Above the clouds, Hubert flew like an arrow shot out from a bow. He cut through the clouds against the snow and the howling wind. A tornado formed right between the thusian army and their foes. This tornado brought down the wrath of gods as streaks of lightning struck down without a break. As he was flying forward, he saw the royal dragon in the distance. It was battling with the man with wings. Steam of violet flames shot out of the dragon's mouth. Hubert searched for the frost-breathing dragon and the girl. But they were nowhere to be found.

His neck hair suddenly stood up as though there was some danger nearby. He quickly swayed his body before dashing away to the side. Only then did he realize that he had missed a golden arrow to the head by an inch. He turned around to fight the frost-breathing dragon and the girl. Hubert had a feeling this girl might be as strong as him or stronger. Furthermore, she was with a dragon which gave her an overwhelming advantage.

But to his surprise, the girl jumped off the dragon. The two of them stared at each other as the dragon flew into the clouds, disappearing from Hubert's sight.

"Hubert Mertz. General of the thusian naval army. Mentor to Booth and King Maxim himself,"

"You seem to know me," said Hubert.

"It's my duty as a general to know my foes,"

Hubert clenched his fist. He recalled everything he had read in the reports from Zulon and Suven. She paraded the corpses of the fallen Thusian soldiers to inflict fear. Such a brutal tactic for a gentle-looking girl.

"Order your men to stand down. We can avoid all this death and bloodshed," said Gaya. She looked down on the sea to see thusian ships sinking to the bottom of the ocean. The mortars were as powerful as Michael had explained. Seeing them in a real battle showed Gaya why Ghost and Elidyr spent such a long time creating this weapon.

Even if the thusians had brought airships, those would have fallen down like dead flies.

"You don't look like you're into this war, old man. To me, you look tired, want to retire, and live somewhere peacefully. You know King Maxim started this war, and you know he wouldn't give you a choice if you were his foe,"

"Young lady," Hubert smiled.

"You are right. I do want to do all those things. But I am a soldier, and it's a soldier's duty to follow his order. Now, my order is to win this battle. So that's what I am going to do, or I'll die trying,"

Gaya sighed.

"You're just another good man who's willing to die for a sick fuck," The bow and arrow materialized in Gaya's hands. Hubert was about to cast a spell when he felt a sting in his neck. He hissed, slapping the back of his neck. A drop of blood was on his palm.

"What did you do?" asked Hubert.

"There is no time General Hubert. Your men are waiting for you to destroy their foes. What do you guys call our mortars anyways?" Gaya chuckled.

"You know, I would have loved a good battle, but he has other plans,"

Hubert's vision blurred. He could feel the strength in his body disappearing.

"You are a great general and one of the most powerful people in the world. But to us, to him, you're not special in any way. Just another man to be killed," said Gaya.

Hubert's breathing became heavy. Each breath took a toll on his body. Furthermore, he slowly lost the connection with his Celestial and arch energy in his body.

"In a different timeline, your story would have been longer," Gaya slowly raised her bow. Hubert wanted to cast a spell to protect himself. However, he simply couldn't feel any energy. He was able to stay afloat in the air barely.

"Your story ends here," Gay said. She was about to release the golden arrow when Hubert looked her in the eyes and said.

"As a general to general, please spare my grandson's life," Hubert realized this was his end. He never thought he would die like this without even putting up a fight. As a general, he utterly failed and let down his men. In his last moments of life, the most he could do was plead for his grandson's life.

"You had a chance. Now it's gone," Gaya released the arrow. Hubert felt a sharp pain in his chest. When he looked down, he saw an arrow sticking into his chest. He gritted his teeth, trying to fight the pain. But the very next moment, everything turned dark. The last thing he saw was another golden arrow soaring toward him.

Gaya didn't feel a bit of pity for Hubert. These generals supported King Maxim in every step. In a way, they were responsible for what happened to Michael's sanctuary. She watched Hubert's body fall down from the sky. Finding his body through all the ship parts floating on the ocean would be near impossible.

Far away from Gaya, Nightmare kept breathing frost onto the sea, forming a wall to slow down the thusians. The royal dragon was occupied with Azazel in a fierce battle.

