Dragonfire

"Enemy attack!"

Orhan's body twitched in his sleep as he unconsciously muttered, "Kill them... Kill all of Mahmud II's lackeys!"

Suddenly feeling something warm and wet on his face, he jolted awake from his dream of fierce battle. The moment he opened his eyes, he found himself staring into the round golden eyes of his dragon companion. The vicious Clawed Dragon was licking his face like a puppy.

He froze for a moment. Only when the alarm horn signaling an enemy attack sounded did he spring out of bed. "Holy fire. God above, this isn't a dream—the enemy has really come!"

He smacked the Clawed Dragon hard on the head. "Idiot, didn't I tell you to wake me the instant you heard anything?"

Still cursing, he grabbed a battleaxe and rushed out of the tower.

The telepathically linked Clawed Dragon rolled its eyes and followed behind Orhan.

The long, mournful horn call pierced the curtain of rain and roused the entire city.

Greek soldiers were everywhere, hurriedly donning their armor and returning to their posts.

A bolt of lightning split the sky, briefly restoring light to the darkened world.

Below the city walls, a dense mass of Janissaries surged toward the battlements like a vast ocean. They set crude ladders against the walls, hooked their tops over the bricks, and climbed like tigers.

Looking down at those faces twisted with madness, Orhan could not help but curse. "Damn it, they've taken forbidden drugs!"

The Janissaries' methods of training were an Ottoman secret. They had originated from the Mamluks, yet surpassed them.

But this secret could not be hidden from Orhan, an Ottoman prince. His own guards had been trained by the same method, so he naturally understood just how terrifying Janissaries who had taken forbidden drugs could be.

**"Don't let