Chapter 7: The Altered Course of History
The Mad Dragon's assault today did not catch the Holy Mountain by surprise.
Both sides had been engaged in a grueling back-and-forth struggle in the southern far seas for over a month, probing each other countless times. Now, the Holy Mountain had a detailed understanding of the Mad Dragon Legion's composition, while the Five-Colored Dragon Clan was equally familiar with the layout of the Holy Mountain's defenses.
As the defending side, the Holy Mountain was not particularly anxious. In the underground fortresses, the Church of the Seven Gods had stored enough grain to feed the entire population of the Holy Mountain for over five years. The Mad Dragons, however, were in a different situation. Over the past month, the more than one hundred thousand frenzied wyverns had nearly depleted the fish stocks in the far seas. They had also devoured most of the humans in the fallen territories of the Far South Kingdom as food. If they did not attack now, the entire dragon horde might collapse from starvation in a few days.
Therefore, the members of the Holy Mountain were not panicked by the sudden assault. Instead, they returned to their posts in an orderly fashion, beginning to operate the divine magic arrays and alchemical constructs, preparing to withstand the coming Mad Dragon onslaught.
Wild dragon roars could be heard echoing in the distance. The attacking horde was still in the clouds over a dozen miles away, yet their terrifying pressure was already approaching. But were the members of the Holy Mountain ordinary people who could be intimidated by dragon might? These clergy, originally scattered across the world, were local bishops or knight commanders, at least the heads of a church. Tens of thousands of elites had been summoned back by the Church of the Seven Gods, forming a legion capable of withstanding the dragon calamity.
Dragons and the Church: one hundred thousand wyverns against thirty thousand clergy. Although there were fewer than two thousand true dragons, this confrontation was undoubtedly the first large-scale, high-magic legion battle on the Mycroft Continent. The war between them surpassed all imagination.
Far Sea Holy Mountain. On a hill northwest of the Central Temple District, Joshua stood on a firm rock at a high point, gazing at the sky.
The distant clouds had turned completely pitch black. He could see fierce winds churning the rain and mist, shrouding the entire sky. An unprecedented super typhoon was gradually forming hundreds of kilometers away, and under the influence of the dragons, it was transforming into a terrifying siege weapon, sweeping towards the Holy Mountain.
The colossal waves surging on the sea were several times more powerful than the great waves of the Abyss of Anos from the past. Under the impact of water walls dozens of meters high—truly tsunamis—some islands around the Gray Island of the Holy Mountain were directly shattered by the deafening crashes, triggering one violent small earthquake after another. This was merely the aftershock of the real attack.
Looking down from the sky, one could see a monstrous wave, as massive as a mountain range, surging towards the Gray Island where the Holy Mountain was located, from the northwest sea. This was the combined effort of over a hundred adult Black Dragons, using the typhoon and ocean currents to drive a nation-destroying giant wave. This wave was enough to shatter mountains and mountains, submerge a small country. Its power level far surpassed Gold Ultimate, even exceeding most Legendary spells.
Seeing the sheer force of this wave from afar, even the clergy stationed in various temples and strongholds on the Holy Mountain, despite their confidence in the Church, couldn't help but pale. Unlike dragon might, such terrifying natural disasters were something ordinary people might never witness in a lifetime. Memories deeply rooted in their blood caused them to instinctively feel fear.
But the large-scale composite divine magic array covering the entire Gray Island began to slowly activate. Dozens of solid, platinum-white holy light runes, each over fifty meters in diameter, gradually materialized above the island. They circled in the air, then formed a huge circular halo of light. Countless smaller sacred patterns spread outward from this halo as a center. In an instant, an invisible and sturdy divine magic barrier was activated, covering hundreds of square kilometers of land and sea with a magnificent and beautiful holy light, forming a hemispherical shield.
The magical dark clouds that had originally covered the entire sky of the far seas were instantly dissolved by this holy power. The black clouds retreated in defeat under the impact of the spreading sacred patterns, revealing the azure-blue sky behind them. The long-lost sunlight fell upon the land. From a distance, it looked like a golden pillar of light enveloping the entire Holy Mountain.
This phenomenon was clearly visible even hundreds of kilometers away. Humans still struggling to survive in the fallen territories, the kingdom's army reclaiming lost ground, adventurers, and clergy who hadn't made it to the Holy Mountain in time—even the elves around the Eternal Lake were stirred. A Sage living in seclusion in the Forest of Silence also sensed this unprecedented energy fluctuation and emerged from his demiplane.
The Elven Council, the Insect Hive, the Merchant Alliance—several powers in the south simultaneously halted all their current plans, turning their gaze towards that pillar of light in the far seas.
