Chapter 216
Wings with bat-like membranes covered the sky. But they were monsters leagues apart from mere peculiar rodents.
Dragons.
Their massive bodies blanketed the sky, and eventually, they set foot upon the gray earth.
"The Fallen and the Dragons..."
Dragons and Demons.
The tales of war she had heard endlessly since childhood surfaced in Emily's mind.
The Age of Chaos.
The era when dragons and demons clashed.
The Dragon-Demon Great War, where the land perished, the sky perished, and everything withered away in the endless war.
That was happening right now.
It was about to unfold right before her eyes.
"Shunif."
Emily immediately called for Shunif and mounted him.
"Emily. Let's go together."
Clack.
The one who climbed on behind her was Esther.
Emily spurred the mount.
Neigh—!
Boom!
Shunif reared up, and the moment his front legs touched down, he kicked off with his hind legs.
In an instant, the scenery blurred.
Passing through the thicket where they had been positioned, they vaulted over the Holy Army's wooden palisade in a single bound.
It was an astonishing speed.
"Wh-what!"
"What is that thing!"
The soldiers who saw Shunif couldn't even attempt to block them; in the blink of an eye, they had cleared the palisade and vanished.
It was partly because the soldiers had already lost their wits to the majesty of the dragons that had appeared earlier.
Emily brushed past them, setting foot on the gray earth and advancing faster than anyone.
'Faster.'
Screaming 'faster' in her heart, she gripped the reins and urged Shunif on.
Racing past dense thickets, what finally came into view was the gray earth, thick with ash.
Kicking up dust as she galloped across that terrain, she finally spotted them—beings radiating a vicious aura, standing in opposition to the massive creatures.
Dark-skinned demons and dragons of myriad colors, facing off across the vast plains.
It was a standoff between dragons and demons.
[A big shot has graced us from the start.]
A giant standing at the vanguard of the Fallen took a step forward and spoke.
The axe resting on his shoulder exuded a vicious bloody aura, and his exposed fangs proclaimed that he was no human.
(The Severing Fallen, Gorgal.)
A black dragon stepped forward at the forefront of the dragon side.
Old scars covered his scales, yet he was the largest of the dragons. Judging by the spine-tingling aura flowing from his voice alone, he appeared to be an Ancient Dragon.
As he stepped forward, Gorgal let out a slight exclamation of recognition.
[I wondered who it was—the Black Dragon, Venisiuf. Are you still not dead?]
(If you are still alive, how could I be dead? Seeing as the wound you gave me still aches, it seems I have been waiting for this day as well.)
The Severing Fallen, Gorgal.
The Ancient Dragon of the Dragon Race. The Black Dragon, Venisiuf.
They were sworn enemies who had clashed multiple times during the Dragon-Demon Great War a thousand years ago.
[You've brought quite a lot.]
The number of dragons easily exceeded three hundred.
Each one was larger than a castle; even with the same headcount, their sheer size engulfed an entire corner of the plains.
(We have always been waiting. Is it not the same for you?)
A thousand years ago, after the Dragon-Demon Great War.
Dragons and demons had ceaselessly cultivated their strength.
Through the endless, sprawling war, they came to a realization.
Rather than needlessly dragging out a war, it was better to hone quality over quantity.
Thus, they amassed their power and waited.
Waiting for the day the war would reignite.
[Not a wrong statement. It's been a thousand years. Have you polished your necks well?]
(We did nothing. We merely waited to chew you up and swallow you whole.)
It was an answer befitting an arrogant dragon.
[How unpleasant... but I'll ask anyway. What is your business?]
(The Gray Defector. We want him.)
Gorgal's mouth twitched.
The Gray Defector.
He hadn't expected that name to leave a dragon's mouth.
[The reason?]
(Three of the dragon race fell to him. Their deaths were desecrated. The justification is clear, and he carries the fate to bring chaos.)
[So the dragon race still goes around slaughtering everyone while preaching about being the world's protectors.]
(That is our mission.)
Guardians of Balance.
Another moniker for dragons.
Their destiny as apex predators came with the mission to maintain the world's balance.
