Chapter 532: The Great Counterattack
Within the Isdalia Grand Altar, the Red Dragon slowly rose from its throne, its massive form stretching with a low, resonant creak. Kai Xiusu lowered his head, gazing into the magical image of the battlefield—still aflame with chaos and struggle—and let out a soft, knowing chuckle.
“Hmph… Let the players grind their experience points, and let the Empire’s army endure another trial by blood and fire. Now… it’s time to end this long war.”
The Red Dragon twisted its head, stretching its sinewy neck, unfurling its broad wings, and working the powerful muscles beneath its scaled hide. The great dragon’s body cracked and groaned with each movement, a symphony of raw, primal strength.
“Initiate the counterattack,” Kai Xiusu murmured.
In an instant, his voice echoed across thousands of kilometers—crackling through mountains upon mountains, piercing the veil of distance to reach the Empire’s frontline in the south.
A thunderous boom split the sky. Blue Dragons swooped down from the clouds, their wings trailing arcs of lightning as they unleashed torrents of crackling energy upon the demon horde. Electric arcs leapt between the demonic masses, sparking and exploding with violent force. Dozens of demons were instantly reduced to charred husks, smoke curling from their blackened limbs.
Yet the demons did not falter. Dozens of Hunter Spiders converged, hundreds of Giant Ox Demons formed a wall of flesh and fury, and from the depths of the Abyss, a terrifying Butcher Demon was summoned—its jagged maw dripping with ichor, its limbs like blades of obsidian.
“Boom! Boom!”
The earth trembled beneath the weight of these monstrous beasts. The ground groaned and shuddered under their relentless advance.
From within the surging tide of chaos came a roar—wild, unhinged, a chorus of screams and wails twisted together into something monstrous. Perched atop a colossus stitched from countless demon corpses, a towering abomination of flesh and bone, its crimson skin glistening under the sun, dozens of red-skinned demons brandished flaming whips, lashing at the sky.
“Children of the Abyss! The time for play is over! The Abyssal Legion shall teach these mortals—what insignificance truly means!”
“Tear them apart!”
“Annihilate their realm! Kill their people!”
“I hunger for blood!”
Under the oppressive command of the high-ranking demons, countless timid and primal demons surged forward, their numbers forming a black, churning wave across the battlefield—like a storm given flesh.
Above, the wings of the Abyssal Drake blotted out the sun, casting jagged shadows across the earth. Though the Faria Family’s Blue Dragons were formidable, even their vast numbers—billions of adult Blue Dragons—seemed small against the overwhelming tide of demonic invasion.
“Damn… My luck’s terrible. Just ran into a scripted boss fight. Looks like I’m dead for sure,” Lonely Like Snow muttered, staring up at the approaching horde.
“Wait—look behind you!” A teammate’s cry rang out, followed by the rising, passionate strains of the Empire’s war hymn.
“Look! It’s not just the Blue Dragons—every unit is mobilizing!”
“Holy—!”
“It’s the great counterattack!”
Lonely Like Snow turned—his breath caught in his throat.
“Woooooong—”
A deep, metallic whine filled the air. The iron gates of the defensive fortress burst open, and armored Iron Beasts surged forward, their steam vents roaring like dragons as they charged across the battlefield.
Behind them, heavily armored terrain drakes trudged forward, their steps slow but thunderous, each one shaking the ground like a moving hill. Alongside them, Great Goblins, Tieflings, and human infantry marched with rifles at the ready, weaving between the tanks and beasts.
On the back of the largest drake, Dolo gripped his blood-stained great axe, his eyes locked on the distant demon commander. With a roar that split the air, he bellowed:
“Warriors of the Radiant King Kai Xiusu—Destruction them!”
“The Dragon Lord Above All!”
Amidst the rising battle music, the war cry soared.
Dragon-Bound Holy Knights advanced in tight formation, their massive shields inscribed with the Ember Emblem, their crimson-gold armor gleaming under the sun. They moved as one, a wall of steel and faith.
“Eradicate the demons! Glory to the Dragon Lord!”
The Judgment Knight Anthony led the charge, raising his long spear high. The crimson banner snapped in the wind—its fabric embroidered with the intricate emblem of the Dragon Sanctuary: a dragon’s claw entwined with a great shield.
The sky roared with chaos. Over a thousand Wyverns, Chimera, and Flame Wyverns beat their wings in unison, forming a crimson tidal wave that darkened the heavens. The air was thick with shadow and heat.
At the heart of the formation, the elite Dragon Riders held their position—hundreds of two-headed dragons locked together in perfect harmony, forming a single, monstrous Red Dragon.
