Beneath the Red Dragon

The heavens seemed to be filled with clouds of various colors, as if the dark sky had been painted with vibrant patterns.

Layer upon layer of colorful dark clouds rose from the plains, covering most of the sky as they spread out.

The Noble Corps warriors on the Marino Defense Line felt an overwhelming sensation of impending doom, as if black clouds were pressing down on the city.

Even the rays of the sun rising on the horizon could not penetrate the cloud layers and the wings that covered the heavens, only allowing glimpses of the scorpion lions’ menacing tails and the fierce roaring heads of the Flying Dragons amidst the dense swarm of monsters.

Then there were the Giant Dragons and the Demon Dragon Corps, even more terrifying than the fierce beasts like Flying Dragons and Scorpion Lions.

The moment these Noble Corps warriors saw the boundless Aerial Legion swarming around the Floating Mage Towers, their minds almost shut down.

Many newly conscripted Noble Corps warriors couldn’t even grip the weapons in their hands, as their cold leather armor became soaked with a sudden, overwhelming urge.

It’s not that these soldiers were overly weak-willed, but this scene was unprecedented in the Icaria World.

So many Giant Dragons and Flying Dragons descending on a single battlefield could only be seen in the distant First and Second Epochs or on battlefields in the planes of war.

Perhaps only in the blood-stained battlefields of the Abyss or Hell could this terrifying scene be easily replicated.

Even the veteran elite among the Noble Corps were momentarily unsure where to aim their Giant Crossbows and Heavy Cannons.

The elite Archer Legion hesitated over whether they should focus on the endless swarm of monsters surging through the air.

Or if they should shoot their lethal Sharp Arrows at the clamoring, roaring Hill Giants, Frost Giants, Ancient Ogres, and Earth Goblins, monsters terrifying in their own right.

Once legion-scale combat begins, what is most important?

Coordination and discipline, far surpassing any other factor.

The Golden Empire’s legions can fulfill established commands and tactical objectives under their commanders’ directives, due to role specialization and skills training embedded in their everyday lives.

But the Frost Giant Corps and Multi-armed Giant Corps lack the rigorous order long trained by the Golden Empire’s Legion Warriors, leading to their spread across two gradual slopes to charge uphill.

Only the Golden Empire’s legions advance towards the small fortress beneath Dorabi City in a carefully arranged staggered formation.

Once this fortress is breached, the Imperial legions will stop at nothing to smash open the gates of Dorabi City, then coordinate from the city’s internal passages with sky and outer legions, swiftly seizing all vantage points, and commanding the whole of Dorabi City.

Ordinarily, in such a chaotic situation, it would be extremely challenging for the coalition of the Kings to achieve tight coordination.

However, although the land legions cannot effectively coordinate in large-scale warfare, the sky legions can make corresponding judgments and actions based on the movements of the ground legions.

Because they are commanded by the Imperial Dragon Kings of the Golden Empire, leading these fearsome legions.

Behind each Golden Empire Dragon King follow a few or more Giant Dragons matching the Dragon King’s scale color, who don’t require much training, only to obey the will of the Scale-colored Dragon King.

These Giant Dragons guard the Floating Mage Towers in the sky as they advance, forming the most effective triangular wedge formation for Dragon attack, without descending into the firing range of Dorabi City and the Marino Defense Line.

The Dragons only cast their cold and ruthless gaze downward.

And Batorri, leader of the Golden Empire Flying Dragon Knight Order, commands bat-winged Flying Dragons, the fastest Flying Dragon species in Icaria World.

Under Batorri’s command, each Flying Dragon Knight Order leader commands at least a hundred Flying Dragons, though these dragons are not the empire’s but those tamed and ridden by Cloud Giants from the Divine Forsaken Mountain Range.

The Scorpion Lions are leaderless but rarely break from the Monster Corps to attack independently.

This massive aerial army appears dense and overwhelming, yet surprisingly calm.

Without orders from the Golden Empire Dragon Kings, these monster legions just slowly advance, circling anxiously in the air, mounting immense pressure on the Noble Corps warriors along the wall defenses.

The flowing wind above brings an overpowering stench in the air and the aroma of Dragon Blood, putting the Noble Corps warriors in intense agony.

The Sword of Damocles hanging overhead intimidatingly exerts its most intense power when left unfallen.

Even the Griffin Knights and Giant Eagle Guards rising from the Griffin Nest Camp, and the Dragon Beast Flying Species Legion secretly nurtured by the Southern Nobles, dared only hover within tens of meters above the defenses, not daring to initiate an attack.

As large Extraordinary Magical Beasts fostered for affinity with humans, these Griffins and Giant Eagles are naturally unafraid of the majesty of most Giant Dragons, daring to show their claws even against adult Giant Dragons.

But the majesty of the Golden Empire Dragon Kings, commanding the Giant Dragon Corps, filled these Griffins and Giant Eagles with a newfound fear of battle.