Gate: Thus the Sorcerous Empire Fought There

by Rgnjjv

The sorcerer kingdom was founded 300 years ago. They conquered the whole continent in five years and a whole new world in 200 years. After occupying the whole world, now they are inventing modern technology. After occupying the whole continent, it was called the Sorcerer Empire. Aniz turned the whole new world into Utopia.

3. 3 Army Arc

Scene Change: Pianca(Imperial Castle)

"Your Majesty, the Alliance Army has suffered a major defeat. The dead and missing have reached sixty thousand. If we include the ones who were wounded but are still able to resume their duties, it is around a hundred thousand. The survivors of the Alliance Army have each returned to their respective countries."

These numbers had not included the ogres, goblins, and giants. The demi-humans who had inferior intelligence were treated like warhorses. Hearing Domestic Minister Marquis Marcus' report, the emperor nodded his head tiredly.

"Just as planned. The cowardly senators who were afraid after we suffered some losses have nothing to worry about anymore. What about the other expedition force?"

The Senator gritted his teeth before answered to his Emperor. " No one from the other expeditionary forces returned, my Emperor."

"What?" Emperor Molt's eyes widened. "What did you just say?"

"I said no one came back from the other expedition. I also sent some scouts into the Romalia Mountain but none of them came back," he said anxiously.

"It simply means that they have massacred or captured our army. But Albus is an experienced general, their leader was even more experienced than him."

"My emperor, in my opinion, the enemies of the Romalia Mountain are more powerful and capable of competing for empire. What do we need to do?"

"This is disconcerting. But the Empire has won against greater odds before. The Empire will survive no matter what." Stated Emperor Molt as he supported his head with his fist and looked to the sidelines with a bored expression.

"Forgive me, your majesty. But I do not share your opinion about our situation. I am concerned. It is bad enough our first expedition force has been repelled with such ease. But our second expedition's armys' defeat was crushing to the empire. We lost two-fifths of our overall military strength."

"Still. It is not a problem in the long term. The distance between the capital and the Romania mountains and the Arnus hills is great. We just use this strategic position of ours to our advantage. The enemy will have to penetrate deep into our territory to reach the capital. We will simply use the Scorched Earth tactic combined with attacks upon their supply lines. No army can march without supplies."

The emperor continued.

If the enemies started moving their pieces, all of the cities and villages leading up to the Empire should be burned down, the wells poisoned and the food seized to the last grain of wheat. Therefore, amidst the scorched earth, no army could obtain supplies and thus this will stop their advancement. With this, no matter how strong their army and their mages might be, a chance for them to show their weakness would arise.

If there was no way to forage for supplies locally, supplies would have to be sent from their own country. It would be a substantial burden on their horses, and the supply line would have to be guarded against occasional bandit raids. This way, the enemy's fighting potential would be greatly diminished the closer they got to the capital, giving the Empire's army the advantage when fighting near the capital.

If they built strongholds at various locations and forced the enemies to bleed, the enemies would gradually crumble under pressure. Such was the basis of this world's military science.

Make the enemies advance deep into the enemy's territory and hit them when they are tired.

Without a doubt, it was an easily understandable and efficient tactic in any world. However, scorched earth tactics would turn their lands into crisped soil, and it would be hard to undo the damage. Such tactics disregarded the livelihoods of the people by robbing them of their food and water, and the support of the people would be lost. Thus, the people would have resentment towards the government that would last for generations. Considering all these cons, it was hard to issue such orders politically. However…

"But...the tax revenue would decrease."

Marquis Marcus used a reserved manner to articulate the damage that would be done to the people.

The emperor only said "Hmph. Just cancel a few planned parades and postpone the plans for the Imperial Villa." and with this, Emperor Molt dismissed the concerns.

For the mighty Empire, the suffering of the people and the approval of the citizens were merely trivial details.

"There was talk of Marquis Casel making a fuss."

"Why do I have to care about Marquis Casel's sanity?"

"It seems like he and some of the senators are conspiring to declare a state of emergency counsel."

The Senate's counsel could veto the orders from the emperor. The Senate even had the power to dismiss the emperor.

In the history of the Empire, the number of cases where the thrones of emperors were threatened due to the counsel from the Senate was not low.

"Hmph, how interesting. Just let them do what they want. Who knows, this may be a chance to round up all of those conspirators at the same time. Order the Privy Council to look into this matter."

Marcus had an astonished expression on his face for a second, but he still bowed respectfully towards the emperor.

The emperor's weapon against the Senate was the crime of treason. It required the Privy Council to present evidence to sentence them.

"It seems like many have taken the privilege of being a Senator for granted. It looks like it's time to remove the weeds."

Marquis Marcus bowed his head respectfully.

Suddenly, a voice that was clear as a bell cut through the quiet air in the palace.

"Your Majesty!" The disrespectful person appearing before the emperor was the princess. In other words, one of the emperor's daughters. She had flame-like vermillion hair and white porcelain skin that was accentuated by her white silk garment. Kneeling on one knee, she displayed flawless court etiquette.

"Your Highness, what urgent matters do you have to barge into the chambers of His Majesty?" asked her Marcus.

If the emperor's third daughter, Pina Co Lada just sat still with a smile on her face, she would look like an excellent work of art. However, her sharp tongue has been said to have made weak men faint, an infamous ability in the Empire.

"Obviously, it's about the bandits occupying Arnus and Romalia Mountains. It seems that to this day the two holy places are still under their control. I couldn't imagine that your Majesty would still sit with such a relaxed posture after hearing what happened to the Allied Army. Marquis, have you reported the facts to his Majesty?"

"Your Highness, I certainly did give the report. The Alliance Army did suffer heavy losses, but they defended bravely against the enemy's invasion of the Falmart Continent. Thanks to the courageous Alliance Army who sacrificed their lives in the battle, the enemy has received both physical and psychological damage and is shivering in fear as they have built strong forts in panic, hiding within like hibernating bears. Such enemies are no threat to us at all."

After hearing Marquis Marcus's words, Pina replied with a "Hmph! And what about the other invading force? What is your Majesty planning to do with them?"

"Everything is under our complete control," Molt assured her.

"I'm not a kid anymore; I know that is how things are put across to children but, to turn not one but two armies' complete defeat into victory is unheard of."

"It's the truth." the Emperor looked bored because of this conversation but, deep inside he was concerned.

"So you are going to sacrifice the truth and paint the history books with your lies?"

"Even if you put it like that, I cannot answer." Molt dismissed her claim.

"You sly courtier! Aren't the Holy Hills of Arnus and Romalia still under the enemy's complete control? Did they defend successfully? The truth is that the foot of the hill is filled with corpses. Also, I heard that none of the soldiers who went to conduct the operation in the Romalia Mountains returned ."

"It's true that we took some losses…" The Emperor looked off to the side with a bored expression.

"Then, what are we going to do from now on?"

Marquis Marcus played dumb while explaining to her the projects such as recruitment of new troops and their training. Pina clicked her tongue annoyingly at Marcus's words that anyone who was army-related would know about.

"How many years do you think it will take? Could you ensure that the two invading forces will just sit quietly and wait?"

"Your Highness. I am aware of that. But currently, all we can do is to follow the steps of recruiting, training, and rebuilding the army. Even the vassal states have lost their troops. Even if another Alliance Army were formed, the time needed for it to become a reality would be proportional to the national strength. Even if the other countries reconstructed their armies later than us, they would catch up sooner or later."

Hearing this, Piña exclaimed astonishingly, "It would be impossible to defend against the invaders if we wait that long!"

Sighing, Emperor Molt held up his hand to stop their bickering.

Based on his observations, Pina tended to cause unrest. Those without responsibilities were like this; always criticizing but had no constructive suggestions. Even if they had made suggestions, it was all wishful thinking that disrespected the traditions and social status of others. If someone voiced objections against them, they would counter by asking "What would you do then!"

For example, the only solution now is to follow the steps Marquis Marcus had said. Buying time for that would be dependent on diplomacy. To achieve that, the emperor's plan to gather the vassal country's troops and eliminate them in one go was successful.

The resigned Emperor shrugged and said to his daughter.

"If you put it this way, Pina, I have something to say."

"Yes, Your Majesty?"

"Regarding the enemies on the two holy hills, the information we have in our hands right now is very limited. Why don't you go check it out?"

"Me?"

"Yes. We are still rebuilding the Empire's army, so we are lacking scouts and can't draw them from our standing army. The enlisting and training of recruits will need time as Marquis Marcus said. The only troops that are free and are adequately trained would be your Order of Knights. If the Knights are not your playmates for pretend games, that is…"

Under the provoking gaze of the Emperor, Pina shut her lips.

For knights, who were mocked and accused of playing a game of pretending, although they took pride in being assigned missions, the contents of the mission were dissatisfying.

Also, she and her order of knights had zero experience in a real battle. Could she and her knights complete this dangerous mission?

The Emperor glanced towards her lazily. "Well then. Do you accept this order?"

Gritting her teeth, Pina raised her head with a determined look and... "I have received it."

After she had said those proud words, Emperor Molt responded ceremoniously.

"Umu, then I shall look forward to your achievements."

"Well then, Father. I shall be on my way."

With that, Pina Co Lada turned her back to the throne as she left the hall.

"There seem to be so many humanoid villages around the Romalia Mountains. Destroy them first."

