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Imperial Capital Siaus was a miracle created when human civilization was at its peak. It was far larger than even the biggest human city currently in existence, in terms of both landmass and population. It had remained the symbol of human prosperity in the Sia Continent for thousands of years.

Yet, this great city that had weathered many storms suddenly collapsed a thousand years ago due to the Spirit Cataclysm of the Capital.

But that was not the reason Roel was horrified.

As the heart of the Ancient Austine Empire, the imperial capital was far more important than the other cities, which was why the strongest armies were all stationed there. The Spirit Cataclysm of the Capital had not just brought about the downfall of the great empire but the depravity of its people too.

Over half of the transcendents residing in the imperial capital were affected when the Savior’s depravity started spreading during the disaster. Some were able to escape by mustering all their resolve, but most succumbed to the madness and became monsters.

According to historical records, war raged ceaselessly in the imperial capital following the Spirit Cataclysm of the Capital. Soldiers who once fought under the same imperial banner slaughtered one another. The Fallens killed without discrimination, forcing those who still retained a sliver of clarity to behead them with tears in their eyes.

Despite their best efforts, they couldn’t change the outcome. Individuals were powerless before the greater waves of change. More and more people succumbed to the Savior’s depravity, and the Fallens from the surrounding cities began to converge on the imperial capital.

It was perplexing that the mindless Fallens would gather in one place, but Roel had a good idea why that happened—that was where the Capital Cathedral, the entrance to the Abyss, was. They were probably drawn there to secure this critical location.

However, the people then didn’t know about that. Corpses were strewn all over the imperial capital within just a few short days.

In the end, Charles was forced to announce a mass migration to the west. This battle concluded with humankind’s departure. The Ancient Austine Empire’s brightest gem became the Fallens’ den, as well as the nightmare of countless soldiers.

A hundred years later, the reestablished Austine Empire named their capital ‘Siaus’, but the world knew that wasn’t where the hearts of the Austineans lay. That was why Siaus was only known as Siaus and not as the imperial capital.

As interesting as the imperial capital was, Roel never thought that it would leap out of the historical records and appear before him in real life.

“The imperial capital appeared in Tark Prairie? That’s impossible!” Roel exclaimed.

“It’s a spatial spell, an unbelievably powerful one,” Antonio grimly replied. He forced himself to remain composed as he shared the intelligence gathered by the united army over the past day.

Two nights ago, an unbelievably powerful mana pulsation swept through the eastern border, alarming the united army. All military forces immediately went into full alert, and armed soldiers charged onto the city walls, but they found no traces of enemies.

Sensing something amiss, the army commanders all made the decision to dispatch their scouts to investigate the situation. As a result, dozens of scout teams from various armies snuck into the depth of Tark Prairie to investigate the situation.

No one imagined that would be the last time anyone saw them.

When no scouts returned the following daybreak, the army commanders immediately reported this anomaly, alerting the united army’s headquarters to the severity of the situation.

The first thought that came to Antonio and the others’ minds when they learned about the situation was that the scouts might have fallen into depravity after being afflicted with the Savior’s aura, but unexpected situations happened one after another.

First and foremost, they received an urgent report from the southern fortress, informing the united army that they had discovered an army of deviants entering the dense southern forests. These deviants were moving in a fast and haphazard way, as if they were avoiding something.

Shortly thereafter, some of the fortresses near the frontlines reported suspected sightings of the missing scouts. The united army headquarters immediately ordered reconnaissance, but they were met with not their comrades but shadows of a thousand-year-old nightmare.

“They encountered the Ancient Austine Empire’s Fallens. It was through their rusted armor that we figured out their identity—they were the imperial capital’s garrison troops.”

“The imperial capital’s garrison troops…” Roel’s expression turned dark.

‘The imperial capital’s garrison troops’ was a broad term referring to all of the military troops stationed around the imperial capital. There were dozens of divisions, and its manpower was in the millions at its peak. It was the Ancient Austine Empire’s most elite force.

To have such a powerful army fall into depravity was a complete nightmare, be it for the people in that era or the soldiers of the present era. It was no surprise that the soldiers dispatched for the reconnaissance mission suffered heavy losses.

Upon confirming their enemy, the united army headquarters quickly deployed observation magic tools to further investigate the situation in Tark Prairie.

“I brought the report. Would you like to see it?” Antonio asked.

“…Show me,” Roel replied with a nod.

He received a small sphere from Antonio and slowly infused his mana into it. A ray of light shot out from the sphere and formed a screen in the air. It was surprisingly high-tech, such that he widened his eyes in surprise, but his attention was quickly drawn to the content of the screen.

