Novel Full Chapter 1626: Second Attack: Part-2
Thalia and her soldiers clashed against the remaining metallic figures as the battlefield trembled beneath their boots.
Sparks burst everywhere across the shattered ground.
The air itself vibrated with a constant mechanical hum.
Thalia’s soldiers pushed forward in formation, gripping their newly forged artifacts with bloodstained heavy hands.
White currents flickered violently around the barrels of their weapons before exploding outward in concentrated beams of energy.
BOOM!
BOOM!
BOOM!
Each blast illuminated the battlefield for a split second.
“Don’t stop firing!” one soldier roared with veins bulging from his shoulder. “Push them back before they regroup!”
Their weapons screamed with overheating energy as recoil slammed against their shoulders again and again.
Some soldiers staggered backwards from the impact, yet none loosened their grip.
Their eyes burned with fury.
Nobody here intended to survive peacefully anymore.
One of the metallic figures suddenly let out a distorted mechanical groan as blue particles erupted from the vents behind its legs.
The thrusters beneath its boots ignited with explosive force, cracking the ground beneath it before the massive body launched upward into the sky.
Dust and shattered stones spiralled everywhere from the violent pressure.
The machine raised one enormous arm.
A gigantic hammer rested within its mechanical fingers, humming with unstable blue energy while streams of electricity crawled across the metallic surface like living serpents.
The surrounding air distorted from the overwhelming pressure pouring from the weapon.
“STEP BACK!!”
The soldiers instantly reacted. Years of war forced their bodies to move before their minds could even process the danger.
They threw themselves away just as the hammer descended.
BAAAAAAAAAAMMMM!!!
The impact exploded across the battlefield.
The ground shattered apart like fragile glass as a devastating shockwave burst outward in all directions.
Broken stone, trees and steel fragments were hurled through the air while nearby soldiers were violently thrown backwards despite avoiding the direct strike.
The metallic figure slowly straightened its body. Steam hissed from the joints around its neck while blue energy pulsed beneath the gaps in its armour.
Before it could move an inch, the soldiers surrounding it immediately moved.
The glowing artifacts in their hands hummed louder and louder until the energy became unbearable.
“NOW!!”
Without hesitation, they pulled the triggers.
BOOM!
BOOM!
BOOM!
BOOM!
BOOM!
A storm of white beams swallowed the metallic figure whole.
The concentrated attacks hammered against its body relentlessly, tearing apart layers of armour while molten metal exploded outward alongside chunks of flesh hidden beneath the machinery.
The smell of burning blood mixed horribly with melted steel.
The soldiers continued firing even after the figure stopped moving.
Only after the light faded did the battlefield finally become visible again.
The metallic figure stood motionless in the centre of the crater. Holes covered its entire body. Exposed wires sparked wildly while thick red blood slowly poured down from the destroyed armour plating.
Its mechanical fingers twitched weakly around the hammer before finally losing strength.
CLANG.
The weapon slipped from its grasp and crashed heavily against the ground.
Then the machine collapsed forward.
THUD!!
The soldiers stared at the fallen figure with trembling breaths.
Their faces twisted with rage rather than relief. Blood covered their armour. Smoke rose from their weapons.
Some of them gritted their teeth so hard that blood leaked from their gums.
These things had destroyed their homes.
Their families.
Their Empire!!
BOOOOOOM!!
A violent explosion suddenly erupted across the battlefield again.
The soldiers flinched before rapidly turning their heads toward the source.
A fiery red-haired woman tore through the battlefield like a living disaster.
Thalia’s body blurred between the metallic figures with terrifying speed. Her long crimson hair danced wildly behind her while her claw-like gauntlets sliced through steel as though it were wet paper.
Sparks exploded everywhere around her movements.
One metallic figure attempted to aim toward her.
Too slow.
Thalia instantly twisted sideways. The blue beam barely grazed past her cheek before she lunged forward with monstrous acceleration.
CRACKK!!
Her claws pierced directly into the figure’s shoulder joint before ripping downward violently. Metal split apart alongside flesh hidden beneath the armour.
The entire arm was torn away instantly.
“Haha… Is this all you’ve got?” Thalia shouted with savage excitement.
“Where’s that arrogance now? Weren’t you monsters looking down on us before?”
Three more beams shot toward her simultaneously.
Thalia’s pupils sharpened.
Her body zigzagged across the battlefield with absurd speed, leaving behind flickering afterimages beneath the flashing lights of the explosions.
Every movement flowed perfectly. Every step carried deadly precision.
The beams narrowly missed her body again and again, tearing massive holes through the battlefield behind her.
Then she reached them.
Crack!—CHUCCKK!!
Crack!—SHRRKK!!
Her claws sliced through the metallic figures mercilessly.
Not random attacks.
Every strike targeted the exact weak points Lyirrs had revealed to her.
The hips.
The neck joints.
