Early the next morning, "hoaaam," a soldier from the Orthus Empire who had just woken up stepped out of his tent and stretched his body. But then, "teng...teng...teng," the ergency bell echoed through the camp. Startled, the soldier scrambled up the wooden ramparts bordering the camp and t the sentry ringing the bell.
"Hey... what’s going on?" the sleepy soldier asked.
"Th-that," the night watchman replied, pointing toward the open fields ahead.
When the soldier looked in the direction his friend was pointing, his heart skipped a beat. He saw thousands of demon and rman troops marching toward the camp. In the distance, nurous galleons were anchored at the shore—a place no one ever used for landing because of the jagged reefs and rocks.
"Huh... what the hell? Where did they co from?" the soldier scread in a panic. His entire life began flashing before his eyes, certain that his ti would end today.
***
The night before, Vahn—having t Ard and currently transporting Cain or Reese’s rchant wagons—pointed to a map on the table.
"This is the blind spot on the western side of the northern continent. We usually take this route and cut straight through the middle," Vahn explained.
"Hmm... I see," Ard muttered, studying the map.
"That’s right, Ard. We rchants also use this route sotis to avoid inspections. It cuts directly into the heart of the western region, leading straight to the main Orthus Imperial camp, which is using the barbarian village as their base here," Cain added, pointing to a spot on the map where a barbarian settlent once stood.
"Alright, I’m heading back to my forces. You guys hold here, and we’ll move in together, okay?" Ard said.
"Fine by us," Vahn replied.
"Yeah... sounds like a plan," Cain added.
Ard then returned to his own armada and imdiately directed everyone, including Tatiana, to land at the spot Vahn had pointed out—a man who clearly knew the backroads given his life as a pirate and a bandit.
***
"Attaaaack!" Ard roared.
Instantly, Ard, riding Ace with Claudia seated behind him, and Irwin, on his great black dragon carrying Ainsley, shot into the air toward the village. Below, the demon forces led by Varvic and Durgat, the rman troops under Tatiana, and the combined bandit and rchant unit led by Vahn and Cain began charging forward. Their battle cries filled the air as they sighted the sprawling camp of the Orthus Imperial soldiers and knights—which was occupying the conquered barbarian settlent, encircled by a sea of tents.
Inside the camp, the alarm bell was rung in sheer panic, forcing the groggy, half-asleep soldiers to imdiately prepare for combat. Ard, brandishing his sword Exgrandal; Claudia, carrying her greatsword Warogth; Irwin, with his blade Durangorth; and Ainsley, wielding her twin short swords, Oranmir, leaped down right in the center of the camp just outside the inner defenses to strike first.
Simultaneously, Ace and the black dragon unleashed magical attacks and breath blasts at the wooden walls to shatter them, preventing any archers from manning the battlents. anwhile, Claudia’s familiar, the Golden Horn Unicorn, and Ainsley’s familiar, the Armored Kelpie, created a do that combined their elents into a void to envelop the entire enemy camp.
This ensured that no mages could cast spells within the do, forcing the entire battle into a physical confrontation with swords and other weapons. anwhile, Ace and the black dragon, who continued to blast the fortress walls with their attacks, remained completely unaffected.
Without delay, Ard imdiately tore through the camp outside the main fortress alongside Claudia, Ainsley, and Irwin, using their respective weapons. Enemy soldiers poured out of their tents to resist and surround the four of them, but as their primary forces were pulled into the void do, the troops outside the main periter were swiftly slaughtered.
They then headed toward the gate, which had already been shattered by the black dragon’s fire, and stord inside. Ard, Claudia, Ainsley, and Irwin ran at the very front, attacking and destroying everything in their path.
***
anwhile in the east, the Rellios Kingdom army charged across the bridge while the elven forces ran swiftly along its edges, leaping forward with incredible speed. Adeline summoned her pegasus, with Beatrice riding behind her, while Rosalind called forth her massive Golden Forest Dragon and mounted it. The two of them soared ahead of the troops alongside the elven leader, who also rode a familiar called the Green Phoenix—a firebird, yet its flas were a stunningly beautiful green.
