Lord of the Frozen Winter: Starting with Daily Intelligence Reports

A dark gold meteor streaked diagonally across the western sky.

August maintained his True Dragon form as he soared through the air.

His massive dragon body sliced through the clouds, kicking up air currents like a continuous storm, flattening the entire forest wherever he passed.

This was the border of the Southeast Province, already Louis's territory.

In August's mind, this was a liquidation with no suspense.

He would crush his way through the Southeast, telling that newly risen lord in the most direct way that mortals should never dream of touching his empire.

But as he looked down at the earth, his dragon pupils paused slightly.

Below, there were no panicked mortals fleeing in all directions; the roads were empty, villages were tightly shut, and towns looked as if they had been emptied in advance.

This made August feel a hint of displeasure.

Since awakening from the ancient tomb and rampaging across the continent with his True Dragon body, his marching speed had long surpassed the limits of mortal understanding.

Even the most sophisticated intelligence network could not possibly complete an evacuation of this scale in such a short time.

It was as if someone knew of his arrival in advance; this feeling made him feel insulted.

“Rats hiding in caves,” the deep Dragon Language echoed in the air, filled with unconcealed contempt. “Do you think you can escape this King's liquidation?”

He didn't dwell on it further; mortal schemes were meaningless in the face of true power.

August flapped his wings to accelerate, flying toward the strongest fortress on the Southeast Province's defensive line.

It was a stronghold built specifically to withstand heavy siege engines, with thick walls, complex structures, and metal components throughout every joint.

In the old era, this was a pass sufficient to make any legion pay a tragic price, but unfortunately, it was facing a monster that transcended the era.

August hovered directly above the fortress and opened his massive dragon maw.

The ability granted by Greed activated accordingly.

An invisible heavy metal gravitational field instantly spread, covering several square kilometers.

The air emitted a low hum, and the iron chains, rivets, and supports inside the city walls began to vibrate violently, letting out overburdened moans.

In the next moment, a large amount of metal broke free from its position, as if pulled toward the sky by an invisible giant hand, turning into black torrents that surged crazily into his mouth.

Just then, signals lit up on the fortress walls.

Groups of knights were hidden atop the walls; not a single piece of metal could be seen on them. Instead, they wore thick magic beast leather armor, with bone buckles and leather cords at the joints.

Lambert stood at the very front. The moment the giant dragon blotted out the sky, his heart nearly skipped a beat, his rationality repeatedly washed over by an instinctual fear.

He forced himself to steady his breathing.

“Fire!” Lambert abruptly swung down the command sword in his hand.

Behind the walls, catapults and magic cannons activated simultaneously.

Heaps of grayish-black powder were hurled into the sky.

This powder was a mixture of Magnetic Blood Powder, Magnetic Storm Dust, and Directional Disintegration Crystals.

The wild wind swept them up.

Under the pull of August's own gravitational field, these powders did not scatter but rapidly converged, forming an invisible rotating tornado that accurately pounced on his dragon body.

August didn't notice at first, but he soon felt it.

They drilled into his body through the gaps between his scales, resonating with the Greed circuits in his bloodline.

He devoured them subconsciously, not sparing even a shred of attention to identify any abnormalities.

Not until the moment he retracted his ability did the dragon blood in his body make contact with the inhaled powder.

The magnetic storm was ignited simultaneously.

The dark gold dragon body shook violently as thunderous muffled bangs exploded one after another from within him.

Tens of thousands of Directional Disintegration Crystals exploded in his bloodline circuits, like countless high-speed rotating blades cutting crazily inside his body.

Even a True Dragon could not ignore an implosion of this level.

“ROAR!!!”

In the next instant, a roar of pain so intense it was out of control tore through the sky.

Compared to the fight with Mammon, this pain was ten times, a hundred times more intense; it was the feeling of his bloodline being torn apart.

Dark gold dragon blood, mixed with shattered crystals, erupted from between his scales.

They fell to the earth.

The ground below was instantly corroded, rock layers melted, forming one giant pit after another filled with churning lava.

August tumbled in the air for a moment, forcing himself to steady his form.

In his dragon pupils, clear rage appeared for the first time, and his dark gold dragon body heaved slightly.

But what he truly found unbearable was not the injury.

These mortals, whom he viewed as fodder, tools, and sources of blood energy, had actually turned around and exploited his instincts.

And he had actually fallen for it; this point enraged him more than any wound.

“...Very well.” Deep Dragon Language rolled from his throat, carrying an obvious out-of-control tremor. “In that case, there is no longer any need for this Emperor to continue playing with you.”

The last shred of patience was completely crushed, and true Dragon Might was released—a suppression that acted directly on the level of life itself.

The air seemed to be forced toward the ground, and space itself began to sink.

The knights closest to him didn't even have time to scream.

Their flesh instantly lost its structure, and their entire bodies were crushed like by an invisible giant hand, exploding from within into a cloud of blood mist.

Further away, the Extraordinary Knights knelt on the ground.

Their battle qi circulated crazily, yet they could barely maintain consciousness.

Bones emitted overburdened sounds, and lungs were compressed to the point of being unable to complete a single full breath.

