"Listen up boys, don't forget your dozens of days of training! Keep in line and watch your surroundings! For the glory of the Empire, for the sake of Lord Edda, keep going! ”

Hal gripped the spear in his hand, the tip of the gleaming spear pointing towards the sky. Pen × fun × Pavilion www. ｂｉｑｕｇｅ。 Info was faintly excited. War usually means merit, wealth and glory, which may not come easily, but it is better than not seeing hope - what young man does not have a little blood and dreams in his heart?

He was born in the countryside of the Empire, in a small place called Chestnut Collar. He did not want to inherit his father's small piece of farmland, so he resolutely left his hometown and went to the city of Leiden, which was not far away and prosperous enough, eager to break out of the world with his own momentum.

However, with little basic education, he soon found that he could not find any decent work in the big city; The Kamal language with his accent and certain habits from the countryside made him often ridiculed.

He worked as a waiter at a bar, but was quickly dismissed because his speech was not liked by the drinkers; worked as a helper in a blacksmith's shop, but the old blacksmith was short-tempered, and often withheld wages, and only got three silver coins a month; He also tried to participate in the selection of the city guard, but was hacked behind the back by a few city people who didn't like him, and it took him more than ten days to recover.

Then he heard that the Empire was recruiting soldiers, and the requirements were very simple—healthy men over twenty years old and under sixty years old. He went with a glimmer of hope, but the recruiter just looked at him and told him he had been chosen.

What happened next was not far from what he had imagined. He was given his own uniform, assigned to a modest but large dormitory, and at the behest of a sturdy man who called himself Sinka, he practiced daily gunnery and improvised arrays. There was also a problem of cliques among the soldiers, but the commander, who was said to be from the Imperial Guard, punished the leaders of several 'small groups' with thunderous means. Hal still remembers what he shouted—

"The Empire has recruited you to fight for the glory of the Empire. As long as you make war achievements, whether it is money or status, it is in front of you! However...... If you make me, and His Majesty the Emperor, lose face - all that awaits you is death, understand!? ”

It's just, just by virtue of them, a group of recruits who have been training for half a month? Hal was a little skeptical of Sinka's words until a middle-aged man dressed in black robes and shrouded in a comforting glow of holiness bestowed upon them the blessing of Edda, the Lord of Heaven.

A soft glow spread throughout the army as the man prayed. Hal felt his whole body full of strength, and the spear, which had been a little heavy, was as light as a feather. As if an endless amount of courage was pouring out of his heart, he could guarantee that even in the face of a grizzly bear at this moment, he would be able to assassinate it with ease.

The black-robed man asked people to carry a few more boxes, which contained small cloth bags stacked tightly on top of each other. Every soldier was given one such bag. The black-robed man said that this was a magic potion made by Edda, the "Lord of Heaven", and that drinking it at a critical moment could give them the power to bring the dead back to life and reverse the situation.

Exploits, money, and status—these words took root in Howl's heart for the first time.

Four days later, they set out under the leadership of Sinka. Now, after another three days, they were approaching the edge of the Breeze Forest, and not far away was the land of the Elna.

There weren't any Elna guards nearby, maybe the long-lived ones were too lax, Hal thought to himself. He didn't know where his enemies were or who they were. But he believed that no matter where the other party was sacred, he would fall under the spear and iron hooves of the Empire.

Smoke billowed in the distance, was it the vanguard that was ahead of the curve that set the forest on fire? In other words, the Empire's enemies this time are the Elna. Hal gripped his spear and watched warily ahead, ready for the battle to come.

Then he saw the demon.

As mentioned in the legend, monsters with sheep's heads, human bodies, red skin, and spears in their hands swarmed out of the forest, mixed with disgusting masses of half-molten creatures and monsters that resembled giant toads.

A rush of heat came over his face, but Hal had no fear in his heart. It's just a pack of demons—he thought, flattening his spear in his hand, waiting for Commander Sinka's orders as he had done in training, and then stabbing with all his might.

He felt a huge resistance in his hand, the demon's skin and muscles were indeed extremely tough, and the spear only penetrated a dozen centimeters, and it could not continue to penetrate. The goat-headed monster stretched out his hand and broke the spear in two, while the pitch-black spear in the other pierced Howl's abdomen at the same time.

Sharp pain swept through Hal's body, but he still didn't feel much fear. Instinctively, he took out the potion said to be made by the Lord of Heaven, a vial sealed with a cork, and took a bite of the cork, pouring the liquid into his mouth.

The slightly sweet taste reached the base of his tongue, and a flash of lightning flashed through his mind, and the pain in his abdomen seemed to disappear. He looked up and grinned at the demon, grabbing the half of the spear still in its chest, and pushing it hard.

The spear pierced through its heart, and the demon let go of its hand with a scream and fell backwards. Hal pulled out the spear that pierced his abdomen, blood staining his uniform red, but it didn't seep out. He touched it with his left hand, and the wound had healed somewhere, leaving only a slightly sunken scar.

He slain a demon.

But it's nothing to brag about, and things like this are happening everywhere on this battlefield. So, who is the next target?

He swung the spear he had captured from the demon's hand with a sharp snap, the sharp tip of which sliced a slimy monster in two. He saw a large, stout-limbed toad rampage through the army, so he turned and aimed the tip of his spear at it.

Someone's voice seemed to come from the sky, dull and majestic.

"Trapped me here...... Intentionally or unintentionally, embrace destruction, reptiles!!"

A huge sound of wind came from overhead, and when he looked up, he saw several huge meteors emitting blazing white flames, falling towards the center of the entire military formation.

That was the last thing he saw.

The next moment, the heat and the huge impact of the meteorite explosion took away his consciousness without pain.

……

457th year of the San Leon calendar, the second day of the winter month. Two vanguard units from the Empire were annihilated by a demonic attack on the border of the Breeze Forest.

The Firedemon left the forest in a state of confusion, and no one witnessed its whereabouts.