In the North Ijssel Plain, the city of Saint Theo is the second largest city in the divided duchy. It is named after Saint Theo of the former Amaunator this time, the sky was exceptionally clear and cloudless, but people's hearts seemed to be shrouded in a thick haze.
To everyone's surprise, in just a few days, the Burning Empire broke through their defenses with overwhelming force.
Those daunting steel behemoths roared on the land, flying dragons howled in the sky, and the frenzy of artillery fire left the earth riddled with holes. In such a situation, the remaining soldiers fled to the city to seek refuge.
On the towering walls of Sansio City, a man wearing bright silver armor and with white wings on his back said angrily: "An army of tens of thousands of people was wiped out in three days!
Amaunator in the sky, we are the brave and warlike Faldrans! Even if we release 50,000 lambs, we still cannot catch them all in three days!"
He is Karen Ferguson, a close confidant of Duke Walter who followed him in the uprising, and also a divine marquis stationed in the city of Sansio.
These divine nobles were sent by Duke Walter to garrison in various cities, while Duke Walter himself stayed in the city of Collins to face the most violent attack from the Burning Empire.
But no one expected that before they had set up a complete defense line, the Burning Empire had already launched a surprise attack, and the speed of advancement was incredibly fast.
“Lord Karen, you don’t have to be so pessimistic, we haven’t lost yet.
The key to victory or defeat is not those insignificant ordinary soldiers, but the descendants of gods like you, and the powerful beings who stand at the top of the material world invited by Lord Walter. "
A man in a white robe and holding a scepter appeared beside Karen. His name was Zalan Alvis, and he was the reinforcement sent by the City of All Laws.
He raised his silver scepter, and the image of the Burning Legion crushing Aesir's soldiers appeared before him.
"The army of the Burning Embers Empire is more brutal than I imagined. I didn't expect that such a force would emerge in just a dozen years."
Karen looked into the distance, worried: "More than a hundred years ago, the Fadlan Empire also rose suddenly with the support of His Majesty Amaunator. I am worried..."
"Om-"
There was a sudden piercing scream above his head, coming from far away and rudely interrupting his words.
Karen and Zalan couldn't help but look up at the sky, and the people in the city also looked up with puzzled expressions.
"Did you hear that? What was that sound?"
"Amaunator bless you."
"Could it be the army of the Burning Empire? But why is this sound coming from the sky?"
Suddenly, a row of black dots appeared in the distant sky. They cut through the sky with a low roar and were getting closer and closer to the city of Sansio.
And Karen used his golden pupils filled with divine power to see clearly the uninvited guests in the sky - they were a group of wyverns!
This group of strange flying dragons have broad wings made of steel, with black metal ellipses tied under their claws and half-dragon knights on their backs.
They flew across the sky at a rapid speed, tearing the air with their steel wings, leaving white streaks on the blue sky, and the target of this group of flying dragons was the city of Sansio.
"Enemy attack!"
Karen flapped his wings, flew into the air, drew the golden sword from his waist and raised it high.
"Crossbowmen, take your positions and shoot these flying dragons down!"
The soldiers hurriedly operated the crossbows on the city wall and pulled their bows and arrows, but it was too late.
With the blessing of special rigid wings, this group of two-legged flying dragons can glide at an extremely terrifying speed, and can be called dragon-shaped "bombers". They arrive above the city of Sansio in a flash.
Their shadows stretched long on the ground, like a harbinger of death, making people feel chilled.
In the city of Sansio, men, women and children all raised their heads with difficulty, focused their eyes on those ghostly figures, and couldn't help but exclaim.
"This, what on earth is this?"
"What do they want to do?"
These people who had never experienced the war of the new era could not anticipate what was about to happen - they just looked up at the sky in fear and surprise.
The players on the dragon's back laughed wildly and cheered excitedly.
"I'll treat you to a barbecue!"
"Eat my bomb!"
The dragon riders pressed the bomb buttons without hesitation, and bombs fell from the dragon's claws one after another.
"Whoosh-"
The shrill screams echoed over the city of Theo, like the howl of death, making people feel terrified.
