Winter Lord: Starting with Daily Intelligence

Chapter 472 The War of Dragons (Part 1)
The ancient tomb complex on the outskirts of the capital exploded in an instant.

The stone coffin, the stele, and the thick layer of soil were blown away by a force from the inside out, and a dark golden beam of light pierced through the ground and the clouds.

The air within a ten-mile radius was forcibly sucked out.

It began with an eerie, unreal silence, followed by a sudden, explosive rebound of the compressed air, which spread along the ground with a deafening sound that made people's eardrums ache and their consciousness go blank.

August stepped out of the pillar of light.

Its entire body is covered in dark golden dragon scales, which give it a cold and hard texture under the light.

Between the scales, blood-red battle aura flowed slowly, like molten liquid that had not yet cooled, forcibly bound within the body.

Behind him, five thousand dragon warriors appeared, stepping on light.

Their steps were synchronized, and they landed without any unnecessary movements, as if they were already used to walking under such heavy pressure.

Five of them were once the pinnacle knights of the old era.

They were taller than the other dragon people, and even when they were just standing still, they exuded an undeniable sense of oppression.

August's gaze swept across the battlefield.

The dilapidated city walls in the direction of the capital, the advancing formation of the federal army, and the giant pseudo-dragon coiled on the plain in the distance all quickly returned to their positions in his perception.

Then he spoke: "They actually managed to be driven all the way to the capital... What an unfilial bunch of descendants."

As he finished speaking, he slightly exerted force in his legs.

With his wings spread, the air was forcibly torn apart, and August's figure left his original position in the next instant, rushing towards the direction of the Federation army and Mammon.

"Roar--!"

An invisible wave swept across the entire battlefield, directly impacting the depths of one's bloodline.

In the Federation Legion, the first to lose their composure were the mounts; the horses' limbs went limp at the same time, and they collapsed heavily to their knees.

Immediately afterward, the knight's hand holding his weapon began to tremble, his knees bent uncontrollably, and he tried to grit his teeth and stand firm, but found that his body simply wouldn't obey him and he could only be forced to kneel in the mud.

They looked up.

In the sky, a truly gigantic dragon blocked out the light.

That was neither an alchemical construct nor a monster pieced together, but a prototype existing in legends.

The light and shadow glided across its scales, but could not give it any warmth.

General Batur, the commander of the Federal Front, stood frozen in place, his cigar long since fallen from his mouth, but no one noticed.

As the Federation's most composed and risk-averse tactician, his mind went blank for a moment.

He instinctively wanted to give an order; his lips moved, but he didn't know what to say.

Because at this moment, any command becomes meaningless.

Beside him, Raymond had already knelt down.

His movements were almost instinctive; when his knees hit the ground, he wasn't even aware of what he was doing, only feeling a kind of oppression from the depths of his soul crushing all his pride.

This was a difference in bloodline; Raymond's pupils contracted sharply.

Impossible... Absolutely impossible...

His mind raced, trying to deny everything in front of him.

This is the real dragon.

The dragon corpse he had spent his entire life researching and refining into dragon-blooded warriors were nothing more than a fraction of a millionth in the face of this being; they were merely failed products that borrowed from the remnants.

Not long ago, he thought that by joining the Federation, he would be standing at the top of the world.

Only now do I realize that I am nothing more than a clown who thinks he is safe at the feet of a giant beast.

On the other side, Mammon responded.

The pseudo-dragon, nurtured by four hundred years of magic stones from the Federation, did not retreat.

Dense patterns of light shone on the surface of the crystal, and a harsh friction sound emanated from within its structure, as if the entire mineral vein was being forcibly squeezed.

An extremely powerful magnetic field was fully deployed to resist the suppression emanating from the bloodline.

Its size far exceeds that of Augustus, being more than three times larger.

In terms of sheer size, it still resembles a moving mountain.

Immediately afterwards, Mammon let out a deep, gravitational roar.

The space trembled as a result.

The edge of the domain released by August was shattered, and a brief period of chaos and tearing occurred in the air.

That was a head-on confrontation with no room for compromise.

Even with his rank suppressed, Mammon still displayed a terrifying size that was enough to rival a true dragon.

Two completely different entities confronted each other for the first time under the skies of the capital.

The rulers of the old era, and the deformed creations of the new century.

August bent down.

The dark golden claws tore through the air and landed heavily on Mammon's diamond shell.

The crystal surface was forcibly scraped open, and dazzling sparks burst forth in a shower upon impact.

“Roar—!” Mammon let out a deep and resonant roar.

