Ember Dragon

In the short few months since the Burning Empire invaded the south, the situation in the north of the Feanso continent has changed dramatically, leaving countless people dumbfounded and unbelievable.

First, the Principality of North Ethel was occupied by the Empire, then the Mountain Dwarf Kingdom that had been passed down for thousands of years was destroyed by the Empire, and finally even the orcs of the Ugo Prairie were slaughtered by the Empire.

After the Ugo Steppe was incorporated into its territory, the Burning Empire had almost completely controlled the northern part of Feanso, that is, the land north of the Glorious Mountains. Only the small countries and the Thracian Kingdom were still trembling in the terrifying might of the empire, unable to bear the burden.

During the conquest of the Empire, the Duke of Fadlan, a descendant of God, blew himself up, the master of Silver Heaven fell from the sky, and the incarnation of the gods was killed.
Each of these battles will cause the sky to crack and the earth to collapse, and are enough to shake the entire material plane, but there can only be one winner in each battle - the Burning Emperor, Cassius.

Cassius, this name kept appearing in secret letters from various countries and major forces, and in their magical images, making many kings, princes, generals and ministers tremble with fear and sweat profusely.

Of course, Cassius' name also appeared in newspapers around the world, in the songs of bards, and in the horror stories that Southern parents used to scare their children.

History always repeats itself in a surprising way. In the eyes of people from all over Fianso, the red dragon has become a monster that does all kinds of evil, a cruel tyrant, and a slave owner who controls the north.

According to propaganda from various countries, the red dragon was cruelly enslaving the people of the north, and the treacherous and cunning half-dragon and dog-headed overseers were whipping the humans there with whips, forcing them to forge guns in the cold wind, and even half-grown children were being pulled into the army to become cannon fodder in the empire's conquests.

In the writings of those bards, the conquest of the Burning Empire was portrayed as even more cruel, terrifying, and with a bit more bloody and bizarre elements.

It is said that every time the soldiers with dragon bloodline conquer a place, they will select a thousand fresh children, eat them cruelly, and sacrifice those pure souls to the emperor - it is said that this is the secret of the imperial army's invincibility and the red dragon emperor's ability to fight against gods.

There are also rumors that the reason why the weapons sold by the Empire are cheap and powerful is because the brutal Imperials have imprisoned the souls of human craftsmen in the barrels of guns, and every whistling of gunfire is the tragic wail of innocent souls.

Many righteous people have stepped forward and called on all forces to stop purchasing weapons from the empire, and pointed out sharply that every rifle purchased is funding the Burning Empire, allowing them to invade more unscrupulously.

Unfortunately, other countries turned a deaf ear to it. They have been trapped in the quagmire of the arms race. Every time the empire updates its equipment, they rush to buy it, otherwise they will be at a disadvantage in the next war.

The Principality of Wilson is a small country near the Blackrock Mountains. It is mostly mountainous and hilly, so it is also called the "Hill Country".

Seventy years ago, the legendary paladin Thad Wilson pulled out the Sword in the Stone and killed an evil giant over thirty meters tall. As a result, he was named Grand Duke by the Emperor of Fadlan, and the city was named Stone Sword City.

However, times have changed. Archduke Wilson died in the war and the Sword in the Stone has disappeared.

The geographical location of the principality is particularly awkward. To its south is the Kingdom of Thracian, and to its north is the covetous Burning Empire. Being sandwiched between these two behemoths, it is at risk of being crushed at any time.

At this time in the Principality of Wilson, the wind was cold and bleak in Stone Sword City. The only sound that could be heard was the whistling wind and the crisp footsteps of guards patrolling the streets. The doors and windows of every household were closed.

In a stone house in a remote corner of the city, a middle-aged man and a woman sat opposite each other, their faces filled with fatigue and worry. The news that the Burning Empire occupied North Ethel and destroyed the Mountain Kingdom had already spread throughout the city.

The Duchy of Wilson where they are located is one of the few countries in the north that can maintain its independence.

Ryan sighed deeply, rubbing his rough thumbs over the tabletop repeatedly: "Erin, how long do you think this will last?"

