The first light of dawn spread across the horizon.
Within the Norvoss command camp, thousands of soldiers were already awake.
Rows upon rows of armored infantry stood in disciplined formation, their banners swaying gently in the morning breeze.
Engineers gave the mana-restraining cannons one final inspection before rolling them toward their assigned positions.
Runes glowed faintly as mana cores were secured and calibrated.
Nearby, twenty-six wyvern riders completed their preparations.
Leather harnesses were tightened.
Wing straps were checked.
The great beasts shifted impatiently, eager to take to the skies once more.
From atop the command platform, Princess Selene watched it all in silence.
Every movement.
Every formation.
Every soldier.
Beside her stood General Aerys.
Gone was the battered armor from the previous battle.
Instead, he wore one of the newly enchanted suits forged by Norvoss' finest artificers.
Its dark steel gleamed beneath the morning sun, faint runes pulsing across its surface.
Three members of his elite guard stood behind him, clad in identical armor.
Each one represented the very best Norvoss had to offer.
Selene slowly stepped forward to the edge of the platform.
At once...
The camp fell silent.
Thousands of eyes turned toward their princess.
Her golden gaze swept across the assembled army.
Calm.
Confident.
Unwavering.
"When this war began..."
Her clear voice carried across the entire encampment.
"...the world believed Norvoss would fall."
No one spoke.
"They believed we would remain a kingdom trampled beneath stronger nations."
Her eyes hardened.
"They were wrong."
A murmur of determination spread through the ranks.
"We reclaimed our homeland."
"We rebuilt our cities."
"We forged weapons our enemies believed impossible."
She gestured toward the line of mana-restraining cannons.
"And together..."
"...we proved that even dragons can bleed."
The soldiers erupted into cheers.
Selene allowed the voices to settle before continuing.
"Our enemy possesses courage."
"They possess loyalty."
"And they possess powerful allies."
Her gaze drifted toward the distant Lumeris border.
"But courage alone does not win wars."
"Preparation does."
"Discipline does."
"Resolve does."
She looked back at her army.
"Today..."
"We march not out of hatred."
"But to secure a future where Norvoss will never kneel before another kingdom again."
Her voice rose with quiet conviction.
"Stand beside your comrades."
"Trust your commanders."
"And remember..."
"Every step you take today is a step toward protecting those waiting for you at home."
She raised one hand.
"For Norvoss."
Thousands of weapons rose into the air.
The response shook the morning sky.
"FOR NORVOSS!!"
The thunderous roar echoed across the plains.
Beside her, Aerys rested a hand upon the hilt of his sword.
A faint smile crossed his face.
"The army is ready, Princess."
Selene looked toward the distant battlefield one last time.
"...Then let history remember this day."
With a single motion of her hand, she gave the order.
"Advance."
As the roar of the Norvoss army gradually settled, Selene stepped down from the command platform.
Her eyes found General Aerys immediately.
The veteran warrior stood ready, his new enchanted armor reflecting the pale morning light.
Selene stopped before him.
"Aerys."
"Yes, Princess."
"You remember the plan."
There was no hesitation in her voice.
Her golden eyes were cold and focused.
"Lady Dark Flame will be taken out of this war."
For a brief moment, silence hung between them.
Aerys reached up and lowered the visor of his helmet with a metallic click.
"It shall be done, my Princess."
Selene gave a single nod.
"Good."
Without another word, the general turned and walked toward his waiting troops.
The second battle had begun.
---
Lumeris Border
The atmosphere couldn't have been more different.
Outside the fortified camp, the soldiers of Lumeris and Aegis stood shoulder to shoulder in orderly ranks.
Unlike Norvoss...
They weren't preparing to march.
They were preparing to endure.
Thanks to Ebruhan's reconnaissance, everyone already knew the enemy was on the move.
No one would be caught by surprise.
At the front of the assembled army stood King Cedric.
The aging king looked over the thousands of soldiers before him.
Some were veterans.
Others had only recently taken up arms.
Some wore polished armor.
Others carried equipment that had clearly seen years of service.
Yet every one of them stood their ground.
Cedric took a slow breath before speaking.
"Soldiers of Lumeris."
His steady voice carried across the silent formation.
"Our enemy marches once again."
No one flinched.
"They come with greater numbers."
"More weapons."
"More reinforcements."
His gaze swept across the army.
"And yet..."
