237.1 Fall of Saber (Later that Night)
—The departure of dozens of warships from Veilburg had been confirmed.
Andy and the others, who were resting in the main residence, quietly listened to the report.
The ships had just left. It might just be an act of intimidation. Or if they were stopped before they crossed the border, the tide would change.
Strategies were quickly formulated and assigned without anyone panicking.
Amidst the dozens of warships, not a single dragon could be found. Above all, it was a naval battle. Considering the possibility of intimidation, Rick and Andy decided to act together.
The warships that left Veilburg headed straight for the Saber family instead of the royal capital. Without any intention of stopping, they charged at the border.
As a result, 24 hours after leaving port, they ended up colliding with each other at sea. There wasn’t even enough time to issue a warning about territorial infringement.
Utterly lacking in experience, the navy of the Rave Empire couldn’t even muster a formation. They were probably greenhorns with no experience in the field, or new soldiers.
In Rave, only those who were determined to fight Kratos could survive.
Honestly, it would’ve been a child’s play to sink ships that could barely attack or defend themselves, let alone use magic power. Even though they had magic barriers, they couldn’t use them properly. To Andy and Rick, their defenses were paper-thin.
In the end, they had to be sunk.
“If we kill all the supporters of the Goddess of Kratos, the Dragon God will spare us!”
As if they could let any of those who rushed in while shouting that reach the land.
‘You fanatics of reason!’ Someone shouted that out of fear.
Their enemy acted as if the destruction of their kingdom was law and the deserved outcome.
When they investigated the requisitioned ships, they discovered that they only had enough supplies for one trip.
‘This might be the prelude to Hell.’
After saying that, Rick continued his usual routine and laughed.
At that time, they still didn’t understand the true meaning of Hell.
***
The city, which was white with snow when they left the port, was dyed red. Whether it was the blue sky or the blue sea, everything was burning red with flames.
The town in the northernmost part of Saber territory that their eldest brother, Chris, had known for almost his entire life had been brought into Hell.
Even though it was daytime, the sky was pitch-black, covered in soot and a colossal shadow.
Dragons.
Not just Dragon Knights, but a large army of dragons filled the sky.
The dragons, led by the Dragon Emperor, crossed the Rakia Mountains and burned down the city.
Rick kicked down a dragon that lunged at them. He leaned forward from the deck and stared at Andy.
“Where’s Chris?”
A dragon’s shriek could be heard in the distance. That was how they found out where Chris was. The small silhouette flying in the sky using that dragon as a foothold was their brother. Other than that, the elite troops of the Saber family were also going around bringing down dragons.
Even so, there weren’t enough hands.
“What do we do now?”
“We need to grasp the situation—move the ship closer to the port! Bring as many residents and injured people on board as possible!”
Following Andy’s instructions, the soldiers began to move. At that moment, an especially huge shadow flew overhead.
Its colossal body gave the illusion that the sky itself was moving. It had six legs and a pair of tattered wings. Something akin to pulsating blood veins ran through them, stealing attention whenever it flapped its wings. From its shiny black scales, miasma was gushing out.
Is that a dragon?
The sight of it dancing leisurely in the sky was definitely reminiscent of one. Golden eyes shone beneath its large, coiled horns.
No way, a gold-eyed black dragon…!?
A sinister abomination that could barely maintain its dragon form.
The pair of golden eyes glanced at him and opened his mouth. Multiple, eye-scorching rays of light were emitted, as if the sun had peeked out from behind the cloud.
The city was torn through in an instant.
It didn’t end there.
From the opposite direction, silver magic power came straight towards them, mowing down the city like a whip.
“Deploy the magic barrier!”
The two regrouped, extending their arms together to raise an invisible wall. However, neither the power nor speed of that single flash weren’t reduced in the slightest, and it penetrated both the ship and Andy’s magical barrier.
Their ships was destroyed.
There was a scream, and the following ship was torn in half and vaporized. The ship that Andy and Rick were on was no exception. When he thought that the ship was tilting, being sucked into a vortex of magical power, it suddenly exploded. Rick pulled him into the ocean.
And the next time they resurfaced; everything was gone.
Andy groaned as he grabbed a plank of what was once part of a ship floating on the sea.
“…Heavenly Sword…”
“Not just the Dragon Emperor, but also the Dragon King!?”
“Rick, above you—!”
Another dragon. Flames were spit out towards the sea’s surface where everyone was exposed. Andy and Rick dove back into the water and swam towards the shore.
At any rate, unless they regained their footing, they wouldn’t be able to fight.
Leaping out of the water, they came to shore. The ground was red with fire and copious amounts of blood. The smell of people burning lingered in the iar.
Screams, cries, more screams.
The closer they got to the center of the city, the worse the stench and the sound became.
There were people running from the attacking Rave soldiers and the flames. Te evacuation was far from being completed.
“Rick, Andy, you’ve returned?”
Their eldest brother, who had felled the dragon into the fountain, stared at them. Their brother cut straight to the chase.
“I haven’t been able to contact the capital yet. I can’t even contact Lawrence and the others who are supposed to be waiting in the main residence. So, go and inform the capital that the Dragon Emperor has attacked. Now. I sent out a few people already, but in this situation, it hardly counts.”
“Understood. What about reinforcements? The evacuation hasn’t been completed yet, has it?”
“Don’t worry.”
“You can’t just say that.”
“—This place is done for. We don’t need reinforcement or an evacuation.”
Their eldest brother said that so casually that for a moment, they failed to grasp his words.
“All we can do is stop them and buy time. Hence why I’m asking you to be messengers.”
“No, wait, then Brother Chris should also retreat! You’re the head of the Saber family! Once we regroup—”
“The Saber family still has you.”
Andy gasped along with Rick.
“Sister Abby has children, and so does Mathilda… and Jill will too, someday. I’m unmarried—you know how I am. Besides, it’s too late. If the Dragon Emperor burns all of us down and the information isn’t passed on, it will be a total defeat.”
“Like I said, we can still make it! We can—”
—During the appeal, a corpse fell between them. One with a familiar face.
He was Chris’ deputy. A glutton who loved his wife and daughter dearly, and his size reflected his hobby. When Andy was a child, he was often tossed around without being asked, albeit he secretly enjoyed it. The kind-hearted man with a demonic appearance had been stabbed to death while holding a boy in his arms.
“Meddlesome trash.”
He could swallow his agitation, fear, and anger. After all, that was how he was raised.
But more than that, it was the tone of that man’s voice that sent chills down his spine.
That was his first time seeing his face and appearance. From the man’s domineering presence, Andy could immediately tell who he was.
“Dragon Emperor…”
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***T/N: Aka Hades when he went off into the deep end
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