In the last months of 1343, just three years ago Patrosi was hailed as "the greatest empire since the fall of the Lamanite Empire".

fell into the precarious situation of life and death.

The people of the Empire could not understand how it all came to this point - as if yesterday they were enjoying the power of the world's greatest nation. Then the Empire began to go to war against Suomir, the people cheered, and then in the blink of an eye, the Suomirs and the Empire were evenly matched. In the blink of an eye, the whole world is in chaos.

The affluent life is no longer there, the material shortage is not ancient, and the Padrosi people, who originally prided themselves on being kind and enthusiastic, have become selfish and stingy one by one.

Where's the reason? They don't understand.

If time passes, and a hundred or two hundred years later, when judged by historians of later generations from a relatively objective point of view, it will most likely boil down to "the inevitable fate of a country that maintains prosperity through war and conquest."

But the citizens of Padrosi who were in the middle of it at this time did not notice this. Even if a few people are aware of it, they will choose to misinterpret and turn a blind eye because it concerns them.

The power of the crowd is so great, when there are more people who believe in a mistake, the wrong thing can become the right thing.

The rulers of the Lamanite Empire, a thousand years ago, were deeply aware of this.

In the early days of the Laman Legion, there was a military rule called "Ten Draws", which, as the name suggests, was to divide soldiers who violated the military rules into groups of ten, and the lottery determined that one of them would be killed by the other nine.

This kind of group execution of war friends distracts guilt on the one hand, and on the other hand, it also makes military discipline more cohesive - everyone may be the victim, but they are also the perpetrators, and there is no clear "executioner" or "internal affairs officer" to be the object of hatred. Because it was a hands-on exercise, the soldiers were not in a position to hate the commander who issued the order.

Everyone is an "accomplice", and no one can be clean, so in order to get by, he exaggerated the victim's crime of violating military discipline and thus justified his own behavior.

As the cycle goes on, they become more and more convinced of their infallibility.

It is in this situation that Padrosi finds himself today, and if they admit the Empire's approach of nearly a century, the "glorious and great process of conquest" is the root cause of today's troubled times. Isn't that like admitting one's own sin, admitting that one's good life is based on oppressing other Lamanite peoples.

Of course this is not possible, Padrosi is the most civilized and greatest country in the world today, and such a mistake is impossible.

Naturally, they refused to accept it. The millennial Lamanites were different from the straightforward barbarians on the west coast, and the Lamanites were very good at rhetoric and concealment of facts, which could not be accepted openly.

Because that's all they've left.

Adhering to the idea that "I, Padrosi, am the greatest country in the world", and not allowing any negative voices to appear, so that the empire will fall into chaos, it must be some kind of "external factor".

Some kind of concrete reason.

Someone.

"All because of the nightmare of that abominable and hateful Aurora. ”

"A vicious name that should not be raised. ”

"The traitor, the bastard. ”

"If it weren't for his existence, how could my country be in such a situation. ”

Naturally, it was natural and natural that he became the object of this black cauldron.

In the midst of word of mouth among the literati and the little angry young people of Padrosi, Hamilnin became the son of a curse who kills people without blinking. To be sure, it's not clear how much he has to do with this chain of events, but people's imagination always has no limit to it.

Countless stories began to emerge blaming him, and the more the Southerners, Suomir and Highlanders called him a hero in the name of Heinzwörm, the more the Reich tried their best to tarnish the image.

But that's where the irony comes in.

It was because of these things that on that day in September 1343, Haymirnin appeared at Pamilionn and killed the Pope with his own hands.

All the voices stopped, and the people of the Empire scattered like a plague god.

This naturally includes those angry youths and literati who have been denouncing him.

After all, literati and artists and protesters have always hid in safe places in the rear, waving small flags and shouting.

What they fear most is real knives and real guns.

When the "nightmare" that these people had been shouting about finally came, the usual indignation blamed all his dissatisfaction with life on the citizens of Padrossi, many of whom boasted of killing the culprit.

Ran away with his tail between his legs.

This, on the contrary, brought great convenience to Hymirin's movements.

The nobles of Padrosi, who were troubled by internal and external troubles, realized that something was happening in the immediate vicinity, but they could not spare their hands and could not do anything.

The Empire is a very big place, very big, and at the moment it is divided into several regions, each with its own wars, each with its own contradictions.

It was in this situation that Hermenin and like-minded people were able to quickly assemble and move unimpeded.

A massacre unfolded.

"What we are doing must hardly be called justice. He said.

Each hand that held the blood-stained sword Kramer trembled slightly.

It's not just because of exhaustion, it's also a reflection of inner wavering.

It's hard to imagine that these knights of the Great Sword, who have fought resolutely in the harshest of environments, would waver.

But it's really very different from what they've ever done.

It was, as the name suggests, a one-sided massacre. The followers of the Ideal Sect do not resist, they are not vicious cultists or driven monsters, and they are still smiling at them even when they are killed.

