Ashen Dragon-Chapter 565 - 27 Beginning

Nine days ago, demons attacked the Stormy Slope Ranch.

Three days ago, demons attacked Mar City.

Yesterday, the demons attacked the train headed to Isdalia.

These foul vermin from The Abyss have swarmed out, intending to destroy the Order of the Empire, to ruin everything we possess!

As warriors of the Great Red Dragon, as subjects of His Majesty Cassius, we must not tolerate this insult, this demonic invasion!

Vast though the Empire may be, we have nowhere left to retreat! Isdalia lies just behind us!”

…

Inside a command center in the bunker, George flipped through the supply report while listening to the broadcast speech and casually remarked, “Marshal Dolores still likes to show off, doesn’t he?”

“Come in.”

An officer knocked on the door and quickly stepped in from outside, presenting the latest news.

“Captain, the higher-ups have sent a coded message; our position may be the first to meet the demon’s onslaught.”

Updat𝒆d fr𝑜m freewebnøvel.com.

“I understand.

Tell them to prepare themselves mentally, to remain vigilant at all times, and not to take the conflict too lightly.

Remember, this is not a war for show, and these demons are not like those softies from the North.”

George set down the paper report in his hands and spoke gravely.

He rose from his seat and looked at the map on the wall, studying the dense array of markers, the corner of his mouth slightly curling:

“However… whether they can break through our line today is still an unknown.”

George turned his head, gazing out of the ventilation window onto the endless wasteland.

The shoulder board, bearing the rank of “Colonel,” sewn with the golden Bipedal Wyvern, glittered in the bunker’s light.

Imperial’s Wall.

This massive defensive line, spanning hundreds of miles, was constructed from reinforced concrete, exceptionally sturdy.

It mainly includes the Hoxie Fortress Region, Ter Fortress Region, and Lower River Valley Region.

With Hoxie and Ter as its strongest constructs. The Lower River Valley Territory benefitted from the natural barriers of the Inaki River and Olvir River.

Within the defensive line lay all sorts of artillery, trenches, fortresses, kitchens, hospitals, and factories, fully equipped—a steam locomotive corridor in the larger constructions.

A total of two hundred seventy-six battalion command posts were along this line, each interconnected with communication devices, with a total force of five hundred fifty thousand men ready for battle along this line.

This is the scale of war the land of Anzeta had never seen before; The Scania People had never experienced warfare to this degree in a millennium.

The Empire’s years of accumulated war potential had at last been fully unleashed. Emergency mobilization was taking place everywhere, with steam locomotives loaded with soldiers and supplies rushing to the South.

When including logistics personnel, the number of people involved in the war could reach one million.

And if one were to count the “indirect participants,” it could be said that the entire Empire had been thrown into this grand-scale defensive war. The terrifying war machine had now been set completely in motion.

However, the Empire’s enemy was no less formidable. They were Demon Legions from The Abyss, responsible for the destruction of countless mortal nations and innumerable slaughters of mortals over the long years.

The Abyssal Legions were true killing machines, relishing rivers of blood, loving pain and torture, existing solely to spread evil, fear, and chaos.

The collision between the Empire and The Abyss was about to begin.

“Commander, there’s news again.”

“Speak.”

“At nine forty-five last night, the frontline outpost at Leo Village lost communication; at ten twenty-one, Ande Village outpost lost communication; at eleven forty-five, Arcade Village outpost lost communication…

“Up until now, nearly all of the Starfallen outposts have been overrun, and most of the Starfallen are being revived in Arrays, which has caused some overcrowding and stampede incidents.”

George frowned, “This quickly?”

Though those Starfallen were not strong, there were still more than a million of them! Their outposts were spread out over thousands of villages.

Even slaughtering a million pigs would take three days, yet only a single night had passed, and all those Starfallen positions had been overrun?

This could only mean—The power of the Abyssal Legion was even beyond his expectations.

George pulled out the finely-crafted handgun from his waist and gently wiped it with a handkerchief, “How much longer till they reach the Imperial’s Wall?”

The adjudant swallowed hard, his voice heavy, “According to messages from headquarters, approximately…

Now.”

George felt the entire bunker trembling slightly, ripples appearing in the cup of water on the table.

He stood up and looked out the window again, then drew in a sharp breath, his eyes filled with gravity.

Even George, who had been through many battles and had much battlefield experience, had never seen such a sight.

“Cassius above…”

In the distance, a surging flood appeared, nearly occupying the entire wasteland, dying the horizon a mottled color.

But the flood was not made of water, it was demons.

The lowest, cheapest Coward Demons crowded forward, issuing shrill, noisy screams.

Short, thin and entirely red Bab Demons were mingled among them, moving swiftly like Ghost Charms with their piercing laughter filling the surroundings.

“Boom! Boom!”

Giant figures took great strides across the cursed land, each step causing the earth to tremble.

With abnormally long tree trunk-like arms and a demon’s giant bull head smeared in pride, crowned with forward-extending monstrous horns—that was the Giant Bull Demon.

Platforms were still strapped to the Giant Bull Demon’s head and shoulders, upon which stood smaller demons, making it resemble a moving fortress.

Berserker Demons, Bagulamo, and other strong Middle-Ranking Demons formed legions, bellowing their war cries enthusiastically as they charged towards the distant bunker.

In the sky, Kwase Demons, Kasmo, Frosthorn, and other demons flapped their wings.

Their ugly wings collided and rubbed against each other, creating noise, and these demons, like a surging cloud of locusts, nearly obscured half the sky, casting chaotic shadows on the ground below.

The entire South was dimmed, the Sun blocked by the Magic Tide and unable to shine its rays upon the land.

And this was just the beginning. In the distant snowy mountains, demons still flowed towards the North like raging torrents, covering the mountains and plains with no sign of stopping.

Just the demons that appeared in George’s field of view might number in the hundreds of thousands.

This also caused many soldiers in the bunker to doubt themselves for the first time—could they truly defeat these demons?