"General, have you at least heard of the Second Princess of Milanía and her achievements?"

Raymond sighed and responded to Treiman's question.

"Achievements?"

Treiman was momentarily stunned. He really didn't know much about these things.

The Gräuus Federation, as a magitech powerhouse with abundant resources on the island, has always maintained a transcendent or rather detached position. Its understanding of the Western continent's dynamics is limited to observation only. Moreover, as there was no Holy Rank presence domestically, they didn't really care much about rumors of top-tier experts.

“Vanquishing Beast Tides, Dragon Slayers, defeating Angels and slaying Holy Rank… Although she has not publicly declared her strength up to now, she undoubtedly has reached the level of Holy Rank. And, General Treiman, you have seen the power of Holy Rank with your own eyes."

"Is that the person you all fear?"

To be honest, Treiman was a bit disgusted by the existence of Holy Rank. Individuals capable of single-handedly turning the tide of battle or deciding the outcome seemed like an insult to military personnel who constantly study warfare and strategy, as if the existence of an army was irrelevant.

"Yes," Raymond admitted frankly, "If possible, we certainly do not want to encounter an enemy of Holy Rank."

Originally, due to the rules established by Milt, Holy Rank individuals were not allowed to actively participate in wars. Countries that first deployed Holy Rank in a war would face retribution led by the 'Three Saints.' However, after the events of the Gate of Hell and the weakening of Milt's position was widely known, coupled with the ongoing reconstruction of the destroyed Academy City, the restraint of 'Holy Rank not contending with the world' had weakened significantly.

In this situation, the Maston-Gräuus coalition army had employed a Holy Rank individual directly in war, naturally considering countermeasures against the opponent.

"Ever since the battle in Sainz, the Silver War Maiden has disappeared for a long time, and in the last battle in Milt, according to the intelligence we gathered, she did not demonstrate the strength at the level of Holy Rank. In order to thoroughly understand the strength of the Silver War Maiden and confirm whether she is still in Milanía, I believe it is worth sending a regiment."

Raymond placed his hand on the location of Beacon City on the map, "Besides, we have a Holy Rank on our side. Even if the worst-case scenario happens, Beacon City and the port of Bergen are still under your noble army's control. We won't be at a disadvantage no matter how you look at it."

…

Alex stood alone on the city wall, his left hand resting on the uneven bricks exposed to the sun and rain. He quietly watched as the Gräuus army approached, feeling a bit absent-minded, as if his soul and body were experiencing a slight detachment, always feeling somewhat surreal.

The speed of the landing crafts was faster than the army's march. With no defenses at the port, those small landing crafts should have already brought some Gräuus soldiers ashore. As for the ground forces, based on what Alex observed, they didn't seem to be in a hurry, just slowly advancing in formation.

It seemed they had anticipated that the defenders of Beacon City wouldn't be enough to resist them after the fall of Bergen Harbor.

"Lord Alex," a voice suddenly came from behind.

Who is it? In a daze, Alex couldn't immediately discern the voice behind him. It seemed somewhat familiar, but not quite clear. Was it a guard officer? Or someone from the central army? Or perhaps an official from his own staff?

"It's me, what's up?" Even though Alex couldn't recognize the person behind him, he still responded.

"The central army in the camp has reorganized and left the city through the other gate, and the garrison is following them."

"Is that so?" Alex's gaze remained outside the city, his expression neither sad nor happy.

But at a certain moment, deep down, he still held some expectations for scenarios like "soldiers fighting with noble courage and sense of duty for the kingdom and homeland, defying orders and standing by his side."

However, upon further thought, that kind of spontaneous action that usually happens in high morale situations was unlikely to occur after he vented a bunch of frustration. What exactly was he expecting, some unrealistic scenario?

Alex couldn't help but chuckle bitterly.

"Lord Alex, aren't you leaving?"

The voice inquired.

"Leave? I am the governor of this city. When I accepted this duty, I swore to cherish it as my most precious possession. How could I stand by and watch the enemy trample her..."

"Is that so. What do you think of this answer? Miss Tiran."

"Hmm, not bad at all. Indeed, you are qualified as my governor."

"Just qualified? Your standards are too high."

"It varies from person to person. For a man to score sixty points in my book is already the highest. Of course, if Aya were to say something so handsome, it would be a perfect score."

Hearing the conversation behind him, Alex gradually realized that the person behind him was probably not the subordinate he initially thought. With a pleasant surprise, he turned around and indeed saw Princess Tiran teasing Aya with her elbow, leaving Aya slightly embarrassed by Tiran's unexpected move.

