Not far from Dmitry, in a place where no humans could be found, the space suddenly changed, and the magic of darkness began to rise.
Wheik.
The magic expanded swiftly, and it gradually colored the surroundings and formed the shape of a gate, then a group of people appeared. To be precise, they were beings marching forward with a sound. They were fully armed, and their eyes were sharp through their helmets.
Flutter.
A flag fluttered in the wind. The fire-breathing monster that symbolized Kronos indicated that these were the soldiers of the Kronos Empire. So if people witnessed this scene now, they would be greatly shocked.
Warping through space required a clear medium called a ‘Gate,’ but the Kronos Empire succeeded in warping to a place where nothing existed. It was the reason why the shadows of the Kronos Empire were able to appear in Valhalla. It was impossible for large troops to cross the borders without detection, but the Kronos Empire used a method that wasn’t known to the world.
Step.
The warp of the soldiers continued, and the empty space was filled with thousands of soldiers at a glance. And at the front of them, a man with a bald head and tattoos looked at the soldiers and said,
“How is Dmitry’s land?”
“Nothing different from usual. There are no special loopholes in their security, but we can’t expect to attack Dmitry without crossing the border in the northeast. In addition, Roman Dmitry is still on the border of Valhalla. Even if he overcomes the shadows’ attacks, there is no way he can return in just three days.”
“Nice.”
The man, Mystic, laughed.
The soldiers of the Empire clearly moved against continental law to carry out an attack, and Kronos had no justification for doing this either. For no reason, just like how they intervened in the civil war in Cairo, they moved over here again.
It was a different matter than the shadows that infiltrated Valhalla. Everyone knew the shadows belonged to Kronos, but Kronos denied them. In other words, Kronos couldn’t be held accountable for that. However, the soldiers were different. The moment they attacked Dmitry, it was a declaration of war.
Kronos’s brutality reached its peak. Even if they acted innocently, there was no force on the Salamander Continent that could directly hold the Kronos Empire accountable. Then, if the flames of war really spread, that was something the other nations didn’t want to happen. So, even after knowing Kronos’s intentions, everyone tried to ignore the truth.
All the soldiers lined up, and Mystic said as he looked at them,
“We will attack Dmitry now.”
The distance was far from Valhalla. At the moment when Roman Dmitry was walking to his death, Dmitry also faced an equal crisis.
It was a dark night. The soldiers from the Kronos Empire appeared without warning. As soon as Dmitry’s guards checked the situation from a distance, Mystic stepped forward and summoned magic.
Wheik.
“Lightning Rain.”
Mystic’s eyes lit up. As if his soul had vanished from his body, his mana touched the sky and colored everything bright.
Flash.
Kwakwakwakwakwang!
It was a disaster right from the start. As if proving how powerful mages could be in a siege, hundreds of lightning bolts fell from the sky and hit Dmitry’s walls. It was that great of a power. With the 7-circle magic, it was clear that the castle wall would collapse and not function properly.
However, the moment the lightning fell on the wall, bright lights rose from all sides in the shape of shields.
[Great Shield]
[Great Shield]
[Great Shield]
All over the walls, huge shields appeared. It was an expensive Magic Defense that couldn’t be found normally, and the shield stayed firm against the lightning strikes and absorbed the magic.
However, it wasn’t possible to completely block them. The remnants of lightning pierced through the shields and attacked the wall, but only a huge exploding sound could be heard. The wall didn’t crack at the slightest impact. At the same time, on the ramparts, bright lights shone on the surroundings.
Papapat.
“Enemy!”
“We have an enemy!”
There were a huge number of magic relics. It was a relic with lights that shone in all directions, and thanks to that, the surroundings shone brightly like a day in the night, and the alarm bells rang. Normal estates might be slow to respond to the surprise attack, but the soldiers on the walls moved before the Kronos troops even arrived.
It was an appalling sight, and Mystic admired how well-prepared they were.
“I heard Dmitry had an unusual system. Was it like this?”
Magic Defense. For single usage, it was expensive equipment that required loads of gold. However, as if that wasn’t enough, Dmitry’s walls were incredibly well-defended, regardless of what was on them.
The walls were the work of the dwarves. Roman Dmitry had a technical agreement with the dwarves, and they helped in matters such as the walls.
Dmitry existed at the northeast end. The common people said they didn’t have to use so much money for the sake of defense, but Roman Dmitry thought that the safety of the base should be given top priority.
For that reason, a huge amount of money was spent, and he prepared for situations that might never even occur in his lifetime. Roman Dmitry wanted Dmitry to be an estate that couldn’t be destroyed.
And so, their response was swift. Even though the situation was different from what Kronos wanted, Mystic didn’t lose face.
