Ancient Imperial Calendar Year 1813
The Devil armies were divided into 15 groups, with one hundred legions in each group.
By adding the Ashterah armies to his own, Orsman now had a total army of 400 legions.
Orsman divided his army into four:
· The First Army under Orsman Kislavein's command.
· The Second Army under Marco Ashbrum's command.
· The Third Army under Fraud Kislavein's command.
· The Fourth Army under Junric Ashbrum's command.
The four armies launched attacks towards the Devil armies from four different points.
The first battle would be with the First Army under the command of IV Orsman Kislavein.
The air was thick with the smell of blood and corpses, so much so that it seemed this stench would not leave the ruins and corpse-filled city of Changbrum even if a whole year passed.
Devils were hunting the surviving people in every corner of the city. The screams of people subjected to tortures beyond human imagination shook the earth and sky.
Orsman and his one million soldiers had reached a position where they could see Changbrum city.
Orsman channeled mana to his eyes and saw the city of Changbrum, far away, as if it were right under his nose.
As Orsman examined the ruined city, where nothing remained but debris and corpses, he himself was shocked to see the torn-apart human bodies and the people being tortured.
"Even if their name wasn't 'Devils,' their actions would more than justify the name. We wouldn't even go this far."
Krael Kislavein was right behind Orsman. The words he heard from the Dynasty Lord seemed absurd to him.
"Dynasty Lord, we aren't that different either. In the eyes of the whole world, we are the bad guys."
This statement made Orsman laugh.
"You're right. We are the bad guys; I don't deny that. The genocides and rapes we've committed are more savage than any other dynasty in the world. But you have to hand it to these devils."
Krael agreed with Orsman's words.
"What are your orders, Dynasty Lord? Shall we attack?"
Orsman raised his massive sword and roared like a lion.
"ATTACK!"
Orsman and his Blood Hawks, living up to their name to the core, swooped down on the city like hawks.
When the devils in the city saw the approaching Kislavein armies with their dark blood-red hair, eyes, and armor, an indescribable rage awoke within them, as if they were seeing a two-thousand-year-old enemy.
"KiiiiHAAAAAA!"
The devils poured over the city walls towards the Kislavein soldiers like a flood.
When the two armies met face to face, the slaughter began.
"KILL THEM ALL!"
With Orsman's words, the Western soldiers attacked, as if mocking death itself.
Orsman filled his sword with aura to its limits and with a single swing, killed thirty thousand devils.
The Blood Hawks pierced into the devils like a spear, killing over a hundred devils per minute with the swords they held in both hands.
Winged devils launched fast and sharp attacks on the Kislavein soldiers.
One devil grabbed a Kislavein soldier and soared dozens of meters into the sky within seconds.
"Let me go, bastard!"
The devil grinned sinisterly.
"With great pleasure."
The devil dropped the Kislavein soldier. The soldier, crashing to the ground from dozens of meters high, was torn to pieces.
Seeing this, Orsman leaped dozens of meters into the air in a single bound. Flying through the air, he used the Aura Shaping technique to kill the winged devils causing trouble for his soldiers.
With a single swing of his sword, Orsman cut all the flying devils in half in the air.
Krael Kislavein fought shoulder to shoulder with the Blood Hawks, killing thousands of devils simultaneously by swinging his aura-filled sword and casting spells.
Krael was living up to his title as the second most powerful person in the Kislavein Dynasty.
Dornas Kislavein, who was following Krael with admiration while killing hundreds of devils himself, praised Krael in an admiring voice.
"You are a magnificent warrior, sir. It is an honor to fight shoulder to shoulder with you."
Dornas was one of the heroes of the Battle of Magusa Port.
Dornas had come to this war against the devils with his son Deon and Javier, the son of his elder brother Julius, who was killed on XXI Carl's orders.
Javier and Deon were like two sides of the same sword.
Javier swung his sword at the devils on his right. Deon sensed the direction of the incoming attack and swung his sword to complement Javier's strike.
The duo fought with great skill and harmony. Dornas was amazed watching them.
"Wow, they have a harmony only twins could possess. The spirits of our ancestors must be making them fight in sync."
Suddenly, a warrior with a thick sword landed on the ground with a powerful impact from the sky. Thousands of devils lost their balance due to the split earth. The same warrior shaped the aura on his sword and hurled it at the devils, cutting thousands of them in two.
"Hahaha, that's my lion son!"
The warrior Krael praised with a proud voice was his son, Arael Kislavein.