That wasn't a roar, but more like the resonance of a mineral vein buried deep underground under immense pressure.

The dragon's tail, hundreds of meters long, swept out horizontally. This attack was devoid of any technique, relying solely on pure mass and speed.

The air was compressed and distorted in the contrail before exploding with a piercing bang.

August was a moment too slow in his judgment.

The dark golden dragon scales shattered in large pieces upon impact, and fragments flew like rain.

His massive dragon body was flung away, like an out-of-control meteorite, crashing heavily into the ground.

The earth collapsed.

The rock strata shattered in all directions at the point of impact, instantly forming a bottomless rift valley. The earth veins roared under the strain, and dust was thrown high into the air.

Before August could fully stand up, Mammon had already pressed down on him, his mouth suddenly opening wide to bite down hard on his flank.

The interlocking crystal structures produce a grinding sound that makes your teeth ache.

A terrifying magnetic field spread out completely inside the giant maw, like countless invisible claws, directly probing into August's body and forcibly stripping away the dragon blood within.

The dark golden blood was dragged towards the wound, and the once stable luster beneath the scales began to become disordered.

"Insolence!" August's roar exploded across the battlefield, filled with undisguised rage.

The sound waves themselves created an impact, causing the still unstable surrounding space to vibrate again.

"How dare you, a mere counterfeit, blaspheme the true dragon?"

However, the only response he received was a deeper, more resonant hum from Mammon, the crystal facets flashing wildly, and the magnetic field strength being pushed up once again.

August did not try to break free again; instead, he deliberately relaxed his defenses.

The dark gold dragon blood that had been spilled on the ground burst into flames at the same time.

The blood flames did not spread outwards, but instead quickly condensed, transforming into dark golden chains.

The chains traveled upstream along the magnetic path unfolded by the Mammon, penetrating its internal structure through the bite.

“If the Emperor does not permit it…” August seemed to be proclaiming a verdict, “your existence is nothingness.”

The chains tightened suddenly.

Mammon emitted an even deeper hiss, the crystal structure emitted a piercing cracking sound, and the magnetic field became briefly disordered.

But it still didn't let go, its huge jaws clamped shut, trying to break free before the chain was fully formed.

The dark gold blood flames and the cold crystals eroded and tore at each other at extremely close range.

The two colossal creatures locked in a stalemate on the torn earth, the roar of the true dragon intertwining with the low growl of the false dragon, causing the entire battlefield to tremble.

…………

On the other side of the battlefield, the Half-Dragon Guards stepped into the fray.

Their appearance came almost without warning.

Its dragon-scale-covered body appeared exceptionally hard and cold against the dust, each step seeming meticulously calculated. As the Federation troops attempted to adjust their formation, poison gas was swiftly released.

The gray-green mist spread along the ground and flowed into the half-dragon legion's route along the wind.

The alchemical reaction took shape rapidly in the air, and should have claimed lives within moments.

But the moment the mist touched the half-dragon, it changed.

The scales shone with a very faint dark red sheen. The poisonous gas evaporated directly under the high temperature, emitting a fine, piercing sound, like water droplets falling on a red-hot iron plate.

The Half-Dragon Legion did not stop, but sped across the poisonous fog, and the moment they made contact with the Federation's front line, the line was torn apart.

Before a Federation heavy knight could fully deploy his shield, his chest was pierced through by a sharp claw.

The alchemical steel plate dented and shattered upon impact. The internal reinforcement structure provided no cushioning, bones broke, and the body was thrown out, knocking down his companions behind him.

Half Dragon's movements are concise and direct.

But each time he made a move, it was accompanied by a body losing its ability to move.

Soon the federal knights' formation could no longer hold out and began to retreat and flee.

Some people turned and ran, but were tripped by the crowded queue behind them; others tried to ignite the explosives, but had their wrists smashed the moment they raised their hands.

A half-dragon grabbed a knight's head, his five fingers snapping shut, and the helmet shattered along with the skull.

The body was carelessly tossed aside and was no longer intact when it hit the ground.

The queue is still moving forward.

The half-dragons maintained a fixed distance from each other and did not need to communicate.

Each individual is like an activated instruction.

The heart of the federal army began to crumble.

The counterattack that was barely holding on was quickly cut off.

Heavy lances were broken, alchemical shields inlaid with magic stones shattered upon impact, and uncharged equipment was crushed, with expensive magic stones losing their luster in the mud.

But these things can no longer stop the progress.

In a short advance, a half-dragon successively defeated more than a dozen Federation knights.

Those knights possessed battle auras comparable to those of high-ranking elite knights, and were well-equipped, yet they still could not change the outcome.

