Chapter 632: Reactions and Advancement
After the battle of North Aether ended, the main forces of the Ember Empire marched south in great numbers, quickly taking control of the entire North Aether plain.
All former North Aether troops surrendered. Most were released, a few senior officers were arrested, and any who refused to submit were executed on the spot, their corpses left to rot in the wilderness.
There was once a divine-blooded count who pretended to surrender, secretly gathering over a thousand loyal guards and contacting Duke Walter's confidants, hoping to mount a final resistance.
But luck wasn't on their side. They ran into Misha, who was in charge of handling prisoners. The Daughter of Dragonfire incinerated the count with dragonflame, and over a thousand underlings became fertilizer on the North Aether plains.
Afterwards, to stabilize the situation, Duke Medrolash led the Imperial Guard into every city of North Aether, skillfully occupying the lord's manors, city defense halls, armories, and other key sites—this was nothing new for them.
During this period, the old powers of North Aether launched some resistance; the city's underground gangs began to make moves, and private armies of the nobles started fighting back.
But under the rain of bullets, these feeble rebellions were quickly wiped out like sparks, and the families that tried to resist were ruthlessly slaughtered.
The heavy scent of blood and gunpowder hung in the air, the sound of wailing often mixed with gunshots, making people uneasy—everyone hid in their homes, shivering, not daring to go outside.
But soon, people realized that these armies of monsters, dragonkin, and devil-blooded only targeted the city's old powers, while ignoring commoners, not committing the slightest offense—discipline was strict.
The sheriffs and city guards also weren't as brutal as people had feared. After several days of purges, the city's order actually improved.
After repeated sweeps by the Imperial Guard, anti-Ember Empire forces went underground, hiding in the city's shadows.
In a few days, the Empire officially posted notices—reporting rebels would earn you citizenship, a big pile of gold coins, and security.
After a few townsfolk tried it and got generous rewards, anonymous informants became the norm in every North Aether city, and hidden organizations were uprooted one by one.
Gradually, people got used to soldiers with guns on every street, the ground-shaking iron beasts, wyverns in the sky, the Ember Emperor's praise on the radio, and the Starfallers wandering the alleys.
For the Empire's officials and soldiers, managing conquered cities was routine: policies and actions were all ready-made, needing only tweaks for local conditions.
In just over ten days, imperial rule was already running smoothly, society stabilized, and North Aether steadily fell in line with the Ember Empire.
But the remaking of social order was still a huge task, to be done step by step—gaining control was just the first step, and much follow-up work remained, enough to keep imperial administrators swamped.
Collins City was renamed Dragonhead City; Saint Theo City, named for a saint of the Amanata church, became Goldfang City, in honor of the kobold marquis who died in the Abyssal War.
Imperial forces even began building new fortifications on the borders, facing off against the border troops of the Thrace Kingdom.
The news of the Ember Empire's conquest of North Aether shocked the whole world—no one had expected that in just over a month, the North Aether Duchy would be completely occupied.
This land, almost 700,000 square kilometers, had become a bridgehead for the Empire, ready to threaten its neighbors at any time—the Empire's "blitzkrieg" was now legendary, leaving self-styled military experts stunned.
All major forces on Feiansuo were in shock: from the northern Highland Kingdom to the western Free Trade Federation, the southern Thrace Kingdom, and even faraway Serenia, all felt a wave of anxiety.
And when images of the red dragon fighting Balachiel and other top powers spread, people grew even more terrified of the Red Dragon Emperor's might.
The Silvermoon League, Harpists' League, Arcane Hermitage, and other good-aligned groups rushed about seeking alliances; even the churches of Amanata, Tyr, and other gods became anxious, as if another "Dragon Catastrophe" like ten thousand years ago was about to repeat.
From now on, the Ember Empire was no longer just an isolated "outsider" or "background piece"—it had truly stepped onto the stage of Feiansuo, become a key force shaping the continent, and was now another player in the continent's chaos and strife.
With the Empire on stage, who knew how many more conflicts and battles would break out on this vast continent, how many families would be torn apart, how many would die in war.
But one thing was clear: with the Ember Empire's arrival, Feiansuo's situation would only get wilder and less predictable.
And as the focus of countless humans, dwarves, elves, dragons—even gods—Cassius was lazily lounging in a cave in North Aether, happily looking over his character sheet.
[You killed a Lord of Heaven, gaining the legendary achievement [Saintslayer]]
[Saintslayer]
In the days of creation, when the multiverse still trembled with the shock of birth, seven blessed martyrs for order and good appeared in Heaven, powerful and unique.
Those seven or their successors became the Council of Seven Flames, tasked by Heaven itself to rule the Seven Heavens forever, and anyone who killed them would suffer an eternal curse.
"Kill a Lord of Heaven?
Frankly, even imagining such a thing is a sin—the worst devils and cruelest demons are the only ones who'd ever dream of it."
—Divine Scrolls of Heaven, by Outer Planes scholar Estran.
Gained passive trait:
[Saintslaying]
Constitution +1, Charisma +1
With scorn for order and good, you personally slew a Lord of Heaven, devoured part of Heaven's essence, and drew the attention of the World Will.
You gained bonus traits: [Profaner's Body][Saintslayer's Dirge]
[Profaner's Body]: From now on, you are resistant to all divine power from Mount Heaven, and almost impossible for Heaven's will to alter.
