Clouds of War

The Embers of the Burned Empire.

In the southeastern part of the Anzeta Great Wasteland lies Hekto City ".

At four in the morning, the conveyor belts on the assembly line made a regular clicking sound. The huge machines, like giant beasts gnawing at steel, chewed up the female workers' breaths into a uniform rhythm.

"Two hundred and twenty-seven, two hundred and twenty-eight"

As the female worker Ailin counted the two hundred and thirtieth bullet casing, it slid across her palm, the copper shavings embedded in her fingernails gleaming faintly under the gaslight.

When she put her cracked thumb in her mouth, she tasted the rusty flavor of bullet lubricant mixed with blood. She knew her finger was bleeding, but she couldn't stop for a moment.

"Bang! Bang! Bang!"

Amid the roar of the steam hammers, the factory director yelled at the top of his lungs, "We must complete the targets set by the higher-ups before dawn! Remember, we are contributing to the Empire!"

The more bullets we produce, the more land our soldiers on the front lines can conquer, and the more the Embers of the Burned Empire can advance towards His Majesty's Great Blueprint!

"For the Empire!"

Several young workers raised their hands and shouted in hoarse voices, their tired eyes revealing an undisguised excitement.

The factory manager nodded in satisfaction and said, "Very good. Keep it clean. The factory is like a battlefield; you are fighting for the empire!"

Ailin also wanted to be like those young workers, to try her best to prove herself and gain the factory manager's appreciation.

But Ailin was too tired. The work on the assembly line had taken over her mind, leaving her unable to listen to anything and only able to numbly repeat the actions—and many other workers were like her.

Steam pipes wove a spiderweb-like cage overhead, and condensate mixed with machine tool cutting fluid dripped into the back of the neck, staining the collar of the work clothes with a moldy, bluish-black color.

Every five seconds, a 7.92mm rifle bullet would slide into a pine box at the end of the conveyor belt, with the words "Southern Lands Special Supply" painted in striking black on the lid.

The so-called Southern Lands refers to the vast region south of the Anzeta Great Wasteland. Almost everyone in the Imperial People knows that the Southern Lands is a rich land flowing with milk and honey, possessing endless possibilities.

Merchants could dump their goods there, resell them back and forth, and make mountains of Gold Coin, while soldiers could fight hard there, earn military merits, and become high-ranking Dragon Blood Noble. But unfortunately, Ailin was just a woman with a meager family background, without the financial resources to do business or the strength to go to the battlefield.

Several years ago, Ailin's husband died in the Abyss War. Although she had no war merits, she received a generous pension. Although she did not work, she was able to support her two children.

But the good times didn't last long. The war in North Aisel intensified, and large numbers of personnel, food, and equipment were transferred to the south. Prices in the Empire soared, and Ailin's life became increasingly difficult and unsustainable.

To continue supporting her two children, Ailin answered the Empire's call and entered the factory, becoming a proud female worker who earned five Silver Coin a month.

"Three hundred and seven, three hundred and eight," Ailin counted silently, watching the bullets pass through the conveyor belt.

She knew that the empire was about to launch another war.

As a female factory worker, she was particularly aware of this, because urgent orders in ammunition factories were often a harbinger of impending war.

While in Hekto City, Ailin always received good news from the front lines through newspapers and radio broadcasts, learning that the Empire had successively occupied North Aisel, the Shield Dwarf Plateau, and the Ugo Great Prairie.

As Imperial People, she often felt a deep sense of pride and joy, but she also occasionally wondered—when would the wars end? Ever since His Your Majesty Keosius led his troops south in search of "land under the sun," a series of wars had been like the north wind of Anzeta, endless and seemingly never-ending.

"Ailin, what are you doing! You've let deformed bullets appear in the box!"

The foreman's stern voice came from behind, interrupting Ailin's unintentional thoughts and causing her to break out in a cold sweat. She quickly responded.

"I'm sorry, sir."

The foreman picked up the deformed bullet from the box and said coldly, "You shouldn't apologize to me, but to the entire factory. Didn't you know that there was going to be a military quality inspection? If I hadn't discovered it in advance, the entire Thirteenth Factory would have been punished, and everyone would have been disgraced!"

