Ember Dragon

The vast area south of the Elbert Mountains and north of the Radiant Mountains is the traditional "Agostino Region", the location of the ancient Kingdom of Agostino.

The land here is fertile and full of magical elements. Decades ago, Aragon I led his invincible divine army to destroy the Kingdom of Agostino, incorporated it into the territory of Holy Fadlan, and named it "Thrace".

At the pass of the Elport Mountains stands a military fortress with an extremely critical geographical location - Isengard, which means "the city of impassable iron fortress".

Two crescent-shaped twin castles span the canyon. The magic barrier shows golden light patterns at sunrise, and the three-mile-long cast iron wall at the pass glows coldly in the morning mist.

The city is like a natural barrier, separating North Eysel from Thrace.

The city is garrisoned by tens of thousands of the most elite soldiers in northern Thrace, as well as several noble angels as military commanders. Its military strength is enough to easily destroy a small country.

On the city wall, there are the Sun God's Crossbow, the Radiant Disc, and the Holy Lance defense system left by the Holy Fadlan.
It is said that within the indestructible city walls, dozens of iron golems and war colossi from the Fadlan Empire period are sleeping. Once the city is attacked, these giants will wake up from their sleep and completely destroy the invading enemy.

However, at this time, as the empire expanded more and more unscrupulously in the north, the residents of Isengard gradually became nervous and uneasy.

In the official propaganda of the Thracian Kingdom, although the red dragon was extremely vicious, it destroyed many countries with great force and enslaved the vast majority of people in the north.

But the red dragon was afraid of the wisdom and bravery of His Majesty Wilhelm and dared not go south. It also signed a decades-long peace treaty with the Kingdom of Thrace. The residents of Isengard did not have to worry about their safety at all.

But people are not fools. Those with discerning eyes have long noticed that the situation on the continent of Feansor is becoming increasingly tense, and have discovered that the elite troops of the Thracian Kingdom are gradually gathering towards Isengard - this is a sign of war.

There was a cold wind blowing on the cast iron city wall.

The messenger soldier climbed up the tower, his voice was particularly heavy: "My Lord Earl, Augustus sent an urgent message that the Burning Empire has declared war on us! The followers of those evil dragons may arrive at any time."

"I understand. Pass the order down and gather all the troops. Be prepared for war. Don't take it lightly!"

On the top of the towering city wall, a warrior wearing heavy, gorgeous armor and with wings on his back was looking towards the north with an extremely solemn expression.

He is the divine Count of the Thracian Kingdom - Hein Diaz, and also the military commander of Isengard.

As he had been stationed in Isengard for many years and was well aware of the situation in the north, he naturally anticipated the southward advance of the Burning Empire.

But in his expectation, the Burning Empire's move south would happen at least a year later - or even three or four years later, and definitely not now.

Hain lowered his eyes, and anger was suppressed in his golden pupils: "These minions of the evil dragon are so arrogant. After years of continuous war, they actually declared war on our Thracian Kingdom without any warning!"

Soon, the sound of flapping wings was heard, and another divine nobleman rose into the air and appeared on the top of the tower—it was Viscount Elliot Evans.

“This is too much! Do they think that the Thracian Kingdom is a small country that can be easily crushed?

"There you are, Elliot."

Haines turned his head and nodded at him, then snorted coldly: "Although the Holy Fadlan has perished, its afterglow is far from gone! This young and barbaric country has never witnessed the greatness of Fadlan - they should remain in awe."

Elliot echoed, "If they hadn't been distracted by the war in the south and had no time to look north, how could the Burning Empire have been so rampant! They would have been wiped out by us long ago!

These evil dragon followers are extremely greedy. They actually sold us the most advanced weapons for gold coins. And they don't have high-end forces that can fight against the descendants of gods. How can they possibly capture our fortress?"

Hai En nodded slightly, but still reminded: "However, we still can't let our guard down. If that red dragon attacks, it will be difficult to stop it with our strength."

Thinking back to that terrifying red dragon, Elliot couldn't help but shudder, but he still managed to say, "From what I know, that dragon is extremely arrogant and rarely takes action himself."