"Princess Tiran?! What are you doing here?"

Even for himself, the only information received from the castle was that Princess Tiran had been away for a long time, and all her post-Milt return activities were confidential.

"Just paying a visit, nothing unusual, right?"

The princess shrugged, then walked to Alex's side to look down at the city below, "Also, we will definitely win this war."

---

"General! The Beacon gate is tightly shut, but there is no sign of garrison troops appearing on the city wall. The landing direction at sea has successfully captured the Beacon commercial harbor without resistance!"

Surveying the city wall in front of him and the sturdy gate weathered by wind and rain but still standing strong, the army commander of Glaeus showed a look of anticipation that had been expected long before, while his right hand, holding a new-style magitech weapon, shook twice out of regret.

The army had just upgraded to even better swords and armor before this expedition, equipped a hundred-strong team with expensive firearms, and even brought along towed land-based magitech cannons. Not being able to engage in a proper battle to let the enemy feel the might of the Glaeus army left a sense of desolation akin to being undefeated and alone.

"Report! The side gate of the city has opened, and troops are withdrawing. Should we pursue?"

"Hmph, just as expected. They knew they couldn't hold it, so they gave up? Quite smart," the commander sneered, "Don't bother with chasing them. They are just a bunch of losers. Our goal is to join the forces landing by sea and take control of this city, providing a secure base for the Federation's reinforcements to follow."

"...However," shifting gears, the commander's smile turned icy, "Deputy, don't you think the people of Milania are a bit impolite? Clearly giving up this city and still not opening the gates obediently? It's a headache. If we break the gates to enter now, we'll have to fix it ourselves later."

"What do you mean, General?"

"Go, have someone make announcements, so that the people inside the city will open the gates to welcome us in." The commander couldn't help but smirk, "If they don't open, it will be taken as the city still resisting, and we will immediately commence indiscriminate bombardment of the city buildings."

"G-General? Attacking civilians is a violation of international law during wartime! Plus, we must consider the civilians' resistance after we enter the city. Gréwius is already isolated from the international political system by continental nations, so our situation—"

"Indeed, but you've got one thing wrong, lieutenant. To join the continental international system, it's not about following their rules, but demonstrating enough strength. If we can replace Milanía's position, no country on the western continent can ignore us. As for the civilians... even if we act politely, we're still invaders to them."

Not long after, within the Gréwius army formation, the announcements from the magitech loudspeakers had already blared three times as urgently as a death sentence. At this moment, even if the well-trained soldiers responsible for opening the city gates were willing to do so, they wouldn't make it in time, let alone the panicked civilians waiting inside their homes.

"Magitech artillery teams, archers at the ready, adjust the firing angle, make sure the observers have their calculations ready, don't ruin the city walls."

In the rear of the Gréwius army formation, the magitech artillery teams had already pushed the magitech cannons, pulled by mule-horses, into position and embedded crates of high-quality magical crystals into the power slots.

With all attack preparations in place, the commander took a calibrated handheld loudspeaker from a nearby soldier.

"Ahem, citizens of Signal City, this is the final warning. If you don't open the gates, we'll be forced to attack. Any casualties caused, my army deeply regrets."

The city walls stood still, like slumbering giants.

"What a pity, lieutenant. It seems my army has no choice but to attack the gates, and errors in the new magitech equipment's targeting accuracy would be quite normal, right?"

After the commander theatrically sighed and placed a hand over his chest, he raised the loudspeaker high and commanded, "Fire!"

The sound of the magitech cannons firing wasn't as loud as artillery, only a buzzing resonance emitted by the rushing magic in the circuits, but the continuous shots of the magitech cannons created a piercing cacophony.

Amidst this piercing buzz, over twenty nearly one-meter in diameter intense light balls were shot towards Signal City in arcs, descending towards the city.

Almost all Gréwius soldiers watched as the magic explosive orbs were supposed to land in the city, but they unexpectedly didn't.

Unpredictably, an equal number of ice blossoms bloomed in the sky, sharp-edged crystalline ice-blue sculptures as translucent and exquisite as artworks, intercepting the trajectory of the magic explosive orbs.

Then, as the high-density magic condensed spheres contacted the obstacles, they burst without a doubt.

A violent explosion occurred in midair, forming a dazzling band of light, within which the Gréwius commander vaguely saw a huge shadow emerging against the backlight, engulfing the federal forces on the ground.