─Demon Beast! A Demon Beast has appeared!
─Who summoned it?!
─Warning! Absolutely no use of space-related techniques…
Magical energy surged from some of the floating ships.
Although it wasn’t enough to be lethal, it erupted with enough magical energy to be deadly for rankers below the top 100.
Just as I was debating whether to handle the magical energy, another force joined in.
Kiaaaah—!
Kagagagak!!
The onslaught of the Red Soul and the sharply rising blades.
That power was strong enough to counter even a small amount of magical energy, and before long, I felt the magical energy settle down.
[Oh]
[What the heck is that?]
[Not bad, huh?]
[ㄷㄷㄷㄷㄷㄷㄷㄷ]
[It’s gone!]
“No need to worry.”
The two rookie users from the meeting showed confidence in their abilities.
They seemed to have decent skills, so it didn’t seem necessary to babysit them.
─Haah!!
─Right Side! Activate ‘Flash of Light’!
─Oh, light!
Other users, including the two rookies, quickly responded, and especially the Knight with Griffin’s Shield and Master of the Magic Tower Neris stood out.
Both appeared stronger than before, as if they had grown since last time.
Moreover, the ‘Flash of Light’ that some users just threw was said to be like a one-time grenade received from Gabriel of the Angel Guild.
Since the Angel Guild couldn’t come, they assisted this way to combat the magical energy…
Kieeeek!
The magical energy lightened, and the demon beast was being dealt with.
Only about ten floating ships were sunk due to the magical energy.
And it was mostly the medium and small guilds and some mercenaries that suffered a bit; no major force had been affected, so it could be seen as a minor incident.
“Let’s hurry.”
With a bit of concern, I cast a small Holy Shield over the entire floating ship and quickly headed toward the Empire’s capital.
■
“Approaching… approaching.”
“Damn it! Why is everyone away at a time like this…”
“Still no word from the royal palace?”
“Y, yes.”
“Reinitialize the capital’s barrier! Hurry up if you don’t want to die!”
“Yes!”
The headquarters of the Magical Barrier Corps in the Empire’s capital, Imperidium.
Amidst numerous members of the Magical Barrier Corps bustling around, the Corps Leader Esther was troubled by the disaster that had occurred again.
Lily Elbrite, who had visited here a few months ago.
Her appearance had brought turmoil to the Empire, and since then, several discussions had arisen that the Corps Leader was unaware of.
Discussions with Duke Huangyeol, the embodiment of the Empire itself, and the royal family.
Discussion between the kingdom and the Huang family.
What was discussed there is unknown, but what is certain is that Lily and the Empire have formed ‘some agreement.’
This agreement has been upheld until now, and although there was a hiccup leading to some of the Eight Swords, including the Spirit Lord, becoming independent from the Empire, it wasn’t a huge deal.
‘It’s just for show.’
The Huang Duke, the sky of the Empire, is not hostile towards the Spirit Lord.
It’s just a slightly ‘awkward’ relationship, nothing like the level of hatred and attempts to kill each other between the former Magic Lord Karia and the Spirit Lord.
It simply happened that multiple interests were intertwined, leading to natural independence.
The Spirit Lord’s faction still helped deal with the Demon Race, and the Empire didn’t try to oppress or punish them.
‘…That was until a month ago.’
The Huang Duke disappeared.
The Empire, which lost its command structure due to his disappearance, began to shake significantly, and the Emperor’s bloodkin, Ruslan, started to take his place.
Of course, the Empire’s Saintess Nea took on the regency, but she too disappeared shortly after.
“Lady Reina looks somewhat anxious… and now that there’s no news from the Spirit Lord, what are we to do…”
“Captain!”
“?!”
Deep in thought, Esther lifted her head at the member’s words.
Crrk…!
The newly activated magical barrier crumbles down.
Honestly, it collapses like a piece of paper.
And then.
─It’s been a while.
A suspicious figure, Lily Elbrite, looks directly at her location.
She exudes an even stronger presence than before and smiles widely.
─Shall I go? Or will you come to me?
“…I will go.”
Esther felt the Empire’s future darkening.
■
“Hmm… so that’s what happened.”
In the heart of the Empire.
Facing Esther, the captain of the magical barrier, I nodded while listening to his explanation.
The reason for entering the capital without shedding a drop of blood from the outskirts, through the Empire’s barrier.
“Everyone’s indeed absent. No wonder it felt unusually quiet.”
“…Yes. That’s right.”
The reason the Demon Beasts or demons didn’t attack was simple.
It was because all the Empire’s top forces had vanished.
All that remained were the Empire’s regular troops and knights, who couldn’t do anything against the ‘Floating Ship’ flying in the sky, heavily protected.
They could only watch in fear.
[What’s going on?]
[Where did everyone go?]
[No wonder the Alliance hasn’t attacked anyone, lol.]
[Did they really all disappear?]