"Sorry"

Ailin's fingers trembled as she picked through the bullets, and she seemed flustered and at a loss.

The foreman glanced at her, his tone softening slightly. "Alright, get back to work and stop thinking nonsense. This time, I'm deducting one Silver Ginar from your salary. Don't let it happen again."

"Yes, sir."

Ailin lowered her head and responded listlessly.

A fine of one Silver Ginar may not seem like much, but it takes her several days of hard work to earn it.

Next month, we'll have to live frugally again.

"That son of a bitch, the conveyor belt is stuck again!" Martha at workstation number thirty-seven suddenly screamed. Ailin watched as the half-finished warheads piled up into a small mountain at the seam of the conveyor belt, and the brass avalanche buried Martha's rubber shoes in the blink of an eye.

When the sound of the foreman's leather boots echoed down the iron stairs, all the female workers tensed up again, their necks glistening with sweat.

"Damn idiot!"

Amidst the foreman's angry shouts, the new girl Sophia, sat down next to her, a half-read banned book peeking out of her overalls pocket. She whispered, "Because the machines can't detect duds, but starving female workers can."

Ailin stared at the bruises on the girl's wrist and said nothing more.

"When--"

Just then, a loud bell rang from afar, startling the workers on the assembly line and making the factory somewhat noisy.

"What happened?"

"It's the bronze bell in the square, which only rings on important occasions, such as Coronation Day and Christmas Day!"

"But there's no holiday today!"

"That means something big is about to happen! Could it be—"

Listening to her coworkers' discussions, Ailin had a rough idea of what was going to happen next, and she couldn't help but recall some sad memories.

The last time the bell rang outside of a holiday was two years ago, when His Your Majesty Keosius personally delivered a speech, appearing as a massive Magic Image above the city to declare war on the Abyssal Devil.

Shortly after that speech, her husband disappeared without a trace—until Ailin learned that he had been devoured by the devil.

Ailin felt a pang of sadness at her husband's death, but also a deep sense of pride. After all, her husband had died in battle against demons, a hero who sacrificed himself to protect the people of the empire.

Just then, the crisp sound of leather boots clapping on the ground rang out. The factory manager strode into the factory, clapped his hands, and said, "Alright, we can stop production now! There's something important to announce from above today. Everyone gets half a day off and goes to the city square to assemble."

"Very good!"

"I've been working for eleven days straight, finally I can take a break!"

The workers were overjoyed to hear the news, and Ailin was no exception. She hadn't had a break in a long time since the urgent orders came in a few days ago.

Even after leaving the factory and seeing the sun through the thick smoke, Ailin was still somewhat dazed, as if she had just stepped out of another world.

She boarded the train and headed straight for Hekto City. More than a year ago, she used her husband's pension to buy a property in the city where she lived with her children.

With her heavy workload, Ailin hadn't been able to take the children out for a long time, so this vacation was a good opportunity.

Hekto City.

Beside the fountain in the City Hall Square, Ailin stroked the silver cross medal her husband had left her on her chest and gripped the hand of her eldest son, Little Daniel.

Looking at the surging crowd in front of him, Little Daniel asked curiously, "Mommy, why is everyone here?"

"Because the empire is about to announce something big."

"What's up?"

Ailin smiled gently, "Mom doesn't know either, but I guess it's because war is about to begin."

Little Daniel lowered his head and murmured, "If that's the case, then Daddy can't come back again, right? You said he was a great hero who was always fighting for the empire."

Ailin sighed softly and reached out to stroke the child's head, "Yes, your father should still be preparing for the battle. Let's not disturb him."

Little Daniel's voice choked with emotion. "Then, when can we see him?"

"Perhaps after the war ends, when Dad becomes a world-renowned general, he will come back to see you."

"When will the war end?"

Ailin shook her head, unable to bear looking at Little Daniel's expectant eyes any longer. She gazed into the distance, her expression somewhat lost. "Child, I don't know either."

Perhaps the empire's war would never end—she only knew that her husband would never return.

"Look!"

"It's Steam Tank!"

"Get out of the way! Get out of the way now! Don't block the way!"