A series of bombs drew arcs of death, carrying the power of destruction, and fell towards the city of Sansio like black raindrops.
"boom!"
In an instant, there was a deafening explosion and fierce flames shot up into the sky.
The city of Theo was filled with smoke and dust, and everything around seemed blurred under the light of the fire.
Houses shook and finally collapsed in the explosion, raising countless rubble and debris, burying many citizens in the rubble.
The statue of Saint Theo in the square was blown to pieces, flames spread on the ground, and thick smoke enveloped the city.
"Gods"
"Help me! I'm trapped under the stone slab!"
"Ah! My arm!"
"Amaunator, please, please work a miracle and save my child—"
People on the streets were panicked, running around in a panic.
The people caught in the explosion were charred all over. The luckier ones lost their arms and legs and wailed in pain, while the unlucky ones were no longer recognizable as human beings.
There was also a mother holding the charred remains of her child, kneeling on the ground in despair, crying loudly.
At this moment, under this ruthless bombing, life seems so fragile, and the pungent smoke and the breath of death permeate every corner.
People cried, screamed, wailed, and prayed to the gods they believed in, hoping for a miracle to happen, but nothing worked.
The dragon group - more precisely, the Burning Empire's air force regiment, after completing its bombing mission, quickly rose to a higher altitude and disappeared into the distant sky, leaving behind only a burning ruin, as well as endless death and sorrow.
Karen hovered in the air, flapping his wings, overlooking the citizens of Sansio who were struggling and crying in the ruins, grief and anger revealed in his golden pupils.
"Damned Burning Empire, I will make you pay the price."
Then he ordered his soldiers to go to various parts of the city to rescue the affected people and calm their emotions.
As the citizens were completely unprepared and had no experience in how to deal with the situation, the bombing directly caused the deaths of thousands of people and the collapse of countless buildings.
More importantly, it caused a psychological trauma in the hearts of the citizens that far exceeded the number of deaths, making them lose their sense of security in the city and their confidence collapsed - just like the collapsed statue of St. Theo.
"Gods"
“It, they will come back.”
Pessimistic voices like these filled the city. People even heard an illusory buzzing sound in their ears, which made them flee subconsciously. The order in the city was in chaos.
Karen returned to the tower and asked seriously, "Zalan, do you have any way to deal with this kind of attack?"
Zalan smiled bitterly, but did not respond directly. He just said: "A scholar once said this - the Burning Empire will change the form of war, which will make war more efficient and bloody.
We thought it was alarmist, but the reality was actually pretty much the same as what he said.”
Karen sighed, looked at the ruins all over the city, and said, "If this continues, Sansio City will not be able to hold on."
Zalan thought for a moment and said, “Sir, you should send people to move the people to a more solid fortress, or let them stay in their basements to prevent explosions.
In addition, my colleagues in the City of Magic and I can weave a temporary magic net to stop those bombs in mid-air."
Karen raised his sword, waved the wings behind him, and flew into the air. He said fiercely: "If those filthy monsters appear again, I will kill them all."
Zalan and several mages in white robes raised their scepters and chanted spells. Flashing lights appeared above the city of Sansio. Glowing silk threads intertwined and gradually weaved a large shimmering net, covering the entire city of Sansio.
The people either hid in the basements or in the sturdy Amaunator Church, praying constantly and asking for the protection of the gods.
At this moment, the ground began to tremble slightly, a dull sound came from a distance, dust, broken tiles and stones fell from the ceiling, causing people to crowd together in panic again, trembling and feeling terrified.
"boom--"
Karen flapped his wings and flew to the towering city wall again. Looking outside the city, a solemn expression appeared on his fair face, and he muttered to himself:
"Damn the Burning Empire..."
On the distant horizon, thick gray-black smoke was rolling in, almost obscuring the sun in the sky. Steel monsters as big as mountains were roaring and roaring, moving quickly towards the direction of Sansio City.
