Chapter 707: The Final Battlefield
“Enemy Ambush—”
“Amanata above! It’s the Empire of Ashen! They’re coming—now!”
The officers and soldiers atop the City Wall erupted into chaos. Men scrambled frantically, rushing to man their posts at the defensive mechanisms scattered throughout the fortress.
“Hurry! No more waiting—activate the August Citadel’s Abjuration School network!” A messenger soldier burst through the door. “Lord Deyef, you must move—Third Defense Sector still lacks manpower!”
“Understood.” Deyef clenched the insignia in his hand, gave a firm nod, and followed the other defenders to his assigned sector.
Atop the City Tower, the commander of the City Defense Force raised his military banner and bellowed, “By my orders! Activate the Alchemy Matrix!”
“Boom—”
Below, soldiers strained against winches. The Alchemy Matrix buried within the Runestone Bastion Bricks and Stone surged to life. Dozens of hexagonal forcefield shields, each over a hundred meters in diameter, flared into existence around the city’s outer perimeter.
Standing atop the Sun Summit of the Tower, Wilhelm gazed into the distance at the endless tide of Imperial troops marching in full formation. His face darkened with fury. He raised the Spear of Final Judgment skyward, pointing directly at the heavens.
“My subjects! War has come! They are here! Let these Dragon’s Claws bear witness to the glory of the Eternal Lord of Light—”
His voice, cold and distant, echoed across the City Wall. The choir of the Holy Law Chorus swelled in response, their hymns growing louder, more resounding.
Beneath the weight of that magical resonance, the Angel Divine Offspring lifted their longswords in unison, their voices rising in a thunderous chant. Light erupted from their blades, piercing the sky in dazzling beams.
“For Thrace!”
“For the Eternal Lord of Light!”
In an instant, the peak of the Eternal Sun God’s Tower blazed with a thousand suns. A colossal light dome, spanning several kilometers, unfurled above the City of August, enveloping the entire metropolis in a radiant glow. The screen shimmered with intricate patterns, studded with thousands of miniature suns—each emitting a blinding, searing light.
“Miracle! This… this is a miracle!”
“Such power!”
“His Majesty Wilhelm—Long Live! The Empire will never breach August!”
The people looked up, their eyes drawn to the sky, where the six-winged, divine figure of their king stood silhouetted against the radiance.
Far beyond, a deafening whistle pierced the air, followed by the roaring engines of war. The Empire’s eastern and western armies converged, and troops from countless realms poured forth from interdimensional portals.
They merged into a relentless flood—so vast it threatened to swallow the entire City of August whole.
“Roar—”
A deep, thunderous bellow split the sky. Atop the hill, space itself tore open. From the rift emerged a monstrous beast—nearly ten meters tall at the shoulder, resembling a moving mountain.
Climbing down from the creature’s hunched back was a Dragonblood Goblin, wings unfurled, clad in opulent, heavy armor. His frame was massive, imposing—none other than Marshal Dolo, commander of the Imperial Army.
“It’s Marshal Dolo!”
“He’s arrived at the frontline in person!”
A thousand eyes locked onto him. Soldiers gasped in awe.
Seeing Dolo’s arrival, Drool, Arturo, and the other warlords of the expeditionary forces immediately placed their hands over their hearts, bowed low, and saluted with perfect precision.
“For the Empire.”
Dolo gave a slight nod, pressing his fist to his chest in reply.
“For the Empire.”
The giant Ogre Marshal rose from the beast’s back, his eyes scanning the ranks of officers and soldiers with cold, piercing focus. Then, with one hand, he lifted his Bloodfire Battle Axe. The weapon’s roar was amplified through the air, thundering into every ear.
“Soldiers! The shadow of the Great Dragon Wings now blankets August’s walls! I can smell fear in the marrow of the cowards—just as they trembled before the ruins of the old dynasty!”
“Victory! Victory!”
The troops roared back, their iron armor clashing like thunder.
Dolo slashed the axe horizontally, his voice thundering: “And today, I ask you—why are we here?”
His words were answered by the deep, rumbling roar of the Blue-Footed Serpent Horns. The war banners flapped violently in the wind.
“For Conquest! To seize their lands, to expand the Empire!”
