"Boom!"
The iron behemoth roared and rumbled, rampaging across the chaotic battlefield. Spewing deadly shells like an enraged titan, it tore ruthlessly through several coalition legions.
—That was the "Great Red Dragon"-class tank, the largest steam tank of the Cinder Empire, which had performed brilliantly throughout the war to conquer North Aethel.
Behind the steam tank, George was rapidly advancing at the head of his infantry regiment.
They surged through the breach torn open by the tank's advance, charging into the coalition positions to eliminate remnants of the enemy forces and provide cover for the armored spearhead.
"Regimental Commander, look over there!"
His adjutant cried out in surprise. George hurried to look in the direction he pointed, and his expression instantly shifted.
A celestial warrior knelt on one knee, struggling to support himself with his sword. His delicate, exquisite face was deathly pale, blood trickling steadily from his lips.
His armor was battered and ruined, embedded with shrapnel, while his pure white wings were smeared with dust and gore, drooping limply at his sides.
Seeming to catch the sound of their voices, the celestial warrior raised his head. He glared furiously at George, light swirling within his golden irises.
"Mortals, begone! I might... spare your lives."
In an instant, an overwhelming pressure descended upon every soldier present, accompanied by a wave of blistering heat slamming into their faces.
"An angel..."
George understood what had happened at once. This was a celestial warrior who had fallen after being wounded—and without question, a tremendously powerful being!
A dozen years ago, George could never have imagined meeting an angel that had previously existed only in the mouths of priest-lords, much less imagined taking up arms against such creatures.
Yet now, the hand gripping George's gun trembled faintly—not from fear, but from sheer tension and exhilaration.
The wounded angel before him undoubtedly held high rank among the celestial legions. If he could lead his troops to slay him, it would be an immense military merit.
The angel seemed to sense George's intentions and spoke with tragic indignation: "Ignorant mortals... you have all been bewitched by that evil dragon! Do you know whom you face? I am the Captain of the Guard of the Silver Heaven, Barni, Enforcer of Justice—"
"Soldiers, do not be cowed by his bluster! He is an enemy of the Empire!" George drew his pistol, mercilessly cutting the angel off.
Then, George deliberately drew out his voice: "Do you know... what it means to slay a high-ranking celestial warrior?"
Instantly, a fiery fervor ignited in the chests of every imperial soldier, their breathing quickening. Of course they knew what it meant—glory and status!
Their regimental commander, George, honored as a dragon-blooded count, had vaulted into the peerage as a baron precisely by slaying an enemy commander, setting him onto this path of glory.
If George could do it, why couldn't they?
"For the Empire!"
"Kill him!"
The soldiers roared fanatically, yet none acted rashly. They well understood the importance of discipline, which had long since become second nature.
At George's command, they fanned out, forming a vast semicircular cordon that steadily closed in on the celestial warrior.
The angel lowered his head, his voice raspy: "You... will regret this."
*Whoosh!*
The broad wings on his back snapped wide. Countless blood-stained golden feathers shot out like arrows, hurtling toward the surrounding imperial soldiers.
With lightning reflexes, George dropped flat against the ground and bellowed, "Danger! Hit the dirt!"
The instant the order rang out, the imperial soldiers instinctively threw themselves to the earth without the slightest hesitation.
Even so, several dozen failed to take cover in time. Pierced by the barrage of feathers, their bodies were riddled like sieves, weeping blood from countless holes as they crumpled to the ground one after another.
*What terrifying power!* Prone on the ground, George felt a jolt of shock at the sight of the fallen soldiers.
The angel's might far exceeded his expectations! Without extreme caution, they could easily be wiped out to the last man.
With that thought, he pulled out his walkie-talkie at once and muttered into it, "Formidable enemy encountered, requesting artillery support! Coordinates..."
In the distance, Barni braced himself on his sword and slowly struggled to his feet, panting heavily. "I take no pleasure in harming mortals. I have forgiven your ignorance and folly, ever extending to you the greatest mercy... But now, I see the truth—followers of the evil dragon, you are beyond redemption, beyond forgiveness!"
*Clang!*
With a crisp ring, Barni pulled the longsword free from the soil with one hand and pointed it toward the sky.
A sun-bright radiance burst from the blade's tip, instantly illuminating everything around them. A rousing, operatic melody resounded, sounding like a verdict handed down to sinners.
*Screeech!*
Right at that moment, an artillery shell whistled sharply through the air, plunging from the heavens straight toward the angel with pinpoint accuracy.
