Kapitel 8: Battle of the Skycrown Gate (1)

"The hatred of the Holy Arcadia Empire and its citizens for Valyrians and everyone connected to them is very well known across the known world. Many people speculate where that hatred and disgust came from.

Still, from my studies in the Imperial Archives of the Anor Londo, I concluded that it is mainly from Valyrian unbridled perversion of Blood Magic, which is considered the vilest Heresy in the Lands of Ancients.

That was also one of the main reasons why the Imperials were keen on helping Robert Baratheon during the Rebellion in annihilating the Targaryens and destroying their legacy.

Aside from that, part of their disgust towards Valyrians was also due to the proliferating use of the word 'Dragon' for the Wyverns they tamed.

In the Holy Arcadia Empire, the Greater Wyrms or True Dragons have a unique position, as they are seen as symbols of power and the most powerful beings. Till this day, only a few people contracted Greater Wyrm as their familiar, though usage of Wyvern in the Holy Arcadia Empire became common after the Valyrian Expedition."

Comparison of Nations of the Known World, by Archmaester Marwyn of Citadel and Remembrancer Joachim of Schola Progenium

***

Codex: Byrgenwerth

Byrgenwerth is one of the oldest and most prestigious institutions within The Holy Arcadia Empire that has a history of over 5,000 years. The exact date of the founding of the Byrgenweth remains unknown or probably known only to the higher-ups of this fine institution.

The institution itself was founded by two legendary figures and heroes of the Holy Arcadia Empire, Master Willem and Big Hat Logan. One was a scholar who studied ancient ruins from the Age of Ancient, even from the time before Lord Gwyn Sacrificed himself and another one was from the Age of Ancient itself.

Byrgenwerth itself is divided into several divisions. On the top of the pyramid are the Scholars of Byrgenwerth who are the most accomplished Wizards, Mages, Sorcerers and Scholars from the entire faction. Below them are the Eight Orders of Magic, which are the foundation of the Byrgenwerth itself.

On the bottom of the hierarchy are the Eight Magic Colleges, corresponding to the Eight Orders of Magic, whose sole purpose is the education of new generations of pursuers of the Truth.

The leader of Byrgenwerth has always had two titles: Supreme Patriarch of the Eight Orders of Magic and Headmaster of the Byrgenwerth. He is the supreme authority in the entire School and also has the noble title of Lord High Magistrate as Byrgenwerth rules the City State of Faust, the City of Miracles.

***

The Skycrown Gate was an enormous monstrosity of the gate that was the only passage between the Lands of Ancients and the Daemon Lands, connected through Tartarus Pass.

Tartarus Pass was a vast valley that connected the two places together through the World Edge Mountains, which were separating the people of the Lordran from the horrors of Daemon Lands and holding them at bay.

The Skycrown Gate was made by a collaboration of the Dwarves and Mages of the Faust, together with the Priests of the Healing Church, creating a sole miracle that stood strong for centuries.

And for centuries, it protected the Lordran from the incursion of Daemon, as no matter how powerful the Daemon Hordes were, they were all broken by the might of the Skycrown Gate.

The might of the wall that blocked the entire valley was another wonder because it stood tall around the whole valley, severing the two points of land. Right now, though, everyone was rushing to the Skycrown Gate because the scouts saw another Daemon horde heading towards the Tartarus Pass, and a big one at that...

Right now, the Provincial Army and the Imperial Legion that was permanently stationed in the Skycrown Gate were already on full alert. But that was not enough because the number of Daemons was too huge.

Fortunately, the Empire already ordered the move of another Imperial Legion, the one from the Grand Province of Klandor as that one was closest; aside from that, they were sending an entire Legion of Silver Knights, Sadality of Reiksgarde and Church Executioners, and even Hunters.

Unfortunately, the reinforcements would arrive only in a few days due to the vast distance they needed to cross, and for now, they needed to hold the Skycrown Gate with the 50,000 Soldiers of the Provincial Army and one Imperial Legion numbering 75,000 soldiers.