"Yes, my emperor."

Fortress-35

"The city of knowledge we can get more information about this world there, but we can also get a lot of information in the commercial city. Where do you think we need to go?"

"According to what I have learned from them, the people of Rondel do not care much about the empire. So I think we should conduct operations in Italica and I will send some spies into Rondel."

"OK then"

"Big brother, I have another report to give."

"What is that?"

"We found several Humanoid villages around this mountain range. The villages were attacked by the imperial troops. We captured some soldiers, according to them their emperor told them to do so. They did not do much harm to the villagers. They just Burning the fields and grain warehouses, mixed poison in the water, etc."

"What! Why? According to all the information we have, they had this territory, why did they invade their territory?"

"I think they did it so we can't use them."

"They don't know that we can deliver supplies to our troops through gates (spells) at any time. Also, our troops can keep things up to 600 kg in their storage."

"Okay big brother, what do we need to do with the villagers now. I've talked to them, they're willing to be our citizens."

"Hm, Build a city for them next to the mountains. Remember they are our citizens now." "OK"

Then Ragnarok left.

Scene Change: Unknown location:

The patrons of the tavern were riled up by the news of the appearance of the Flame Dragon and more so by the mention of someone driving off the beast which no elves nor sages could ever do anything about. Even the fact that the encounter had decimated a quarter of the fleeing refugees from Coda Village could not dampen the shock of the news brought forth.

In one corner of the tavern, Pina Co Lada and several members of her Rose Order of Knights drank their ale as they discussed the supposed defeat of the Flame Dragon. Hamilton Uno Ror showed a particular interest in the subject at hand but Norma Co Igloo was more interested in getting better ale and wouldn't believe the feat to be possible even when they were approached by Melisa, a survivor of the engagement.

Sensing that she might be able to tell them something interesting, Hamilton paid Melisa some coins to let her recount the experience. When Melisa took her place at the front of the patrons gathered, everyone in the tavern fell silent. She began her tales of how the twelve Green Men had acted on that fateful day through the males were immediately more interested when they were told that there were two females in the group, forcing her to explain what the two looked like as the males were overjoyed of their descriptions. Melisa continued with her story, telling how the Green Men fought the Flame Dragon until the mention of the "Rod of Iron" which blew a whole arm of the dragon away with a loud explosion threw everyone else into silence once more though for a different reason than the fact that it tore a dragon's arm off.

Pina showed interest in knowing what the Rod of Iron actually was and asked Melisa to describe the appearance so that she could get a better grasp of what had actually been used. Melisa sniggered at that request, claiming that it was something resembling something of a man's and how it was actually big and black. The males of the Knights turned away when Pina's gaze turned towards them, attempting to dissuade her from asking them. Knowing that she might not be able to exert any information this way, Pina turned her inquiry towards Hamilton as she was hadiancé. The unexpected turn of events shocked Hamilton so much that she revealed that she did know what was mentioned despite her efforts of trying to cover it up.

Scene Change: Heaven: The realm of gods:

Gathered around a large oval table in their heavenly home sat eleven gods. Of course, there were officially twelve main deities in Falmart. However, as the goddess of the Underworld, Hardy mostly resided in her underworld residence weaving plans on how to catch Rory Mercury, the apostate of Emroy.

Emroy was the God of Darkness, War, Death, Violence, and Insanity and did not care what that woman was doing in her free time. Moreover, he found it amusing that Hardy was always failing with her plans. He just watched and laughed while leaning back in his heavenly throne as that wench always failed with her plan to capture his Rory. He was the God of Insanity amongst many things after all. He loved crazy things.

The eleven deities who sat around the table were Emroy, God of Darkness. Elange, God of Knowledge, twin of, God of Blacksmithing. Miritta, Goddess of Fertility. Wareharun, Goddess of Trees and Forests. Flare, God of the Sun. Palapon, God of Revenge. Zufmuut, God of Light and Order. Deldort, God of Covenants. Lunaryur, God of Music. Ral/La, Goddess of Learning, twin of Elange.

They had called an emergency meeting around a week after the other gate opened.

"What did Hardy do this time? Which backwater world did she open her damned gate to?" frowned Deldort the God of Covenants.

The one who answered was Zufmuut the God of Light and Discipline. "We don't know. It seems that the empire has obviously angered the gods on the other side so much that they have sent horrible beasts through the gates. I think everyone has felt their presence? "

"And sent two more mighty monsters to lead them. Whose power is the equivalent of God."Flare Said.

Everyone nodded.

"Thus, they activated something and then everything inside Romalia Mountain and Gate disappeared from my senses," said Mirita, the Goddess of Fertility.

"What! It's possible to create something that can fool the eyes of the gods? La and Elange?" Wareharun, The Goddess of Trees and Forests, turned her head towards the twin gods.

They thought about it for a moment then both of them shook their heads in unison. "We do not know such magic."

"This is disturbing. They massacred the army of the empire. Also, their horses ate the spirit of the warriors. And they took away the experience of all the warriors. If she wants revenge, why can't she just come into our realm and demand justice?" said Palapon.

"We are also angry at the warriors for stealing their experience" la and Elange said.

"I don't know. But the soldiers and those demons of theirs wore armor that I have never seen before. I would not mind the opportunity to study their art." Said Duncan, the God of Blacksmiths as he fondled his long beard and chuckled happily.

"Maybe she is angry because of Hardy opening the gate on her world and disturbing her slumber. Maybe we should reason with her through a good ballad." Explained Lunaryur.

"I fought that white-haired boy. His name was Ragnarok Ooal Gown. He claimed to be a prince on the other side. "Emroy Said

"What was the boy's strength like?" asked Deldort uneasily.

"I lost. He lost me in one blow. Also, I felt a lot of negative energy from him."Emroy Said.

"They're so strong we need to do!"

Zufmuut sighed and massaged the bridge of his nose. "What we need to do is I don't think we should be hostile to them. We need to talk to them." He looked around with a tired expression.

"Yes we all agree"

"Okay, then we'll send an envoy there." With that, the eleven deities disappeared from around the table.

Scene Change: City of Italica:

Italica city was founded two hundred years ago by gathering merchants in the region to construct a fortress town. Politically speaking, this place was the crossroad of the Dressia and Appian highways and developed as a border town between the nations. But with the expansion of the Empire's borders, its political importance had declined significantly, and it was just a mid-sized local market now. It doesn't have any local specialties, but the crops, livestock, and handmade products such as cloth would be sent to the capital, so it served as a collection base.

Right now, this was the territory of the Empire's noble family, the clan of Count Formal. Colt, the head of the clan Formal had three daughters, Elle, Loui, and Myui. Aside from the youngest Myui, the other two had been married off to other clans. Colt was planning to find someone to marry into the clan after his youngest grew up to take over the family estate.

Myui was still single, and after Colt and his wife died because of an accident, misfortune started to befall the city. The eldest daughter Elle and the second daughter Loui married into the Count Roen clan and the Count Missna clan respectively, so Myui had the right of succession over them. This was the law of the Empire, and there were no grounds for them to dispute. However, the youngest Myui was only eleven, so whoever became her guardian… would become the de facto leader. And so, the power struggle began.

The talks between the two elder sisters started as a calm discussion and quickly turned into ugly quarrels, pulling the others' hair in scuffles, and even went so far as involving their husbands. The soldiers of Count Roen and Count Missna fought a small-scale war as a result. But their struggle did not escalate further. They had limited forces after all, and the husbands weren't blind with rage like their wives were.

The security within the territory was maintained by the vassals of Count Formal and the soldiers of Count Roen and Count Missna, so there wasn't any threat to the livelihood of the merchants and residents. The value of Italica lay with its trade; there would be nothing to gain if it was laid to waste.

And so, the situation became a stalemate. The dispute of the sisters shifted into the courts of the capital, and Maui's guardian would soon be decided by the deliberation of the Emperor.

However, the situation worsened after the empire campaigned against the other world. The heads of the Roen and Missna clans died in battle at the Gate. With their husbands dead, Elle and Louise couldn't spare the effort to take care of the Formal territory anymore and withdrew their forces, leaving Myui with the vassals of Count Formal.

The young Myui couldn't control her vassals, and the running of the territory became ineffective from neglect. There weren't many loyal vassals left, but there were plenty who had ulterior motives. Before she realized it, corruption and injustice were running rampant. The citizens were wary, and security deteriorated. Loose bands of soldiers turned to banditry and started attacking caravans, grinding trade to a halt, and stagnating the movement of resources.

Bandits and trolls formed a group together and numbered in the hundreds. Finally, Italica city itself was attacked. Standing at the city gate, Pina let loose a few arrows at the retreating bandits and took a deep breath. She took a moment to look at the battlefield. Wounded soldiers staggered around or collapsed from blood loss. Arrows were shot into the stone walls, and the surrounding area was a mess. She spotted several citizens holding farm tools and sticks with a glance. Outside the wall, the corpses of bandits and carcasses of horses were scattered all over the ground.

"Norma! Hamilton! Are you alright?"

Inside the broken gate, Norma was defending a barricade. He supported his body by putting his weight on a sword, his shoulders rising and down as he panted. He lifted a hand to signal that he was well, but his armor was covered with arrows and signs of being hit by a sword. His surroundings showed evidence of an intense battle, with bodies from the attacking bandits and defending soldiers everywhere.

