A sonic boom tore across the heavens. The clouds split open like a curtain being ripped apart. Along with it came a brewing storm, with lightning flashing in the distance.

Instinctively, all the leaders looked up at the sky. There, they could see the shadow of something enormous flying overhead.

At first, the leaders looked absent-minded. But when they felt the power envelop the area even from such a distance, their faces lit up with relief and joy.

"Finally here, huh?" Thane spoke, a smile creeping onto his bearded face.

"My apologies. I got held up by something on the way. Hence the delay."

RUMBLE...

Lightning exploded, and the storm that had been brewing in the distant sky was now already overhead. Then, from within the storm, appeared the figure of something enormous.

The being had vast wings that covered almost one-third of the battlefield in shadow. Its body gleamed with impenetrable polished stormsteel, deep silver streaked with veins of crackling lightning.

Two huge horns curved backward from its head like the crown of a storm god, and its eyes burned with ancient golden fury. 𝚏𝕣𝐞𝗲𝐰𝕖𝐛𝐧𝕠𝕧𝚎𝚕.𝐜𝚘𝗺

When the figure roared, the heavens answered.

The being stood at the peak of all races and exuded a majesty that overwhelmed everything around it.

"To be able to hold Lord Aurelius, is the matter truly troublesome?" Skadi questioned.

The being, who was referred to as Aurelius, shook his head.

"More than troublesome, I would say the matter is confusing."

As he said that, his eyes inadvertently went toward the elf leader. After glancing at the man, he shifted his gaze back toward the swarm of Malice Engines carpeting the land.

"I guess I should get to taking care of the things here."

"Do you need help, Lord Aurelius?"

"No. You all have done your part. Now rest. Leave everything to me."

Saying that, he unfolded his wings and took to the air. Then, with overwhelming momentum, he flew toward the onrushing swarm.

The leaders of the various races did not argue with his words, nor did they try to back him up. Because they all knew that the man named Aurelius did not need their help. He was powerful enough to destroy the army of Malice Engines all by himself.

He was the Storm Dragon Lord.

BOOOOOOOOOOM!!

A tidal wave of lightning exploded outward.

Malice Engines disintegrated instantly. Their bodies, harder than mythril, melted like wax. Hundreds of constructs were vaporized in a single strike.

With each beat of his massive wings, lightning and wind cascaded everywhere like divine judgment.

Every attack, every sweep of his claws, crushed dozens of Malice Engines. In the blink of an eye, the battlefield turned into a storm of destruction.

Of course, the swarm tried to retaliate. Beams of crimson energy fired, missiles flew through the air, and all kinds of attacks targeted Aurelius.

However, forget about damaging him, they could not even penetrate his mana barrier.

The Storm Dragon Lord attacked.

True to his name, he unleashed a storm on the swarm, annihilating them before they could even recover.

Aurelius was nearly finished dealing with the swarm of Malice Engines when suddenly his instincts sensed danger. He moved his neck aside, narrowly dodging a glowing, condensed plasma beam.

BOOOMMM...

A huge explosion that covered numerous mountains set off in the distance. Looking at the scale of the attack and the power within it, Aurelius’s draconic eyes narrowed.

He then turned his attention to the last remaining Malice Engine.

The Titan-Class construct was slowly approaching from a distance.

"A weaver-type Titan, huh. It seems you are underestimating Dragonia’s demons."

Aurelius spat in fury.

It was unknown whether he was saying that to himself or to the Titan-Class. But there was some effect.

A whirring sound came from the Titan-Class Malice Engine, and it quickly unleashed numerous weapons of war.

Aurelius did not stay idle either. He charged toward the Malice Engine with a flap of his wings.

Dragon and Titan collided like two falling mountains, and the shockwaves of their battle shook the entire Ashen Gate.

The Titan’s claws struck first. Massive steel talons slashed across Aurelius’s chest. Sparks exploded as metal met dragon scale.

But the Storm Dragon Lord did not retreat. He bit down, his jaws closing around the Titan’s shoulder, crushing and grinding its armor.

