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The last bastion of the Empire, the ‘Great Wall.’

This towering wall, dozens of meters high, is an absolute barrier that showcases why the Empire is indeed an Empire.

Or rather, it used to be.

No kingdom ever dared to think about breaking the ‘Barrier of the Holy Sword,’ allowing the Empire to preserve its glory until now, as no enemy could penetrate this absolute barrier.

What? It was breached 500 years ago?

Such a history does not exist for the Empire.

And like a nation that forgets its history has no future, the Empire, which forgot that the absolute barrier had crumbled once, fell into despair and frustration upon its breach once again.

“Uaaaack!!”

The citizens of the Empire screamed and fled backwards.

They hurried inside before losing their lives.

Creeeak.

As if protecting the fleeing people, the Earth Wall rose from the ground like a shield.

It was surely not just the simple power of Earth Magic; it was the clear power of the Holy Sword.

However…

“Fire!!”

KWA-BOOM!!

The moment the massive orange flame touched the ground shield, it disintegrated into sand as if bombarded.

Thud, thud, thud.

A giant beast advanced down the main road.

The massive quadruped monster, a Drake, was several meters long, with something mounted on its back, firmly planted its feet into the ground.

Wiiing.

The gigantic cannon attached to the Drake’s back began to shine.

Bit by bit, orange mana filled the cannon, and intense flames began to rise.

“Fire—!!”

KWA-HA-HA!!

The shell charged with Magyom’s flames took flight in a parabolic arc.

It accurately targeted the fleeing humans behind the destroyed wall.

Kyaack!!

As the humans were engulfed in Magyom’s flames, their entire bodies turned into skeletons and burned away.

It was truly instantaneous.

The flesh burning and vanishing was an event that occurred in the blink of an eye, with only white skulls remaining as traces of their humanity.

The explosion left everything around intact, only incinerating the ‘humans’ within the realm.

A moment later.

Fwoosh.

Magyom’s flames nestled into the skulls of the dead humans.

As the flames seeped into the skulls, one by one, they began to rise, transforming into a single Flame Skeleton that moved forward.

Toward the Empire.

Wobbling and staggering, the skeletons stretched their arms forward as Magyom’s flames continued to burn within their eyes—

Clack-clack!

Chattering their teeth, they scattered Magyom’s flames all around.

As if their purpose was to turn the entire Empire into a sea of orange flames, they spread the sparks, regardless of the fact that their bones were broken and unable to move properly.

Fwoosh.

The Empire’s absolute barrier was breached.

In the middle of the towering wall, it vanished, forming a perfect ‘V.’

Never existed from the start?

Of course not.

The figure in the orange robe flying above, the Demon Lord, wielded Magyom to slice through the absolute barrier.

Wasn’t it said that diamond cuts diamond?

The absolute barrier, maintained by the power of the Holy Sword, was overwhelmed by the strength of Magyom Gehenna held by the Demon Lord, and humans who had trusted in the stability of the barrier but hadn’t evacuated all became the undead spreading Gehenna’s sparks.

“Hah.”

Satan, with wings spread open amidst the flames, gazed inside the realm, clenching his fist.

Thanks to the power of Magyom Gehenna, breaching the absolute barrier was easy, but there were still several walls remaining in the Empire.

Naturally, given the outer perimeter originally had a large diameter and circumference.

If the power of the Holy Sword is being channeled throughout the entire barrier, the next wall must surely be stronger.

The absolute barriers within the Empire are ‘maintained’ by the masters of the Holy Sword.

Once the mana of the Holy Sword fades, they’ll merely be solid mounds of dirt; with wind and rain, the walls would soon collapse.

So, could the next barrier also be easily breached?

Well…

“The walls grow denser the further inside we go. How interesting.”

Of course, now that the outermost walls have fallen, the power of the Holy Sword that maintained the outer walls is conveyed to the inner walls.

“It’s no wonder Bel Phegor was trying to breach through another route. Dealing with this one by one is indeed tedious and annoying.”

The Great Demon Lord Bel Phegor had tried to tunnel, land from the sky, or teleport in elite troops by identifying coordinates within the Empire to assault the realm, the Holy Sword of the Earth.

But that’s just Bel Phegor’s way.

Satan’s method is different.

“Demon Lord! Report from the forward troops! The outer shape of the next wall is changing! It’s taking on a form like marble that resists flames…!”

