The Duke’s Eldest Son Escaped to the Military

Chapter 201: The Beginning of Destruction (2)

63.  The Beginning of Destruction (2)

The heat from the giant flame thrown at the palace seemed able to melt everything it touched. But then an unexpected miracle happened. 

The protective shield over the palace withstood the dragon’s breath. 

“Stop it! Stop the dragon!”

The commanding officer yelled, while throwing up blood. The capital guards immediately went into action at his words. The first ones to move were the drake knights. 

“All the spear knights charge!”

Drake knights carrying huge spears rushed forward. Other drake knights carrying small mana stones followed behind them to cover their backs. Using mana, the drakes and knights synchronized, calling forth beams of light that struck the dragon’s back like thunderbolts raining from the sky. 

Bang! Bang! Bang!

Once the spear knights attacked, the dragon who had been about to release another breath crashed into the ground. 

“Something doesn’t seem right.”

A drake knight spoke, his head tilted to the side. The dragon was much smaller than they thought, and even weirder, the breath it had pointed at the palace was too weak. Its power was way too little to be able to break the capital’s protective shield all at once. 

“There are more of them!”

Suddenly, there were several dragons flying in midair. There were so many of them, numbering in the hundreds. 

“How the hell……”

The man leading the drake knights was struck speechless at the shout of one of the drake knights. 

The people of this world had instruments called mana radars, and the empire’s capital was equipped with several of these radars. However, the radars did not catch the arrival of this many dragons, making one puzzled about how they had gathered here. 

But now was not the time to contemplate that. 

“All troops, prepare to charge!”

“Yes, sir!”

The drake knights holding their magic-covered spears prepared to charge as they watched the dragons approach. Behind them, the airships began taking off. The mana stones on them, as well as the compact cannons that had been built in the southeast were installed on the airships, and emitted light to pre-empt the dragons’ approach. At the same time, the wizards began exerting all their effort to restore the protective shield. 

Repairing the cracked parts of the shield required a substantial amount of time, but all the wizards raced to repair it, pouring out all their mana. 

The people of the capital became excited once they got news of this. Everyone had become fretful when they first heard that the dragonfolk army had destroyed an entire corps. But unexpectedly, the drake knights and the air force were now pushing back the dragons. This made hope begin building again in the hearts of the citizens. Even the ministers felt the same way. 

As they watched the capital guards bravely hold off the dragons who were several times the size of drakes, the people prayed they would succeed. They knew that their lives depended on whether the soldiers could stop the dragons. 

“Your Majesty! Our troops are driving back the dragons!”

The chamberlain excitedly relayed the news to the emperor, but the emperor’s face remained as still as ever. 

Those creatures’ sizes could not be compared to any drakes. Placed next to the drakes, their huge frames made them veritable giants. They were absolutely not ‘dragons’. 

“Chamberlain.”

“Yes, Your Majesty?”

The chamberlain who had been abuzz with excitement bowed as he answered the emperor’s call. 

“Tell the capital guards to prepare for contingency.”

“Yes, Your Majesty?”

The chamberlain’s eyes widened at the emperor’s order. 

“Your… Your Majesty?”

The emperor’s command to prepare for contingency was for them to protect the warp gate at least, in case God’s Orb was destroyed and the palace attacked. They had to protect the warp gate that the masters would come through. 

Only if they did that could they plan for the future. 

Each command had already been informed that the dragons had started attacking the capital. While it was difficult for many of the commanders to come since they were in the middle of war, the warp gate had to be safeguarded so that few commanders who were not in battle could reach the capital. 

“But the capital guards are expelling the dragons right now.”

“Those things are not real dragons.”

At the emperor’s words, the chamberlain looked at him with a doubt-filled expression. 

“But… but they have magic.”

Just as the chamberlain said, the creatures they had assumed were dragons were indeed using magic to fend off the drake knights, block the airships’ attacks and advance towards the capital. There were even flying dragonfolk who had appeared to help them. 

One of the corps of the dragonfolk army that had defeated the central army was flying to their aid. In fact, the ‘dragons’ were under the command of those dragonfolk. 

Still, the emperor maintained that they were not dragons. 

“They are hatchlings.”

“Does Your Majesty mean that they are young dragons?”