Arael was the exact copy of his father. They resembled each other greatly in appearance, personality, and potential. Everyone expected Arael to one day inherit the title of the Second Strongest Warrior of the West.
Orsman used wind magic to remain airborne; the swirling air beneath him resembled a small tornado.
Orsman raised his hands, and thousands of massive orbs composed of fire, earth, lightning, ice, and light formed around him.
The devils were horrified at this sight, frozen in place.
When the Western soldiers saw the fearful faces of the devils, they knew they had won.
"Taste my magic, you damned devils!"
When Orsman lowered his hands, thousands of magic orbs descended upon the devils like a hammer.
The agonizing screams of the devils lasted only seconds. When the dazzling gleams of the magic orbs began to fade, the area was filled with dismembered devil corpses, with only a very few devils surviving.
Orsman slowly descended from the sky using wind magic, drew his sword, and pointed it at the devils.
"Kill them."
"HAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!"
Upon the 'kill' order, the Kislavein soldiers ran towards the surviving devils like rabid dogs.
The devils felt fear for the first time in their lives. They ran like mice fleeing a lion but met their end at the hands of the Kislavein soldiers before they could get far.
One Day Later
The Kislavein soldiers, under Dornas's leadership, were disposing of the devil corpses.
"How many are left, soldier?" asked Krael, sounding bored.
"Approximately 750,000, sir," replied the Kislavein soldier.
"Ugh, at this rate, we'll be at it for a long time."
Javier and Deon, with the soldiers under their command, were busy collecting and burying the two hundred thousand torn-apart human corpses in Changbrum city.
"Ugh, I'm gonna puke now... haaa." Deon was feeling nauseous from the sight, while Javier remained cold-blooded.
"Come on, Deon. There are still 136,500 corpses left to bury."
Deon squinted at Javier.
"You numerical bastard."
Orsman and Krael were holding a meeting.
"One down, fourteen to go," said Orsman.
"The other three armies will also engage the Devil armies at close intervals, Dynasty Lord. So we can already reduce the count to eleven," said Krael.
"You're right, Krael. Then let's stick to the plan and continue advancing along this route. Let's keep attacking without giving the Devil armies a chance to unite."
Krael bowed respectfully.
"As you command, Dynasty Lord."
Orsman took a deep breath, and his son Ricardo came to mind.
"I received a letter from Seliarnevre recently."
Krael asked curiously,
"May I dare to ask what the letter said, Dynasty Lord?"
"Ricardo has returned successfully from the Kerbel Forest campaign. Moreover, the casualties didn't even exceed one hundred and forty."
Krael was impressed by this news.
"You must be proud."
Orsman burned the letter in his hand with magic.
"Well, if it were just that, yes."
Krael sensed something bad. Orsman continued.
"Wilheim, the Lord of the Pleyciys Dynasty, has started a rebellion."
Krael was shocked.
"What?!"
"He has declared he will kill everyone of my blood to avenge his father. Though that's just an excuse; if it were true, he would have rebelled earlier."
Krael asked with curiosity and concern,
"Then, in your opinion, what could Wilheim Pleyciys's real goal be, Dynasty Lord?"
"It's not his goal, but the goal of the Turvig Dynasty Leader, Jarl III Kayra Khan, Krael."
"Kayra? How so?"
"Like this: Kayra, seeing my absence on the campaign as an opportunity, incited Wilheim to rebel. If successful, Wilheim conquers the West, and Kayra conquers the West without losing a single soldier of his own. On the other hand, even if Wilheim loses—and he will lose—Kayra will attack from the North with his own army and win the war with little difficulty."
Krael was horrified but also very curious about one thing.
"You are very sure that Wilheim's rebellion will fail, Dynasty Lord. May I know the reason?"
'If only you had trained your brain as much as your power,' Orsman thought to himself.
"Because Ricardo is already very powerful and clever. He can suppress the rebellion with few losses. Moreover, I taught him all the Dark Magic I know, and he mastered it all in a remarkably short time, fitting for a genius. Frankly, even I was surprised. His intellect surpasses everyone's."
Krael spoke in astonishment.
"But Dynasty Lord, mastering Dark Magic takes decades! It doesn't matter how smart someone is; even you mastered it in fifteen years."
Orsman smiled.
"You're right. I suppose my son is the greatest genius in a thousand years."
A Few Days Later
While Orsman and his army continued their advance, the Second Army under Marco Ashbrum's command was also fighting a Devil army.