"...so do we."
He gestured toward the banners of Aegis fluttering beside those of Lumeris.
"We do not stand alone."
"Our allies have answered our call."
"Our dragons still soar."
"Our people still believe."
The soldiers listened in complete silence.
Cedric's expression grew firmer.
"I will not lie to you."
"The battle ahead will be difficult."
"Some of us will not return home."
The words were harsh...
But honest.
"That is the burden every soldier accepts."
He placed a hand over his chest.
"But if we abandon this border..."
"...there will be no one left to protect the families waiting behind us."
He looked toward the distant horizon where Norvoss would soon appear.
"So today..."
"We stand."
"We fight."
"And we remind the world why Lumeris has endured for generations."
His sword rose high into the morning sky.
"For Lumeris!"
Thousands of voices answered at once.
"FOR LUMERIS!!"
The cry rolled across the plains, meeting the wind itself.
Among the ranks, even the newest soldiers straightened their backs.
Fear remained.
But so did resolve.
As the echoes faded, Ebruhan stood quietly near the front lines, his eyes fixed on the distant horizon.
"They're coming," he said.
BOOOOOOOM!!
A blinding beam of blue-white energy erupted from the Norvoss lines.
It streaked across the battlefield in an instant.
The mana-restraining cannon struck the enormous magical barrier protecting the Lumeris border.
CRRRRRRK!
The barrier rippled violently.
The entire dome shuddered as waves of mana spread across its surface like cracks racing through glass.
Inside the defensive line, dozens of mages immediately reacted.
"Stabilize the eastern sector!"
"Increase mana output!"
"Maintain the anchor circles!"
At the center of the formation, Emma thrust her staff into the ground.
A brilliant magic circle expanded beneath her feet.
"Everyone!"
"Keep feeding mana into the barrier!"
The surrounding high-ranking mages answered without hesitation.
"Yes!"
Streams of mana poured into the defensive formation.
Little by little...
The trembling slowed.
The cracks faded.
The barrier held.
Emma let out a quiet breath but didn't lower her guard.
"That was only a ranging shot..."
"They're testing us."
Before anyone could respond—
A powerful gust swept across the camp.
Ebruhan stepped forward.
Blue mana erupted around his body.
His human form dissolved into countless particles of light.
In its place...
A colossal blue dragon emerged.
The ground shook as his wings unfolded to their full span.
Without a word—
WHOOM!
One powerful beat of his wings launched him into the sky.
He climbed rapidly above the battlefield.
Higher.
Higher still.
The Lumeris camp shrank beneath him.
Then...
He looked toward the horizon.
His golden eyes narrowed.
"..."
For the first time since the war had begun...
Even Ebruhan was momentarily speechless.
The plains beyond the border had vanished beneath a sea of soldiers.
Thousands upon thousands of armored troops advanced in perfect formation.
Rows of spears glittered beneath the morning sun.
Banners stretched across the battlefield like a forest of steel.
Behind the infantry rolled lines of mana-restraining cannons.
Above them, wyvern riders circled patiently, waiting for the order to strike.
It wasn't merely an army.
It looked like an entire nation marching to war.
"...So this..."
Ebruhan murmured quietly.
"...is everything they've gathered."
The wind rushed past his scales.
His gaze hardened.
"No..."
His voice became resolute.
"...Then I'll stop every last one of them."
From a raised observation platform far behind the front lines, Princess Selene watched the battlefield through an brass spyglass.
The lens focused on a single figure.
Ebruhan.
The blue dragon climbed higher into the sky, circling above the battlefield.
Then...
He vanished.
His massive body disappeared as though it had never been there.
Only the disturbed clouds marked where he had been moments before.
Selene lowered the spyglass slightly.
"... Invisibility magic.."
Below him, the two armies finally collided.
Steel met steel.
The battlefield erupted into chaos.
A Lumeris infantryman drove his sword through the chest of a Norvoss soldier.
Before he could even pull the blade free—
A cavalry spear burst through his back.
The horse thundered past, leaving both bodies behind.
Elsewhere...
King Cedric fought at the center of his royal guard.
His sword cut through one enemy after another while elite bodyguards held a tight defensive formation around him.
Arrows rained from above.
Before they could reach the king...
Layers of magical barriers shimmered into existence.
The royal mages absorbed the barrage without allowing a single arrow through.
Then—
BOOM!
