Ashen Dragon

Within August City, the Thracians emitted despairing wails, fleeing in all directions, having never witnessed such a sight.

The soldiers of the Ashen Empire stood their ground, merely watching coldly without taking further action, while the devils wisely refrained from provoking these imperial people.

Tierna spread her feathers, soaring into the sky, raising the Judgement Sword high while releasing a blinding golden light, and shouted fiercely, "Devils, return to Hell! This is not the place for you!"

"Swish—"

She swung the longsword, unleashing dozens of sacred rays that fell upon the devils within the city, burning them into ashes amidst their wails.

At that moment, in Tierna's lightly golden eyes, the sun wheel slowly rotated, revealing an endless depth of sorrow, regret, and self-recrimination.

"Lord Aragon..."

In a moment of daze, a vague figure of Aragon the First, tall and majestic, enveloped in light, seemed to appear before Tierna.

Tierna seemed to return to a time ten years ago, when she knelt before the throne in the Holy City, as the old emperor placed the Holy Sword upon her shoulder, demanding that she swear to protect the second prince to the death.

She agreed brightly at the time, determined to protect Lord Wilhelm at all costs.

But now, Tierna had failed, witnessing the king's descent into a hellish monster, watching him be killed by the Red Dragon, powerless to stop it.

Tierna knew she should never have indulged Wilhelm so much, leading him down the wrong path, and even signing a contract with those cunning devils, resulting in such a fate.

Now, she needed redemption.

"For Thrace, Holy Fadlan, eradicate these sinners from Hell!" she called out, waving the Judgement Sword again, a light blade dozens of meters long swiftly flew out, slicing hundreds of devils in half.

"Damn angel!"

"Kill that interfering creature! She's a Divine Duke!"

Hundreds of Hell Puppets flapped their dark wings, surrounding Tierna like a thick cloud.

These creatures, self-proclaimed as "Holy Guards," were currently obeying Hell, helping the devils slaughter the rebels within the city.

"Kill him!"

The leader of the Holy Guards raised his longsword, pointing at the Angel Divine Descendant.

Instantly, hundreds of Hell Puppets swarmed, cooperating from all directions, each blow aimed at the vital points of the Angel Divine Descendant.

"It was you... who harmed Lord Wilhelm, luring him to fall into Hell!"

Two dazzling beams of divine light burst from Tierna's eyes, as she unleashed all her Sun God Power, nearly burning her own body.

"Boom!"

Light beams pierced through the cloud, and soon, a massive fireball appeared high above, incinerating everything within a hundred meters.

Dayev watched as Duke Tierna perished with hundreds of Holy Guards high above, sighed softly, then turned to face the enemy before him.

"Prepare to die!"

Dayev raised the longsword, leaping high, and cleaved the little devil wielding a steel fork in half, causing it to scream before disintegrating into ash and scattering in the air.

But then, several towering, massive Horror Demons emerged around him, shaking their blood-stained thorny chains, encircling the warrior and emitting hoarse laughter.

"Hahaha, stop struggling, mortal, your king has sacrificed this city to Hell!"

"This will become our soul pasture! All of you — will become Lord Zariel's personal property!"

"Not just August, all of Thrace will fall into Hell!" the Horror Demon spread its arms and wings, reveling in people's fear and trembling.

"No... This is August! The land of dawn, where you cannot act recklessly!"

Dayev shook his head constantly, his face marked with sorrow, even revealing a hint of a determinate desire to die deep within his eyes.

He could not simply watch his homeland — once glorious and holy "City of Sunrise" become a hell pasture, nor could he accept his family and friends becoming feasts for the devils.

Yet, faced with the cracked sky and rampaging devils, Dayev felt a sense of hopelessness.

After the war with the empire, only a defeated remnant remained in August City, and more so with Wilhelm's "Holy Guards" obeying Hell.

Even the Divine Duke Tierna, possessing great power, had died under the attacks of the myriad demons.

An ordinary warrior like him was utterly insignificant before the devil army from Hell; how could he save this city, rescue its populace?

Perhaps only a miracle could truly save August.

Wait... a miracle?

Dayev couldn't help but turn his head, gazing at the colossal Red Dragon bathed in light in the distance, thinking of that radiant sun.

A miracle was perhaps just something like this, Dayev thought, a bold idea appearing in his mind.

Perhaps...

Perhaps the Ashen Emperor was the one capable of saving August City, maybe even rescuing the entire Thrace Kingdom.

Thrace soldiers were battling the devil army yet were momentarily frozen — their vertical pupils reflected a cosmic change: lead-gray clouds were burned with golden fissures as if thousands of suns were struggling behind the clouds.

"Boom—"

A loud burst accompanied the tear of Hell's fissure in the Material Plane, the sky dyed into a sulfur-colored vortex, scorched earth spreading from the gap, a searing metallic scent permeating the air.