And at the very front, Alje raised his Everburning Greatsword once more, his voice echoing across the battlefield:
“For the Empire! For King Kai Xiusu! Crimson Scale Conqueror—Prepare to Charge!”
A deep, oppressive roar tore through the horde.
The Wyverns and Flame Wyverns felt the bloodline aura—dominant, terrifying—and instinctively parted, clearing a path.
From the crimson surge emerged a towering white figure—White Dragon Tinia.
At over twenty meters long, her size rivaled that of ancient White Dragons. Her eyes burned with icy fury as she spread her wings, her gaze fixed on the Abyssal Colossus.
Tinia had made her decision: she would prove herself—once and for all—before her master. She would show the world that she was the most powerful follower in Kai Xiusu’s service.
“Scum of the Abyss… I’ll freeze you solid, then tear you apart!”
From the east and west, Melward Silver Dragons and Faria Blue Dragons arrived in force, their long, mournful roars shaking the sky. Though the two clans had long been rivals—representing the Metal Dragon and Five-Colored Dragon lineages—now, with the enemy at the gates, they stood side by side.
“Tank Corps, Earth-Drake Corps, Imperial Infantry Corps, Ember Dragon Swarm, Crimson Scale Conqueror, Dragon-Bound Holy Knights—this is our full force,” a player muttered, awestruck by the overwhelming power arrayed behind him.
At the very rear, the Empire’s Arcane Legion hovered in midair, their spelllights flashing in dazzling patterns. Colorful robes billowed in the wind as the mages chanted in unison.
Then, without warning, several flame portals ripped open in the sky. From them stepped a dozen Dragon Oath Mages, their bodies wreathed in dancing fire and ember sparks. Their淡金色 eyes glowed with ancient power.
Misha, the “Dragonfire Maiden,” floated high above the battlefield. Her crimson hair whipped through the air as she stared—intently—into the distance, at the monstrous form atop the Abyssal Colossus.
She felt it—the thread of fate, tugging at her soul.
With a sudden, fierce motion, she raised her head. Behind her, a massive dragon wing erupted from her back, feathers of flame flaring like wings of fire.
“Finally… you’ve come.”
“Leo Bosk.”
Her golden eyes blazed with fury. The pupils burned with an infernal light—filled with unrelenting hatred.
And in the center of the Arcane Legion, surrounded by the greatest mages of the Empire, a massive figure materialized.
A cloak stitched from countless robes draped over a bulky, hulking frame. A necklace of nine skulls encircled his neck. In his claw-like hand, a dragon-headed staff pulsed with arcane energy. His grotesque face wore a confident, almost cruel smile.
—The Prime Minister of the Empire. The most powerful spellcaster in the realm. Lanpu, the Dragonline Ogre.
“The Prime Minister!”
“By Kai Xiusu’s grace—he’s fighting himself?!”
The ground trembled with the soldiers’ shock. Players gasped. For years, Lanpu had been a shadowy figure, buried in politics, rarely seen—let alone seen fighting.
Lanpu slowly opened his mouth. An invisible arcane pulse rippled outward—calm, absolute, and utterly commanding. His voice carried across the entire battlefield, clear and unshaken.
“Fellow warriors—before us stands a vile, despicable horde, seeking to destroy our Empire. Behind us lies our homeland—Radiant, eternal, the Ashen Empire. We are the children beneath King Kai Xiusu’s wings, the favored and chosen of the Red Dragon. Just now, His Majesty himself gave the order: The Empire’s counterattack… begins.”
“For the Empire!”
“For King Kai Xiusu!”
The soldiers roared in unison. The Two-Headed Dragons above let out thunderous cries. Earth-crawling drake-beasts crushed boulders beneath their feet. The Satyr Military Band struck the war drums, their rhythm steady, relentless.
“Holy—! It’s on fire!”
“This is a scene!”
“Counterattack!”
“Behind us is Isdalia—no retreat. Prepare your hearts for the Empire!”
“For the Empire! For King Kai Xiusu! Aaahhh!”
Even the players were swept up in the fervor. Tears welled in their eyes. In the heat of the moment, millions of voices erupted in cheers—waves of sound crashing like the sea.
The Empire’s army surged forward—majestic, unyielding, matching the Abyssal Legion in scale.
And the players, driven by adrenaline, charged to the frontlines—eager to feel the bloodlust of battle. Though they were mostly cannon fodder, absorbing the attacks of the timid demons and low-tier horrors, their spirit was unbroken.
Chaos reigned. Dust flew. The air was thick with smoke and fire.
