Chapter 146: Embers Of The Fallen
Two spectral figures talked behind a desert dune while looking at the darkening sky above.
The sky rumbled with thunder, and the wind howled in a wild rhythm.
"Ghost King, what is that sign?"
"Chaos is coming!"
Not long after:
Followed by General Akira, over 1,000 white serpents glided through the sky like an army from heaven. Each one of them was commander-level or above, making the threat palpable not just in the air, but across the Fallen Desert that had been silent for centuries.
"General, your plan is perfect. While their powerful dragon lords are busy taking care of those pawns, we will quietly take over the Dragon Palace and capture their King and Queens," one serpent hissed to Akira in humanoid form.
Their wings rang like angels; however, their words were most cunning and vicious.
General Akira smirked. "That is for certain. We will show them no mercy."
"General Akira is so wise and ruthless... we need someone like him as our leader," one of them bootlicked openly, earning more nods.
"True. After the Serpent King takes over Dragonia, we will choose him as our ruler."
"Shut the hell up, you assholes!" Akira barked. "Focus on your task."
Even though he scolded them harshly, he was secretly pleased with all the flattery.
A while later, all of a sudden, his spine tingled.
"STOP!"
Following his order, all the Sky Serpents stopped, hovering mid-air, their massive bodies covering the sand like a blanket.
"Hiss, what is wrong, General? Why did you stop?" one of them asked, feeling uneasy.
Akira, with his sharp, serpentine eyes, looked toward the north. Soon, his face turned unsightly, as if he had seen something impossible.
"The plan failed!" he said simply. "Get ready!"
While the serpents felt confused and uneasy, a shadow far greater than the clouds suddenly fell upon them. They remained bewildered until they looked up.
"Oh, Heavens!"
A massive green leaf, tens of thousands of meters wide, loomed over them like a death knell.
HUMMMMM! RUMBLE!
Very soon, it began to fall, without giving them enough time to process what was happening.
The leaf did not drift like a normal plant. It fell with the terminal velocity of a mountain made of iron.
WHAM!
The impact was not a crash but a wet, bone-shattering thud that echoed across the dunes. The sheer surface area of the leaf acted like a giant flyswatter, slapping the lead division of the Sky Serpents out of the sky.
Over 150 commander-level serpents were caught directly beneath the center mass. Their reinforced scales and divine energy offered no protection against the overwhelming physics of the [ Chaos Expansion ].
They were instantly flattened into a horrific, green-stained meat paste, their remains pressed so thin into the desert sand that they became part of the geography itself.
The air pressure from the slam created a shockwave that sent the remaining serpents tumbling through the air like discarded toys.
"Hiss! My wings! I cannot feel my wings!" one cried out, though his voice was quickly drowned by the sound of the leaf settling.
The sand beneath the leaf groaned, displacing millions of tons of dust in a singular, massive cloud that blinded the survivors.
General Akira managed to dodge the initial strike, his body trembling as he hovered at the very edge of the leaf’s jagged rim.
He looked down at the edge of the vegetation, which was now oozing with the blood and essence of his elite soldiers.
"One leaf," he whispered to himself. "They took out an entire division with a single piece of foliage. Who could it be?"
From the top of the fallen leaf, a figure slowly emerged through the settling dust.
Adonis stood there, looking down at the scattered "heavenly army" with a gaze that promised even greater desecration.
"ROARRRRRRR!"
"KILL THE TRAITORS!"
The roar did not come from Adonis, nor Akira, nor the Serpents. It came from beyond the dark clouds.
"Damn it, this was a trap!" Akira growled like a cornered beast.
Indeed. All around them, the dragons surrounded the serpents from all sides in a massive circular formation. All of these dragons were elites in the Chaos Order, capable of wielding elemental powers.
"BUZZZZZ!"
"ROARRRRR!"
"ROARRR!"
"ROARRRRRR!"
Hundreds of dragon breaths (some in scorching fire beams, some in disastrous cyclones, and others in massive earth storms) fell upon the Sky Serpents almost at the same time.
Fierce dragon maws, shocked serpentine figures, and Akira’s angry scowl all felt frozen in time. Adonis watched this scene with a cruel smirk.
"Burn, my benevolent enemies. Let your twisted souls be cast into the depths of hell, where every impurity is purged by eternal flame. And let this stand as a monument of justice for your audacity to defile this land."
"NOOOOOOOOOO!"
HUMMMM!
RUMBLE!
BUZZZZZ!
The combined elemental barrage turned the sky into a kaleidoscope of death. Fire met wind to create firestorms that melted the scales off the serpents’ backs before they could even scream. Earth storms pulverized their bones, and the raw pressure of the concentrated dragon breath was too much for their celestial defenses to endure.
Within the first minute of the ambush, half of the serpent army was erased. Over five hundred elite commanders were reduced to falling cinders and shredded meat, their bodies raining down onto the sands of the Fallen Desert like a gruesome storm.
The desert floor, once white and pristine, turned a dark, muddy crimson as it absorbed the remains of the invaders.
"..."
General Akira watched in horror as his lieutenants were torn apart by the crossfire.
The air was so thick with the scent of burning elements and burning flesh that it became difficult to breathe.
The serpents who survived the initial wave were left disoriented and broken, their formation shattered beyond any hope of recovery.
Adonis stood at the center of the chaos, the flickering light of the explosions dancing in his eyes.
He didn’t move a muscle, yet his presence felt heavier than the entire world, pressing down on the survivors.
The massacre was absolute, turning the proud sky army into a collection of scattered, dying embers in a matter of moments.
< Hell Is Set Lose, Ghost King! >
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