Red dragon: in charge of natural disasters

"Full speed ahead!"

"For the Blazing Ember Empire!"

"Within ten days, we will capture Augusta and destroy the Celestis Kingdom!"

The soldiers of the Blazing Ember Empire shouted slogans and sang loud war songs as they advanced across the vast Celestis Plains.

Beside them rumbled steam tanks and armored vehicles. Above them, the sky was filled with a massive airship fleet.

The military staff had already developed a complete tactical strategy. They divided the Imperial Army into two routes.

The Eastern Army Group, commanded by Duke Drower, consisted of six armored divisions, two air divisions, and twelve mechanized infantry divisions, totaling 230,000 men. They would cross the Farrell Mountains and attack from eastern Celestis.

The Western Army Group, commanded by Duke Arturo, consisted of eight armored divisions, three air divisions, and nine mechanized infantry divisions, totaling 270,000 men. They would cross the Helmod River and drive straight into the plains of western Celestis.

The commanders of these two army groups were both dukes who had risen through the ranks on the battlefield, with rich experience and numerous military exploits.

Duke Drower excelled at multi-domain joint operations. During the conquest of the Mountain Kingdom, he pioneered the "Three-Dimensional Canyon Warfare" tactic, combining air force and special operations units, and annihilated the main force of the dwarven city defense army with a loss ratio of 1:23.

Duke Arturo was famous for his "Armored Blitzkrieg" theory, setting a record of advancing 80 kilometers per day during the Battle of North Aether. His operational characteristic was a precise fuel logistics support system, capable of sustaining high-intensity offensives for up to two weeks.

These two strategic army groups launched offensives towards Augusta from the east and west, forcing the enemy to stretch their battle lines and fight on two fronts.

In addition, millions of players accepted Kasius's [War Mission: Conquer Celestis]. They swarmed into the Celestis region in groups, operating outside the regular Imperial organization, and launched indiscriminate attacks.

After devouring countless gold coins, the Empire's army had undergone an epoch-making development in just a few years, far exceeding the imagination of any enemy—even the Three Great Kingdoms were no exception.

"Boom!"

The artillery fire tore through the sky, raising towering rubble and dust, and even the morning mist in the countryside was stained blood red.

The Imperial artillery cluster's barrage formed an unbroken wall of thunder. The barrels of three hundred self-propelled artillery pieces rose simultaneously under the drive of hydraulic devices, like mechanical behemoths baring their steel fangs.

In the distant positions, the Celestis defenders suffered heavy casualties, with charred limbs often flying everywhere.

Celestis noble officer Kane Aiven grabbed the artillery commander by the collar, lifting him up bodily, and roared heart-wrenchingly amidst the artillery fire. His face was contorted and spittle flew.

"Where is our artillery? Didn't His Majesty Wilhelm buy you two hundred heavy cannons? Did you embezzle them all? Return fire!"

The artillery commander hurriedly explained, "Sir, they are too far away. We can't hit them at all. Once we open fire, our artillery positions will be exposed, and the consequences will be unimaginable."

"Damn waste!"

Kane threw him to the ground, pressed a gun against his head, and roared fiercely, "The kingdom bought you the most advanced artillery! Why can't you do it? Return fire!

Coward! Craven! If you don't dare to fire, I'll execute you first and then command for you!"

With a gun pointed at his head, the artillery commander turned pale with fright and had no choice but to reply weakly, "Yes, sir."

Under the officer's orders, the Celestis Kingdom's artillery began to aim at the Imperial positions, loading ammunition and manipulating those clumsy, crude heavy cannons that had been eliminated by the Empire for several years.

Ironically, in the mouths of the Clauber U Military Industry Group's salesmen, these were the Empire's most advanced artillery, the most cutting-edge products.

The artillery commander looked at the Imperial army occupying the sky and the earth in the distance, his face filled with despair, but he still resolutely raised his hand.

"Fire!"

"Boom—"

With an order, the artillery roared in unison.

Firelight burst from the dark muzzles, and shells shot out, drawing arcs in the sky.

However, the shells fired by the Celestis artillery soon fell weakly on the hillside, creating uneven and violent explosions, raising towering rubble and dust.