“Is it…?”
“Is the Empire free then?”
“Let’s feast on the Empire, Lily! LOL!”
“Oh haha, let’s go conquer the Empire~”
“From today, the Empire is Lily-land then.”
“Those guys look pitiful too.”
“Do you have no idea where they went?”
“I’m just the barrier captain. I don’t know much beyond the barrier. Besides, finding that person’s whereabouts is a serious crime…”
“I heard contact from the Spirit Lord has also been lost. What about that?”
“Well, I’m not really sure about that either…”
“Hmmm…”
Suddenly, the Eight Swords vanished in unison.
If only the Duke Huangyeol had disappeared, I would think he’s plotting something again, but the Spirit Lord disappearing too is suspicious.
‘Could something have happened?’
I thought it was just a trivial dungeon or some busy situation, but it might be more serious than I thought.
I contacted Besk in Elbrite and ordered him to check on the Spirit Lord’s side.
Since he probably won’t answer, I’ll have to go directly to find out something.
“…Well, it turned out well anyway. We need to fight the demon race, so it would be a bit troublesome if the Empire becomes an enemy too.”
“Haha… No matter what, would we become allies with demons?”
“Are you okay? The alliance’s forces are coming right now.”
“…Even if I’m not okay, I have to pretend to be. Above all, Duke Huangyeol has truly been cautious and trying to deal with genuinely evil entities. I hope you understand this.”
“Hmm.”
Thudthudthudthud!!
The sound of the harsh wind cutting through can be heard from all directions.
Hundreds of floating ships entering the Empire’s capital.
“Well, we’ll know when we see it.”
I wonder if that’s really what I hope for.
—
“…This is truly unexpected. To think it’s been completely emptied.”
The guild masters of each alliance gathered in the royal castle of the Empire agreed with the Knight’s statement.
Everyone in the alliance was prepared for full-scale war when they were about to invade the Empire.
Given the Empire’s historically arrogant nature, it wouldn’t have been strange for them to just kill any intruders on sight.
However, the Empire’s top forces were all absent, and the only one with authority, Prince Ruslan, was currently being protected in a safe place in the royal palace.
He was practically imprisoned.
Blak, who had joined late, spoke up while carrying Pharaoh’s greatsword on his back, looking as if he was used to it by now.
“Isn’t it a good thing? Let’s head underground and jump into the raid.”
“It won’t be that easy. Right?”
The Knight looks at me.
I nodded.
“That’s right. That Duke Huangyeol wouldn’t leave his base behind. Something definitely smells fishy.”
It’s none other than that ‘Duke Huangyeol.’
Since the siege war, he had been subtly manipulating the situation with various schemes.
He would sacrifice a part of the Empire for immediate gain but is likely planning something bigger.
As a price for provoking them, they must be scheming for a bigger game instead of making immediate gains by giving up a part of the empire.
And that game is surely not going to be good for us.
[Something’s fishy]
[Let’s go catch the prince]
[Can’t we just eat the empire?]
[The alliance is going wild, totally messing with the empire, lol]
[This is an unexpected turn of events]
[Where did Leo go?]
“…For now, let’s agree that citizens of a powerless empire won’t attack unless provoked. They don’t really seem to have any intention of opposing us anyway.”
“Understood. Let’s make it a rule of the alliance.”
As the emblem of the challenger etched onto the knight’s armor glowed, the rules were engraved into all members of the alliance.
Now, those affiliated with the alliance will face punishment for breaking the rules.
If you want to avoid punishment, you’ll have to leave the alliance.
The rookie around us whispered, seemingly displeased with these rules, but no one voiced their dissent.
The knight nodded.
“Indeed, the neutralization of the empire is a good thing for the alliance. However, as long as the disaster still lurks, we must prioritize the hunt. No need to worry about public sentiment.”
“I agree.”
“Understood.”
“So what happens now? Are we going to follow through with this?”
All eyes turned to me.
This raid clearly harbors Duke Huangyeol’s ulterior motives.
Proceeding as originally planned would be somewhat difficult.
“That path of light thing? We don’t have to limit ourselves to just one, right?”
‘Path of Light.’
The crux of this plan, where the Angel Guild, knights, and users with various light-related classes and items come together to create a ‘passage.’
A special technique obtained by the Angel Guild while undertaking a world quest.
Like the sky that protected users from the Kraken, ‘Signaclum’—this passage is said to protect users from magic.
To create it, one must fill an item called ‘Empty Path’ with light-related power, and it becomes usable as the ‘Path of Light.’
Initially, I planned to make just one path efficiently before making our move amidst busy battles, but now it seems we don’t have to limit ourselves.
“Let’s try making a few. We can implement them similarly.”
“Is that possible? From what I’ve tested, it consumes quite a bit of power…”
“Of course. But first…”
“?”
“Let’s meet Ruslan.”
Let’s hear what that arrogant prince is thinking.
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