The exposed mechanical connections are beneath the ribs, underarms, and knees.
One machine attempted to counterattack with a rotating blade.
Thalia grabbed its wrist mid-swing.
The impact blasted dust outward beneath her feet, yet her arm did not even tremble. A wicked grin slowly spread across her face before she twisted violently.
KRRRKKK!!!
The entire mechanical arm ripped away from the body.
She drove her claws straight through its chest immediately afterwards.
Blue energy exploded from its back as the machine convulsed violently before collapsing.
Seeing their General tearing through the enemy like an unstoppable beast, the soldiers felt their blood boil with pride.
Pain vanished from their eyes.
“FOR THE DRAGON EMPEROR!!!”
Their roar thundered across the battlefield as they charged forward once more without hesitation.
Even if death waited ahead of them…
They would drag these monsters into hell beside them.
Seeing their entire army being torn apart by a single girl and a relatively small number of soldiers, the remaining metallic figures slowly turned their heads toward one another.
Their visors flickered repeatedly as streams of mechanical signals passed silently between them.
Then, almost simultaneously, every one of them focused directly on Thalia.
Not the soldiers.
Her.
As if she alone had become a greater threat than an entire battlefield armed with stolen technology.
Thalia continued carving through steel and flesh alike as though she were merely cutting down trees in a forest. Sparks exploded around her claws while pieces of shattered armour spun through the air behind her.
Her breathing remained calm despite the slaughter surrounding her.
Then her eyes narrowed sharply.
Several metallic figures suddenly moved together in perfect synchronisation. Their mechanical bodies shifted with heavy metallic clicks while blue energy flared violently behind their backs.
Plates of armour unfolded outward as countless smaller components began combining together with frightening precision.
KRRRRK! CHKKK! WHRRRRRRR!!
The machinery connected piece by piece before massive cannons slowly formed over their shoulders. Thick streams of reddish-blue energy immediately began gathering within the hollow barrels, causing the surrounding air to tremble violently from the pressure alone.
The ground beneath them cracked.
Thalia smirked.
“So you finally stopped acting like mindless scrap metal.”
Red-golden flames suddenly erupted beneath her feet. The heat distorted the air around her body while blazing energy spiralled across her legs like living fire serpents.
BOOOOM!!
The ground exploded apart beneath her stomp as she launched forward with monstrous speed. Her claws extended fully, glowing with burning crimson energy sharp enough to split armoured tanks in half.
“Do you really think I’ll let you fire that thing?!”
Her voice thundered across the battlefield while she tore through the air like a meteor.
But the metallic figures did not move.
They simply continued charging the weapon.
The four cannons combined their power together, causing the reddish-blue core inside the barrels to grow brighter and brighter until the battlefield itself became illuminated by the unstable energy.
Violent vibrations spread through the surrounding ruins, while even nearby metallic figures began breaking apart from the overwhelming force.
Thalia’s instincts screamed.
Yet she still lunged forward.
Her claws were only inches away from the cannon when suddenly…
SSSNKKKKK~
The hollow core inside the weapon flickered once.
Then exploded.
BEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEMMMMMMMMMMMM!!!
A colossal reddish-blue beam erupted forward with apocalyptic force.
The blast swallowed Thalia instantly.
Everything in its path ceased to exist.
The ground split apart into a massive trench stretching across the battlefield.
Nearby metallic figures were sliced apart by their own weapon before melting into glowing debris beneath the impossible heat.
The sheer pressure alone blasted soldiers off their feet.
Several covered their eyes as the blinding light consumed the battlefield entirely.
“GENERAL!!!”
The soldiers screamed in horror.
Their voices cracked with panic as they stared toward the beam swallowing the place where Thalia once stood.
Some of them froze completely. Others began running toward the destruction despite knowing they would die if the blast touched them.
The beam continued roaring forward for several seconds before finally weakening.
The combined cannons trembled violently.
CRACKK!
Large fractures spread across the machinery as steam burst uncontrollably from every joint. The metallic figures operating the weapon slowly collapsed one after another, their bodies overheating beyond their limits.
THUD!
THUD!
THUD!
Like broken puppets, they fell lifelessly onto the battlefield.
Even though they could no longer move…
They believed they had won.
The battlefield itself had been erased.
A gigantic burning trench stretched across the land where the beam had carved through everything in existence. Molten stone bubbled across the shattered ground while smoke rose endlessly into the dark sky.
There was no possible way anyone could survive that attack.
Yet…
“…Argh.”
A groan suddenly echoed from within the smoke.
The soldiers froze.
The remaining metallic figures twitched violently.
Then slowly… a silhouette stepped forward from the burning dust.
Thalia emerged from the destruction.
Her arms were crossed before her body in an ’X’ shape while smoke rose from her skin. Strange scales flickered across her pale flesh like a living camouflage, constantly shifting between reddish-gold and pure skin as if struggling to stabilise themselves.
