Chapter 396

The Holy City, which had been peaceful for over a year.

As a certain ‘date’ approached, the air in the Holy City began to fill with a rapidly increasing tension.

The elite Holy Knights and the troops stationed in the Holy City also moved in perfect order.

Towards the impregnable defensive lines of the east, west, south, and north city walls.

“The highest alert order has been issued. Everyone, stay sharp. Understood?”

“Yes, sir!”

The faces of the Holy Soldiers were also taut with discipline.

Because they knew that a serious battle might break out.

Each city wall was being strictly guarded under a 24-hour alert posture.

Not even a mouse could get in.

* * *

“Yes, that way.”

Alfred, the Masked Prince and current student council president, said, gesturing with his hand.

With his powerful rival, Princess Oscar, having left the academy, he had been elected student council president without much difficulty.

“Ugh.”

Ethan, following the direction of his gesture, moved a heavy iron fence by himself.

It was indeed an incredible strength, befitting his nickname, the Human Ogre.

“Hah, I can’t get used to this.”

His twin sister, Emily, who was watching, sighed and shook her head.

Originally, Alfred, the leader of the Kingdom Faction, and they, staunch supporters of the Princess Faction, were, if not enemies, at least on bickering terms.

The sight of that annoying masked man giving orders and Ethan obediently cooperating was something unimaginable in the past.

So, it was understandable that she couldn’t get used to it.

However.

“Hehe, isn’t it a beautiful sight? I’m truly happy to see such genuine harmony.”

Someone said something that sounded like it came from a flower garden.

Of course, that was Emily’s thought; in reality, it was a very normal thing to say.

Emily couldn’t bring herself to say anything to the friend who had said such a thing.

Because she was a rare species that seemed to infect others with her purity and kindness just by being nearby.

“Yes. There must have been conflicts and difficulties between them. But I think that was all part of the process of understanding each other. We are not enemies, but competitors in good faith, and fellow students walking the same path towards graduation.”

Camian added to Annette’s words.

This guy again…, Emily thought, but she didn’t know.

That Camian had genuinely wished for the harmony of his classmates since his first year.

“Her Majesty the Empress must have wished for the same sight as well.”

An misjudgment that would have been unthinkable for the former Empress.

But the current Empress was quite different.

She was suppressing her true nature and bringing out only the qualities of a wise ruler.

So, it was difficult to dismiss Camian’s words as mere delusion anymore.

Anyway.

“Ugh.”

If even the Empress’s name was mentioned, Emily had nothing more to say.

“Why is that talented younger sister over there playing around?”

Alfred said with a smirk at that moment.

“W-What?”

Emily glared at him immediately.

But Alfred had a definite weapon.

“Aren’t you ashamed in front of your juniors?”

“Ugh?”

That was right.

When the 4th years took the lead in setting up iron fences at the school gate and building a defensive line, the juniors, seeing their actions, began to move one by one and help with the work.

Actions that moved hearts and called for further action.

“I-I was just taking a short break! I-I’ll do it now, I’ll do it!”

Emily moved, grumbling.

Watching her, Camian let out a chuckle.

Because he knew that even though she spoke like that, she had done her part in preparing for this event.

“B-But, President…”

“What is it?”

“I-Is something really big going to happen?”

A junior asked President Alfred with anxious eyes.

They also knew that the security in the Holy City had become extremely tight recently.

It was impossible not to know if one had eyes and ears.

But it didn’t stop there; the academy was also preparing as if for war, so they couldn’t help but feel anxious.

“What will you do if it does happen?”

“Pardon?”

“Will you fight?”

“W-Well, of course…”

“Then that’s settled.”

Alfred dismissed it as if it were nothing.

Then he raised his voice as if to let the other juniors hear as well.

“Everyone, listen carefully. It’s natural to prepare if there are ominous movements threatening the safety of the academy. But students have no obligation to risk their lives to protect the academy. You can choose as you please. If you want to run, run. If you want to hide, hide. If you want to fight, fight. Therefore.”

Alfred continued.

“Don’t be ashamed at all, and if you choose something other than fighting, come find me later. I’ll tell you where the shelter is.”

Those who had no will to fight back would only be a hindrance.

Both the Saint and Max knew that well.

That was why they had prepared a shelter.

“…”

There was no answer.

Even if they had thoughts, they probably couldn’t answer.

Because they couldn’t help but feel sorry for their seniors, juniors, and classmates who were determined to fight.

Alfred didn’t care and spoke again.

“I trust you all understand. Then I’ll say one more thing. We 4th years, without exception, will fight to protect this academy. Therefore, I don’t want to force you to fight. I’m just asking you to help with the preparations.”

In the end, the last words were the main point.

If one had ears, it was impossible not to understand the meaning of those words.

The juniors, who had been sneakily observing until then, hurriedly stepped forward.

“A-Alright!”

“W-We have to help! Of course, we’ll help!”

And so, the juniors were forcibly (?) mobilized for the work.

The pace of work quickened considerably.

Smiles formed on the lips of the 4th years.

Of course, they felt even more energized.

“Camian.”

“Yes.”

Annette and Camian, who exchanged warm glances, also moved again.

And so, the academy was also doing its best to prepare for the fateful battle to come.

* * *

*Tick, tock.*

The sound of the second hand moving.

Everyone’s gaze was fixed on the clock.

And soon.

