Declaration

The red dragon glided along the aerial corridor woven of fire and smoke, sweeping over the review grounds beneath the focused gaze of hundreds of thousands of eyes before crashing down onto the high platform with a thunderous impact. Boom! The earth shook violently as though struck by a colossal warhammer, sending clouds of dust billowing into the sky and loose rock scattering in all directions. Though the rocky dais stood fifty meters tall, it seemed dwarfed beneath the red dragon's massive bulk. Only by standing directly before this mighty dragon could one truly fathom their own insignificance and grasp the sheer magnificence of the beast. The suffocating oppression radiating from such a leviathan was enough to choke the breath from one's lungs. For many, this was the first time they had ever laid eyes on His Majesty at such close range. Knees trembled throughout the crowd, and some spectators even fainted dead away. "C-Cassius above..." "Is that the Emperor? Truly magnificent..." Their minds were already conjuring visions of the crushing destruction the dragon could inflict upon them—a force against which they would be utterly powerless. If any players had been present, they would have recognized it immediately as textbook megalophobia. Yet compared to the hundreds of thousands of onlookers packed across the grounds, those fainting spells were nothing more than a fleeting distraction. Cassius stood atop the platform, looking down upon the multitude with pale golden eyes, sweeping his gaze across faces of vastly different races that nonetheless burned with identical fanaticism. Whether human, tiefling, hobgoblin, half-dragon, or ogre, not a single face showed the slightest hint of fear—only boundless fervor. Good. This was precisely what he wanted. After surveying his domain, the red dragon slowly parted his jaws. A voice as heavy and deep as rolling thunder poured from his throat, reverberating across the entire plain: "I trust you all already know who the empire faces in this war— "Demons. "They hail from the Abyss, called the destroyers of worlds, the incarnation of evil and chaos, monsters that sow terror... "Hearing this—are you afraid?" "No!" "We will crush the demons!" "Drive those vermin back into the Abyss!" Outrage swept through the imperial citizens in an instant. They cursed the demons at the top of their lungs, and some even brandished banners emblazoned with the words: SLAY THE DEMONS. Feeling the searing fury of the crowd, Adrovel found it all the more unbelievable. They truly harbored no fear! Atop the dais, Cassius gave a slight nod. Deliberately raising his voice, he continued: "Yet—they picked the wrong opponent! "They chose to make an enemy of the Cinder Empire. They raid our cities, assassinate our officials, and scheme to tear down imperial order! "Yet—it is nothing but a fool's delusion! "Now, standing before you, in the name of the Cinder Emperor, I declare a sacred war of vengeance against the demons! "I proclaim that the Cinder Empire declares war upon the Abyss! Every citizen of the empire bears the sacred duty to slaughter every demon that dares cross their path! "The empire will hold nothing back. We shall fight to the bitter end! We shall slay demons on the plains! We shall slay demons in the mountains! We shall slay demons across the skies...!" Cassius's impassioned words resounded across the plains, carrying far across the Great Anzetta Waste. Under the red dragon's near-godlike charisma, every soul present was swept up by his oration, consumed by blistering hatred for the demons. Even the silver dragon Adrovel, lurking disguised in the crowd, felt his heart surge and his blood boil. "If demons bring terror to the world, then the empire—shall bring terror to the demons!" Finally, Cassius slowly rose, spreading his vast, colossal wings. Baring his razor-sharp fangs, a savage grin stretched across his draconian features. "Crush them!" "For the Cinder Empire!" Standing atop a steam tank, Duoluo was the first to thrust his fist into the air and roar, and the hobgoblin infantry regiments immediately followed suit. "For the Cinder Empire!" "For His Majesty Cassius!" Roars of acclaim swiftly coalesced into an overwhelming wave that washed across the entire grounds. Civilian, soldier, official—in this moment, every individual shared but a single identity: a citizen of the empire. "Long live His Majesty Cassius!" "For the Cinder Emperor!" "Loyalty!" "Kill the demons!" The drill grounds erupted like a churning ocean. Hundreds of thousands of imperial citizens, delirious with zeal, threw their arms skyward and shouted, desperate to prove their unwavering loyalty before their sovereign. The wyverns circling overhead craned their necks and shrieked with all their might, while on the ground, the land drakes pounded the earth in