Northern Thracian Kingdom, North IJssel Plain.
The terrain here is flat, with thousands of miles of fertile fields and dense vegetation. The wide Logan River flows down from the snow-capped mountains in the north, bringing abundant water to the riverbanks on both sides.
The North IJssel Plain was once considered the rear of the Fadland Empire, and the people lived in peace and prosperity.
But the good times did not last long. After the collapse of the Fadland Empire, several Aesir people left their homes and were forced to be involved in the brutal war in the south, and died on the battlefield near the Holy City.
At the same time, the Ember Empire from the far north is pressing forward step by step, constantly encroaching on the territory of the Thracian Kingdom. Unknowingly, this place has become a frontline.
At this critical juncture, Walter Graham was temporarily named "Duke of North IJssel" by His Majesty Wilhelm, taking full charge of all affairs in the territory.
This surprised countless Thracians and even doubted their own ears.
After all, a few years ago, Duke Walter led an army to revolt and openly resisted the rule of the Thracian Kingdom. He repelled the Thracian army several times and even called His Majesty Wilhelm "forgetting his honor." ".
But there are also discerning people who can see that the Thracian Kingdom has nothing to do with the divine Duke entrenched in the north and has long given up on countering the rebellion.
This so-called "reward" only added some insignificant land to Duke Walter's original territory, but instead made him a barrier for Thrace against northern invasion.
In the North IJssel Plain, Collins City, ships of all sizes enter the city along the Logan River, and the scene is very lively.
This city is known as the "Lion City". The residents of the city are symbolized by the mighty lion. Bravery, straightforwardness and justice have been the qualities of the Corinthians since ancient times.
This is also the territory of Walter Graham, the "Duke of North IJssel". He led Collins' army and repelled Thracian attacks several times in this city.
At the gate of Collins City, there are several majestic stone lions. They look down at the people entering the city like the most loyal guards.
And on the top of the towering city wall, a man who looked particularly special stood tall and solemn, with a serious face, like a marble sculpture.
He was tall, more than two meters tall, and even the thick silver armor could not hide his strong body.
That face was like a knife and axe, revealing a fortitude that had been on the battlefield for a long time. What was even more eye-catching was the man's back, where the two huge wings were gathered together, making him look like a celestial being who had descended into the mortal world. .
He is the newly appointed "Duke of North IJssel", a rebel from the Thracian Kingdom, and the former Judgment Knight of Fadland - Walter Graham.
At this moment, Walter looked into the distance, and his golden pupils, which still retained the brilliance of the sun god, showed incomparable solemnity.
"The Burning Empire"
He muttered, his voice low. During the Fadlan Empire era, he once shot down the Githyanki magic ship in the Star Realm, beheaded the devil in Avernus, and even blocked the tide of demons by himself in the Plains of the Abyss.
It stands to reason that after what he has experienced, Walter Graham should have long been brave and fearless and not afraid of any challenges in the world.
But now, facing the Burning Ember Empire from the north, he felt a little worried, even afraid.
This is not only due to the formidable enemies in the north, but also because of his confusion about the future.
——The Holy Fadland Empire, which had been his solid backing, collapsed. The sun god who gave them power fell into sleep, and his own strength was only less than 60% of its heyday.
What made Walter even more disheartened and even desperate was that he discovered that the old emperor's second son, Wilham, who called himself the "King of Thracia", had completely abandoned Amaunata and devoted himself to the darkness. power.
Where will Fadland go from here?
Where will he go?
Walter shook his head and smiled bitterly, sighing softly: "If His Majesty Aragon were resurrected, how would he feel if he saw his sons surrendering to evil and fighting each other for power?
Unexpectedly, the once prosperous Holy Fadlan would turn into this. ”
"Your Majesty the Duke."
I saw a young angel god flapping his wings and slowly landing on the tower. He half-knelt in front of Walter and lowered his head respectfully.
"Tell me, Ian, how are the conditions in those cities?"