“Fire! Open fire—NOW!”
“Boom! Boom!”
Under the commander’s desperate orders, dozens of steam tanks unleashed their fury. Not just their main cannons—but secondary guns, machine rifles—firing in a relentless barrage. Artillery shells and bullets rained down like death itself.
Flames and smoke engulfed the front lines. Demons were vaporized. Craters of charred earth opened across the battlefield. Hundreds of thousands of low-tier demons died without a scream.
“Abyssal Legion—Charge!”
“Those mortals’ weapons won’t last! Once we close in—they’ll fall apart!”
Judgment Soul Demons, Six-Armed Serpent Demons, and other high-tier horrors roared their orders, driving the tide forward.
Yet still, they came. No fear of death. No fatigue. The Giant Ox Demons led the charge, their bodies like living fortresses, absorbing the fire with brutal resilience.
Timid demons surged up the slopes, using sheer numbers to overwhelm the front-line players. They swallowed them whole, gnawing through flesh until only bones remained.
Steam tanks fired without pause. Some Giant Ox Demons were pierced by armor-piercing rounds, exploding into crimson mist.
But Hunter Spiders fired their energy beams. Giant Ox Demons hurled massive monoliths. Several tanks were destroyed—flattened, crushed, torn apart.
An Abyssal Drake dived from the sky, clinging to the top of a tank, trying to rip off its armor.
But Wyverns swarmed in—breathing torrents of searing flame, biting and clawing until the Drake fell, screaming, from the sky.
In the air, black clouds clashed with crimson waves. Dragons tumbled from the heavens—Wyverns, Flame Wyverns, Abyssal Drakes—falling like meteors.
“Secure air superiority! With air dominance, we can bomb them from above!”
“Dragon Roar Charge!”
Alje raised his Everburning Greatsword and led the Crimson Scale Conquerors into the sky, charging forward with a roar that shook the world.
The crimson tide crashed through the Abyssal blockade. Dozens of Abyssal Drakes fell, crashing into the earth.
But far above, a monstrous, deformed creature hovered—its body twisted, its limbs like writhing tentacles.
It lashed out with a slimy, black tentacle, snatching several Crimson Scale Conquerors and dragging them into its maw—filled with circular fangs.
“Crunch… crunch…”
The sound was sickening, chilling.
Alje, riding his Dragonvein Eagle, pulled up mid-air—stopping dead—then shot upward, narrowly avoiding the tentacle’s strike.
But the tentacle kept moving, wrapping around another Conqueror. The siphon disc on its tip oozed a paralyzing toxin. The Wyvern froze—helpless.
“Damn it! What the hell is this thing?!”
“Aaahhh!”
The rider and his mount were swallowed whole—consumed by the monstrous maw.
Alje gathered his forces, his eyes narrowed, his voice grave.
“Stay alert. These monsters are powerful. One mistake… and you’re dead.”
“Perhaps… we need reinforcements.”
“Boom!”
A thunderbolt split the sky, striking the monster dead center. The creature’s form cracked open, blackened and smoking.
Blue Dragons arrived from afar—wings flaring, breaths of crackling lightning roaring from their maws.
The monster tried to lash out, but the dragons fought back—clawing, biting, tearing the tentacles from its body with brutal force.
“Boom!”
Another lightning bolt, thick as a tree trunk, struck the monster’s skull—blasting a gaping, charred hole through its head.
“Aaahhh!”
The monster fell, crashing down like a falling star, crushing hundreds of lesser demons beneath its weight.
As another tentacle lashed out from behind, wrapping around a Blue Dragon’s wing, Alje dove—his sword flashing—and severed the limb in one clean stroke.
“Disperse! Go assist the Blue Dragons!” he ordered, calm and precise.
“Yes, Regiment Commander!”
Wyverns hovered in the sky, waiting, hunting for openings—then dived, striking the monstrous forms with precision, tearing them apart.
“Boom!”
An explosion tore through the air. A Deformed Monster was shattered mid-air, falling to the ground in a shower of gore.
From above, fiery meteors rained down—striking the monsters in the sky, crashing into the demon army below.
The Empire’s Arcane Legion raised their staves in unison, weaving a vast, intricate spellcraft model in the air. Spelllight flared, pulsing with raw power.
The demons’ sorcerers countered with dark incantations—poisonous smoke, blood-drenched toxins, mind-breaking orbs of light—causing heavy casualties among the Empire’s troops.
But the steam tanks and earth-crawling drakes pressed forward—slow, relentless. The Empire’s line advanced, inch by inch.
(End of Chapter)
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