Chapter 508: It Will Be Fine, So Don’t Worry!
Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
Flowery songs sung by bards and the idealization of historians made modern-day people harbor pleasant fantasies about the ancient Rohlserlian Empire. In their minds, Rohlserl was an ancient superpower whose inhabitants did not lack intrigue and wisdom. This belief led to the creation of retro lifestyle choices and Rohlserlian cultural revivals. Furthermore, n.o.bles and literary writers, who were bored and a bit too enchanted by romanticized history, often partook in these activities.
If someone that ruled at the time of the ancient Rohlserlian empire was asked about the legitimacy of the claims that ancient civilizations were superior, the ruler would have called those that believed this “idiots with wild imaginations.” In many aspects — technological, economical, population, productivity, the area of a country, international relations, domestic stability, etc. — the Ancient Rohlserlian Empire significantly paled in comparison to the Walthart Empire. Modern civilization was supposed to be better than empires that had existed over six thousand years ago; it was called ‘progress’. If humans had not been able to become better than they were in the past, then they would have long since gone extinct.
Even the Archmage would agree with this. After all, stability in international affairs and the unification of the Southern continent — feats even he had not been able to accomplish as Emperor, despite how much he yearned for them — had been achieved by the Walhart Empire; this were areas that the ancient Rohlserlian Empire had failed. History dubbed the Archmage an unrivaled existence, and it was not just because of natural fighting ability. In its time, the Rohlserlian Empire had many enemies — foreign states, hostile outsiders, demons, etc. — outside its borders, and they had given the Archmage a lot of opportunities to flex his skill s.
Even then, the Rohlserlian Empire, a force as powerful as the Church of G.o.d’s Grace, had been needed to police and combat demons. At that time, religion had just surfaced, so a variety of beliefs were spread across the Southern continent. Furthermore, with the huge threat that Rohlserlian Empire still in play, many small city-states and tribes turned to demons for more power. The demons, true to their nature, capitalized on their human followers, sometimes controlling their leaders and even their nations.
One of the most harrowing cases ever recorded described a tribal leader, who was influenced by the whispers of demons, sacrificing every one of his tribesmen in a bid for power that rivaled the Archmage’s. Unfortunately, the power he got could not hold a candle to the Archmage’s — someone who had defeated foes as strong as Abyss Lords.
Those that wors.h.i.+pped demons were a threat to Isythre because they served as pa.s.sages for the demons to enter the Empire. The demon invasion that Highland City was currently experiencing was another example of this threat, which had occurred often in the past, as well. A congregation of demon-wors.h.i.+ppers had snuck past the city’s defenses and set up a summoning circle right outside the city wall, with which a tear in the realm was formed for demons to rush through.
Wide-scale attacks carried by people that colluded with evil forces occurred often before the founding of G.o.d’s Grace religion. These acts of terror riddled the realm with scars that have yet to heal in the present. The Church was forced to build its Templar Fort close to the largest crack in Isythre so that it could dispatch any demons that ventured into the realm.
When Baiyi was still outside the city gate, he had detected pulses from strange ent.i.ties at a tear in the realm. His perception of Spatial Laws had increased thanks to his contact with the Grandruler’s Lawful Fragment, his discovery, and subsequent development, of the Ember of Hope, and the knowledge he had gained about realm tear caused by a growing number of demon wors.h.i.+ppers. Baiyi had detected the pulses emanating from the invaders long before the army did.
That was not all. Baiyi had deduced that the spatial tear was large because he had sensed a large number of pulses. Instead of doing something about it, Baiyi decided to use it to corroborate his claim of being a prophet.
He was sure that the Highland City army could contain the invading demons. If things got really bad, then the city still had a trump card that even it did not know about — the Fifth Voidwalker.
Baiyi was confident in his ability to ma.s.sacre the demons easily. He had taken out two Abyss Lords already; this was nothing in comparison.
Despite Baiyi’s faith in them, the army was distressed. Every soldier was mobilized, and the troops marched out of the base in droves. They headed to the city wall and took up their respective positions. Ammunitions — arrows, boulders, and sachets of kerosene — were quickly deposited on the floor of the battlement.
A few soldiers were sent into the city to find physicians, apothecaries, and anyone else that possessed even a modic.u.m of medical knowledge
Lulu’s parents were also summoned. After delivering the supplies, the couple was detained by soldiers because they had come with Baiyi. Before the couple could be interrogated, however, they were transferred to the base of the city wall and instructed to ready themselves to administer medical help.
Lulu’s father was flummoxed. He was stunned when he and his wife were detained by angry soldiers, only to realize that they were needed to become medics for the duration of the battle.
The realization did nothing to reduce his confusion. He was even more confused, as he was more than happy to help any injured soldiers, but that did not explain why he and his wife were manhandled so roughly and detained.
The city army escalated the situation into a full-scale war. Rohlserlians knew that demons, which were sly but cowardly, would not launch an a.s.sault if they were certain that they would have the upper-hand throughout. Seeing as the demons had decided to attack a heavily fortified city, the army’s response was appropriate. After all, demons would never do something akin to indigenous tribesmen attacking technologically-advanced European colonists with low-tech weapons and techniques.