“For Revenge! To make every fool who insulted the Empire, who mocked His Majesty, pay with blood! Let the Thracians learn our might!”
“For the Great Blueprint! To repay King Kai Xiusu’s gratitude!”
Officers and soldiers alike vied to answer, eager to impress the Marshal. The atmosphere crackled with fervor.
Dolo nodded approvingly. He was satisfied.
Then, his eyes blazed. He roared, voice echoing across the battlefield: “You speak well, for we are the offspring of iron and fire! The subjects of the great Red Dragon! The conquerors of the North!
While the Southers wrapped their cowardice in silk, our children forged steel in the furnace. While August’s nobles piled gold coins to lie in luxury, our swords had already split open thirteen fortresses!”
He drew the Bloodfire Battle Axe, pointing it toward the Eternal Sun God’s Tower.
“Look! That hypocrite tower—its final light flickers. But soon, it shall tremble before the might of the Empire!”
Heavy infantry struck their shields with swords, their war cries like thunder. Artillery cannons roared into the sky, shaking the earth.
“They say August never falls? Ha!” The Dragonblood Goblin sneered, baring his fangs. “Ten years ago, the Duke of the Northlands shouted the same—until King Kai Xiusu burned them to ash with Dragon Flame!
Every enemy of the Empire has cried out like this—Northern nobles, Shield Dwarves, even the Divine Offspring of the Northern Aether. But in the end, they all crumbled beneath the Empire’s iron hooves!”
Dolo raised his massive axe. Flames roared to life around it, turning the weapon into a blazing torch that lit the heavens.
“Remember this—every brick and stone of August’s wall will bear your name! The breaker of the city shall receive a medal forged in gold, granted unparalleled power and status! But the cowardly—your spiritual souls shall be nailed to the anvils of the Factory, forever wailing!”
He swung the axe. The air screamed as the blade tore through it.
“When the city gates fall, I want to hear the scream of the Thrace King—drowning out the funeral bells! I want to see his Divine Offspring kneeling in the Ashen Wasteland, kissing the Empire’s emblem!”
“Now! As Imperial Marshal, I stand with you—on the frontline!”
Dolo tore open his armor, ripping off his tunic. His chest was a map of scars—fierce, terrifying.
“This scar came from a Northern arrow. This one from a Frost Giant’s fang. This—this mark from a Divine Offspring’s holy blade. And here—” He pounded his chest.
“—this heart burns for the Empire! Burns for King Kai Xiusu! What about you?”
With a mighty roar, he swung the axe again. The blade tore through the air, unleashing a deafening bellow that shattered the clouds.
“Will you crawl back to your homeland in shame, letting your children curse your cowardice? Or will you forge a new monument from August’s ashes?”
“Destroy August!”
“Conquer the Thrace Kingdom!”
The entire Imperial frontline erupted. The army’s war cry shook the earth. Wyverns, Flame Dragons, Pseudo-Drakes, and Shadow Drakes—hundreds of hybrid dragons—rose into the sky, stretching their necks, roaring in unison.
“In the name of the Empire, King Kai Xiusu grants us strength! Crush these sheep hiding behind the city walls!”
Dolo roared, arms outstretched: “Let their blood stain your armor! Let their cries of agony become the symphony of our triumph! Today—August shall become the staircase to eternity!”
Tens of thousands of Imperial soldiers raised their weapons, their battle cry thundering across the sky, shaking the heavens.
“Life Force never dies! Conquest never ends!”
Dolo slashed his axe toward August. His terrifying presence filled the air. “Open fire—now!”
In an instant, a thousand cannons fired in unison. Dozens of thick, smoke-trailing shells tore through the sky, weaving a fiery net across the heavens, descending upon August.
“Boom!”
“Boom! Boom!”
The shells struck the massive Light Screen. Explosions erupted, flames and smoke engulfing the sky, shrouding the entire city in a fiery storm.
Even with the Light Screen’s protection, the City Wall trembled under the shockwaves. Debris rained down. Thrace soldiers within the city walls turned pale, whispering in panic.
“This is a catastrophe!”
“Amanata above… are they really going to break through?”
“It can’t be… with His Majesty Wilhelm’s protection, we’re safe…”
Even the Thracians, who were no strangers to cannons and firearms, had never witnessed such a spectacle—such overwhelming firepower, such dense barrages.