A mission that restrained them from recklessly wielding the overwhelming power they were born with.
Of course, to others, it was pure nonsense, but they were dead serious.
[I cannot give you the Gray.]
Therefore, the Fallen had even less reason to entertain such nonsense.
Gorgal clicked his tongue inwardly.
A battle with the dragons was always welcome, but right now, he wanted to avoid it.
Taking him to the Fallen of the Beginning took precedence over fighting the dragons.
However, it was likely unavoidable.
For the relationship between dragons and demons was exactly that.
(Then we have no choice but to fight.)
The negotiation ended there.
Emily pulled Shunif back. Instinctively, she curled her body against the colossal collision that was about to follow.
Yet, her eyes never once averted from the standoff between dragons and demons.
In there.
For some unknown reason, she felt as though his black hair would be fluttering within that maelstrom.
"Emily!!"
It was then.
Swish... Kwaaaaang—!!
"Ugh! Kuaaaah!!"
In an instant, a violent gale swept her off her feet, rendering her unable to control her body.
Through the storm, Emily saw it.
As the Fallen's axe collided with the Black Dragon's claw, shaking heaven and earth.
The figure of a man smiling faintly.
* * *
Once begun, the battle between dragons and demons did not easily subside.
Let alone three days, even after a full week, no victor had emerged.
Amidst the continuous clashes, their war merely spread from mouth to mouth.
And there was someone who had desperately wished for this all-out war.
'Jackpot.'
It was Callius.
Strolling through the fierce battlefield where the Fallen and the dragons clashed as if taking a leisurely walk, he gripped the scabbard, Demetri, and even hummed a tune.
The surroundings were already a pandemonium.
The dragons used their robust bodies to suppress the Fallen, unleashing breaths to obliterate even their traces.
Three hundred individuals breathing dragon's breath, each capable of effortlessly razing a capital.
Not a single blade of grass remained, and the earth had transformed into a blazing hellscape.
The Fallen did not die easily.
Though incomparable to the Undying Fallen, they too regenerated their bodies and steadily cleaved off the dragons' heads with their respective weapons.
While many were annihilated by the dragons' breath, as they charged forward willing to take casualties, the number of dragons also began to dwindle one by one.
Thus, the battlefield became a hellscape littered with decapitated dragons and the shattered remnants of the Fallen.
Within that hellscape, only Callius wore a smile.
He gathered the fragments of the valiantly fallen, and if there was a dragon, he had it seep into the scabbard.
The longer the battlefield persisted, the stronger Demetri's power grew.
And the Ashen Legion was no different.
'If there is a dragon that can be Knightified, Knightify it; if not, forge it into a sword or absorb it into the scabbard.'
The knights of the Ashen Legion were growing with each passing day.
Already, Niol and Garcia seemed on the verge of breaking past the rank of High General.
For Niol, having been bestowed a new sword, his abilities had begun to further bloom.
Moreover, among the General-rank subordinates, Vlad and Agato also showed signs of ranking up soon.
It seemed to be due to the swords he had given them.
'It would have been great if I could forge various weapons into Death Swords.'
Since Garcia used a spear and shield, he couldn't forge a spear for her, making her growth feel sluggish. Once the time was right, acquiring a spear and shield for her to accelerate her growth would be the priority.
"Arise."
Callius placed his hand on the head of a dragon that had just been torn apart by a Fallen's spear.
Black tears then swallowed the dragon, turning it into a new knight.
"That makes ten."
Ten Knightified dragons.
Including Beati, who was not currently in his possession, that made eleven Ashen Knights forged from dragons alone.
It was a shame they weren't all of General rank, but since he now commanded over ten dragon individuals, Callius's military strength had soared.
'It would have been perfect if I could Knightify the Fallen too.'
Unfortunately, the Fallen could not be Knightified. Their souls were abnormal, and Knightification was not something that could be performed on just anyone.
It could only be triggered by resonating with those who harbored strong lingering grudges, which was exactly why he couldn't raise all the dragons that fell on the battlefield.
But Callius was perfectly satisfied with just this.
'I suppose I can call for Beati now.'
He was a little anxious about leaving him with Brance, and Beati was the only dragon possessing the rank of High General.
