After equipping the Memoria Stone, there was only one thing left for us to do.
Wait.
Of course, it wasn’t just sitting idly by; “waiting” felt like the right word. If my prediction was correct, the Eastern Continent had at least managed to hold onto one city. I had no way of knowing the current situation. They could be fortifying their defenses while waiting for the allied forces, or the city might be on the verge of falling. I suspected the latter was more likely.
Either way, the key was how quickly and efficiently we could cross the moment the portal opened.
But no matter how much we compressed or squeezed in, fewer than thirty people could enter through the warp gate at once. Since we couldn’t artificially increase that number, organizing the troops in groups of twenty was the best we could do.
As we restructured the forces, time slipped by, and the sun was already dipping below the horizon. When we finished organizing and sat down to rest, the city was bathed in the crimson glow of twilight, reflecting red light in every direction.
The warp gate connection had been set up long ago, but there was still no sign of it activating. I tried not to get impatient and slowly scanned my surroundings.
I was sitting in the center of the first line. Among the ten clans, the mercenaries were assigned to lead the charge. It was a dangerous position, but the faces of the clan members were calm, almost serene.
No, the entire relief force was quiet. Only occasional murmurs broke the silence, but the overall mood was composed and steady.
That probably meant they were confident. Of course, no one could be completely fearless before a deadly battle, but at least they knew how to keep their fears in check and not show them.
As I slowly looked around, my gaze settled on a woman. Mar, who had been bickering with Nymue just moments ago, was now staring intently at the deepening red sunset, her head tilted back. Then she gently closed her eyes. For some reason, that sight struck me as painfully poignant, and I found myself speaking without thinking.
“Are you scared?”
Mar opened her eyes, which sparkled briefly. Her kind eyes met mine, tracing a soft smile.
“No, Father. Actually…”
“…?”
“It feels familiar.”
“…Is that so?”
It was a strange thing to say, but I understood why she said it. It was probably because of the wings.
After all, Margarita, the former queen, was one of the heroes who saved the world. She must have been through countless wars like this. Still, even as she found some comfort in the situation, I couldn’t help but feel a bitter twinge.
“Don’t worry. I won’t be a burden.”
As I kept watching her, Mar smiled reassuringly. For a moment, I hesitated on what to say, then simply nodded and turned forward. That was when it happened.
Crack!
In the midst of the silence, the sudden crackle of electricity shattered the stillness.
Crackle, crackle!
Looking straight ahead, I was stunned to see the air above the warp gate altar ripple like waves. Then, faint sea-blue light began to seep through here and there, swirling like a vortex, spiraling inward as if being sucked into the center.
“Suhyun!”
“Clan Lord!”
Yes. It had arrived.
“Everyone.”
I said reflexively, gripping the ground with both hands. Rising to my feet, I spoke quietly.
“Prepare for battle.”
The Southern Continent’s advance into the Eastern Continent’s major city began after the walls had fallen. Eldora’s central army under Odin focused on capturing the four city gates, while the Nox and Carpe Diem clans were ordered to engage in street fighting.
Siege warfare on the whole Plain of Hol was unlike anything in modern times. There was no need to build or deploy siege weapons because the mages served that role. The firepower unleashed by thousands of them at once was unimaginably overwhelming.
They concentrated their fire to bring down the walls, then stormed in to capture the city. This was the siege tactic the Southern Continent had long relied on against the East.
Of course, if the enemy’s mage forces were comparable, the story would be different. But unfortunately, the power gap between the two continents was significant. After the first city fell so easily, the difference was as vast as sky and earth.
In other words, by this point, even if the Southern Continent had charged headlong, they would have taken the city with ease. Maybe not a small town, but a major city’s walls were no easy target, so they chose the safest approach.
Anyway, after unleashing relentless magic, the enemy must have suffered severe losses. Victory was within reach. That was Eldora’s belief.
Crackle, crackle!
Flames erupted everywhere. Scarlet fire twisted and writhed like a dance, spewing thick black smoke. Feeling the scorching heat from all sides, the half-white-haired man, Carpe Diem’s clan lord, whistled sharply.
At first, when the walls fell, Carpe Diem had deliberately delayed. He thought the battle would be fierce since this city was the Eastern Continent’s last stronghold. But the enemy’s resistance was surprisingly weak, and the walls crumbled with a disheartening ease.
Still, just in case, he sent in the Nox clan first to assess the situation slowly. The enemy might have prepared a kamikaze trap.
But what was this?
Carpe Diem, entering the city in his later years, couldn’t hide his disbelief. The enemy wasn’t putting up a final fight—they were fleeing in panic.
And everywhere he looked, bodies lay blown apart. He quickly understood the situation and dismissed any doubts. With Nox and their allied clans rampaging inside, the battle was effectively over.
“C-Clan Lord.”
A man walking beside him swallowed nervously and spoke anxiously. Carpe Diem chuckled dryly. He almost felt sorry for having delayed on purpose, because he knew exactly what his men wanted.
“What is it?”
His laughter brought color back to the subordinate’s face. Understandably so—after bracing for a suicidal attack, the street fighting had turned into a primal festival.
