Chapter 278 - 261: Don’t Forget, Thunderclap at the Manor
Chapter 278: Chapter 261: Don’t Forget, Thunderclap at the Manor
Just then, the sound of heavy, hurried footsteps rapidly approached.
It was Leona.
She came to a halt at the bottom of the steps, her gold-and-red cloak snapping in the wind.
"Your Highness, the personnel and route have been confirmed! We can depart at any time!"
Jon gave Dolores one last look before spinning around, his hesitation gone. His icy gaze swept like a blade over the elite team assembled at the foot of the steps. The silver armor of the Radiant Knights reflected the faint daylight with a cold glint. Holding their Holy Emblems, the members of the Sun Church’s Defender Army wore expressions of resolute faith and duty.
He descended the steps, merging into the torrent of steel, faith, and vengeance.
"Our target is Red Crying Castle! Move out!"
Meanwhile, in an office at Grent Manor, a fire crackled in the hearth, casting dancing flecks of warm, golden light onto the heavy oak bookshelves.
Rosalind sat behind a large desk, her silver eyes lowered as she focused on the unfurled scroll before her.
Outside, the winter dusk had settled heavily. The cold wind occasionally whined past the window frame, sending a fine spray of ice crystals to tap against the glass.
A young apprentice—Lola—stood awkwardly before the desk, her hands clutching a production schedule so tightly that her knuckles had turned white.
"Lady Rosalind... this is next week’s quota for Mechanical Body components... The production of Crystal Energy Cores needs to be increased by thirty percent, but the supply of alloy ingots from the forges is a bit tight. Master Sutton said... said we’ll have to wait another two days."
Her voice carried a barely perceptible tremble as she pushed the list forward. Rosalind didn’t look up, her long fingers just tapped lightly on the paper.
After a moment, she gave a slight nod, her cool, clear voice breaking the silence.
"Understood. Notify the smelting team to prioritize this batch of orders... Oh, and—"
She paused, looking up at Lola.
"Your family... how have they been lately? Are you facing any difficulties?"
Lola started, her cheeks flushing red in an instant as if startled by Rosalind’s sudden concern. She quickly waved her hands.
"Th-thank you for your concern, Lady Rosalind! The Workshop’s salary... it’s been a huge help! My mother no longer has to stay up all night mending clothes for copper coins, and my younger brother can go to school now..."
"It’s just... with this awful weather and the war, charcoal is frighteningly expensive. The trade teams aren’t even entering the city anymore. A while back, our house was as cold as an icebox, and my mother’s old chill flared up again..."
She took a deep breath, a grateful blush rising on her cheeks.
"But I mentioned it to my foreman, and they approved a Crystal Energy Heating Furnace for us that very day! Now our home is all toasty and warm, and we don’t lack for anything!"
Rosalind listened quietly to the end and nodded silently, a lock of silver hair slipping forward with the movement.
"That was the right thing to do. If you have difficulties, you should speak up. The Giant God Workshop is one big family—"
But before she could finish, a world-shattering sound erupted from outside!
BOOM—!!!
The sound wasn’t like earthly thunder. It was more as if the very dome of the sky had been violently smashed through by some immense, brutish force!
The entire Grent Manor trembled amidst the terrifying roar. The oak bookshelves shuddered, and the thick glass windows groaned as if on the verge of shattering.
Immediately after, the Old Dwarf Sutton’s thunderous roar pierced through the rolling boom. It carried a soaring ferocity and excitement, like a long-dormant volcano suddenly erupting!
"Ha! I knew you rats hiding in the shadows couldn’t hold back once that kid was gone! Eat my hammer!"
A cold glint flashed in Rosalind’s silver eyes. She grabbed the wrist of the terrified apprentice, Lola, whose face was as white as a sheet, and pulled her close.
BOOM—CRACK!!!
A second deafening explosion followed, accompanied by a grating, tearing sound, as if space itself was being ripped apart by a frenzied power.
Rosalind had already pulled Lola and dove into the relatively safe corner of the room by the window.
She pressed against the cold stone wall, her silver hair fluttering slightly from the violent tremors, while her cool eyes peered past the windowsill toward the sky outside, which had suddenly turned menacing.