The Elector Count Vladislaus Draculya-Tepes of the Blood Dragons was the Elector Count for Sylvania since the establishment of the Holy Arcadia Empire.

However, their Clan guarded the Tartarus Pass for a much longer time than that.

"Have all arrived already?"

Each Grand Province had its own standing military known as the Provincial Army, which was under the direct control of the Elector Count of the Grand Province. Aside from that, in each province, one Imperial Legion was permanently stationed.

Aside from that, each Noble House had the right to have its personal Household Guards, but their number was restricted, as was the size of the Provincial Army.

"Yes, all Viceroy Houses have arrived aside from the Harkons, who will arrive in a few hours with their retinue. Altogether, we have right now 140,000 men on the Skycrown Gate."

His adjutant answered the question, but the Elector Count only frowned because the number wasn't that high, actually, considering the size of the Daemon horde that was advancing on the Tartarus Pass today.

Their scouts saw an enormous horde numbering at least two and a half million Daemons, ranging from the Daemon Beasts for most of the part, but there was also a good number of Lesser Daemons among them, and it was led by three Greater Daemons.

So, the situation was grave, and without reinforcements, they would suffer massive casualties.

"Order Engineers to prepare the cannons and artillery and same for the Battle Wizards... such large horde of Daemons last attacked the Skycrown Gate approximately two hundred years ago; this would be one of the hardest fights for past centuries."

Usually, the Daemons that attacked Skycrown Gate numbered in hundreds of thousands, typically no more than half a million, which was pretty easy for the garrison of the Imperial Legion that was stationed there to defend against.

"I already have; the dwarven engineers are right now checking on the weapons, and Battle Wizards are activating the barrier and magical defenses of the Skycrown Gate."

Fortunately, as it seemed, they would be fighting in the deep night, which was good as every single Vampire was much stronger during the night than they were during the day.

With the Old Blood flowing through their veins, the Sunlight wasn't deadly to them, but they were still weakened considerably during the daylight.

***

Grand Province of Klandor

In the huge military complex of Fortress of the Unsetting Sun, thousands upon thousands of soldiers were running across the entire complex and getting ready for the march.

Fortress of the Unsetting Sun was one of the major strongholds of the Holy Arcadia Empire and the place where the 6th Imperial Legion was stationed.

The architecture was vast, majestic, and sharp. The rocks used in the construction were solid and compact, and the occasional statues looked like they had survived millennia of erosion from wind and rain.

Every story of the buildings here was over six meters high, meaning the original inhabitants were at least three meters tall.

The valley was so deep that one couldn't even see the ground below, only crimson flames billowing out from within. This wound of the plane served as a natural barrier, demarcating the territory of the Unsetting Sun from what was known as the dark wilderness.

"When will we be ready to march?"

The General of the 6th Imperial Legion was General Rundstedt, a former Head of the Viceroy House of Rundstedt. He was an elderly-looking man with a grey beard and short grey hair, clad in the runic armor of the dwarven craft.

"Within three hours, approximate arrival at the Skycrown Gate without top speed should be 1 day."

One of the Legates who commanded the First Division of the 6th Legion stated. Fortunately, due to various Warmachine and inventions, they could transport large numbers of soldiers fast, even across their vast lands.

"Make it faster, Legate Tullius; also, notify the Head Wizard that they need to pack up their things faster. I want to arrive at the Skycrown Gate as fast as possible; the orders from the City of Gods are clear, the situation is grave."

General Rundstedt ordered in a cold voice because now the Skycrown Gate would be attacked by the largest and strongest Daemon Horde for the past two centuries.

If not, then the Empire wouldn't dispatch the entire Legion of Silver Knights and one Sadality of Reiksgarde and Church Executioners.

There were even Hunters being dispatched, and Gryphon Knights, Questing Knights, and other special units of the Empire were dispatched to handle the possible Daemon incursion.

Meanwhile, he also got the notification that the 5th Legion was also put on standby to support the Skycrown Gate or Grand Province of Orleáns if Orks decided to make a mess.