Too far.

These artillery pieces could not hit the Imperials more than a dozen miles away at all. This was far beyond the effective range of these "old antiques."

However, the firelight from the artillery barrage was keenly captured by the Imperial scouts in the distance. In just two minutes, the precise coordinates of the Celestis artillery position fell into the hands of the commander of the Imperial artillery corps, Big Head.

This seasoned ogre revealed a hideous smile and said disdainfully, "Stupid Celestis people, they don't even know how to hide artillery positions. They don't even deserve to use the garbage we've eliminated."

"Haha, they should go back to the primitive age of holding spears and stones."

Big Head waved his hand and ordered indifferently, "Tsk, tsk, destroy those scrap iron pieces."

"Damn it! Why, why is this happening!" Kane roared in anger, looking at the scene in the distance.

"Boom!"

The next moment, a earth-shattering roar came from the distance, and hundreds of shells shot out, dragging beautiful arcs in the sky, and smashed towards the Celestis position like a rainstorm.

"It's over, it's all over," the artillery commander collapsed to the ground, his face pale. He raised his head, trembling, and stretched out his finger, his pupils reflecting the fire.

"God..."

The Empire's first wave of shells pierced through the clouds with the screams of death. When the shells slammed vertically into the earth, the tungsten alloy warheads rubbed against the air, bursting out with a blazing white light.

Fireballs nearly thirty meters in diameter bloomed like flowers of hell in the Celestis artillery position, and the shock waves lifted the ground along with the old heavy cannons, and the barrels were torn into iron filings in mid-air.

"Boom—"

Immediately afterwards, the barrage of "Punisher" rockets followed, and the honeycomb launchers poured out burning submunitions.

Tens of thousands of steel ball fragments formed a metal storm at an altitude of fifty meters. The Celestis soldiers who were loading ammunition in the trenches had not yet looked up when their bodies were pierced like fragile paper.

Kane curled up in the trench, muttering to himself, "We have never seen the weapons they are using."

He hammered the mud wall heavily with his only remaining arm and roared weakly, "Damn it, those shameless Imperials deceived us!"

Just then, a sharp whistling sound came from above his head, like the call of the Grim Reaper, making him unable to help but raise his head and look towards the sky obscured by thick smoke.

He saw black shadows streaking across the sky, dropping a dense rain of bombs—it was a Wyvern bomber squadron.

"Boom!"

The thermobaric bomb exploded, and the high-temperature shockwave quickly spread, destroying everything on this land, vaporizing the tattered bodies of the Imperial soldiers into charred outlines.

Finally, accompanied by the trembling of the ground, more than a dozen steam tanks rumbled over the hillside, charging towards the Thracian positions, with infantry armed with submachine guns advancing rapidly behind the tanks, providing fire cover.

But when they reached the position, they were shocked to discover that, under the bombardment, less than one in ten of the Thracian soldiers in the position remained.

The trenches inside and outside were piled with charred corpses, still maintaining their various postures from when they were alive: some were loading ammunition, some were huddled in corners to hide, and some were covering their ears.

"Looks like they're all pretty much dead?"

"Isn't that normal? There's a saying that our army is here to clean up the battlefield."

"These are the Thracians, the remnants of Fadellan? I don't see what's so strong about them, is it worth mobilizing us so much?"

"We just need to follow the orders from above, why think so much? Isn't it good to win easily?"

Just then, a charred hand suddenly stretched out from the pile of corpses, and an officer, his face disfigured and horrific from the bombing, climbed up from the ground, his voice hoarse: "Damn Imperials!"

That was the commander of this army, Kane Aiven.

As a transcendent Paladin, his vitality was extremely tenacious, and with divine magic protecting him, he had survived this terrifying bombing.

He picked up the longsword on the ground, and the broken armor on his body lit up, releasing the light of the sun. "Dragonspawn, the great Amanata will not let you go!"

Accompanied by a heart-wrenching roar, the silver sword swung, and the blade light broke through the air, cutting more than a dozen unprepared soldiers in half at the waist.