“Odin’s holding the gates, so there’s no need to hold back, right? Since this is the last battle, we don’t want to send them off empty-handed.”
Carpe Diem spread his arms wide like a maestro. Behind him, loud laughter and cheers erupted. Responding to the roar, the man shouted at the top of his lungs.
“Go! Do whatever you want! Go wild!”
Ooooooh!
Carpe Diem and his clansmen howled like beasts and charged through the streets like a tidal wave. Soon, the continuous screams grew louder.
War dulls even the kindest souls. And for the Carpe Diem clan, whose ideals were far from noble—dreaming instead of recreating Sodom and Gomorrah—the effect was even more pronounced. Having tasted overwhelming victory and the joy of subjugation, there was only one thing left to do.
Under the banners of Nox and Carpe Diem, the invaders ran wild. Looting, arson, robbery, murder—no matter if the victims fled, resisted, or surrendered, they acted without restraint. The city quickly filled with screams and cries. Inside the walls, chaos reigned.
And it didn’t stop there.
“No! Please, no! Stop!”
In one place, a group dragged a woman by her hair. Rape was taking place.
Of course, this was only the vanguard, so they didn’t do it openly in the city center. But drunk on the heat of war, they had no qualms. Soon, they found a secluded spot, threw the woman down, and swarmed over her.
“Heh, quite the tantrum, huh? Must be because she’s a samurai girl! Kihihihi!”
“P-Please! Help me!”
“What are you saying? Just stay still, we’re filming an AV, why fight it?”
“D-Don’t! Aaah!”
As two men forcibly spread her legs, the struggling woman suddenly screamed in agony as one slammed his hips into her with all his might.
Before long, she began to sob quietly, covering her face. Some users frowned at the scene, but that was all—they just clicked their tongues and moved on.
“Hmm! This is what war’s all about.”
At that moment, the invader watching with a satisfied smile suddenly noticed something unusual. At a different site of violation, not the one that had just started, a burly man was vigorously thrusting against a young man of the same sex. And he was doing it alone.
“Huh? Nox Lord!”
Laughing bitterly, he called out. The Nox Lord’s movements stopped abruptly. The young man beneath him gasped heavily but showed no resistance, resigned. He just wept endlessly with eyes clouded in despair.
For a while, the two clan lords said nothing. Perhaps because the war wasn’t over yet. Lord Knox shifted uncomfortably, slowly rising to his feet, but Lord Carpe Diem just smiled faintly, as if to say it was fine. Then he gave a thumbs-up. Blinking in surprise, Lord Knox smirked slyly and hoisted his grotesque trophy up to waist height with a sharp motion.
“Crazy bastard.”
Carpe Diem chuckled softly and immediately started walking. Accompanied by the distant screams echoing nearby, he waved his hand like a conductor as he strolled through the streets.
How long had they been walking?
“Huh?”
The moment they stepped into the square, the two eyes that had been chuckling suddenly widened. Around the newly activated warp gate, a sizable group of Eastern Continent users had gathered. But their own forces were already spread wide and round, encircling the square like an iron wall. Carpe Diem chuckled again.
“This is good~. It’s more fun if they put up some resistance, right?”
Besides, even if they activated the warp gate, there was nowhere to run.
“Though it’s probably useless. Those guys have already taken the entire city… huh?”
Just as Carpe Diem was about to step forward, he suddenly stopped mid-sentence.
Crackle, crackle!
The gathering blue light began to spread from the center, forming a large oval portal. So far, so good. The problem was the attitude of the Eastern Continent users. Despite the portal’s activation, instead of fleeing, they formed a circular defensive formation, standing their ground.
Then—
“What the—?”
Before he could even finish his question—
Fwoooosh!
The portal blazed with a blinding light. Beyond that light, a shadowy figure began to emerge, wavering like a veil. After crossing the long distance, someone finally arrived right in the middle of the battlefield.
The first thing to catch the eye was a sturdy young man clad in pitch-black armor and a crimson cape. He stepped calmly down the stairs as soon as he emerged from the portal.
Step… step…
Clear footsteps echoed.
All eyes turned toward the sudden intruder.
“Hmm…”
But the man himself showed nothing but indifference. He glanced around casually, nodded a couple of times, and walked on slowly. Despite the flashing blades and weapons pointed in every direction, his pace was leisurely to the extreme.
“Wha—what…!”
Carpe Diem, about to shout something, suddenly gaped in shock.
There were three reasons for his surprise.
First, for some reason, his voice wouldn’t come out properly.
Second, the allied soldiers standing in the young man’s path were hesitating, slowly stepping back.
And third—
“…!”
Before he knew it, his own feet were inching backward.
---------------------------= Author’s Note =---------------------------
Kim Soo-hyun’s armor, the Chiwoo Cheonwang, has a crowd control effect called Fear. You can think of this scene as being influenced by that.
By the way, it seems quite a few of you went to school or work yesterday!
Haha. Dear readers, yesterday’s note was just a joke. It was nothing more than a playful tease. Come on, do you really think I’d pray for that?
Let’s all get along without teasing each other too much. :D