Empire, Western Border Fortress.
Dusk covered heaven and earth as the bleak autumn wind swept past.
The ruined city walls built from giant stone stood silently upon the land.
At the top of the fortress, red military banners bearing black cross patterns fluttered in the wind.
Under the dim twilight, the walls looked black at first glance.
But upon getting closer, one would discover that the so-called blackness was merely dried and weathered flesh and blood.
At this moment, three days had already passed since the western foreign tribes invaded the border.
The elite Esdeath Army had been stationed here, and with the help of this fortress holding back the enemy.
Only then had they miraculously managed to forcibly hold back the western foreign tribes' army.
The exhausted soldiers leaned against the city walls to rest. None of them had much expression on their faces, and morale was somewhat low.
During the four days of stubborn defense, there had been no reinforcements or supplies. It was as if this place had been forgotten.
Inside the command room, smoke lingered thickly.
The commander wearing a coat lowered his head as he looked at the documents on the table, his eyes unfocused as he pondered something.
"There's been a change within the Empire. The exact situation is still unclear."
"The foreign tribes wouldn't launch an attack for no reason. Did the rebel army reach the Imperial Capital?"
"General Esdeath..."
Putting the Empire aside for now, with their general's personality, there was no way she would miss a war of this scale.
Yet now four days had passed without any sign of her, not even a single message.
Then there were only two possibilities. One was that the general was currently outside the Empire. The second was...
The commander shook his head and threw that thought out of his mind.
"Impossible..."
The cigarette held between his fingers trembled slightly as sparks flickered continuously.
"With General Esdeath's strength, that's absolutely impossible."
Just as worry weighed on his heart, the door to the command room was suddenly pushed open.
The soldier's face was overflowing with unconcealable joy. He did not even bother knocking out of courtesy before rushing in.
"General, people from the Imperial Capital have arrived!"
The commander's expression changed slightly upon hearing that. He crushed the cigarette into the ashtray.
Then he stood up and walked outside while lifting his chin slightly to signal the soldier to lead the way.
"Yes!"
The soldier saluted and immediately led him outside impatiently.
Along the not-so-long corridor.
The commander's mood was somewhat complicated, as if he were walking toward an execution ground.
He thought inwardly.
"Is this Empire still the same Empire as before?"
If the Empire had been replaced by the rebels, then those arriving would not be reinforcements, but surrender negotiators!
Now that General Esdeath was absent, he bore the fate of the entire Esdeath Army.
If he refused the rebels' offer to surrender, then they would be attacked from both front and rear, and the entire army would undoubtedly perish.
However, all those doubts and fears vanished the moment he saw the figure outside the walls.
"General Budo!"
The two-meter-tall giant clad in armor stood below, his golden hair and thick eyebrows unmistakable.
It was none other than one of the Empire's strongest fighters, General Budo!
Budo, famed for his upright and rigid personality, would absolutely never side with rebels. There was no need to question that at all.
The commander's previously lowered brows instantly lifted, and an uncontrollable bright smile spread across his face.
Budo below the wall merely raised his eyes and glanced at him indifferently, saying nothing.
The commander looked toward the nearby soldier and was just about to order the city gates opened when he hesitated again.
He turned his head and looked downward once more.
Beside Budo stood a brown-haired girl wearing the Imperial Police uniform, carrying a small dog in her arms.
Noticing his gaze, the girl narrowed her eyes and revealed a sweet smile.
The commander instantly recognized her due to those obvious features, and thought inwardly.
"Seryu Ubiquitous. The girl General Esdeath once mentioned. No problem."
Only after confirming everything again did he open the gates and invite Budo's group inside.
Budo swept his gaze around. Honestly, he was somewhat surprised to see this fortress still standing.
He had originally thought driving back the western foreign tribes would require some effort, but with the fortress still intact, things became simple.
The sound of dense, orderly footsteps rang out as several hundred elite soldiers brought by Budo climbed onto the walls.
Budo looked toward the distant horizon and said matter-of-factly.
"From now on, command authority is under my control."