Moreover, since Callius had personally hatched Beati from an egg, he harbored a certain affection for the creature.
'Come to think of it, I left Vivi in the North, didn't I?'
She would be safer there for now, so there was no need to worry about Vivi.
"Well, then what do I do now..."
He had reaped more than enough gains.
The dragons and the Fallen were fighting fiercely, old memories fueling their clash.
In the distance, the Holy Army was setting up camp, but they were unable to approach easily.
The current humanity, having never truly experienced dragons or the Fallen, was woefully weak.
Thus, already intimidated, they were in no position to join the chaotic fray.
'Even during the Dragon-Demon Great War, humanity was weak at first.'
But as time passed. They grew stronger.
That was humanity's greatest strength.
Endurance. Tenacity. Humans overcame everything with an unyielding spirit.
It would be the same this time.
They just needed a little time.
"Things are proceeding intensely. Still, I'd like the Empire to get smashed a bit."
This was also quite good for Callius and Carpe, but it was still not enough.
The Empire had grown far too massive on the current continent.
Callius wanted the Empire's power to be somewhat weakened.
'Anyway, whether it's the Fallen or the dragons, this isn't their full military force.'
Then what should he do?
What was the best move for him right now?
Amidst the battlefield where dragons and demons clashed.
Strolling leisurely through the carnage, deep in thought, Callius soon found his answer.
'What the Fallen want is me.'
What the dragons want is me.
What the gods want is me.
And what humanity wants is me.
"Come to think of it."
The place he needed to be was the battlefield itself.
Then there was no need to deliberate.
"Kin."
[Did you call, my Lord?]
"Take the archers and go to Emily. Send her back safely."
[Understood.]
Snap.
Watching Kin and the elven archers disappear, Callius thought of Emily.
He didn't know what business she came for, but she had likely been worrying unnecessarily again.
Why wouldn't she?
Her only father had become the enemy of humanity, so it was understandable.
So this time, it was his turn to return the favor.
"It's better for the Empire to take a massive hit at least once. Only then will they let go of their greed."
Only when the Empire suffered a fatal blow would humanity feel a sense of crisis.
Only then would they grow.
Because of him, the emergence of the Fallen and the dragons had accelerated. Humanity had to grow rapidly to keep pace.
Otherwise, they would face extinction.
That was not what he desired.
"For now, let's play a game of tag with the Empire."
Come out.
"Ironclad Dragons."
A massive shadow loomed beneath Callius's feet. Soon, they revealed their majestic presence from within the black tears.
Ironclad Dragons, their entire bodies clad in black armor.
They began to roar, unleashing ferocious glints in their eyes and bizarre cries amidst surging heat.
Right after that.
Callius's voice pierced through the battlefield.
"Breath."
Instantly, a gray aura surged from the maws of the Ironclad Dragons.
[Surely not!]
Kwaaaaaaaang—!!
The breaths of all ten Ironclad Dragons, fired simultaneously, pierced through the battlefield.
With the Ironclad Dragons' breath shaking heaven and earth, the battlefield instantly turned into an abyssal hellscape.
Not only the Fallen struck by the indiscriminate breaths but even the dragons suffered devastating casualties.
(These are... our kin are actually...!)
The Black Dragon Venisiuf roared at the top of his lungs.
His gaze shot up to the sky.
The blue firmament.
Amidst the Ironclad Dragons dyeing that space gray. A man looked down at the battlefield, his black hair fluttering in the wind.
[Gray? What are you doing...]
The Fallen, who had been trying to take him away, stared at him with bewildered faces.
(You damned bastard...!)
The dragons ground their teeth upon seeing the Ironclad Dragons soaring beside him.
Bearing the weight of all their gazes, Callius changed the heading of the Ironclad Dragon he was riding.
"I'm tired of this place now. Let's change the venue."
Whoooosh—!!
As all ten Ironclad Dragons flapped their wings simultaneously, a violent gale swept up.
Through the sandstorm, Callius's voice resounded across the battlefield.
"Come to the Empire."
Only his voice gently settled over the battlefield, echoing like a fading whisper.