Barni's expression warped. He brought the longsword horizontal and slashed violently upward; an arc of light cleaved the sky, detonating the shell midair.
*Boom!*
Yet immediately afterward, more shells rained from above like a downpour, unleashing wave upon wave of violent detonations.
Barni knew the lethal power of these weapons all too well. Dragging his wounded body, he had no choice but to dart and weave across the terrain in evasive maneuvers.
His wings beat furiously as clouds of golden feathers soared upward, crisscrossing with slashes of light to intercept the dense hail of incoming shells.
Spotting his chance, George waved his hand and roared, "Fire!"
George raised his pistol, squinted one eye to take aim, and pulled the trigger. A bullet shot from the barrel straight toward the angel's head.
The other imperial soldiers had long been straining at the leash. Riflemen armed with semi-automatic rifles kept up continuous fire while hurling grenade after grenade toward the angel.
Several machine gunners lay prone with their weapons mounted, barrels spitting tongues of fire as bullets cascaded forth in a relentless torrent, scorching-hot casings tumbling onto the ground.
"Damn flunkies of the evil dragon!"
Barni snarled. Raising his sword horizontally, he wove the golden radiance into a protective barrier, deflecting the dense storm of incoming bullets.
Yet the shells falling from above seemed to have eyes. Nearby, the steam tank had received George's distress call and was rumbling toward them at full throttle, continuously shelling the position.
Out of options, Barni was forced to abandon his defense. Ignoring the volley of gunfire striking from afar, he violently flapped his mangled wings and dragged his heavily wounded frame into the air.
The next moment, the spot where he had stood was swallowed by the fiery blast of an explosion, showered with flying shrapnel, dust, and rock.
Under the relentless fire of the imperial infantry, blossoms of blood burst across Barni's body. The specialized explosive rounds tore through skin and flesh, leaving grisly, gruesome wounds.
"Aaargh!"
Barni threw his head back, his face contorting into a ferocious snarl. Like a cornered beast hunted by a pack, he unleashed a roar—or perhaps a wail of agony.
In mere moments, hundreds of bullets had burrowed into his flesh.
Radiance and streaming flames from the heavens circled the angel, struggling to mend his wounds, but the rate at which the imperial soldiers tore into him far outpaced his regeneration.
Braving the hail of bullets, Barni raised his longsword high and shouted, "The guilty shall be punished!"
With a downward sweep of his blade, a golden crescent of light over ten meters long tore through the air, hurtling toward the imperial soldiers with overwhelming momentum.
*Crack!*
The hardened ground split apart into a deep fissure. Dozens of imperial soldiers were slain instantly before they could even cry out, leaving behind a gruesome scene of carnage.
Relying on the heightened reflexes and physical prowess bestowed by his dragon blood, George dove sideways the moment the angel swung his blade, barely escaping the devastating strike.
Barni looked down coldly upon the soldiers on the ground, gripping the longsword in one hand as it flared with golden pyres of light.
Yet George showed no fear; instead, his exhilaration surged, his breath coming in ragged gasps. "Do not be afraid, men! He's at the end of his rope! Kill him! His Invincible Majesty Cassius watches over us!"
George snatched up a heavy machine gun from the ground. Relying on the dragon blood coursing through his arms, he hefted the weapon and hoisted it high.
Ignoring the machine gun's vicious recoil, he used his own sturdy frame as a mount, leaning back slightly as he pulled the trigger toward the sky, roaring at the top of his lungs, "For the Empire!"
The muzzle spat fiery tongues of flame. Shell casings spewed out in a steady stream as a torrent of lead surged toward the angel aloft like water bursting through a sluice gate.
Spurred on by their commander, the surrounding imperial soldiers rose to their feet one after another, firing wildly into the sky.
Gales howled without pause, bringing a crushing pressure that stirred an inexplicable urge in every imperial soldier to fall to their knees.
Barni's gaze was razor-sharp, his tone freezing: "I shall deliver upon you righteous judgment—death!"
*Whoosh!*
With an unstoppable momentum, the celestial inquisitor spread his wings and dove from the heights. Cleaving through the air in an instant, he turned into an afterimage trailing brilliant light.
Under this tsunami-like aura, many imperial soldiers felt their knees give way. Gripped by terror, they collapsed to the ground on the spot.
Yet George remained standing, entirely unfazed by the blast wave bearing down upon him.
"Come at me!"
He broke into an ecstatic grin, crimson scales surfacing along his brow and cheeks. This charge might claim his life, but it was also the ultimate opportunity to slay an angel!