As for Hamilton, she was already sitting on the ground.

Her legs were straightened with her palms supporting her body, barely keeping herself from keeling over. Her grip on her sword was loose.

"I am, hah hah, alive."

"What about me, princess? How cold!" An older soldier joked.

"Grey! Of course, you will be all right, that's why I didn't ask."

"Should I be happy? Or sad?"

Grey, a man who looked about forty with a stout build, showed no hint of fatigue as he rested his sword on his shoulders.

There wasn't any blood on him. If there wasn't any blood on his sword, he had probably been hiding somewhere, which would explain why he still looked so energetic. He was the Knight Grey Co Aldo, a veteran of the battlefield who rose through the ranks. In Pina's knight order, most of the knights were nobles. Since the knight order didn't have any real battle experience, such veterans were the real core of the unit. The path to knighthood was narrow for soldiers. However, they would be treated like ordinary officers after they made it through.

Hamilton said with a complaining tone, "Princess, why are we fighting with the marauders here?" It was a bit rude, but she had to say it out loud.

"It can't be helped! I thought the army from the other world would attack Italica! Don't you all agree?" Piña exclaimed.

After completing her investigation of the areas around Arnus, Pina heard some news as she was planning to infiltrate Arnus Hill. She came to this decision because she had more information from the enemy who resides in Arnus hill. Arnus Hill was a lot closer to the capital than the Romalia Mountains. She heard that many scout groups were sent to the Romalia Mountains. But none of them came back. She realized that there must have been a trap set so that no scout group could return.

So, she decided. To concentrate one enemy at once. She can't rip herself two after all.

That's when she heard the news, "A large armed group appeared in Count Formal's territory and is planning to attack Italica.'

After hearing this, Pina thought the army from the other world had finally started their invasion. 'Are they sending out forces to suppress the surrounding territories before laying siege to the Imperial capital?', she thought.

She had to take countermeasures then. For Pina, instead of meaningless reconnaissance, an elegant battle suited her better. She pulled out of Arnus, ordered her knights to head for Italica, while she and her group rushed there in advance. No matter what kind of battle it was, not knowing the scale and battle potential of the enemy would be useless. If the enemy forces were limited, she would defend Italica and attack with a pincer attack with her knights that would arrive later. However, she soon realized the ones are attacking Italica were a marauding band. Most of the members were remnants of the former Coalition Army. In contrast, the head of the clan Formal in charge of the city's defenses was just eleven. She couldn't command in battle, and morale was at its lowest.

Pina was disheartened, but she couldn't stand idle and watch the bandits ravage the city. So, she revealed her identity to the clan and forcefully took over command of the Countess' soldiers in defense of Italica.

"If we can hold for three days, my knights will be here," Pina said.

To be honest, they might arrive even later than that. But the citizens and the countess' troops believed in Pina and fought with all they had. The enemy might be the remnants of a defeated army, but they were former soldiers and proficient in attacking fortresses.

The city didn't fall, but the gate that was supposed to be solid was destroyed, granting the enemy entry. With the help of the citizens and militia fighting with their farm tools, they survived the first day, but it felt like a defeat.

They had lost too much. The small number of troops decreased, and the courageous ones of the militia fell in battle. What remained were casualties and exhausted soldiers. Just one day was enough to plummet the morale of the soldiers and citizens to rock bottom. Pina couldn't think of anything to raise their spirits. That was how her first battle ended.

Scene Change: Fortress-35:

The Sorcerous Empire paid close attention to the safety of its troops. After all, the people of the Sorcerous Empire were the foundation and holders of the pillars of the government structure. Of course, the Sorcerous Emperor and his vassals could easily rule over their lands without people. Still. Without them, the Empire would be utterly deserted. Without them, there would be no trades neither any advancement. Thus, the Sorcerous Emperor kept them as his vassals. If his vassals shown their worth. The Sorcerous Emperor Ainz Ooal Gown showered them with miracles and good life.

In cases when an individual worth surpasses its price of losing. What meant death in a given situation. The Supreme Beings even blessed the person either transforming him or her into a heteromorphic being. Such as granting the individual eternal life or extended their life span and giving back their youth. Of course, the one remained Supreme Beings do not force such things. It was the individual choice if he, she or it accepted the gift. If not, the person could ask for another miracle. For example, resurrecting a deceased person or wealth beyond belief in some cases.

In another word, the Empire's policy was: Work hard for the Empire's, respect others, and you will be rewarded with miracles beyond your imagination. But, slack off, act disrespectfully towards others and betray the trust of the Supreme Beings, and thousands of deaths will not save you from their wrath. This was a simple yet working policy in the Empire.

The Sorcerous Empire and the Supreme Being cared about their citizens. Thus, when they were deployed abroad, a strong defensive impenetrable base camp was created. With that base as their stronghold, they would have a refuge during an emergency, and they could withhold against superior forces easily while either one of the high-level vassals of Nazarick or even one of the Supreme one came to take care of the attacking force. In the new world, 34 impregnable fortresses were built. That is why the fortress that was built in Romalia Mountain was named Fortress-35.

Contrary to the old military view which thought little of an individual life, they were now used to carrying out disaster relief missions to save people. Moreover, the Sorcerous Empire's paid more attention to defending the Empire's citizens than its predecessors. Besides, military training was provided to enable civilians to protect themselves.

Furthermore, on the other side of the Gate was their homeland and the realm that the remaining Supreme one inhabited and ruled over. In other words, defending the Gate was the main reason why the Sorcerous Empire expedition army was here, and the other was to punish the invaders for their sacrilegious act. In another name. 'SEEF' was the nickname as many soldiers called the expedition force.

By using both political and military methods, they were to conquer, secure the land surrounding the Gate and show the invading Empire to not mess with the Sorcerous Empires. This was the mission of the SEEF. Mapping the land surrounding the Gate by taking aerial pictures and deploying scouts was also part of their plan.

If the Saderan Empire will not bow before the Sorcerous Empire's and compensate it for the act of treachery towards the Sorcerous Emperor. Then Sorcerous Empire will either conquer it using either force or political methods. Or completely burn down the Saderan Empire to the ground leaving nothing but ashes then salting the Capital City ground with salt. Like the Romans did after they destroyed Carthage in BC 149.

Of course, the Sorcerous Emperor rather used the resources than dispose of them this way. His vassals known him as a wise Emperor who plans was uncomprehendingly complicated what simple mortal beings mind could not comprehend. After all, he was respected and mentioned in the books like the God of Foresight, Wisdom, and Death and the patron of the Magic casters in the New World.

The fort was not a hastily constructed field fortification of dirt or sandbags, but rather, it was built with reinforced enchanted stone blocks, to make it a permanent defensive structure. It had been about 4 weeks since the SEEF took over the land around the Gate. After working tirelessly for several days and nights, Romalia mountain had become an impregnable fortress. Strong dimensional locks were made inside the romalia mountains and gates so that no one could do surveillance or teleportation magic.

The chapel of the Supreme Beings was already built and numerous soldiers made their plea to their patron gods. Each of them of course, respected and worshiped all of them evenly. But they asked the blessing for their patron gods to protect them from harm or bring them good fortune. Each Supreme Beings had its day in the calendar where the practice of the religion of Supremist celebrated the given Supreme being.

In the Empire, one was freed to practice the religion of their choice. Everyone worshiped whoever they wanted, so long as it does not cause harm or forces other denizens of the Empire to change their life. Every religion that was said to have hurt or repress others was banned with excellent efficiency. Destroying it by its roots, preventing it from blooming and corrupting others with its harmful effects.

Strangely, Ainz always refused that they are gods. And for this, the people worshiped them even more. Saying, 'Such a humble approach from the Supreme Beings!' After a while, it became quite an annoyance and one of them simply let the people think what they want.

Beelzebub was looking out of the castle from his office when two men entered his office, one was Ragnarok. The other one looked like a 60-year-old man. He had an eye patch in his left eye, black hair, and a black mustache. he wore the same outfit as Ragnarok, the only difference being that there was less of a star in her outfit.

"Ah, how's King Bradley."

"I'm fine Beelzebub Sama. Ainz Sama sent me to take care of the base in your absence."

"OK"

"Big Brother, then we need to go now."

After a while

Beelzebub and Ragnarok were approaching the gates of the castle, where expeditions were waiting for them. Then a man came to them. He has white hair, He is wearing red full body armor. He was 7 feet tall. He is the son of Demiurge andZesshi Zetsumei. El Cortador. He was also the head of the Royal Guard.

(During the invasion of the Slane Theocracy, Zesshi was fascinated by Demiurge's strength and proposed marriage to her. Demiurge is also impressed by Zesshi's strength, and he agrees to marry her. So that they can give birth to a strong baby. That will serve Nazarick's.)

(Basically, the Royal Guard's main job is to protect the royal family and all the important people in the Sorcerous Empire. Since their job is to protect all special people, they also have a lot of advanced technology.)

"Ah El, met a long time later.?"

"Yes My prince, We can go on the expedition now, everything is ready."

"OK"

Scene Change Italica:

You're here at last!" Pina shouted with joy.