A violent explosion erupted in the middle of a Norvoss formation.
Soldiers were hurled through the air.
"...What was that?!"
Another explosion answered.
BOOM!
Blue mana bombs detonated seemingly out of nowhere.
Invisible death descended upon the battlefield.
Catapult crews scattered in panic.
One of the great siege engines suddenly burst apart as a torrent of dragon fire swept across it.
Wood ignited instantly.
Steel supports glowed red before melting into twisted slag.
The invisible dragon continued his assault.
Never staying in one place.
Never revealing himself.
Watching through the spyglass, Selene's lips curved into the faintest smile.
"Hm..."
"You are a clever dragon."
She calmly tracked the destruction unfolding below.
"But..."
"...you cannot remain hidden forever."
Behind her, General Aerys and his elite squad were already gone.
They had departed minutes earlier to carry out their assigned mission.
High above the battlefield, twenty-six wyvern riders spread into disciplined formations, scanning the skies.
An officer stepped beside Selene.
"Princess..."
"The artillery crews can't lock onto him."
"They can't fire if they don't know where he is."
As if to emphasize the report—
A brilliant blast of blue mana slammed into one of the mana-restraining cannon positions.
The protective magical barrier surrounding it rippled violently.
The mages maintaining it immediately poured more mana into the shield.
"It's holding!"
"Reinforce the western anchor!"
"Don't let it collapse!"
The barrier steadied...
But only barely.
Selene didn't even glance toward the cannon.
Instead...
She continued watching the invisible dragon's unseen path across the battlefield.
Her voice was quiet.
Almost thoughtful.
"He shouldn't be worrying about the cannons..."
Her golden eyes shifted toward the distant Lumeris camp.
Toward the enormous tent that still sheltered a sleeping black dragon.
"...He should be worrying about something else."
The battle line held.
For now.
Lumeris and Aegis soldiers stood shoulder to shoulder, shields locked, refusing to give an inch despite the relentless pressure from the Norvoss advance.
Then a panicked shout tore across the battlefield.
"Incoming! Wyverns!"
Heads snapped upward.
A formation of wyverns dove from the clouds.
"Brace yourselves!"
The beasts opened their jaws.
FWOOOOSH!
Rivers of fire crashed into the defensive lines.
Soldiers screamed as flames engulfed them. Some managed to roll clear, while others disappeared beneath the inferno before their comrades could reach them.
"Return fire!"
The anti-air ballistae fired almost simultaneously.
Heavy bolts screamed through the sky.
But the wyverns were far more agile than expected.
One rolled sideways.
Another folded its wings into a steep dive before climbing again.
Most of the bolts missed by mere feet.
The wyverns struck back immediately.
Several peeled away from the formation and dived straight at the ballista positions.
BOOM!
One wooden tower exploded beneath a torrent of dragonfire.
Another was smashed apart as a wyvern crashed straight through it, scattering splintered timber and broken machinery across the battlefield.
Yet not every attack succeeded.
A well-aimed ballista bolt pierced one wyvern through the neck, punching clean through its thick hide.
The beast let out a shrill, agonizing cry.
Its wings faltered.
Rider and mount spiraled helplessly before crashing into the earth with enough force to leave a crater.
The remaining wyverns pressed their assault without hesitation.
Fire rained down once more.
The defenders' formation began to buckle.
Then—
THUD!
A cluster of glowing blue mana spikes erupted from nowhere.
They punched deep into the flank of one charging wyvern.
The beast shrieked in pain.
Its rider barely had time to react.
Something massive slammed into it from above.
BOOM!
The wyvern was driven straight into the ground, throwing dirt and shattered stone high into the air.
The squadron leader's eyes widened.
"He's here!"
"Carry out the plan!"
The wyvern riders immediately changed formation.
Instead of hunting soldiers...
They began hunting the invisible dragon.
---
High above the battlefield, the squad leader leaned low against his mount's neck.
His wyvern, Dyrot, suddenly growled.
Its slit pupils narrowed.
Its head snapped sharply to the left.
The beast had sensed something.
"Dodge!"
Dyrot twisted violently.
A blue mana bomb streaked past, missing by inches before exploding behind them.
Without waiting for orders, the wyvern inhaled deeply.
Then unleashed a torrent of fire into seemingly empty air.
The flames struck something.
A translucent barrier shimmered into existence.
Ebruhan's magical shield.
