Lothern Kingdom, Valdo City; Cambrook Kingdom, Ironstone Fortress; Theo Kingdom, Silverglow City; Mattena Kingdom, Shining Gold City; Rybos Kingdom, White Rock City.
All kingdom capitals, as well as dotted with principalities, small city-states, and tribal settlements----
All ruling entities located above Romanian Plains have experienced severe impacts in a short period of time.
However, before they could digest Holden's announcement of "World Transformation" or before they could come up with any countermeasures, the second impact followed.
Aura Kingdom's notice followed and was sent to every ruler.
[In the name of the great Red Emperor, Garos·Ignas.]
[From now on, the entire territory of Romania, including but not limited to Romanian Plains and its affiliated hills and valleys, and all city-states, territories, tribes, and settlements with the Aura Kingdom as its lord, has officially entered a state of emergency.]
[In this state, there is no preset termination period.]
[All the above-mentioned entities, their legal rulers, regents or representatives shall send plenipotentiary envoys to arrive at Red Emperor Royal City within three calendar days, sign and swear to abide by <Romanian Wartime Unification Treaty>.]
[The contents of the treaty include: the transfer of the supreme military command power; the right to requisition and allocate all human and material resources within the territory; domestic and foreign affairs must be subject to Dragon Court wartime coordination; information transparency and regular reporting obligations; mutual defense system and joint and several liability clauses----]
[Reiterate: This is not a request, nor is it a discussion. This is a critical moment of life and death when Calamity occurs frequently and the order of the mainland is overthrown. It is the only necessary measure to ensure the survival of Romania civilization and ensure our survival and future.]
[Resistance is hostility, delay is betrayal.]
[Red Emperor Royal City, waiting for you all. Anyone who fails to arrive after the deadline, or the envoy sent does not have the authority to sign, will be deemed to have automatically given up the legitimacy of his rule and the security of his territory.]
[Red Emperor Imperial Order, effective immediately.]
The text is categorical, without gorgeous rhetoric, only naked demands and unquestionable will.
Through this announcement, any rational ruler can clearly feel the determination of the Aura Kingdom, or in other words, the Red Emperor who sits high on the throne.
They understand.
Unless you are prepared to immediately make an enemy of the Aura Kingdom and Red Emperor, who swept across the plains and created the strongest reputation in just a hundred years.
Otherwise, they don't have the option to refuse at all.
Panic spread in the first moments.
Some old and conservative nobles shouted "loss of sovereignty" and "shameful humiliation", but more and more people held real power and
Those who are aware of the rumors from the outside world fall into silence.
They recalled the "changes in various parts of the mainland" mentioned in the Holden announcement, especially the shocking description of "Central Continent, Floating City had a large-scale instability near the crash site Abyssal Rift", and compared it with the ultimatum from Aura, but it also brought a sense of peace of mind.
Yes, feel at ease.
In the face of the unknown shock that swept through the Atlant Continent, and even affected the entire Bernardo Planet, personal power and the vanity of the kingdom seemed pale and powerless.
And at this time.
In their homeland, Romanian Plains, a king known for his iron fist, wisdom and strength stood up, ready to twist all the forces into a rope.
Despite the overbearing methods and harsh conditions.
But isn't this a kind of responsibility?
It is better than fighting each other in fear and being defeated by each one in the end.
"Fortunately - we have an emperor who can make up his mind."
In the palace of Silverglow City, King Theo faced the direction of Red Emperor Royal City on the map and let out a thankful whisper.
Soon, Theo was the first to respond publicly.
His Majesty the King will personally go to Red Emperor Royal City, meet with Red Emperor, and sign <Wartime Integration Treaty>.
His posture was extremely low and he moved extremely quickly.
With someone taking the lead, other kingdoms no longer hesitate.
Ribos, Lothern, Matena, Cambrook----The main kingdoms on the plains have issued statements one after another, and the king or plenipotentiary will leave immediately for Red Emperor Royal City.
Principalities and city-states, large and small, are taking action upon hearing the news, for fear of falling behind.
Romanian States, no one publicly refused.
This result did not exceed the expectations of the Aura Kingdom decision-makers.
Since the rise of Red Emperor, its style of conduct and accumulated power have already laid the groundwork for what it is today.
[Ignas Your Majesty, we respect your teeth]
Similar voices began to spread quietly among the people and some middle- and lower-class nobles.
Regardless of whether the upper-level rulers still have grudges in their hearts.
At least on the surface, under the imminent crisis, Romanian States quickly reached an unprecedented unified attitude: obey the orders of Red Emperor.