Although you can clearly realize that they are no longer human after their bodies are split by the sword, normal humans do not heal the cut in an instant and try to glue the cut back together. But other than that, they have human blood in their veins, and they look like people in everything they say and do.

Like a white and flawless doll, there is no pain, no sadness, always calm and always smiling.

"Commander....... Are we doing the right thing?" asked Hymirin, a former member of the Silver Guard Knights, now a former Knight of Padrosi in the Church's Enforcement Force, who still hadn't changed their usual way of being called. It's just that when the name is called, the tone is trembling.

Silver Guards are not invincible, they are not perfect people. In the past, when fighting the cultists, the knights were confused about whether their gods were real, and when the homeland empire broke with the church and started a war, many people struggled to choose between the two identities of the padrossi and the knights of the church.

But none of this compares to what it is right now.

The fight against the cultists is to defend innocent civilians. The Empire's war against the Church was the result of the greedy Emperor's desire to gain profits, and they were still defending the common people.

Brief confusion and hesitation can eventually be determined and overcome everything with the same goal.

But now what they are doing is massacring civilians.

Although it has been explained that these people are all transformed by demons, it has been explained that if these disasters are not allowed to spread carefully, more people will become this strange appearance.

But when you swing your sword at a child about the same age as your daughter and your son, smiling at you.

If you don't waver, you're not human.

"I couldn't go on any longer. "No matter how difficult the situation on the battlefield is, many of the Great Sword Knights who will not flinch have collapsed in this one-sided slaughter, each with more than a hundred lives on their hands. They have always been warriors of faith rather than murderers of all kinds of evil, and this kind of thing makes them feel like they have lost their souls and can no longer swing their swords.

There are only a handful of people who do not hesitate, and the most determined and indomitable of them is naturally Hymirin.

"I don't know who's a monster. Some of the knights began to say this, and left their ranks.

The team began to fall apart, and in the end, only a few people with extremely strong psychological qualities remained. They threw away all the rumors behind them, but they cut down all the tentacles of the Ideal Sect with overwhelming force all the way, forcing them back to the southern region.

The great sword crossed, and there were dead bodies in his wake.

"......." stood on the last edge of the south, and Hemernin lowered his hand, still dripping with blood.

"Don't hesitate, don't think, don't get caught up in the loop. The Druid's strong forces set off from the other direction, and Erica, who had led them, spoke to Hermenin before parting.

He couldn't fully understand her words at first, but now he could.

Sadly, yes.

He would rather not know about it.

Like the knights under his command, Hamirin's heart was actually shaken.

He also wanted to turn around and run away, to forget all about it, to hide somewhere and pretend to be blind to it all and live in a state of confusion.

The pressure to confront the tragic truth is too much.

It's too heavy.

Children often think that demons are abominable and abominable horrors that provoke human beings with their soft words and lies. They have hideous, twisted faces that will tear you apart and devour you with their fangs and claws.

But this is only a simple and cheap horror that can be portrayed by the barren imagination of the human masses.

No, the devil's tricks on people's hearts go far beyond that.

Fearful faces and hypocritical lies, knights can overcome with unwavering faith, fangs and claws are powerful and ruthless, and they can be countered with sturdy armor and a sword in their hands against an indomitable will.

The battle itself is not terrible for professional fighters.

It's scary to not be sure what you're fighting for.

In the face of the beautiful and peaceful, there is not even resistance to the civilians who were unilaterally slaughtered by themselves. If you wave the weapon in your hand for a long time, unless you have a psychological problem and indulge in slaughtering weak people, you will definitely fall into deep self-doubt.

The knights were people of faith, but it was because of this that they began to waver in doubting their own correctness, and began to think that they had become the kind of people they had always despised and who had been fighting.

Become the cultist they wanted to annihilate in the past.

"Demons don't lie, they only lure you to the truth step by step. Because lies can be debunked, and truths are unshakable, the latter often leaves a deeper mark. ”

"Don't hesitate, don't think, don't get caught up in the loop – because that's what she wants you to do. ”

"It makes you fall into the trap of questioning what you're doing, and then you start questioning all of it, and then you have a void in your heart, you break down, and you even become one of them. ”

Erica's words were validated at the end of 1343, when many members of the Order began to disappear after officially entering the Southern Realm, ending up on their opposites.

"So what should you do? Kill innocent believers, kill your comrades, all for what?"

"Is it just because we have chosen the path to peace and tranquility? We don't hurt anyone, we just want to live quietly. ”

"What is the difference between you and the fanatical believers who kill heretics?"

The words were finally accompanied by blood splatters, ushering in true tranquility.

More and more people went crazy, and the entire southern part of the empire was plunged into a bloody storm. All the Patrosi who were still normal kept their distance from this place.

Broken Kramer filled the land.

More than 100,000 people have died under the great sword.

And there are very few members of the Order left.

Everyone's eyes were numb, and they closed their minds, thinking only about how to kill and survive like absolutely sane warriors.