The crowd in front of her suddenly became noisy, then parted like waves, interspersed with the angry shouts of the City Guard.

As the whistle sounded, twelve Steam Tank slowly rolled across the square, their tracks churning the hard road with a dull thud.

These steel behemoths are exceptionally large, exceeding four meters in height and nearly ten meters in length, resembling moving small mountains, giving people a great sense of oppression. Their exceptionally smooth alloy armor gleams under the sunlight.

"These are the heavy tanks produced in Hetoke City!"

"Haha, only our Iron Forging Capital could forge such a massive war behemoth!"

People were talking about it, all of them were awestruck by its immense power and felt extremely proud of it.

Meanwhile, in a slum two kilometers away, behind a window adorned with Saint Misha Icon, eight-year-old Thomas is spying on the monster using a monocular telescope left to him by his father.

"It's so beautiful! I want to be a tank soldier when I grow up!"

"Let me see it quickly!"

"Hmph, you little bean sprout, you want to be a soldier? I'm going to be Wyvern Knight!"

The children in the slums were noisily scrambling for binoculars, all eager to feast their eyes on the distant military parade.

"Look!"

What is that?

"It's an Imperial Wyvern Knight! Wait, there's a huge one too!"

The sound of air being torn apart echoed through the sky. People all looked up at the sky and saw two-legged Wyvern armor flapping their wings.

Then, an even more awe-inspiring sight appeared: colossal objects swept across the clouds like whales swimming in a sea of clouds, casting shadows that enveloped the people.

These colossal creatures had sharply defined bellies with thick cannon barrels extending from them, while their massive upper balloons were painted with the imperial emblem of vertical pupils and flames.

"By Keosius, now this big guy can actually fly!"

"They're airships! That's a fleet of Imperial airships! I've seen them in military propaganda brochures!"

Gazing at the swarms of "Giant Whale" in the sky, even Ailin marveled at their magnificence, her mind racing with thoughts—what kind of carnage would result when these colossal creatures dropped bombs and unleashed their firepower? Little Daniel clung tightly to Ailin, trembling under the power of these killing machines.

Ailin sensed her son's fear and quickly comforted him, "Child, don't be afraid. These are weapons of our Embers of the Burned Empire, used to protect us. They are your father's comrades."

Little Daniel pointed to the airship in the sky and asked timidly, "Mom, you told me you work in a military factory, so—did you make all of this?"

Ailin smiled and shook her head, "Of course not. Everyone has their own role, and Mom is in charge of making the bullets."

"So that's how it is." Little Daniel pondered for a moment, then looked up at the sky again. "I want to be like my dad when I grow up, to become a glorious soldier, and to become the great hero that the newspapers talk about!"

Ailin's smile froze on her face. She thought of her deceased husband and couldn't help but advise, "Child, that's too dangerous. Besides, joining the army requires passing rigorous tests, and not everyone can become a soldier."

"I see," Little Daniel thought for a moment, then clapped his hands and said, "Then I want to be like Mom and make lots of powerful weapons and equipment so that Dad can fight even better on the front lines!"

"."

Looking at the child with an innocent and carefree expression, Ailin stood there stunned for a moment, her feelings complicated.

She knew very well that she was making a deadly contraption, capable of smashing a person's head to pieces in an instant and turning the inside into a mushy mess.

Her job was far from respectable; she had to work repetitive labor day and night in a dark and dreary factory until she was completely exhausted, and she only had less than ten hours of rest each day.

Was her child destined to follow the same path? "Clang—"

In the center of the distant square, five hundred trainee officers simultaneously drew their swords, while the Half-Dragon general Hohenzollern tapped the reviewing stand with his cane.

"Soldiers! Residents of Hetoke City! Today, we are about to witness a sacred and glorious moment—His Majesty His Your Majesty Keosius will personally deliver a speech!"

"Long Live the Empire!"

"Long live His Your Majesty Keosius!"

The crowd's enthusiastic cheers resounded through the sky. In such an atmosphere, those who were not excited enough became the odd ones out, so Ailin also joined in the shouting.

Even Little Daniel was caught up in the atmosphere, waving his little fists and making childish noises.

"Long live His Your Majesty Keosius!"