rhythmic cadence, venting plumes of scorching vapor and guttural bellows. The white dragon Tinia took to the air as well, buffeting several wyverns aside to claim the perch closest to the red dragon, letting out an excited cry. "Awooo—" Farther away, portal after portal flared to life in shifting colors, disgorging legions drawn from every corner of the empire. "For the glorious Cinder Empire!" "Praise the Soul-Devouring Dragon!" "Sss-sss-ho-ho! (Ignan: For the Empire!)" Amid a flurry of swirling ash and sparks, a host of salamanders, fire drakes, fire dwarves, and other elemental beings poured forth from the portals. "Children of Fire liberated by His Majesty Cassius! The hour has come to repay our debt and honor our emperor! "Let the demons taste true fire!" "For the Cinder Empire!" The Imperial Governor of the Fire Elemental Colony, Marquis Serkan Wood, sat astride a pyrohydra, thrusting high a lance wrapped in searing flames. He then pressed his fist over his heart, executing a textbook Imperial salute of loyalty toward the red dragon upon the dais. "Children of the dark night..." Beneath the lich's whisper, dark clouds abruptly congealed across the sky, casting vast shadows over the earth. Pitch-black vortices resembling bottomless chasms opened within the shadows on the ground—portals leading to the Underdark. Immediately, massive skeletal behirs surged out, followed by a vast legion of the undead, and behind them, subterranean hosts of duergar, deep gnomes, and drow elves. The Imperial Underdark Colony General, Marquis Hart, rode atop a skeletal wyvern. Raising a bloodstained saber that had claimed countless lives, a cruel smirk glinted in his dark eyes. "For the Emperor!" "Slaughter every demon!" The former honorary bishop of the Church of Amaunator, now Imperial Cleric Ingrid, swung her scepter, tracing the outline of a doorway in midair. "Gate!" Another portal ripped open in midair, this one leading to an Outer Plane teeming with untamed primal nature—the Beastlands. "Roar!" "Awooo!" "Legion of Beasts! Fight for the empire!" The former lizardfolk chieftain, now Imperial Governor of the Beastlands Expeditionary Force, Marquis Ak Longtooth, held his spear aloft. Shaman Keda Blackscale rode atop a polar bear, brandishing his gnarled staff of deadwood. Over a thousand lizardfolk warriors marched behind them, while over a hundred imperial druids directed a myriad of beasts, bringing with them a raging tide of wild creatures. Arrowhawks, griffons, rhinos, dire beasts, raptors, dire tigers, basilisks, and other creatures spilled out of the portals. Awestruck and cowed by the dragon's Frightful Presence, they bowed their heads toward the red dragon as one. Amid the frenzied crowd, Adrovel watched dumbfounded as portal after portal opened, disgorging a bewildering array of creatures into the grounds. What on earth was he here for? Did a nation like this truly need to seek aid from Melvold? Suddenly, Genesis pointed to the sky beside him, her brow furrowed. "Look there!" Another portal snapped open, and massive, ferocious blue dragons swooped out, led by a smaller young female blue dragon—the blue dragons of the Faria clan. Genesis glanced up at the blue dragons, then stared intently at the red dragon upon the dais. Gritting her teeth, she declared, "No, we cannot lose to them... We're going up too! Melvold will not be outdone!" Adrovel asked in bewilderment, "What?" Whoosh— Genesis vaulted into the air. Before the astonished gazes of the crowd, she shifted into an elegant silver dragon, beating her wings as she soared toward Cassius. "This..." "Fine, then." Adrovel shook his head helplessly. He had no choice but to transform into his true, massive silver dragon form, beating wings like polished armor plates as he ascended into the sky. At his command, ten more silver dragons rose one by one from the crowd, taking flight to circle the dais. Amid the gasps of the spectators, the once-spacious drill grounds became packed to overflowing—salamanders, skeletal behirs, dire tigers, blue dragons, and even silver dragons. Beings living and dead, good and evil, terrestrial and winged, gathered within the arena—submitting to a single sovereign and assembled to wage a single war. Forces and influence amassed by the empire across multiple planes over the years were now gathered here in full force, poised to enter the fray against the demons. Cassius stood on the dais, looking down over the packed grounds. He had prepared far too long for this war. Ever since he had first arrived in this world, he had been locked in a death struggle with the demon who had sought to control his destiny. Sweeping his gaze across the myriad creatures assembled, the red dragon smiled ferociously, murmuring in a voice meant for his ears alone: "Jezralslak... "Are you ready—to face my vengeance?"