Asura could never have known that when he teleported on that day in the empire... it was over two months before he would return.


    The time it took for the wounded Asura to travel from the Emerald Empire to the elven continent was a month. However, to those who teleported, it would have seemed like an instant.


    In that month, chaos spread throughout the entire continent.


    ***


    "de, hurry and support the northern wall!"


    A handsome yet haggard, middle-aged male shouted. He looked concerned—with a giant de in his hands and dark red hair flowing in the wind. The man fought back against the invading monsters.


    "Garret! We must fall back, there is no power to stop them!"


    Despite the grey-haired knight''s words, the former Earl couldn''t abandon his people, his knights.


    ''This is hopeless... my son I could use your help right now.''


    "de, my knights! Take their heads! These monsters feel no pain; they have no morale! Only beheading them seems to y them for good!"


    "Lord Garret!"


    "de... this is probably thest time we''ll ever get to show the young ones our strength."


    ''After the news of Asura''s disappearance and that bastard attack destroying the Emerald Empire... Silvara has been on the back foot. Drakkur is overworked and the beautiful Phoenix de is burning before my eyes!''


    The reagent of the demon empire struck hard, and he struck fast. Before the knights of Silvara and their powerful Valkyrie could even muster and prepare...


    An Empire had fallen.


    "Haa!"


    Garret''s de masterfully cleaved four of the rotting corpses'' heads, dropping them off the wall. They built this fort because of Asura''s advice to protect the people in case someone attacked the Phoenix de.


    ''My son... it''s as if you could see the future...''


    "DO NOT GET BIT!"


    "Garret! We must pull back to the inner wall... there is nothing we can do here! It''s been three months, Asura is gone... we must retreat and save the people!"


    ''Without my brothers to fight... how tiresome is this battle... Ophelia... our daughter, is she well? Are you resting in the capital?''


    The moment that the North attacked, de and Garret asked for Asura''s wife, Xavida, to bring their family to the capital.


    Now, they would be safe in the mansion near the pce.


    "de..."


    "I know what you want to say..."


    Two old knights, at the end of their lives as warriors, through their youth together, both of them burned both ends of their wick. To struggle and grow in a weak Silvara that denied them help and support.


    Neither man wished to surrender, but as their eyes looked across the wall...


    Waves of undead monsters, summoned from the abyss itself, now devoured and burned the once beautiful Phoenix de.


    The pride of the Fenix family...


    BANG—!


    An explosion created a massive cloud in the eastern parts of the de.


    "What... who?!"


    Garret and de looked at each other, their faces covered in dirt, sweat and ck blood from the corpses. Yet they looked stunned upon seeing the support on the horizon.


    A dazzling image, something they almost believed to be a mirage.


    Suddenly, an enormous creature descended from the sky before two women dropped from her back, holding swords, followed by a unit of Valkyrie.


    ''The Valkyrie... but they only move for...''


    ''It''s Her Highness Queen V... and the saintess?!''


    "Garret, do my eyes deceive me... is that a..."


    "Dragon... there is only one dragon that I know which has white and pink scales... My daughter-inw..."


    "de! Rally the knights, everyone who can fight, throw them a sword. We must fight now, or we will lose momentum!"


    A huge white dragon flew through the sky, breathing white and purple lightning from her mouth. The instant the breath touched the undead... a miracle happened.


    Their entire bodies became dust vaporised.


    ''To think in the three months since west met... that girl is now the queen and still fights on the front lines...''


    ''I am sure my grandchildren are safe if those two are here right now...''


    "Haa... we old men can''t keep up with such shy children." Garret looked back at his knights, all of them tired, exhausted, covered in dirt, and wearing broken armour. He knew they were on theirst legs.


    "But we must make the path for them to retreat here... then hope still remains!"


    "We can win, with their help."


    Woosh—!


    BANG—!


    A series of cannon fire echoed from the distant coast, where dozens of giant warships appeared and started bombarding the undead forces near the shores.


    "What... what magic is this?!"


    "That sound... those are cannons, like the ones that Asura built to protect the ports along the kingdom!"


    "Oh... these are those dwarven cannons?! At least Wolfsheim is doing well..."


    [AH! ATTENTION!]