The fire splashed harmlessly against it—
—but the attack had revealed his position.
The Storm Dragon burst from invisibility, his enormous blue form appearing only a few meters away.
His claws slashed toward Dyrot.
The attack missed by barely an inch.
At the last second, Dyrot lashed out.
Its claws hooked around Ebruhan's tail.
"Got him!"
The illusion completely collapsed.
"There!"
"Surround him!"
The waiting wyvern riders moved instantly.
One after another, they converged from every direction.
Claws dug into Ebruhan's scales.
Another wyvern clamped its jaws around his neck.
A second bit into one of his forelegs.
A third slammed into his wing, throwing him off balance.
Ebruhan roared.
ROOOAAARRRR!!
Pain rippled through his body.
But Ebruhan answered with terrifying brutality.
He seized the wyvern locked onto his foreleg.
His jaws snapped shut around its throat.
CRUNCH!
Blood sprayed through the air.
The wyvern's neck collapsed between his fangs.
Its lifeless body tumbled toward the battlefield below.
Another rider lunged at him.
Ebruhan's massive foreclaw caught the man before he could escape.
With one violent motion—
He threw him from his saddle.
The rider screamed as he plummeted.
His wyvern immediately released Ebruhan, diving desperately after its falling master.
For a brief moment, one attacker was gone.
But the others remained.
They clawed.
They bit.
They refused to let go.
High above the battlefield, the sky became a violent knot of wings, scales, fangs, and blood as the true Storm Dragon struggled to shake the pack from his body, Ebruhan was being overwhelmed.
The wyverns clung to him like wolves bringing down a larger beast.
Every second they remained attached slowed him further.
"Fire!"
The mana-restraining cannon crews seized the opportunity.
A brilliant blue beam erupted from the battlefield below.
It raced toward the Storm Dragon.
Ebruhan saw it.
His golden pupils narrowed to razor-thin slits.
With a thought, his magic inventory opened.
Eight massive steel shields shot into the air, spinning around him under the control of his telekinesis.
CLANG—BOOOOM!!
The first shield intercepted the beam.
The mana-restraining ray slammed into the thick slab of steel, sending it hurtling away like a thrown coin. Molten fragments scattered through the sky, but the attack never reached Ebruhan.
For an instant...
It worked.
Then—
CHOMP!
A wyvern lunged from his blind spot.
Its jaws clamped onto the side of Ebruhan's face.
"GRAAAH!"
Pain exploded through his skull.
His concentration faltered.
The telekinetic control shattered.
The remaining shields dropped from the sky like enormous meteors.
WHOOOM!
BOOM!
One after another, they crashed into the battlefield below, throwing up clouds of dirt and forcing soldiers from both armies to dive for cover.
Another wyvern seized the opportunity.
It twisted violently before sinking its fangs deep into Ebruhan's left wing.
CRACK!
The sound echoed across the battlefield.
The wing bone snapped.
Ebruhan's eyes widened.
His balance vanished instantly.
The Storm Dragon plummeted from the sky.
Still covered by clinging wyverns.
Still fighting.
BOOOOOOM!!
The impact shook the earth.
A shockwave burst outward, throwing nearby soldiers off their feet.
Dust and shattered stone climbed high into the air, hiding everything inside a massive cloud.
For several long seconds...
No one could see what had happened.
Then the dust slowly began to settle.
A dead wyvern lay motionless nearby, its body twisted beyond recognition.
Another remained trapped between Ebruhan's jaws, desperately thrashing in panic.
The blue dragon's fangs tightened.
CRUNCH!
The wyvern went limp.
With a savage jerk of his neck, Ebruhan tore another wyvern's head clean from its body.
Blood sprayed across the shattered ground.
He spat the severed head aside.
It rolled to a stop before a line of stunned Norvoss soldiers.
Ebruhan slowly lifted his head.
A deep, guttural growl rumbled from his chest.
His broken wing hung uselessly at his side.
Blood trickled between his blue scales.
Yet his golden eyes still burned with unmistakable fury.
Around him...
The surviving wyverns formed a tightening circle.
They no longer saw a graceful dragon soaring through the heavens.
They saw a wounded monster.
Their leader lowered his spear.
"Finish him!"
The entire pack charged at once.
Ebruhan answered with a thunderous roar that shook the battlefield.
ROOOOOOOOAAAAARRRRR!!