The world has been in turmoil for a long time, but tonight's darkness is even more terrifying - the moon is blood red!

A small village not far from the north of Imperial City has already been designated as a highly restricted area by Imperial City soldiers.

Although the village is in a remote location, surrounded by vast mountains.

However, Imperial City has stationed over six thousand soldiers in this small village with only two hundred households.

On this night, even though it had been a long time since they were last attacked by orcs, the villagers even said that those orc tribes wouldn't come here anytime soon, and the two adjutants also advised the commanding general not to send too many soldiers on guard duty.

"General, it is really inappropriate for the soldiers to be on frequent guard duty. How about not having anyone on guard duty tonight?"

"No, it is not possible. The king has issued a notice, and now it is an extraordinary period. We cannot slacken for a moment!"

In front of the two adjutants in black formal dresses and hats stood a man with a somewhat pale complexion, but his demeanor revealed an unpredictable aura.

Although the man wore the same Imperial City noble clothes as the two adjutants, his imposing presence was not as gentle as it seemed on the surface. In reality...

"Well, relay my message, anyone who wants to sleep..."

Hordos left his position and elegantly and methodically put on a pair of white gloves outside the tent.

When the on-duty soldiers saw the commander's figure, they all put down their food and stood up in a row, lining up neatly on the ground.

"Anyone who wants to shirk their duty and rest... may do so, but... I, Hordos, will let them sleep forever!"

As he spoke, Hordos summoned a spear engraved with the sun god, pointing it at everyone.

"Alright, I ask you all, who still wants to rest now?!"

"..."

All the soldiers dared not speak out, because even though General Hordos was considered young among the nobles, he was a daredevil who didn't hesitate to take action!

They all knew this very well.

Anyone who wanted to rest would have their head blown off in the next second!

"Very well, that is settled. Tonight, I will stand guard with you all. If this place is occupied by the orc tribes, it will directly threaten the people of Imperial City, including the families of everyone here!"

In this way, Hordos ordered half of the soldiers to stand guard at the eight positions surrounding them without any gaps, and he personally led the two adjutants to search the surroundings for any suspicious activities.

His various security measures ensured that there was absolutely no room for error in his cautiousness.

"General, all positions are ready for duty."

"Very well, let's go."

"Yah!"

Just as the patrolling soldier was dozing off, little did he know that a pair of blood-red eyes had been staring at him for a long time, and a knife was about to thrust into his neck...

"Kill!"

The blade crossed the man's neck, and a pool of blood shattered the silence of the night!

A werewolf chieftain and two adjutants led a group of orcs to suddenly attack a village in the middle of the night.

"Tear it all down! Destroy every human dwelling!"

The orcs broke into various houses and brutally killed the people inside before demolishing the buildings.

Many people heard the commotion and fled from the house, but the majority were killed by the orcs with knives and swords.

The battle lasted for over a week, and the situation gradually became irreversible.

For more than a week in a row, nearly half of the SS-level mentors were killed in battle!

The Commission Center in the Imperial City was also pushed to its limits in this war...

"Ugh, the Commission Center has been overcrowded these days!"

"Yeah, most of the people are here to place orders, but there are very few available to take them."

"What do you mean very few... I heard the number of orders has reached over ten times the total of previous years. How can our small number of sorcerers handle the workload?"

During these days, the ministers had differing opinions on the current situation.

"Indeed, in these days, we have lost forty strongholds to the orcs, including eight major cities, and there is an overwhelming number of commission requests coming from all directions!"

"Let's calm down first and discuss possible solutions."

Rathur, the military and political minister who sat on the side and didn't want to be ignored, finally spoke up.

"We came here to relieve His Majesty's worries and solve difficulties, not to cause trouble for him."

"Well, it's easy for you to say that, but who can come up with a feasible solution?"

After one nobleman in green clothes made a sarcastic comment, it became quiet, as no one could provide a solution.

King Bucky, who had been enduring with his trembling beard from dawn till dusk, finally reached his limit and grew furious at these useless people who only knew how to run their mouths!

"Everyone, shut up! Shut up!"

Bucky could no longer contain himself and stood up from his chair, questioning the ministers.

"Don't talk nonsense. Hurry up and come up with a solution. I didn't raise you bunch of idiots for nothing. Tell me... why weren't you as proactive as you are now when we had resources?!"

In his rage, Bucky struck the golden table in the palace with such force that it shattered!

Many exhausted ministers fell to the ground, but only five ministers, including Rathur, stood firm.

The more than forty ministers sitting on both sides of the long table quickly arranged themselves in a line before Bucky, some not even daring to breathe!

"Your Majesty, I have a suggestion."

