Chapter 923

While Siegfried was fighting with the demon army, Irene led the 8th Corps of the Marchioni Empire’s Imperial Army and had already annihilated the border fortress of the Sacon Kingdom.

Needless to say, she didn't honor the five minutes she promised to Ganeva the Third earlier in their call. For her, patience was a virtue she utterly lacked, so despite her words, she couldn’t even wait five minutes to pass.

In the end, she ordered her men to bombard the Sacon Kingdom’s border fortress just thirty seconds after she ended the call.

The result of the bombardment?

The once-imposing fortress that protected the Sacon Kingdom’s border was now nothing more than dust. Not a single building remained standing, and there were no survivors.

All twenty-five thousand soldiers of the Sacon Kingdom stationed at the fortress were annihilated in less than five minutes.

But Irene did not stop there...

Right after crossing the border, she immediately advanced toward the Eternal Forest.

Ironically, she kept her word this time, as the 8th Corps did not simply march.

“Remove that from my sight.”

Upon encountering the first city beyond the border, the city of Horus, Irene commanded its erasure from the map.

“Yes, Your Highness!”

Without hesitation, the 8th Corps bombarded the city, reducing it to ashes.

“Good. Make it clear to everyone that anyone who dares defy the empire will meet the same end.”

“Yes, Your Highness!”

Was it because of the imperial bloodline of the Posteriore Dynasty flowing through her veins? Was that why Irene was ruthless? And why was she going this far? Was it because she intended to make an example out of Ganeva the Third for defying the empire, and this was her way of sending a clear message to the entire world that the Imperial Family couldn't be defied?

As expected of someone with the imperial bloodline, Irene instinctively knew that harsh punishment was necessary to make other nations fall in line.

“

Hohoho!

This feels so refreshing!”

Well, a part of her wanted to wreak havoc to vent the stress she accumulated from her magic training at the tower, too.

“Leave no trace. Make sure not even a single building remains standing.”

“Yes, Your Highness!”

While the bombardment was ongoing, a magician approached Irene and said, “Your Highness!”

“The frequency has been released!”

“Hmm?”

“We can use warp magic now, Your Highness!”

“Really?”

“Yes, Your Highness!”

“It seems they finally grasped the situation after receiving some beating,” Irene said with a cold smile as she thought of Ganeva the Third.

Unbeknownst to her, she wasn't the reason why the warp magic frequency was released. It was all because the dragons rampaging at the capital city had destroyed the tower controlling the warp magic frequencies.

“Prepare to warp immediately.”

“Yes, Your Highness!”

“And...”

“Your Highness?”

“Make sure to finish erasing everything here.”

“Pardon...?”

“A decent person cleans up after their mess. Don’t tell me you leave trash behind after a picnic?”

“...”

“Nothing should remain standing where our army passes. Not a single building, not enemy corpses, and not even our fallen soldiers.”

It was then.

‘

Ah...!’

The magician shuddered at Irene’s words.

‘

As expected... she truly carries the imperial blood...’

He realized that Irene was not merely a spoiled brat relying on her lineage to do whatever she wanted.

She was a ruthless person who intended to crush her enemies so thoroughly that not even their corpses would remain.

Of course, she had no intentions of leaving even a single one of her own soldiers behind. Even if one of her troops fell in battle, she would have their bodies collected before marching on.

Irene’s words perfectly showed the mindset a soldier of the great Marchioni Empire should have.

The imperial blood of the Posteriore Dynasty truly flowed in her veins.

“Make sure you clean up here.”

“Yes, Your Highness!”

After erasing Horus from the map just like the border fortress, Irene and the 8th Corps opened a warp gate and marched onward to Elondel.

Needless to say, not a single survivor remained after they disappeared.

***

The Proatine Forces, led by Siegfried, bravely marched into the Eternal Forest without a hint of fear in their eyes.

Waiting for them in the forest were the dark elf warriors of Niflheim and an entire division of demons.

“Die!”

“

Kwahahaha!”

“Pathetic humans! I’ll kill you all!”

Empowered by Chae Hyung-Seok’s buffs, the dark elves and demons charged at the Proatine Forces without any hesitation.

Their physical abilities were overwhelmingly superior to humans, and with the powerful buffs they received from their commander, Hyungseokius, they felt invincible.

However, the Proatine Forces under Siegfried’s command were no easy opponent.

Not a single one of the soldiers flinched even against the physically superior dark elves and demons. Instead, they fought even more ferociously despite the disadvantage they had.

The soldiers and knights of the Proatine Kingdom were hardened by rigorous training that resembled real combat.

They learned how to wield weapons suited to their individual talents, and they also learned how to counter other weapons from the Weapon Maestros.

On top of that, their patriotism, discipline, morale, and absolute loyalty to Siegfried doubled their combat strength even in the face of powerful enemies.

“Bring it on, you bastards!”

“I’m taking at least a hundred of you with me to the grave!”

Despite facing formidable enemies, the soldiers fought fiercely without wavering at all.

Fwaaaaaah!

Sseuuuu...!

Siegfried used Discharge to crank up both Eternal Flames and Embrace of Despair to cover the entire battlefield, providing invaluable support to his troops.

Chae Hyung-Seok’s buffs? Yes, they were powerful, but Siegfried’s debuffs were even more powerful.

“

Ack!”

“M-My body won’t move...!”

“

Arghhhh!”

Despite being buffed by Chae Hyung-Seok, the dark elves and demons were encumbered by Siegfried’s debuffs.

Eventually, the powerful debuff aura spread across the battlefield balanced things for the Proatine Forces.

The dark elves and demons should have slaughtered the Proatine Forces with ease, but now it was an evenly matched battle.

