Kingdom, stood silent. The Norton Kingdom, closely tied to Lakanman by blood and marriage, trembled in fear. Even the remaining ten smaller duchies cowered beneath the shadow of Ashen Hollow’s wings—watching, waiting, doing nothing.
The Norton Kingdom even sent envoys, offering vast riches in exchange for the release of their prisoners, and proposing a peace treaty.
Numerous minor nobles across the North, bypassing their lords, secretly dispatched envoys to negotiate alliances—before the war consumed them all.
Even Bosk Duchy, through underground channels, hinted at wanting to ransom Andrea back—and expressed regret for their actions.
Dailenna, the Pure-Blooded Serpentfolk now overseeing diplomacy, welcomed all these advances. But the terms offered by the Northern nobles fell far short of her greed. She wanted more—not just gold, but blood. She yearned to drain them dry, to turn their life essence into nourishment for Ashen Hollow’s endless hunger.
A thunderous, echoing horn blast split the sky. Birds exploded from the trees in terror.
"Advance!"
Dolo rode atop an Earth-Crawling Dragonbeast, his Bloodfire Battle Axe raised high. The colossal beast shook the ground as its two heads unfurled wings that blotted out the sun. Goblins and Goblinoids poured over the hills like a tide. Great Goblins and Lizardfolk marched in perfect military formation, ready to crush every obstacle in their path.
"For Ashen Hollow!"
The monsters roared in unison, a deafening, chaotic chorus of fury.
As the Northern Regions reeled from the shock, the very source of the storm—Kai Xiusu—lay weak in a cave, his massive dragon form rising and falling with each breath.
"The cost… was too great."
"I won’t be able to use it again for a while."
He turned his head slightly, staring at the mithril ring on his claw. Embedded within it was a blue amber-like gem—the Eye of the Storm Sovereign—now dimmed, lifeless.
The mithril, strained by excessive magical flow, had begun to fracture. Its once-absolute structure was now dangerously fragile.
"Tch. The vessel is still too weak."
This cataclysm had been born of two forces: the sheer power of the Eye of the Storm Sovereign, which Kai Xiusu had channeled to cast the Eighth-Level Spell Weather Manipulation, summoning a hurricane tornado; and his own True Dragon Mage mastery over fire, where breath and spell combined to create an endless sea of flame.
Wind fed the fire. Fire fed the storm.
Together, they formed the annihilating Fire Tornado—nature’s fury twisted into a weapon of mass destruction.
But weather was chaos incarnate—an overwhelming, chaotic stream of raw data. Even with the aid of Gear, casting a spell at the Eighth Layer of the Arcane Web pushed Kai Xiusu to the brink. Every second of maintaining it was a torment on his mind.
Magic for a moment, fire for the rest.
But it had been worth it.
Kai Xiusu stared at the new information flashing across his Character Sheet—his lips curling into a feral grin.
> [You have single-handedly destroyed an army of ten thousand. Achievement unlocked: Special Armor Class: Breaker of Armies]
> Armor Class Achievement: Breaker of Armies
> "When individual power reaches its peak, numbers become meaningless. One man can destroy an army with ease. — Historian Trimsen"
>
> Passive Ability Unlocked: Breaker of Armies
> Strength +1, Constitution +2
>
> As one who has shattered armies alone, you feel an intense thrill at every siege. When facing multiple enemies, your Strength and Constitution receive a significant boost.
> (Note: Legendary Dwarf Warman Kuzalv once crushed an entire demon army with a single iron hammer. He claimed he didn’t even blink. Scholars have questioned it—but none have dared challenge him to his face.)
Breaker of Armies.
An terrifying ability.
It wasn’t just useful in large-scale warfare. Even in sieges against multiple foes—especially for Adventurer Parties—it proved devastating. And the physical enhancements? Even more valuable.
Almost instantly, Kai Xiusu felt a surge of power reshaping his body. His already massive muscles tightened further, harder, more resilient. His dragon form’s strength and vitality leapt to a new level.
And deep within his being, a new trait emerged—not forged, but innate, as if it had always been there: the ability to grow stronger the more enemies he faced.
"Still no Mana Ripple."
"No ability to perceive the system... even the space around me."
Kai Xiusu narrowed his eyes, shaking his body, feeling the new power coursing through him.
He was now among the strongest in all of Anzeta.
Yet even so, he could not perceive a single thread of the system. No ripple, no clue, no hint.
And that realization tempered the pride of victory.
After all… he was still painfully, terrifyingly small in this world.
(End of Chapter)
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