The sound of something hitting the ground with a dull thud caught her ears. Opening her eyes, which were previously closed, Pina saw Rory, the Elf, the mage, and his companion looking at a man who was collapsed in front of the door. His eyes had rolled up in his head, and he had lost consciousness. Immediately, the three of them stared coldly at Pina.

Gulping, Pina muttered, "Could it be… that… that was my fault?"

Her answer came from the whole group. The white-clad mage, the black-clad priestess, and blue-eyed Elf nodded as one.

Itami recovered consciousness after a moment. "Owie," He said as he rubbed his chin while opening his eyes. It was then that he realized the face of Rory now filled his field of vision. Her black hair grazed across Itami's face. It was a little prickly.

He heard Sergeant-Major Kuwabara trying to reach him through the radio and pressed the switch on his lower chest. "Lieutenant, are you okay? I was worried." Kuwabara said.

"Kind of, yeah. I passed out for a bit." He replied in a lazy, slow tone. It seemed his brain had been damaged.

"If you had waited any longer, I would have ordered our guys to burst in." The Sergeant Major said.

Being able to avoid an unnecessary battle was a form of happiness. It would be terrible if they left behind casualties because of this. Kuwabara had waited so long because such thoughts were on his mind. The need to rescue a captured comrade and the need to avoid a needless firefight. It was hard for him to decide which to prioritize.

"I'll contact you again once I figure out what's going on. Stand by for now." Ordered Itami.

"Got it."

Putting his radio away, the Lieutenant stood up. "All right then, who's going to tell me what's going on?" Itami asked, addressing the people around him.

Rory looked at Tuka, Tuka looked at Lelei. Pina then turned her gaze around pleadingly to everyone around her. In the end, they all looked away, worried looks on their faces.

Rory and Lelei knew it was just an accident, so they did not blame Pina.

Was it lukewarm or confused…? Well, the best word for their mood at that moment might be "leisurely."

Scene Change: JSDF base:

To describe the officers of the JSDF Special Region Expeditionary Force Headquarters, most of them were field-grade, and they were heatedly debating with each other. If things went poorly, it might even break out into a fistfight. Hazama looked at his subordinates and thought that they had probably held it in for a long time. Many members of the JSDF Special Region Expeditionary Force were bored and restless. After all, there had been nothing for them to do after they came here. For example, there were the tasks they were doing now, which would be base defense, dispatching small recon teams to gather information for future planning, fine-tuning the unit's operational standards, all of which were primarily administrative. As for base defense, there had only been a few live engagements in total, and the enemy's movements and strength were completely unknown.

So, under normal circumstances, they would maintain perimeter security, build up the base, or maintain their equipment. In the end, responsibility for defending the base was given to the 5th Combat Group, while the offensively-oriented 1st and 4th Combat Groups repeated their combat drills day after day in the base. By the way, the 2nd and 3rd Combat Groups were not on this side of the "Gate," while the 6th Combat Group and beyond were not fully formed yet.

At present, the Ministry of Defense was slowly rearranging troop deployments. He cited that there was no need to mobilize everyone since they were not planning a full-scale invasion. The additional mention of the "operational budget" silenced all dissent.

Despite that, these restless men must have been intensely jealous after hearing that a certain recon team had "Encountered a dragon," and "Defeated a dragon and saved innocent civilians." In the homeland, where life was peaceful, and nothing of mention was happening, they could endure it. However, this side of the "Gate" was a battlefield, and the artillery and anti-aircraft artillery (AAA) teams could be proud of their showing in battle, while the infantrymen eagerly discussed the tension before firing and the feeling of pulling a trigger. The engineers, on the other hand, were busy building walls and roads, and their uniforms were constantly stained with mud. And yet, some people were given missions where they could win glory, while they…

Their twisted feelings, combined with the daily boredom of the 1st and 4th Combat Groups' lives, rotted the men's hearts. The officers who led these men had been infected by their restlessness as well. And then, like manna from heaven, Itami's request for reinforcements came in. The personnel who got word of this were overjoyed, and naturally, there was a noisy and boisterous response from the troops.

Itami's request could be summarized like this: Within the past month, a group of deserters from the enemy armed forces' central command has committed acts of plunder, violence, arson, and wanton murder within the Italica domain. Several villages have fallen prey to them, and many lives have been lost.

3rd Recon Platoon was attacked while attempting to visit the town of Italica. The defenders have tried their best to mount a defensive battle, but losses have been heavy. A second large-scale attack is coming soon. At the request of the town's representative, Piña Co Lada, we have accepted the duty of providing security and protection for the local population. Please send help immediately.

The deserters from the enemy's armed forces' central command, also known as "bandits," are heavily armed by the standards of the Special Region. We have confirmed the presence of cavalry, infantry, and bowmen in numbers exceeding 1000. The exact abilities of their mages were unknown. The city could not eliminate these "bandits," and although the local authorities as represented by Count Formal's family have already submitted a request for reinforcements to higher authorities, they will take a minimum of three days to arrive. In other words, this was the perfect opportunity to save innocent civilians in the name of justice, beat the crap out of the bad guys, relieve their restlessness, and gain live combat experience!

The Colonels stomped their leather shoes as they argued fiercely beside General Hazama. Col. Kamo of the 1st Combat Group must have been tired of the endless arguments because he came before Gen. Hazama saying, "Please! Let us go!"

The 1st Combat Group was a combined-arms unit, built around a company of infantry. They were supported by artillery, AAA, tank, engineer, signals, sanitation, weapons, and logistics platoons. "Our 101st Reinforced Squadron is at full strength and mission-ready! We're ready to go at any time!"

Behind Col. Kamo was Ltc. Tsuge. He stood up as well, saying something very troublesome. It was troublesome because he had gathered his men before the order to move out had been given. At this moment they were probably in full battle gear and running laps. "No, if we take our time jogging along the ground, we'll take too long to get there. Under these conditions, only we can get there in time. Commander, please order the 4th Combat Group into action."

Col. Kengun said this as he strode forward. The 4th Combat Group was a helicopter-centric aerial combat group… in other words, an American-style air cavalry unit.

"We've prepared the amplifiers and speakers, as well as Wagner CDs!" Reported Ltc. Youga of the 401st Squadron.

"Very good, Ltc. Youga," Kengun nodded. It seemed Kengun wanted to bring him along too.

"..." Hazama pinched his nose between his thumb and forefinger, rolling it slightly.

What should he do with them, these guys… were they possessed by the spirit of Colonel Kilgore? (Maybe their brains had rotted away...) Even so, he had no choice but to send reinforcements immediately. That being the case, the fast-moving 4th Combat Group would be the best option.

Hazama gave Kengun his orders. Col. Kamo and Ltc. Tsuge, among others, stood still as though bearing mute witness to the end of the world. Conversely, Kengun and Youga were all smiles.

"And what are you going to play?" Youga asked.

"The Warsaw Philharmonic Orchestra, of course." Replied Kengun.

As he watched the two of them leave, Hazama could guess what the two of them would be like in a few hours.

Scene Change Italica:

"Furuta! Put the machine gun over here. Azuma, rifles go there." Kuwabara assigned each soldier their designated Area of Responsibility.

The troopers braced themselves and their Type 64 rifles against the crenelated walls.

They would be firing down from a height of three stories. If the enemy drew close enough, they could start shooting arrows at them, so they designated the range of the bows as the FPL (final protective line), and apart from that, they could pick their ets at their own pace.

There was only an hour left until the sun was completely set. Kuribayashi distributed the night vision gear while Kurokawa was left to mind the vehicles and equipment.

Behind Itami and the others were a large number of citizens carrying farming tools or wooden clubs, waiting uneasily for directions. Just then, Nishina came, holding a phrasebook in one hand with both arms out, making digging motions, and indicating that they should fill the sacks they had with earth and bring them over.

The others were collecting burnable wood, in preparation for a bonfire. The townspeople wondered why they weren't making a fire at night as they worked.

Meanwhile, someone asked a question of Itami, who was looking through his helmet-mounted night vision gear with Tuka and Lelei.

"Eh? Why are we helping the Imperials who should be our enemy? Well, it's to protect the people of this town." Itami replied.

Rory laughed as she heard the answer. "Do you really mean that?"

"Yes, I do." Answered Itami.

Itami's attempt at humor made Rory shrug in a "stop kidding me" way.

To Itami, the Empire was his enemy. If they went by the reasoning of "The enemy of the enemy is my friend," it would not be strange to take the bandits as allies, but Itami did not do that.

Piña was an Imperial Princess defending Count Formal's family. Because of that, she had negotiated with Itami and asked for his help.

Rory was there too, but since she couldn't stand Pina's presence, she left shortly after.

Being the first city where the expedition force will come. It would be quite unpleasant if they had to rebuild it after they killed the bandits. It would be a waste of precious resources.

Officially, they could fight together because they had the same objective of defending Italica.

Even so, Rory still could not understand why Itami was taking orders from an enemy princess. After all, they should have expected that the south gate would become a forlorn hope and the site of a fierce battle.

The battle began when the night was almost over.

The attack was executed just before the sun rose.

In the darkness before dawn, the bandit archers launched flame arrows at the eastern gate.

At the eastern gate was the knight Norma Co Igloo.

Under Norma's direction, the sentries and militia returned fire with their bows. Though they were called militia, they were farmers who had never touched a bow in their lives, and expecting accuracy from them was impossible. However, their arrow fire would suppress the enemy and might even cause a casualty or two. In this way, the battle became an exchange of arrows for a time. The soldiers, the farmers, the broken men who had become bandits, they all screamed and fell.

