Chapter 35: The Black Curtain Forces Appear
The celestial monsters, terrifying entities that suddenly appeared on the continent of Ilgna two hundred and forty-five years ago.
They descended like meteors and meteorites, accompanied by ten enormous magical formations that covered the sky like halos. In the early days of their arrival, due to their meteor-like appearance, they were reverently called the Star People by all elves, who even planned to make them objects of worship.
But the facts proved this name to be far too mistaken.
These monsters, without blood or tears, who took pleasure in slaughter, resembled humanoid puppets or ferocious beasts made of gray rock. They had extremely hard shells with a certain degree of magic resistance. In the early days of their descent, they truly were like huge meteorites, but after their surface cooled, these monsters, later called Stone Demons by the elves, would begin to move and hunt all living creatures of flesh and blood.
Back then, in the first week of their arrival, over five hundred thousand people were killed by these celestial monsters. Due to the passage of time, no existing records serve as evidence, but the academic community believes this number can only be higher, not lower, as the ruins of several cities and a large number of bones prove the credibility of this speculation.
The attacks of these celestial monsters further pushed the last elven dynasty into a desperate corner. Years later, continuous rebel armies and the newly born Gulf Federation finally overthrew it completely, but the threat of the Stone Demons was not resolved; in fact, it grew even more intense.
"Oh heavens, this number!"
Looking at the sky, the garrison soldiers in the city couldn't help but draw in a cold breath. One person murmured: "It's a legion-level invasion! Mother Tree above, this time a whole army of monsters is descending! Even more than last time at Cold Wind Valley!"
The soldiers chosen to deal with the Volcano Dragon incident were mostly veterans. They naturally knew about the Battle of Cold Wind Valley three years ago, and many had even participated in it personally. That invasion nearly destroyed a large fortress city of the Federation. Even so, over a hundred thousand lives were lost, and hundreds of miles around were turned into scorched ruins. Everyone couldn't help but shiver.
The command center was also in chaos. On their light screens, the sky above Babel Province was ablaze with firelight, countless meteors falling like rain, dragging red trails through the air.
"Thank goodness we evacuated the civilians beforehand..."
A certain commander found solace in misery. Staring at the red light screen before him, though his mood was as bad as if he had eaten shit, he still shook his head with a bitter smile: "Otherwise, this celebration would really have killed hundreds of thousands, even millions of people."
Meanwhile, in the distant technical department research institute, countless technicians were urgently calculating the meteor trajectories, finally reaching a shocking conclusion: "Thirty percent of the Stone Demons will land around the capital of Babel Province. The shockwaves and explosions will destroy a third of the buildings!"
"Estimated economic loss: nineteen million Gold Tala. Death toll over one hundred and twenty thousand... Thank goodness most of the civilians have entered shelters, otherwise it would at least double."
No one thought about how to stop it, because with the current technological capabilities of the Gulf Federation, they were powerless to effectively intercept anything in the sky. The newly developed airships could only perform ground suppression missions. Everything had to wait until the Stone Demons fell to the earth.
In the capital, the original troops were prepared for the impact, and the civilians were speeding up their entry into surrounding basements and houses. The shelters were too far away; they could only find some place to barely cope.
In just a few breaths, the world seemed like doomsday had arrived, panic spreading.
"Normin, don't stay there!"
In the shadow of the Dragon Horse's massive body, an elven couple was shouting loudly for their child. They eagerly hoped the boy standing by the giant beast's claws would come over quickly and hide with them in the surrounding basement.
But the boy named Normin hesitated for a moment, looking at Black who was gazing up at the sky. After a pause, he said, "Okay, I'm coming!"
With that, he turned around, reluctantly touched the Dragon Horse's huge claw, and said regretfully: "So warm... Horse, you must be careful. The meteors in the sky are scary. Don't get hurt."
The boy had always thought the giant beast before him was a horse, just like the one his grandfather back home often rode. He didn't understand dragons or anything; it was definitely a horse, just a bit big!
After speaking, Normin quickly ran towards his parents who had come to meet him, and was then neatly picked up by his father, tucked under his arm.
"Roar..."
When the boy and his parents had completely entered the basement of the surrounding building for shelter, Black let out a low growl, then focused on the sky.
In the sky, layers of clouds were parted and scattered. Meteorites fell with the force of destruction, the high heavens dyed red by firelight, a blood-like color covering the firmament.
So thick, this aura of Chaos... Is it the enemy of my master?
The Dragon Horse thought somewhat nostalgically. The last time it encountered this aura was during the Black Tide years ago. Back then, it was just an ordinary warhorse with a trace of Ground Dragon bloodline. When its master fought with full force, it couldn't even withstand the recoil.
Although it had little intelligence then, the feelings of humiliation and unwillingness still lingered to this day. It was the pain of betraying its master's trust and its own powerlessness, which was why it had tried its utmost to awaken a stronger bloodline.
So, things were different now.