The situation for several Peak Knights was not much better.

They could still stand, but every breath felt like swallowing scorching iron sand, and the edges of their vision rapidly turned black.

But this was just the appetizer; the massacre had begun.

Without any hesitation, August no longer picked targets nor cared about efficiency.

He advanced rapidly along the battle line, but every dive and every swipe of his claws would erase an entire swath of life.

Walls collapsed, and positions were pulverized.

August slowly raised his front claw, and the Greed gravitational field expanded again.

In the distance, the heavy tanks that were still firing Magic Bombs shook violently.

The tracks and armor simultaneously emitted a piercing metallic screech as the entire vehicles were forcibly dragged off the ground.

In the next moment, the heavy steel was crumpled into a ball in mid-air.

The armor collapsed like wet mud, and short, shrill wails came from inside before fading into absolute silence.

Iron balls fell to the ground, smashing out one deep pit after another.

The defensive lines that mortals took pride in lost their meaning before the True Dragon.

Just then, another dark red torrent cut into the battlefield from the flank.

The Dragonborn Knight Regiment had arrived.

Their speed was slightly slower than the True Dragon, but they were equally lethal.

dragon blood boiled in their bodies, scales covered their joints, and claws and long blades left afterimages in their charge.

Then came the efficient and cold cleanup.

One knight after another who had not yet been crushed by the Dragon Might was dragged from their positions, torn apart, and tossed away.

The entire battlefield rapidly lost order; this was a /N_o_v_e_l_i_g_h_t/ complete purging operation.

Lambert watched with his own eyes as familiar figures fell one by one.

It wasn't a retreat after a hard-fought battle, but being crushed like ants.

Under the Dragon Might, formations were meaningless, and techniques were worthless.

The knights who once charged side-by-side in formation were wiped away at will, like flattened dust on the ground.

His throat tightened, but he didn't make any sound of sobbing.

Because he remembered what Louis had said.

When that kind of thing appears, there is only one correct choice.

“Disperse!” Lambert roared hoarsely. “Everyone, retreat into the mountains and forests immediately!”

The knights were stunned for a moment; this was not an order they were familiar with. 𝒇𝓻𝓮𝓮𝙬𝙚𝒃𝒏𝓸𝙫𝒆𝙡.𝓬𝓸𝒎

Retreat meant defeat, meant showing one's back to the enemy.

And in this situation, dispersing to flee was almost equivalent to being hunted down one by one.

“Gray.” Lambert didn't explain much, he just growled again, “Take the men and go, disperse, as far as possible.”

Gray stood in place, hands clenched tight. He looked at Lambert, then at the still-tumultuous battlefield.

In the distance, the Dragonborn knights were cutting into the positions with cold and precise speed.

He understood that staying would only mean a few more people dying.

Gray gritted his teeth and suddenly turned around: “Follow me!”

The knights began to disperse, abandoning their positions and diving into the mountain forests, disappearing into the undulating terrain.

The Dragon Might continued to oppress.

Some fell while running, and some were caught by the Dragonborn before they could even scream.

But more people survived.

Lambert stood in place without looking back.

Beside him, soon fewer than a hundred people remained.

All of them had combat power above Mid-stage Extraordinary Knight; they were the strongest Red Tide Knights.

And they all understood the meaning of staying behind.

“Form ranks.” Lambert drew his longsword, its blade already full of nicks.

The knights silently stood behind him.

In the distance, the Dragonborn knights changed direction, their attention firmly drawn by this small squad.

From higher up, the dark gold dragon pupils looked down.

August saw them, as if seeing a few insects that refused to scatter.

Lambert took a deep breath; he knew very well what he was facing.

The Dragonborn knights' individual combat power far exceeded his, and that giant dragon in the sky was no longer an existence that could be measured.

But his hand did not tremble.

“Red Tide Knights.” His voice wasn't loud, but it cut through the noisy battlefield. “Charge!”

Not for glory, not for the empire, but for only one name.

“For Lord Louis!”

The knights stepped forward simultaneously, charging toward the Dragonborn.

The power gap was revealed in the very first instant.

Claws tore through armor, dragon blood battle qi crushed defenses, and knights were sent flying, severed, or trampled into the mud.

Lambert moved forward all the way, dark gold shadows covering his vision. His sight was constantly narrowing until only what was ahead, swinging his sword, and moving forward remained.

“Laughable humans!” August's dragon claw slowly rose.

At that moment, Lambert appeared incredibly tiny, so tiny it was heartbreaking.

Just as the dragon claw was about to fall, time stopped.

Splattered earth and stones froze in mid-air, and churning flames lost their shape.

The Dragonborn's movements were frozen, and August's distorted, angry face was like a faded mural.

The entire battlefield turned into a static picture.

Footsteps sounded.

A figure stepped out from the void, entering this frozen world.

Louis stopped beside Lambert.

He looked down at the knight kneeling on the ground, covered in blood yet still gripping his longsword tightly.

Then he raised his head, his gaze passing over the frozen battlefield to land on that arrogant giant dragon.

“You've worked hard, Lambert.” Louis's voice was very soft, yet it provided a great sense of security. “Leave the rest to me.”