“The Emperor of the Empire isn’t an idiot; he’s strengthening the walls so they won’t be breached by Magyom’s attacks.”

Satan perched atop the back of the massive crow that flapped its wings.

“Let’s go. No matter how strong their defenses are, they are nothing in the face of this Satan’s power.”

Whoosh.

Satan raised his hand up.

“Watch the power of this Satan unfold.”

Soon, a scythe of orange light rose meters high from Satan’s hand, and the crow flapped its wings towards the next wall under Satan’s guidance.

“A power more powerful than anyone, overwhelming!”

Fwoosh.

Behind Magyom Gehenna, a giant demon, burning with orange flames, emerged, seemingly toying with Gehenna.

Gooooo—!!

The orange demon spun Gehenna around in one hand multiple times, raising it high.

The upper body of the massive demon rapidly moving forward along with the crow’s wings was truly…

The Demon Lord, in essence.

Swoosh.

Demon Lord Satan sliced the wall with his scythe.

The orange trajectory of Magyom glimmered.

And then.

Kugugugu.

Following the path of the scythe swung by Satan, the absolute barrier created by the Holy Sword was ‘cut.’

“Go ahead and build the barriers again and again! You will never defeat this Satan’s power!”

Thud, thud, thud.

Toward the crumbling wall.

The undead, now the Demon King’s army, possessed by Satan’s flames, slowly began stepping onto the debris of the wall and crossing into the inner barriers.

*

“The outermost 13th barrier has been breached. The 12th and 11th barriers have also collapsed consecutively.”

The generals of the Empire surveyed the front line with serious expressions.

All they heard was news of destruction and collapse.

It was only after three of the Empire’s absolute barriers had fallen that the citizens began to hurry to evacuate, and even that was in chaos, resulting in inadequate evacuations.

Though they called them ‘barriers,’ the distance between them was at least over 10km.

The barriers that spread over 500 years centered around the Realm of Leberced numbered more than thirteen, and at the time of the reigning Emperor, the next barrier was already in the plans.

But what is happening now?

“If this continues, we’ll be pushed back to Leberced….”

“What nonsense! His Majesty is personally working to strengthen the walls! How dare you speak such unlucky words!”

“But even if His Majesty is taking action, the enemy is also using Magyom….”

“A traitor! Someone like that who would betray us once the Demon King’s army pushes into the realm is a home-grown traitor!”

“What?! Isn’t the general the one contemplating the Empire being occupied by the Demon King’s army?!”

The generals were too busy throwing accusations at one another.

It was no surprise—though they were seated for a meeting, there seemed to be no way to act.

Are the generals of the Empire corrupt?

Or is it that the available power in this room is too insufficient to help?

Because they are incompetent?

The absolute barrier is crumbling.

The citizens are in chaos and uncontrollable.

And the Emperor, the Hero of the Holy Sword, is helplessly watching the absolute barriers be breached one by one.

How much can the lard-filled generals do in this situation?

“Damn. Is there really no way?”

“There is.”

The quiet Chancellor finally spoke.

“But if we employ that method, it will come with many sacrifices.”

“W-what is it?”

“Gathering strengths that are spread thin to one point. Do you know about magic circuits? When circuits are connected in parallel, the power disperses, but if you connect them in series, the power strengthens.”

“What are you trying to say? Now of all times, you want to research Magic Engineering?”

“…It means unifying the walls.”

The Chancellor directly marked an X on each of the other walls spread on the map.

“Here, we will recover the power of the Holy Sword from all walls except for the ‘Arpe Barrier’ that protects the realm.”

“If we do that…!”

“Then the walls will merely be stone walls. The Demon King’s army will break through like a stone wall.”

The Chancellor calmly pointed outside.

“His Majesty is doing everything he can with a heavy heart to protect the Empire. Tell me, is it the citizens that make the Empire, or is it the Emperor who makes the Empire?”

“Well….”

Nobody could speak easily.

Understandably, these individuals were within the realm, with all their properties and foundations, including their homes, deeply rooted here.

Outside the Arpe Barrier?

They knew nothing of it.

“You all must quietly accommodate as many refugees as possible. You must not carelessly inform outsiders. While His Majesty buys time, accommodate as many as you can.”

“But what if all citizens cannot make it in?”

“The Empire…”

The Chancellor continued in a calm voice.

“Does not extend its hand to the ones who are left behind.”

 

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