At any other city, this bombardment would have meant total annihilation. But this was August—the City of Dawn, the city where the Eternal Sun God’s Tower stood.
“Second Voluntary Volley!”
A steam tank roared across the wasteland. From its thick barrel, a searing flash erupted. Armor-piercing shells, each packing destructive force rivaling a Fifth-Ring Arcane Spell, slammed into the outer wall. The Light Screen flared violently.
Thanks to the relentless research of the Mechanical Divinity, these shells were now devastatingly effective—capable of tearing through even the toughest defenses.
At the same time, airships began descending from the sky, their bellies bristling with elemental heavy cannons. Beams of raw energy lanced down, scorching the air.
Swooping over the city on wings of fire, the Wyverns clad in Heaven’s Fire Armor unleashed a rain of bombs.
“Boom!”
Even the Eternal Sun God’s Tower, glowing with divine light, flickered under the assault. On the walls, soldiers were thrown off their feet by the shockwaves. Debris tumbled down.
“Hold on!”
“Damn it—Karn’s fallen!”
Tirena raised her blazing longsword. Holy light blazed from her eyes. “Angel Divine Offspring—by all means, block the Dragon’s Claws’ assault!”
A hymn rose through the air. More beams of light erupted from the heavens. The Sun God’s power surged into the Sacred Domain, reinforcing the Light Screen—brighter, denser, more solid than ever.
Below, steam tanks thundered across the wasteland. Armored vehicles rolled forward. Two-headed dragons wheeled through the sky.
“Counterattack! Counterattack!”
Deyef’s officers screamed, but their voices were drowned beneath the roar of artillery.
Stunned, Deyef stood frozen atop the tower, clutching his medal. He felt a shock unlike any he had known.
This… was the Empire of Ashen’s warfare?
These soldiers—many of them weak, some barely professionals—were wielding weapons and gear so advanced, they could unleash power rivaling that of high-tier mages… even legendary ones.
But still—this was Thrace’s army. And faced with the Empire’s relentless assault, they had managed to organize a proper counteroffensive.
The Runestone Bastion absorbed the explosion energy, channeling it through the Alchemy Matrix to the Elemental Towers, where Arcane Legion mages took control.
“Boom! Boom! Boom!”
Fireballs, scorching hot, shot from the towers, exploding against the steam tanks. The machines burst into flame, reduced to charred wreckage.
Then came the thunder—deep, earth-shaking—bolts of lightning split the sky, vaporizing an armored vehicle mid-charge, sending burning debris crashing to the ground.
Other towers unleashed columns of searing flame, piercing through steam tanks as they advanced.
On the city’s highest ramparts, the forty-eight Sun Divine Trebuchets unleashed their fury—just as they had centuries ago, when they repelled a horde of Five-colored Dragons.
“Hurry! Bring down those dragons! Let them witness the Sun God’s wrath!”
“One! Two! Haa—!”
Soldiers strained with every ounce of strength, turning the winches. Aiming skyward.
“Swoosh—”
Massive bolts, trailing radiant light, shot into the sky, carving golden arcs across the clouds.
“Aaah—”
Just one volley—over a dozen Wyverns were pierced. They screamed, writhed, and plummeted from the sky, falling like dying stars.
But the Dragon Horde did not falter. They roared, flapped their wings, and surged forward like a spreading storm cloud, relentless.
Wilhelm remained impassive. He raised the Spear of Final Judgment.
“The Divine speaks—let them know destruction.”
Before the words faded, the Eternal Sun God’s Tower released a torrent of light—ten thousand zhang high. The disc at its peak began to rotate slowly. The entire Light Screen trembled.
Each miniature sun on the screen shivered, then began to fall—plummeting in all directions.
“Boom!”
The falling suns detonated in a cascade of explosive force. Flaming light exploded across the earth, like divine punishment descending from the heavens. The frontmost steam tanks were consumed in fire.
“Armored Corps—attack!”
From the dust clouds emerged towering figures. Giant Armors, wielding magical forcefield great shields, marched forward with steady steps, cutting through thick smoke, advancing until they stood within two hundred meters of the city wall.
(End of Chapter)
Chapter end
Report