Running, it arrived at the central square. The empty square was filled with toppled banners and tables and chairs, personal belongings thrown away by countless people fleeing in panic. Black stood in the very center of this wide area. It let out a low roar and closed its golden dragon eyes. The ancient bloodline from before time immemorial was boiling within its body, eager to burn all enemies to ashes.
Thus, crimson streams of light began to emerge around the giant dragon beast's body. Patterns like flowing lava appeared in its black carapace, pulsing with powerful pressure between light and dark.
Originating from within Black, fire elements so hot and thick they seemed to solidify took form from the atmosphere. They turned into layers of fire clouds surrounding it. Dark red arcs of electricity continuously shot out from these clouds, bringing rolling fierce winds. Temperatures high enough to melt steel and boil rivers instantly turned everything in the square to ashes.
A great fire blazed, as if a star had fallen to earth.
"Warning! High-energy reaction detected in the central square! Repeat, high-energy reaction detected in the central square!"
"Is it the Volcano Dragon? What does it want to do..."
Suddenly, urgent and piercing alarm sirens sounded in all command rooms monitoring the falling stars in the sky. They stared in shock at the various data rapidly climbing on the light screens: "Twenty thousand, thirty thousand, forty thousand... Energy level eighty-three thousand? Still rising rapidly?!"
"Incredible, this kind of energy!"
"Temperature unmeasurable, magical formation overloaded and damaged?!"
"What kind of monster is this?!"
"Wait!"
A researcher seemed to notice something. He looked intently at the light screen, then said in shock: "It's preparing to attack the Stone Demons' falling stars?!"
Heat waves swept through the entire city. Intense firelight, like the sun, illuminated everything. In just a few seconds, the wide square turned into a pool of lava. The golden-red light could no longer be looked at directly. One by one, the observation formations scattered around collapsed due to violent elemental fluctuations, leaving only a few of the most complex and powerful formations to witness what happened next.
The meteors from beyond the heavens howled as they fell to earth. It was a force that no city wall could stop. The aura of Chaos spread, seeming to destroy everything.
And on the ground, amidst the intense firelight and elemental clouds, a high-pitched dragon roar rang out. The sound was filled with ancient majesty, disgust for Chaos, and anticipation for battle. Under the stunned gazes of all the garrison soldiers, the sheltering civilians, and the High Commander and researchers still observing, three points of light lit up in the fire clouds: a pair of golden dragon pupils and a dazzling core. The chest of the giant Dragon Horse gathered light as bright as the sun. The golden core seemed to be boiling. The descendant of the ancient dragon used its full power for the first time.
"ROOOOOOOOOAR——————"
Accompanied by the dragon roar, a pillar of light, for which no other adjective besides bright and dazzling could be found, rose from the center of the city, shooting straight into the sky. In an instant, it struck a falling meteorite.
Then, a sound ten times louder than thunder appeared in the high sky above Babel Province.
The clouds in the sky were instantly swept away. The red light in the firmament was completely overwhelmed. Only a pure, thorough golden-white could be seen in the observation formations. After this, everyone was shocked to discover that dozens, nearly a hundred, or even more meteorites in the original direction had completely disappeared. The sky was blank, nothing left.
"St... Stone Demon meteorites eliminated by thirty-seven percent. All Stone Demons expected to fall on the capital of Babel Province are completely annihilated!"
"That attack just now had an energy level exceeding one hundred and fifty thousand, equivalent to ten ultra-large Mana Cores operating at full load. Is this really a living being?!"
And the High Commander, in his airship office, stared at this scene. Even though the blinding light came in waves, he did not close his eyes.
"Thank goodness..."
His hands trembling slightly, the red-haired elf took out a pack of cigarettes from his pocket. This was a cigarette-shaped stimulant made from Awakening Herb. Since Urken had started feeling physically inadequate five years ago, he had been using this product to stay alert in situations like this.
Taking a deep drag, Urken closed his eyes and calmed down a little. Only then did he realize that his whole body was soaked in cold sweat. The past ten-plus seconds were probably the most thrilling moment of his life, on par with seventy years ago, when, as the leader of the rebel army that overthrew the last elven dynasty, he was assassinated at home by five Shadow Assassins.
"Even if it really was the one that triggered the volcano, we'd better do nothing..." Blowing out a ring of smoke, he muttered to himself: "And besides, it might not even be it."
"Thank goodness... we were cautious and didn't attack."
Beside him, Director Laura said in a tone with a slight tremor. He was almost completely slumped now, with only one hand clinging to the armrest of the chair to maintain his sitting posture. Although his image was embarrassing, this silver-haired, purple-eyed director of the Biological Research Institute was very grateful: "If that attack had hit the city instead of the sky..."
He didn't continue the rest of the sentence, because everyone knew the consequences. It was a loss that no elf, no city could bear.
In the center of the square, Black was breathing heavily.
The thick fog of fire elements gradually dissipated. The lava patterns on the Dragon Horse's black carapace were slowly fading, and the golden core on its chest had dimmed slightly.
Even with the ancient dragon bloodline of Gold High-rank, unleashing such an attack exceeded its limits. This was also because it was its first time attacking since advancing. Black couldn't control the limit of its power and could only pour out all its strength at once, leaving no reserve.
