novelraw Chapter 111
Chapter 111
Ch.111 O Future of the Empire…
The undead army had already reached the Northern Fortress.
Seeing the distant figures, the Imperial troops grew restless.
“Are they… really the dead?”
“They look far too intact for corpses!”
Indeed, the soldiers—though long deceased—appeared remarkably well-preserved.
Their rigid, disciplined formation even unnerved the Imperial ranks.
“Are they truly dead?”
“Wait—look at their armor.”
“The design looks ancient…”
Compared to modern armor, theirs was crude and rough.
“And their banners… I’ve never seen that emblem before.”
“Look! Ghouls! Ghouls are coming!”
Hunched corpses scurried on all fours, kicking up dust as they flanked the main force.
“It’s true! They really are undead!”
“I can’t believe it…”
“Oh… O God…”
“Their numbers are insane!”
As they marched, the undead army continuously raised the dead from nearby graves, swelling their ranks.
Watching his troops panic, the commander drew his sword.
“Fear not! Undead are weak to divine power! Your Eminence—bless us!”
At his call, a man in a red hat raised a holy book to his brow and prayed slowly.
“O Almighty and Merciful Gods—deliver us!”
A radiant light spread from the Cardinal’s prayer, strengthening the Imperial soldiers.
“Oh! Truly, Your Eminence is mighty!”
Cardinals were rare even within the Empire.
His prayer filled the soldiers and commander with renewed courage.
“The gods are with us!”
“Send these risen dead back to death!”
Morale soared—
—but then—
—Boom!
“M-Magic!”
A barrage of fireballs rained from the sky, instantly shattering their resolve.
“Mages! Cast defensive spells—now!”
At the commander’s order, dazzling multicolored lights erupted from the sky and descended upon the fortress.
—Boom!
—Crackle!
“Phew…”
The soldiers sighed in relief as offensive spells shattered against their magical barriers.
“L-Look over there!”
“M-Madness!”
Giant meteors, blazing fiercely, slammed into the defensive magic from above.
—Crash!
With the sound of shattering glass, meteors poured down like rain—
—“Pathetic magic! Be gone!”
An old man’s voice echoed—not through the air, but directly in their minds.
Instantly, the falling meteors vanished.
“What?”
“What just happened?”
High in the sky floated a massive golden dragon.
Auros Auripex—the Gold Dragon—
gazed down upon the undead army, his scales gleaming like the sun, radiating overwhelming majesty.
Everyone stood frozen.
Dragons were believed to be extinct.
—“O risen dead… I would grant you eternal rest out of mercy, but since you defy that grace… it is truly regrettable.”
The army gave no response.
—“Teleport.”
Auros’s lair erupted with brilliant golden light, flooding the surroundings—
—and in an instant, the entire fortress disappeared.
It vanished as if it had never existed.
***
Not far from the capital, in farmland—
a massive fortress suddenly materialized.
“Where… is this?”
The soldiers looked around, bewildered.
Surrounded by endless wheat fields, they couldn’t make sense of their situation.
“Meteors fell… and a gold dragon appeared?”
“What just happened?”
The dragon who could explain it was already gone.
“Seriously… does this even make sense?”
Familiar fortress, unfamiliar landscape—
the soldiers struggled to comprehend reality.
Then, a voice rang from the sky.
A red-haired girl pointed down at the fortress.
“Found it! It’s here—right here!”
She landed gracefully on the ground.
“W-Who are you?”
The commander asked, sensing immediately she was a high-tier mage.
“I’m Leah. Cecilia will be here soon too.”
Her words sent the soldiers into a flurry of whispers.
“L-Leah?”
“Do you mean Leah of the Hero Party?”
“That fire witch?”
—Flick.
A gray-haired beauty appeared in midair.
“Greetings, soldiers. I am Scarlet. Welcome—you’ve safely returned to the capital region.”
***
The previous day, the entire Northern Fortress had been teleported near the capital, causing widespread chaos.
Now, the Emperor and key Imperial officials gathered to discuss the situation.
“Are you truly… the Dragon Lord?”
The Emperor asked Auros with disbelief and unease.
The old man nodded gently.
“Yes. I am Auros Auripex, the Dragon Lord.”
Though he appeared as an ordinary elder, no one could doubt him after he’d moved an entire fortress.
Only a being bordering on divinity could wield such power.
“Then… why would you do such a thing?”
The Emperor spoke on behalf of humanity and the Empire.
Truthfully, the ministers wanted to protest—but none dared challenge the Dragon Lord, the noblest of all dragons.
“The Adversary wished for it.”
At those words, the Emperor and ministers bristled.
Auros was beyond reproach—but Hans was merely a human baron.
