Aitania is a famous entertainment and trade city of the Terrence Empire.

First of all, it is home to the most prosperous chambers of commerce in the empire, and has opened large shopping streets, where goods from almost all parts of the country can be found. However, in recent years, the living and consumption standards of the common people have been decreasing, and the commercial streets are mainly open to the aristocracy, and only some high-priced art and luxury goods are sold.

Secondly, it is also home to many famous theater companies. However, compared to eight years ago, the entertainment of ordinary people has been almost banned, resulting in the continuous shrinkage of a large number of theater troupes, and the collapse and disbandment of countless are numerous. Now, too, only the aristocracy has the leisure to enjoy the repertoire.

In the end, the only industry that thrived after the coup d'état eight years ago was the 'Paradise' on the southeast side of [Etania]. This is the gentle town of the night where the aristocratic merchants linger and spend a lot of money, and it is also the main source of income for [Aitania] today.

Originally, 'Paradise' was just an ordinary street of prostitution, but since the Goddess Cult became the state religion and the subhuman races, including orcs, were enslaved, the 'service level' here began to improve with each passing day. Of course, this ascension is for a certain 'special significance'.

In the past, even prostitutes were legitimate citizens protected by the laws of the Empire, but now they are mere animals without dignity and human rights. As a result, as long as you can pay a sufficient amount, you can use every conceivable method to wantonly invade and play with the 'livestock' raised in the paradise.

It may seem like 'paradise' to customers, but for alien slaves, it's hell. If you spend one night here, you will understand that this description is not an exaggeration, and every minute will give you a taste of the most sinful and ugly side of human nature.

It's just that the 'paradise' that was buzzing with people just a month ago has now become an uninhabited deserted city. There are two main reasons why it has fallen into such a tragic situation.

One of them stems from a major accident a month ago, when a subhuman slave woman of an unknown race suddenly went berserk in a nightclub directly run by the city lord, and killed more than a dozen customers present, including high-ranking nobles from the imperial capital and wealthy merchants from well-known chambers of commerce, on the spot.

Subsequently, the lord's proud private army team was slow to capture the murderer's woman. This is a fatal blow not only to Paradise, but also to the credibility of the Lord of Aitania. All customers began to suspect that there were loopholes in the safety and security system of the park's operations.

You must know that on this continent, there are a considerable number of subhuman races, all of which have physical abilities far beyond those of humans. After being brutally abused, they could hardly be sure that they would go berserk and slaughter the fragile humanity in front of them. And customers come here for pleasure, and I believe that not many people are willing to gamble their lives for pleasure.

In the aftermath of the accident, the lords of Aitania fought to salvage their reputations by subjecting the alien slaves of Paradise to a more thorough and brutal training in order to demonstrate their obedience and safety.

At the same time, this is another reason why 'Paradise' has been completely turned into a wasteland that no one cares about. You can see it...... No, it should be said that the back of Paradise is no longer visible, and the towering walls should have been erected like the walls of a prison. Where the city walls were originally located, all that remains is the charred black residue of the destroyed bricks and tiles.

The entire wall behind Paradise was destroyed by some kind of 'magic'. No one knew who it was or how it was done, and even the head of the Wizards' Guild established in the city, a well-informed senior magician, could not tell what kind of magic it was from the traces left by the destruction.

He just said that although the scale seemed small, in terms of power alone, it was at least an eighth-order mixed elemental magic performed by a 'sage' level magician.

Actually, this is just speculation. Because the strength of the branch leader is far inferior to that of the sage, he only has knowledge of the eighth-order magic, and has no experience in actually using it. After all, in order to cast an eighth-order magic, he had to find hundreds of magicians of the same level as him, go through several days and nights of non-stop chanting, and consume thousands of C-rank magic cores at the same time, before it was possible to cast it once.

In other words, even the 'sage' may not be able to cause the current tragedy on his own. However, due to the fact that on this continent, the 'sage' is the highest level of magicians, the branch president of the magician association cannot imagine, and it is difficult to accept that there is a pinnacle above the 'sage' in the world.

Losing the high walls of the city defense, the consequences can be imagined, all kinds of demonic beasts in the wild have invaded the city without hindrance, and the streets that were bright and green not long ago have turned into dangerous demon caves in a blink of an eye.

In such a dangerous environment, of course, the restoration of the city wall could not be carried out smoothly, at least before it was necessary to try to clear the city of monsters and organize a strong defense line to protect the construction safety in the rear. It may have been barely possible just over a month ago, but today's city defense force is not what it used to be.

The number of the lord's private soldiers has dropped to the extent that half of them were insufficient before, and the attrition of personnel is not simply due to casualties, but a terrible incident experienced not long ago, so that most of the soldiers cannot get rid of the haze in their hearts. Even if they healed from their serious injuries, they permanently lost the will to fight, and they could no longer raise their swords again.

Not only ordinary soldiers, but even worse, even the team of magicians who originally served the lord chose to leave the city for the same reason.

No one will forget the inhumane actions of the three little girls who were as powerful as demons that night......