As they sighted the border fortress, which had been seized and sealed off by the Orthus Imperial Army, they saw hundreds of arrows and spells hurtling toward them until the sky turned dark, blotting out the sun. Eledar spread his arms wide. "Kaaaak!" The combined power of himself and his familiar ford a circular green shield burning with erald fire, enveloping the entire Rellios army, the elven forces, and the bridge itself.
The troops continued their advance thanks to Eledar, who deflected every spell and arrow raining down on them. But as they drew closer, they heard the sounds of a commotion from behind the fortress. It turned out the Rellios Kingdom’s dragon corps, which had previously been guarding the Ateras Kingdom’s front lines, was attacking the border fort from the rear. Naturally, the morale of the breaching forces skyrocketed. "Attaaaack!" the commander roared. The soldiers shouted in response, charging toward the fortress with Eledar hovering above them.
"Adeline... let’s go!" Beatrice shouted, drawing her sword, Ashrune.
"Yeah, let’s move!" Adeline yelled, also drawing her sword, Solarius.
Without a second thought, the pegasus whinnied and bolted forward, catching Rosalind and Eledar off guard.
"Hey!" Eledar shouted.
"Aaah, acting up at a ti like this... I’ll take the lead, Chief!" Rosalind yelled.
"Right, I’m counting on you," Eledar replied, still maintaining his shield.
Rosalind imdiately drew her sword, Seraphone. Then, she sped off on her green dragon to catch up with Adeline, who was already soaring ahead with Beatrice on her pegasus. Suddenly, "bwooooosh," a pillar of white light descended and slamd into the fortress wall.
From a distance, Rosalind could see Adeline raising her sword right over the battlent, which had exploded upon impact with the beam, sending the soldiers on top into a state of screaming panic. Then, she saw Beatrice leap down and summon her carbuncle familiar; they moved like lightning, sweeping through the enemies from left to right as they circled the fort.
"Huh... it looks like I underestimated them. Damn it, if it stays like this, there won’t be anything left for ," Rosalind said to herself.
Without delaying any longer, she charged forward and leaped down onto the fortress, wiping out all the troops stationed on the ramparts, while her green dragon smashed through the gates to let the entire Rellios Kingdom army and the elven forces inside. Eledar, watching the three of them in action, could only shake his head, though a smile played on his lips as he watched them work. Finally, caught between the assault from both the front and the rear, the border fortress guarding the crossing bridge was successfully defeated.
***
anwhile, at the front lines of the Ateras Kingdom’s defense—directly facing the main army of the Orthus Empire—the King of Ateras was holding a eting with his commanders inside a large command tent. they stood around a table with a map spread across it, their faces looking incredibly haggard. Suddenly, the curtain was pulled back. A soldier entered, briefly dropped to one knee before the king, and then approached him.
"Your Majesty, King Leonard, there is a letter for you," the soldier said, offering the ssage with his head bowed.
Leonard took the letter. He flipped it over and was stunned to see the seal on the back of the envelope.
"Cain... he has returned," Leonard muttered.
Without delay, the king broke the seal and pulled out the letter. His face, which had been weary, grew tense as his eyes moved from left to right, scanning the lines. The commanders gathered around watched their king’s serious expression closely. But as he reached the bottom of the page, a look of pure relief washed over his face, followed by a burning fire in his eyes. He turned sharply to his commanders.
"The large enemy camp to the west, where they’ve been keeping their reinforcents from the central continent, has been seized. Furthermore, the Rellios Kingdom forces from the east have already breached the border. They’re now heading out to attack the port city of Tramund. Prepare the troops! We’re going to hit the main Orthus Imperial army in front of us and drive them all the way back to Tramund. We’ll settle everything there, alongside the two armies from the west and the east," Leonard declared, his voice booming with newfound energy.
"Yes, Your Majesty!" the commanders replied, saluting and bowing with intense fervor.
The commanders imdiately rushed out to prep their respective units. Leonard then looked back to read the final section of the letter.
"A pair of heroes from the past has returned. They are the ones moving the world now. After this, they will attack the Orthus Empire and tear it down. Then, they will build a new empire that encompasses the entire world and every living creature within it. One of them has nad it the Liberta Empire."
Reading this, Leonard broke into a wide grin. He folded the letter and tucked it neatly back into its envelope.
"A pair of heroes from the past... Ashton and Esralda. A world empire called Liberta... interesting... truly interesting... hahaha," Leonard said happily.
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