Between the archers marched footmen in armor and carrying sturdy shields. They pressed close to the wall. Their uniforms were varied while their shields were of different sizes and shapes, which suggested that they were of mixed origins. Against them, the stout grocery shop aunties, and the older children hurled rocks or poured cauldrons of molten lead down on them. These weapons were more efficient and destructive than the inaccurate bows volleys.

Below the walls, the bandits raised their shields in an attempt to protect themselves from the storm of arrows and rocks raining down on them. Even if they were shot by arrows, knocked out by rocks, or burned alive by boiling oil, they did not retreat. They must have wanted to expand the hatred and frustration they felt at not being able to attack Arnus against this place, and they rammed the eastern gate with huge logs.

As for the bandits… for the remnants of the defeated coalition army, the Battle of Arnus was not a battle.

In Arnus. Without having even glimpsed their enemy, without knowing what was going on, their own people had simply fallen over.

That was not battle. No, that was a one-sided massacre.

The hatred for the Empire, which had cruelly kept them in ignorance of their foe, their grudges against the useless commanders who could only urge them forward to their deaths, these feelings and the fear of facing were deeply carved into their hearts. Without commanders, without comrades, without allegiance, without supplies, without food, without their sane mind. They wandered around in the wilderness, and in the end, they had become bandits, without even their homes. Soon, others who had suffered as they did come together, and their numbers had grown until now.

Their respect for the Empire had become an equal amount of hatred and anger, which ruled their souls. This was war, which sliced with swords, killed with arrows, burned with fire, and trampled with hooves. This was war, with its rape, its plunder, its massacres, and its deaths.

Indeed, they had made war their motivation. A personal war, a war that could satisfy them. A simple slaughter, a simple spreading of death. The feelings of stabbing, slashing and being stabbed, bathing in one's opponents' blood, hugging the cold earth as they died. They threw themselves forward to experience this. If not, the war would be over for them.

Several ladders caught on the city wall. The bandits raised their shields and climbed them. Avoiding the arrows that flew at them, the bandits finally reached the top of the wall.

A brave farmer hacked up a ladder even after taking an arrow in the shoulder. The bandits praised his courage as they fired their arrows, cheering for him even as they cut him down. The ladder that had lost its grip on the wall fell with the soldiers to the ground, along with the farmer that had brought it down.

Even the loud crash as it hit the ground brought a round of cheering. It was as if though they had gone mad at a festival, banging on the shields with their swords and screaming in their own tongues. This was the song of praise they sang to Emroy, the god of war.

The madness of battle was their sacrifice to Emroy and the flames of war, fuelled by the souls of the dead combatants, burned fiercely.

The flame arrows struck the clock tower, which burned wildly out of control against the black of the night.

The Apostle, Rory Mercury, was trying to endure it.

She hugged herself to endure it.

Sweat gushed down her forehead.

"Wh-why?"

The spirit of the battle that floated around her infected her flesh and penetrated her spirit.

"Why aren't they attacking here?"

The flames of war scorched her soul and sweet movements flowed from her heart and up her swaying spine.

Her arms and legs moved on their own, and she shook like a priestess who was intoxicated by hallucinogenic drugs.

"Huuu…. haaaa…"

The pleasure flowing out from inside her nearly brought her to climax, and against the black of night, the demigoddess twisted her body so everyone could see her bewitching form.

"Is she alright?"

Itami wanted to go over to Rory since he was surprised by her sudden frenzy, but Lelei and Tuka stopped him.

"It's because she's an Apostle…"

He did not quite understand, but that seemed to be why Rory was so frustrated.

If she was like this while she was so far away from the battlefield, what would she be like in the center of it?

She would probably see everyone as an enemy and slaughter them all. Nobody would be able to stop her, not even herself.

Lelei's explanation just made Itami nervous.

Itami turned to Lelei's. "Can you help her?"

She thought for a moment. "I could, but that will irreversibly damage her connection whatever she is connected to. It would like I cut out your spine and expect you to walk without it as nothing happened."

Itami gulped nervously.

Meanwhile on the other side of Italica.

"Bandits should go attack villages! You're pretty damn bold to attack a town!"

This was Norma the knight's cry. He had discovered that none of the arrows on his side had hit. Even if all the people on his side were amateurs, he could see that the path of the launched arrows had mysteriously diverted from their targets, as though they were protected by the wind.

"Could it be that the enemy can summon spirits?"

Norma drew his sword and cut down a southern bandit who was scaling the wall. The stricken soldier fell off the wall and to the ground.

However, a bearded bandit from the north tried to hack Norma down from behind.

After intercepting it with his sword, the bandits behind continued attacking the militia on defense. They had spears, clubs, morningstars, twin swords, scimitars, and more.

The endless flow of bandits overwhelmed the people of Italica, and they had nowhere to run.

There were some differences in the current situation from Pina's battle plan.

They had expected the first line of defense to fall, but it had fallen too soon. Now the tops of the city wall were a battleground, and the sentries and militia had been forced off.

"We're too weak. That's even when you consider the raised morale."

They'd had expected the enemy to be aware of their schemes and to be on guard for it.

However, in truth, the enemy was not on guard at all.

They attacked and attacked, without any tactics or strategy,

And the militia and sentries who took this attack were caught wrong-footed right from the beginning. Thus, they could not pin down the enemy as Pina had hoped. They could not even inflict significant losses. Still, on the whole, the defenders could fight.

"Reality is different from what you picture in your head." Pina, who knew this, was not surprised that her plan had not turned out exactly as she had hoped.

Even if she felt a vague sense of foreboding, like something stuck between her teeth, Pina followed the plan and moved her main fighting strength from the east gate to the defensive barriers they had built in the interior.

The east and northwest gates were reinforced with a second defensive line of berms and fences.

Although a second defensive line sounded good on paper, they had been built with the assumption that the first line would be overrun. So the first line was essentially a sacrifice.

The militia did not understand this when the battle started. However, now they realized that the people manning the gates had been abandoned from the start.

Their allies stood at the berms and other barriers they built behind them, yet none of them stepped forward to help. They were merely watching them fight and die. How many people would not despair after realizing this?

Some people realized this and gave up, swinging their swords wildly until they soon fell.

"Where are the men in green? Where are our reinforcements?!"

They could not possibly come. After all, they had been stationed at the south gate, as fellow sacrifices.

And so, as the townspeople watched, the gate's last defender finally fell.

Pina had assumed that the bandits would immediately press the attack once they took the east entrance, but the bandits did not do so. They raised their swords and spears and cheered three times. This was a literal sacrifice, after all. After that, the city gates opened slowly, and the cavalry and soldiers from outside entered.

The horsemen dragged the corpses of the militia and sentries who had fallen from the city wall. They began tossing those bodies into the city.

Among them were the bodies of the rock-throwing children and the aunties.

They hurled the severed heads of farmers and merchants at the inner fence.

As the townspeople waited for the enemy to attack, the corpses of their friends, relatives, and family piled up like a small mountain.

The townspeople facing the bandits from behind the fences gritted their teeth against their tears and despair, while the bandits mocked them.

They cursed and insulted them as cowards hiding in a cage.

They toyed with the corpses as though they were puppets.

How could the militia, made of farmers and merchants with weapons, bear to watch this?

"Bastards!"

A hot-blooded young man leaped over the fence, shovel in hand, while others also joined him.

In this way, the battle inside the city was completely different from how Pina had envisioned it, and her battle plan fell apart.

Rory's lewd moaning and physical contortions grew more intense as time passed.

She held her breath and shook her hair. Her body bent backward like a bow. She grabbed her head, on the verge of tears, and her feet stamped the ground.

Her feverish grasping and twisted expression looked like she had been cursed like she was a puppet shuddering on her strings, her body twitching, and her arms flailing.

It was a cursed, mad dance she could not control by her own will, but it was beautiful.

According to Lelei's explanations, the souls of the fallen were passing through her body on their way to Emroy. Although she would be influenced by the personalities of the soul and their fighting spirit, to a demigoddess like her, they were like an aphrodisiac.

Just giving into this frenzy would be easy, but she couldn't just give in, or rather, she was not allowed to give in. The heat and anxiety burning through her chest were making her suffer.

"No, no, nooo! I'll go crazy if this goes on!"

You, watching from behind, whispered, "Dammit. I'm hard."

"Shut up, man, so am I."

Although neither of them was into children, Rory's moaning must have made them think of something pleasant. The voice from Rory's shuddering body was just that seductive.

As expected, Kuribayashi whispered, "This is bad, right?" Tuka covered her blushing face, while Lelei's was a picture of calm indifference.

Itami's sigh was his answer.

It would seem both sides had forgotten this place. There was no sign of the enemy, nor were there any messages from their allies. Thus, they had no way of knowing what was happening at the east gate.

The reinforcements from Arnus should be here, and they needed a forward observer to guide their attacks, so he decided to send someone over.

But Rory could not bear it any further.

She jumped down from the three-story-high city wall and darted toward the east like a rabbit.

