Translator: Pai_
The armies from the west appeared at a moment of crisis.
Among them, the man standing at the forefront was single-handedly sweeping away the incoming horde of corrupted beings.
In the sky, a storm of flames churned, dyeing the heavens red, while in the sea, a whirlpool wrapped in lightning turned everything within it into electric-roasted prey.
As the corrupted beings, swarming in black masses, began to be annihilated by the power of the Divine Beasts, the frontlines gained some breathing room.
“Hoo……”
Iron, having requested the Divine Beasts to block the corrupted beings, focused his mind and controlled the power surging within his body.
Having excluded even aura, Iron relied solely on divine power as his full force.
‘Compress it to the limit.’
He concentrated all his nerves on compressing the divine power to the maximum limit he could currently manage.
As a result, light condensed around Iron, who was floating in the air, then exploded outward in all directions.
Like a shockwave spreading, the light wave radiated out between the sea and the sky.
But that wasn’t the end of it.
With repeated surges of these light waves, the polluted energies of the sky and sea gradually began to dissipate.
The remaining divine power transformed into particles of light, gathering in designated areas.
Hundreds of thousands of light orbs were thus formed, blocking the path toward the Eastern Continent like a barrier.
Crash!
-Kieeeek!
-Krrrk...
The barrier formed of countless orbs of light beyond counting did not allow the invasion of corrupted beings.
The moment they were struck by the wave emitted from each orb, most corrupted beings were instantly annihilated.
Even if they endured it, they would still vanish, leaving behind nothing but ashes as if burned upon contact with the light orbs.
And if by any means they managed to break through the barrier, the Divine Beasts did not leave them alone.
“He’s controlling the war by himself.”
The power shown by the Empire’s strongest hero was so overwhelming that even the Eastern Commander, who had remained cool-headed until now, stared blankly at the spectacle before him.
-You mustn’t let the Supreme Commander push himself too far.
While everyone watched in awe as the corrupted beings crumbled away, a message came from Ariel.
-The Supreme Commander has cleared the 666-Day Gate alone. You mustn’t let him strain himself any further!
As even Caeden Wall voiced concern for the Supreme Commander, the Eastern Commander hurriedly snapped back to his senses and began reorganizing his forces.
Iron was pushing himself to such extremes to buy time for the Imperial Army to reorganize.
The other commanders also came to their senses, restructured their troops, and began preparing their weapons for the next battle.
Once all the forces had finished their preparations, the Southern Commander, a mage, approached Iron.
“Supreme Commander.”
“Southern Commander?”
“Please leave the rest to us and take a break.”
“That’s right. Please, take a rest.”
As if understanding the situation completely, the Southern Commander spoke, and the Eastern Commander quickly followed behind.
At the words of the two mages, Iron hesitated for a moment and looked at the Divine Beasts.
Seeing the Divine Beasts still not fully recovered from their fatigue, he gave a small nod.
Just as he commanded the Divine Beasts to return and ceased the wave of light being emitted.
Suddenly, a massive black spear and sword flew toward Iron.
They pierced through the firestorm of the Divine Beasts, and though he hastily gathered the light orbs into a shield, even that was broken through.
Kuuuuung!
“…A god?”
To break through his light shield and the power of the Divine Beasts, such a feat required at least that level of power.
As if confirming Iron’s suspicion, the wave of mental force spread from afar.
“Seems like…”
“Step back.”
Just as Iron was about to say that there was no time for rest, Lioner and Terrion approached.
Aiden and Ariel also flew in behind them.
“A magic device?”
“It’s a cloak engraved with flight magic.”
Ariel calmly responded to Iron’s question.
Meanwhile, two more commanders wearing flight cloaks approached Iron.
One was Jaiden Wicks, the Northern Commander with the most war experience among all the commanders, and the other was Leopold, the Central Commander who had guarded the heart of the Empire.
“You two…”
“We worked very hard.”
Jaiden Wicks replied with a gentle smile to Iron’s words.
Just like Crimson, who sacrificed himself in the Northeast for Iron, Jaiden too had worked tirelessly to be of help.
As a result, he was now able to stand at the threshold of the next stage, just like Ariel and Aiden.
The Central Commander had done the same.