And even the House Izalith had already sent some of their elite Pyromancers to the Skycrown Gate, together with the Grand Principality of Reikland putting their forces on standby in case of need.

The mighty military machine of the Empire started moving.

***

Somewhere in the Dark Lands, also known as Daemon Lands, around the same time, the invasion news reached the Skycrown Gate.

The Dark Lands were a stark and cheerless place in the Far East of the Lands of Ancients beyond the boundaries of the "Old World", where nature has rented the ground and burst the mountains apart.

Amongst the peaks, volcanoes spew black smoke into the filthy sky. In the plains, the stench of tar pits and oil pools hangs heavily in the air. Steaming lava from beneath the earth's crust covers the ash wastes with a blanket of bubbling magma.

The Dark Lands were bordered on both sides by the Worlds Edge Mountains and the Mountains of Mourn, which bordered the Sunset Seas. Almost nothing can grow in the Dark Lands, and almost nothing can live there, aside from Daemons and other foul creatures.

The dim light and choking air combine to ensure that the land remains devoid of vegetation, except for a few straggly black thorns.

The volcanoes and gaping pits bring up all kinds of minerals and gems from beneath the earth: gold and silver, iron and copper, diamonds and sapphires, as well as sulfur, oil and tar.

It was a land rich in the materials that Dwarfs especially covet, and due to its riches, even despite the Danger, the Holy Arcadia Empire often sanctioned expeditions into the Dark Laldns for its resources.

Be it the natural riches or the corpses of various Magical Beasts or Daemons.

The most notable species within the Dark Lands were naturally the Daemons, but there were a good number of Greenskins, Skaven and other foul creatures that were the embodiment of the darkness and dread.

High above the skies of the Dark Lands, a sole griffon knight was flying on the majestic mount as his silver hair fluttered in the air.

"Almost two and half a million and all coming from the Black Fortress... dammit... that is the territory of Daemon Lord... I need to warn father."

The young man riding the griffon was the son of the Elector Count Vladislaus Draculya-Tepes and Lisa Draculya-Tepes, Jubstacheit Draculya-Tepes.

"Daemon Lord Azgith The Stormbrand..."

Daemon Lord was personally moving his forces at the Skycrown Gate; this was terrible news for the defenders of the Skycrown Gate because Daemon Lord was a Level 6 entity and even his Lord Father was only a very powerful Level 5...

This would require a mighty Master Hunter, or Tribune of Reksgarde, or Holy Paladin of the Church Executioners to deal with the Daemon Lord Azgith The Stormbrand was one of the more powerful Daemon Lords in the Dark Lands.

"I should leave before the Daemon Lord notices my presence."

Jubstacheit Draculya-Tepes then controlled his griffon, who was also clad in the same kind of heavy armor made from Mithril, and flew towards the Skycrown Gate at his top speed.

***

Skycrown Gate, several hours later

"My Lord, the Daemons would arrive within two hours."

Elector Count Vladislaus Draculya-Tepes stood on the top of the walls and overlooked the Tartarus Pass with keen interest. The great battle was ahead of them, and it would be a hard one, but he was confident that everything would be alright.

"I know... is everything prepared?"

As the Elector Count of Grand Province of Sylvania asked, the adjutant nodded, as everything was in place.

The Provincial Army was in their position, together with the Imperial Legion and personal guards of Viceroys, Barons and Grand Paladins.

Everyone was on standby in the highest state of alert and ready for combat. Just as he was about to issue more orders, he suddenly saw a griffon in the distance, coming from the Dark Lands.

He knew that his son had departed on the reconnaissance mission of the incoming Daemon horde that was coming to attack the Skycrown Gate. Within several minutes, the griffon landed down on the walls next to him, and Jubstacheit Draculya-Tepes hopped down from the majestic creature.

"Father, the horde is led by Daemon Lord Azgith The Stormbrand..."