Parts after parts were thrown into the sky, falling to the earth in a shower.

As they looked at the scene from afar, the leaders all made varying expressions.

The Titan-Class armor that had taken them so many attacks and tricky maneuvers to breach was as soft as persimmon against Aurelius.

From this, they could see how absurdly powerful a dragon’s body was. Just imagining the strength of those jaws was enough to send a chill down their spines.

The battle shifted.

The Titan-Class Malice Engine did not take the beating lying down. It retaliated instantly, its cable tendrils shooting forward, wrapping around Aurelius’s wings and neck.

Then its chest cavity opened, revealing an enormous cannon barrel. Inside the barrel, annihilation-like power was brewing.

The scene alarmed everyone. Even Aurelius narrowed his eyes.

The next second, a gigantic twister formed with his body as the core. The hurricane swiftly picked up speed and cut all the wires binding his body.

Now free, Aurelius quickly flew back and opened some distance. Then, without a second’s delay, his body burst forth with a strange silvery light. The temperature rose, and the ground around him instantly turned silvery white from the radiation.

Finished charging, the Titan fired its cannon. A beam of catastrophic energy blasted forward.

At the same moment, Aurelius opened his mouth wide and responded with his own counter.

A breath.

"[Storm Breath]."

A torrent of pure lightning surged out, taking the form of a majestic dragon.

BOOOMMM...

When the two attacks crashed into each other, the world turned white. Then came the deafening sound, followed by a ring of shockwaves that annihilated everything.

The ground cracked, the topography reshaped, and as for the leaders, they had to protect themselves from getting killed by the wildly surging afterstorm.

Still, even as they suffered, their eyes never left the center of the battlefield.

For a moment, the two forces seemed equal in might. But that stalemate did not last long.

The [Storm Breath] devoured the beam and tore straight through the Titan’s chest core, erupting out the other side. Mountain ranges and everything that came in contact with the breath were instantly flattened until only an enormous gully remained.

Silence descended onto the battlefield.

Looking at the enormous hole in the Titan’s body and the gully behind it, it was not hard to determine who the victor was.

BOOM!

Another explosion shook the battlefield, and the Titan’s body detonated. With the final Titan-Class Malice Engine gone, the battle finally came to a close, for now.

Aurelius hovered in the sky, his majestic presence engulfing the entire place. He looked at the sacrifices littering the battlefield and toward the distant jet-black lands and sighed.

Although they had won this battle, the sacrifices they had made in return were not small.

Aurelius flew around the battlefield before finding the leaders and landing before them.

The moment his massive body touched the ground, a burst of silvery light erupted around him, covering his form.

When the light faded, the dragon had disappeared, and in its place stood a man.

He was tall, broad-shouldered, and his presence carried a quiet, ancient weight. He had long silvery hair, golden draconic eyes, and a faint scale-like pattern around the edges of his eyes that glimmered softly whenever lightning flashed in the sky.

His clothes were regal, and his bearing was noble.

The man was none other than Aurelius, one of the mighty Dragon Lords of Draconia and its protectors.

"You almost killed us with your last attack. Did you really have to use your breath?" Thane joked, dusting his body off.

The other leaders were the same. They were all injured and half dead before. However, now they looked even more miserable.

"Forgive me. I sensed the power of the Sixth Evil within that Malice Engine. As such, I did not take any risks."

His words caused the leaders to nod their heads in understanding.

"Anyways, did you find anyone?"

Aurelius slowly shook his head.

"I searched the entire battlefield, but I did not sense a single breath of life."

Silence fell, and the leaders looked a little downcast.

Aurelius’s words meant one thing. The entire western division stationed here had been completely annihilated. Not even a single survivor remained.

"Let us not dwell on it too much."

The Storm Dragon Lord sighed.

"War takes lives. That is the nature of this world. Rather than pointlessly mourning for the fallen, let us remember them and carry their sacrifices forward."

He looked at the battlefield before shifting his attention toward the leaders of the varied races.

"Besides, you all have a more important task now. You are to leave Ashen Gate immediately and assemble at Ignis Prime. This is the command of the Dragon King."