Chapter 130: | 130 | The Dragon of Liberation
The colonial guards in the northern shores were a somewhat confident and determined in defending it. Even if they were fighting against a superior force, they believed they could handle and buy time for more reinforcements from the interior to come.
Sadly, however... Their confidence and determination were shattered the moment a gigantic black eastern dragon materialized in the heavens amidst a golden radiance.
It radiated with authority while its golden and slitted eyes conveyed domination over everything. In their eyes, it was akin to a god. The final and apex form of life, its harbinger. A destroyer.
"A-ah..." The colonial guards couldn't even properly scream or cry out in horror. Their voice would break the moment it sounded out from their lips. The fear was palpable as none of them could even dare to run against such monstrosity.
On the other hand, the colonial commander wondered where everything went wrong. What had they done to have such a dragon in their skies? Well, the answer to that question was fairly simple.
Before them was the Dragon of Liberation, Laplace of the United Navy. The moment they had enslaved many of the beastfolk tribe and sold them into other Colonial Dominions. Their destiny had already been deeply rooted.
"Colonial Commander, what do we do?" A colonial guard asked the colonial commander for orders despite his despairing face. After all, he needed to hear the order of the colonial commander to shake off the despair of the dragon before them.
Realizing that he had been too affected by the dragon, the colonial commander took a deep breath and desired to calm himself down. Although, it would be difficult to do so. It must be done for the sake of his men.
'They are relying on me. They need my guidance, my orders.' He quietly thought while calming his throbbing heart. It took a moment, but he did regain some of his calm. Though, not all. He could still feel his legs and arms somewhat shivering.
"All of you must retreat from the northern shores. Scatter and escape into the interior." The colonial guards expected to receive an order to fight for their deaths. But their commander unexpectedly order them to run away from the battlefield.
Every one of them felt respect to the colonial commander. After all, the abolishment of the northern shore frontline in this city would be his responsibility.
However, the colonial commander didn't do it out for the goodness of his heart or his cowardness. Regardless if they stand against or run away from the dragon, the results would be the same.
If they kept being huddled together, it would be easier for the dragon above them to destroy them from existence. So, gathering together would practically make it easier for the dragon to decimate the northern battlefront.
"Go, don't waste time! Retreat and run away from this city!" He yelled, bringing the colonial guards under his command out of their trance. They glanced at him before slowly running away from their positions.
He didn't give a damn about courage at the moment. He was merely giving the colony an extra forces they could use against the invading force.
'*Sigh...* Why did I become a colonial commander? Farming in Europa would have been better for me.' The colonial commander silently thought to himself, regretting the path he had chosen.
He had previously thought he was lucky to have been a colonial commander in the safest Colonial Dominion of the Ferus Sea. After all, it was the closest to Europa. Never did he knew that it would be the first in the chopping block of Colonial Dominions.
As thoughts surged into the mind of the colonial commander, the black eastern dragon in the heavens slowly opened its mouth. Inside its maw was a gathering arc of golden lightning, fusing against each other.
It was fairly clear that the dragon was about to unleash an attack.
The colonial commander could only kneel before the dragon with a face of acceptance. There was nothing he could do against the mightiest creature of nature. At the very least, he hadn't thrown his men into a needless sacrifice.
'Even though I regret becoming a colonial commander, it is also my greatest achievement. To be honest, I feel honored to see such a beautiful creature in my life.' He didn't know if he was falling into madness, but he slowly felt calm for some reason.
The arc of golden lightning inside the dragon's mouth gleamed with unparalleled radiance. It was beginning to overshine the light of the sun illuminating the heavens. To him, it started to look like the mighty sword of a divine god.
A moment later, the dragon unleashed its devastating attack. A beam of concentrated golden lighting piercing through the air, burning everything in its path. The air combusted while the winds buzzed in excitement.
Following them was... Impact!
Somewhere in the northern shore, a radiant light lustered like the morning light of the rising sun. The colonial commander could clearly see it with his eyes. And he realized what the dragon had targeted.
