Upon the Vonder Continent, mortals might witness countless strange and wondrous changes during their brief lives, but for the defenders of Rune Port, no matter what the past or future held, they would likely never forget everything they saw after noon on this day:
Dark clouds blanketed the horizon, as if a storm were gathering. Yet this storm was no inanimate thing. Hearts pounded powerfully within the dragon beasts' bodies, their heavy breaths mingling with wind, thunder, and flame. Each beat of their sturdy wings seemed to make the entire black sea rise and fall. They were not true dragons, but they bore an equally unparalleled might. Some said that when the Empire's Golden Eagle Knight Order launched a mass charge, the sight was as impassioned and stirring as heaven descending upon the world, while also making their enemies tremble in fear. But at this moment, as the dragon beasts attacked, human cavalry seemed like a drop in the ocean before them. Any trace of valor vanished without a trace.
On the walls of Rune Port, the soldiers atop every tower were doing their utmost to ring the alarm bells, as if they would otherwise be so terrified that they would collapse on the ground, drained of all strength. The clanging warning bells rang through the heavens. On the walls, the port garrison's officers stared at the scene before them, their mouths dry and their legs weak. The last time the dragon beasts had attacked, they had plunged straight into the port from above the clouds, burned all the ships, and left. It had been nowhere near as directly terrifying as today.
Everyone understood that these monsters were charging straight at them. The whole of Rune Port would be reduced to ashes beneath their flames.
At that moment, the sky