The Beginning of Hell
The Emperor managed to escape from the walking embodiment of terror known as Cynthiana. This man, being a bundle of self-preservation, the moment he sensed defeat, snatched the armor off a nearby knight and disguised himself as an old soldier to flee. His speed was so astonishing that those around him were left speechless. And right after, Cynthiana launched a direct assault on the main camp. Fortunately for him, she didn’t know what the current emperor looked like.
“I will never forgive this! You… you humiliated me like this! I swear I’ll have my revenge!”
The Emperor retreated on horseback. The invasion of Arland had ended in the worst possible way. He had underestimated Alicetia as just a child. He never imagined Cynthiana would appear.
More than half of the army was lost… the supply units were still intact, but the damage to the front-line troops had been severe. There wasn’t even time to recover the supplies stored at the main camp.
The only supplies remaining were those that hadn’t yet been unloaded from the wagons. If they didn’t receive fresh provisions quickly, the soldiers would starve to death before they could return to the Empire. The Arland frontier of the Empire was sparsely populated with villages. Due to repeated wars, villages had gradually disappeared from overuse as supply points. However, there were many military forts. If they could reach one, they would receive resupply. Especially at the nearest stronghold, Fort Granzur, where a vast stockpile should be waiting.
However, before they could reach the fortress, the Ostland army ambushed the Imperial troops.
“Enemy attack!”
Crushed by overwhelming force, the Imperial army’s morale was already shattered. As they trudged forward like the walking dead, an ambush from the nearby forest plunged them into chaos.
But the Imperial army wasn’t weak. On the contrary, in terms of training, they ranked among the continent’s best. That was precisely how the Granzur Empire had once claimed continental supremacy.
In contrast, the Ostland army, bound by military restrictions to protect their kingdom, lacked real battle experience and proper training. Their perfect ambush was nothing short of a miracle.
King of Ostland’s Perspective
“Count Naruelus has fallen! His army is collapsing!”
“Fools! I told them not to advance too far!”
Though the Ostland army had succeeded in its ambush, some glory-hungry nobles broke formation and charged ahead. When one of those nobles, a feudal lord, died in battle, panic rippled through the surrounding forces, triggering a full collapse.
The King of Ostland held his forehead in frustration. So fragile.
(Not as reliable as Arland, which had held off Imperial invasions for years, but I expected a bit more from them…)
Still, the King of Ostland was no fool.
“Send word to the vassal forces—don’t try to recover the formation. Just retreat into the forest behind us. Anon Sheffield, I’m counting on you.”
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
Anon grinned. She had known from the start that the vassal troops’ lack of training was a serious weakness. She had considered the possibility of collapse.
Leading Sheffield’s cavalry, Anon skirted the battlefield and launched a rear attack on the transport unit. The Imperial army had recovered its morale.
Until just moments ago, the soldiers had been retreating with heads bowed in hopelessness. Alicetia had shattered their pride and confidence, engraving fear deep in their hearts, and they had believed their entire worldview had been broken.
But then, the clumsy ambush by the Ostland army—unable to even form proper lines—triggered a reflexive response. The Imperial soldiers instinctively formed ranks and counterattacked.
Their coordination was impressive. It helped that the remaining troops were mostly regulars. Despite the complete surprise attack, the Imperial army quickly regained its footing, causing confusion and disintegration in the Ostland forces. Currently, Anon’s father was commanding the national troops, organizing an orderly retreat into the forest while minimizing losses.
“Kill them! Kill them! Take back our pride!”
Watching the Ostland army crumble so easily, the morale of the Imperial army soared. No, it soared too high. Eager to vent their frustrations from the recent defeat, they pursued more aggressively than necessary. As a result, the slow-moving transport unit was left partially unguarded and isolated. Anon struck at that exact moment.
“Leave the guards! Just burn the wagons!”
“Wooooooooh! Follow the Young Ladyyyyy!”
Among the mostly weak Ostland forces, the Sheffield family were warriors, and their training wasn’t bad. In the chaos, they overpowered the guards and used magic to set the wagons ablaze.
“Valkyrie Mode.”
Red lines lit up along Anon’s armor, and both her cape and gear transformed. She now looked like the Valkyries of myth. The Imperial soldiers stood stunned at the sight before remembering this was a battlefield and raising their swords. But Anon suddenly vanished. With high-speed flight, she had already reached the wagons behind the guards.
“Flame Cannon.”
Flames erupted from the back of Anon’s hand, setting the wagons on fire. The Sheffield troops fought fiercely, making it impossible for the guards to get close.
In the end, the Ostland army was defeated. However, the Empire lost more than half of its remaining precious supplies—a catastrophic loss.
By the time the main Imperial army realized the ambush and rushed to aid the transport unit, Anon and her troops had already retreated. As the soldiers stared in shock at the burning wagons, trying desperately to salvage whatever food they could, it seemed they could still hear the mocking laughter of the supposedly weak Ostland army echoing in their ears.
What followed for the Imperial army was even more tragic. Already short on supplies, their own arrogance had now pushed the situation into a crisis. Rations were reduced to half the normal amount.
Still, they consoled themselves with the thought that the border fortress was just ahead. With luck, the troops wouldn’t starve to death.
“GYYYYAAAAAHHH!”
When the Imperial army finally reached the border fortress, the mighty Granzur Fortress—once the largest on the continent—was still belching black smoke, with most of its walls crumbled. The soldiers screamed and wept at the sight.
It was supposed to be an impregnable fortress, yet it had fallen so easily.
The garrison had already retreated into the Empire. But having lost their communication devices, and with all messengers intercepted by the Elven army and Unit 201, no word had reached the invasion force.