The nobleman in green clothes stepped forward and presented his suggestion to the king.

"Speak!"

"Your Majesty, given the current circumstances, why don't we send five S-class sorcerers instead of one top-tier SS-class sorcerer?"

"No, no, your method is too risky!"

"But as I know it, our empire had once deployed a team of five S-class sorcerers who defeated an SS-class master. Your Majesty, perhaps it's worth a try!"

"..."

Bucky hesitated, but who else could propose a better solution at this point?

He turned his head to the side and looked at the other ministers, asking.

"Is there no one else with any ideas?"

One by one, they avoided Bucky's gaze, leaving him helpless.

At that moment, Rathur, the military and political minister, stood up and advised him.

"Your Majesty, I believe that the previous attempt with the four Human Emperors has failed. If we don't replenish our fighting power at the front lines, we will soon become trapped with no way out, and by then, I'm afraid..."

"Alright, alright, we'll go with Minister Rathur's plan!"

Unable to handle the current mess, Buckie could only pass the blame onto the ministers. The current situation had caused him too much trauma, with a quarter of the territory lost. All Buckie wanted in his mind was to have a good rest. At that moment, Rutherford revealed a mysterious smile, for he had finally achieved his goal...!

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!

The sound of the sea was close by. I knew what it meant... Woosh!

The dazzling light made it difficult for me to adjust to the sunlight and the beach that laid out before me. I couldn't wait to experience it.

"Ah, it's been so long... sky!"

As I stepped out of the Underworld, I suddenly felt a sense of clarity.

Finally, a person who hadn't seen the sun in years had returned!

Now, I was eager to see everyone, Fuyu-sensei, the friends I had made, and...

Bang! Snap!

Just as the image of that person was about to form in my mind, the back of my head was struck twice by something hard.

I turned my head around and angrily pulled out my sword, complaining to the restless Evil Cloud Sword.

"Ouch, that hurts! Why did you hit me on the head for no reason?!"

"Hum hum hum...!"

It seemed like she still wanted to hit me, such a strange request.

But what was even more astonishing was that I could slowly understand her language. It seemed like she was saying... thinking of someone's dirty secrets in her mind?

So I approached her, almost angry, and with a disdainful expression, I lectured her.

"What I think is my freedom, right? Hey, why do you care about what I'm thinking?!"

"Hum hum hum...!!" (How dare you insult me, you're asking for death!)

"Ouch, damn!"

I was completely defenseless against her attacks, and after she was done, I stubbornly stayed on the ground...

In the end, I had no choice but to bow down in front of her and beg.

"I'm sorry, please forgive me!"

"Hum hum hum!" (I'll spare you this time, but don't let it happen again!)

"Alright, alright, I'm practically raising a spoiled brat."

"Hum hum!" (What did you say?!)

She kept insisting on this, and I responded in annoyance.

"It's nothing, you heard wrong."

The occasional mischief on the road had become a commonplace, but some passing fishermen would mistake me for a fool. However, my white Durma Academy military uniform shut them up immediately.

Feeling extremely conspicuous, I quickened my pace and escaped from that place of chaos.

Near Imperial City, I started to feel a sense of ominousness.

As soon as we arrived back at Imperial City (including the sword on my back), we encountered some minor trouble.

"Don't move!"

I don't remember when the city guards multiplied, but as soon as I reached the city gate, I was stopped and searched by a fat soldier standing at the entrance.

But the skinny soldier behind him immediately slapped the fat soldier on the head.

"What are you doing?"

The fat soldier turned around angrily and started arguing with the skinny soldier.

But the skinny soldier pointed at my clothes and pulled the fat soldier's face, reminding him.

"Are you out of your mind? Can't you see his clothes?"

"What's wrong with his clothes... Well, the craftsmanship is quite delicate!"

"Fool!"

The skinny guy slapped the fat guy in the face and then apologized to me respectfully.

"I'm sorry, Master Sorcerer, my friend Desle is also my subordinate and does not understand manners. Please don't be offended!"

"No, what I meant was that there have been stricter inspections recently, and we have to follow the usual procedure for inspection!"

"That's enough from you! I..."

As he was about to teach a lesson to his beaten and bruised subordinate on the ground, I quickly grabbed his arm and smiled, trying to calm him down.

"What he said makes sense. Let's just follow your usual inspection procedures!"

"It's not... we don't suspect you, but inspecting Master Sorcerer... doesn't seem right, does it?"

The skinny guy spoke with a hint of worry, hesitating.

Seeing his awkward appearance, I had no choice but to step forward and help the fat soldier sitting on the ground, asking with concern.

"Are you alright?"

"I'm... I'm fine."