In addition to the collapse of Paradise, the excavation of the legions and the demonic beasts entrenched in the city, there is also a hidden danger that keeps the Lord of [Etania] awake at night - there are two knights of the Legendary Blade, who have been convinced of their intention to rebel and brought the news back to the imperial capital. I believe that it will not be long before the powerful and right track of the imperial capital will take action against themselves.

All in all, the once prosperous [Aitania] is now in an unprecedented predicament. The once high-spirited lord, only a month later, looks like he has been through vicissitudes for a long time.

"Hey............"

Today, without even bringing his entourage with him, he came to the top of the clock tower alone, looking down on his lifeless territory with a dead face.

Think about it more than ten years ago, when he just took over the responsibility of lord from his deceased father, he was so ambitious, with his shrewd and capable skills, he continued to make the territory prosperous, and finally built this suburban area into one of the most prosperous cities in the empire.

I don't know where to start, gradually, he lost his original direction, and only became reckless in pursuit of pure profit and satisfying his growing ambitions, probably retribution, and finally ended up in this tragic situation. Looking back, it happened to be the turmoil in the imperial capital eight years ago that contributed to the opportunity to transform himself.

I didn't expect that the wealth and glory that I had worked so hard to build up over the past eight years would burst like a bubble.

The lord couldn't help but think that if it was eight years ago, although [Aitania] at that time was far from being the most prosperous, if it was a time when the people were still alive and enthusiastic, even if they encountered the current crisis, everyone would definitely be able to go hand in hand and cross together. And it is the confused self who destroys this possibility with his own hands and cocoons himself.

I have to admit that human nature is such a fragile thing. Eight years ago...... His values and ideas that he had always been so simply distorted, and the sweet temptation of the idea of aristocratic supremacy made him instantly forget the moral norms that he should abide by as an imperial nobleman. It was also the self-absorbed self-interest who abandoned the temperance and smashed the infinite possibilities of this town with his own hands.

"So far...... Who will save me......"

Just when the lord didn't know who to sigh and pray to, suddenly from the watchtower of the city wall, a loud alarm bell sounded like it could burst the eardrums.

"Your Lord——! it's not good!!"

The sentry on duty under the bell tower shouted impatiently in the direction of the lord.

The lord sighed to himself with a dull expression of "is it finally here?", and asked the sentry as he walked down the stairs leading from the clock tower to the ground.

"What's wrong...... Is it that the emperor ** has appeared ......? ”

Incredibly, the scene that had made him restless finally happened, and he felt relieved. In these days, he dissipated all the remaining possessions and arranged for his children and wives and concubines to go directly abroad by sea. Counting their fingers, they should have bypassed the mountains and arrived at the port city of [Regedia].

There's nothing to worry about, and there's no point in resisting now. In the end, let yourself get back to your original intention, and as a lord, surrender to the emperor with dignity. was taken to the imperial capital for a week, I am afraid that he will accept a trial from the magnates of the imperial capital that is by no means fair, and finally be sentenced to death, but that may be the retribution he deserves.

"No, it's not! Lord Lord, it's a Demon Beast!! An army of thousands of Demon Beasts is attacking in the direction of the gap in the wall of the 'Paradise'!!"

However, the Sentinel gave the bad news that was completely unexpected.

"What did you say!?"

The lord climbed back to the top of the clock tower and looked into the distance—only to see billowing smoke and dust speeding from the other side of the horizon. And it wasn't a human army of armored horsemen, but a bunch of hideous-looking beasts!

He had never seen such a terrible situation in all his years as a lord. Although seasonally, there will also be some hordes of demonic beasts to infest the city defenses, but as long as you gather the private soldiers of the territory and hire some mercenary groups that are self-recommended, the crisis can be easily resolved.

But this time, the number of demonic beasts has reached an unprecedented scale, and this group of wild beasts, as if they have seen the predicament of [Aitania], launched a devastating blow at the worst time.

The alarm bell echoed in his ears, and the footsteps of the demonic beast gradually turned into a shaking of the earth. It is believed that it will not be long before these monsters will invade their own territory and devour innocent citizens as fodder......

Obscured by the building, the inhabitants of the city could not yet see what was coming towards the city, and the citizens who ran out of the building and into the street all looked at each other with a look of fear and uneasiness.

The soldiers on the city walls could not even muster up their arms to resist. As if seeing a tsunami hit, he smiled pale and gave up on himself.

"Goddess...... If this is a heavenly punishment, it will come to the head of Benjue alone!Why do you want to be furious and pass on our family's territory for generations...... And the innocent people who are slaughtered! everything is ...... It's all Benjue's fault!, so please, please have mercy and save [Aitania]!"

Perhaps the goddess of creation really heard the prayers of the lords...... At this moment, a dazzling light, bright enough to envelop the sky, shone in vain from the sky of [Etania].

Then, from the center of the light, a petite figure, stretched a pair of long wings composed of pure white light feathers, so beautiful that it is impossible to describe in words—descended.