Roar!
Asher lifted his head, his eyes gazing at the dark silhouette looming in the clouds, heading for the battlefield. Even from hundreds of meters away, its oppressive might had already descended over the battlefield.
Shing!
Steel whispered as Asher drew Euodias while Bezerk surged forward. Behind him, the paladins thundered in formation, their warhorses trembling the earth, while the temple slaves soared above, their fluttering cloaks marking their passage. Together, they traversed the battlefield with imposing might.
Cloaks fluttering, weapons poised, and eyes fixed on the rapidly encroaching creature.
Roar!
When the wyvern burst from the forest, it began breathing out a deadly stream of ice upon the Ashbourne main army.
Seeing the lethal frost, Alec dashed toward it, his massive frame propelled forward, and his heavy steps caused the earth beneath his feet to sink a little bit more than normal.
“Argh!”
With a powerful yell, he leapt over a great distance, landing before the soldiers with his shield raised. The mouth of the draconic engraving on his shield opened up, swallowing the ice. But even as it absorbed the attack, frost began to spread outward, slowly engulfing the metal shield.
Noticing Alec’s resistance, the wyvern rider stopped the beast’s assault and guided it to land. The moment the wyvern landed, its slitted eyes sized up the Grand Aegis infantrymen around it with their shields raised.
“Humph!”
The rider scoffed.
With a single sweep of its tail, the wyvern sent the heavy infantrymen hurling into the distance as if they were as light as a feather before its might.
After letting out a growl, the dark blue-scaled beast lifted its head, an eerie blue light glowing along the length of its neck.
Once again, it breathed out another blast of frost from its maw.
But its frost was met with an identical wave of frost that came out of Alec’s shield!
Infuriated, the wyvern lunged toward Alec, its wings and hindlimbs propelling it forward with a terrifying force. Alec braced himself to block its strike, but the impact sent him hurtling backwards for several meters before he crashed against the frozen ground.
When he rose up, his eyes hidden beneath his helmet narrowed.
A massive gash had marred his shield!
Before his eyes, Alec saw as the giant beast continued its assault, breathing ice on his men. Tightening his grip around his spear, Alec was about to charge toward the wyvern—only to freeze in place.
Before him, something unnatural was happening. Enjoy exclusive adventures from My Virtual Library Empire
Roots made out of ice erupted from the battlefield a few meters ahead, twisting and growing before his eyes.
A stump grew, and from there, it thickened into a trunk. Branches extended outward; leaves sprouted like frozen blades!
Alec lifted his head, gazing at the top of this extraordinary tree that had come from seemingly nowhere.
But the tree wasn’t alone.
His shock increased when he noticed that other trees were sprouting, transforming the battlefield into an entirely new terrain made out of ice!
Strange kinds of plants grew out, transforming the battlefield into an unrecognisable terrain.
“W… what in the world is this?” Count William frowned as he slowed down his advance. He reached out, his fingers brushing against one of the ice trees—cold and strangely hard!
Then his gaze veered.
Through the ice forest, a golden-armored figure was charging with an elite force following him. Even without being told, William knew the truth.
This was Asher’s doing.
He was the only one capable of releasing such great force. A force so immense to fill a vacuum!
“Such might. So, Asher Ashbourne… you’ve been hiding this power from the world this whole time!” he scowled.
Shing!
“Yet even this may not be enough. A wyvern, though lesser than a pure dragon, is still a powerful force to be reckoned with.”
His sword gleamed as he brandished it, his tiger lunged forward, closing the gap between the Black Tiger Cavalry and the Bladebreakers.
The clash between both elite cavalries began as they surged toward one another, their lances poised for a deadly collision.
Shockingly, the Bladebreakers held the upper hand, thanks to the height advantage of their mounts! The species of horse they rode were anything ever seen or heard of before.
Where in all of the high planes had anyone encountered horses with bone spikes protruding from their joints?
What kind of horses were these?
Willam frowned. He had gotten used to the temple knights, but these horses were a new surprise. Just how many more secrets were hidden behind those walls?!
‘They do have an advantage, but so do we.’
A slow smile spread across Count William’s face.
Their advantage was numbers!
One of the greatest strengths in any battle!
“Commander, to your left!” a Bladebreaker bellowed.
Lambert turned sharply. About two thousand barbarian riders were fast approaching, dust rising behind them as the earth trembled, announcing their arrival.
The situation on their side was daunting but not as dire as the battle against the dragon!
It was the only creature on the battlefield that was capable of shattering the ice trees and breathing frost, powerful enough to freeze the bodies of sacred and saint-ranked knights alike!
“Split!”
Asher’s command rang out, and the paladins swiftly split into two groups.
With a thunderous impact, the wyvern slammed its claws to the ground, lowering its long, sinuous neck before breathing out a freezing gust that blocked the path of the other paladins breaking away from Asher.
A dreadfully crimson light flared from Asher, enveloping his mount and his men, giving them the ability to close the gap. The sheer oppressive might of the wyvern was enough to take the fight out of any knight, but with Asher’s protection, the paladins stood their ground.
“You Westerners!” The wyvern rider bellowed, his voice grim. “Die–!”
Bam!
Sirius slammed into the wyvern, sending the rider lurching to the other side.
‘I almost fell!’ His eyes widened in shock.
“Kill that wolf!” He yelled.
The wyvern bared its fangs and snapped its jaws shut—but before they could connect, Sirius breathed out a torrent of flames, scorching the beast’s mouth!
Smoke billowed out of the wyvern’s mouth as it trashed its head violently.
With a low, guttural growl, Sirius swelled itself in size, pinning one of its massive forelimbs against the wyvern’s neck. Drool dripped from its fangs as it glared at the dumbfounded rider.
“Where did this wolf come from?”
The rider gasped. All his life, he had been exalted as a wyvern rider.
Even entire dukedoms feared his county because of the wyvern’s might, but here he was… facing an even greater terror.
A wolf whose shadow darkened even the sun!
His pupils shrank in fear.
“Yonna, take me out of here!” He cried out, but before the wyvern could react, a massive ice pillar erupted from the ground, trapping its head in a frozen vice.
Sirius lunged forward, seizing the moment. With a gleeful growl, it swallowed the rider whole—grinning as it crushed his tiny bones between its fangs!
At that moment, the wyvern raised and wrenched itself out of the ice before forcing itself out of Sirius. With a powerful swipe of its spiked tail, it launched a heavy slap to Sirius’s face, forcing the wolf to stagger back.
With a mighty beat of its wings, the wyvern generated a gust of wind that blasted the knights around and their horses tumbling away.
But just then, a clean white sword light sliced through its left wing, eliciting a cry from the wyvern.
It turned toward Sapphira, snarling, but was forced to ignore her as the paladins hurled their spears at it. The weapons pierced through its thick scales, making it roar in pain.
Desperate, it unleashed a reckless blast of frost everywhere, engulfing everything in a blinding, icy fog.
But even within the gaze, its dragon senses allowed it to see the brilliance of force—and at this moment, two bright forces stood before it.
One was a man clad in golden armor, and the other was the white wolf behind it.
Both of them charged at it at once.
Sirius pounced, clamping on to its tail, stopping it from flying. Realizing that its escape was cut off, the wyvern inhaled deeply, preparing to breathe out another frost blast… but Asher burst through the icy mist, his sword raised aloft.
Its runes shone softly.
Slash.