Dense bloodlust filled the fortress. Some belonged to the enemy, and some to the soldiers.
Budo fell silent for a moment before speaking in praise.
"To hold out until now, you've all worked hard."
"It seems the Esdeath Army's reputation is not entirely exaggerated."
Defending the border was the Esdeath Army's duty. The commander did not care much about Budo's praise and instead asked.
"General Budo, General Esdeath..."
Budo already knew what he wanted to ask.
"Esdeath is currently outside the Empire. Go down and rest."
The commander froze slightly, his lips parting.
Just as he was about to say something.
Budo's lips curled slightly upward as traces of fighting spirit flashed through his eyes.
"No need. The western wild dogs have arrived. Perfect timing."
After speaking, he stepped back several paces to ensure the enemy would not notice him immediately.
It would be troublesome if they got scared away.
The nearly hundred elite soldiers from before opened the cases they carried in their hands.
Accompanied by a series of mechanical clicking sounds.
Massive black firearms tinged with blood-red coloration were mounted atop the wall battlements. Thick composite barrels as wide as an adult's arm were densely packed with dozens of dark firing holes.
Like honeycombs, radiating the aura of death.
Seryu took out a device resembling a detector from her arms and placed it over her right eye.
She placed one hand on the wall and leaned forward to look ahead with curiosity.
"Oh, so those are the western foreign tribes?"
Smoke rose as large numbers of warhorses carrying knights charged toward them.
The distance between the foreign tribe army and the fortress rapidly shrank.
The moment the army entered within one kilometer of the fortress, dense red dots instantly locked onto the lenses of the detector over Seryu's right eye.
The excited smile on her face widened continuously as her raised arm swung down fiercely like an executioner's guillotine.
"Fire!!"
Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!
Dozens of tongues of flame erupted from the honeycomb-like barrels as countless bullets instantly poured forth.
The deafening sound nearly ruptured the eardrums of the soldiers atop the walls.
The charging foreign tribe army seemed to slam headfirst into an invisible wall.
The cavalry charging at the front exploded together with their horses the moment they touched the barrage!
The large-caliber custom bullets effortlessly tore through sturdy leather and armor, piercing flesh and blood.
Flesh shattered, bones splintered.
The warhorses' screams and the knights' cries were completely drowned beneath the roar of gunfire.
The torrent of bullets forming a river of death was like an invisible giant plow violently "plowing" through the dense military formation.
Wherever it passed, both men and horses were torn apart, severed limbs and internal organs flung skyward.
The charging formation that had looked unstoppable just moments ago was transformed in an instant into a scarlet carpet made from flesh, blood, and dirt.
The Empire had always possessed firearms and cannons, but they were never equipped on a large scale for the military.
How could those outdated guns compare to the Quinque-like weapons specially modified by Stylish?
One fifth of the entire army was torn apart instantly.
The remaining forces immediately halted in place as the overwhelming sense of danger transmitted through their instincts drove the warhorses backward.
Among the charging forces, a few lucky unlucky bastards survived.
At this moment, they clutched their massive wounds while screaming miserably.
"AAAAAHHHH! My hand... my hand!"
Gripping the reins tightly, one cavalryman in the rear swallowed hard and shouted in disbelief.
"What the hell is that? Firearms... can firearms really have that kind of power?!"
Seryu leaped onto the city wall, her body almost suspended in midair.
She raised her right hand, standing ramrod straight as she mocked proudly.
"Idiots, the Empire's scientific technology is number one in the world!"
Koro also raised its little paw while cheering beside its master.
"Woof! Woof woof!"
Seryu stepped forward and directly jumped down from the towering fortress.
She raised her head to stare at the distant foreign tribe army, her expression firm as she declared.
"Evildoers invading the Empire's borders, die!"
"Koro!"
Koro, who had fallen alongside its master, opened its mouth.
Its mouth instantly expanded dozens of times in size, and an ultra-long cannon extended from within.
Seryu caught the cannon and aimed its barrel toward the remaining army.
A blood-red crosshair appeared on the detector over her right eye.
"Justice Mount Taizan Cannon!"