Beneath the Red Dragon

”Then have the other Giant Dragon Lords come to our aid. We must send word to Karon, have Karon hurry back at once. I strongly suspect Karon has no way of knowing what is happening here.”

The Green Dragon Antajena bared her fangs, her temper especially violent under the influence of the Dragon Madness Curse Skill, and at the same time somewhat unable to accept Bronze Dragon Alina’s commanding tone. ”Then here?”

”Here you have me, you have Doss, and you have Rosani.” Bronze Dragon Alina glared at the Green Dragon and roared loudly, ”Go, quickly!”

”Antajena, this is our realm.”

Alina spoke each word with weight, ”Can those such as you and I endure that our long-cherished vow be cast to the eastern stream?”

The Green Dragon Antajena hesitated no longer. She roared in fury and rose riding boundless wind and wave, beating her wings and flying toward the Teleportation Array district.

Behind her, Bronze Dragon Lord Alina let out a boiling Dragon Roar, with Thunderbolt rolling all around her as she moved.

The sealed gate of the Glory Colosseum slowly opened; the Guard of the Giant Dragons, their spears and halberds like a forest, charged madly down the avenues of the city.

Buzz, buzz, buzz,

A violent humming vibration sounded. The enormous roofless tower standing in the Royal Capital city seemed shaken by a Giant; the whole tower swayed at a frequency visible to the naked eye.

Within the tower shaft of the roofless high tower, chains of Magic Energy circuits lit up in succession. Pillars of blinding light surged upward with furious waves of power, soaring into the heavens above the Royal Capital. The tips of these light pillars connected into lines, the lines into a luminous canopy, which gradually spread outward, covering the surrounding sky.

The veins of Magic Runes flowed within this thick energy barrier, wantonly siphoning away all energy and Magic Elements within the space now falling under the Barrier’s shroud.

The Tree of Life that rose within the city, overshadowing a vast expanse, also shook its crown and sent up a surge of dense natural energy, pouring it into the Barrier that was gradually covering the firmament.

To lay down a Complete Demon Ban Domain covering the entire city would be difficult, but with the aid of a vast Array Barrier, draining the city’s Magic Elements was an easy matter for an Imperial state.

Within this Land of No Magic, deliberately fashioned by human hands, the Giant Dragon Lords of the Golden Empire would become stronger than ever before, for they possessed the authority to draw upon the energy gathered by the entire Magic Barrier. Not only would they be free of the Barrier’s shackles, they would receive a mighty amplification.

All other Dragons, however, could only rely upon their own bloodline and strength.

A massive Blue Dragon rose from the distant sky. He spread his wings, breathed in Thunderbolt, and let loose a Dragon Roar like rolling thunder. With but a light beat of those lightning-wreathed wings, a surging gale lifted his colossal body.

The Dragon Roar of Thunder Doss reverberated within the storm winds. Borne by the Magic Wind, it resounded throughout the entire Royal Capital.

”All soldiers and subjects of the Golden Country, heed my command,”

”The Empire is shrouded by a dark conspiracy. They seek to annihilate this flourishing Empire. They cannot abide a civilized Imperial realm of Dragons existing in this world, and thus we are visited by today’s calamity.”

Blue Dragon Doss roared, ”Let me see—let them see—how the Golden Empire rose from blood and fire, how it stood unshaken amid darkness and conspiracy,”

”Women, children, the old and the weak, withdraw into your dwellings. All others who dare to fight, take up your weapons, find your courage. This is the battle to defend the dignity of the Imperial Capital! Any Dragon driven mad—if it cannot be repelled and expelled—may be slain by all living beings!”

Upon the lofty city walls, the winches of the Giant Crossbows turned with a clacking roar. The soldiers guarding the ramparts began to swivel these weapons, once aimed beyond the walls, around to bear upon the city within.

Squad after squad of Elf Archers sprinted along the bridge-corridors spanning the roofless high towers above the city, leaping down from those skyways to bound across the rooftops of towering buildings, weaving through the city in search of their targets.

Rank upon rank of Kobolds and Goblin Musketeers also surged out from the outer-ring barracks encircling the city, gathering at speed and rushing toward the embattled fronts.

Wooo, wooo, wooo—

The stirring blast of horns and the deep boom of heavy drums sounded, their echoes rolling through the entire camp.

In the barracks of the Royal Capital, the Legion Commander of the Third Legion—Gilenis, a powerful Warrior promoted for his military merits in planar wars—stood in the drill yard, Dragon Horn Hammer in hand, waiting in An Jing.

Within the camp there were regulations of its own: three beats of the war drum—any who failed to arrive would be executed on the spot. Different rhythms of the horns, meanwhile, signaled different levels of Legion assembly.

This time, the horn that sounded signified that the entire army must don full Armor and go all out.

Gilenis did not wait long. The drum struck three times, the intervals barely three minutes apart. In other words, within ten minutes the entire army had to be fully equipped and assembled on the drill ground.

Ten minutes might already be considered very short for an ordinary Legion, for donning Armor consumed time, and no Warrior would wear full plate at all times in ordinary days.

But in the Third Legion, aside from a few newly recruited, insufficiently trained rookies unfit for battle, there were many veterans who, like Gilenis, had endured planar wars. Under the tutelage of these veterans, the Third Legion was an absolute elite force.

Clack, clack, clack,

The continuous clamor of steel rang out as two thousand Warriors finished assembling in succession—just as the heavy drum fell for the second time.

Gilenis lifted his Dragon-faced Helmet, sweeping his gaze over the orderly ranks before him. He bellowed, ”Time is short; I have little to say,”

”But remember this: behind us lies ten thousand homes lit with lamps—our homeland.”