Chapter 194: The Corner of War

As a powerful nation that ranks almost at the forefront in terms of overall national strength, the Holy Empire sits at the center of the world, with a geography that’s quite bountiful.

To the west lies the United Kingdom, which is extremely hostile to foreign races, focusing on defense and never initiating large-scale wars abroad, only engaging in relevant trade.

To the north, after crossing the frigid belt, one can enter the Northern Nations, where the frozen snow country resides, which rarely interacts with the outside world. Given the significant geographical differences, the nations in the north almost never have the possibility of invading southward.

While the long, narrow Wasteland in the south of the Holy Kingdom remains in a state of perpetual chaos, small nations and various factions are constantly warring with one another. Though this can be seen as an unstable factor, their lack of unity means they cannot pose a threat to the vast Holy Empire.

As for the far southern Kingdom of Azure, there’s even less to worry about. The Winged People are inherently kind and simple, never eager for conflict, and although they possess strong national power and are extremely resistant to the spread of the Church of the Goddess, they are overall the most stable factor among the several great nations, similarly trading with the Holy Kingdom.

Finally, there’s the massive Ost Empire, occupying almost the entire eastern world. They indeed possess the largest and most excellent military in the world, and they are ambitious, often directly or indirectly launching wars under various pretexts…

However, such actions, after all the nations on their northern and southern sides were incorporated into their territory over a century ago, have had to cease. It has been quite a while since they last initiated large-scale invasions.

The eastern portion of the Ost Empire is coastal, while the northern border is firmly sealed by the frigid belt. To the south lie the Foggy Peaks and the Land of the Undead, which hold no strategic value for occupation. If they truly want to expand their territory further, it can only be toward the west into the Holy Empire.

Yet, between the Holy Empire and the Ost Empire is a broad buffer zone resembling a wasteland, dotted with many small nations. The remaining neighboring territories are either characterized by harsh environments that hinder military movement or have powerful magical beasts roaming through dense primordial forests, making direct military conflict almost impossible.

In fact, the Holy Kingdom and the Empire—two colossal entities that are nearly equal in comprehensive aspects—have historically engaged in a covert standoff, manipulating and supporting affiliated countries in the bordering regions and waging small-scale wars, rarely meeting in direct combat.

To summarize, although the Holy Empire has a vast territory, it is essentially a stable country that faces almost no external threats. This is precisely why it has formed a situation reminiscent of a grand fusion with the Church of the Goddess at its core, bringing together various races from around the world.

Thus, throughout history, the most troublesome issue and enemy faced by the high-ranking officials of the Holy Kingdom has always been those [Demons] that descend here from another world through summoning.

The invasion of demons typically originates from some remote areas due to various evil summoning incidents. The more prosperous cities like the Holy Capital, with the stronger power of churches and temples, can have evil forces hiding within, but once their presence is detected, they are almost immediately met with ruthless strikes and destruction.

More than ninety percent of demonic rituals are stopped before they start by Temple Knights, and the few successful cases become recorded instances of demonic unrest in history.

If the demonic forces were to secretly develop to the extent that they eradicate the local church, or even begin expanding outward…

Then we face what is known as the [Demon War].

It is said that in past demon wars, no matter how dire the situation for the Holy Kingdom, they could always rely on the impregnable Yusheng City, which serves as a pass, to hold firm. No matter where the demons attacked from, due to the terrain and some external factors, the main forces would ultimately be blocked at the foot of Yusheng City, thus securing the final victory.

As a result, the Province of Fran, which enjoys the protection of Yusheng City and has experienced very few disasters, has developed exceptionally strong overall strength over hundreds of years, almost ranking among the top three provinces in the Holy Empire in terms of area and population.

At the same time, it is also a vital transportation hub within the vast fertile land of the eastern Holy Kingdom, connecting nearly half of the surrounding provinces and guarding the gateway to the Eastern Capital.

According to the 1370 census of the Holy Empire, the resident population of Fran Province has reached 13.7 million, nearly 2-3 times that of some remote areas, second only to the provinces of the Eastern and Western Capitals.

…And now, with Yusheng City breached and the evil winds blowing into the vast inland of Fran Province, this marks the first occurrence in history.

Representing an unprecedented crisis.

“Oh dear, this really isn’t looking too good…”

The creaking sounds of cart wheels echoed in my ears as a young girl named Sasha, who sported a neat brown short ponytail, her black-gray cloak partially revealing a light leather armor underneath, and equipped with a longbow and quiver, softly grumbled…

Named Xavier, the merchant and president of the Xavier Merchant Association, wore a calm expression that was tinged with worry.

Their merchant caravan had been in Holy Empire territory for several months now.

After a hurried encounter with old friends and soon leaving Holy Star City, Xavier had continued to lead the caravan deeper into the Holy Kingdom, progressing toward their designated location.

Although they had to make a detour to the north near the new city of Astel due to the highway’s unusual damage, which caused them to cross the tributary extending from the Star River—a delay of a full week before they returned to their planned route—it couldn’t be helped.

There was an alternate shortcut available, but since that route had to pass through the so-called [Holy Spirit Path], a forest rumored to hold terrifying mysteries, Xavier pondered it over and ultimately chose to skip that option.

Ever since the fantastical incident at Bawo Town, his respect and cautiousness towards those mysteries beyond human understanding had greatly intensified, firmly adhering to the principle of avoiding dangers whenever possible, even if it meant incurring some losses instead of taking any chances.

As such, the long detour may have taken extra time, making the subsequent schedule a bit tight, but fortunately, there were no losses among the personnel or goods.

Thus, the Xavier merchant caravan smoothly arrived at the narrow mountain range known as the [Heavenly Barrier], which divides the eastern and western parts of the Holy Kingdom.

Originally, he planned to push through the mountainous canyon located in the St. Bergen Plain region at full speed.

However, at that moment, Xavier happened to hear locals mention that village hunters heading into the mountains had gone missing frequently, and even local clergy sent to search for them had yet to return. They were even preparing to seek help from the temples in further cities… and other unbelievable situations.

After some deliberation, Xavier immediately decided to halt their advance and temporarily stay within the town in the St. Bergen Plain, waiting for the official Temple Knights to resolve the mysterious incidents here before moving on.

Although this decision faced opposition from many caravan members, believing it was likely just some newly arrived bandits or savage magical beasts causing the trouble, given their armed forces and the well-traveled path of the canyon, they should be just fine.

Even the Captain of the Guards, Sasha, privately mocked him for being scared silly by certain past events.

Nevertheless, Xavier stood firm in suppressing all opposition within the group, insisting on postponing their passage through the St. Bergen Mountains, even if it would mean incurring fines.

Not just out of caution, but more importantly, he had already heard along the way about the widely circulated news that the Saint of Bright Light from Holy Star City would soon lead an expeditionary army to the east to eradicate demonic heretics.

In just a few days, the Saint’s army would surely also pass through the canyon in the St. Bergen Mountains, which was most suitable for a large troop movement.

At that point, regardless of what mysterious entity was causing the disappearances of locals, it would be nothing to worry about.

Thus, after that, Xavier had the fortune to witness a sight that could only be described as a [Disaster] and a [Miracle], which could even be compared to the shining white light that obliterated the Forgotten Land back then.

   

---