“I hope so.”

Hain looked towards the north again, his expression serious, like a marble sculpture.

In fact, they all knew very well that saying this was just to boost their morale. Even they were not sure of winning when facing the Burning Empire coming from the north.

But in the current Thracian Kingdom, even the slightest hint of fear in one's words would be reported to His Majesty Wilham by spies, and the suspicious and irritable king would regard one as a "coward" and a "capitulator."

"when--"

The great bells of Isengard rang, and the loud sound echoed in the city, accompanied by the solemn sun hymn, waking countless people from their sleep.

At the call of officers at all levels, soldiers rushed from Isengard and gathered in a mighty force under the towering cast iron walls, forming a mottled torrent.

"The Burning Empire declared war on us?"

"Amaunator, by God!"

"Didn't they just defeat the Mountain Kingdom? Don't these guys have any energy consumption in the war?"

"What a bunch of lunatics!"

The soldiers were talking among themselves, and panic, anxiety and tension filled their hearts. They no longer wanted to participate in any war.

In recent years, they have heard of too many well-known countries being destroyed by the Burning Empire. In the fairy tales in northern Thrace, every soldier of the Burning Empire is a fire-breathing monster.

But under the stern gaze of the warlord, no one dared to talk about retreating or surrendering.

Under the focus of countless eyes, Hain, standing on the top of the city wall, raised the dazzling Holy Sun Spear, and his voice echoed in the city: "Loyal warriors, I believe you also know this news - the Burning Empire has declared war on us!
They shamelessly tore up the peace treaty and want to occupy our land, plunder our wealth, and turn our relatives and friends into slaves of the evil dragon! "

Hein's voice was passionate, but the soldiers were not excited at all, and their expressions even looked a little numb.

Many of these soldiers were mobilized from the southern battlefield. They experienced the brutal Battle of the Three Emperors and witnessed countless comrades die outside the holy city. They no longer had much reaction to such slogans.

This question often arises in their minds - we were all once French people, why should we fight to the death for the ownership of a city?

"Everyone listen!" Hein shouted, his voice loud and clear, like a war drum in the silence, "Today, we have no way out. If this city falls, all of our homes will be burned down.

So, no matter what happens, don't retreat a single step! Fight for the Thracian Kingdom, for His Majesty Wilham! Fight for the glory of Fadlan!"

"quick!"

"Follow me, get there immediately!"

"Quick, move these shells to the north tower! There are still two boxes missing!"

Under the organization of the officers, the soldiers came to their respective posts, checked the cannons, loaded their guns, and transported boxes of ammunition.

But what is somewhat ridiculous is that many of these weapons were purchased from the Burning Empire, and the bottom of them are engraved with the seal of "Made in the Empire", but now they are being used to resist the impending invasion of the Burning Empire.

"Where is the Sun's Holy Arrow?" "Where are the people from the Arcane Corps? Quickly charge the Radiant Disc!"

"It's too late! Hurry and wake up the Iron Golem!"

A cloud of thick smoke appeared in the valley, and then, iron-gray clouds pressed down on the top of Isengard, like a huge black curtain covering the entire city.

On the top of the tower, Hein's expression became more solemn, as if he was also shrouded in haze: "There shouldn't be fog in the Elbert Valley at this time."

He ordered in a deep voice: "Arcane Legion, disperse this smoke and show me what is hidden in there!"

"Yes, Lord Count."

Several wizards in red-gold robes appeared in the air. They chanted spells and held up their staffs. Dazzling light burst out of their eyes, creating gusts of wind.

"Shh-"

The howling wind swept across the land, dispersing the thick smoke, and the faces of the wizards who cast the prophecy spell suddenly changed, and they shouted: "Be careful! Their shells are coming!"

"Enemy attack!"

A shrill scream was heard, and after the smoke dissipated, a dense net of artillery shells appeared in the sky, as if it was going to cover the entire city.

