Nation at War

The Burronian Empire was a nation constantly at war.

Since the time of its creation many, many centuries ago, its people had to fight for survival every single day. The long years of battle made the nation united under a single objective.

It was to endure.

To endure the long winters where monsters hid in the shadows, to endure the assault of Demons that constantly threatened their land, and to endure against the passage of time and emerge victorious in this eternal conflict.

While everyone on the continent knew of the Demons that made the Forbidden Zone their home, the Imperials were the only ones that truly knew what that meant. They were the ones whose sons got slaughtered by the twisted beasts that came out of that place as they fought to keep them contained.

For as long as the Empire stood, they desperately pushed back at the darkness trying to invade their land. Centuries of conflicts allowed them to refine their weapons and adapt to the eternal threat of the monsters, keeping them at bay with minimal force.

However, every once in a while, the beasts would gather in greater numbers and break through their defenses. At that time, the majority of the Imperial army would be called upon to help bring the land back under control and reclaim their lost domain. Luckily, after such an attack, there would be peace for a few short upcoming years during which the Empire could recover and repair the damage while gathering strength for another battle.

Such a thing happened just recently, just over a year ago, when a greater-than-usual amount of monsters attacked the southern border and crushed the centuries-old stone walls in a single night.

Murik Woods had just finished his soldier training when he was called to battle. He and his entire platoon were gathered at once and transported to the front lines in just a few short days.

It was always his wish to fight for the Empire, for the Emperor, and for his people. A glorious battle to remember! The stories he could tell his grandchildren in his later years, what amazing deeds he had done… It was all just crazy dreams of a delusional youngster!

That was not a battle, it was a slaughter!

What they fought was completely different from what he had heard, what they trained for. What Orcs, what Goblins?! Those were but fodder, blown up by the dozen by a single shot of the Arcane Cannons that lined the fortified walls of their bastions.

Blue lightning and flames flashed across the land as the beasts died by the hundreds and the men by the dozen. Layer upon layer of walls protected the fortress in which Murik was stationed at that time. Up high, atop the highest tower, stood a single man. His body was covered in artifacts and magical items which glowed and twisted the light as his golden hand moved and roared across the sky, as the spells he threw out rent the beasts asunder.

There were many such towers, each a platform for one such man.

The land around the fort was half scorched by flames, frozen by ice, and turned into an impassable wasteland by powerful Earth magic that turned it into a field of thorns.

Explosions rang in his ears as he trembled below the wall upon which the Arcane Cannons were doing their part, spreading death to all that came close.

Every once in a while something would go wrong. The creations of the Arcane were made with haste and oftentimes pushed to the limit. In such cases unnatural phenomena would sometimes take place, twisting the form of the user into an abomination or, what was more likely, killing him outright by the explosion of chaotic magical energies.

No matter how the Artificers repaired or reinforced the Runes, there was always a weak point that would give out, sooner or later.

In cases such as these, having plentiful reserves of fresh recruits to take the dead man's place was absolutely necessary.

How many of his friends had Murik Woods seen splattered on the wall or turned to liquid by an unpredictable discharge of the overused Arcane Cannon? He couldn't remember anymore.

His heart trembled each time it happened. But at least his beloved was still with him through the most difficult of times.

Until she wasn't.

A breach happened in the neighboring fortress and the medical personnel there was already stretched thin. The love of his life, together with many of his comrades and older warriors were appointed to escort a part of their healers there to stabilize the situation.

They waited for an opportune moment when the beasts there were lesser, at the dawn of a new day. They departed in secret and with haste but never made it to the other side.

Murik watched in horror as the tiny platoon was torn to shreds by incredibly fast-flying monsters, and not long after, the weakened fort was demolished under the combined forces of five massive Giants.

His memories became a blur after that. The Giants got bombarded into oblivion by the other strongholds soon after, however, it was already too late, and he didn't care anymore.

The long days bled into one another as he was showered with blood and gore constantly. He never experienced the fight by himself, however, he saw those much stronger and smarter than him lose their lives in the most horrifying of ways.

However, all that madness ended one fateful day, when a massive monster, later identified as a Shadowbeast, breached their walls.

At least three meters tall and five meters long, if counting the tail, the beast leaped across the tens of meters tall blockade, slaughtering the soldiers manning the walls while it was at it.

It walked on all fours, with each of its limbs ending with thick claws, each about 20 centimeters long and 5 wide. Instead of fur, it had tiny bone-like armor plates across most of its body, while especially long spikes came out of its forearm, sides of the head, and back. A sharp horn rose from its forehead, about 30 centimeters long and extremely thick, which it used to skewer one unlucky guy that escaped its initial attack.

Its sharp teeth tore apart metal as if it was worthless tin foil as it took a bite off its victim here and there.

The Arcane Cannons further away from the carnage turned, spitting balls of unstable chaotic magic energy toward the beast, covering it with lightning, fire, and something that appeared to have disintegrating properties on living flesh.

The bony protrusions on its back were the ones most affected by the aggressive attack, however, the duration of the magic was just too short. The Shadowbeasat barely felt its skin stinging from the blasts, which, understandably, enraged it further.

It jumped with its powerful legs, each thicker than an armored soldier, and bit down with its mighty jaw on the Arcane Cannons, shattering them like ice. No metal was strong enough to resist its bite. And with a flick of its thick, spiky, flail-like tail, the defenders were swept away, crushed under the force of impact.

And just as it was done with the soldiers up high, it turned its many eyes towards the fighters below. Murik felt his blood freeze in fear at the look of that bloodthirsty face. But just as he thought it was all over for him, a blue light shone from the highest tower, and the beast was instantly frozen solid.

He remembered slowly turning around to look at the man in the tower in awe, but then the sound of shattering ice disrupted his train of thought. He didn't dare turn around, terrified of what he would see.

There came a howl… A howl so loud and powerful, he was thrown to the ground by the shockwave, despite not being the primary target of the attack. The vibrations in the air were so strong that many blood vessels in his head and lungs burst at once, making him cough up and cry blood.

He became temporarily deaf and partially blind, but in hindsight, he was glad it happened. At least he didn't have to remember the sounds of his people getting crushed under the stones as the tower with the Mage on top, collapsed like a house of cards at the powerful beast's sound attack, forming massive wind blades and cutting the stones and obliterating the structure as if it was a tiny sand castle in a tropical hail storm.

He didn't exactly remember how or when he did it, but as he came to, Murik remembered he was running at full speed away from the ruined fortress, leaving a trail of blood behind.

***

"I then somehow managed to escape the battlefield unnoticed, and after a few days, I stumbled upon another army who came as our reinforcements. It was a bit late, but hey…" Murik smiled grimly as he remembered that time.

"They helped me get to a city where I recovered, but when I came back to the capital, I was branded a deserter, a traitor, and an enemy of the Empire. I should have died with the rest, they said. So much for the promised respect and honor for a wounded veteran…" Murik Woods sighed. "They didn't even let me say goodbye to my family before they tossed me into this shithole."

Gerald remained quiet, mulling over the things he had just heard. It seemed that the situation in the Empire was a bit more complicated than he imagined.

Still, that didn't mean he would let them walk all over him just because they had it hard in life.

"Hey… Murik, Zeph…" he began. The men turned to look at him and Gerald smiled. "What do you say we blow this dump sky-high?"