Thanks to the proofreading team for their work: Eternal, Armada, Seb, PuszekSE, Seviper9, TysonSlayer, Evilsanta1423, Auryum & Zanzon!
"Grass porridge, grass porridge, grass porridge!"
Users gathered from all across the Garnav plains. The Haven Imperial army stationed soldiers at every vital location and held off the approaching northern users.
"We need to hold for 30 minutes. All men hold your positions!"
The Hermes guild members at these locations were a group of the less skilled users.
Even so, they were over level 450, capable of leading the Imperial army with focus on the defensive.
"Archer unit commence sequential attack!"
"Shield units hold your positions!"
The Imperial army raised their shields up close to the heavily armored footmen and long-spearmen in between them.
Although the northern users were like a tidal wave, they still could not overcome that thick wall.
"We can't penetrate that strong defense line!"
"Smash them! Break through their formation!"
"Advance!"
Everywhere, northern users were dying in vain.
"Rapid fire! Piercing rounds! Empower!"
Pale unleashed dozens of arrows onto the Imperial army's formation.
The arrows weren't directed at a specific target but the Imperial army was densely clustered, so he did not have to worry about his arrows going wide.
< An arrow was blocked by a shield. >
< An arrow pierced through the shield and landed on a helmet. >
< You have acquired experience points. >
"This is nuts. A quick breakthrough won't be possible."
Pale automatically reached for more arrows with a dark expression on his face.
His archery skill was Advanced level 8!
The bow had belonged to the high elves and was imbued with the priests' damage enhancement blessing, but he was still unable to kill an Imperial soldier in a single shot.
"We will breakthrough eventually, but time is of the essence. What do we do?"
Lemon, the saintess of the Grass Porridge Cult was also beside him.
They had an enormous number of soldiers, with more coming to reinforce them.
"Poison Mushroom porridge 31st division. At your service!"
"Perilla Seeds porridge cleanup team has arrived. Our apologies for the late arrival!"
"We Strawberry porridge will charge through them with all our might. Open a path for us!"
"We are from Hamburger porridge. We will ram through them!"
There were many northern users, but all would go to waste if they could not break down the defense formation of the Imperial army.
*Crrrash!*
Magic spells exploded all over the Haven Imperial army.
Pale grew impatient, but the northern users' attacks grew even faster and fiercer.
"Hahahaha. I have arrived at last!"
Geomchi3!
His body was covered with scars from the flaming meteorite summon spell, too many to count as he ran towards them.
"True men go in without fear!!!!"
He charged into the Haven Imperial army as the northern users split up left and right and got away from his path.
"Ahhhh!"
"Scary. Way too scary!"
"Hiccup."
Geomchi3 was running to battle with an expression straight out of a nightmare.
"You are fighting again."
"Yes, master. I think it is my 7th fight."
"Alright, good. Wipe them out at once. All units take assault formation!"
Geomchi, Geomchi2 and other groups of desert warriors appeared one by one.
They were descendants of the Pallos empire!
"Everyone, please stand aside. We are going in!"
The Desert Warriors led by Geomchi, riding on camels, began their assault.
They picked up speed and charged in a straight line as the users made way for them.
"Hiya. Hiya!"
"Gallop! Live only for this moment!"
"Destroy everything! Don't leave anything standing!"
"Kyaaaaah!"
The Desert Warriors shrieked as they galloped.
Being properly trained by Geomchi and the other masters had changed them.
They were more reckless.
More simple-minded.
The mages of the Hermes guild began their spell incantations as they saw the warriors approach.
"Flame wall!"
A wide curtain of flames spread across in the direction of Geomchi and the Desert Warriors.
The northern users drew back due to the heat.
"Just jump over it."
"Yes, master."
"Nice. A fiery pit."
Geomchi and the masters, apprentices and Desert Warriors leapt over the flame wall one after another.
Their faces and backs had caught fire, but they continued their assault.
"Pgrrrr, Pgrrrruh!"
The twin humped camels were even more excited than they were.
"Wipe them out!"
Finally, Geomchi and the desert warriors clashed with the heavily armored footmen.
The sturdy defense formation crumbled at once and the Desert Warriors rampaged in the middle of the Imperial army.
"Grass porridge, Grass porridge, Grass porridge!"
"This is our opportunity!"
"This way!"