Above the manor, the heavy, lead-gray clouds had now transformed into a roiling pool of lightning!
The blinding serpents of electricity were no longer a natural phenomenon. They were being forcibly restrained, twisted, and gathered by some will, woven into a frenzied web of destruction that covered the entire sky!
And deep within those endlessly churning thunderclouds, where light and shadow intertwined, several suffocatingly large silhouettes were slowly circling!
Every beat of their membranous wings created a heavy pressure in the air, casting shadows like enormous shrouds of death over the tiny manor below.
They were—dragon silhouettes!
And at the very top of the manor’s tallest watchtower, a short, stocky figure stood proudly alone!
It was Sutton!
The Old Dwarf’s figure seemed so small against the backdrop of the swirling clouds and colossal, circling silhouettes, but the aura erupting from him was like a pillar holding back the sea!
His trademark ruddy nose was even redder with rage and wild battle lust, the edges of his gray-white beard shimmering in the rampant lightning.
In his hand, he gripped not his usual Forging Hammer, but a short-handled Warhammer of ancient design, wreathed in blinding arcs of electricity.
Every seemingly casual swing of the hammer’s head pulled at the crazed lightning dancing across the sky, as if he himself were the heart of the storm!
"A bunch of mere mongrel dragons! Get the hell away from me!"
Sutton’s roar overpowered the wind and thunder. Before the sound even faded, his short, stocky body erupted with a frenzied power that belied his size. He leaped high into the air, bringing his Thunder Warhammer down toward the largest diving silhouette with the force of a falling mountain!
BOOM—!!!
A third, indescribably terrifying explosion detonated!
This time, it wasn’t just a shockwave of sound, but a pure release of destructive energy!
A bolt of deep purple plasma, as thick as a water bucket and condensed to the point of being tangible, shot out from the tip of the hammer like a spear of divine punishment!
It tore through the air with a shriek sharp enough to pierce the soul, striking with perfect accuracy the most enormous silhouette in the clouds—the one with a wingspan that blotted out the sky!
ROAR—!!!
A pained draconic cry, shrill enough to shatter eardrums, echoed through the heavens!
The massive silhouette faltered. A blinding ball of violet-white electricity exploded on its body, which was covered in scales like ice crystals. Countless shattered scales and shards of ice rained down from the sky like a torrential downpour.
The other circling dragon silhouettes seemed intimidated by their companion’s plight and the power of that earth-shattering hammer strike. They let out uneasy hisses, their huge winged shadows flapping frantically in the lightning. They involuntarily retreated into the higher clouds, their circling paths now tinged with fear.
However, the grievously wounded, frost-white silhouette did not retreat.
It had withstood the terrifying blow, its massive body shaking violently in the air a few times before it forced itself to stabilize.
Then, it abruptly lowered its altitude. Its enormous draconic head tore through the low-hanging curtain of clouds, which were still crackling with arcs of electricity, and slowly emerged.
When its full form was revealed in the faint daylight, an oppressive aura originating from a deeply frigid bloodline descended upon the entire manor like a tangible tide of ice!
This was no young dragon!
Its body was more than ten times larger than the Frost White Young Dragon that the Eternal Frost Sect had once brought to Birch Town!
The scales covering its entire body were a pure, unblemished frost-white, as if carved from ancient glacial ice. In the reflection of the lingering lightning, they refracted a cold, deathly sheen.
Its enormous draconic eyes were like two bottomless abysses of frigid ice, locked dead on the small figure atop the tower.
Then, its jaws opened and closed. A deep, cold voice, like the sound of two massive blocks of ice grinding against each other, rumbled between heaven and earth.
"Dwarf... you cannot stop us forever..."
"...My lord’s gaze has arrived. The holy maiden will eventually return..."
Faced with this cold, oracle-like proclamation, Sutton’s weathered face showed not the slightest hint of awe or hesitation. Instead, he grinned, revealing a disdainful smile.
There were no words in response to the adult Frost White Sub-dragon, only the Old Dwarf once again raising his Thunder Warhammer high!
BOOM—!!!