“Damn it! That damn debuff! Fuck that shit!” Chae Hyung-Seok cursed in anger after the battle did not go according to plan.

Every time they fought, Chae Hyung-Seok could feel that Siegfried was his natural predator. Siegfried’s debuffs were far stronger than his buffs, which constantly put him at a disadvantage in battle.

But that was not the only problem.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

The Iron Fleet fired from above, wreaking havoc on the enemy’s backlines and putting pressure on the dark elves and demons.

“

Hahaha!

I guess I have no choice! Go forth, brave warriors of the Demon Realm! Destroy that damn piece of scrap!” Chae Hyung-Seok grinned wickedly and used his hidden trump card.

Suddenly, the drakes from the Demon Realm, called Demon Drakes, waiting nearby, took flight and soared straight toward the Iron Fleet.

The Demon Drakes were terrifying beasts that grew as large as full-grown dragons. Although they did not possess the same intelligence as dragons, their combat prowess was nothing to scoff at.

They, too, could unleash breath attacks that not only debuffed their target but also corroded armor, which made them ideal for tearing through airships used by the humans.

No matter how strong the Iron Fleet was, the breath attack of the Demon Drakes would melt them outright, ultimately causing them to plummet from the skies.

‘

Once the drakes dominate the skies, the battle is as good as over,’

Chae Hyung-Seok thought with a smirk.

He knew that this evenly matched battle would instantly shift in his favor the moment he gained air superiority.

With the skies completely under his control, the dark elves and demons could rampage throughout the battlefield while the Proatine Forces would be forced to defend against the breath attacks from above.

“

Kieeee!”

“Kiee!”

The Demon Drakes charged at terrifying speeds toward the Iron Fleet with their jaws wide open, ready to unleash their breath attacks.

“

Kwahaha!”

Chae Hyung-Seok burst into laughter at the sight.

Revenge...

This was the moment he had been waiting for, the chance to finally deal a decisive blow against his archnemesis, Han Tae-Sung.

And the start of his revenge was the Iron Fleet falling out of the sky.

‘

Today is the day! I will finally–!’

he thought with joy.

Just then, he was interrupted.

“

Gwuuu Oooh!”

“How dare you!”

“I’ll destroy every single one of you!”

Dragons of various colors appeared and flew toward the Demon Drakes.

“...?”

Chae Hyung-Seok couldn’t believe his eyes.

“D-Dragons...?”

Coming across a single dragon was almost impossible to most people, but there were dragons of every color, such as gold, red, blue, white, green, black, silver, etc., flying in the sky above them.

One of the dragon’s duties was to protect this world from external threats, and one of those threats was a demon invasion.

In other words, they were in charge of kicking the demons out of the world the moment they dared to step foot into it. Most would think that dragons were lazy in nature, but they had repelled demon invasions plenty of times throughout the history of the world.

“

Kieeee!”

“Kiee! Kiee!”

The Demon Drakes immediately abandoned their attack on the Iron Fleet and fled the moment they saw the dragons. Even though they were top-tier creatures in the Demon Realm, they were nothing more than a snack for real dragons.

However, the dragons were not the only problem for Chae Hyung-Seok.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

Out of nowhere, shells rained down from above, decimating the combined forces of the dark elves and demons.

“W-Where the hell did that come from?!” Chae Hyung-Seok cried out.

He looked into the distance and was horrified to see the flag of the Marchioni Empire flying up above. He could have never imagined, even in his wildest dreams, that the Marchioni Empire’s Imperial Army would show up right after the dragons.

***

“What the fuck is this?! Does this even make sense?! What the hell is going on?!” Chae Hyung-Seok screamed in utter despair, his mental state slowly shattering once again. He truly thought that he would finally get his revenge on Siegfried using the demons.

However, the dragons and the Marchioni Empire suddenly showed up and ruined the plan he had carefully crafted. Truth be told, the mere thought of it never even crossed his mind.

Needless to say, the combined forces of the dark elves and demons stood no chance, and it did not take long for them to be completely decimated.

The dragons swooped down on the Demon Drakes like eagles hunting sparrows, slaughtering them in the blink of an eye. Then, they unleashed their devastating breath attacks on the dark elves and demons while the Iron Fleet continued to rain down mortar shells from above.

Nearly a third of the Eternal Forest was blown away by the assault, and the combined forces of the dark elves and demons were on the brink of annihilation.

“Ceasefire!”

As soon as the dragons ended their devastating breath attacks, Siegfried immediately ordered all forces to halt their bombardment. He couldn’t allow the Eternal Forest to be burned to ashes.

“Break into squads and engage the enemy! Fight them in melee combat!“

After giving his commands, Siegfried soared through the sky over the Eternal Forest with Hamchi in search of Lohengrin, Brunhilde, and Verdandi. He already knew their exact locations thanks to the Inzaghi’s Clairvoyance.

The reason the dragons could unleash their breath attacks and the Iron Fleet could bombard with reckless abandon was all thanks to Inzaghi’s Clairvoyance, which pinpointed his family’s exact position.

Although the unexpected appearance of the Marchioni Empire and the absurdly powerful bombardment they unleashed was something Siegfried had expected, the fact that none of his men got caught up by it was enough for him.

‘

Over there!’

Using Inzaghi’s Clairvoyance, Siegfried tracked down Brunhilde and Verdandi’s location in real time and immediately darted toward them like a bullet.

‘

Faster!’

The situation was not looking good.

Not far from the two green dots marking Brunhilde and Verdandi on the map, two red dots appeared—Baroque and Credos. Siegfried knew that he was now in a race against the clock, and a split second could be the difference between joy and despair.