Back at the Western Gate, the number of corrupted dragons had dwindled significantly.
Thanks to Nox's spirit army spreading through the forest, the Ice Monarch's strategic pull deeper into the ancient forests, and the unexpected assistance of the Frost Elder Dragon, the fighters at the gate finally felt a brief sense of respite.
Still, occasionally, a few corrupted beasts dared to fly overhead.
They never made it far.
A jagged ice lance—nearly ten meters long—tore through the air with vicious speed. The corrupted dragon it pierced let out a horrible shriek as its neck split apart, and its head dropped like a falling boulder.
At the edge of the wall—which was as wide as a highway back on Earth—Drake, the Frost Prince, wielded an ice lance over fifteen meters long. A flash of blue light passed through his eyes, and then he raised the ice lance as if preparing to strike.
The ice lance shot out from his grasp like an arrow from a bow. It sliced through the air before piercing the neck of a Scourge dragon.
That unfortunate dragon shrieked loudly before plunging to the ground.
"Hmm." Drake narrowed his eyes, watching to see if the beast was still alive. After confirming the corrupted dragon was dead, he moved forward to the next target.
While Drake struck down corrupted dragons from a distance of over a hundred meters, some dragons—like Zara—had transformed and engaged the Scourge dragons in the air.
The dragon princess glided gracefully, unleashing bursts of icy breath that froze the wings and limbs of the corrupted dragons. The distance from the ground was over two hundred meters; even for a powerful creature like them, the fall was fatal.
At that moment, a Scourge dragon whose wings had been frozen slammed into the ground. A relatively deep crater—shaped like a dragon—appeared on the earth.
The Scourge dragon groaned in pain as it tried to climb out of the chasm. Just as it reached the edge and sunlight touched its body, an ice lance pierced through its skull.
After killing that dragon, Drake glanced up and gave his sister a subtle nod, but Zara barely saw it as she gracefully dodged a burst of corrupted flames from a muscular-looking dragon.
The corrupted flames were even more powerful than the normal flames of the Inferno Dragons. They not only burned but also weakened their targets. Zara had experienced this in the past, which was why she attacked from a distance and only swooped down to strike her opponents when she was certain they wouldn't be fast enough to use any powerful skills.
A sea of flame stretched across the horizon, waves of molten fire rolling through scorched mountains. What was once a lush volcanic forest now burned red and gold. The black sky was lit by the eternal glow of firestorms as ash rained down like snow.
At the center of it all stood the Inferno Monarch, his obsidian armor glowing orange with heat. His long crimson cape danced in the hot winds, and his horns flared like magma-forged swords. With one hand raised, he summoned a meteor-like fireball that hovered overhead, spinning with deadly force.
Before him, dozens of Scourge dragons advanced across the burning lands—hulking, corrupted beasts with blackened scales and glowing red eyes. Their bodies oozed dark energy, and every breath they released corroded the land beneath them.
But the Inferno Monarch didn't hesitate.
With a flick of his wrist, the fireball descended like judgment from the heavens.
An explosion engulfed the corrupted horde in a sea of fire. Their screams echoed across the mountain range as their bodies were incinerated. Even those who survived the initial impact were trapped—surrounded by rings of deadly flame that fed on their corrupted energy.
The Inferno Monarch landed in the midst of it all, his feet crushing blackened bones. He glanced in the direction of the ancient forests, where two flame dragons were fighting.
It was Valkor and Elise.
After leaving Frostpire, the two had returned to the Inferno Kingdom to join the onslaught—Valkor focused on breathing jets of focused fire while Elise formed molten javelins that skewered anything that moved. The flame twisted unnaturally, targeting only the corrupted and sparing the land's few remaining safe pockets.
The Inferno Monarch looked eastward, where his people were defending the capital wall.
"We end this today," the Inferno Monarch growled, his molten eyes narrowing. "No Scourge breathes past sundown."
High above the clouds, where mountains pierced the heavens, the Lightning Monarch stood surrounded by arcs of stormlight. The monarch raised his arm into the air.
Dark thunderheads raged above him.
A bolt of lightning, wider than a tree trunk, descended with explosive force—striking a corrupted dragon mid-flight and vaporizing it instantly. The clouds pulsed again—another bolt, then another, as storm energy was directed and amplified through his very body.
Corrupted dragons, already weakened by the thin air, were reduced to twitching husks before hitting the stone.
Of course, the Lightning Prince, Raziel, was present as well. He floated nearby, hands raised, summoning webs of pure current that captured fleeing Scourge beasts and dragged them from the sky.
The Shadow Monarch reigned above the battlefield. Her long black gown swirled unnaturally, defying gravity. Her hair drifted in the air like ink in water.
Scourge dragons moved through the shadows cautiously—but it was futile.
For every two steps they took, one of their kind vanished.
No sound. No resistance. Just gone.
A tendril of shadow would reach out, latch onto their neck, and pull them into oblivion.
The Shadow Empress raised a single finger, and a gate of solid darkness appeared behind her. From within, hundreds of clawed black arms emerged and dragged a snarling Scourge beast into the void.
In the glistening holy lands of the Light Kingdom, Thomas, the Light Monarch, stood atop a prism tower, watching the unholy Scourge beasts with keen eyes.
Lumi's sudden disappearance had angered the monarch slightly, but Thomas remained silent.
He knew where she had gone.
It was because of curiosity, a trait she had inherited from him.
"That boy draws chaos like light draws shadows," Thomas said under his breath, the corners of his lips twitching. "But perhaps... that's what we need."
Around him, the elite of the Light Kingdom had transformed into their holy dragon forms, gleaming with radiant scales, and were engaging corrupted dragons in one-on-one battles in the sky.
The concentrated holy energy that exploded from the Light Dragons' maws burned through corrupted dragons like divine fire.
Below, the kingdom's soldiers pushed forward in formation, protected by mirrored shields. Their movements cut cleanly through enemy lines, one step at a time.
Thomas raised his hand, and a spear of light formed in his palm.
He hurled it without a word.
The spear struck a corrupted behemoth in the chest and passed straight through—leaving behind only falling dust.
The entire realm was engulfed in chaos, and the Scourge beasts seemed endless. The citizens were beginning to think this wasn't just a simple attack as they had believed.
"Could it be that the Alpha Source Dragons have finally decided to wage war on us?" thought the Light Elder Dragon, the leader of the Supreme Dragon Court, a frown spreading across his face.
Little did he know—he was right.