The ground beneath her feet melted slightly with every step she took forward.
Her breathing sounded rough.
But she was smiling.
No.
Grinning~
A savage, wicked grin filled with pride and violence.
“…Is this all you’ve got?”
She slowly cracked her neck to the side.
KRRKKK.
Her reddish golden eyes glowed fiercely through the smoke while the remaining flames danced around her body.
The battlefield became completely silent.
Everyone stared at her in disbelief.
Even her own soldiers looked horrified.
They knew their General was powerful. Everyone in the Empire knew that much.
But this…?
This was monstrous.
Thalia was a Phoenix.
Her race possessed overwhelming regeneration and flames powerful enough to reduce armies into ash, but they were never known for possessing the indestructible defences of Dragons.
Yet she had survived an attack capable of erasing half the battlefield.
How…?
The answer quietly flickered across her skin.
Those shifting scales.
Those unnatural defensive adaptations.
As for how Thalia survived that devastating beam… well, the answer was simple.
She had trained her body to endure hell itself.
More accurately… she had been beaten down over and over again by Drakhairs and her own sister in order to strengthen her body beyond the limits of a normal Phoenix.
Every shattered bone, every torn muscle, every drop of blood had only one purpose.
To force her scales to evolve harder and harder beneath overwhelming pain.
At first, every strike from Drakhairs felt unbearable. His attacks crushed mountains. Raven’s sword pierced through steel as though it were cloth.
Their training was not training at all.
It was torture!
Yet Thalia endured it.
Again.
And again.
And again.
Until eventually… even being struck by Drakhairs no longer felt like torture.
It merely stung!
“Ms. Thalia… do you really want to continue this?” Drakhairs asked quietly, carrying a trace of concern.
In front of him stood Thalia.
Or rather… what remained of her standing body.
Blood dripped continuously from the corner of her lips. Deep cuts covered her skin while bruises spread across nearly every part of her body. One of her arms trembled violently from repeated impacts while burns from Raven’s sword attacks still smoked faintly across her shoulder.
Yet her eyes never wavered.
Thalia slowly raised her head while panting heavily.
“I… need to strengthen my scales…” she muttered between rough breaths. “Unlike you all… Phoenixes were never born with strong defences like Dragons.”
She clenched her fists tightly despite the blood running down her fingers.
“I’m weak against direct attacks… especially energy attacks…”
For a brief moment, hesitation flickered across her face.
Then she bit her lower lip hard enough to draw more blood.
“I need to at least survive those monsters’ attacks…” Her voice lowered slightly. “Otherwise… H-He’ll be forced to use those dangerous powers again.”
The atmosphere suddenly became heavier.
Drakhairs remained silent.
Even Raven’s cold eyes shifted slightly.
Both of them understood exactly who she was talking about.
And why she was desperate enough to destroy herself like this.
Raven blankly stared at her injured sister for several seconds before slowly raising her thin silver sword once more.
Blood from Thalia still dripped from the blade.
Despite seeing Thalia in such a broken state… Raven showed no mercy.
“Get ready,” she said coldly.
Thalia smirked weakly.
Even with blood covering her face… she smiled.
And Thalia endured both.
Again.
And again.
And again.
Back on the battlefield, the memory vanished from Thalia’s mind as her lips slowly parted.
Hussssssss~
Reddish-golden flames hissed between her teeth like a living beast awakening from slumber. The surrounding temperature instantly rose while distorted heatwaves spread across the battlefield.
The remaining metallic figures stared at her motionlessly.
They understood the danger.
Every warning signal inside their mechanical bodies screamed at them to retreat immediately.
Yet they could not move.
Their suits had already reached their absolute limits. They had poured every bit of energy into that combined cannon attack.
Internal systems overheated violently while steam continuously burst from their armour joints.
They needed at least five minutes to cool down before mobility could recover.
But their enemy had no intention of giving them even five seconds.
Thalia slowly walked toward them through the burning battlefield.
Step.
Step.
Step.
Each footstep melted the ground slightly beneath her boots while reddish-golden flames danced around her body like flowing liquid fire. Her murderous eyes reflected across the metallic visors of the enemies before her.
“This…” she whispered with a dangerous grin slowly spreading across her lips, “is only the beginning.”
The flames around her intensified violently.
“We proud Dragons and Phoenixes…”
Her voice became colder.
“…always return pain one hundred times greater than what we receive.”
“Hehe~”
The metallic figures twitched weakly, desperately attempting to move their overheated bodies backwards.
Too late.
Thalia leaned slightly forward as if preparing to whisper a secret.
“Fu~Fu… how about being roasted alive?”
The flames instantly gathered toward her mouth.
The surrounding air began screaming from the heat.
Then…
PUUUUUUUUFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFF!!!!
A colossal torrent of reddish-golden fire exploded from Thalia’s mouth like a volcanic eruption.
The battlefield disappeared beneath the flames.