Chapter 247: Shadows Looming Over Dmitry (1)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 247: Shadows Looming Over Dmitry (1)
A short distance from Dmitry.
In a desolate wasteland completely devoid of human presence, space suddenly warped, and dark mana began to surge.
Whoosh.
The dark mana expanded rapidly.
The energy that stained the surroundings soon coalesced into the shape of a Gate, and a horde of figures poured out from within. Clank, clank. Fully armored soldiers marched forward, their sharp eyes gleaming through the narrow slits of their helmets.
Flutter.
A banner whipped in the wind.
The emblem of a fire-breathing monster—the symbol of Kronos—declared their identity. These were the soldiers of the Kronos Empire.
Anyone witnessing this scene would have been struck with absolute horror.
Normally, spatial warping required a fixed medium like an established Gate, yet the Kronos Empire had successfully forced a warp onto a completely barren plot of land. This was the same method the Shadows of Kronos had used to appear in Valhalla. While it should have been impossible for such a massive force to cross the border undetected, the Kronos Empire had utilized a secret art entirely unknown to the rest of the world.
Clank, clank.
The soldiers continued to warp in.
The once-empty space quickly filled with troops, numbering in the thousands at a single glance. At their head stood a bald man covered in dense tattoos. He watched the soldiers assemble and spoke in a raspy voice.
"What is the status of Dmitry?"
"Everything is proceeding as usual. There are no obvious loopholes in their defense system, but they would never expect a direct attack on Dmitry without us first crossing the northeastern border. Furthermore, Roman Dmitry is still at the Valhalla border. Even if he somehow survives the Shadows' ambush and tries to return, there is absolutely no way for him to make it back to Dmitry in under three days."
"Excellent."
The man, Mystic, smirked.
Imperial soldiers.
For them to bypass the border and launch a direct strike was a blatant violation of Continental Law. The Kronos Empire had absolutely no justification for this. Unlike their intervention in Cairo's civil war, where they at least had a pretext, this was an unprovoked surprise deployment of regular imperial troops straight into Dmitry. This was an entirely different matter from the Shadows infiltrating Valhalla. While everyone knew the Shadows belonged to Kronos, the Empire officially denied their existence, making it difficult to hold them accountable for the assassins' atrocities.
But regular soldiers were different.
The moment they attacked Dmitry, it would be tantamount to an official declaration of war. Kronos's audacity had reached its absolute peak.
Yet, even acting with such utter disregard for the rules, there was no power on the Salamander Continent capable of holding the Kronos Empire directly accountable. If anyone tried, the flames of war would consume the entire continent—an outcome no nation desired. Thus, even though everyone knew Kronos's true intentions, they all chose to turn a blind eye to the truth.
The soldiers finished lining up.
Looking at the massive force filling his vision, Mystic declared, "We attack Dmitry now."
Far away in Valhalla, at the exact moment Roman Dmitry was fighting a life-or-death battle, his homeland was facing a crisis of equal magnitude.
* * *
It was a pitch-black night.
The soldiers of the Kronos Empire appeared without warning. The moment Dmitry's guards spotted them in the distance, Mystic stepped forward and channeled his mana.
Whoosh.
"Lightning Rain."
Mystic's eyes flashed. Mana surged toward the sky as if pouring from his very soul, illuminating the surroundings in a blinding glare.
Flash.
Rumble, crash!
It was the beginning of a disaster.
Proving the sheer, devastating power a mage could wield in a siege, hundreds of lightning bolts materialized in the sky and struck Dmitry's walls simultaneously. It was an overwhelming display of destruction. Under a single 7th Circle spell, the walls should have crumbled into ruins, rendered completely useless.
However, the moment the lightning rained down, bright clusters of light erupted from all directions, expanding into the shape of massive shields.
`[Great Shield]`
`[Great Shield]`
`[Great Shield]`
Giant ethereal shields materialized all along the walls.
It was an incredibly expensive magic defense formation, something rarely seen in ordinary territories. The shields stood firm against the continuous lightning strikes, absorbing the magical energy. Of course, the Great Shields could not completely block the Lightning Rain. Remnants of the lightning slipped through the gaps between the shields and struck the stone, but despite the deafening explosions and immense impact, the walls did not show a single crack.
At the same time, brilliant lights illuminated the top of the walls.
Flash, flash, flash!
"Enemy attack!"
"The enemy has appeared!"
It was an astounding number of magic artifacts.
Inscribed with Light magic, they illuminated the surroundings, turning the pitch-black night as bright as day. Alarms blared loudly. While ordinary territories would have been slow to respond to a surprise attack, Dmitry's soldiers snapped into action, taking their positions atop the walls before the Kronos Empire's forces could even reach them.
It was an astonishing sight.
Mystic was genuinely impressed by the seamless sequence of events.
"I heard Dmitry's defense system was unusual, but to think it was to this extent."
A magic defense formation was a prohibitively expensive technology that cost hundreds of gold coins for a single activation. Yet, not only had Dmitry installed them in dense numbers, but their walls also boasted incredible defensive power, seemingly forged from some extraordinary material. The walls were the work of the Dwarves. Roman Dmitry had established a technological agreement with them, and they had provided significant assistance with structural engineering projects like the fortress walls.
Dmitry was located at the far edge of the northeastern region.
While ordinary people claimed that Dmitry didn't need to worry much about sieges because of its remote, safe location, Roman Dmitry believed that securing their home base was the absolute highest priority. For that reason, he had invested an astronomical sum of money. Preparing for a scenario that might never happen in a lifetime, Roman Dmitry had transformed Dmitry into an impregnable fortress that no one would dare covet.
