As several goblin wind knights ascended into the sky to meet Jarius.
On the vast expanse of the Blessed Plains, at the heart of the goblin encampment, a dozen humans gathered beside a peculiar structure forged from steel.
A middle-aged man with short golden hair gazed at the immense winged legion soaring above, a flicker of nostalgia in his eyes.
"Back in the day, the Empire commanded an aerial legion a thousand times mightier than this winged tribe!" he declared.
"Wings on their backs, soaring through the heavens, the Sky Serenade Legion—one of the nine great aerial legions—was far more majestic than these winged man!"
A beautiful blonde girl rolled her eyes and sighed.
"That's all in the past. The Empire is long gone. Our task now is to ensure humanity survives on this land, to prevent our kind from fading into extinction. "
"Otherwise, we'd be betraying the sacrifices the Empire made to protect this world."
"Indeed,"
A dark-haired human man agreed, nodding. He turned to the blonde girl.
"Fiona, you've spoken with the winged king up there. What's he like? Could he become an ally?"
Fiona gave a wry smile.
"That winged king is no simple figure."
"He knows certain secrets, though not many. He tried to convince me he's from our era, reborn into a winged body through something called 'reincarnation.'"
She shook her head. "Utterly absurd! Even the Empire's most powerful Sequence Bearers could scarcely achieve such a feat."
A young man with blue hair chuckled.
"Absurd or not, I choose to 'believe' him. This winged king clearly wants something from us."
"That's a good thing, Fiona. The real trouble would be if he had no desires at all."
An elderly man with dark hair, standing nearby, spoke up.
"Precisely because of his ambitions, he's someone we can negotiate with."
Fiona smiled.
"Grandfather Yang, this winged king claims to be an Weastern human from our era. Over the next few days, could you try to build a rapport with him?"
Yang sighed, exasperated.
"You really know how to keep me busy, girl."
"Fine, I'll reach out to him and see what he's after."
Fiona's expression turned wistful.
"If only we'd set the awakening time earlier. Being at the mercy of these goblins is hardly ideal."
The blue-haired man interjected, "It's not that simple. If the goblins hadn't stumbled upon our sealed lock by sheer chance, we might have slumbered for another ten thousand years, never to awaken. The Empire's glory would have truly vanished into the river of time."
"Look at all the sanctuaries we built—how many still remain?"
"Better that than being pawns to others," Fiona retorted sharply.
The blue-haired man smirked, his quip hitting its mark.
-----------------
In the Skies Above
Among the squad of goblin knights, the leader bowed respectfully to Jarius.
"Honored Winged King, our lord Amigel has prepared a encampment for your people, complete with provisions and supplies."
Jarius followed the knight's gesture and spotted a pristine camp adjacent to the goblin stronghold, stocked with grain and equipment.
He nodded inwardly.
The goblins clearly value the winged man. Amigel seems a decent sort.
Sensing Jarius's approval, the goblin knight continued.
"Honored Winged King, when the sun sets this evening, please join our lord in the central pavilion after settling your people."
"He wishes to discuss plans to confront the Titan Giants with the leaders of all tribes."
"I will be there on time,"
Jarius affirmed.