The chamberlain asked the emperor, as if he knew what the word ‘hatchling’ meant. 

“Those are called hatchlings too. But these are different.”

 The emperor recalled the hatchlings he had seen in his dream as he spoke. 

“Imperfect dragons. That’s what they are.”

“…what does that mean…?”

Just as the chamberlain began speaking, the ground began shaking and the protective shield began vibrating again. Once he saw that the emperor spoke urgently. 

“Chamberlain!”

Understanding what the emperor meant, the chamberlain hurriedly left the room with his head bowed. The emperor watched the chamberlain bite his lips fretfully as he left, before turning to look up at the sky with a serene expression.

“Is it finally here?”

He recalled the scene he had seen several times in his dream, in which the shield was cracked, and continuously struck with beams of light like some entertaining fireworks show. 

“So that was what first broke the shield.”

The moment the emperor spoke those words, another crack formed on the protective shield. At the same time, the dragonfolk began appearing 

Ancient beings had been appearing here and there all over the empire, and mutated creatures had been attacking the empire, making the empire’s main forces unable to reach the capital, as if all this had long been planned.  At the same time, the dragonfolk corps had been racing towards the capital without pause, as if they knew the capital was at a critical point. They were without hesitation, moving as if they were working based on expected circumstances. 

“It really appeared.”

As the shield was being battered by light beams, an enormous dragon appeared far away from behind a cloud. 

This time, it was a real dragon, a true ancient dragon, like in the olden days. The dragon silently gazed at the palace, cutting a lofty, awe-inspiring figure. Prepared to erase the palace off the face of the continent, it opened its huge mouth and let loose a great beam of light. The beam, its strength on a wholly different level from a hatchling’s breath, caused a crack to form in the protective shield, breaking it even further. 

Crack!

The beam disappeared the moment the shield cracked, but its shockwave caused one part of the palace to collapse, a great boom accompanying the collapse. 

Thankfully, breaking the shield had been difficult for the dragon to do, and it had no more breath left. However, the collapse of one part of the palace sent the ministers and the central officials into a panic. They began running around in confusion as fear of oncoming death filled them. 

The emperor who had just stepped out of his study looked on at them with a cold expression before scolding them angrily. 

“All of you calm down now!”

The emperor’s roar silenced the panicking ministers, and they turned to stare blankly at him, 

“All central officials and ministers, immediately leave the palace and carry out the tasks you are supposed to do.”

The task they were supposed to do. That task was to pacify and comfort the confused public, and take action according to the procedure outlined in their contingency manual. 

An official questioned the emperor with a fear-filled look. 

“What… what about you, Your Majesty…”

“I will also go do what I have to do.”

After responding to the young official, the emperor led the palace guards and garrison knights that he had assembled at some point towards where God’s Orb was. He was on his way there to do the last thing he could do for the empire as its ruler. 

He had to finish the task of the imperial family that had been passed down since the time of the first emperor. 

“Your Majesty…”

The officials kowtowed to the emperor, all of them on the verge of tears. The moment the ancient dragon had appeared, they all had the premonition that they had no hope living the palace alive. 

Maybe it was because they felt death approaching. The central officials, who had been trembling with fear just a moment ago, were filled with a strong sense of resolve. The emperor wanted to maintain the capital and protect the pride of the empire till the very end. They couldn’t continue petitioning to run away from the capital instead. 

“We will carry out Your Majesty’s orders by all means.”

“Go ahead.”

All the officials left the room at once with those brief words. The emperor watched their departing backs, and began thinking of the first emperor’s dying injunctions that had been passed down from generation to generation. 

“You must protect God’s Orb until the very end.”

The first emperor’s command demanded that they protect God’s Orb no matter what happened. It didn’t matter if doing so would become the end of the imperial family: they had to safeguard it at all cost. 

That instruction seemed to not be a simple command, but a curse on the imperial family. But no matter. He still had to protect it. 

He led all the palace guards and the garrison knights to the palace where God’s Orb was being stored. 

“You must defend this place with your life till the end.”

“Yes, Your Majesty!”

All the guards and knights bowed in response to the emperor’s orders. The emperor, not knowing if that would be his last order ever, entered the building where the Orb was while wearing a calm expression. 

