The Empire I Create Chapter 1
Chapter 1: Prologue – The Roar of the Sky
At the border of a small European kingdom, the sun was beginning to set, casting long shadows over the castle walls. A giant shadow loomed over the fortress guarded by sentries. The Mongol army—legendary cavalry from the far east—had arrived, their siege engines and overwhelming force already reducing nearby cities to ruins. Fear spread through the kingdom, accompanied by grim rumors of their unstoppable advance.
Knights clad in iron armor, along with soldiers preparing dozens of massive trebuchets, gripped their spears and shields. Yet, deep inside, they all understood a bitter truth.
“This defense won’t hold.”
The Mongols, renowned for their unmatched mobility and military organization, had already surrounded the fortress with frightening efficiency. In previous skirmishes, the knights had suffered crushing defeats, and with a relentless barrage of arrows and heavy stones flung by trebuchets, it was only a matter of time before the walls crumbled.
The king sat on his throne, his thin, weary fingers gripping the armrest. He stared blankly at his generals, who were delivering grim reports.
“Your Majesty, we can no longer hold out. The Mongols have positioned their trebuchets at the front and are likely to launch their first major attack at dawn.”
The general’s voice was calm, but everyone could sense the despair lurking beneath his words. The expressions of the royal guards mirrored the hopelessness of men who had already lost the war.
“The gates will open soon, and we will be forced to surrender.”
“They won’t honor any treaty… This city is doomed.”
On the bridge connecting the city to the castle, civilians who had not yet managed to flee were wailing in despair. Mothers clutched their children, old men trembled, and merchants abandoned their goods, their faces etched with terror. Under the cloudy sky, only the flickering torchlight illuminated the long, cruel night.
“Attack—!”
Before dawn, the Mongol army launched their assault as predicted. Trebuchets hurled massive boulders at the castle walls, sending debris flying as parts of the fortifications crumbled. Cavalry surged forward at full speed, scaling ladders propped against the walls. Arrows rained down like a deadly storm, and one by one, the defending knights and soldiers fell, coughing blood.
Within the chaos of war, cries of resistance mixed with screams of agony. The king, now hiding deep within the castle, was drenched in cold sweat as he listened to the reports.
“No more… We are finished!”
His voice, filled with rage and despair, echoed through the dim chamber.
And then—it happened.
A thunderous roar split the sky above the Mongol encampment. The sound was not of a trebuchet’s stone or a distant storm but something unnatural, as if the heavens themselves were tearing apart. The Mongol cavalry, still advancing with unstoppable momentum, suddenly found their horses rearing in panic, screaming in terror.
This was not the sound of any siege weapon they had encountered before.
Above the battlefield, silhouetted against the dim morning light, an unknown flying object soared—agile like a bird, yet it had strange, whirling propellers that emitted an eerie mechanical hum.
“What… what sorcery is this?!”
A Mongol commander, his face pale with shock, shouted as soldiers pointed skyward in panic. The object was too high for their arrows to reach, and as they observed more closely, they realized—this was no thunder, but a deafening roar of metal and wind colliding at high velocity. The strange flying machine hovered like a predator surveying its prey.
Suddenly, the aircraft streaked across the sky at an astonishing speed. A moment later— BOOM! BOOM!—a series of explosions erupted within the Mongol encampment, accompanied by dazzling flashes of light. Mongol soldiers scattered, raising their shields in vain or frantically spurring their horses. The once-ordered battle lines disintegrated in an instant.
Fear spread through the entire Mongol army. They had no idea what was attacking them, let alone how to fight back. In the ensuing chaos, trebuchets were engulfed in flames, and distant signal towers used for Mongol communication were obliterated in the sudden strike.
“What… what is that thing?!”
Even the knights on the castle walls, barely holding their ground, stared upward in disbelief. The sound of siege weapons was replaced by the mechanical roar of engines and the terrified cries of Mongol warriors.
Panic-stricken, the Mongol army had no choice but to retreat. Cavalrymen scrambled onto their horses, while others abandoned supply wagons and fled on foot. Some stood frozen in terror, unable to comprehend what was happening.
“Fall back!”
The furious shouts of Mongol commanders were drowned out by the desperate retreat of their troops. The morning air, once filled with the sounds of conquest, now carried only fear, confusion, and the deafening roar of the sky.
Inside the castle, the defenders and civilians stood in stunned silence. The knights, covered in blood and dust, collapsed onto the ground, staring at the sky. One of them muttered in disbelief,
“…The heavens… have not forsaken us.”
The king immediately ordered his messengers to investigate the phenomenon, but no one could explain it. The only certainty was that something had come from the sky, roaring like thunder, spitting fire, and driving the feared Mongols into a panicked retreat.
The knights and soldiers, barely clinging to life, leaned against the castle walls, trying to process what had just happened. The frightened civilians embraced one another, tears streaming down their faces.
“We’re alive… We actually survived!”
In a single night, everything had changed. The Mongol army’s iron grip, their overwhelming force, had been shattered in an instant. A mysterious flying machine had appeared, and the course of history had shifted in a single, unimaginable moment.
Yet, no one knew what this aircraft was, why it had come, or what lay ahead.
As dawn broke, those standing upon the castle walls could feel it deep within their bones—a new era had just begun.
(To be continued..)