At the same time, Aura Kingdom's operation has begun.
Red Emperor Royal City sent digital Emperor's Children, aiming directly at the distant Central Continent.
Central Continent's sky is no longer as clear as before.
Dust clouds dyed the sky a turbid dark yellow, and the sunlight became feeble through this thick curtain.
Phew! Phew! Phew!
Several dragon shadows tore through the dull air, flying in a tight formation at high speed.
Skimming over mountains and crossing rivers that have become turbulent.
The leader is a red dragon.
His size has reached an eye-catching level, nearly twenty-four meters from head to tail, and every muscle is clearly outlined under the red scales.
His dragon neck is thick, the lines of his head are sharp, and his vertical pupils are as sharp as knives even in the dim light. Just flying there, he naturally exudes a strong majesty and predatory aura.
Red Dragon, Galkro.
The first and representative of Emperor's Children.
Although he is still in adulthood according to Dragonkin's standards, his growth rate is far faster than that of his peers, catching up with the giant dragon in its prime.
Slightly lower and behind the side of Galkro is a Black Dragon.
She is almost half the size of the red dragon, but her body is strong and strong, like black lightning, the sound of her wing membranes beating is inaudible, and her scales are dark.
Salia, the first adopted daughter of Red Emperor.
Among the many adopted sons and daughters subsequently adopted by the emperor, as the "eldest daughter", she had a rather special status.
Not far behind the red dragon and Black Dragon, the other two dragons followed closely.
Their body shapes are similar, slightly smaller than Salia, and closer to Dragonkin in people's impression of late youth.
In fact, they had just passed through the slumber of adolescence and were still several years away from Young Adult Stage.
One of them is Blue Dragon.
Her scales were a deep blue, close to the sky before a storm, with fine and steady electric sparks flowing around the edges, making a crackling sound.
The most striking thing are her eyes.
When she concentrates, the depths of her pupils will glow with light like broken stars, as if she can penetrate illusions.
Heloise·Ignas.
One of the children of Red Emperor and Blue Dragon Zolaya.
The other one is Iron Dragon.
His scales have a complex structure and are thickly layered, as if they are covered with multiple layers of plate armor forged by a master. Sharp thorns of different lengths protrude from the joints and back, giving off a cold light.
When he flies at high speed, the outermost layer of his body rubs violently with the air, and the edges of the dragon scales even turn a dark red color like a soldering iron. The high temperature makes the surrounding scene slightly distorted.
Tanmuir·Ignas.
Heloise's full brother.
"It's not just us."
Galkro A deep voice sounded in the wind.
He lowered his head slightly, looking through the thin clouds and scanning downwards.
Under the clouds, several moving black spots were faintly visible.
Those are the lion, Pegasus, and Alchemical Construct.
These are vanguard reconnaissance units from other kingdoms or independent forces outside Romanian Plains.
Aura Kingdom's dragon group and these ground or low-altitude scouts discovered each other, but the two sides kept a cautious distance and did not try to get closer or communicate, and there was no sign of conflict.
Their goals are likely to be the same.
Go to the Central Continent to confirm the truth of the disaster.
"It seems that there are many people who are interested in the Central Continent, or more accurately, are afraid of that crack."
The voice of Iron Dragon Tanmuir sounds slightly dull.
"Holden's announcement is enough to make all those in power sleepless."
Blue Dragon Heloise blinked his eyes, and the starlight in his pupils flickered. "Yes, I can see the anxiety and vigilance they exude - this continent is sliding in a dangerous direction."
"Danger?"
The red dragon Galkro let out a short chuckle.
"No, my dear brother and sister, don't be fooled by the superficial panic. For us, for Aura, this is exactly the best time. Chaos is the ladder, and strength will determine who can reach the top."
"Brother, your opinions are always so sharp."
Tanmuir responded, his iron-clad head nodded, "However, we believe that danger and opportunity are often two sides of the same coin and go hand in hand."
Heloise also echoed softly, "Tanmuir is right. Huge risks are often accompanied by huge opportunities. The key is whether we can seize the opportunity."
During their conversation, Black Dragon Salia remained silent, like a shadow blending into the background.
Her eyes constantly scanned the surrounding sky, clouds, and the undulating terrain below. Longyi adjusted the subtle angles to ensure that she was always in the best position to deal with sudden threats.
The team continued to fly in silence for a while.
Emperor's Children are all the best among Dragon Race. The dragons among the dragons are extremely fast and have long endurance. They gradually leave the reconnaissance units below who rely on mounts or structures far away until they disappear at the end of the dim horizon.
