"Gentlemen. We are facing an enormous danger right now."
Colonel Ernst, an officer of the Kingdom of Baienrus, looked at the soldiers with a stern face. They all clearly showed signs of tension.
"The capital has fallen. Communication has been cut off, and the voices of the citizens can no longer be heard. That is because of that. That terrible hell over there."
From atop a hastily constructed platform, Colonel Ernst raised his hand and pointed in the direction where the holy capital was located. Hell was there. Everything was black. The ground, the sky, everything. The world was stained with darkness and death, pouring out endless screams and lamentations.
"Nevertheless, we are here. Our border guard, pointing our gun barrels inward toward our beloved homeland. Why is that? Because we cannot forgive those monsters for ravaging our land like this."
That voice was solemn and full of resolve but the soldiers swallowed hard. They were tense and afraid.
Even now, hell was expanding in real-time. Even from far away, it was visible to the naked eye. Yet no one fled. Because this was their homeland.
If they retreated from here, what would happen to their families living beyond?
"Gentlemen. As you know, the nearby borders have already been closed. Neighboring countries that noticed this disaster have prohibited entry and exit. Should we embrace our remaining families and pray for the coming apocalypse? No."
Colonel Ernst's face filled with anger.
"We will show them! How strong we, the Baienrus border guard, are! That with our own hands, we can protect our brothers, sisters, families, and children!"
The border guard of the Kingdom of Baienrus was in fact a symbol of demotion. But that wasn't because they were incompetent.
Rather, it was because their hearts for the nation were so passionate that they willingly allowed themselves to be pushed here. The central holy capital was a place where only those who flattered and had many desires could stand. Rather, those who guarded the border at the very front lines were the true patriots.
Colonel Ernst knew he was a soldier whose string had snapped. But he was a person of the Kingdom of Baienrus. He wouldn't say there wasn't a trace of satisfaction that those who ignored him had died with the disappearance of the holy capital.
But more than that, a sense of responsibility weighed heavily upon his body. Colonel Ernst was not someone who turned his eyes away from the given reality.
He always faced it directly and spoke frankly. That's why he could step forward even in a cliff's edge situation like this.
The soldiers who followed him were the same.
Though afraid, they didn't flee. It clearly showed how tightly they were united.
"Gentlemen! Never lose courage! We will protect our land with our own hands!"
Colonel Ernst's order fell.
"All forces! Fire!"
Bang bang bang bang!
The cannons spewed fire. Weapons prepared to block foreign enemies focused on the holy capital. Countless explosives burst on the land that had turned into hell, causing flames to rise.
In the past, everyone would have considered those flames a terrible sight. But not now. Even the flames of bombardment, which could be called a symbol of war, looked almost sacred compared to that eroded land.
Not the power of violence, but the power of purification. A light of hope appeared on the soldiers' faces.
Keeeeeeek!
Screams echoed from the earth covered in flames. And breaking through the fire, void soldiers appeared.
Some of the void soldiers flew through the air with their bodies spread out like crucifixes, while others crawled on the ground like beasts on four legs.
"Fire! Keep firing!"
Colonel Ernst commanded.
The soldiers tirelessly carried ammunition and spewed fire. The border guards were soldiers spread thin and wide to block enemies from the outside.
Those soldiers clumped together in one place like a mass. They were well trained. The good condition of the weapons also played a part. King Joseph had neglected the border guard, but he had a grand dream of turning the kingdom back into an empire.
To prepare for a war of conquest someday, he increased military spending every year. He spent enormous amounts of money spurring on the development of new weapons. The border guard was also seeing the effects of that clearly.
Weapons prepared for invasion were being used to solve problems that arose internally. It was ironic, but Ernst thought it was rather fortunate.
There was plenty of ammunition. The condition and quality of the weapons were also good. There was more than all the soldiers here could use.
"Good! Keep pushing like this!"
No matter how powerful the void soldiers were, they were useless before the overwhelmingly pouring firepower. The void soldiers charging from the front were no match for the flamethrower soldiers wearing steam suits.
Fwoooosh!
