Reborn As Noble

Meanwhile, far from the Armand Border Wall…

King Edmund stood on a rise, watching the distant black haze swirl above the battlefield. A slow, confident smirk tugged at his lips.

"Heh… by now, that wall should be nothing but rubble," he muttered. "Those fools can't stop the golems , they'll just keep regenerating every time they're brought down."

He turned toward his armored general, malice gleaming in his eyes.

"Send in the special elite veteran wyvern unit. All out. I want fire raining from the sky — burn them alive. Have the riders launch magic strikes at the crumbling wall. Kill their citizens without mercy. I'm certain that brat's precious defenses have already failed."

The general bowed sharply and began barking orders.

"And the mages…" Edmund's voice dropped to a darker, almost gleeful tone. "Keep hammering them with dark fireballs. Tear that place apart."

He glanced back toward the horizon, his grin widening into something cruel.

"Once the wyverns, the golems, and the mages break their line… I'll make my move."

Edmund's grin twisted into something darker as he stood outside his temporary war camp.

Above, the sky darkened with the shadows of thousands of wyverns, their wings blotting out the fading light as they roared past him. The gust from their flight whipped at his cloak, but he stood unmoving, savoring the sight.

A low chuckle escaped him… then grew into a slow, unhinged laugh.

"GARIUS!!!" His voice boomed across the camp. "I will crush Armand! I'll slaughter your people, your soldiers, your precious family! By now, I'm sure your youngest son is already dead!"

His eyes burned with feverish obsession.

"And soon… Francesca will be mine. MINE ALONE!"

From deep within him, the Celestial's voice coiled like a serpent, hissing with anticipation.

"Hey, Edmund… don't forget. Devour his youngest… and devour Garius. I want his power."

Edmund's grin widened, eyes gleaming with predator's hunger.

"Ohoho~ Don't worry… we'll take them both. We'll devour them, tear out their souls, and drink their strength."

The voice inside him pulsed with manic delight.

"Yes… yes! And soon, you will be unstoppable, Edmund! With me!"

Edmund's eyes shifted over his shoulder.

Not far behind his throne, an ocean of 800,000 elite soldiers stretched across the field, their armor gleaming faintly beneath the shroud of his dark aura. The oppressive energy rolled off them in waves, warping the air and filling the ranks with feverish, almost rabid excitement.

His gaze moved to his general, standing rigid and alert at his side.

"Soon…" Edmund's voice was low and deliberate. "When I give the order… move forward."

The general's eyes flashed with a ruthless gleam.

"Yes, my liege."

High above the battlefield, the wind whipped past armored wings.

"General! We'll soon reach the Armand border!" the lead wyvern rider shouted over the rushing air.

"Good," the general barked back, eyes locked on the distant silhouette of the towering wall. "Do not fly too close to the dark fireball barrage. We'll approach from the west."

"Yes, General!"

The general tightened his grip on the reins, his wyvern letting out a shrill screech as it banked slightly, leading the formation.

"Make sure we begin our strike the moment we're in range."

He raised his weapon high.

"For Edmund!"

A deafening roar of voices and wyverns echoed through the sky.

"For Edmund!!!"

Then they saw it, glints of light in the distance, multiplying, closing in fast.

"General! What is that!?" a rider shouted, panic creeping into his voice.

The general's eyes narrowed, recognizing the incoming shapes.

"Evade them—now!"

"Yes, General!!"

Wyverns twisted and banked sharply in the air, their riders pulling hard on the reins to break formation. The first volley of mana missiles screamed past.

"Launch the attack!" the general roared.

Wyvern-mounted mages extended their staffs, channeling power into massive fireballs that streaked toward the Armand Wall. At the same time, magic archers stood in their saddles, loosing volleys of glowing mana arrows that cut through the sky like lightning.

But every spell, every arrow, every fireball they launched was ripped from the sky, shattered mid-flight by relentless counterfire from the Armand Border Wall.

"What?!", the general's eyes widened. He had expected resistance… but not this.

"Keep attacking!!" he barked, trying to mask the unease in his voice.

"General!!" one of his officers shouted from the flank, pointing behind them. "That flying thing—it's chasing us!!"

"What—?" The general barely turned his head when a deafening roar filled the air.

From behind, a swarm of glowing mana missiles tore through the clouds like angry comets. They locked on instantly, trails of light streaking straight for the wyvern unit.

Hundreds of wyverns erupted into flames midair, bodies and riders alike consumed by the blasts. The shockwaves sent others spiraling out of control.

"Shit!! Evasive maneuvers!! E-evade!!!" the general screamed, yanking hard on his reins as his own wyvern veered sharply, wings beating frantically to avoid the incoming death.

Inside his mind, panic churned with disbelief.

What the hell is this?!

Is this why the 5,000-strong new wyvern unit vanished without a trace?

Those things.

Flying, glowing deathtraps.

They didn't just hit… they chased. No matter how the wyverns twisted or dove, the missiles followed as if they could smell blood.

We can't do anything… it's too fast!

He had thought Armand's real threat was just the anti-air mana guns on the wall, deadly, yes, but stationary and predictable.

But this… this is new!!

His gut twisted. This wasn't just defense

It was slaughter from the skies.

Shit! Shit! Shit!! he snarled under his breath, urging his mount into a desperate dive.

Then he glanced back just in time to see a shimmering trail of light screaming toward him, the shriek of its magic core piercing the wind.

The sound grew louder.

And before he could shout an order.

Flames swallowed his vision, the force hurling bodies and broken wings in every direction.

The survivors, what few there were, froze in horror mid-flight.

Their general.

Reduced to fire and falling ash in an instant.

Panic surged through the formation.

"Turn around! We can't fight this—turn around!" other screamed, yanking their wyvern's reins so hard the beast shrieked.

They fled, wings beating furiously, but the nightmare didn't end.

The glowing trails of death kept following, weaving through the clouds, never slowing.

One of the fleeing riders glanced over his shoulder.

High above, cutting through the sky with a deep, unnatural hum, was a massive flying construct.

It wasn't a dragon. It wasn't alive.

Its hull gleamed with armored plating, and strange weaponry jutted from its flanks.

And from beneath it.

Those merciless, glowing projectiles poured forth like a swarm of hunting spirits.

They're coming from… that thing…

Bigger than any dragon… but what is it…?

They had no answer.

Only the growing roar of magic engines and the shrieking death that closed in from behind.

One by one, the sky lit with blossoms of fire.

The air reeked of burning flesh and charred scale.

Screams were lost to the wind.

The last of them, clinging desperately to hope....looked back one final time…

Only to see the missiles dive together, engulfing the retreat in one final, thunderous chain of explosions.

When the flames cleared, the sky was empty.

Not a single wyvern survived.

( End Of Chapter )