'It seems that the northern fortress of Austerus was the first one that got hit.' His thought was clear and concise. There was no despair, he didn't have the energy to do so anymore. He could only observe everything before his inevitable death.
What came after the golden radiance was the loudest explosion he had ever heard in his life.
*BOOM!!!*
The shockwave of the dragon's attack devastated surrounding regions. Dozen of houses crumbled upon contact with the crazed winds while the sea churned in and out itself from the power of the explosion.
The colonial commander couldn't handle the shockwave and fell to the ground. It blasted his eardrums open, making his ears ring in a distorted hue. Blood also began to trickle from his mouth, while his skin felt the temperature around him increase.
Nevertheless, regardless of his injuries, he reverently muttered into the heavens.
"T-This is the Dragon of Liberation."
...
In the bridge of the UNS Guardian of the High Seas, Captain Howard saw the effects of Laplace's blast through the cameras of a reconnaissance drone. It was devastating, to say the least. The northern fortress of Austerus became nothing more but a crater.
"I thought I already understood the power of the dragoness. It looks like I'm still as ignorant as the rest. To think she would have such power in her grasps without relying in technology." Captain Howard mumbled to himself, obviously shocked by what had happened.
After thinking about the blast, he turned his glance towards an intelligence officer and uttered a question. "How strong was the blast of the dragoness?" It was a simple one, which the intelligence officer immediately answered.
"From the diameter of the crater and the radius affected by the explosion, it should have the estimated strength of a 300-kiloton nuclear missile strike." Hearing the words nuclear from the intelligence officer, Captain Howard felt even more impress.
"So, the lieutenant colonel is capable of mass destruction." Captain Howard nodded in understanding and finally knew why both the vice admiral and fleet admiral relented to the antics of the dragoness.
She wasn't mere a dragon, but a being capable of mass destruction.
Having her an ally would prove invaluable for the United Navy.
The capability of mass destruction wasn't astounding for the United Navy. Sooner or later, they would regain their nuclear arsenal. But the dragoness was a walking nuclear dispenser. It might be the reason why she was considered as the sword of the fleet admiral.
But before Captain Howard could continue with his thoughts, an intelligence officer called out for his attention. "Sir, you may want to look at this."
Hearing the words of the intelligence officer, Captain Howard followed their gaze and saw the dragoness charging another blast in her mouth. Golden arcs of lightning fused inside her mouth, gleaming in utter radiance.
"She wasn't exhausted by that attack?" Captain Howard raised his eyebrows since throwing an attack of mass destruction was already impressive in itself. Doing another one after performing it was even more so.
It didn't take long before the golden radiance overshone the light of the sun, and what followed was a beam of lustering brilliance. It pierced through the heavens and impacted a northern city brimming with colonial guards.
A glimmering glow met with the northern city, and it disintegrated into nothingness, followed by a resounding shockwave.
*BOOM!!!*
The reconnaissance drone observing the status of the northern shores while flying through the heavens shook from the turbulence brought about by the explosion.
The shimmering radiance then faded, and what replaced it was a mushroom cloud reaching kilometers into the sky. The northern city had disappeared from the map, and in its place was a large crater.
The naval personnel in the bridge of the UNS Guardian of the High Seas could only observe in silence. None of them uttered a single comment about the spectacular explosion of the dragoness.
Though, it's not like there was anything they could say other than powerful.
Although, they were bound to be even more astounded. After all, Laplace planned to destroy every military gathering in the colony of Austerus through her sheer destructive breath.
With this in mind, another arc of golden lightning gathered inside her mouth, fusing with one another. This action was decisively recorded by the reconnaissance drone and caused everyone in the bridge of the UNS Guardian of the High Seas to have their eyes wide open.
"Perhaps, I should treat her as the wife of the fleet admiral from now on." Captain Howard wryly smiled as he was now afraid of accidently offending the dragoness and getting his head blasted by a 300-kiloton blast.