But it seemed the effect was pretty good. This kind of power should be able to help its master.
Looking up at the high sky, the Dragon Horse nodded. Although some meteorites were still falling, they weren't landing in the direction of the city. For Black, who had been taught to protect the city, this was enough.
In the square, because the surging high-temperature fire elements had lost their support, the lava was rapidly solidifying. A large amount of heat was being recovered by Black. But at this moment, it strangely noticed that the elements in the atmosphere were abnormally thin.
—This wasn't quite normal.
Black couldn't help but be puzzled. It remembered that when it was at Sigma Volcano, it had felt very thick elements, almost exactly the same as the Great Aias Volcano, even slightly higher. This proved that the elemental concentration and energy level of the two worlds should be equivalent. It was precisely because of this that it could quickly absorb power and grow stronger there.
But now... the elements in the air seemed to be being drained by something, slowly dissipating bit by bit. As an ancient dragon bloodline, the Dragon Horse's sensitivity to elements far surpassed most living beings. Elves couldn't compare to it at all; only pure energy lifeforms could match it. It could be certain that the elements in the atmosphere were slowly dissipating. If they dissipated at this rate, this world might become a forbidden zone for magic in a few decades, with only Rune Formations using Magic Crystal energy or the world's own power able to function.
And it could also be sure that this world's energy level was originally close to the Mycroft Continent, only becoming what it was now due to years of dissipation.
Of course, Black didn't care about this, but now it couldn't quickly recover its stamina because of it. Feeling very angry, it let out a low growl. It felt a slight dizziness in its brain, and waves of weakness surged through its body that was never supposed to tire.
Beasts like Magical Beasts and dragons, because they were too powerful, were also constrained by the environment. Black slowly lay down, coiling its body like a dragon in the center of the square.
It now felt it urgently needed rest, at least enough to recover the stamina to move.
In the research institute, discussions arose.
"Is it a bit tired?"
"Definitely. The peak energy level of that attack just now exceeded one hundred thousand. Even a real biological volcano would need to hibernate for a while."
"So, should we take this opportunity..."
A researcher thought for a moment, then said hesitantly: "To..."
But the rest of his words were immediately choked back, because the entire research institute, over a dozen people, stared at him in silence, as if looking at an idiot.
"Are you stupid?"
Immediately, merciless reprimands came flooding in: "It's the greatest fortune that it didn't attack us. What do you want to do?"
"It just destroyed the Stone Demons' meteorites, and in an extremely intense way. This proves it is opposed to the Stone Demons. The enemy of my enemy is my friend. Don't you understand that?"
"Mother Tree above, let me put it this way: apart from a few weapons currently in secret development, almost all other active equipment in the Federation is virtually incapable of harming the Volcano Dragon. Don't even think about any extra ideas."
In the center of the square, Black, who was being discussed by everyone, completely closed its golden dragon eyes and fell into slumber.
But at the same time, a vast will, as if it were the incarnation of the earth, the great will of the origin of life, also arrived here due to the violent energy fluctuations that had never appeared in this world before.
"This is..."
In the void, the vast will slowly observed the Dragon Horse's body: "The bloodline of the Black Flame Dragon... The descendant of the Deep Sea Volcano, the fire within the water, how did it appear in this world..."
It seemed somewhat puzzled: "Over a thousand years, since I left, I have received no news from home... Where did it come from?"
Although it couldn't figure out the reason, encountering a familiar existence made this will very happy: "The elemental concentration in the atmosphere is too low, causing physical discomfort? This is my fault... Then I shall grant you power."
With a single thought from this will, incredibly thick elements appeared around Black. The Dragon Horse was immediately startled awake. It looked around in surprise. The light of magic and elements surrounded it like a rainbow. This was elemental force even denser than in the Sigma Volcano.
—What happened?
Although it didn't know exactly what was going on, Black was still a horse—or a dragon—anyway, it never dwelled on such trivial matters. It happily absorbed these elements to recover its stamina.
—But, these elements seemed to carry a faint scent of grass and trees?
In just a few breaths, Black recovered its basic stamina. The golden core on its chest also regained its original brightness. The researchers in the institute watching this scene became even more grateful that they hadn't done anything earlier. With this recovery speed, they probably couldn't even drive a cart over before the other party had already returned to full strength.
The great will watched this scene, then slowly disappeared into the void.
It also needed to hibernate. The severe injuries from a thousand years ago had still not healed. Making an exception to appear once to see a familiar existence was already extraordinary. It might take a long time before it appeared in this world again.
And the ten-ringed halo formation slowly rotating in the sky, covering the entire firmament, gradually faded behind the dome of heaven. Its appearance and disappearance were equally mysterious, without any sound or omen.
The matter of the Ilgna world was temporarily settled. And on the Mycroft Continent, in the Northern Empire, the Three Mountains Holy City.
Joshua and Brandon had already arrived together at the very center of the inner city, the royal residence, before the Morlai Palace.