None of the guards following him showed a panicked expression either. Each of them had been selected beforehand based on how prepared they were to die. Each of them filled with courage, ready to protect the empire till the end. 

Having been selected for their bravery and loyalty to the empire, rather than for their skill, they were the excellent choice for fighters to go to the end with the empire. 

Vwoong! Vwoong!

“You are also aware that the end has come?”

The emperor looked at God’s Orb which was ringing intensely, different from its former long silence. The God’s Orb, which had been with the empire for so long, vibrated fiercely as if it knew that end had come. 

Maybe it was because of the current situation, but he could hear a certain strong will in the Orb’s ringing. As sadness, disappointment and several other emotions surged through him, the emperor unknowingly placed his hand on God’s Orb. 

“Ah……”

An emotion the emperor did not know how to describe wound its way through the emperor’s body, as a unique mana wavelength began spreading. At the same time, all the events that erupted at the same time all over the continent flashed through his mind. 

Ancient creatures began waking up one after the other, and external gods spared no effort in trying to devour the continent. Simultaneously, something even more sinister had come knocking on the protective shield. 

God’s Orb had protected the world from all of this. 

“You’ve worked hard.”

Another cry rang from God’s Orb at the emperor’s words. 

Vwoong!

The emperor and the God’s Orb shared a short communion. But that communion could not last long. 

Where only the emperor and God’s Orb were supposed to be, an unwelcome guest had arrived as well. 

-So you didn’t run away. 

The being was in human form, but the two large horns and the sparse scales on its skin marked him as strange. Nevertheless, his face held an overwhelming beauty. 

“Are you a dragon? You are white.”

The man the emperor had called a dragon looked at the emperor with round eyes, surprised. 

-You seem to know about us?

“At the very least, I know that you are not some imperfect being, like those hatchlings.”

The dragon laughed softly at the emperor’s words. 

-You even know that?

The dragon continued to look at the emperor who was more knowledgeable than it had thought. In the long-gone past, the dragon species had been on the verge of extinction, and in a desperate position, had mated with drakes and wyverns, creating hybrids, in a bid to maintain the dragon species. 

However, since they mated with species inferior to them, the offspring produced were bound to be imperfect. The number of those hybrid offspring who had advanced to become full dragons could be counted on one hand. The rest could only remain imperfect entities. The dragon lord called those imperfect creatures hatchlings, the same as young dragons were called. 

“If you are here, then it means everyone outside is dead.”

-Yeah… you’re correct. They were all quite persistent, just like you.

The dragon continued speaking in admiration. 

-I clearly heard that all the members of the current imperial family are trash… It seems the rumors were wrong. 

The dragon gazed at the emperor, deep in thought. He could sense the emperor’s clairvoyance, something that was almost completely absent even in the ancient times, as well as his strong determination. The emperor’s resolve to go down with the empire radiated strongly from his eyes. 

–Tut, tut. Now, you have put me under pressure. 

The dragon flinched, his features twisting into a frown. He could feel a powerful mana impact coming from afar. 

-…They are here already?

He felt a power that was in now way inferior to his. A master had arrived. 

-I am now in an awkward situation thanks to you. My plans to use this capital as my base for shaking up this empire have now gone down the drain.

The dragon stretched out a hand as he spoke. 

-Nevertheless, since I have come all the way here, I should complete my first goal. 

As he spoke, he gathered a fearsome mana in the palm of his hand. 

-I applaud you for staying to protect your empire until the very end.

Upon uttering those words, the dragon sent the enormous beam towards God’s Orb. The emperor jumped in front of the Orb, accompanying it to its demise. 

The God’s Orb, unable to withstand the dragon’s breath, shattered instantly. 

Crack!

-Finally… is this the beginning of the destruction? It won’t be long now until the king is resurrected. 

It was as the dragon mumbled to himself that the emperor’s body, from which his heart and left arm were missing, as well as the pieces of God’s Orb began floating. 

-This… How!?

Realizing what phenomenon had just occurred, the dragon tried to gather the highest level of magic he could, a startled expression on his face. 

But all the pieces that had made up the God’s Orb radiated with light, rendering his efforts useless. At the same time, a huge pillar of light fell on the palace, and the voice of a system sounded throughout the whole continent. 

[The Apocalypse has begun]