After the spatial tear was formed, hordes of demons began spilling out. In an hour, their number had increased to 1.5 million — more demons than Baiyi had faced back in Mia’s hometown several years ago. The demon horde was like a black, raging tempest h.e.l.lbent on demolis.h.i.+ng the city ahead.
Commander Lorenz, the highest-ranking officer in the army, was on full alert atop the city wall. He gazed at the black wave of demons on the horizon and noticed that the majority of them were low-ranked demons, such as the Calydonians and the minotaurs.
He did not relax, though. From his experience in fighting demons, Commander Lorenz knew that demon leading this army would very likely be an Abyss Lord.
The number of soldiers in the city paled in comparison to the number of demons marching from afar. Lorenz had fifteen thousand men to defend the city; they were facing a horde of demons three times their size. Only a third of the soldiers possessed good battle prowess. That was already impressive considering the low number of people that lived in the ancient civilization. However, this number paled in comparison to the approaching demons. s.
“It’s not the cannon-fodder I’m worried about; it’s the Abyss Lord hidden among them,” Commander Lorenz said in a worry-filled voice. Without any intel on the enemy, he did not know who was leading the demons, neither did he know the powers they had.
As the distance between the demons and the city shortened, so did the distance between Lorenz’s eyebrows. His expression darkened as they got closer.
As though the situation was not already bad, some soldiers arrived with worse news. The evacuation of the city’s residents was not complete; there was just not enough time. Even now, a large number of people were blissfully unaware of the approaching enemy.
“Then, why are you still here? Go out there and get it done, right now! ” Lorenz snarled in frustration.
He turned to the chiliarch 1 , Finn, who commanded Highland City’s Sorcerers Corps. “Sir Finn, I’m afraid we might need your sorcerers to handle the Abyss Lord when it rears its ugly head.”
Finn, whose expression was grave, nodded heavily. He was a chiliarch, but the number of sorcerers under his command — including novice sorcerers and sorcerers’ apprentices — was only two hundred. Worse, not all sorcerers were overly strong or could fight, so there was nothing to guarantee a victory over the Abyss Lord. Some of the sorcerers under his command only knew a few tricks, and these tricks were more suited for birthday parties than combat.
As Highland City’s trump card, the pressure on chiliarch and his sorcerers, some of whom were unfit for combat, made them feel like they had a mountain on their backs.
When Baiyi used his psychic sense to ascertain the number of demons approaching, he was shocked. “This is way more than I expected. And, this army does not move fast! Is this what you get when you don’t have that fuddy-duddy Church to put a clamp to it?” Baiyi wondered. “d.a.m.n, just look at how brazen these demons are! There has to be an Abyss Lord commanding them. Please, don’t let that Abyss Lord be the Devil Walker…”
In the present, with the Church around, no Abyss Lord would dream of bringing over its army in a short time. The number of Church-sanctioned chapels and buildings across the continent was great, and these Holy Grounds prevented the expansion and stabilization of all tears in the realm. This hampered the transportation speed of invaders. During the attack on Mia’s hometown, the demons had only been able to gather and move quickly because of their additional techniques in hastening the process. Without those aids, those demons would not have easily invaded Isythre, neither would they have moved as quickly as this horde of demons marching toward Highland City.
Baiyi had to admit that the Church was a powerful force that was benevolent to mankind, despite its hatred for the Voidwalkers.
The stakes were now higher than Baiyi originally thought, but he was optimistic about Highland City’s chances. He was more worried about something more personal. “Where are those girls? A demon army will be invading soon! Shouldn’t the two of you be beside me at this time whilst as I carry out my duty as the ‘Protector of Beautiful Maidens’?”
However, Baiyi knew that the girls were safe. Although Mia began to act more childlike after their journey to the past, she was still more than just a cute girl that only know how to do cute things.
She was a proud and powerful Legendary-level sorcerer. She alone could defeat the entire demon army, and Baiyi would not have to do anything!
If her power was not enough, Mia could still rely on the many tools stashed in her many storage pouches. Baiyi had inspected her storage pouch a few days before — with the excuse that what was hers was also his — and was very surprised.
He had been shocked to realize that Mia owned ten storage pouches, and most of them were filled with outfits that suited her fas.h.i.+on taste. However, the magical tools and equipment in her possession were what had left him speechless.
She had many scrolls already inscribed with spells; enough to give one to every soldier present and still have many left over. Mia’s staff was aesthetically impressive and ridiculously powerful; it rivaled a real Divine Regalia. The special weapon had been designed by the Scholar Walker, forged by the Blacksmith Walker, calibrated by the Archmage, and funded by Baiyi.
Mia also had some rare items in her possession. They had obtained through Da Xue’s auction programs, and some of them were gifts that Baiyi had received from n.o.bles.
Baiyi finally understood just how much love and returns the ‘Princess of the Void’ enjoyed. The items in her a.r.s.enal were already enough to transform any bimbo into a bona fide G.o.ddess of war!