He kept the trigger depressed, spraying the blurred silhouette with the machine gun, heedless of the barrel and receiver turning glowing hot.
A dense hail of bullets struck the angel, many deflected by his protective aura.
Yet under such overwhelming, concentrated firepower, the aura soon shattered.
Immediately after, blossoms of blood erupted across Barni's body. Bullets struck his neck, abdomen, limbs, and even his forehead, tearing his internal organs to shreds—wounds so catastrophic that not even the power of the heavens could stave off death.
"Judgment..."
Barni glared fixedly at the half-dragon before him, grinding his teeth as he squeezed the word through clenched jaws.
He wanted to muster his last ounce of strength to strike down this vile red dragon thrall.
Yet vision was already dimming before his eyes, his grip on the longsword slackened, and the wings at his back drooped uncontrollably.
*Thud!*
In the end, merely four or five meters from George, the angel crashed heavily to the ground, kicking up a plume of dust.
Feathers fluttered through the air. Blood poured from Barni's riddled body; his wings twitched feebly twice, and then he went completely still.
The silver longsword from the heavens slipped from his grasp, plummeting downward and burying itself deep into the earth.
This former inquisitor of the Silver Heaven, an exalted angel, had perished at the hands of mortals—and ordinary infantry of the Cinder Empire at that.
"He's finally dead..."
George strode forward, pulled the heavenly blade from the earth with one hand, and hoisted it high into the air.
"Remember, His Majesty Cassius is watching over us! Fight valiantly, and supreme glory will be yours! For the Empire!"
"For the Empire!"
The surrounding soldiers roared in unison, overcome with emotion. Having jointly slain a true angel, fear no longer held any sway over them!
On the distant city wall, Zalan, who was currently establishing defensive spells, witnessed the entire scene with his own eyes.
"Lord Barni..."
Looking at those euphoric mortals, the archmage felt a profound sense of absurdity wash over him once the shock receded—these were clearly mere mortals, so how did they dare kill an inquisitor of the heavens?
Despair began to creep into his heart. An army like this was simply not something an impromptu coalition could overcome.
All he could do was lead his colleagues from the City of Myriad Laws in providing what magical support they could, yet that could not alter the reality of the coalition's steady collapse.
Zalan looked into the distance and saw a massive ogre hovering in midair, clad in a wizard robe that was somewhat too small for him. Those eyes were staring coldly at the human archmage.
Zalan felt an icy chill wash over him. His hair stood on end, his thoughts nearly freezing solid, and his heart sank straight to the abyss.
"A legendary wizard..."
...
"Truly a splendid battle."
Cassius crested the hill, looking down upon the increasingly decisive battlefield. He clapped his front claws together, offering sincere praise.
Once upon a time, the Cinder Legion could only throw its weight around under the shelter of his wings, completely unable to halt legendary beings.
Now, after numerous reorganizations and upgrades, the Cinder Legion fought in tight coordination, boasting terrifying destructive power. Even across the entirety of the Feanso Continent, they were a force that could not be taken lightly.
Artillery thundered ceaselessly, iron behemoths charged across the wasteland, and the corpses of celestial beings and wyverns tumbled from the heavens.
By now, the Cinder Legion had pressed forward step by step, advancing the battle line to within a few hundred meters of Corinth, forcing the tens of thousands of surviving coalition troops to huddle in the cramped positions behind the river.
Looking out over the cratered, devastated earth, Olivia shook her head and let out a sigh filled with sorrow. "Cassius, such warfare is far too cruel, even if... it is waged in pursuit of justice. For the sake of the people of North Aethel, and for this tormented land, please give them a swift end and bring this all to a close."
The silver-haired girl tilted her head back, gazing into the red dragon's pale gold eyes as she pleaded earnestly.
Cassius nodded slightly. Turning his head, he said softly, "You are quite right, Olivia. The Empire needs a prosperous, stable North Aethel to serve as our foundation for establishing a righteous order across all of Feanso, not a shattered ruin. It is time... to bring an end to all of this!"
Cassius swept his broad wings, raising a fierce gale that swept across the land before surging aloft, ascending hundreds of meters into the sky in an instant.
The colossal red dragon threw back his head and let loose a thunderous roar from his throat, a sound that reverberated across North Aethel, as though it would tear the entire world asunder.
*Roar—!*
In an instant, every clamor—be it the whistle of artillery, the rumble of engines, or the wails of dying soldiers—was drowned out by that world-shaking dragon roar.
In that breath, the eyes of every living creature on the battlefield of North Aethel turned to the northern sky.
Chapter 618