*Dong! Dong! Dong! Dong! Dong!*

The sound of the bell, accurately announcing midnight, rang out loudly.

It meant the date had changed.

“Begin.”

The Heavenly Lord’s voice echoed from within the dark curtain.

No answer was needed.

Only action was necessary.

Disaster was dawning upon the world.

* * *

A bone-chillingly cold winter dawn.

Even at that dawn, the lights of Schwarzfeltz were not extinguished.

It was natural.

Because Schwarzfeltz, the city of iron, was the foremost wall protecting the eastern border of the kingdom.

The soldiers, undeterred by the cold, stood guard with a stern attitude.

If time had passed as usual, that day too would have passed without incident.

However.

“…Don’t you hear something?”

A soldier said, tilting his head as if he had heard something.

“What sound? I don’t know.”

“No, I definitely think I hear something.”

“What on earth do you hear…”

It was then.

*Thump, thump, thump, thump, thump!*

An unknown, heavy sound clearly began to be heard from afar.

“W-What? I-Is it real?”

“C-Check, check first!”

The soldier who first heard the sound hurriedly picked up a telescope.

The soldier frantically checked the direction from which the sound was coming.

And.

“M-M-M-M…”

“W-What’s wrong?”

“M-M-Monsters! Monsters! A horde of monsters is rushing towards us!”

“Huuuuh?!”

A soldier let out a horrified groan.

A moment later.

*Clang, clang, clang, clang, clang, clang, clang!*

A loud bell, signaling an emergency, rang out in Schwarzfeltz.

From the crack of dawn, the kingdom’s border was thus thrown into chaos.

* * *

The western border of the Empire.

Marquis Saphia was awake with bloodshot eyes at dawn, when he should have been sound asleep.

Insomnia had set in.

Because a worry had arisen.

The cause was the Empress, who had secretly slipped out of the border without an escort.

If anything happened to the Empress, even by a slim chance, it was as clear as day that the Empire would be thrown into great chaos again.

Marquis Saphia, who was just beginning to enjoy peace as a meritorious subject in the newly stabilized Empire under the Empress’s rule, couldn’t help but be on pins and needles.

“Phew, she said fifteen days, fifteen days. If we wait just a little longer, she will surely return safely.”

Marquis Saphia muttered as if to calm himself.

The world knew that the Empress was a person sent by heaven.

How could anything happen to such an Empress?

Yes, definitely.

Calming himself like that, his mind settled down a bit.

Just as Marquis Saphia took a short, deep breath and was about to finally lie down in bed.

“M-Marquis! Marquis! S-Something terrible has happened!”

A loud, flustered voice, which shouldn’t have been heard at dawn, shook the Marquis’s heart again.

N-No way?

His startled heart felt like it would burst, and the Marquis clutched his chest.

“W-What is it! Come in quickly and report!”

As if waiting for those words, the door burst open.

A very urgent expression.

The Marquis prepared himself mentally.

Ah, Your Majesty… It was a short reign, but I will forever remember you in my heart…

“M-Monsters! A horde of monsters is invading the border! Th-There seem to be hundreds, n-no, even thousands of them!”

“W-What?! A-A horde of monsters?!”

Marquis Saphia shot up.

It wasn’t the bad news he had expected, but should he consider this a relief?

Of course not.

The fact that a horde of monsters had rushed to the border meant that the Empress outside the border was also in danger.

But now was not the time to worry only about the Empress.

He had to defend the border.

He had to protect the people of the Empire from the horde of monsters.

“I-Immediately issue a mobilization order and gather all the forces in the territory!”

“Y-Yes, Marquis!”

The Empire’s border was also thrown into chaos.

That meant.

That both the Kingdom and the Empire, the two great powers, had no time to spare for the affairs of the Holy City.

* * *

“Anything unusual?”

“No, nothing unusual!”

At the inspection by Grant, the commander of the 1st Holy Knights, a Holy Soldier answered with a voice full of spirit.

It was still dawn, before the sun had risen.

When the commander-in-chief of the East Gate defense personally inspected at that dawn, it was impossible for a rank-and-file soldier not to feel his morale rise.

“I see.”

Grant patted the Holy Soldier’s shoulder in encouragement.

“Good posture. Continue to maintain that posture on guard duty.”

“Yes, Commander!”

Grant nodded and turned to go to another place.

It was then.

Grant’s movement momentarily paused.

His face was stiff.

Grant quickly turned around again.

“W-Why, what’s wrong…”

Grant raised his hand, signaling for silence.

And he narrowed his eyes and stared intently into the distance.

Soon.

As if certain of something, Grant uttered briefly.

“They’re coming.”

“Pardon?”

“W-What does that mean?”

The adjutant and Holy Soldiers were bewildered, still not grasping what was happening.

But Grant shouted resolutely.

“Enemies! Sound the alarm and everyone prepare for battle immediately! Hurry!”

“Y-Yes, sir!”

*Clang, clang, clang, clang, clang, clang, clang!*

A loud emergency bell tore through the dawn air.

“G-Get up!”

“Emergency, emergency!”

“Everyone run! You bastards!”

All the defending soldiers who had been taking turns sleeping woke up and rushed to their positions.

It wasn’t just the East Gate.

The West Gate, South Gate, and North Gate as well.

All the impregnable defensive gates protecting the Holy City were put on alert.

Lepheria, the thousand-year-old Holy City.

Finally, the fateful time that would decide life and death had descended upon it.