Meanwhile, Beelzebub, Ragnarok, and the Royal Guards were walking down a road. The first of these movements was 600 Death Knights. There were ten 9th Generation Knightmare frames 20 meters away from Death Knights. Beelzebub, Ragnarok, and El were then surrounded by 100 A.C.H. Then there were the Royal Guard's 500 infantry and 500 cavalries. The Royal Guards soldiers wore blue-colored-full-body armor. Their armor is made of Adamantine. All Royal Guard soldiers have Power Weapons. All of them had the symbol of Touch me in their armor. The symbol of Touch me is used as the flag of the Royal Guard.

"Look at this city there seems to be an attack," Beelzebub said.

"Yes, this is Italica. Have the Saderan Empire troops attacked there! So we can't gather more information about them!" Said Ragnarok.

"My prince, what should we do?" Cortadorsaid.

"We can't let the city be destroyed. All the Knightmare frames must fly quickly to resist the enemies and the rest of the army must move quickly. We can't let any more people die." Beelzebub said.

With that, the Royal guards hastened their charge.

They were in the city range, and in approximately one minute the first rider will reach the first bandit who was on the walls. Ragnarok looked to his brother. "Big Brother, Uncle Demiurge always said the first impression is the most important thing." He smiled as he activated the audio broadcasting item that magically broadcasts whatever music he chooses or even his voice if he needed it. He activated it and used it to play the entrance music that he found in the archives.

After he had finished with it, he unsheathed his sword and ordered the soldiers to hasten their charge.

Insert Music: march of the templars (Legenda em latim)

Meanwhile, in the city, the battle raged. The Knightmare frames reached the walls of Italica in an instant. These are the Super V.A.R.I.S. (Variable Ammunition Repulsion Impact Spitfire) fired at the robbers. 4 Knightmare frames landed on the ground and began attacking the robbers with MVS (Maser Vibration Sword). The robbers were not only committing genocide, their bodies were being smashed to pieces. A Knightmare frame in the sky fired several lasers at the robbers. The bodies of the robbers who were hit by the laser attacks turned to ashes and dust.

The ground was strewn with corpses and bodies and remains, and the stone floor was dyed a reddish-black by dried blood, and the brighter red of freshly-spilled blood flowed from friend and foe alike.

Then the back guard of the bandits heard as a song starts to play everywhere and nowhere at once.

That was why they did not hear the distant sound that thundered through the air.

A war song. Women's singing rang through the sky, accompanied by drums, trumpets, and violins.

At this moment, time stood still.

It stood still when she leaped over the berms, the fences, and landed on the ground.

She knocked over men and horses, friend and foes, and cleared a space around her.

In that instant, everything stopped.

Under the force of that impact and its destructive power, all sound vanished, and the clamor of battle faded away. In its place, they heard the sound of trumpets and as numerous horses with otherworldly neigh charge in the direction of the gate.

Everyone's eyes were fixed on the black object that had appeared before them.

It was a girl in jet-black priest's clothing, edged with lace.

He had a halberd that cooled the human spine...

She raised her head, and her mad eyes looked forward. A radiant silver glow limned her hair.

At that moment, as the demigoddess smiled mockingly while the horns blew, the top of the east gate caught fire.

The bandits scattered, like a swarm of fleeing spiders. However, whether on foot or mounted, none of them could escape.

The bandits, caught in the middle of their burning, killing, and pillaging, had the tables turned on them, and they fell to the ground after being hit by the spells. Stamped down by the various mounts of the Royal Guard or killed by the Death Knights raising the fallen again in the process as low-level zombies.

A brave man managed to nock and loosed an arrow at them, but the arrow fired into the sky had little force. Even if they hit the Knightmare frame but the arrows fell swiftly, without any power.

Italica's city gate was wreathed in crimson flame, and the sun that rose into the sky filled the world with heat and radiance.

The mounted Pina, who was pressing her throat as she shouted orders, suddenly lost her voice and stared mutely at the tragedy unfolding before her.

She watched the metal giant with their energy wings soaring through the sky that they owned.

The first thing one would think of when one mentioned airborne troops were obviously the Dragon riders. But what Pina saw could not have been possible, but a far more terrible thing. Dragon riders were efficient and elegant as once. But this was entirely another level.

It was a symphony of death. She had heard all sorts of music during her courtly life, but Pina had never before heard such a beautiful yet stately display. Horns, trumpets, bassoons, and the voice of the singer thundered across the battlefield with incredible volume, playing an accompaniment to a massacre.

Pina shuddered, as though she had been stabbed in the back by a sword of ice. In an instant, everything had been destroyed by absolute brutality and precise movements that nothing could resist. Her emotions, positive and negative, blended within her and shook both her body and soul. Then she saw the horror on the ground like the undead-looking horrifying creatures, the winged metal giant, the soldiers in black uniform, and the Blue armored soldiers continued their massacre. The young Princess never saw such an efficient yet terrifying scene, and she will surely have nightmares after this night for a long time.

Pina's mind and soul were battered by the carnage on all sides assaulting her every sense.

She eventually concluded that humanity was worthless, meaningless, and powerless.

Until now, all the foes she had met had been physically massive beings.

However, this was a mistake.

She could not look them in the eye, yet she could not tear her eyes away.

Pina was defeated by the melancholic orchestra what apparently she heard from everywhere and nowhere. Her pride, her status, everything about her which had worth was denied in an instant.

She did not know what the words meant, but she understood their meaning.

"Oh, the minuscule humanity!"

"Oh, the tragic and powerless humanity!"

"What of your power and authority? All those things you pass down through the generations, we shall destroy in the blink of an eye, like so!"

Pina wept as she felt the demonic disdain. At the same time, she knew there were powerful beings that far exceeded herself.

Powerful beings.

Radiant beings.

What welled up in her heart was respect. Respect and fear.

And there was despair, which such awesome entities were so far removed from her.

"Crap! Rory, she — she's charged into the middle of the enemy!"

As an otaku, Itami was in awe of Rory's strength as the Rory of them sliced through the masses.

Itami jumped off the truck and ordered, "Fix bayonets" while he applied his bayonet.

Kuribayashi and Tomita fixed their bayonets as well, tapping them to make sure they were secure.

They looked at each other. Their firing selectors were switched from "SAFE" to "AUTO." He told them, "Don't split up," and then they advanced.

However, surging ahead of the rest like a cannonball was Kuribayashi.

Itami and Tomita muttered, "Cheh, that stupid woman" and then sprinted as well, determined not to be left behind.

"Forward, charge!"

They locked onto their targets, advanced a few steps, and fired.

Another few steps, and then they were shooting from the hip.

They repeated the maneuvers they had learned in training.

Several bandits fell amidst sprays of blood then spotted they saw huge metal robots in the middle of the battlefield. They were all surprised. Because it is not possible to have such a robot in this world and the scientists of their world could not make such a robot. And such robots are only seen in various science fiction movies.

Ahead of them was Rory, wielding her halberd in a dance of death. She swung, spun, cleaved her foe's shield apart, and then knocked him down. She did not seem worried at all, and her movements were relaxed. However, the bodies were piling up around her.

Rory jumped towards a Knightmare frame attacking it with all her might. She didn't know what these things were, but she thought they were very powerful.

But the Knightmare frame resisted Rory's attack with his hand and a small energy burst on Rory. Rory's body shattered and fell around.

The soldiers of the J.S.D.F who were watching all this stood cold. Because they heard that Apostle is a powerful god in the Rory Special Region. And they saw Rory's superhuman strength.

Another reason is that this robot used Energy Burst. They were amazed at the kind of technology that exists in this world. Itami only hoped his reinforcements would arrive soon and these are not their enemies.

The Italica citizens and guards in the middle of the fights found that the enemy attack had suddenly weakened. After looking around, they saw Itami and the company.

" The Men in Green are here! " As they shouted these things, they regained their discipline and began helping each other to fight. After that, they heard the sound of explosions and the blaring of the trumpets.

Meanwhile in the choppers of the JSDF.

The three helicopters, one AH-1 Cobra leading and two UH-1s behind it raced through the brightening sky.

"Col. Kengun! 5 minutes to the objective!"

Ltc. Youga said, "According to the report from 3RCN (3rd Recon Team), the east gate is currently engaged. For safety's sake, we should approach from the east and wipe out the enemies at the gate. We also got reports from strange armored undead forces under the gates."

The soldiers in the chopper looked at each other and started to whisper.

Kengun nodded in approval, and said, "Take care of it, Ltc."

The men in the helicopter cabin loaded the magazines for their rifles.

"Two minutes!"

As Youga said that, he pressed the button on the amplifier.

He turned the volume to its maximum, and then pressed the "play" button.

The sound of horns rang out.

The light sounds of woodwinds raced through the air like a Pegasus, and the main theme commenced with the blaring of the trumpets.

This was a song written in honor of the eight Valkyries.

One of the troopers who had finished loading his rifle placed his helmet between his legs. His curious comrade asked him:

"Why does everyone sit on their helmets?"

"So we don't get our balls blown off!" The soldiers yelled in unison.

Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha!

Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha!

Haha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha!」

Aboard the helicopters, a trooper placed the blade of his rifle's front sight into the middle of the rear sight's aperture and centered the bandit's head in his sight picture. He factored in the speed of the helicopter and the movement of the bandit as he aimed.

"Proper aim, proper posture, proper cheek weld, don't snatch the trigger…" As he muttered this to himself, he adjusted the 2.7kg weight of the rifle in his arms.