They knew what it meant.
Far South Coast, Port City of Marda. The general who had led his army to reclaim most of the fallen territories over the past month and a half, and had now arrived at the kingdom's largest former seaport, stood on a watchtower stained with blood and human bone fragments. He stared at the golden pillar of light in the distant sea, his expression complex.
"The Holy Mountain has started..."
He murmured to himself, but his heart was filled with immense shock.
Undoubtedly, a Legendary dragon from the clan had just acted, wielding frost magic to strike the already crumbling divine magic shield. Then, following its pattern, it directly destroyed the shield's core, rendering it unusable for the Church of the Seven Gods in this war.
Seeing the shield shatter, countless wyverns let out excited cries. These dragons, maddened by the Mad Dragon Plague, were filled with nothing but a thirst for battle and bloodlust. Under the control of the Five-Colored Dragons, they surged like a tidal wave in the sky, swarming towards the Holy Mountain.
The roars of tens of thousands of wyverns were enough to shake mountains. The wyverns freely spread their destructive desires across the Gray Island. Clusters of acid and fireballs rained down from the sky, crashing onto the abandoned temples and residential buildings. Flames raged, engulfing these structures and turning them to ash. The golden-red flames, imbued with magic and dragon breath, continued to burn even on steel and rock, turning them red-hot with a terrifying sizzling sound.
In an instant, aside from the Central Temple District around the Holy Mountain, most of the Gray Island was engulfed in a sea of fire and acid mist clouds. Chaotic magic stirred up elemental storms, naturally unleashing various raw evocation spells.
"Perish!"
An angry shout came from the peak of the Holy Mountain. The voice was not loud, but it reached the ears of all living creatures within a radius of dozens of kilometers. Perfectly circular light patterns spread from the high sky, forming concentric rings. In the next moment, space twisted, and magnificent light patterns radiated brilliance, shining upon the countless wyverns wreaking havoc on the Gray Island.
Where the light touched, elements froze, flames extinguished, rising acid mist was purified into pure water, and even air particles and space itself were commanded to freeze. Countless wyverns caught in the light instantly turned to dust, leaving no trace behind.
This was the most common Word of Power: Perish from the clergy's Word of Power spells. Originally a divine spell that could only be cast on a single target and might not even be a guaranteed kill, under the furious strike of Pope Eagle, it simultaneously affected nearly ten thousand wyverns.
If such an attack were repeated a dozen more times, the wyverns besieging the Holy Mountain would be completely annihilated.
Such was the power of the Legendary realm—moving mountains, parting seas, shattering peaks, and destroying cities. Even destroying a country was a matter of a few days. Only with such combat power could one single-handedly support an empire or a church.
The light patterns seemed to want to spread further, but they were blocked by three other forces. Clearly, the three Legendary dragons would not allow Eagle to slaughter their wyverns like this.
"You couldn't hold back, Eagle."
A clanging, metallic dragon speech echoed across the sky. The Legendary dragon who had previously wielded the frost power had struck by surprise, shattering the Holy Mountain's shield, precisely to force Eagle to act.
The subsequent exchange was beyond the perception of ordinary people. After a moment, the light patterns dissipated, and the three forces protecting the dragon horde also vanished. Four points of light rose from the battlefield, ascending into the sky.
For ordinary people and dragons, it was just four points of light flying into the sky. But for someone at the Ultimate-rank like Joshua, it was clear that these four Legendary experts had gone to fight in the void outside the world.
A battle between four Legendary experts who could freely manipulate energy was enough to collapse a portion of the continental shelf at the edge of the far seas. The crustal movement would trigger an earthquake exceeding magnitude nine, and the resulting tsunami would submerge almost all the islands in the far seas of the Mycroft Continent, completely destroying most coastal countries.
Such were the consequences of Legendary experts fighting in the material plane. One was manageable; even if it caused a natural disaster, it would at most affect a city, still within acceptable limits. For example, the Legendary spell Eternal Sun had a power comparable to a large nuclear bomb, capable of turning a city into glass.
But the energy resonance effect caused by multiple Legendary experts fighting would exponentially increase the destructive power. The Legendary battles Joshua had participated in his previous life and the ongoing Battle of the Holy Mountain were prime examples. In the year 853 of the Falling Stars Era, a war involving over six Legendary experts had flattened the Thomas Grand Canyon on the Northwest Plains. A unprecedented earthquake occurred around the Tartarus Plateau, and its aftershocks destroyed five cities and fortresses hundreds of kilometers away. Fortunately, that area was an uninhabited wilderness, and the citizens of the affected cities had already been evacuated, preventing a tragedy.