Their response was incredibly swift.
Although the situation was unfolding differently from what Kronos had intended, Mystic did not lose his composure.
"Struggle all you want. Your end is already decided anyway."
Even if Dmitry's military strength exceeded expectations, the simple fact that Roman Dmitry was absent was more than enough reason to launch this attack.
"Charge!"
"Annihilate the enemy!"
The imperial soldiers rushed forward in unison. It was a terrifying sight to behold.
* * *
Atop the walls, Knight Commander Jonathan raised his voice.
"Second Company, load! First Company, fire! Third Company, load! Second Company, fire!"
Thwip, thwip, thwip!
A barrage of arrows soared into the sky.
The dense rain of steel fell upon the Kronos Empire's soldiers, who quickly raised their shields to block them. Some collapsed forward as arrows pierced through the gaps in their defenses. Trampling over the bodies of their fallen comrades, the Kronos soldiers surged toward Dmitry's walls with ferocious momentum.
It was then that fire mana flared up from various points along the walls.
"Fire Ball."
"Fire Lance."
"Fire Burst."
Boom!
Whoosh!
It was the Phoenix Mages.
Their spells struck the Kronos Empire's soldiers, and physical shields alone could not block the magical flames. Seeing this, Mystic cast a counter-spell. As he conjured a Fog spell, the destructive power of the Phoenix Mages' magic rapidly diminished. Mages were the crown jewel of siege warfare. A single mage was capable of swaying the entire battlefield.
However, Dmitry possessed an existence comparable to Mystic.
"Burning."
Mana boiled. As Felix opened his eyes, fire mana erupted explosively.
"Fire Rain."
Whoosh.
The sky turned crimson.
Fireballs manifested all at once and began to rain down indiscriminately like a torrential downpour. Explosions erupted everywhere. The Kronos Empire's soldiers were left utterly defenseless. Mystic tried to deploy defensive magic, but he could not completely block the blistering onslaught.
Phoenix.
Without a doubt, they were the most specialized force for siege warfare on the entire continent. Just by having them, Dmitry possessed a defensive advantage unlike any ordinary nation.
The forces mobilized by Kronos were powerful enough to bring down the capital of Cairo in an instant, yet Dmitry showed an ironclad defense from the very beginning. The advantage of a surprise attack had been rendered completely meaningless. Their swift and systematic response elicited sheer admiration, raising doubts about whether this territory truly belonged to a weak nation.
Watching the burning battlefield, Mystic felt goosebumps prickle his skin.
If Roman Dmitry had been here as well, Kronos wouldn't have been guaranteed victory even if they had brought double the troops.
'It's certain. Dmitry is merely a duchy, but they are a dangerous existence, possessing the power to oppose the Empire faster than any other nation. If we thoroughly crush Dmitry this time, it will serve as an excellent warning to the kingdoms of the Salamander Continent.'
He acknowledged his opponent's strength. However, this was all still within Kronos's calculations.
* * *
Amidst the chaos, a group of figures moved inside Dmitry.
"Destroy the key facilities, and if you find any high-value targets, eliminate them on the spot."
"Understood."
The dark figures. They were the Shadows.
While the Kronos soldiers had crossed over all at once through the Gate, the Shadows had infiltrated Dmitry one by one in preparation for this exact plan. It didn't matter how wary Dmitry was of outsiders. This operation was a pincer attack, striking from both the inside and outside simultaneously, rather than just relying on assassins.
With Dmitry preoccupied with the siege, the Shadows made their move.
But as they entered the city center, they sensed a strange atmosphere.
"...Something is off. The city is as quiet as the dead."
A war was raging outside.
Normally, citizens would be running around carrying supplies, or the city would be noisy with the chaos of battle. However, the city, shrouded in deep darkness, was as cold as ice. Not a single person roamed the streets. It was so quiet that the Shadows could hear their own breathing.
A chilling sensation washed over them.
The Shadows held their breath. Their original plan was to slip in amidst the chaos, but in an eerie situation like this, they could not move rashly.
For now, the Shadows dispersed.
The infiltrated assassins did not have just a single objective. They were agents of chaos, and their primary goal was to distract the defenders by revealing their presence. Simultaneously, they had other objectives that needed to be handled in secret. Moving swiftly, the Shadows advanced relentlessly toward their respective targets.
It was then.
Something suddenly dropped from above.
Whoosh.
Crack!
A neck snapped.
The moment one Shadow collapsed with glazed eyes, another hastily retreated, trying to raise his voice. But no sound came out of his mouth. Before he could say a word, a sword pierced through his heart from behind.
"Gah...!"
His body did not dissipate into smoke. Struck by an attack that severed his mana connection in a single blow, the Shadow stared ahead with disbelief in his eyes.
The attacker was an ordinary-looking man.
It was Henderson.
Sheathing his sword, Henderson looked at his partner, McBurney, and spoke.
"Damn Kronos bastards. Just as our Lord said, they really dared to target Dmitry directly."
In this battle, Kronos had intended to execute a flawless surprise attack.
But the reality was entirely different. Roman Dmitry had anticipated various possibilities, and even knowing his homeland would be in danger, he had willingly accepted the journey to Valhalla.
He could not protect Dmitry forever. It was a situation he had accepted with full awareness.
This was Dmitry's war against Kronos.