With Vommik’s defeat, the other Sun Elves immediately turned and fled. The Heralds of the New Dawn moved to as well…but Seero, Ateia, and Taog coordinated to cut them off and terminate the remainder.

Seero let the Sun Elves retreat, however, having discussed the strategy ahead of time with Amulius and Nolnyth. Nolnyth had revealed that the Empire of the Sun as a whole was not involved with the Heralds of the New Dawn, it had largely been Vommik alone who was allied with them as far as she could tell. Two other High-Archons had cooperated with his invasion, while the rest refused to leave their territory undefended with the ongoing Dungeon Crisis. Seero, therefore, did not feel it necessary to terminate the entire nation as a hostile faction. So, the most efficient course of action to end this war would be to allow word of Vommik’s death to spread across the Empire of the Sun. His forces would disintegrate, while the High-Archons supporting him would give up the attack.

As for the Heralds of the New Dawn…Divination worked posthumously. Ateia, therefore, identified some of their bases of operation within the Empire of the Sun. They were spread very thin at this point, however. Much of their resources had gone into setting up the corrupted dungeons, and most of the remaining Heralds had come here to deal with Seero. The remaining assets were mostly logistical and administrative offices, the corrupted dungeons Seero hadn't gotten to yet, and any survivors from the North and South who had little combat capability. The Heralds of the New Dawn had been shattered as an effective force.

Seero and company thus moved on, cleaning up what remained of the corrupted dungeons, and the Heralds of the New Dawn. The Heralds no longer had any capability to strike back, and the corrupted dungeons couldn’t do much since Seero was bypassing all of their defenses completely. In the end, nothing much happened to disrupt the group, and one by one dungeons and cult holdouts were terminated.

And as predicted, High-Archons Kurzal and Ilnune retreated the moment Vommik’s death was clear, splitting Vommik’s remaining forces and integrating them into their own. Their aim had been the destruction of the Eastern Empire, and since that had failed there was no benefit to them holding ravaged border fortifications while their own lands were under siege by the dungeons. As such, they pulled out of Imperial lands entirely, letting the dwindling monster horde cover their retreat. Maior Generalis Maximia turned her attention to the dungeon situation in the meantime, waiting for Seero to finish off the corrupted dungeons before reclaiming the lost territory.

There was more to cleanup and the Dungeon Crisis continued, but the war in the East had largely been won, and the Heralds of the New Dawn terminated.

Save for one, high-priority target, whom none of the Heralds had seen since before the Dungeon Crisis began…

Colleöne cut a diagonal line across the Ogre Warlord ahead of her, who burst into a cloud of mana. Her reclaimed power hit reached sufficient concentration once more and she held up her hand. Holy mana streamed from her into the Lord of Craft and Forge, imparting some of her knowledge and skill into him. The Aesdes adjusted his stance and the grip on his hammer to strike flesh instead of metal.

Shialnor’s monsters proved weaker than the enemy, seeing as they were not blessed by Colleöne’s boons as well, so she had shifted focus at this point. She applied her traps where and how Velus directed her, disrupting the enemies attacks and leaving them vulnerable. She sent the remainder of her mana to the other Aesdes as well, granting them greater power.

Slowly, but surely, the Aesdes were pushing back. The Lord of Water and Oceans used his waves to push the monsters off the front. The Lady of Plants and Growth corralled a group with brambles and trees so that the Lady of Fire and Heat could burn them all at once. The Lord of Craft and Forge swung his hammer down and across his feet, knocking a monster to his side where the Lady of Hearth and Home smashed it into the ground.

The fight had ceased to be a brawl and had now become a battle. The Aesdes were working together, each a part of the greater whole. They may not have known battle, but they knew each other from countless millennia of joint efforts, and they quickly put that familiarity to good use. Velus no longer needed to micromanage individuals, and could focus on the battle as a whole.A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

The monsters, for their part, showed no signs of adapting. They rushed forward mindlessly, with no plans or attempts to work together. They were easily broken apart and ground down by the increasingly coordinated Aesdes.