He fired three times.

His right shoulder absorbed the recoil, and the lack of a need to recover the cartridges was oddly relaxing.

Usually, they would be under strict orders to keep an eye on where all their rounds (or parts thereof) went, but now the empty casings fell to the floor of the helicopter, and eventually out onto the bodies of the bandits.

The muzzle of the rifle did not shine, veiled as it was in thick black smoke.

The warriors' bodies became sacrifices for the flames of war, which blazed brightly.

And then, the attack helicopter appeared, breaking through the clouds of smoke that obscured the sky.

Their sheer majesty awed the people watching. They raised their heads to gaze upon the iron Pegasus that had descended from the heavens.

As though they had been waiting for Itami's retreat, the 20mm rounds, fired at a rate of 680 to 750 rounds per minute, chewed the enemy into mincemeat.

The Cobra descended as it fired. This was the final blow.

The flames of war blazed, and the torrent of shells destroyed everything.

Before long, the Gatling gun stopped. The sound of the trumpets had faded away, and in everyone's ears was the sound of the helicopters' propellor blades. All that remained were wisps of Gunsmoke.

The UH-1J hovered in mid-air.

They saw 6 robots about 6 meters tall below. They were surprised to see it, but they were shocked to see strange and terrible creatures. They saw them as a threat and started firing. Most of the cavalry of the Sorcerous Empire was already in the city. The Sorcerous Empire's troops suffered no casualties from the gunfire. The projectile weapons that the JSDF used were not alien to them, and they have been trained on how to fend off such attacks. The Royal Guards activated their Defense Shield and the Death Knights Raised their huge tall shields.

Four Knightmare frames approached Beelzebub and Ragnarok and create a defensive barrier around them.

"Helicopters! They have these!" Said Beelzebub.

"All A.C.H, Bring all the helicopters to the ground. Be careful not to let any enemy die." Ragnarok said.

All the A.C.H went down from their Bicorn. Then they fluttered their wings. Some had wings of eagles, some had angels, some had demons and some had fairy wings. They pulled out a variety of weapons from their storage. Some of the notable weapons are a 2-meter long swords, katanas, heavy machine guns, spears, hammers, axs, etc. Then all the A.C.H flew into the sky.

There was a lot of attack on A.C.H from the helicopters. The A.C.H., whose bodies were much stiffer, were not affected by the bullets. Yes, but the missiles caused some injuries to their bodies, but their regeneration skills helped them recover. They cut off the rotor and blades of the helicopters with their weapons. And captured the helicopters, along with J.S.D.F troops. Every helicopter suffered the same fate, and the JSDF reinforcements and their weapons have been confiscated by the Royal guard and A.C.H.

The Valkyries whose song their heroic song has been silenced by the demons of the Sorcerer Empire. The battle has been fought and the Valkyries have lost their heroic battle. The demons win this time.

Pina stood beside Itami, Tuka, and Lelei, but she had no idea what to say neither what to do. She was out of options. She, her soldiers, the men in the green. Has been surrounded by horrifying creatures, metals giants, and the imposing-looking blue armored soldiers. She guessed they are the ones who the Empire fought against in Romalia Mountains.

Just yesterday, when she had met the men in green, she had ordered them to help her, as though she was in charge.

She had been leaning on a table, elegantly sipping her tea, explaining important matters to them like they were her subordinates. This was how Pina and people like her lived in high society.

Well, maybe yesterday's attitude was not so bad, but it was close enough.

But what about her status today? Was she not one of the tragically defeated?

Indeed, the bandits had been beaten back, and the townspeople were happy to have won and survived. Still, they felt uneasy in the presence of those horrifying creatures.

The mourning and getting over the loss of life and lost family members would take a while. Rebuilding the ruined villages and towns would be a problem too. However, this victory had been won by betting their lives, so it should be celebrated. Mourning alone would not mean anything to the deceased.

In that sense, Pina should have been celebrated, as one of the victors. However, the desolate atmosphere around her was one of defeat.

She did not feel like she had won at all. Moreover, it seemed even the men in green were helpless against the new invaders. As she mused on this wall what was composed of variously raced soldiers, Death Knights, and Knightmare frame. Opened like clockwork and an imposing man with golden irises with vertically split pupils who wore an impressive master-crafted purple armor rode towards her. There was another one to mention next to him, he was wearing a long white coat. He had thick white hair and he looked like a handsome young man. But the thing that Pina was most afraid of was her eyes. Causing Pina to feel death, fear, despair.

The winners were not Rory, Itami, and the JSDF. Of course, Pina has been around for a long time. Can't see Rory, but now they don't have time to think about it. Of course, the JSDF played an important part in the victory, and they helped her greatly. Still, they had been beaten down by the newly coming invaders.

These enemies who had taken control of Arnus, who rode iron Pegasi, who held magic in their hands which could scorch the earth into a roaring inferno, who had exterminated in an instant those bandits that had troubled Pina. Had failed. These demons had beaten them.

If they decided to turn their fangs on Pina and Italica, what could she do? The Empire's Princess Pina and the young Countess Myui of House Formal would become prisoners, and the enemy would take the Empire's breadbasket.

What about the townspeople? Could they resist? No, they would welcome the invaders with open arms. After all, it was the Sorcerous Empire forces and the JSDF who had won the day. Talk of the "Men in Green" had already spread from the mouths of Coda's villagers.

The common folk were simple and did not understand governance. They would be hooked by anything that benefited them, even if it was only temporary.

"If they demanded this town in exchange… I might have to kneel in front of them and beg for their mercy, and for them to release myself and Countess Myui."

"Me, begging an enemy for mercy? A proud Imperial Princess? Pulling on a man's sleeve like some common whore in an alehouse?" Pina gritted her teeth.

If she went down on her knees and kissed their toes, they might actually do it. She would have to accede to any humiliating requests they had.

Pina fearfully awaited the demands of these newly came majestically armored persons who from his look was a noble of his people.

She had planned to wait. However, in the next few moments, her vision regained its color, and the sound from around her called her back to her senses. The First Son of Ainz prepared himself. He cleared his throat.

"I am Beelzebub Ooal Gown, the First Prince of the Sorcerous Empire. My father Ainz Ooal Gown the Sorcerer Emperor. Is there anyone who I can negotiate with?" he asked as he looked around.

Being no other choice, the Imperial Princess stepped out. Seeing Pina's beautiful face, Beelzebub suddenly became embarrassed, but she gulped and shook himself back to reality.

"I am Pina Co Lada. The fifth child of Emperor Molt." She introduced herself. "Please state your claims."

"I am Colonel Kengun of the J.S.D.F. State your claims." One of the bound captives stood up.

Beelzebub nodded, and the Royal guards unroped the Colonel and led him near the Princess. He looked at Kengun.

Kengun and Hamilton turned to the Beelzebub. "What's your claims? And where did you come from?"

"A strange structure appeared in Hoburns, the capital of our vassal Holy Kingdom. An unknown force came out of that structure and started attacking the people of the Holy Kingdom. So we came here to conduct the expedition through that strange gate. We learn that the invaders were a nation called the Saderan Empire. " Beelzebub said.

"What another gate!" Kengun said.

"Did you come here through the gate too?" Beelzebub said.

"Yes, we came from a country called Japan. Strange structures also appeared in our capital, Tokyo's central city, Ginza. From that structure, an invading force came out and started attacking our citizens. They also killed and injured many of our citizens.", They have taken many of our citizens captive. " Kengun said.

Pina was convinced that they had come through an open gate between the Romalia Mountains. If the enemies of Romalia and Alnus become one, the empire will never be able to stand. Because the two enemies had the power of the gods.

"I apologize for speaking in the middle. This girl said her father's name was Molt. The members of the invading forces we captured also said their emperor's name e was Molt." Cortadorsaid

Then everyone's eyes went to Pina

Pina panicked when everyone looked at Pina.

"I apologize on behalf of the empire. I will do my best to compensate you and return the citizens. Please give me a chance," Pina said in a panic.

People of the Special Region who heard of Pina were amazed.

"Princess! What are you talking about!" Hamilton said.

"Shut up, I'm doing what I'm doing for the good of the empire," Pina said angrily.

"No civilians of our captured or killed. But many civilians were injured," Ragnarok said calmly.

kengun thought after listening to Ragnarok. Is he lying? Of course, they are the demon, so their citizens will also be the demon. But even then it seems they are more capable of protecting their citizens.

"If you sincerely apologize, we're giving you one last chance," Beelzebub said

Beelzebub gave the empire one last chance because they need time to gather all the information about the empire and this world.

"Thank you so much," Pina said

Very well they gave us a chance. Now I just have to persuade Dad to apologize anyway, or the empire will be destroyed. Pina thought to herself.

"Who attacked the city like that? I don't think it was an empire. Because you were protecting the city." Ragnarok said.

"They are the soldiers who escaped the battle of Alnus. And later they became robbers and attacked in Italica." Pina said

"Ah, We need to apologize to anyone. Your soldiers have cut off the rotor and blades of all our helicopters. But our soldiers attacked you first. In fact, our troops panicked. You can tell if you have any demands." Kengun said.