Sticky, high-temperature crimson flames burned the void soldiers. The void soldiers were strong and had tenacious vitality, but not enough to withstand violent firepower.
The border guard led by Ernst advanced slowly but without stopping.
"Put on gas masks!"
"Check the purification canisters!"
Having reached the domain of erosion, they immediately put on gas masks as if they had been waiting. Vision was limited, but it was better than breathing contaminated air.
'As expected, it's not easy.'
Ernst frowned as he looked at the purification canister of the gas mask becoming contaminated in an instant. There were many spares, but at this rate, the longer the fight went on, the more disadvantageous their side would become.
'What about the other nations?'
The neighboring kingdoms closed their borders as soon as they realized what had happened. In Ernst's view, that was a foolish act.
'How stupid. Now is when the initial response is most important. Before that thing expands its range further, everyone must join forces and somehow crush it. No, they should have done so.'
Ernst had a bitter taste in his mouth. Even neighboring kingdoms weren't particularly friendly with each other. Rather, in modern society, nations had worse relations the closer they were.
It was because of the emotional scars from fighting each other in wars in the past. And if a neighboring kingdom disappeared, competition decreased and one could eat up that land that had become a no-man's-land.
If that land remained intact, that is.
'They probably haven't grasped the situation yet. I'm sending letters somehow, but I don't know if they'll believe them. They might rather suspect our intentions.'
Even Ernst himself didn't know the situation would be this serious. Upon hearing that the holy capital had fallen, and because of the ominous rumors about the kingdom that had been circulating, he had secretly gathered the border guard.
But to think something like this would happen. It was a terrible situation that far exceeded the worst he had imagined. How much more so for the neighboring kingdoms.
'Even if we claim we need help, from their perspective, both I and the people of the holy capital are the same Baienrus. They'd say to take responsibility ourselves. Damn Joseph. I knew he wasn't in his right mind, but to think he'd commit such madness.'
The war was going smoothly and the soldiers pushed through the eroded land without major damage.
However, Ernst couldn't be happy because the speed was gradually slowing down. There hadn't been any notable damage yet, but how long would that last? This was war. And the opponent wasn't ordinary humans armed with guns and swords.
Ernst had an intuition. An intuition that something bad would happen if things continued like this. But he couldn't pull back the army. They already had no way back and could only move forward.
"More of them are coming!"
A signal came from the vanguard. The armored infantry wearing steam suits stood at the front. They thought they just needed to spray flamethrowers like before.
Kuweeeee!
However, the ones that appeared this time were different. Higher entities of void soldiers, the Black Stars. Guys bigger, faster, and stronger than ordinary void soldiers. They charged at the armored infantry, not caring even while carrying the sticky flames of the flamethrowers.
Thwang! Kwang!
The massive bodies of the armored infantry were easily flung away. The battle line instantly collapsed. The Black Stars didn't stop. When they swung their hands, sharp blades protruded and swept the surroundings. Soldiers caught in the trajectory were torn to pieces. Red blood poured like waterfalls from the dismembered bodies.
"Aaaagh!"
"Bl, block them!"
"What the hell are those bastards!"
It was an overwhelming presence that made even well-trained soldiers momentarily panic.
One soldier bravely pulled the pin of a grenade and threw it toward a Black Star. Whether through skill or luck, the grenade became fixed as if caught in a gap in the Black Star's outer armor.
Kwaaaaang! With a huge explosion, the Black Star's upper body was engulfed in flames. It wasn't just a grenade, but a magic grenade using ether water.
The hopeful eyes of the soldier turned to despair.
Kueee.
The flames subsided and the unharmed Black Star revealed itself. Despite what must have been tremendous power, the guy had no injuries except for slightly singed outer skin.
The Black Star extended its arm toward the soldier who had thrown the grenade. There was quite a distance, but that arm bizarrely stretched long and aimed for the soldier.
Ping!
The Black Star's head was greatly twisted to the side. A bullet had embedded itself in the sphere that occupied its head. The arm hesitated, and its body turned toward one place. Colonel Ernst could be seen with his pistol drawn.
Ernst thought, "Oh no."
To save the soldier, he had stepped forward himself. The Black Star crouched its body. The moment it straightened its bent legs, its body shot up high like a spring.