“Stay mad until the end. Your end has already been decided anyway.”
Even if Dmitry’s power was greater than expected, the fact that Roman Dmitry wasn’t there was enough for them to carry on the attack.
“Attack!”
“Take the enemies down!”
The soldiers of the empire rushed in. It was a scary sight to look at.
Above the castle wall, Knight Commander Jonathan raised his voice,
“2nd troops, load. 1st troops, fire! 3rd troops, load. 2nd troops, fire!”
Papapapak!
Up in the sky, many arrows were fired. The thick arrows fell on the soldiers of the Kronos Empire, and they raised their shields to block the arrows. Some were knocked forward by the arrows and penetrated the gap.
Trampling the corpses on their own, the soldiers of Kronos rushed ahead to Dmitry Castle. At that moment, a mana of flames rose everywhere on the wall.
“Fire Ball.”
“Fire Lance.”
“Fire Burst.”
Kwaaang!
Roar.
They were the mages of the Phoenix Magic Tower, and their magic attacked the soldiers of the Kronos Empire. Their shields alone couldn’t block the magic flames, so Mystic used his magic.
When he used a fog-type magic spell, the flames of the Phoenix mages were greatly reduced. Mages were the flowers of siege warfare, and it was possible for a single mage to dominate a war. However, in Dmitry, there was someone who was as strong as Mystic.
“Burning.”
The magic seethed in. When Felix opened his eyes, the magic of the flames erupted.
“Fire Rain.”
Wheik.
Wheeeik.
The sky turned red, and fireballs appeared all at once and began to fall indiscriminately, like rain pouring down. Explosions erupted from all sides. The soldiers of the Kronos Empire had no choice but to become helpless, and Mystic tried to use defensive magic, but he couldn’t entirely block the attack.
Phoenix had the most specialized mages in siege warfare throughout the entire continent. The fact that they were in Dmitry and on their walls now said that the strength of their estate was greater than that of an average nation.
The power that Kronos mobilized. Actually, even though Cairo was a force that they could have easily taken down at once, Dmitry showed a much stronger force right from the start.
Having the advantage of a surprise attack was meaningless here. Their quick and systematic response aroused admiration, and it was so great that doubts arose about whether they were from a weak nation at all.
The battlefield was burning, and Mystic felt goosebumps rise. If Roman Dmitry had been here and brought his troops, there wouldn’t even be a guarantee of them winning.
‘I am sure Dmitry is just a Duchy, but he is a dangerous being who has the power to counter the empire more than any other nation. If we take the chance and crush this land, it will set a good example for the Salamander Continent.’
He acknowledged the opponent. However, Kronos still considered this situation to be good.
When there was a fuss outside, a group moved inside Dmitry.
“Destroy the key places, and if you find people of interest, kill them on the spot.”
“Yes.”
Black beings. They were the shadows. While Kronos soldiers came through the Gate at once, the shadows entered Dmitry one after another.
It didn’t matter if Dmitry was wary of ‘outside forces.’ In any case, this plan was an operation in which not only would the assassins move inside, but those on the outside would attack too.
Dmitry’s defense must not be aware of them yet, so the shadows moved. However, upon entering the city, they sensed something strange.
“…Something feels odd. The city is so silent as if it were dead.”
A war was happening outside. There should be the common reaction of people running outside with their food or stuff, causing a noise. But the city was cold, as if it had been splashed with cold water.
Not a single person was out on the streets, and it was so quiet that shadows could even hear their own breathing. So they held their breath. Their plan was to hide in the mess, but they couldn’t do that anymore.
For now, the shadows scattered. They didn’t have just one goal. They were beings that caused trouble, and in the end, their purpose was to distract the nerves of those who defended this place.
At the same time, they had to deal with their other purpose secretly. So the fast-moving shadows moved toward their target. And it was then, something fell above their heads.
Wheikl
Crush!
Their necks turned. The moment one shadow collapsed, another shadow hurriedly fell back and tried to raise his voice. But his voice didn’t come out, as a sword pierced his heart before he could even say anything.
“Kuak!”
The body didn’t dissipate into smoke. At the attack that cut off the link of his mana at once, the shadow looked ahead in shock—a man with a normal appearance.
It was Henderson. Henderson pulled his sword and looked at Mcburney, who was paired with him.
“Damned Kronos bastards. As our Lord said, you decided to target Dmitry yourself.”
In this battle, Kronos wanted a surprise attack. But the truth was different. Roman Dmitry had thought of numerous possibilities, but Dmitry was willing to go to Valhalla even if it was dangerous.
He couldn’t protect Dmitry forever. It was a situation that he knew and accepted. And this was a war between Dmitry and Kronos.