"Your Majesty the Duke, the rebels in Thrace did abide by the agreement and withdrew all their garrison. Now the cities of Millet, Darend and other cities are in an undefended state."
Walter sneered: "Oh, His Majesty Wilhelm really did not exceed my expectations. He is as sinister and vicious as ever. No wonder he threw himself into hell."
Ian was a little confused: "Isn't it a good thing that they took the initiative to withdraw? Now we can integrate the resources of the entire North IJssel and fight against those rebels."
Walter looked at the rolling Catapa hills in the north and said in a deep voice: "Don't you understand yet?
This means that the Ember Empire is about to move south, and the scum of the Thracian Kingdom want to hurt both me and the Ember Empire so that they can get a chance to breathe. ”
Ian thought for a moment, then became angry and raised his sword.
"Sir, why should we defend these scum who have taken refuge in the devil against foreign enemies? Listen to what you say, we can't take over these cities!"
"No, Ian."
Walter shook his head again, with a wry smile on his face, but his eyes were particularly determined.
He turned his head and looked at Ian. "Can you give up the citizens of more than a dozen cities and let them become slaves of the Ember Empire?"
"I"
Ian hesitated for a long time, then shook his head silently.
Walter continued: "This is the conspiracy of His Majesty Wilhelm. He is betting that we still have conscience left, unlike him and his subordinates who have no bottom line and regard human life as trivial."
Ian gritted his teeth and said: "I never thought His Majesty Aragorn would have such a son!"
"Ian, we have no choice but to take over the mess they left and resist the Burning Empire's southward march. This is just for the people of North IJssel."
Walter slowly pulled out the nearly three-meter-long giant sword, his tone was sonorous and powerful, and the golden pupils shone with brilliance.
"My lord."
Ian pressed the silver sword in his hand and said in a choked voice: "I will always stand behind you and be your sharp sword."
Immediately afterwards, several more angel descendants appeared here, placing their swords against Walter's giant sword, causing them to stagger together.
The angelic descendants who followed Walter to the north were basically complete idealists. They could not bear the darkness of Thrace and longed to embrace the glory of Amauna Tower again and return to the incomparably glorious holy Fadland. But their hopes are doomed to be slim.
Seeing all the high-level officers gathered together, Walter's face finally showed the confidence that the Fadelans always had.
"Everyone, you should immediately lead your respective armies to the cities left by the Thracian Kingdom and set up city defenses as soon as possible. An attack from the Ember Empire may arrive at any time.
Ian, you are stationed in Collins City, and you should know the city defense situation best”
The descendants of the angels took orders one after another, but Ian felt a little confused and couldn't help but ask questions.
"Sir, what about you?"
"I have seen the battle images of the Red Emperor, and have carefully studied the weapons of the Ember Empire. Our strength alone cannot compete with them."
Walter raised his head and looked at the sky, staring at the sun still hanging high in the sky, and his golden pupils seemed to reflect a thousand feet of brilliance.
"Eighty-seven years ago, I followed His Majesty Aragorn into Hell and rescued many Archons. A big shot in Heaven Mountain promised to give me help that would not violate my camp."
"Sixty-five years ago, I sneaked into the fortress of the Five-Colored Dragon Queen and released an ancient golden dragon that had been trapped in the dungeon for hundreds of years. The Golden Dragon Council also regarded me as a friend."
"Now, it's time for them to fulfill their promise, comrades, I will return with allies from the justice camp.
Walter slowly raised the giant sword in his hand, and suddenly, a dazzling white light beam shot up into the sky, scattering the clouds and causing violent vibrations in the sky.
"Boom!"
His voice was like thunder from the sky, echoing across the plains of North IJssel for a long time, making people's hearts swell. "Fadelans will not become the descendants of the evil dragon, let alone the slaves of the devil. We will never surrender!"
Walter flapped his broad wings, soared into the sky, climbed rapidly, and finally disappeared into the clouds together with the dazzling light beam, leaving only the white feathers flying like snow.
At this moment, both the descendants of the angels and the many citizens below them all looked up, their eyes full of reverence and admiration.