He had worked hard to shake off the disgrace of the once-collapsed Central Army, and that effort had elevated him to the same level as Jaiden Wicks.
“Please leave this much to us.”
“Please entrust it to us!”
The five commanders saluted and made their request, while Aiden and the two Family Heads looked at Iron, hoping he would trust them.
At the sight of them, Iron turned his head and looked behind.
Countless soldiers were looking at only him.
All of them were saying they wanted to take on the burden.
“…Understood. I’ll focus on recovery.”
Only then did the commanders relax their posture and smile brightly at Iron’s words.
The commanders and two Family Heads took the lead to protect Iron, who was stepping back with the now-shrunken Divine Beasts.
And right after, the Empire’s elite forces opened fire.
“You’ve all improved a lot.”
The countless gunports of the Aerial Fleet opened up, and magical cannons filled the entire island.
Steel golems stood guard at the front of the forward base.
The sheer number of Aerial and Naval Fleets was hard to take in with one glance.
On top of that, reinforcement troops continued to pour out from the massive warp gates, and that still wasn’t enough, additional fleets from the Auzria Continent, loaded with soldiers, were surging in as well.
-We should be safe for a while.
As Hræsvelgr voiced his impression upon entering the flagship, Iron nodded in agreement.
-Chzzk! Corrupted legion at Southeast Point 73 has been completely annihilated! We will join the forward base as soon as the frontline stabilizes.
-Northeast Flying Fish Island point secured. Some troops will be redirected to the forward base.
-Western region of the Empire stabilized. All remaining elite forces will be reassigned to the Eastern Army.
-Northern defense will be handed over to the ancient species, and all remaining troops will join the Eastern Army.
Reports kept coming in saying that stabilized regions of the Auzria Continent would be sending their spare forces, while supplies were being stockpiled and prepared in the central region.
The central command calculated the maximum warp capacity that could be sent at once and continued dispatching forces, and cargo ships were flooding into the forward base without rest.
Even the central command was aware this battle would be the final one, so they were squeezing out everything they had, pouring their entire strength into it.
-Focus on recovery.
“…Yeah.”
At Hræsvelgr’s words, Iron nodded slightly and entered the recovery chamber that had been prepared for him.
“I miss Baepsae.”
Just as he was about to enter recovery, Baepsae suddenly came to mind.
The absence of Baepsae, who always scolded him harshly but also worked hard to help him recover, felt even more significant today.
-You’ll see it soon.
“Will I?”
-Yes. Almost there.
At Hræsvelgr’s words, Iron nodded lightly and entered a meditative state for recovery.
He directed all the divine power that had been radiating outward solely toward physical recovery, and the energy of nature was used only for the recovery of the Divine Beasts.
Even so, the aftereffects of drawing upon the Lord God’s level of power were slow to heal.
Having forcibly drawn upon power he couldn’t fully handle, it was inevitable that his body would suffer.
‘The imbalance is worse than I thought. I can’t finish this in a short time.’
So thought Iron as he focused entirely on recovery.
Even while doing so, he remained alert to external energies.
If an enemy appeared that even the two Family Heads couldn’t handle, he would have to step forward himself.
Fortunately, there was no need for Iron to move.
Led by the two Family Heads, all the Master-level individuals stepped to the front lines to block the enemies.
God-level beings were confronted by the two Family Heads, Ariel, Aiden, Jaiden Wicks, and Leopold.
Behind them, the commanders and other Masters supported them, almost perfectly blocking the attacks of the gods.
“Come on over.”
Aiden spoke playfully as he looked at the god before him.
The massive god in the form of a frog trembled with rage, but could not easily charge at Aiden.
That was because the spot where Aiden was floating was right on the border between the Eastern Continent and the Western Continent.
Even just from the system restrictions, its power had already been halved, and entering the Western Continent would weaken it even further.
Simply entering the domain of the Lord God would diminish its power even more, making it nearly impossible to defeat Aiden.
Cunningly, Aiden provoked the god while standing just at the edge of the Lord God's domain, dragging out time. Ariel and the other Masters stationed at the border were doing the same.
Meanwhile, the two Family Heads were eliminating the gods who had descended in an incomplete state, one by one.
-You… monsters…
“You call me a monster… Then what does that make my son?”