The moment he said that the mood on the walls plummeted fast, and everyone looked pale, but the shock didn't last long. His father recovered very fast from the initial shock that Daemon Lord was leading the attack.

"Immediately contact the High Command of the Imperial Army, send the message to the Anor Londo for reinforcements. And also to Faust, we need more Wizards."

Everyone started running here and there because the situation became even graver than before.

But they would win.

Because the Empire never lost.

***

Around the same time, in the Faust, the City of Miracles.

After Karl Franz exited the Goldstone Manufactory Armory where his fianceé ordered literarily shitton of things which cost an outrageous amount of Crowns, but fortunately, they got a nice discount.

It was clear that the Longbeard Clan of Erebor wished to obtain the favor of the Imperial House and especially that of the new Empress in the upcoming Conclave of Forge so that they could rise to the position of one of the Three Hammers of the Council of Three Hammers.

Just as they were about to head for dinner in the restaurant, he got an urgent summon through a particular spell that was used only for emergencies. They stopped in their steps before Karl Franz took out a small Lacrima crystal, and the familiar face of High Chancellor Luca Brewster appeared there.

"Your Majesty, there is an urgent situation. During the reconnaissance mission, they found out that the Daemon horde is led by the Daemon Lord... because the Faust is right now closest to the Skycrown Gate, Your Majesty is the nearest Level 6 individual."

He frowned deeply because not only did the situation on the front get worse, but at the same time, he was having a good time with his fianceé showing her the city, but now, it seemed that he would need to depart for the battlefield.

"I understand, High Chancellor. I will depart right away..."

There was one good thing about all of this, Faust, as one of the Holy Cities was interconnected with the other three Holy Cities and Skycrown Gate with an experimental teleportation network.

They planned to implement it throughout the entire territory of the Empire. Daemon Lords existed even in the Material Plane; there were not many of them, truth to be told, but there were some.

Most of them were actually ones who were banished from the Abyss or lost their holdings in the Abyss and escaped into one of the worlds across the Prime Material Plane.

He wasn't really thrilled at the idea of fighting against another Daemon Lord, and this one, contrary to the Deamon Lord Demogorgon, who was native to the Abyss, wouldn't be weakened and would be in his full power.

Fortunately, he also wasn't tasked with killing the Daemon Lord... he knew that it would be enough as long as he pushed the Daemon Lord back into the Dark Lands.

He would be just buying time for the rest of the army to push the Daemon horde back, forcing them to retreat.

Daemon Lord Azgith The Stormbrand was one of the strongest Daemon Lords in the Dark Lands, he would be a very tough opponent even for Karl Franz, but he would need to hold the Daemon Lord for as long as possible.

They had already notified Worshop, and a Master Hunter would arrive at the Skycrown Gate within three hours, so he needed to hold the Daemon Lord Azgith The Stormbrand on the bay for one hour exactly.

'Something is indeed happening in the Abyss, and no matter what it is, it's nothing good... First, Demorgogon risked his life by descending into the Prima Material Plane, and now another Daemon Lord from the Dark Lands is making a move...'

Karl Franz thought as he canceled the call with the High Chancellor Luca Brewster and went to inform his finaceé that he wouldn't be available for the foreseeable future, though if everything went according to the plan, he would be back within 24 hours.

"Something has happened?"

And speaking of the wolf, or rather lion, in this case, she noticed that he looked more serious compared to before, so something must have indeed happened.

"Yes, the latest news from the High Chancellor requires me to personally go to the battlefield to face a Daemon Lord until Master Hunter from the Worskshop arrives, so I am afraid we would need to postpone our dinner for tomorrow if."

***

Cersei POV

I don't like it...

While at the same time, that power was attractive; in Westeros, almost no King would head to the battle in the vanguard, and many Nobles would undoubtedly abstain from such actions, too...

Going to the frontlines to face the enemy wasn't really a thing that a ruler should do; at least, that was how it was in Westeros. And while the old me would want to say something about it, seeing him like this was making me all hot...

Dammit...

"Return with Guards to the Blackrose Castle for the time being... I need to go."