As we went deeper, an indescribable smell began to fill the air.
It was mixed in the dust and wind, vaguely there at first, and then gradually became clear.
It was the pungent smell of sulfur, the fishy sweetness of putrefaction, and a chaotic smell that directly affected the spiritual level and made people feel instinctively uneasy.
The breath of Abyss.
Needless to say, all dragons are on alert.
They stopped talking, and the flight array became more compact, scanning the sky and the earth in front of them with bright eyes.
"Ahead, thirty degrees to the left, there is a life reaction behind the cumulus clouds."
Blue Dragon Heloise suddenly spoke.
The stars in her eyes were bright, and her vision seemed to penetrate the thick cloud wall, "It's Demon--there are about fifty of them. The energy intensity varies. The strongest one is around level 16, and it should not exceed level 17."
The "True Eye" talent inherited from his father gives Heloise an unparalleled advantage in investigation.
In her eyes, the creatures under the Legendary Realm are invisible.
Life intensity, energy attributes and even mood swings can be roughly captured.
Even Legendary Realm creatures cannot completely avoid her perception unless they expand their territory in advance or use clever concealment.
"Oh? Fifty? Sixteen or seven levels?"
A low excited voice came from Tanmuir's throat, "Brother, let us run over! Tear these bastards who crawled out from Abyss into pieces and let them understand that Material Plane is not the place for them to run wild!"
Heloise didn't speak, but the arc flowing around him was obviously a little more active.
For Abyss Demon, these young Dragons of Aura do not have the deep-rooted fear of ordinary intelligent creatures.
Within the territory of the Aura Kingdom, there are several relatively stable Abyssal Rift.
Hunt Demon is a regular subject in Dragons of Aura growth training.
They are already familiar with Demon's type, weaknesses and evil aura.
"This chaotic scum really makes my paws itch."
Galkro said slowly, "But, go around, now is not the time to fight."
His mission is reconnaissance, and his primary goal is to obtain intelligence and return safely, not to fight.
Just when the dragons were preparing to make a detour.
"Wait a minute," Heloise's voice was tense, "They've discovered us!"
Almost at the same time as she finished speaking.
The thick cumulus clouds in front of them that originally seemed to be stationary surged violently as if being stirred by invisible hands. Then, ferocious figures burst out of the clouds, emitting sharp and ear-piercing screams, and rushed straight towards the group of dragons!
It was a group of Demon with bat-like membrane wings.
Most of them are stooped, covered with rough keratinous skin like obsidian, and their eyes are burning red light spots. The number is just as Heloise said, about fifty of them. Among them are a few exceptionally strong individuals with curved frontal horns and holding rough metal tridents or spears, like the little leader of this group Demon.
They looked chaotic, but the direction of their attack vaguely blocked the space for the dragons to dodge left and right.
"Oh? You came to us on your own initiative?"
Galkro grinned, showing his sharp teeth, "Since you can't avoid it----it's okay!"
He took a sharp breath and then growled.
"Emperor's Childrens! In the name of my father, turn these Abyss bastards who have polluted our world into ashes!"
The red dragon flapped its wings with all its strength and rushed towards the densest frontal cluster of Demon. Its dragon neck muscles were like twisted steel cables, suddenly protruding out, and its throat lit up with a dazzling light.
Boom!
The blazing Dragon Breath condensed into a continuous jet of flames, like a flaming whip waved by a god, instantly sweeping over the seven or eight Demon rushing in front!
"Squeak-!!!"
The shrill screams were drowned in the explosion of flames.
Demon that was sprayed from the front was instantly carbonized and turned into charred pieces and fell; those that were swept by the edge were ignited with eternal flames, screaming and rolling in the air, turning into fireballs.
An extraordinarily strong Horned Demon with horns like a scimitar took advantage of the gap between the red dragon's breath to swoop up from the side and rear, and its curved horns pushed hard against the relatively weak joint of Galkro's shoulder blades!
Galkro There is no looking back.
With the remaining momentum of his charge, he pulled out his thick dragon tail laterally, breaking the muscles and bones of the two Demons that rushed at him from the side. At the same time, his shoulders covered with thick scales did not dodge and faced the impact of Horned Demons!
Click!
There was a heart-wrenching sound of bone cracking.
Horned Demon's horns were strong enough to pierce the steel plate, and broke at the moment of collision with the dragon scales. The huge recoil force caused its neck to almost collapse into the chest, and its entire body flew out, and then hit the other Demon hard behind. The two were entangled, rolled and fell to the earth.
