The Epic Dragon Titan

"The long night is coming!" Muria stood at the edge of the central floating island, gazing downward. The cold wind blowing at high altitudes did not bring him any discomfort; instead, it gave him a refreshing sensation.

Muria remembered that when he first arrived on this subcontinent, the land below was full of vitality, a vast green sea as far as the eye could see. But now, that sight was gone, replaced by a gray mist covering the earth. Under this shroud, the entire land appeared lifeless and out of harmony.

According to the information he had obtained, this lifeless aura would only grow stronger with time, eventually plunging the entire land into a long night, heralding a celebration for the undead.

For ordinary people, this would be a catastrophe. Under the cover of the long night, they would be unable to grow any crops, forced to rely on their stockpiled food. However, this disaster struck so suddenly that many nations were unprepared. It was foreseeable that food shortages would lead to countless tragedies.

"The undead calamity!" A scarlet flame appeared beside Muria as Mikaela, with her ten wings unfurled, followed Muria's gaze downwards.

Born into a high and exalted existence, Mikaela could not imagine that Muria's mind was occupied with thoughts of the weak and fragile ordinary humans, who were like ants to her. She was naturally superior, born to be worshipped by countless mortals.

"Mika, do you think this calamity might have erupted early because of me? If it really was my fault..." For once, Muria's eyes showed a rare trace of confusion. Although he had lived for over a century as something more than human, his past as a human was still hard to erase.

This subcontinent was home to at least two billion people. Yet, in the face of an undead calamity, the mortality rate among ordinary humans could reach as high as seventy percent. Even legends could fall in such a catastrophe, which was why it was termed a "calamity"—because it was irresistible.

"So what if it is? So what if it isn't? What's done is done, right? All that's left is to solve the problem with your fists. Do you have any other choice?" Mikaela asked indifferently. She didn't care whether the calamity had been triggered early because of Muria. She was only interested in what kind of powerful creatures might appear in this calamity.

"You're right." A smile spread across Muria's face, and the confusion in his eyes disappeared.

...

"The losses are becoming more severe. More and more undead dungeons are being lost. This time, we weren't prepared for the calamity, and it will surpass any we've faced before."

In a bright, sacred hall, a group of cardinals dressed in gold-trimmed red robes gathered around a round table, their expressions solemn. On the table was a map of the continent of Orbis.

On this map, the locations of human cities were clearly marked with white dots, while the entrances to the undead dungeons were marked with black dots.

The map was dynamic, with gray mist slowly spreading from the black dots, pressing against the white dots. Some of the dimmer white dots gradually extinguished under the encroaching mist, indicating that some cities had been breached by the undead. Under the cover of the long night, what would happen to those cities was clear without explanation.

"We need more power, so let's make a decision. Should we awaken the heroes?" a cardinal suddenly suggested, breaking the silence.

"It's not the critical moment yet. We don't need to awaken those monsters." Another cardinal frowned, his expression showing a hint of disdain.

"Watch your language. They are the sages of our people, who sacrificed themselves willingly. Don't you dare use any insulting terms to refer to them. If I hear it again, I won't be so forgiving." A powerful holy light erupted from a cardinal, and swords of sacred light floated around him.

"Let's continue the discussion instead of arguing. There's nothing to debate here." Someone stepped in to mediate.

"I understand, I misspoke. I apologize." The cardinal who had used the term "monsters" lowered his head, yielding under the disapproving gazes of the other cardinals.

"I believe that given the current situation, it's only a matter of time before we awaken the Night's Watch. There's no need to delay. Waking them up early could save more lives."

"I oppose it. The calamity is only in its second phase; there's no need to awaken these spirits yet."

"In that case, let's put it to a vote."

"I agree."

"Agreed."

"Opposed."

"Abstain."

...

"Fifteen votes in favor, three abstentions, seven opposed. The result of the meeting is to awaken the Night's Watch."

"An absurd move. No matter how severe this calamity becomes, it won't lead to our extinction. And now we're relying on a group of monsters that could lose control at any time." The cardinal who had spoken out earlier stood up, his face full of displeasure, and prepared to leave the hall.

"How dare you!" An overwhelming holy light burst forth from an elder, transforming into swords of light that slashed towards the disrespectful cardinal.

"Enough! This is no time for infighting." Seeing the elder's attack, several cardinals stepped in to mediate. "We need to focus on awakening the Night's Watch!"

After some scuffling and booming sounds, the thirteen cardinals who had voted in favor led their subordinates in thirteen separate teams, each heading to one of thirteen locations on the continent...

"We've arrived!" After a not-too-difficult journey, one of the teams arrived at a mountain resembling a pyramid.

The lead cardinal looked up at the mountain, or rather, the tomb, with a look of remembrance in his eyes. His face was extremely aged, with deep wrinkles piled upon each other, making him seem on the verge of death.

"Let's go in. Remember, those who slumber inside are the heroes of our people. Anyone who disrespects them will have to answer to me." The elder issued a stern warning to the priests and knights behind him, knowing that what they were about to witness would have a profound impact on their worldviews.

"We understand, sir," a knight commander replied, looking at the tomb with admiration.

With a rumbling sound, the entrance to the tomb opened, and a chilling deathly aura poured out, making the atmosphere eerie. But the cardinal showed no surprise at this sight.

He led the way into the tomb. After a long passage, they came upon rows of bronze coffins and dozens of silver ones. Thousands of meters away, three golden coffins stood out, completely different from the others.

"My old friends, we meet again at last." Seeing these coffins, the cardinal's eyes filled with tears. "If I could, I would never disturb your slumber."

Suddenly, the sound of metal scraping against metal echoed through the tomb, and a chilling scene unfolded around the team. One by one, the lids of the coffins were pushed open by iron-clad hands, making the tomb's atmosphere even more ominous.

"So the legendary sages are indeed undead!" Even though the priests and knights had been forewarned about what they would encounter, they couldn't help but draw closer together, instinctively adopting a defensive posture.

"Asimio, you're crying too loudly!" Suddenly, the lid of one of the golden coffins flew off, and a hand, clad in armor, emerged, gripping the edge of the coffin. A knight, three meters tall, sat up. He was clad in what was clearly a paladin's armor, but instead of its original holy appearance, it had turned a dark gray.

Blazing soul flames flickered from within the helmet's gaps, and the dense deathly aura around him formed a natural shield on his armor. This was an undead formed from a fallen legendary knight.

"Has the calamity begun? What stage is it at?" The awakened undead knight stepped out of the golden coffin, stretching his body, his voice echoing with the calm of a soul.

As he stepped out, the other knights, who had begun pushing open their heavy coffin lids, also emerged one by one. They moved in an orderly fashion, silent, but their gaze, burning with soul flames, was fixed on the church team that had entered their midst. They had once been part of that group.

"It's only just entered the second stage," Cardinal Asimio replied with a bitter smile.

"If it's only the second stage, why awaken us so early?" Another golden coffin's lid was silently lifted, and a figure in a black priest's robe stood up, surrounded by black deathly energy, her face obscured. But Asimio knew she was looking at him.

"Pamela." Seeing this undead, the old man's expression grew even more pained. This was his former lover, who had perished in a calamity eighteen hundred years ago. Given the choice between eternal rest in the divine realm and becoming an undead to guard the continent, his lover had chosen the latter without hesitation. To maintain her will, she slept in the tomb most of the time.

"Asimio, after all this time, you're still such a crybaby. I'm not dead yet." Seeing Asimio's tearful state, Pamela, now an undead, spoke impatiently. Unnoticed, the gray mist around her grew thicker—she didn't want her lover to see her current, hideous form.

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