And when the last day of 1343 came, the secret war of the Ideal Sect, which had slaughtered all the followers of the Ideal Sect, was disgraceful and destined not to be known to the world, finally ushered in the next stage.

The other party finally launched a counterattack.

And it was a terrible battle.

The terrifying monsters that rushed out of the darkness could only summon a few of them with all their might, but now these are not only stronger, but also have a tidal wave. Nicknamed ghouls, they have human faces and beastly behavior. But the knights' wavering hearts were finally calmed down when they encountered these monsters—for these were truly terrible monsters, evil monsters, and they could wave their weapons without hesitation.

If it were to be replaced by any other army, I was afraid that it would be completely torn apart because of ignorance, but Silver Guard was an old rival with these guys. They are familiar with the nature of these monsters, and they have the right weapons and armor to face them.

The Kramer is a perfectly suited slashing weapon, and with a sturdy blade created with Suomir's pinnacle forging skills, it is always able to kill with every sword.

It was a bloody battle of equal strength.

The experienced Great Swordsmen, under the leadership of Hamirin, advanced with difficulty.

Not understood, not supported, scolded as a "butcher" behind his back.

But keep going.

"To confront her, to ask, to understand all this, to change all this, to stop all this. ”

The armor is deformed.

The piece of armor on the leather twisted, the rivets flew off, and when it was too broken to provide protection, they removed it.

The cotton armor lining was stained with sweat and blood, and after being bitten several times, it began to tatte after being sewn with 25 layers of linen compression. In the end, it was also discarded.

The scarred shields, helmets, almost all the armor were repaired and repaired, and the wounds on the body were also wrapped and wrapped with bandages.

The people who fled left behind a lot of supplies that they could not take with them, which provided them with considerable convenience. But even so, when they finally reached the vicinity of the fire-burned town in the south, and finally crossed the hill to see the ruined town of Parnira in the distance.

They are still exhausted.

There were only more than two hundred people left, and from the knights in bright armor at the beginning, to the horses that were almost dead, more miserable than the militia, scarred, as if they had just escaped from somewhere.

"Do you regret it?" asked Hamirin, turning back to the knights.

"As long as you think it's right, we'll keep following it. The voice that opened his mouth to answer was familiar, and when Hymirnin looked back, the one-armed Gedo spoke to him with his broadsword in his left hand.

Having missed it all because of the burial of Licardo, he did not hesitate to return when Hymirins began to look for people with whom to fight this inglorious war in the Empire.

The same is true of the previous commander, who, despite being physically unable to play, managed to find a lot of supplies for them with the connections that still exist in the empire.

"Let's go. The knights spoke, "Commander." ”

"Well, let's go. Hamirinen said, retracting his greatsword into the half-sheath behind his back.

A gust of wind blew in from afar, the sky was cloudy, and the blue skyline was white in the sun. They took one last look at the wonderful sight, and as if they were afraid that they would never feel it again, they gulped in the air, and tried to feel the fact that they were still alive—

"Click-boom——!!" and the next second suddenly a thunderous sound sounded in the distance.

The glow of magic flashed through the ruins of the city, and something shot out into the sky faster than the light.

"Bang !! bang————!!" The huge impact force directly opened a hole in the clouds, and the frantic air flow blew over, so that the great swordsmen at this distance had to cover their faces.

The corners of their clothes and their dirty hair danced wildly, but in the midst of the frantic wind, they heard a loud roar that resounded for ten miles.

Followed by.

Everyone saw it.

Pierced through the scattered clouds, with smoke and a huge body, the white dragon.

Falling picture.

"Bang !!"

On that day, the earth of the south trembled.

The glow of magic and the sound of explosions alternated among the ruins of the city-state, and the great swordsmen who had arrived all the way looked at each other.

This is a battle far beyond the level of human cognition, and they are certainly good at swinging swords and fighting, but how much of a role can human power play in this situation?

Even the dragon was knocked down.

“.......”

"That's not good. Gedo said expressionlessly: "I didn't expect that the people who walked with me on the one-way road to hell were all this group of stinky men who were covered in sweat and smelled of sweat and hadn't taken a shower for two months. ”

“........ Gedo, you just weren't. ”

"yes, I was kidding. He looked back expressionlessly and shrugged at the crowd.

"Poof-hahaha-ha-" The dirty knights laughed heartily.

"It's cold, you're still no match for Licardo. Hymirnin glanced at him and sighed.

"But I can beat him. Gedo shrugged.

"What would he say if that guy was still around. ”

"I guess I can't say anything good, I just brag about something indiscriminately. ”

"Even dying is not serious at all, obviously because of tuberculosis, he is too weak to be strong. ”

"But as you say. ”

"Although it is a group of stinky men who are dirty, full of sweat and blood, and have not taken a shower for two months. Hamirnin looked back: "But I'm glad that you are with me. ”

"Come with me on this road of no return. ”

"My friends. ”

"Kramer—" he said.

"Unsheathed. ”

"Qiang ——!!" responded with the sound of a neat sword.