Immediately afterwards, the survivors hidden in the pile of corpses also roared and rushed out, waving their respective weapons and pouncing on those weak Imperial soldiers.

"There are survivors here!"

"Focus all fire!"

"That's a transcendent, quick! Kill them!"

After a brief moment of panic, the Imperial soldiers quickly organized themselves, forming teams of two or three, and shooting at the survivors from different directions.

Flashes of light burst continuously from the muzzles, and bullets poured down on the Paladin like a storm, shattering his armor.

Kane glared, golden spiritual light surrounding his body, intercepting the bullets, causing them to fall to the ground.

"For Thrace! Holy Fadellan!"

The Paladin shouted, leaping high, and with a single sword strike, split the nearest Imperial soldier in half, along with his gun.

Braving the dense bullets, Kane slaughtered wantonly in the crowd, killing more than twenty people in just a few minutes.

And because he was entangled with the Imperial soldiers, in order to avoid killing their own soldiers, the surrounding tanks and artillery could not fire, and could only frantically pour out bullets.

"Requesting fire support! There's a transcendent here!"

"Kill him at all costs!"

Several small tracking missiles, trailing gray smoke, flew from a distance and struck the Paladin's back, exploding violently.

"Boom!"

With a loud noise, Kane was directly blown away, his whole body torn by shrapnel, and a charred blood hole appeared on his back.

Several more metal spheres exploded in the air, turning into nets shimmering with electricity, binding the Paladin within them.

"Damn Imperials!" In the flickering electric light, Kane struggled frantically, waving his longsword, his whole body bursting with angry flames.

Just then, the bottom of the airship extended a cannon, and icy rays of light descended from the sky, directly bombarding Kane's chest.

He was frozen in place, his skin covered with a thick layer of frost, like an ice sculpture, still maintaining an angry, ferocious expression.

And around Kane, countless gun muzzles, rocket launchers, and even the muzzles of tank main guns were aimed at his head.

"Boom!"

The firelight engulfed the Paladin, and when the thick smoke cleared, there was only a charred crater left where Kane had stood.

The Half-Dragon officer picked up the walkie-talkie and said, "Lord Arturo, we have occupied Height 103, progress is smooth, and we are advancing towards the city of Uriel, and will soon be able to join the main force."

"Tal, stay alert, there is an extremely strong energy fluctuation near you! It is likely the main force of the Kingdom of Thrace!"

"What? But we haven't found..."

"Zzzzz—" The noise of the audio being cut off sounded, Tal's face was a little ugly, and he couldn't help but frown.

The main force of the Kingdom of Thrace?

His Wyvern scouts had circled nearby several times, without finding even a trace of the enemy.

Just then, an eerie song came from the sky, the sound distant and ethereal, like a hymn during a church prayer.

"Heavenly Feathers Burn Eyes, Crimson Sword Cleaves Helm; Sacred Chant Brands Brow, Divine Eyes Like Torches."

"Not good! They are above us!" The Half-Dragon suddenly raised his head, only to see the space shimmering and distorting under the sunlight, and hundreds of winged angels appearing in the high sky.

"Sin Bones Fall Flames, Prayer Burns Rust."

They held flaming longswords in both hands, chains wrapped around their bodies, indifferently overlooking the Imperial army below, and continued to sing the hymn of Wilhelm.

That was the Holy Guard of the Kingdom of Thrace, an army personally cultivated by Wilhelm, whose origin was extremely mysterious, and was called the "New Era Divine Offspring Legion" by Thracian officials.

"Sin Souls Burn Away, Our Lord Endures."

In an instant, countless golden-red flames descended from their longswords, and the light dyed the sky orange.

The flames, like divine punishment, pierced through the airships suspended in mid-air, turning them into huge fireballs that crashed to the ground.

At the same time, those golden flames also ruthlessly burned the Imperial soldiers on the ground, causing them to die in painful wails.

Even the tanks equipped with anti-magic armor would spontaneously combust or even explode on the spot after being hit by the flames.

Tal quickly hid in a bunker and roared into the walkie-talkie: "We're ambushed! These damn Thracians are using cannon fodder legions as bait!

Anti-aircraft guns! Shoot down those birdmen for me!"