That moment, the northern users rushed in through the opening.
During the brutal fight between the northern users trying to break through and the resisting imperial army:
"We have come to rescue our master!"
A Phoenix was flying in from the north and lit up the sky.
"What is that thing?"
"It's a sculptural lifeform!"
"Phoenix. The fire giant is riding on its back!"
"Hoorah!"
The entrance of the sculptural lifeform ignited the northern users into excitement.
Flying behind Phoenix were the wyverns and Bingryong!
"We will be scolded by our master but we decided to join the fight."
"We aren't here to aid our master. We fight out of boredom."
"Yes. We came because we want to fight."
On the backs of the wyverns rode Bahamorg, high elf Eltin, White Tiger, Vindex, Gernika, Seville and Cerberus.
"It's Bahamorg."
"He's a ridiculously powerful warrior."
"My god. The elites of all sculptural lifeforms have mobilized!"
Users on the ground cheered as they looked up to the sky.
"No enemy can stop me!"
"I can shoot down just about anything."
"Roar!"
"I slash and they're dead."
"I can crush them with my iron mace."
"I have learned the sword to serve my master."
"Grrrrrrr."
Geumini had spread Wings of Light on his back, and on his shoulders were Golden Bird and Silver Bird.
"Grumble. I prepared lots of diamonds and sapphires. I shall display the fanciest spell with
my magnificent gem collection."
"The war of continental conquest! A man must take on such a grand mission."
"It is in no way a pretty commitment, but if there is an enemy I will fight."
On the ground, a legion of sculptural lifeforms led by King Hydra and Death Worm was advancing.
The ground caved in as King Hydra, the size of an enormous building, strode across it.
"I shall slay and devour them all."
"Should I kill them first and devour them or devour them to kill?"
"My preference is to devour them and seize their lives."
"No, I should kill them and devour."
King Hydra's nine heads debated on whether they should kill then devour or devour to kill.
The Death Worm poked its head above ground and dug back in again. The long, lengthy body extending across the field was a blood-curdling sight.
"Humans… are tasty."
Weed did not lead his sculptural lifeforms into dangerous battles.
If they were to die for any reason, the losses would be substantial. But these sculptural lifeforms were extremely powerful and had long gone passed the stage of nurturing.
Dain couldn't suppress her trembling after joining the war.
"Was it right for me to come?"
She remembered fondly the time when she took care of others as a lord of Evaluk castle.
As a provincial lord of the Haven Empire, her participation was a given fact once the war broke out with the Arpen Empire.
"I will meet him again."
She joined for the sake of those who she was acquainted with, but most of all she was looking forward to meeting Weed, the hero that had completed many quests and achievements since the last time she saw him.
"Pssh. He was such a determined newbie when I first saw him."
Dain reminisced in her own affectionate memories.
Their meeting in the floating City of Lavias had helped her get through the surgery and sustain her life.
Her feelings had remained unchanged even after finding out that Weed had found another woman.
"Beautiful memories don't change. The meaning of life is in making blissful moments as you live on. Life may be fruitless, but do not leave any hint of regret at any moment."
Dain had lived as the lord of Evaluk and had decided to lead her people to fight as an honorable regiment of the Haven Empire.
"I will fight bravely. I swore to live my life that way."
She resolved herself and headed into battle.
She was not going to provide any advantage to Weed just because he was cornered.
"I will do my best at every single moment. We will meet as enemies and if you are to die by my hands, so be it."
The Great Disaster blocked their view, and Dain spoke to her subordinates.
– Dain: Remain calm. Our sight is only blocked temporarily. If we stick together there is not much that Weed can do on his own.
Her relaxed speech bestowed profound faith to those who had put trust in her and followed her into the war.
The 19th legion was made up of a mix of many Hermes Guild members and Central Continent users, but this rarely resulted in any conflict.
In Evaluk city, Hermes Guild members and other users lived in harmony in their own way.
They were not exploited harshly as they would have been in other regions, given that they were active in trade, adventure and production; it was a great place to reside in.
The 19th legion held their position and waited patiently for the Great Disaster to lift away while battles were happening everywhere around them.
Other users started taking advantage of the confusion to fire their spells blindly, making use of the situation.
– Dain: Trust those that are standing right next to you. There is no reason to attack one another. Once you attack, you are prone to the attacks of the others. Please bear that in mind.