"Long live!"
"Flanders will never be slaves!"
People shouted excitedly, as if they had returned to that glorious and great era, when they were still glorious and holy citizens of Fadland.
The first level of Paradise Mountain is Lunia, also known as the "Silver Heaven". The sky here is always dark, but it is dotted with shining silver stars, enough to illuminate the coast of the Silver Sea with mountains.
The portals from other planes are connected to the edge of the wine-dark Silver Sea, a huge bay filled with holy water.
The coast is dotted with castles and fortresses built of bright white stone with various styles and numerous inhabitants. Many of these are open to trade with sea elves from the Material Plane.
On the shore of the Star Coast, the most spectacular building is a huge fortress. It has towering stone walls made of shimmering marble, just like the night sky studded with stars, so it is called the "Fortress of the Stars".
In this castle, countless trumpeter angels flow in and out for their interdimensional tasks. At the same time, it is also the residence of the Lord of Heaven.
High up in the castle, a light and beautiful woman with marble-white and smooth skin was flapping her white wings, and the horn in her hand gave off a calming light.
——This is the trumpet messenger, the heavenly dweller and the messenger of the gods, and the forerunner of the holy army.
The trumpeter divine envoy said respectfully: "Sir, the Faldlan divine descendant is gone. It is said that he is going to Mochulia to find His Majesty Bahamut's palace."
"I understand, you can continue to complete your mission."
A neutral, emotionless voice sounded, and there was a tall figure on the towering tower overlooking the entire sea of stars.
"Walter Graham, I remember him. Eighty-seven years ago, he rescued the thirty-four horn angels in the dungeon of Avernus. In return, I gave him a promise."
This tall figure looks like a three-meter-tall human with silver skin and dark purple eyes, whose gender cannot be determined.
He wore a smooth violet robe studded with light dust that shimmered like stars, and his shoulders were graced by huge wings covered with white feathers.
In his right hand, he held a long sword that exploded with lightning, and there was a bright silver horn on his waist.
——He is the Lord of Silver Heaven, Barachiel, the "messenger" who rules over Lucia. He directs the defenses of heaven against invasion, leads the trumpeter angels, and is the patron of mortal messengers.
As a member of the Seven Martyrs of Heaven, Barachiel is immortal and can be called a god.
If killed, he releases a burst of divine energy that marks the killer for eternity, making him instantly identifiable to all lawful good outsiders as the murderer of one of the Seven Paragons.
In Lunia, due to the recognition of the Heavenly Mountain plane, Parachiel is even comparable to weak divine power.
"Cassius Claudio Noricius, it turns out to be him." Barachiel read out the name softly.
As the messenger who communicates between heaven and all planes, he has certainly heard of this name that has become quite loud and attracted a lot of attention in recent years.
He is the emperor of the Burning Ember Empire, a red dragon who rises like a meteor and single-handedly stirs up the situation in Fianso Continent.
He once defeated Bahamut's Favorite, devoured the Pasha of the Fire Djinn Empire, and even killed an Abyss Lord who came to the material world.
In the eyes of the Archon Protoss, Cassius is an out-and-out dangerous person, but there seems to be the possibility of purification.
Parachiel spread his left hand, and a lifelike image of the red dragon appeared in his palm, while he observed it carefully. "Greedy, violent, never satisfied.
Not long after the establishment of the country, he wanted to invade and expand southward and plunder wealth. It seems that he still failed to restrain the nature of the red dragon.
In this case, let me tell him personally - the importance of justice and order! ”
"Boom!"
Parachiel suddenly raised his right hand and waved the long sword that exploded with lightning. Dull thunder sounded in the air, and the dazzling thunder illuminated the night sky of the Silver Heaven as if it were daytime.
Suddenly, all the heavenly tribes near the sea of stars raised their heads and looked at the thunder and lightning high in the sky with serious expressions. Members of the Seven Martyrs of Heaven will go out with an army of Celestials.
They know that this means that they may be warned at any time and become a member of the war. (End of chapter)