There are only a few impact marks and some cracks left on Galkro's shoulder scales.
There is Abyss breath trying to corrode the cracks.
But soon, it dissipated under the resistance of the red dragon's own fiery life.
At the same time.
Black Dragon Salia's figure appears and disappears in the Demon group.
She did not carry out a violent frontal attack like Galkro, but was like an assassin in the shadows.
Her figure became blurry as she pounced, as if she could absorb the surrounding light. Every time her sharp claws and tail stings flashed, they landed on a Demon's vitals, such as its cervical vertebrae and heart.
When several Demon try to surround and capture her, her figure will suddenly disappear in the air, and the next second she will appear outside the encirclement, continuing her deadly harvest.
Heloise stopped in the safe airspace behind.
She did not join the melee, and the starlight in her eyes locked on several Demon who were trying to throw javelins or cast curse spells from behind.
Then, she blinked.
Crack! Crack!
Several blue-white ball lightning appeared without warning and hit the target.
"Uh-!"
Demon, who was struck by lightning, twitched violently, smoke emitted from the body, and his movements became stiff. In this moment of paralysis, Salia appeared from the shadows and easily took away their lives.
Iron Dragon Tanmuir fell into the siege of several Demon.
Facing the attacks of several Demons, he seemed a little overwhelmed, and there were constant dull sounds of his scales being hit by sharp claws and weapons.
However, Demons quickly discovered something was wrong.
The defense of this Iron Dragon is very strong.
His outer dragon scales will indeed be torn, but another layer of strong and dense scales will immediately be exposed underneath!
Moreover, when he is attacked, the broken scales on his body will explode suddenly, and some of those sharp thorns will automatically break and shoot out, extremely fast, with a unique armor-piercing effect, which can penetrate Demon's body from front to back.
What makes the demons even more troublesome is that the outer scales that fell off his body and the broken thorns are regenerating rapidly at a speed visible to the naked eye.
He was clearly focused on defense and had almost no counterattack.
But the Demons who besieged Iron Dragon were all dripping with blood, as if they were facing a super iron hedgehog that they had no way of attacking.
The battle broke out suddenly but ended quickly.
Although this group of Demons are superior in number, their individual strength and coordination are far inferior to those of the extremely talented Emperor's Childrens.
Fifty Demon were slaughtered in just a few minutes. Only a few of them tried to escape, but they were also chased and killed.
"Check the battlefield, pay attention to whether there are special magic marks or summoning residues, make sure there are no fish that have slipped through the net, and act quickly."
Galkro restrained his fighting spirit and ordered in a deep voice.
He looked around, especially the complex hills and looming valleys below. His ears stood up, catching any unusual sounds in the wind.
The smell of Abyss in the air was stronger than before, and it was also mixed with a vague whisper that seemed to resound directly in the depths of my mind.
This is one of the corrosions of Abyssal Energy.
Ordinary creatures with weak minds will soon be bewitched by it and become puppets that only know destruction.
However, this is Material Plane after all, and the concentration of the slightly dispersed Abyss aura is not enough to pose a threat.
For the dragons, this level of mental pollution has limited impact, and at most makes them feel a little irritated and uncomfortable.
The dragons quickly cleared the battlefield.
Salia even sneaked into the shadows and took Blue Dragon with him for a quick patrol around the area, reporting that no lurking enemies were found.
"Go ahead, stay on top of your game, Salia, and use your talents to cover us.
Galkro ordered.
Black Dragon Salia groaned, and Shadow Power spread from her body, like black gauze, quickly covering the figures of the four dragons.
Their outlines become blurred and distorted in the light, and their breaths are obscured by the power of shadow.
This is the specialty of Salia, which can greatly reduce the probability of being discovered.
The dragons set off again, but at a slower speed than before, and their flight posture was more stealthy. While covering themselves with shadows, they also tried their best to use clouds and terrain undulations as cover.
As we continue to approach the coordinates of the crash of Floating City.
The smell of Abyss in the air is getting stronger and stronger.
The uncomfortable whisper became clearer and clearer.
They encountered several Demon teams wandering or lurking in the sky, but relied on Heloise's early warning and Salia's concealment to avoid them in advance.
About half an hour later.
They flew over a long ridge.
The moment they crossed the highest point of the ridge, the four dragons slowed down almost simultaneously and hovered in mid-air. The dragon's eyes shrank involuntarily, staring closely at the scene ahead.
Beyond the ridge is an area that has been completely transformed.
A huge and irregular crack, like an ugly scar on the earth, opened there ferociously, replacing the original hilly landscape.
