Chapter 572

The anomaly wasn’t just faced by Dane’s forces. All races across the world were thrown into chaos by the sudden upheaval.

Himmel had to seal off several tunnels, and the nature of the Great War began shifting into a battle for ruins. Baraykruz’s border cities were swept away by avalanches, and Alvheim’s forests trembled.

None of them could have predicted such a cataclysm. For the powerful, it was an opportunity to leap even higher, but for the majority of the weak, it was nothing but a horrific disaster.

The Great Plains of the East couldn’t escape the wave of change either.

The Ka`har of the grasslands were horrified by the appearance of monsters for the first time, shouting that the sorcerers had brought calamity. Though, to be fair, they weren’t entirely wrong.

The Empire, too, groaned under the sudden anomaly. Frequent seismic shifts, the emergence of new dungeons, and the increasing appearance of monsters.

Reports and requests for support from the lords poured in, and Leopold had to convene an emergency meeting to address the situation.

“Has it finally begun? What Marquis Median warned about…!”

As the Heavenly Barrier shattered, the world’s chaos would intensify. Leopold muttered to himself, recalling the warning Hersela had passed down from her ancestors.

Though he had been pushing for various military reforms in preparation, the pace of change was far too rapid. As fast as his hairline was receding.

The plan to train civilians as reserve forces had just entered its trial phase, and the recovery of the 1st and 2nd Legions was so slow that conscription was starting to seem necessary.

A few masters had emerged from the overworked 3rd Legion, but it still wasn’t enough to replace the forces lost to civil war and the invasion.

“At least there haven’t been any reports of dragons appearing yet…”

If dragons had started burning cities in this situation, Leopold would have seriously considered drafting his will as the Empire’s last emperor.

—

In any case, there was no time to just lament. At the emergency meeting, Leopold emphasized the active implementation of the reserve system, and the nobles, for once, agreed without any resistance.

People don’t realize how hot fire is until they get burned.

Until now, the Imperial Army and the Imperial Knight Order had been handling the monster problem, so the nobles had somewhat underestimated the threat. But with the number of monsters exceeding what the Imperial Army could handle and their territories being crushed, they finally felt the heat.

The nobles, without exception, began mobilizing their reserves, training their people, and evacuating those in the outer territories to safer areas near their main cities.

Not out of love or care, but because their people were the foundation of their power, wealth, and military strength.

Various other measures were discussed.

Hiring wandering knights, exiled knights, or skilled individuals who didn’t fit into organizations as temporary forces, or providing state-level support to adventurers who had previously been mere subcontractors to turn them into elites.

Hersela’s anti-monster tactics were also brought up. Previously, they had only been tested due to lack of credibility, but with the monster threat escalating, there was no time to leisurely verify their effectiveness.

Leopold issued a decree to the nobles and the Imperial Knight Order to prioritize Hersela’s tactics when dealing with monsters.

Failure could result in significant losses, but the potential gains if successful were immense.

So, they would actively use her methods first, and if they proved effective against monsters, they would be officially distributed as guidelines.

—

[ Hersela ]

“…What a mess.”

After swinging Durandal to the side and shaking off the blood-soaked blade, I lit a cigarette. The minty flavor in my mouth masked the stench of blood and guts.

A few kilometers from the triple walls of the City of Exra-shapel, on the plains.

I had just slaughtered a group of monsters gathered there. Entrails and flesh were scattered everywhere.

Bodies cut down by the sword, bodies sliced in half by the Vacuum Blade, bodies that had exploded from the inside as if they’d swallowed grenades, and bodies torn to shreds by Ice Blade’s claws. The blood was enough to form a lake.

“Did we get them all?”

[ It seems so. A rather dull fight. ]

“Yeah. They weren’t much.”

After confirming all the monsters were dead, I sheathed Durandal and summoned Cascador to ride back to the city.

Cascador, summoned amidst the lingering traces of dark magic, grumbled as if eager to leave this place.

As we left the lake of blood and headed toward the allied camp, the knights who had been keeping their distance began to murmur in awe.

“To take down so many monsters without a single scratch…!”

“I can’t believe it even though I saw it with my own eyes. Is that the power of a hero…?”

To me, they were just weak monsters, but to the other knights, they were formidable foes worth risking their lives against. The reverence in their eyes was clear.

A quick glance showed that, thankfully, while there were injuries, no knights had lost their lives.

Looks like I wasn’t too late. Relief mixed with the smoke I exhaled. It had been worth rushing here on the unicorn as soon as I heard the report of the monsters’ appearance.

—

Since the world’s upheaval, which had come a bit sooner than expected, I could no longer leisurely stay holed up at home training. There were just too many monsters.

I had been handling only the monsters near the capital in case of emergencies, but even that kept me busy enough.

The rest of the group had also been living drenched in monster blood lately. We were all so busy that we barely had time to see each other, and Ophelia even muttered, “Maybe the Mage Tower wasn’t so bad after all…”

Ophelia. There’s no paradise in the place you ran away from. Honestly, where did you get the idea that fieldwork would be easier than research?

“Welcome back, sis! You’re not hurt, are you?”

“Yeah, I’m fine. Don’t worry. Thanks to the blessing, I didn’t even get a scratch.”

“That’s a relief!”

As soon as I returned home, Rana clung to me, and I smiled as I gently patted her head.

The Blessing of Invulnerability passed down by Hersela’s ancestors was far more useful than I had thought. With so many monsters, I had been grazed by claws a few times, but not a single drop of blood was shed, nor was there even a mark.

Unless I took a direct hit, I was practically invincible against light attacks.

If I were to fight completely naked, I might even rival Or-han’s defense. Though I’d rather take the risk of injury than fight like that.

After washing off the blood and sweat with a quick bath, I lounged on the sofa in the living room, wearing only a robe, and sipped on the strawberry juice Rana had made.

“How is it?”

“It’s great. This could even be served at a banquet.”

The juice, sweetened with something, was just right for my taste.

Since quitting alcohol, all I had was tea and water, so this was a welcome change. I could drink this every day without getting tired of it.

“It’s a special gift just for you, sis!”

“Really? I’m so grateful, I don’t know what to do with myself.”

I shook the glass slightly, praising it. Rana, satisfied with my reaction, leaned against me and smiled brightly as she sipped her own juice.

[ Having fun, huh? ]

Hersela’s sarcastic grumble was nothing more than the jealousy of a loser to me.

‘What, jealous?’

[ W-what…? ]

Her voice trembled slightly, as if I had hit a nerve. If you’re jealous, just say so.

‘Yeah, I get it. The only gifts you’ve ever gotten from your sister are poison and assassins, right? No wonder you’re jealous… But what can you do? This is the difference in popularity.’

You reap what you sow. If you had cared for her with love, maybe you’d have gotten something nice too. But since you were busy spilling blood, you got assassins instead. Totally your own fault.

Perhaps the teasing was too harsh, as Hersela stayed silent for a full five hours after that.