The woman put down her needlework and shook her head. The kerosene lamp illuminated the fine lines on her face very clearly. "I don't know. Those nobles are also very scared. They dare not let us leave the city."

Ryan looked out the window, his eyes filled with deep fear. "It is said that the army of the Burning Empire will kill a thousand children every time they occupy a place. I am afraid."

"Ah!" The daughter who had just come out of the cellar screamed. Her face was pale, and her thin and yellow body due to malnutrition was trembling slightly. She almost fainted from fright.

"Ellie!" The woman stood up anxiously, wrapped the girl's body with a blanket, hugged her in her arms with a distressed look on her face, and blamed: "I told you a long time ago not to tell this at home! Ellie would have heard it a long time ago!"

The man looked at his daughter who had fainted from fear, his face grim: "But, it is not a solution to keep it a secret like this. One day, those brutal imperial people will capture this city."

The woman also lamented: "But what can we do? The border of Thrace is heavily guarded, and other places are occupied by the Burning Empire."

The man looked out the window, his eyes gradually firmed, and his throat rolled: "The Stone Sword City is now a big prison cell. We must escape - for our Ellie."

Such conversations took place countless times in Stone Sword City. The citizens were terrified of the Burning Empire and wanted to flee from here to the Thracian Kingdom in the south.

Halfway up the mountain in the north of Stone Sword City, a magnificent fortress was shrouded in the oppression before the storm. It was the residence of the Wilson family passed down from generation to generation, and was named after the ancestor - Castle Said.

The heavy oak door creaked in the cold wind. The Sword in the Stone emblem on the gilded chair back faded in the candlelight. In the hall of Cederburg, the current Duke, Eli Wilson, was sitting at the end of the long table with his hands crossed and his chin in his hand, his face solemn.

"Sir, the beacon smoke has risen in the northern sentry tower." The captain of the guards knelt on the carpet, and his voice was interrupted by the resin bursting in the fireplace: "Our sentinels have found traces of the dragon riders of the Burning Empire."

"They're here after all! Those damn Imperials!" Eli gritted his teeth, but his trembling fingers still revealed the deep fear in his heart.

He asked anxiously, "Where are the people from the Thracian Kingdom? His Majesty Wilham promised to send troops to support us!"

The captain of the guards shook his head solemnly. "All the messengers we sent were stopped outside the border. My lord, I think His Majesty Wilham has completely given up on us. He doesn't want to offend the Burning Empire because of us."

"Why, how could this happen?"

Eli's face was pale, and he leaned back on the back of the chair. He rubbed the family ring in his hand with his fingers and murmured, "His Majesty Wilham is the son of the Sun Emperor and a king with divine blood. How could he be afraid of a red dragon?"

The gray-haired old butler standing beside the Duke sighed and explained, "The three kingdoms are still at war. If the Kingdom of Thrace offends the Burning Empire, it will have to face pressure from both the north and the south. That stingy and shrewd Majesty will not do that.

Moreover, the Burning Cinder Emperor, no, the evil dragon in the north has proven his terrifying strength in a series of conquest wars. No one in the material world dares to say that they can defeat him. "

Hearing this, Eli was already sweating profusely and was about to collapse in his seat. He asked weakly, "Then what should we do?"

The butler was silent for a moment before answering, "Submit to the red dragon and submit to the Burning Empire. Or..."

The chief guard took over his words and said in a deep voice: "Fight to the death, and live and die with Stone Sword City and the Principality of Wilson."

"No!" Eli stood up suddenly and turned to look at the portrait on the wall. It was his grandfather, the founder of the Principality - Syd Wilson. The portrait showed a middle-aged man with a delicate mustache. He was wearing armor and holding an ancient giant sword. He looked vigorous and majestic.

But now, the sword in the stone that symbolizes the glory of the family has disappeared, and Eli is just an ordinary and impoverished nobleman, far from that powerful ancestor.

Thinking of this, Eli mustered up some courage and said with his chest puffed out, "This, this is the legacy my grandfather left me. Our Wilson family has been a famous heroic family since we killed giants. How can we succumb to a dragon!"

After a long silence, the chief guard asked in a deep voice: "My Lord Duke, then, are you willing to die for the honor of your family?"