At the edge of the crack is a purple-black substance that resembles a mixture of asphalt and lava. It is the highly concentrated Abyssal Energy entity, emitting a disturbing purple-black light.
The crack itself is still flowing and expanding at a slow but steady rate.
This is where Holden Floating City fell.
Today, all that remains of the city in the sky are large pieces of metal and strange stone debris whose original form is difficult to distinguish, like discarded garbage, piled up around the cracks in a haphazard manner.
Much of the wreckage is still burning, with thick smoke billowing out.
However, what made the dragons feel even more heavy was not the huge crack itself, nor the ruins.
With the crack as the center, there are densely packed Demon.
The number is far greater than any scattered team encountered before.
Berserker Demon, which is as burly as a mountain and holds a giant ax or a chain hammer; Lesser Demon, which surges like a tide and is in incalculable number; Beholder, which floats in mid-air and has many eye stalks and a central main eye; Drider, which looks like a twisted combination of a giant spider and a humanoid creature----------They are scattered around the cracks.
The most important thing is:
They did not destroy or spread wildly without any purpose.
On the contrary, these Demon are carrying out a kind of organized construction.
Around the huge crack, the Demons are using a substance that looks like condensation of Abyss, mixed with metals and stones collected from the wreckage of the crashed Floating City, to build fortifications and build fortresses and fortresses.
Although there are still sporadic fights between Demon, on the whole, they are obeying some kind of unified will and working towards a common goal.
"The scale of this Abyssal Rift----"
Galkro's voice was low and solemn, "It's bigger than the ones in our kingdom put together, and - more active."
"It's not just a matter of scale."
The stars in Heloise's eyes flickered, and he said, "The Demon here, their behavior - completely different from what we have encountered before, those who are patrolling in the air, the construction behavior here - the chaotic nature has been suppressed."
"The Demon we met before only shouted to fight and kill."
"Not only is Demon here not expanding wildly outwards, but it is shrinking in strength----"
Blue Dragon is thoughtful.
The expansion of Abyssal Rift does not happen overnight. It is necessary to release Abyssal Energy first and corrode and assimilate the surrounding land step by step before it can gradually expand.
And under normal circumstances.
Due to their chaotic and evil nature, the Demons will spread outward as soon as they come to the living Material Plane. They don't care about the cracks. If they don't fight around Abyssal Rift, without organization and discipline, they will always give the Material Plane creatures a chance to suppress the cracks.
But the Demon here behaves differently.
Iron Dragon also nodded slowly.
"Restraining such a large number of Demon with chaotic nature——this means that above them, there is a will that is so powerful that they dare not disobey it, a Demon leader with wisdom and command ability."
Galkro stared intently at the Demon camp.
His sharp dragon teeth rubbed against each other, making a slight squeaking sound.
"An army."
He said slowly, "This is not an accidental invasion, this is an organized Abyssal Legion. They know how to establish outposts in Material Plane and know how to consolidate the rifts. Their leaders - their plans are not small, and they are not the rabble we encountered before."
The red dragon was silent for a few seconds, then turned around.
"The information is enough. Retreat and return to Red Emperor Royal City immediately." His voice was firm. "Everything here must be reported to my father exactly as it is."
"A new storm has emerged."
He looked to the north, which was the direction of Romanian Plains, with flames burning in the dragon's eyes, "And it's time for us to prepare to dance against the wind in order to face this storm."
Further on the skyline, you can vaguely see some sporadic black spots, cautiously approaching this area from other directions.
That was a reconnaissance team from other kingdoms or forces that finally arrived at the outskirts of this area.
It is foreseeable how shocked and panic they will feel when they witness the scene here with their own eyes.
What kind of reaction will it trigger when the news reaches their respective countries?
Faced with such a clear threat, will many powerful kingdoms continue to fight on their own in fear and even be wary of each other? Or can they temporarily shelve disputes and form some degree of unity?
Galkro didn't bother to speculate on this.
That's not something he needs to consider.
As Emperor's Children, as Dragons of Aura, he only knows one thing.
When the father's will is given, he, Galkro, will charge forward and kill.
The other dragons were obviously aware of the coming changes.
The thorns on Iron Dragon Tanmuir's body stood up slightly, and the arcs all over Blue Dragon Heloise crackled. Even Salia, who had always been silent, seemed to be more tense under the shadow, like a bow that was ready to go.
The majesty of Red Emperor shines like the scorching sun on the world.
And they, as Emperor's Children bathed in this majesty and glory, whether they are blood relatives or adopted heirs, will also prove themselves and win their own glory.