Aeron did not know what else to do. His fire was strong, but it was not enough. The hydra could not burn. His heart pounded with frustration. He could not just sit on Draco’s back and watch people die.
From above he looked at the walls and saw the place where the creatures kept climbing. That was the side they used to jump into the kingdom. Aeron pushed Draco forward, and together they sent flames down on that side again and again.
The fire continued to burn, yet the monsters kept climbing. They crawled out of the fire, unhurt, their bones darkening but not breaking. Aeron was very angry. He burned harder, pushing Draco to breathe fire with all his strength, but still nothing changed.
"What is happening, boy? We have to do something. We can’t just stay here and watch them die." Aeron sounded frustrated.
Then suddenly, he felt something.
[FLAMEBOND SYSTEM – STAGE IV]
| Trait Unlocked: INFERNAL CORE – 55%
– Bond Confirmed: Drakeling Imprint Complete –
| Flameborn Companion Linked:
Species: Drakeling (Silver-Fire Class)
Name: Draco
| Soul Synchronisation Level: 60%
| Affinity Bonus: +60% Fire, +40% Air
| Warning: Bond Link is permanent
Aeron’s eyes widened. His chest felt hot, as if his heart was covered in fire.
"Wonderful," he whispered, then louder, "Let’s do this then, shall we?"
Draco let out a deep growl and together they moved closer to the wall. Aeron commanded the flames again, and this time the fire was different. Stronger. Brighter. When it struck the climbing hydra, they shrieked, their bones cracked. Slowly, the skeletons began to turn into ash.
Aeron’s jaw dropped in surprise. "Good boy... good boy!" he shouted, patting Draco’s neck. With renewed fire, he burned the creatures still climbing. For the first time, they fell back screaming, and their bodies were crumbling.
Aeron and Draco kept rising higher and hovered above the wall. Together, they sent fire into the distance and burned those who were marching toward the gates. The flames spread wide, turning many to ash. Yet even as he burned, Aeron saw the truth. There were still too many. Thousands upon thousands. And worse, hundreds had already swarmed into the kingdom. From the streets below came the sound of massacre.
Aeron’s chest grew heavier. He could not be everywhere at once. He wanted to leave Draco to keep burning those outside alone, while he helped the soldiers inside. But he didn’t know if he could do it alone. He clenched his fists. He had to make a choice.
Just as he was about to jump down from Draco’s back, a strange sound reached his ears. From far in the dark, beyond the firelight, came the noise of humans. But not normal cries. It was chanting, the sound of soldiers moving in great numbers.
"This sound... I know it," Aeron whispered as his eyes darted to the shadows. The sound kept growing louder as they came closer.
At last, it became clear. From the two far corners, on both sides of the wall, appeared huge groups of soldiers. Thousands of them on horses, men with weapons, and torches shining bright in the night.
They were hard to see at first because it was night. But when Aeron narrowed his eyes and looked closer, his heart almost stopped.
"I knew it," he whispered to himself. "But how? How are the Blackland soldiers here?"
Out of the darkness they came, rows of Blackland warriors rushing from both sides, charging toward the battlefield. And in front of them rode a tall figure, strong and clear even in the night. Aeron couldn’t believe it, his breath caught.
"General Amber," he muttered in disbelief.
His chest tightened. Amber hadn’t died after all. Here he was, alive, leading the Blackland soldiers. And not as an enemy, but coming to fight against the Hydra.
Everyone at the battlefield froze for a moment as they turned to look. From both sides, the Blackland soldiers stormed forward. And then the impossible happened, the Hydra’s bone creatures began to crumble at their strikes.
It was like nothing anyone had ever seen. Every fighter on the field stopped and stared.
"What kind of weapon is that?" someone whispered from the walls.
The Blackland soldiers didn’t hold ordinary swords. Their weapons glowed faintly green. One strike was enough to shatter the bone creatures into dust.
Shocked faces turned from one to another, but then joy replaced fear. A new hope rose in all of them.
The Blackland soldiers kept moving forward, destroying the hydras and forcing their way closer to the wall. On the air, Aeron kept fighting with Draco, the dragon’s fire burning the creatures who tried to swarm into the kingdom. But when Aeron saw that the Blackland soldiers had already secured the gate area, he shouted loud and clear.
"Open the gates! Let them in! Open the gates!"
The generals at the wall heard him and joined, shouting the same. The gates creaked open, and the first of the Blackland soldiers poured inside and began striking down the creatures that had already slipped through.
The fight intensified, but something was changing. By now the first light of dawn was less than two hours away. Aeron, panting, lifted his gaze and whispered to himself with a slight smile, "It seems like we might hold them off after all."
The defenders of the kingdom and the Blackland soldiers fought side by side. The strange weapons in the hands of the Blacklands gave them a great advantage. They pushed forward, their strikes breaking bones to pieces, until they had claimed the ground in front of the wall. The Hydra were being driven back.
The tide had turned. But then, suddenly, the Hydra stopped. Their movements froze, and slowly they began to turn away.
The battlefield fell silent. The fighting ceased everywhere as people watched in disbelief. Then the Hydra began to move backward, retreating, and pulling back into the darkness.
"What is going on?" Aeron whispered to himself. "Are they retreating? It’s not even dawn yet."
"..."