The ministers seethed, plotting how to deal with the ‘human’ who’d overturned their plans.
Furious that his authority had been undermined by another human, the Emperor roared:
“This was my imperial command! Even a Dragon Lord has no right to obstruct the will of humanity’s sovereign!”
With the fortress and its garrison gone, the Empire’s north lay defenseless.
Already, corpses were rising across the land—cleansing efforts focused on graveyards, but the real nightmare was wild animals and monsters resurrecting in forests and fields.
If the undead army now rampaged through the undefended north…
the Empire would be doomed.
The Emperor’s rage was understandable—
—but Auros remained unmoved by human fury.
“Heh heh… Do you not grasp the situation, Emperor of Men?
The Adversary was chosen by the gods to save all life.
Until the prophecy is fulfilled, obeying his will is the duty of every race—including dragons.”
“The duty of every race?” the Emperor countered.
“But look what he’s done! Without the Northern Fortress, how do we defend the north?!”
Calmly, Auros replied:
“The Adversary prophesied: ‘You need only stop the undead army—but do not engage them before they reach the capital.’”
The ministers cautiously spoke up:
“But… by common sense, wouldn’t it be more efficient for them to kill humans and swell their ranks?”
“Exactly! With the power to raise the dead, ravaging the north to turn citizens into undead would be the logical strategy.”
Their reasoning was sound.
“Then return the fortress at once!”
Auros clicked his tongue.
“If I had not intervened, they—and the fortress—would have been annihilated.”
Dozens of meteors had rained from the sky.
The fortress couldn’t have withstood them.
Unaware of this, the Emperor scowled, believing the Dragon Lord mocked him.
“My army is not so weak!”
“Hmm? From what I saw, you lacked the strength to stop it.”
Fearful the Emperor might send troops back north,
Commander Karl stepped forward with a troubled expression.
“Your Majesty… I beg your pardon, but…
with our current forces, we cannot stop the enemy.”
—Twitch.
The Emperor’s face darkened—
his own general siding with the dragon.
“My general speaks such cowardly words…I am deeply disappointed in you, Commander Karl.”
“But… dozens of meteors fell! Even with mages present, defensive magic couldn’t fully block them…”
“Dozens of meteors?!”
The chamber erupted in murmurs.
“How is that possible?!”
“Unless the enemy has dragons—but that’s absurd!”
Meteor was one of humanity’s most powerful spells—
only a handful of mages could cast it.
“This is impossible!”
“It… it can’t be!”
The ministers panicked; the Emperor’s eyes trembled in shock.
They refused to believe Karl’s report.
“I assure you—he speaks the truth. Had I not canceled that magic myself, they and the fortress would have vanished without a trace. Surely you don’t think I’d lie?”
Auros’s words sealed the matter.
The Emperor and ministers had no choice but to accept reality.
“Then… where did such powerful mages come from?”
The Emperor’s mutter prompted Auros to explain:
“Liches. Only the most brilliant humans can become liches.”
Meteor was the pinnacle spell of liches.
If liches had joined the enemy, casting meteors was only natural.
“Ah…”
‘Baron Hans clearly warned me that liches and death knights would join them…’
But the Emperor and ministers had ignored him—
because admitting it would make the threat too overwhelming.
Here, warfare relied on coordinated mages, soldiers, and knights.
If the enemy now had liches—master mages—and death knights—elite warriors—halting their advance would be nearly impossible.
‘Is the end of humanity truly upon us?’
‘Damn it… why are the dead marching on the capital? What’s here that they want?!’
The Emperor pressed his temples in pain, then looked desperately at his ministers, the Hero Party, and Auros.
The Empire was in crisis.
This was far worse than the Demon King’s era.
Back then, the enemy, however strong, still operated within reason—
brave soldiers and heroes could stand against them.
But this foe defied all logic.
“What… what should we do now?”
The Emperor, lost in despair, had no answer.
Scarlet stepped forward decisively.
“The capital’s walls are excellent—strong magical resistance and layered defensive arrays. They can easily withstand meteors.”
Seeing the Emperor and ministers paralyzed, the Hero Party knew it was time to gamble.
Cecilia, treating this as their last chance, took a bold step forward.
“Yes! Father Hans said the same!”
“Master knows the future! Please—trust him just once, Your Majesty!”
Scarlet added firmly:
“If he hadn’t prepared this, our soldiers would have died in vain!”
Faced with their united plea, the Emperor fell into deep thought.
After a long silence, his weary eyes turned to the Dragon Lord.
“Lord… would you stand with us… for the sake of the Empire?”
Auros smiled warmly and nodded.
“Of course, O Man.”
The Emperor finally breathed a sigh of relief.
‘O future of the Empire…’
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