Soon after, chariots loaded with giant artillery, guns and imperial soldiers appeared behind the steam tanks. They were also moving at an extremely fast speed. The rotating tires kicked up clouds of dust and left messy ruts.
Some of the cars were equipped with speakers, from which came majestic and grand music and a sonorous voice: "We are the army of the Burning Empire, the followers of the supreme and invincible Burning Emperor - His Majesty Cassius. We are here to save the people of North Ethel and create a more fair and reasonable world.
People of Ethel, those nobles of the gods have been fighting endlessly for their own selfish desires and have treated you as worthless, but you should not suffer the disaster for this. I urge you to see the situation clearly and surrender as soon as possible, otherwise you will face greater disaster.
The Empire does not promise to give you immediate safety, but it can guarantee that your lives will no longer be threatened, provided that you choose to surrender and submit to His Majesty Cassius! "
This sound spread throughout the city of Sansio. The people hiding in the basements and crowded in the church had different expressions. Some were trembling, some were cursing, and some had subtle expressions...
"here we go again……"
"The army of the Burning Embers Empire is coming again. I don't want to go through that kind of horror again in my lifetime."
"Surrender. If you surrender..."
On the towering wall of Sansio, Karen's hand holding the sword trembled violently, and his perfect face became a little hideous. He swung the sword in the air angrily and let out a low roar.
"Shameless! Extremely shameless!"
"These barbarians from the north are clearly confusing right and wrong! We are the protectors of North Ethel and the true successors of Fadlan, and they are just lowly dragon followers and tyrannical and shameless invaders!"
The piercing screams and roars were heard again in the distant sky. The group of dragons that brought disaster were seen hovering over the Imperial Army, waiting for the next attack.
"Those things again!"
"O Eternal Amaunator... please save us!"
When the people of Sansio heard the death-like wails, they instantly recalled the nightmare they had not long ago. They felt their hair stand on end and were terrified. Some even collapsed and knelt on the ground, fainting on the spot.
Karen raised his sword high in the air and said to the people in Sansio: "Everyone, don't panic, don't be afraid, and don't listen to their instigation. We are the Fadlans! The darlings of the sun!
As a descendant of God, Duke Walter will protect you, and I will protect you too. Victory is in the near future, and we will drive these brutal dragon followers out of North Ethel—"
"boom!"
The explosion was deafening and echoed through the sky.
I saw the tanks suddenly opened fire thousands of meters away. The shells drew graceful arcs in the air and hit the tall and thick walls of Sansio City, causing the entire wall to shake and countless pieces of rubble to fall.
The magic circle carved in the city wall suddenly lit up, creating a flickering barrier on the surface of the wall. With slight ripples and flashes of light, the barrier actually withstood the explosion, leaving the city wall intact.
Karen was furious and pointed his sword into the distance: "Damn it, shoot those iron lumps through for me!"
The extraordinary soldiers on the city wall used all their strength to turn the wheel rapidly, pulling the Apollo Crossbow to its full pull. Giant arrows as thick as arms lay on the crossbow rack, and the three pairs of nearly six-meter-long bow arms bent backwards, accumulating terrible kinetic energy.
"Fire arrows!"
"Whoosh-"
In an instant, several giant arrows dragging the sun's rays pierced the air, piercing through the sky like a long white rainbow, forming arcs of light in the sky, and flew towards the steam tank a thousand meters away.
These Sun God crossbows were once the weapons used by the Fadlan Empire to hunt dragons and giants. They possess terrifying power and a range of up to two thousand meters, enough to make an adult red dragon fall from the sky.
"boom!"
Along with the sound of whistling wind, a giant arrow dragging with it, like a divine punishment dropped from the sky, instantly pierced through a steam tank, creating a violent explosion and turning the steel behemoth into burning wreckage.
However, this weapon is powerful and extremely precious, requiring the high priest of the Church of Amaunator to personally draw the magic circle.
Looking at the entire city of Sansio, there are only 25 Apollo Crossbows, and what they are about to face is a firepower frenzy consisting of more than 100 steam tanks, 200 heavy artillery and 300 bombing dragons. (End of this chapter)