Amidst the chaos there was a fine line separating those next to you from becoming your enemies.
But if everyone rampaged, they would all fall in danger and perish.
The 19th legion trusted Dain's words and bided their time.
"Order!"
"Obey the orders!"
"Do not move away and help those that are injured. We are all on the same side."
Area spells flew in from other regions, but they strengthened their defenses and did not retaliate.
The disgusting fine dust diminished gradually, and Dain looked after her subordinates.
"The wounded come this way!"
Including herself who was a Shaman, others who could use divine spells healed the wounded.
"Commander, look over there."
Dain in the middle of treating the wounded followed the direction that someone's finger tip was pointing and turned to her surroundings.
The fine dust had sunk down and the view started to clear further away.
The Haven Empire camp was ruthlessly devastated.
Many who had lost their lives were reviving as undead.
"How… There should have been no casualties if we just defended."
The situation felt surreal.
However, it was reality: they had suffered so much damage because their sharp swords clashed against one another.
At long last, Dain's lips opened.
*Sigh*
"Those idiots."
***
"Heave, heave!"
"Put a little more effort into it!"
Garnav plains, sculpture restoration site.
Everyone was busy working, piecing together the scattered fragments of the sculptures destroyed by the flaming meteors.
The scene was filled with countless users sweating beads when Rubles arrived, carrying Emperor Geihar on her back.
Their wrecked appearance was a result of having to slip through the Haven Imperial army, and even this close escape had only been possible through the help of users that were close to her.
"Please get up!"
She shook him carefully to wake him up.
"Mmmm-nyahhhh."
Emperor Geihar had passed out from drinking and showed no signs of waking up.
"You are here at last."
Weed's younger sister Yurin approached from afar.
Yurin could freely move across continents with her picture teleport skill, but Rubles's appearance and the situation in the Garnav plains was complicated and did not allow her to use it.
Yurin had been waiting for them in the sculpture restoration site.
"Yes. I brought him according to Weed-nim's request, but he is not waking up."
"Do not worry about that. I know a few ways to wake a drunk."
Yurin confidently stepped forward, grabbed Emperor by the collar and shook him firmly.
"Wake up, grandfather."
"Zzz…"
He was completely blacked out intoxicated.
"Well, let's proceed to stage 2."
Yurin took out her canteen and sprayed water over him and he still did not wake up.
Rubles observed with concern.
"He's completely intoxicated. What should we do now?"
"I have one more thing I can try."
"Then hurry up."
"Gosh, there is a girl over there."
"Huh!"
Emperor Geihar, who laid still like a dead corpse, suddenly rose up.
"Where? Where am I?"
"…"
It became silent for a moment.
Emperor Geihar regained complete consciousness after gulping some cold water.
"Are these people aiding the Arpen Kingdom, my disciple's kingdom?"
"Yes, they are."
He let out a sigh of deep regret after hearing Yurin's reply.
"Do you know what happened after Weed left? I was so distracted that I could not do anything. It did not matter one bit to me if the Arpen Empire came to its demise, but I could not stand my precious sculptural lifeforms scattering and getting abused."
History had changed slightly after Weed's time travel.
Emperor Geihar had been very distressed by what Weed had told him, and he worried so much about his sculptural lifeforms and the Arpen Empire that he had become an alcoholic.
"I really got revived, like Weed had said back then. However, I won't use my power. Why would I? If the Arpen Kingdom can't last long after it has just been rebuilt, won't it just make the sculptural lifeforms suffer?"
Emperor Geihar walked around and examined the sculpture restoration site.
People were so absorbed by labor that they didn't notice him or Yurin.
"Unlike in the past, these people seem to like sculpture. Those sculptures aren't really good, but they were made collectively by many people."
"Yes. The sculptural lifeforms are very popular here. And people also really love sculpting."
"Is that so?… Maybe my concerns were pointless from the very beginning."
Emperor Geihar grinned broadly, exposing his missing teeth in front of the statue of a Giraffe.
"For the generations of sculpting disciples, I shall call forth sculptural lifeforms again. Sculptural Life Bestowal!"
The huge giraffe sculpture was engulfed in bright light and began to move.
From that moment on, with each step taken, Emperor Geihar bestowed life to the sculptures around him.
(To be continued…)
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