    A sudden loud, feminine voice echoed across the entire de, and it was a familiar voice. Verena, the sudden star of the kingdom. Her battles against the undead and their ships created of bone travelled throughout Silvara.


    "It''s the Daughter of Drakkur!" A soldier called out.


    "Ah~ The angel of the sea!"


    BANG—!


    ''This can only be the grace of my son...''


    ''What would have happened if he didn''t exist?''


    Garret lifted his sword, a feeling of determination surging throughout his body. It had been many years since he felt this way about the future. He fought for decades while his territory suffered, slowly rising to the top. Then, the moment things started to improve, Drakkur and the Emerald Empire began to apply pressure.


    ''Ah, my son... thank you for being born and saving our kingdom... None of these women would work together like this without your existence.''


    ''So pleasee home soon!''


    "Oh, my~ Father-inw you look so worn out!" A sudden elegant voice sounded from behind him, and an elegant woman with golden eyes and ck wings stepped forward.


    "Helliana? You, are you also here... I can''t believe you are all here to save thisnd."


    "Well... there was no way we could let thisnd burn—our beloved husband would be devastated." Another voice sounded. The moment Garret heard the voice, he couldn''t help but startughing.


    It was Lorem, a knight he once trained with as a young man, hoping to enter the royal knights. "To think we would meet here, Father-inw. You''ve fought well, be proud and take a rest. Now we will save our husbandsnd."


    The next moment, from the sky, thousands of Valkyrie swooped down with their silver spears d in light.


    Garret felt his chest throbbing violently... without Asura and all these women.


    The Phoenix de would have copsed for sure!


    "I see... my son truly found himself excellent wives."


    deughed as the situation started to change, and they suddenly gained the upper hand. Although he wanted to keep fighting, he leaned against the wall. He was finally able to stop pretending he was able to keep fighting and keep going.


    "Oh, Father-inw... you should take a rest. Mother was so angry that you sent her there. You too, Uncle de! I think you both should prepare for a long time to make it up to your wives. They were so mad!" Helliana''s smile felt terrifying because her eyes were not smiling.


    ''Why does she remind me of Ophelia...''


    ''Son... you have a tough future ahead of you!''


    ***


    Meanwhile...


    In the eastern reaches of the empire, a ruin remained, although several units of warriors remained. The warriors seemed to watch and wait around a huge symbol painted on the ground.@@novelbin@@


    The giant tree that Asura and the others used to flee to the elven continent.


    Now, there were makeshift tents and barriers, but most of the city remained in ruins, with wounded citizens and undead monsters.


    "Brother... when are we supposed to advance..." An armoured knight asked, his eyes watching the undead devouring one of themoners who refused to submit. He seemed to feel unsettled by the zombies that followed them on the boats.


    "I don''t know, the emperor worried about this symbol and someoneing through it. The people who attacked stated a group vanished from sight here and one of them was the Prince of Silvara."


    "Isn''t that why the emperor attacked Silvara earlier than nned?" The younger brother asked once again.


    "Ah... but somehow I feel unsettled."


    "Heh, I understand, those zombies... the fact that our fellow soldiers andrades have be those things... it doesn''t sit well with me either. Especially our fallen brothers, I can barely recognise them anymore."


    "So much chaos..."


    WOOSH—!


    Suddenly, as if by magic, the gigantic tree embedded in the ground began to glow, and a swirl and hum of magic filled the desert. Every single knight and soldier turned their eyes on the spot.


    "Huh—! What is that?"


    "A portal?! Is that where the Prince fled?!"


    A glowing golden ring filled the air, expanding until it wasrger than a house.


    "Prepare for battle!"


    "Hurry!"


    "Release the zombies!"


    The moment the golden glow vanished... a group of people stood in beautifully clean armour, and at their lead was a male with silver hair and eyes.


    However, then the orcs and elves appeared, causing the knights and warriors to tremble. Outnumbered by the sudden appearance of the strange force.


    Asura gazed at the devastated city... he saw the monsters eating the people who barely survived and felt sick to his stomach.


    "I am Asura, Prince of SIlvara."


    "Those of you whoe from the demon empire. Prepare to die."


    The troops who were just convinced of their victory suddenly felt dread. Asura looked around with his calm silver eyes before drawing his ck sword.


    "I am going, follow me."