The hill where Joshua was located was close to the Central Temple District and had not yet been attacked by wyverns. Beside him, Ying and Lin were both eager to join the fray. They tugged at the warrior's sleeve, gazing at their master with expectant eyes.
Beside them, Hei also blinked and said excitedly, "Master, are we going to fight now?"
"No."
Joshua shook his head. He recalled the few words the old Pope had said to him a few days ago. Thinking of this, he couldn't help but reveal a strange smile tinged with schadenfreude. "These ordinary wyverns are no match for us. We have another mission."
In his previous life, Pope Eagle had single-handedly defeated three Legendary dragons. The Ultimate-rank experts of the Holy Mountain had also held back the charge of the dragon horde led by the Ultimate-rank dragons. The Church of the Seven Gods had paid a tremendous price to withstand the Mad Dragon's invasion. The entire war lasted a full two weeks. The first week was a simple war of attrition, and the following eight days and nights were a bitter struggle between the experts.
But in this life... the forces gathered on the Holy Mountain were originally greater than in the previous life. And because the Dragon Calamity had appeared a year early, it was not as unstoppable as it had been in the previous life, having accumulated power for so long. Comparing the two, the Five-Colored Dragon Clan could not afford to rely on wyverns to wear down the clergy's strength. They had to act decisively, forcing Eagle into a decisive battle with them.
Of course, the most important thing was not this... In his previous life, Pope Eagle facing three Legendary dragons alone and emerging victorious was certainly legendary, but it was also undeniably dangerous. He hadn't even killed them. But now, things were different.
This world always had some pleasantly surprising changes.
Void outside the world.
The battlefield of Legendary experts was never in the material world. To unleash their full power, they preferred to fight in demiplanes or the outer void.
Following Eagle's trail, the three Legendary dragons broke through the world's barrier and entered the outer void.
These three Legendary dragons were a White Dragon, a Black Dragon, and a Blue Dragon. Their bodies were not particularly large, just like ordinary dragons, but their scales and bodies seemed forged from Orichalcum, indestructible. Energy fluctuations capable of rippling spacetime swirled around them.
They were [Frost Lord Bonal], [Abyssal Sea Dragon Keano], and [Unceasing Wind Rytia], the patriarchs protecting the White Dragon, Black Dragon, and Blue Dragon clans. As for the Red Dragon Lord and the Green Dragon Lord, one was wandering through various elemental planes, and the other was lost in a spacetime rift. Neither had returned to the material world for seven hundred years.
The three Legendary dragons, who had originally planned to surround Eagle as soon as they arrived in the void, sensed an ominous aura the moment they broke through the world barrier. They looked up and then stared in shock at the old Pope's side.
Beside the white-haired old man were a man and a woman. Seeing that they could move freely in the void, they were undoubtedly also Legendary experts.
The male Legendary expert had dark golden hair. He wore a cloak made of Red Dragon hide and carried a sky-piercing dragon lance several times the length of a person. He was chatting casually with Eagle.
The female Legendary expert had a pair of distinctly pointed ears. She was dressed simply and crudely, as if made from bark and grass blades. Beside her, even in the void, came the fragrance of grass and trees, and faint illusions of flowers and plants appeared around her.
"Israel, I thought you would send your dragon."
Eagle squinted slightly, watching the three Legendary dragons across from him, who were on high alert. He showed no signs of tension, speaking calmly as he chatted with the dark-golden-haired Dragon Knight. "I didn't expect you to come and help in person. I'm surprised."
"You're the one who surprises me. You even managed to invite the Nature Mentor of the Elven Clan. How much did you have to give away?"
"Just promised to help them find the Father of Nature, that's all."
The Dragon Knight, who was not riding a dragon, swung his long spear. He exchanged a glance with the elven woman, then looked at the three Legendary dragons on the other side, who were on edge, and nodded slightly. "What, just these three dragons?"
"That's right. It seems they are quite surprised."
Of course, they were surprised.
So surprised they couldn't speak.
How many Legendary experts did humanity have? The Lord of the Northern Empire, the Sky Dragon Knight Israel, and the mentor of the Elven Clan's Archdruids had actually been invited by the Church of the Seven Gods, with whom they usually had a poor relationship. On an ordinary day, the Legendary dragons would have thrown any dragon who said such a thing into a lava bath.
But now, this laughable scene had become reality. Bonal, Keano, and Rytia were filled with the gravity of being ambushed and trapped, as well as anger at the enemy's casual disregard for them.
—Just three people? Did they really think they had this in the bag?!
A silent, dangerous atmosphere spread among the three humans and three dragons.
The battle was about to begin.