Chapter 23 – The Roar That Shakes a Nation

The ruins of Beijing trembled with every beat of the Black Dragon’s wings. The battlefield was chaos—dust, fire, and the deafening clash of steel against an enemy that seemed untouchable.

Kohaku landed first, katana drawn, sparks leaping as he slashed against the creature’s armored scales. The blade screeched, barely cutting through.

“Too thick…” he muttered through gritted teeth. “We’ll have to carve it piece by piece.”

Rika rushed to his flank, eyes blazing. Her violet sword ignited, striking alongside his katana in synchronized arcs. For a heartbeat, the scales cracked—faint fractures glowing red.

Eva moved in with calculated precision, her massive rifle locked onto the weakened seam. “Now! Firing—!”

The round slammed true, detonating against the fissure. The dragon shrieked, stumbling for the first time.

Seo seized the opening, commanding Aalto forward. “Shield formation—push!” Her android generated a shimmering barrier, forcing back the gusts of the dragon’s wings just enough for Hana to leap forward, launching her spear directly into the beast’s forelimb.

The impact shook her to the core, but the dragon staggered back with a roar of pain.

Meiyun’s voice rose above the chaos, rallying the others. “We fight as one! Don’t stop now!”

Her crimson eyes burned as she struck with her curved blade, channeling her strength like a hammer against the beast’s claws. Agnes supported from the rear, her scanners feeding data into Kohaku’s visor—highlighting vulnerabilities, tracking heat patterns, predicting the creature’s next moves.

For a fleeting moment, it felt possible. Six warriors against an ancient terror—balanced on the razor’s edge of hope.

But hope was fragile.

The dragon’s eyes flared crimson, brighter, angrier. Its body convulsed, and then it reared high, its roar splitting the sky.

The sound wasn’t just noise. It was an earthquake of despair, a signal sent into the very marrow of the land.

Agnes froze, sensors spiking. “Warning… massive life signatures! All across the region!”

Radio comms from Liberation HQ exploded with overlapping voices:

“This is Unit Delta—we’re surrounded!”
“Soul Beasts—thousands of them, emerging from the ground!”
“Sir, the dragon’s roar—it’s calling them!”
“They’re… everywhere! Shanghai, Guangzhou, Nanjing—all reporting activity!”

Kohaku’s grip tightened on his weapon. Around him, the others looked up in horror as shadows began to swarm over the horizon—Soul Beasts, rising from the earth, from rivers, from shattered cities long thought dead.

The dragon’s wings unfurled like a stormcloud blotting the sun.

Its roar had awakened not just one battlefield.

It had awakened an entire nation.

And the war for China had just begun.