“We’re already on the verge of defeat right from the very beginning. We’ve passed by five marquis castles along the way, belonging to three different minor families. Three of them have been destroyed, while the remaining two have probably turned into traps. I think a real battle awaits us at Howard’s castle.”
Qianye said, “Since you’re joining this battle, I shall fight as well. Are you worried that I’ll feel prejudice toward the vampires?”
“There’s a lot of past enmity between your race and mine.”
Qianye went silent for a moment. In truth, there was something he never mentioned. When he heard Habsburg’s name a while ago, there was a sharp pain from his heart followed by an insuppressible killing intent.
Back when Zhang Boqian had gone to observe the battlefield, he merely said Lin Xitang had fallen in the Demon King’s domain. The council also kept a tight lid on this matter, making no announcements regarding this matter. There were of course bits and pieces of information still—for instance, it was confirmed that the spoils of war and contributions had gone to the vampire race. The one overseeing the war on the Evernight side was Prince Habsburg.
Qianye didn’t know whether Nighteye had noticed his loss of composure, nor was he certain he could stay his hand after coming face-to-face with this legendary Flaming Crown.
A good while passed by as the two gazed at each other under the starlight.
Qianye eventually said, “I have a lot of problems with the werewolves as well, but on Fort Continent, I came to understand that there’s no such thing as irreconcilable hatred between factions, let alone races. War is war… even if there is hatred, that’s something between experts. It has nothing to do with commoners.”
In the end, he said, “In short, I’m not leaving.”
Nighteye didn’t know whether to laugh or to cry at his childishness. “You never listen, let’s go then.”
The two sped along afterward. By the time the sun was starting to rise, they had traversed nearly half of Twilight Continent to arrive near Castle Midas.
Midas was called a castle, but it was so big that it looked more like a giant fortress, or even a big city.
The castle was constructed atop a lone peak with buildings dotting the sloping hillside. The other side was a precipitous cliff that dropped into a ravine thousands of meters deep. The bottom of the valley was filled with flowing dark-red lava.
The scent of earth-fire was something the vampires and dark races hated the most. This flaming valley made for an excellent natural barrier for the castle’s rear. Only top experts could enter the stronghold via this route. Troops would never be able to launch a sneak attack from here, not even the council’s forces.
The Byrne clan had never encountered a gap in primogenitors. Hence, they were able to build Castle Midas into a true fortress over the years. Every building and window was designed to spit out flames of death.
The castle before them was currently in a true state of battle.
It was hard to say just how many cannon turrets there were inside. Hundreds of fiery streams could be seen shooting into the sky every second, blasting at the swarm of airsh.i.p.s above.
The outermost walls below the castle had mostly collapsed. The battle was already unfolding around the second layer halfway up the mountain. The explosions happening behind this checkpoint went to show that it was also on the verge of defeat.
There was a series of flames in the distance as groups of giant transports hurried to the scene. These airsh.i.p.s were fast, stable, and easily recognizable as the council’s direct forces. Needless to say, they weren’t here to help Howard.
The Evernight Council’s troops had already set up a temporary camp outside of the castle, their supplies piled up into mountains. Their soldiers could be seen lining up in the field before charging into battle.
Only at this point did Qianye fully realize the meaning of war.
…
On one of the upper continents, the Eternal Hall of the Evernight Council.
The sky here was an eternal night. The seven totems of the founders hung above the main doors. There wasn’t the slightest sign of decay on them. These totems were eternal, unlike the races they represented.
Living creatures were nothing more than a speck of dust before this land of miracles.
Habsburg stood in the sky, gazing at the void fortress that shouldn’t have appeared here. To be precise, it was the projection of a fortress-like city. The city itself was semi-dimensional and fixed to those coordinates, only revealing its giant mirror image in this world.
The city was dotted with combat-type buildings, sporting high walls and small windows. With Habsburg’s eyesight, he could even see the soldiers of varying races on the streets and in sentry positions.
The soldiers looked different from the dark races of today. The vampires were taller and fiercer, while the arachnes’ slim frames were full of power. The soldiers stood still in different positions—they looked as if they had been frozen in time but also as though they would rush into battle the very next moment.
That was the demonkin superweapon that only existed in legends, a semi-dimension of war.
The council chairman appeared beside Habsburg and proceeded to observe this majestic instrument of war together with him.
After a while, the chairman said, “Your Highness, it’s time to set out. The advance forces left three hours ago. They will have completed the beheading operation by the time you arrive on Fire Beacon Continent.”
Habsburg said, “Lord Mark, can you tell me the real objective of this operation? Why mobilize such a weapon? The council didn’t bring this out even when the void colossus Sky Demon appeared around the lower-continents.”
“Void colossi usually don’t attack inhabited continents. Why risk angering it?” the chairman said. “You’re overthinking it. Our targets are the two human provinces there.”
The chairman said after some thought, “If you must ask why the number of soldiers the council can dispatch is limited this time, just enough for a beheading operation…” He looked up at Habsburg’s expression and laughed. “Ah, you don’t need to worry. There’s no need to maintain order. We don’t need the resources and populace there, so you can simply level the place with the ‘City of Eimer.’”
Habsburg understood the chairman’s meaning. “Even though the two provinces have already broken off from the Empire, doing so might cause the heavenly monarchs to interfere. The council is…”
The chairman nodded. “Yes, we do not exclude the possibility of an all-out war.”
Habsburg frowned upon hearing these words.
Even with the council’s authority, recklessly upgrading the battle to a national war was overstepping his bounds. Slaughtering two human provinces in front of the Empire would inevitably lead to this upgrade.
The chairman said, “In truth, the heavenly monarchs will have to think about their territories after seeing the City of Eimer. The city can attack more than once, after all.”
Habsburg finally understood the plan. The council had mobilized this semi-dimensional weapon in order to intimidate the Empire. “Lord Mark, I think the council should ask that great dark monarch to oversee the operation.”
The chairman said, “His Majesty Kane has ordered that you will have full authority to command the City of Eimer. If a human heavenly monarch insists on witnessing its power, they’ll be in for a big surprise.”
Habsburg couldn’t help but laugh wryly. “The Demon King thinks too highly of me.”
Wielding the City of Eimer would give him the ability to contend with a heavenly monarch. Habsburg wasn’t too worried about escaping from one, but this authority did go to show that the council wasn’t going to use him as cannon fodder just yet.
The chairman watched as Habsburg departed before donning his hood once more. He landed on the ground and walked step by step toward the Eternal Hall.