"It's time," Nightmare heard Azazel's voice in his head. With a flap of his wings, Nightmare gained enough altitude to disappear into the clouds. On his way, Gaya landed back on him.

"Is it done?" asked Nightmare.

"It's done," Gaya nodded.

The two of them flew toward Azazel and the royal dragon. The closer they got to them, the hotter the air became. The heat radiating from the royal dragon's body melted the snowflakes. As a result, Gaya and Nightmare got drenched by a heavy downpour.

The royal dragon flew left and right, trying to bite Azazel. Violet flames shot out of its mouth to burn down Azazel. Gaya could tell the dragon and Azazel were at a stalemate. Suppose the royal dragon brought backup, this battle would have gone in a different way. Yet, the royal dragon was too proud to fight along with anyone else. Its pride would be its downfall.

While the sea was filled with dead bodies, burning ships, and a freaking tornado, a group of soldiers gathered in one of the buildings in the golden port. They watched their men getting slaughtered left and right without lifting a finger. General Franklin witnessed the death and destruction rained upon the thusian army from above. Unlike General Hubert, General Franklin was young. None would tell he was older than fifty or fifty-five. He was bald, masculine, and taller than an average human. The noticeable thing about Franklin was his metal arm. He lost his right arm, saving King Maxim from an assassination attempt. King Maxim showed his gratitude by tasking his best engineers to build this metal arm instead of finding a six-star healer to help Franklin grow a new arm. To be honest, Franklin liked this new arm of his.

Although he wanted to fight alongside the thusian naval army, he had his orders. No matter what, they were ordered to stay hidden until Ghost showed up. When he did, he and his men had to engage him and kill him with the Immortal killing spear.

All of his men wore the same dark robes to blend in with the dark sky. His unit consisted of fifty men. They were all plucked from the Thusian Royal Academy, the best of the best. These youngsters were dying to prove themselves. If General Booth had given them and ordered him to kill Ghost, a Half Immortal, Franklin would have laughed his ass off. But it wasn't the case. General Booth gave these men an Immortal killing weapon and, more importantly, a plan that could work.

None of them uttered a word despite all the death and destruction. They were trained to speak when they were spoken to. Franklin and his men had no expressions on their faces. To them, all that mattered was Ghost and his death.

Meanwhile, Gaya and Nightmare finally joined Azazel. The moment the royal dragon saw Nightmare, its eyes turned predatory. It bore its teeth and roared. His roar was filled with vengeance. Azazel quickly jumped onto Nightmare's back beside Gaya. The royal dragon flapped its wings as it started to chase after Nightmare. But instead of flying forward, Nightmare flew upwards. The royal dragon's massive body turned into a colossal disadvantage as gravity pulled the royal dragon down more than it pulled down Nightmare.

Gaya turned around, firing arrow after arrow at the Royal dragon. On the other hand, Azazel used the wind blast to hit the dragon before it could use the dragon's breath. Nightmare flew higher and higher against the wind. Breathing became difficult for both Nightmare and Gaya. Nightmare flew higher to the point they no longer saw any storm or snowfall.

The royal dragon opened its mouth wide to sink its teeth into Nightmare. Gaya held onto the spikes on Nightmare's spine to avoid losing her balance.

"Now would be a good time," Gaya shouted, looking at the violet glow inside the royal dragon's mouth. She felt the temperature rising by several degrees. It was evident the royal dragon was about to use its dragon breath. She could swear she saw the royal dragon grin devilishly.

Nightmare was exhausted. Every flap of his wing took a great effort. Finally, Nightmare lost his strength. He closed his eyes as the royal dragon opened its mouth as wide as it could. Anyone in this situation would panic or shout but not Gaya. A grin emerged on her face. When Nightmare was about to fall down, a bolt of lightning struck the royal dragon from above. The lightning bolt struck straight into its wide-opened mouth. However, it was not just a lightning bolt. Instead, it was Ghost who flew straight into the dragon's mouth using the lightning dash.

The moment Michael went into the royal dragon's mouth, the dragon's predatory eyes glistened with pain. The smell of burning flesh overwhelmed their senses. Why? Because Michael covered himself with the Dark Flames.