Its claws were stained with blood, yet not a single scratch was left on its scales.

As the formation passed through the federal army's lines, only a cleared area remained behind them.

The number of people still alive is no longer sufficient to form a complete organization.

This was a massacre with no suspense whatsoever.

The federal troops blocking the front were completely cleared out.

The area traversed by the half-dragon contingent was left with only crushed equipment, broken limbs, and lingering heat.

The moment the front row disappeared, the rear row completely collapsed.

The Federation knights, who had not yet engaged the enemy, witnessed the entire process. They knew very well that those who fell were not weaklings, but rather those who were at the same level as them, or even stronger.

But they saw the entire column cut into blanks in a matter of seconds, and they saw officers who were once considered the core of the defense line crushed before they could even issue an order.

At that moment, panic was like a lit fuse, spreading rapidly through the crowd.

Some dropped their weapons and turned to run away; some were pushed to the ground and trampled over by the fleeing soldiers behind them before they could get up; some even stood frozen in place, their lips trembling, having lost even the courage to run away.

The formation has completely ceased to exist.

On the distant high platform, Raymond stared blankly at this scene.

This was an army I had never even dreamed of—so powerful, so perfect.

The knight's strength, superior equipment, and expensive alchemy techniques all seem like a futile effort in the face of such an existence.

He had thought the federal government possessed more efficient violence, but now he realized it was nothing but a child's game.

A chill ran down my spine.

Raymond didn't look a second time. He turned around abruptly and almost stumbled off the platform.

Leave here.

The thought kept echoing in his mind, overpowering all dignity.

He was an extraordinary knight, so escaping wouldn't be a problem for him. He unleashed his fighting spirit, pushed off with his legs, and shot off like an arrow from the edge of the platform, speeding backward along the broken passage.

But he had only run less than a hundred paces when the wailing and screaming approached him again from behind.

Raymond's heart sank.

In the instant he turned around, he only saw a half-dragon knight.

Its scales were dark in color and its lines were cold and hard. It no longer resembled any of the imperial knights in my memory. Its face had been reshaped by the dragon, and it was impossible to see any human features at all.

But reason told Raymond that he was no match for this man.

In that instant, the half-dragon knight moved.

The space was forcibly compressed into a line, illuminated by a brief and dangerous light.

When the first sword light flashed past, Raymond couldn't even see the movement clearly.

From the flank, a Federation Extraordinary Knight was sliced ​​open.

The armor, battle aura, and flesh broke along the same trajectory; before the body could fall, the second beam of light had already passed through.

Another knight attempted to deploy his aura defense, but failed...

The sword did not pause.

One, then another...

Within a few breaths, several extraordinary knights fell one after another.

Those people, in terms of both strength and equipment, far surpassed the Imperial Knights, yet they didn't even have the power to make the other side stop.

Raymond did not stop running; on the contrary, his burning fighting spirit and life force propelled him forward at full speed as he fled out of the battlefield.

But the half-dragon knight swept past him, the air currents he created brushing against Raymond's cheek, and he didn't even have time to raise his sword again.

The next moment, the other person was already standing in front of him.

He got so close that Raymond finally saw those eyes clearly, and they carried a familiar feeling that sent chills down his spine.

That was the look he had only ever seen on one other person.

Raymond opened his mouth, as if to say the name.

The sword light fell first.

Two cuts.

The first strike broke through the defenses.

The second cut ends the life.

The extraordinary knight's body tilted forward and crashed heavily to the ground.

In the final moments before his consciousness faded, Raymond finally remembered the title that had been erased by time—Blade of the Empire.

All of this was no longer relevant to him. The half-dragon knight sheathed his sword and continued forward.

Soon, not a single Emerald Federation knight could be found still standing on the battlefield.

The remaining resistance was completely extinguished. Whether they were extraordinary or elite, no matter how expensive their alchemical armor, they had all fallen on the battlefield.

The corpses and equipment were mixed together and trampled into the mud, leaving them with almost no value for recovery.

The Half-Dragon Guard did not stop, immediately changed direction, and naturally spread out their formation, advancing towards the terrifying scene in the center of the battlefield.

The horizon ahead is collapsing, and two immense, incomprehensible forces are colliding head-on in the central region.

Dark golden dragon blood flames intertwined and rolled with cold crystalline patterns, each impact causing the earth's veins to groan under immense pressure.

That's not their level of combat.

But these half-dragon knights did not stop; instead, they rapidly and directly approached the two colossal beasts that were tearing the world apart.

(End of this chapter)