Eli wanted to answer "yes", but when he thought of being torn to pieces by the dragon's claws and burned by flames, he trembled all over and his throat trembled. He couldn't say the words that came to his mouth.

He whispered back, "Can't we survive and defend Stone Sword City?"

The butler sighed and said with a wry smile, "Even the angels of Fadlan couldn't resist the attack of the Burning Empire, so how can we do it? What's more, there is also the red dragon. Even if Lord Sayid is resurrected, it will be difficult to defeat it."

He and the captain of the guard both watched Duke Eli grow up, and they knew the Duke's character very well - weak, cowardly, afraid of death, but likes to hold on in order to save face.

As expected, Eli pointed outside the door in annoyance and asked, "Is that red dragon so scary? We are the Wilson family!"

"Shh-"

Suddenly, a strong wind blew up, blowing open the heavy oak door. The chandelier in the hall shook, making a series of crisp sounds, and the glasses on the long table fell and shattered one after another.

Eli, who was full of anger just now, collapsed to the ground in fear, at a loss as to what to do. He could only hide behind the captain of the guards.

"Hello everyone—"

A thunderous sound echoed over Shijian City. Just hearing that sound was enough to make countless people tremble.

Eli carefully raised his head and looked outside through the crack in the door, only to find that the sky suddenly darkened.

"Amaunator, by all accounts. That, then, is the Burning Emperor?"

The duke's face was pale and he slumped on the ground. The little fighting spirit in his heart had been completely shattered, replaced by endless fear.

After just a few seconds of holding on, his eyes turned white and he fainted, his lower body wet.

I saw an extremely huge red dragon appear in the sky. Its body was larger and more magnificent than a mountain. The dragon's wings covered the sky, blocked the sun's rays, and shrouded the entire city.

"Gods"

"That, that's the Burning Emperor! He's coming!"

"Damn it—he'll burn this city to ashes! How could there be such a dragon!"

The people in the city were in a panic, with wailing, crying, and screaming happening one after another. The guards of the Wilson family were unable to maintain order, and even they themselves were terrified.

What a giant dragon that is!

Before today, they could never have imagined that a giant dragon could cover the entire city with its wings!
They could not even imagine how many people that bloody mouth, which was big enough to swallow the tallest tower in the city, could swallow, and how terrifying the dragon flame it could spew out.

The story about the red dragon eating a thousand children wherever it went - it didn't seem to be false.

Ryan and Irene hugged each other tightly, wrapped their trembling and crying daughter together, and said in a trembling voice: "Ellie, don't be afraid, we won't let that guy in the sky eat you, absolutely not."

The red dragon looked down at the people in the city from above, with a cold look in his golden vertical pupils. He flapped his wings and spoke slowly.

“I believe you should know me. I am the emperor of the Burning Empire, the ruler of the Anzeta Great Wasteland, the North Ayser Plain, and the Ugo Grassland, and the ruler of the north of the Feiansuo Continent.

Today, I am here to inform you that the land beneath your feet will be incorporated into the territory of the Burning Empire, and you will become glorious citizens of the Empire."

Not only in Stone Sword City, but also in the skies over a dozen small countries and hundreds of cities in the north of Feanso, red dragons appeared, and all of them received the "ultimatum" from the Burning Empire.

And this is not just a simple intimidation. The Empire's Red Scale Conquerors and Dragon Legions have already gathered and are flying in groups to various cities in the north, ready to crush any rebels.

"Your Excellency, are you all right?"

The captain of the guards stepped forward and asked with concern.

Eli opened his eyes hazily, and the scene that frightened him to the point of fainting just now seemed to reappear in front of him, and he thought of the terrifying red dragon.

He subconsciously hugged the captain's thigh and cried, "I must not let that red dragon get close to me! It's simply a monster!"

The chief guard twitched his lips slightly and said, "Sir, the Burning Emperor has left. He has issued us an ultimatum, demanding our unconditional surrender. I wonder if you..."

"Surrender, I surrender! That guy is too scary, no mortal can defeat him!" Eli said anxiously.

"Yes, my lord."

Thinking of the old duke's bravery and seeing his disappointing offspring, the butler behind him sighed, but also felt somewhat relieved. (End of this chapter)