Ashen Dragon

Acacia Indomitable Highlands.

On this plateau, flames sprouted like wild grasses, magma flowed through surface fissures, and high-temperature steam clouds roiled across the land.

This was a death zone for beings of the Material Plane, yet it was a paradise for the native fire elementals.

However, within a certain region of the Acacia Indomitable Highlands lay a city of considerable size, Black Iron City.

Within the city, the scorching Temple of Atonement that worshipped the Prince of Evil Fire, Imix, as a deity, and the temple of the Lord of Flames, Kasus, both indicated the city's true rulers—the Fire Giants.

"Lord of Flames above...."

"Imix...."

"How could there be such a massive dragon? When did we provoke such a monster?"

At this moment, the Fire Giant officers and soldiers standing on the Black Iron City walls gazed into the distance, their expressions particularly grave, even tinged with a hint of terror.

On the distant horizon, a blurry shadow flapped its wings in the scorching air, stirring up waves of ash.

"Soul Devouring Dragon."

A heavy voice echoed, followed by steady, powerful footsteps.

The soldiers on the city wall parted, and a tall, sturdy Fire Giant emerged from the crowd, standing imposingly.

He was the Emir of this Black Iron City—Machei Galan.

Unlike the pampered noble scions like Hamid, this Emir was a seasoned warrior, freshly returned from the front lines.

He had once been a proud Kapukulu, one of the Sultan's elite guards.

He wore a gilded, intricately patterned face-guard helmet with a leather neck guard and a large feather—plucked from a phoenix—adorned his helm's crest.

In his hand, he held a crescent-shaped scimitar of Shesher, razor-sharp and constantly shimmering with spell radiance.

Upon hearing Machei's words, the Fire Giants on the city walls descended into a panic, their voices buzzing in chaos.

"It's... it's real!"

"That is the Soul Devouring Dragon! It exists!"

"It's said that terrifying dragon devoured thirteen Emirs and thousands of Fire Giants! It is the Prince of the Holy Flame sent to punish us!"

"Silence—"

Machei's face turned stern as he struck his bronze shield with his scimitar, producing a clear, ringing sound.

The Fire Giant soldiers instantly fell silent, attentively listening to their Emir's speech.

"Lord of Flames, you cowardly lambs! Frightened by a mere dragon!"

"As far as I know, that dragon is merely allied with the scum Fire Dwarves, who sneaked into the city by underhanded means, wrecked half of Ironforge City, and killed that fool, Hamid."

"The so-called Soul Devouring Dragon is nothing but exaggeration! It is not an invincible enemy."

Machei raised his scimitar high, its bright silver blade gleaming in the firelight.

"Swish—"

He swung the scimitar fiercely, the crescent blade slicing through the air and leaving a brilliant flare of light.

"We are the noble Fire Giants! The natural rulers of the Fire Elemental Plane! We have always been the ones pillaging and destroying others, instilling fear in other beings!"

"None have ever had the right to make us feel fear!"

Machei pointed his scimitar toward the distant, blurry shadow.

"Comrades—for the Great Sultan, hold Black Iron City, and slay that skyborne wyrm!"

The Fire Giants, inherently fervent warriors and supremely arrogant, were soon brimming with battle ardor under Machei's exhortation.

"For the Sultan!"

"Hold Black Iron City!"

"No one can defeat us Fire Giants in the Fire Elemental Plane!"

The Fire Giants on the city walls labored to turn the winches, loading giant black metal arrows into the ballistae, aiming high into the sky.

Below the city walls, the Fire Giants released the giant beasts from their cages. The beasts exhaled clouds of scalding steam, roaring lowly.

Machei gave a slight gesture, summoning a colossal Fire Drake clad in bronze armor to his side.

"Fight for the Great Sultan!"

Roared the Fire Giant noble as he leapt onto the drake, followed by over a hundred similar Fire Giant cavalrymen.

However, unlike Machei, most of these soldiers wore only uniforms of flame wool or silk, wielding bronze spears nearly ten meters long and carrying leather-covered, riveted shields.

In the vast Kingdom of the Fire Giants, Ironforge City was but a frontier outpost—yet this Black Iron City was considered a critical military bastion.

Farther away, the Red Dragon flapped its wings again, stirring up waves of heat filled with ash and embers.

Cassius narrowed his eyes, amusement glinting in his pale golden vertical pupils.

"Interesting...."

"Magic ballistae, elemental behemoths, Fire Giant cavalry, even the Empire's current elite troops would struggle against these Fire Giant forces."

"And these aren't even their elite, merely the city garrison. A terrifying display of strength."

"But unfortunately for them... they encountered me."

Cassius flapped his wings powerfully once more, the massive dragon soaring into the sky. He then raised his head high, letting out a roar.

"Roar—"

"Boom!"

Thunder rumbled overhead.

The steam clouds in the sky rapidly gathered, and incongruous bolts of lightning appeared amidst the rolling black clouds.

Driven by a tremendous force, the dense clouds spread quickly, soon covering the sky over Ironforge City.

A colossal figure weaved and circled within the clouds.

"Boom!"

"Boom! Boom!"

Bolt after bolt of lightning crashed down, instantly killing several Fire Giants on the city walls, leaving behind only a wisp of primordial flame.

"It's thunder!"

"Quick! Take cover!"

"Lord of Flames... what is that?"

"Damn it, shoot that dragon down!"

The Fire Giant soldiers, momentarily in disarray under the threat of death, hurriedly aimed their ballistae at the sky.

A series of fearsome giant arrows trailed fiery tails as they shot into the clouds but failed to hit their mark.

"Boom!"

The thunder roared, and a suffocating pressure, like an invisible giant stone, settled over the Fire Giants' hearts.

On the ground, the giant beasts they had just released trembled violently, their chains clinking and clanking.

These normally ferocious monsters now whimpered like newborns, retreating back into their cages in terror.

"Boom! Boom!"

More bolts of lightning struck down.

The colossal shadow loomed within the clouds, instilling a primal fear in every being present, including the Fire Giant Emir.

"Howl~~"

The Fire Drake beneath the Fire Giant noble trembled, and its companions had mostly fainted, crashing to the ground.

"Hold on, my old friend...."

"It is only a Red Dragon, Aklia. We have faced down an Ancient Gold Dragon together before; this is nothing."

Machei gently stroked the Fire Drake's neck, whispering.

But as he raised his head to look at the looming figure in the clouds and the lightning-filled clouds, his expression turned dark and heavy.

"How could this be...."

"Lord of Flames, it's clearly a Red Dragon...."

This battle-hardened Fire Giant noble gripped the Sultan-bestowed scimitar of Shesher tightly, his entire body tense.