The ancient tombs outside the Imperial Capital exploded in an instant.
Stone coffins, monumental pillars, and thick layers of earth were hurled away by a force erupting from within. A dark gold pillar of light pierced the ground and the clouds.
The air within a ten-mile radius was forcibly sucked away.
First came a silence so uncanny it felt unreal. Then the air, compressed to its limit, rebounded violently. Explosions rippled across the ground, battering eardrums and blanking minds.
August stepped out of the pillar of light.
Dusky golden dragon scales covered his entire body, their texture cold and hard beneath the light.
Blood-red battle aura flowed slowly between the scales, like molten streams that had yet to cool, forcibly confined within his body.
Behind him, five thousand Dragonkin Guards emerged through the light.
Their steps were perfectly synchronized, with no wasted movement as their feet struck the ground, as though they had long grown accustomed to walking under such immense pressure.
Five among them had once been Peak Knights who stood at the pinnacle of the old era.
They towered over the other dragonkin, radiating an oppressive presence even as they stood motionless.
August swept his gaze across the battlefield.
The ruined walls toward the Imperial Capital, the advancing formations of the Federation army, and the enormous False Dragon crouching farther away on the plain all swiftly fell into place within his perception.
Then he spoke. "They actually pushed you all the way back to the Imperial Capital... what unworthy descendants."
As his words fell, he pushed off lightly with his legs.
His wings spread, forcibly tearing the air apart. In the next instant, August had already left his original position, hurtling toward the Federation formations and Mamon.
"Roar!"
An invisible pulse swept across the entire battlefield, striking directly