Lioner chuckled as he looked at the god who had called him a monster.
Thinking of his son, who possessed such overwhelming strength that he could likely annihilate most gods even without system restrictions, he let out a brief laugh.
Whenever he thought of his son, he couldn't allow himself to be satisfied with his current state.
‘I have to become even stronger.’
So thinking, Lioner turned his gaze to find his next prey.
Terrion was the same.
The battle maniac Terrion licked his lips as he wiped out another god.
“This is fun.”
Before the Destruction began, his life had been dull.
But then Iron suddenly appeared and ignited a fire within him, and shortly after, Destruction began.
Amid countless life-threatening crises, there were times when even Terrion wanted to give up, but each time, the existence known as Iron lit a light far off in the distance.
He urged Terrion to come, to reach the place where he stood.
And by following that light, Terrion had arrived at who he was today.
“Higher! Higher! I’m going even higher!”
Saying that, Terrion moved to hunt down another god.
If they looked weak, he would go outside the Lord God's domain to hunt them, and if they seemed tough, he would lure them into the domain, repeating this strategy, the two Family Heads rapidly reduced the number of gods.
Meanwhile, at sea and in the sky, countless corrupted beings were being slaughtered by the Imperial Army, forming battle lines.
A precarious balance was being maintained at the border of the Lord God's domain.
But then, a being appeared that shattered that balance.
“Is that the Dragon Lord? Looks corrupted…”
“So in the end, he was devoured by Destruction? Fool…”
The Southern and Eastern Commanders began summoning their mana to stop the corrupted Dragon Lord, who had once been the emperor of the Eastern Continent.
Since he held the title of Dragon Lord, he was certainly a Grand Master-level being, so the two magicians prepared to risk their lives.
Just then, a chill swept through, and a man appeared.
“I’ll handle him.”
“You’re… the 21st Corps Commander?”
At the Eastern Commander’s words, Gaon saluted and drew a blue sword.
“You…”
The Southern Commander looked at Gaon Temphet, who was exuding an extraordinary energy, with eyes wide in surprise.
Gaon Temphet had grown incomparably stronger from the last time he’d briefly seen him.
“I haven’t completely mastered my power yet, so I won’t be able to fight like Commander Ariel. But I can buy time.”
As Gaon said this, he looked straight ahead.
“Please take care of the others besides the Dragon Lord.”
At Gaon’s words, the two magicians looked ahead and swallowed hard.
The heads of the core races that ruled the Eastern Continent were flying in behind the Dragon Lord.
“If it gets too hard, speak up. We’ll come help right away.”
“Same here.”
To the two magicians’ words, Gaon gave a slight nod and summoned more cold energy.
The Dragon Lord, once emperor of the Eastern Continent, radiated a corrupted aura throughout his body as he stepped into the Lord God’s domain.
Although corrupted, he originally belonged to this world, so the system’s restrictions were not severe.
However, this wasn’t a restriction imposed by the system.
-Krruuuuu…
The moment he entered the domain of the Lord God, the Dragon Lord felt the corrupted energy within him begin to dissipate and immediately opened his jaws wide.
He intended to sweep away everything around him in one go.
However, standing before him, Gaon Temphet blocked the Dragon Lord’s attack.
‘This is manageable.’
Regardless of the system, the Lord God showed no mercy to corrupted beings, and that allowed Gaon to hold on and keep the Dragon Lord engaged.
Thus, with the seven heroes and Masters who would one day bear the future of the Empire at the forefront, the Empire endured the war against the corrupted beings.
As time passed, they gradually began to gain the upper hand, and just when hope began to arise that perhaps they could win at this rate.
Kuuung!
The sky opened, and a fiery vortex descended.
As the fiery vortex met the sea, it generated an immense amount of steam, and from within it, a small figure appeared.
-Hell King…
The Dragon Lord, who had been fighting Gaon, gritted his teeth as he spoke.
Even he, who had swallowed the Eastern Continent and become corrupted, had been brought to this state by that very being.
Though only incompletely descended, the Hell King was a being powerful enough to look down on all gods.
Just then, a long-awaited pillar of light appeared, and a storm of divine power erupted.
The Empire’s hero, who had been waiting for the Hell King’s arrival, had finished his recovery and awakened.
***
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