"I ask you to relay a request for a trade agreement with the JSDF and to do not attack us again without provocation. Or we may have to retaliate the transgression with a force that will shake the very heavens. We will burn the very skies and ground under your feet. And it will not matter if you pray to any deity. Because of no one. Not even the gods can save your world if you march to war against us. Consider this not a warning. But a promise Colonel. We have no intentions of war only if your people force us." Beelzebub said.

Kengun nodded uneasily. Inside he felt the young heir threats, not just empty words. "That's manageable."

" We are willing to compensate your helicopters," Ragnarok said

"Thank you"

Hamilton opened her mouth. "What about Italica? What do you want?"

"Italica will be our protection for the time being. We will not interfere with the usual town life but help with the restoration. Italica will become a free city. Free from the influence of the Saderan Empire, the JSDF, and the Sorcerous Empire. It will become a mid-ground to the three sides. A ground for negotiation."Beelzebub said

Hamilton clenched her fists and gritted her teeth. "So you occupying the city."

"In a sense yes and no. We will not interfere in the city's inner life as I said. We are just protecting the city until it recovers. Of course, for the protection, we request a trade agreement, and tax exemption Consider this the goodwill of the Sorcerer Emperor towards the denizens of Italica. But every military operation against the city. Against the Sorcerer, Emperor soldiers and the denizens of the Sorcerous Empire will trigger heavy retaliation." Beelzebub said.

Hamilton sighed in defeat. Being no choice and completely outgunned. She agreed. "So be it."

Kengun and Beelzebub nodded from a rigid posture.

Kengun continued.

"We understand that labor is the key to Italica's recovery. Although that is your practice, We hope that you can treat them humanely."

Beelzebub nodded. "Of course, that's only natural. The Sorcerous Empire's laws prohibit such things. Except if the person is a terrorist or religious fanatic who won't restrict other rights to exercising their freedom. There is a clear border to let reasonable things flow or allowing chaos is spreading in the country without stopping. We had to draw the line somewhere. Absolute freedom without rules only leads to chaos."

Kengun nodded and looked to Hamilton.

"They don't quite understand the term 'humanely'..."

Lelei was working hard. The fact that sweat was dripping from her forehead onto her expressionless face only underscored that.

She tried to explain in her own words, and said, "Like you would treat a friend, relative, or acquaintance." However, Hamilton frowned at that.

"Would our friends and relatives attack peaceful towns and villages, to murder and plunder?"

Pina called out to keep Hamilton, who was shouting angrily, under control.

"All right, then don't treat them too cruelly. You played a big part in this victory, so we can let you have that."

Hamilton relaxed after Pina opened her mouth.

A few moments later

There were many people in the room. Looks like there are three parties here and they are discussing something. The parties are Saderan Empire, Sorcerous Empire, and J.S.D.F.

Pina sat down in Count Formal's seat since she was representing him. Beside her, Countess Myui sat between her butler and the head maid.

Beelzebub is sitting on the other side of the table. Behind Beelzebub stood El Cortadorand several A.C.H. Ragnarok did not attend the meeting. Because he was touring the city.

On the other side of the table was the commander of the J.S.D.F.

His belly was fat, but from the wrinkles in his forehead, he was a grizzled veteran. The man's forthright, open attitude suggested he was confident in himself.

Behind him stood Itami, Kengun, Rory, Tuka, and Lelei.

Rory was immortal. So her body was slowly recovering from being crushed and some time ago her body was fully recovered.

The speaker was Hamilton, but the one who would negotiate, make proposals, and make the final decision was Pina herself.

Pina carefully considered her words to make sure of the circumstances. But in a situation like this, what kind of agreement could they come to?

She beckoned Hamilton with a finger, and Hamilton, with bandages on her forehead and the rest of her, came close.

"Ah, Your Highness, you've come to, I was worried."

"Forgive me; I made you worry."

After that, they decided to go through the details again to make sure.

"Hm. Then, I would like to clarify the conditions with you."

Hamilton recited them like she was reading out an epic poem.

After reading the contents of the parchment, Hamilton handed it to Pina.

She read it a few times. They had not come off badly. Or rather, these were actually pretty good terms. Besides the fact, Italica will slip out of the influence of the Empire and became a free city in the time being. She had no other choice. Either she accepts it, or they will be wiped out. She already knew it is the victor who dictates not the defeated in war.

Pina had confidence in her ability to read people, but Hamilton Uno Ro's negotiating skills were beyond her expectations. How had she managed to make warriors with such incredible fighting power give up their victors' rights? Magic? Or had she used her feminine wiles during the negotiations?

No matter what, if the diplomats heard about this, they would try and headhunt her. Hamilton's negotiation skills would be critical for the Knight band.

Still. With the loss of Italica, the Empire will be severely weakened. After all, The city was an important trade center. But at least they gained significant ground for negotiations. As the saying goes. You can't win without sacrificing something.

Pina thought about these things, then signed the end of the parchment, and then put a blob of wax on it before stamping it with her signet ring.

Beside her, Countess Myui signed and sealed it with great formality.

Hamilton rolled out the parchment before Kengun and Beelzebub.

First Beelzebub signed the contract. After him. Lelei and Tuka had read and confirmed the terms to the Colonel and he signed it in Kanji.

The Colonel read the contract between the Sorcerous Empire and Japan. Strangely his copy of the contract was written by perfect Japanese writings. He found it strange, but he dismissed it. Saying. He will worry about it later.

He signed

Rory turned away with an unhappy expression on her face, while Itami stood dumbly, with a black right eye.

Every party got a copy of the treaties that were subjected to them.

The terms of the treaty took effect immediately, the soldiers of JSDF has been released, and so the 401st Squadron flew back to base.

The troops of the JSDF who participated in the battle will surely write the interesting thing in their reports. What may be the officers who will read the reports most likely not believe? But this was to be expected after how easily the reinforcements have been taken care of by the forces of the Sorcerous Empire.

The townspeople took some time out from the post-battle cleanup to watch them soar into the sky, waving their hats at them until they vanished from sight. They had been helped by the strange creatures. First, they were afraid of them. But after they had been seen they are efficient and only helping them. The people of Italica were glad their saviors were so generous.

Lelei, Tuka, and Rory went to the home of the trader Ryudo to discuss business.

Being exempted from taxes was a huge selling point for any merchant, so the girls were welcomed by all of them. Things were made even simpler since Master Kato had introduced them previously.

They completed the sale of 200 dragon scales for 4000 silver denarii and 200 gold sinks.

However, claiming those 4000 denarii in liquid currency was impossible. Ryudo had tried his best, but House Formal's territory had just been ravaged by bandits, and trade in Italica had ground to a halt. Also, the Empire did not supply its outlying regions with a lot of currency, so obtaining even 1000 denarii would be a big challenge.

In the end, the remaining 2000 was paid in credit guarantees, while the remaining 1000 was written off as a discount. In exchange, however, Lelei asked Ryudo for information.

This information pertained to the markets in the region and beyond, and she requested him to investigate the prices of certain items in various markets carefully.

Ryudo laughed as he heard this request.

Unlike the buying and selling of regular citizens, the information on the prices of merchants was an important weapon in price negotiations. No trader would ask so bluntly about them, nor would anyone answer so readily.

However, since Lelei was an outsider, she knew nothing about what things cost. Because she knew nothing, she wanted this information, but broader in scope, with more details, in exchange for the debt owed.

"One thousand silvers, huh."

Nobody had ever paid so much for information before, but since a price had been named, it was a sale. And the goods were of pretty high quality too.

And so, Ryudo agreed to collect the relevant information from all around.

Ragnarok was walking down a road. Behind him were 4 A.C.H.

Now I found out the empire is the most powerful nation in the world and the empire is very arrogant and oppressive. And there are twelve gods in this world. Each deity has an apostle, and an apostle named Rory is in the city. Of course, I don't think they are strong. But I can get some information from them. Ragnarok thought to himself.

Rory, Tuka, and Lelei came out of Ryudo's house. Rory saw Ragnarok on the street. Then she came and stood in front of Ragnarok.

"What do you want?" Ragnarok said.

"I can feel a lot of negative energy from you. So, you are the boy that Emroy sama said about." Rory said

"Then what's your name Rory!"

"You know me. Are you a god on the other side? Your negative energy is almost equal to the negative energy of Emroy sama. I challenge you to fight me."

"Okay, if you answer me some questions, I'm willing to fight."

"Okay tell me what do you want to know?"

"Who opened the gate to our world? I don't think it was an empire."

"It was Hardy. She incited the empire to attack"

"Hardy!"

"Yes, she is the goddess of the underworld. She occasionally opens the gate to another world for pleasure. She is a Devil. No god likes her. She even tried to kidnap me a few times."

"Who is the most powerful god?"

"Of course Emroy sama" Rory said proudly.

"Okay then we need to start fighting now"

Rory and Ragnarok got ready for battle.

"You go back?" Ragnarok ordered the A.C.H.

Many people gathered to watch them fight.

Rory attacked Ragnarok with his halberd. But Ragnarok tore Rory to pieces in an instant with his sword.

Seeing this, all the people became stunned. It was as if they could not believe their eyes.

"Okay then we can go now"

Ragnarok and A.C.H left from there.

---

I took King Bradley from the Fullmetal alchemist brotherhood anime.Give your opinion about what the next chapter should look like. Let me know if I make a mistake. I will try my best to correct it next time.