Thwoong!
In an instant, the thing that had leaped dozens of meters fell toward Ernst in a parabolic arc. With both arms, now transformed into regular hands, clenched like fists. He had just seen with his own eyes an armored infantry crushed along with their steam suit when struck by that.
'I can't dodge.'
Ernst gritted his teeth as he aimed his pistol and shot at the Black Star. The shooting was precise and fast since he wasn't a soldier who had earned his rank through politics. However, the Black Star wasn't an existence that could be dealt with by mere bullets.
Ping ping ping!
Bullets bounced off the Black Star's outer skin along with sparks. Ernst's face was colored with despair. A shadow fell hugely over his head.
Bang!
At that moment, an explosion occurred at the Black Star's flank. The guy who had been fine even with the magic grenade was flung away with tremendous force and rolled on the ground. The other Black Stars were the same. Something that flew from somewhere intercepted all of them.
'A sword?'
What Ernst saw in that instant was a sword. A sword made of blazing flames had struck down the Black Stars.
The fallen Black Stars couldn't get up. Parts of their bodies were burning with fire. The only one that survived was the strongest entity. It was a Black Star Commander class.
The thing staggered to its feet. At that moment, several swords were generated above its head. Unlike the blazing sword from before, these were swords that felt so cold that just looking at them would freeze one's bones. Their blades were also blue.
......!!
The Black Star Commander sensed danger and moved quickly. Its form became blurred, drawing black lines in the air.
'It's this fast?!'
However, what surprised Ernst was that the blue swords changed direction and pursued the Black Star Commander. The Black Star Commander tried to escape by changing directions here and there, but the blue trajectories moved as gracefully as waves and didn't lose sight of it.
Kwajik! Kwajijik!
Finally caught up to, the Black Star Commander was pierced through like a specimen by the blue swords. Its trembling body was instantly enveloped in cold air, then crumbled as it transformed into ice crystals.
"Th, this can't be."
The soldiers were left speechless at the sight of the monster that had collapsed the battle line in an instant being subdued in an instant.
Thud.
They soon took in their eyes a knight who had suddenly appeared. Wearing pure white armor and a flowing cape, a knight from an old tale.
"Is everyone alright?"
Some of the soldiers pointed their gun barrels. It was an instinctive reaction toward someone they didn't know was an enemy or ally in such a situation.
"Everyone lower your guns!"
Ernst hurriedly gave the order. The soldiers flinched and followed the command. Ossian, who had helped them, gazed at Ernst.
"Thank you for your help. I am Colonel Ernst. I'm the commander of the border guard here."
"I am Osian."
"So you are Sir Osian. I owe you a debt of life."
Ernst treated Osian respectfully.
He didn't ask who Osian was or why he was here. Ernst was wise. Rather than asking such trivial things, he got straight to the main point.
"We are going to the holy capital. What are your plans, Sir Osian?"
"I am also going to the holy capital."
"It seems our intentions align."
Ernst recalled how Osian had swatted down the Black Stars that the soldiers couldn't handle, like swatting flies.
"We will provide support. Would it be alright if we followed along?"
A commander leading an army would follow a single individual. Those words weren't something that could be said easily. He could feel the surrounding non-commissioned officers were surprised too. However, Ernst was serious.
"You're an excellent commander."
Osian nodded at Ernst. For him too, rather than fighting alone, it was better to have someone who could fight even a little.
"However, I can't keep protecting you. The danger will increase the further inside we go."
"I know. We're prepared."
Osian looked at the soldiers. To think there were such excellent soldiers in a nation with a trashy king who committed such terrible acts. The affairs of the world are truly unknowable even when you think you know. That's why they're interesting.
"Let's go."
Osian took the lead, and the soldiers followed behind. There was some discontent, but no one spoke it aloud.
Partly because they had seen Osian's majesty directly. But also because that pure white light that overflowed wherever he went stirred something hot somewhere in their hearts.
On the land eroded by endless darkness, Osian was like a lamp. It was so beautiful that it was a fire that must never be extinguished.
The soldiers followed behind the knight.