The screen showed a vast plain from an overhead view. It was a blurry recording without any sound, but it was enough to make Roel’s nerves tense up. He immediately understood why the scouts never made it back.

In the projection, countless figures, either dressed in tattered armor or wielding rotting staffs, could be roaming the plain. Their bodies emanated black, fog-like mana so concentrated with the aura of depravity and madness that Roel could almost smell it through the projection.

These were the soldiers converted into Fallens during the Spirit Cataclysm of the Capital a thousand years back, and there were a lot of them. Their numbers only grew denser as the observation magic tool advanced deeper into Tark Prairie, to the point that the black fog mana became continuous.

Roel’s frown deepened.

Soon, a corner of a city appeared in the projection. A half-collapsed city wall was surrounded by pieces of rubble as huge as houses. The wear and tear of the buildings in the city greatly varied. Some buildings with the function to absorb mana to self-repair retained the flair of the Ancient Austine Empire’s architecture, but those without this function had eroded with time.

Just before Roel could see the full situation within the city, the footage suddenly went dark.

“This…”

“That’s all we have. I’m not too sure about the reason, but it could be due to a barrier in the imperial capital.”

“I see.”

Roel slowly took his time to digest what he had just learned.

He had to concede that the situation was worse than he had imagined. He realized he had underestimated how great the Ancient Austine Empire had been despite having read about it in the records.

Judging from the scale of the city walls, the imperial capital had to be several times larger than any capital of an existing human nation. Such a massive city was bound to have a huge population. If half of the population had been left in the city, as stated in the records, the situation would be cataclysmic.

“Do we have an estimation on the number of Fallens in the imperial capital?”

“We don’t have a clear estimate yet… but it’s at least in the millions.”

“Millions?!”

“You should know what happened back then,” Antonio bitterly replied.

“…” Roel sighed.

The imperial capital had been blighted by the Savior’s mana during the Spirit Cataclysm of the Capital, and the madness persisted even after a thousand years. Those affected by the Savior’s madness had their sanity eroded, but their lifespans were greatly lengthened too. Due to that, the number of Fallens in the imperial capital didn’t decrease by much over the years.

On top of that, the Savior was in the midst of his awakening.

In comparison, the united army had a combined strength of three million on the eastern border.

“On average, how strong are the Fallens?”

“It’s hard to say, since their strength varies greatly from individual to individual, but I’d say that they are stronger than the deviants. It’s a relief they aren’t on the same side,” Antonio replied.

“That’s indeed a relief.” Roel nodded in agreement.

Broadly speaking, the deviants and the imperial capital’s Fallens were both the Savior’s worshipers, but they were from different races and fell under separate command chains.

On top of that, the extent to which they were affected by the Savior’s madness was different. The deviants still had some degree of camaraderie within them, whereas the Fallens who had lost their minds a thousand years ago wouldn’t hesitate to kill their own brethren.

It was no wonder the deviants fled Tark Prairie to seek shelter in the southern mountains.

Roel sighed. On the other hand, Antonio sat still in his chair, seemingly taking a brief respite. He had had his hands full with all sorts of matters recently, from Astrid’s revival and Paul’s rescue to intervening in the battle between Roel and Carolyn. He even sustained significant injuries in the process.

He thought that he could rest after dragging Roel, Alicia, and Carolyn to Brolne’s camp to be treated, but all of a sudden, the Savior started to awaken, and the imperial capital suddenly surfaced in the middle of Tark Prairie.

As powerful as Antonio was, this was still too much for a single person to bear. He deserved to take a rest.

How pitiful. He’s so tired that he can’t even speak a word…

“Roel, do you think Astrid prefers the old me or the current me?”

“…” The unexpected question caused Roel’s face to stiffen up. It was a long time before he was able to respond to it. “Principal Antonio, you’re still thinking about that at this juncture?”

“I might not get a chance to ponder it if I don’t do so now,” Antonio replied with a sigh.

Roel was flabbergasted, as he hadn’t expected to hear such pessimistic words from Antonio, but then again, it would have been hard for anyone to stay optimistic when their enemy was none other than the Savior.

The Savior was a supreme being towering above the gods. To Him, there was not much of a difference between an Origin Level 5 soldier and an Origin Level 1 Race Sovereign. In the worst-case scenario, the world might come to an end tomorrow.

Faced with such a desperate situation, everyone could only focus on the present and tie up whatever last wishes they had. Antonio was no exception to the rule.

“You should transform into your younger self. You were quite dashing in your younger years.”

“Thanks for your advice.”

“It’s nothing. Anyone who saw you four hundred years ago would say the same. Anyway, speaking of doing things while you have the chance…” Roel stood up and headed to the door. “I should visit Alicia.”