And that…caused Colleöne to frown. The lack of coordination and adaptation meant that no one was actually commanding the monsters, simply throwing them into the fray. And that meant that whoever was responsible for this…was not paying attention to the battle in the Blessed Land.

Likewise, what glances she could take at the rest of Aelea below revealed the situation was calming down there as well. Colleöne wanted to believe things were going well for them everywhere…but her knowledge of war warned her against it. For if the enemy was being pushed back on all fronts, and yet not working to overturn the situation…then where were they? And what were they planning?

Fortunately, she’d soon have the opportunity to find out.

Shadows passed overhead and mighty roars pierced the sky. Torrents of fire, water, lightning, ice, poison, light, dark, and every attribute imaginable rained from above and engulfed the monsters assaulting the Aesdes. Even Holy mana joined the barrage. The Aesdes heard the beating of mighty wings, and gusts of wind blew across the blessed land as a new force landed in front of them.

The dragons had arrived.

Dragons of every shape and size filled the skies of the Blessed Land, unleashing their mighty breaths upon the monsters below. Fang and claw tore the monsters to shreds and tails flattened them upon the ground. Mana twisted and shaped in the air at the dragons’ commands, spells of all types rained upon the enemy. A large dragon with golden and silver scales that seemed to glow in the light of the sun landed on the ground before the Aesdes.

“Hmph. So this is the homeland that Grandfather always wished to show me.”

Colleöne stepped forward.

“You…have come to our aid?”

The Ancient Dragon before her scoffed.

“Hardly. I care little for you who drove my Grandfather out. But he would not wish to see his home destroyed, so the dragons will do what the Aesdes apparently cannot.”

And with that, she took off and rejoined the fight. Colleöne began to smile.

Not every Aesdes had agreed with Anualë’s order to return to the Blessed Land. There were those who refused to leave the surface of Aelea, so Anualë gave them a choice. They chose to remain, giving up their authority as Aesdes and their homes in the Blessed Land in exchange, eventually taking material forms. They lived their lives alongside the peoples they once guided.

These were the progenitors of the Ancient Dragons.

And apparently, they had not forgotten their heritage. Now, their descendants had returned. Whatever they said their reason was, they had come in the Aesdes’ most desperate hour.

The Ancient Dragons may have surrendered their authority, but not their power. Power that had been molded and shaped by living lives upon the surface, by struggling and striving alongside mortals and monsters. So they may not have matched the Aesdes in stature and command of the world…but they exceeded them in the ways of violence and war. And even though they were Aesdes no longer, they still had a stronger connection to the world than most other things. Holy mana naturally flowed through and empowered them, even still obeying their commands to a limited extent, resulting in their reputation as the mightiest living things in Aelea. And now, they turned all of their considerable power against the horde that barred the Aesdes’ way.

And, of course, since they no longer lived as Aesdes, they were no longer dependent on the Holy mana of the world to destroy their foes.

Colleöne turned and made eye contact with Velus. They both grinned, and then Velus pointed his blade ahead.

“Let’s go! Everyone, charge!”

The Aesdes and their cousins joined as one, and the monsters could not resist their combined might. Before long the Aesdes arrived at the foot of Anualë’s mountain, where the monsters spilled from a large cave entrance leading down into the heart of the Blessed Land.

The Ancient Dragon from before was wrapped and shrouded in light as she landed in front of the cave. The light died down to reveal the form of an elvish woman with draconic features. She had golden hair, silver reptilian eyes, and two horns on top of her head. She wore shining silver plate armor, with a hole for her scaly tail.

She took a deep breath and unleashed a torrent of Holy-infused flames into the cavern. When she stopped, nothing but ash stood in their way. She marched into the cave without waiting for the others.

Colleöne gripped her blade and turned to Shialnor.

“Let’s fix this.”

Shialnor frowned and nodded, and then the two Aesdes ran after the dragon. Colleöne’s eyes narrowed as she rushed down towards her and Shialnor’s cores.

One way or another, this matter was about to come to a close. And so if the enemy had any plans beyond this chaos, they would have to act now. And she had a feeling they would not go quietly…