The Imperial army wailed for a while, but eventually pushed into the ruined fortress to search for supplies. Most had been destroyed by fire, but a few hidden storerooms had survived.
“We’ve got food!”
“There’s some left here too!”
Though they shouted with joy, the amount that remained could hardly be called enough. This fortress had once been supplied with mountains of provisions to support the invading army. In truth, the remains of countless wooden crates used to store goods now lay in ashes and charcoal throughout the fortress. Still, just enough had survived to keep the soldiers from starving.
Moved to tears with relief, the troops spent the night at the fortress. Their exhaustion had reached its limit. Many soldiers ate their fill and camped near the burnt ruins.
Unaware that it was all a trap.
In the dead of night, a group infiltrated the fortress—Unit 201 Experimental Battalion. One-third of their force lay hidden in the grassy plains outside while the rest slipped into the fortress.
Their first targets were the soldiers stationed atop the crumbling walls.
“Guh!”
“Hey, what was—!”
The soldier closest to the outer wall was taken out by a suppressed shot from an M-700 replica. As his body tumbled down, another soldier hidden in the blind spot moved to raise the alarm, only to have his mouth clamped shut from behind and a knife driven into his side, ending his life.
“All clear, Captain.”
“All clear? What’s that supposed to mean?”
“No idea. I think it just means there are no enemies around.”
The soldiers chuckled quietly and stripped the fallen Imperials of their armor to disguise themselves.
Before long, an Imperial soldier approached.
“Any abnormalities?”
“None, sir.”
Though the voice seemed a little off, the officer couldn’t tell who it was in the dark, and with so many casualties, units had been reorganized. It wasn’t unusual to hear unfamiliar voices.
“Good. Keep a sharp watch for night raids.”
“Sir, yes, sir!”
The officer nodded, satisfied, and moved on.
“What idiots. Of course they’re going to get sleepy after stuffing their faces.”
Having found food in the fortress, the Empire distributed extra rations to comfort the soldiers who’d been weakened by starvation. After all, they were within Imperial territory now. Though the fortress had fallen, it would take only two days to reach the next outpost. Beyond that, other forts and military facilities—some larger, some smaller—still held supplies.
That belief allowed most of the troops to sleep soundly, except for those traumatized by the front lines or unlucky enough to be on night watch.
“Alright, move out. Activate the devices. Units 01 through 05 stay behind and secure the escape route. We’ve got suppressors, but don’t over-rely on them. Against strong foes, bullets might not work at all.”
“Yeah, His Majesty was insane. He bounced a bullet with a flick of his finger.”
A being on Draconia’s level could repel bullets from AK replicas with just a flick of his finger cloaked in aura.
They moved with ease toward the supply depot. Though metal armor clanked with movement, the devices they carried projected the illusion of wearing Imperial armor. That’s why they had killed the guards earlier—to copy the exact armor styles.
The Empire had several types of armor, and no one knew which ones would raise suspicion. After all, no one knew which armor types had the highest survival rate.
“Hey, share some food with me, would you?”
Disguised as an Imperial soldier, Eudis approached the guards at the supply depot. Smuggling food in warzones was common in all armies. Arland might be the only exception—though not out of discipline, but because their chronic budget shortage forced them to strictly crack down on it.
“Huh? Of course not. Wait until morning.”
“Aw, come on. My asshole superior hates me, and I didn’t get to eat…
Oh, by the way. I found this. It’s yours if you share a little with me.”
Eudis pulled a bottle of alcohol from his coat and held it out. The guard blinked in surprise.
“You swiped this?”
“Got lucky. Found it in the ashes—intact. Even found some money too. Let’s split it. Just give me some food.”
“If you’ve got booze and money, can’t you wait ‘til tomorrow? The booze I get, but you could just take the cash home.”
The guard eyed him suspiciously but was clearly tempted, glancing around nervously.
“I just want bread more than booze. I can’t hold my liquor, and I don’t care if I only get half the money.”
In the Empire, not drinking made you soft. The guard grinned, accepted the booze and cash, then stepped aside.
“Don’t take too much. And the bread’s hard as a rock—you’ll need water to eat it.”
“I know. Haven’t had soft bread since the war started.”
“Ain’t that the truth.”
Grinning, the guard let him pass. Eudis entered the warehouse and bit into some bread.
(Ugh, disgusting.)
He thought even Arland’s food situation wasn’t this bad, and began placing bombs around the site.
(Now then… where’s the next battlefield?)
After planting the bombs, Eudis thanked the guard and left. Meanwhile, the rest of Unit 201 used either bribes or assassination to plant bombs at various supply sites.
“Time to go.”
“Sir, yes, sir!”
With boredom in their voices, the Unit 201 soldiers withdrew.
The next morning, as soldiers awoke and began preparing breakfast, the supply depots and wagons exploded.
All remaining supplies were completely destroyed. The soldiers stared in stunned silence.
They scrambled to begin retreating. They had to reach the rear forts and secure supplies—but they would soon descend into hell.
From the fortress onward, nearly every rear fort and military facility had already been bombed, leaving only scraps of supplies behind.
The soldiers hunted monsters and gnawed their meat as they fled. Any village they encountered, they pillaged like bandits, stealing every last bit of food and raping the women in a frenzy of frustration. Hated by their own citizens, many soldiers lost their sanity during the retreat. Though few starved, desertion was rampant. By the time they returned to the capital, their numbers had dwindled to barely one-fifth of what they’d set out with.
And when they finally returned to the Imperial capital, what they found was this: parts of the city had been bombed just like the forts they had passed… and the army led by Alicetia had already infiltrated Imperial territory and was ravaging the Empire from within.
Alicetia had overtaken the Imperial army.
What do you think about this chapter?