Hein roared: "Activate the Radiant Disc—"

The mages and priests immediately chanted spells, trying to activate Isengard's spell protection system, but the speed of those pointed shells was so fast that they pierced the air and cut through the sky almost instantly.

"boom!"

"Boom! Boom!"

Hundreds of fireballs burst out on the cast iron wall at the same time, the light was dazzling and the flames were raging.

Those sudden artillery shells seemed to have eyes. In an instant, they destroyed most of the cannons and Apollo crossbows and killed thousands of soldiers.

"It hurts!"

"My legs! My legs!"

"Where are the enemy's artillery? I can't see them at all!" The wounded soldiers groaned and shouted in despair in the ruins.

They were caught completely unprepared and suffered a devastating blow without even seeing the enemy, and died in surprise and terror.

——This was a long-planned attack. The intelligence personnel of the Burning Empire had already figured out the defense structure in the city and carried out a precise strike.

Looking at the devastated city wall, Hein stood there and murmured in disbelief: "How could this happen? How could they bomb us from thousands of meters away?"

Then, the earl of divine descent was trembling with anger, "Damn, damn the imperial people! What they sold us were all defective products!!"

"Om-"

Several brilliant discs began to rotate at the same time, and a huge light shield engraved with the emblem of Amaunator enveloped Isengard.

"Boom! Boom! Boom!"

Hundreds of shells attacked again, but they were all blocked outside the huge light shield and had to explode in mid-air, causing the light shield to flicker slightly.

In the distance, a low, continuous sound like thunder rolled in, which was an ominous sign caused by the enemy's iron hooves crushing the soil and chariots rolling over stones as they approached.

Smoke and steam swept across the land; even the city walls were shaking. Giant steel beasts were seen rampaging through the valley, charging towards Isengard - they were the Empire's armored corps.

Fierce flames burst out from those thick spears, and powerful armor-piercing shells bombarded Isengard's light shield again and again, making the light dimmer.

"My Lord Earl, we sensed an extremely strong spatial fluctuation!"

"It's a teleportation spell!"

"By Amaunator, what is that?"

The mages' faces were filled with anxiety, and the soldiers looked up in panic, only to see huge scars appearing in the sky.

Huge airships emerged one after another, in groups, covering the sky and casting huge shadows on the city of Isengard, like a spectacular school of whales suspended in the sky.

The densely packed wyverns were flapping their wings in a disorderly manner, surrounding the cluster of airships and making hoarse howls.

Then, hundreds and thousands of bombs poured out from the bellies of these "giant whales" and fell towards Isengard like a rainstorm.

The continuous explosions and the flames covering the sky were like divine punishment and the arrival of doomsday.

Under this intensive bombardment, even the glorious disc left by the Holy Fadlan could not withstand it, becoming increasingly dim, and finally shattered with a loud "crash".

"Holy Spear! Smash these giant whales for me!" Hain pointed his spear to the sky and roared almost madly.

Several magic arrays in the city suddenly lit up, strong spell fluctuations emerged, and dazzling golden light descended from the sky, tearing through the sky with an unignorable force, and piercing through the airship suspended ten thousand meters in the sky.

——That is the Holy Lance defense system of Holy Fadlan, which can absorb the energy of the sun and penetrate the invading enemies.

The airship pierced by the holy spear exploded in mid-air, then turned into a huge fireball, falling to the ground and creating a huge explosion in the city.

"Tear them apart! For Thrace, for Holy Fadran!"

Then, Hain flapped his wings and led several angels into the air, attacking the threatening airships.

"Ow—"

An angry roar resounded through the sky, and an enormous two-legged dragon flapped its wings and flew out of the portal, spewing scorching dragon flames from its mouth - it was Smaug, the King of the Lonely Mountain.

One of the angels was caught off guard and was swallowed by the oncoming dragon flame. He instantly turned into a fireball and fell to the ground.

Accompanied by noisy roars, hundreds of two-legged flying dragons rushed towards the angels like a rolling cloud, colliding and entangled with them.

The broken body parts of the flying dragon, the golden blood of the angel god, and the charred feathers kept falling to the ground. (End of this chapter)