Outside Teotihuacan, the former capital of Holy Fadlan, across the Great Central Plains of Feanso.
White city walls a hundred meters high rose from the earth, stretching unbroken for a hundred li. Majestic and imposing, their weathered stone was carved with colossal golden holy emblems of the sun.
Yet even walls so towering could not conceal the Tower of the Eternal Sun God within, nor hide its spire that pierced the clouds.
It was a colossal three-tiered, pentagonal spire. Soaring into the sky to a height sixty-eight stories above the terrain, it was crowned by a golden hemispherical dome—ensuring that observers anywhere across the central plains could look up and gaze in awe at the solar disk of Amaunator.
Once, on every summer solstice, the solar disk atop the tower would shower down endless radiant light, filling everyone in the city with inner peace and warm vitality.
This was Teotihuacan, the "City of Sunburst."
Any traveler or merchant who came here was struck with awe by its magnificent grandeur, humbled by the incomparable might of Holy Fadlan.
Even now, though the Tower of the Eternal Sun God had grown dim and the once-mighty Holy Fadlan Empire had collapsed into ruins, people could still sense the departed splendor and glory through this holy city.
The ground outside the city was riddled with craters and scars.
Smoke of battle hung thick in every direction.
Dried blood, piled corpses, and even the remains of winged godblood were strewn across the earth.
Such sights were commonplace on this ravaged battlefield. Even the massive walls were riddled with pits and cracks—after all, the three kingdoms had fought dozens of wars over this city.
Upon the thick white ramparts, banners of Cassander stood like a forest. Warriors clad in heavy golden plate raised their weapons and shouted with raised arms.
There were also spellcasters in bright, sumptuous robes embroidered with sun motifs. Staffs in hand, magic gems gleaming atop their staves, they cast a barrier of golden radiance outside the walls.
Colossal golden ballistas were aimed beyond the city, while Cassandrian soldiers strained with all their might to load them with massive, burning, fiery bolts.
Cheers rose in waves.
"Praise the sun!"
"For the Kingdom of Cassander!"
"His Majesty Otis is the true emperor! Slay these rebels!"
"These traitors are the reason we lost the great Sun God's protection! Only by wiping them out can His Majesty Otis welcome the return of our god!"
Astride the wall, a tall man in golden armor and a heavy horned helm, his eyes blazing with fiery light, hoisted a long saber in one arm and roared at the top of his lungs.
He was Eli Gianvito Velasquez, a god-blooded duke of the Kingdom of Cassander, a trusted general of Aragorn I—and one of the earliest legendary fighters to receive the Sun God's grace.
Fierce and renowned, he had campaigned across the north and south following the old emperor, having once slain a balor with his own hands.
"Marshal Eli!"
"Ten thousand victories!"
"Fight for His Majesty Otis! Fight to restore Holy Fadlan!"
At Duke Eli's cry, fervor swept the ramparts, and the soldiers of Cassander roared in response, their momentum surging toward the heavens.
The godblood of the Kingdom of Cassander were mostly colossal in stature, with pale skin and flawless physiques, resembling heavy-armored, perfect statues.
Having received the Sun God's grace, they gained powers akin to the empyreans, scions of the Upper Planes, and were thus commonly known as "Titan godblood."
—And their king, Otis Aragorn, was no exception.
"Silence!"
"This is utter treason!"
High in the sky outside the city, a female warrior with massive, glorious wings unfolded behind her and a greatsword crackling with explosive divine power raised her blade with one hand, pointing down from afar toward Eli on the ramparts.
"Eli! You are the true rebels! You are the culprits who drove His Majesty away!"
"You have abandoned the faith!"
Her eyes were likewise filled with blazing light. At the center of her helm sat the sun's holy emblem, flanked by wing-shaped metal ornaments.
With each flap of the radiant wings at her back, showers of sparks scattered into the air.
This angelic warrior was named Tirena Star Angel, also a god-blooded duke and a legendary paladin who had received the Sun God's grace.
Blessed by the Sun God, she had gained power akin to archons and other angels of the Upper Planes, earning them the name "angelic godblood."
—And their king, Wilhelm Aragorn, was the same.
Behind Tirena, hundreds of light-armored warriors with wings on their backs flew through the high skies outside the holy city, nearly blotting out the sun.
Yet their wings were far from as vast and magnificent as Tirena's.
Flapping her wings, Tirena raised her greatsword brimming with explosive divine energy and cried aloud:
"People of Cassander, you are too arrogant and ignorant!"
"Men, reclaim the holy city!"
"Restore the glory of Fadlan! Retake Teotihuacan!"
She shouted fiercely, gilded feathers drifting down from behind her, making the scene appear all the more sacred.
"Restore the glory of Fadlan! Retake Teotihuacan!"
Whether the Godblood Legion in the sky or the Thracian soldiers on the ground, all roared in unison, their battle cries shaking the heavens and overpowering the defenders on the wall.
And upon the ground, there were not only legions composed of mortals, but also god-blooded reinforcements from the Kingdom of Seleucia. Having received powers akin to guardinals, some bore the head of a horse on a human body, some the head of a deer, and some even the head of a dragon.
Amaunator sometimes manifested his favor or displeasure through creatures such as emerald dragons, sapphire dragons, steel dragons, sun falcons, brown dogs, milky-white cats, snow-white wolves, and pure-white stallions.
And the godblood of the Kingdom of Seleucia had often obtained the power of these extraordinary beings, developing heads distinct from ordinary mortals, which was why they were known as "favored godblood."
—And their king, Eloti Aragorn, was no different.
It was said His Majesty possessed the head of a dragon and the body of a man.
Banners of each kingdom fluttered across the battlefield at once, all bearing the holy emblem of the sun, yet branched into three distinct variations.
The Kingdom of Cassander's holy emblem was a sun over crossed sword and shield; the Kingdom of Thrace's emblem was a sun with spread wings; and the Kingdom of Seleucia's emblem was a sun with a profiled dragon's head.
"The holy city... will belong only to Cassander."
"Once His Majesty Otis reconquers the Thracian and Seleucian territories, the empire's glory will be restored—and His Majesty Aragorn can finally rest in peace."
Eli narrowed his eyes, gazing at the coalition army of both kingdoms that blanketed earth and sky before him, and spoke in a low voice.
At that thought, he swung his long saber with all his might and roared: "Warriors of the Kingdom of Cassander, defend the holy city to the death!"
"Swear to slay the rebels!"
*Shing—*
In an instant, a crescent blade arc soared into the sky, carrying terrible searing heat and flames straight toward Tirena high above.
"Kill!"
"Slay the traitors! Defend the holy city!"
The commanders atop the walls shouted in unison.
At the same time, massive bolts rained down from the wall's summit, sweeping down upon the coalition army outside like a violent tempest.
The spellcasters of Cassander's Arcane Legion raised their staves together as well, sending beams of radiant light, flames, lightning, and even howling gales pouring down from the ramparts.
The onslaught of the Kingdom of Cassander was no less ferocious than a natural disaster.
War erupted in an instant.
And no one knew anymore just how many dozens of times battle had been joined over this holy city.
Chapter 415