[Saintslayer's Dirge]: By spending mental energy, the death song of a Lord of Heaven plays around you, affecting Lawful Good creatures—your attacks deal extra damage to them.
The black-gold trophy glowed faintly, slowly merging into the red dragon's massive form, bringing the power to twist reality.
Cassius narrowed his eyes and relaxed, letting the unseen force reshape his body.
He was long used to attribute upgrades—he didn't resist, he enjoyed it.
[[Constitution]: 35→36]
[[Charisma]: 37→38]
With a rush of heat flooding his body, the red dragon's muscles tightened, steam spurted from his neck and tail vents, his body stats soared again.
The charisma boost greatly enhanced Cassius's mental power, letting his will penetrate the magic web, up to its ninth and highest layer.
From now on, even ninth-circle spells were just a thought away for him.
And that wasn't all—over these ten-odd days, he'd been quietly recovering. The experience from killing Walter, Balachiel, and his cut from the Empire player base was enough to level him up again.
Staring at his panel, the red dragon grinned with anticipation. He'd been waiting for this level-up for a long time—at his level, each one took a mountain of XP.
[You killed the Messenger Lord, Balachiel (Challenge Rating: 31), gaining 185,000 XP]
[Your total class level increased to: 26]
[Your current classes: True Dragon Sorcerer 18 / Bloodscale Berserker 3 / Elementalist 4 / Scalebound Dragon 1]
In game terms, Cassius was basically a "jack of all trades" among dragons—he'd picked up nearly every draconic prestige class out there, but none at max level.
So, he still planned to focus on his main class, getting his spellcasting high enough to duel same-tier foes.
[You chose to raise [True Dragon Sorcerer] to level 19]
[Thanks to innate draconic magic and elemental lord rights, your caster level is now: 30]
The familiar feeling swirled around Cassius, his will soared through the magic web, moving the world with every gesture.
But that wasn't all.
[Upon reaching level 19 in this class, you gain 2 legendary attribute points (usable above 20), and may increase one stat of your choice.]
In Erezaghe's leveling system, level 19 was the last time you could add stat points—after that, it was all about final class features, so the choice mattered.
Cassius licked his lips and grinned savagely, unable to wait as he eyed his panel.
[You chose to increase: Charisma]
[Charisma: 38→40]
Cosmic energy, creative words, the laws of the world all surged through the red dragon, making him whistle softly at the thrill of power.
"Roar—"
In that moment, Cassius felt the world resonate with him, his mind stretching to the end of the magic web, seeing primal magic and shaping it as he pleased.
The true name [Cassius Claudious Norrixius] was engraved into the Source Sea, making the magic web tremble and all legendary spellcasters on earth sense a resounding dragon's roar.
Cassius had now shattered the ninth-layer barrier, stepping into a realm most spellcasters couldn't reach in a lifetime.
—And Cassius did it in moments; if those old mages who spent centuries on spellcraft found out, they'd go mad with jealousy.
[Charisma raised to 40, gained trait: [Transcendent Spellcaster]]
Cassius now stood at the pinnacle of external influence, able to cast legendary spells above ninth circle.
"Boom!"
With a thought, dragonfire filled the cave, hollowing out the mountain—no spells needed, his will alone wrought destruction rivaling seventh-circle magic.
Even his roar carried magical essence, able to shatter stone, crack mountains—just moving could cause disasters, destroy mortal realms.
Even without the pureblood dragon's body, Cassius now stood as a supreme power, sought after by kings and rulers everywhere.
Watching his constantly-updating panel, Cassius's eyes burned, ready to erupt like a volcano.
With such power, if he drew some legendary dragon spell from the Age of Thunder, what next level could he reach?
[You reached back into your ancient dragon blood, gaining dragon spells: [Burning Blood][Spectral Thief][Greater Draconic Allies]]
[Burning Blood]
5th-circle transmutation spell
[It's said the strongest red dragons cause disaster even in death—their blood is like lava!
When you're hurt, your dragonblood deals ongoing damage to nearby creatures and permanently alters the environment.]
[Spectral Thief]
7th-circle conjuration spell
[Dragons often covet each other's treasure—full of trickery and unique spells.
You create an invisible force; a spectral dragon's claw steals treasures on its own.]
[Mass Draconic Allies]
9th-circle conjuration spell
[Dragon battles often pit clans and territory against each other; the more dragons on your side, the more likely to win.
Spend a huge amount of gold to summon five adult or younger allied dragons, who obey your orders for a time.]
"…"
Staring at his spell panel, Cassius's face darkened, even baring his teeth—sulfurous smoke curling from his nostrils.
At this point, these spells weren't just useless—they were garbage!
Burning Blood?
In today's world, almost nothing could make him bleed.
And if Cassius wanted to destroy mortals, he sure didn't need something this clumsy—a thought would ignite everything, the fire elementals would gladly torch the world for him.
Spectral Thief?
He ruled millions of square kilometers, an entire empire—why would he need to steal? The Claudious Arms Company's daily profits dwarfed any theft.
As for Mass Draconic Allies—he couldn't imagine a use for summoning a few adult chromatic dragons. What, threaten Tiamat with their lives? As if she'd care, even for her favorite reds.
"Fate goddess, one day I'll drag you into my lair and work you over good—if you even exist."
Cassius gritted his teeth and muttered, then stretched his mountain-sized dragon body, shifting to a more comfortable position.