Karl wasn't afraid of going to battle, and if someone angered him, they would solve it with their fists. He was my future husband... I was afraid that something would happen to him, but I couldn't show it openly.

I went up to him and gave him a kiss on his lips, which he happily returned... he was always so passionate with me, patient, calm, understanding, and yet deep inside my mind, it created only another question: why me?

Why did he even agree to the proposal of my father when he didn't need to?

Indeed, the Westerlands were rich, even having things that the Holy Arcadia Empire would consider as strategic resources, but the marriage between the ruling monarch and me wasn't really necessary.

As much as I hate to admit it, even the status of Lannisters wasn't much in front of him, so that stemmed the question... why?

When I asked him, he simply told me it was the will of the Great Ones that brought us together...

'It was the will of the Great Ones that we found about the Westeros, and it was also the will of the Great Ones that we met, and when I first saw you, I felt something that I cannot describe to this day, but it was the same feeling I had when I first met with Maria. So that is why...'

I sometimes wonder what would happen to me; what fate did the Great Ones see for me if not for the arrival of the Holy Arcadia Empire?

Would I end in some loveless marriage with some fool Lord who would see me just as a broodmare for his house and nothing more?

When I asked this question, I dreaded the truth that it would probably be the case because such was the fate of most noble ladies in Westeros. Rarely were the marriages out of love, and rarely were they marriages of love, as mostly they were out of convenience.

I knew that our standings were different, but I was Cersei Lannister, daughter of Tywin Lannister, and I would be the best for him, just as he was for me.

My other half... every time he hugged me, I felt indescribable warmth filling me, not to mention, the idea of sharing a bed with another woman wasn't unwelcome...

Yes, I needed to protect my family at any cost and there were many threats in the Empire, ranging from the Orks, Beasts, Daemons to the Heretics and Rogues that sold their souls to the ruinous powers.

All of them would die.

Nobody will threaten my newly found happiness...

Nobody will threaten my family...

Lannister always pay his debts and the debt of the Holy Arcadia Empire to its enemies was to be paid.

***

MC POV

I wasn't really thrilled about leaving once again for the battlefield; right now, I would even appreciate some paperwork instead of fighting.

But we can't always get what we want, right?

Still, I felt a bit bad for leaving Cersei behind and even disturbing our date, but there was nothing I could do about it. She was especially cuddly right now; after our talk some time ago, she was getting more open.

Yeah... the question is why did I even agree to Tywin's proposal when I didn't even need to at all because, in fact, there was no need for it. It was no doubt that she had insecurities because, inside her head, she was constantly asking the reason?

The reason? Why?

I would be silly to admit that the reason was only my own feelings?

The reason was that I remembered her from my first life and she was exactly my type of woman... someone I desired, not to mention her beauty...

It was the same feeling I had when I first saw Maria at the reception of the House Vileblood several centuries ago, that indescribable burning feeling in my heart when I saw her, that I knew that she was the right one.

And now I experienced it once again, so I talked about it... Even with Maria, we didn't share a secret; aside from that, I am technically speaking a reincarnated person, but that one was forbidden to say by the will of the Great Ones.

Only Maria knew about it, and when the time came, I would tell Cersei, too; I don't like to have secrets in relationships; it would always bite you in the ass.

Maria didn't react too much because she didn't really care, not to mention even in the Empire, there were theories that there existed infinite parallel timelines.

Mainly thanks due to the study of Time Magic.

After separating with my finaceé, I went directly to the Headquarters of the Byrgenwerth, where the experimental teleportation array was placed. In the future, there was a plan for every city to have a teleportation array like this, as there were countless uses for it.

Right now, only four places across the entire Holy Arcadia Empire had it, though soon, one was planned to be constructed in the Grand Province of Orleáns, on the wall that they were building to separate the Orklands from the Empire.

That would be five, then.

When I arrived there, I wasn't the sole person going to the battlefield at the Tartarus Pass because the Byrgenwerth was sending reinforcements of several hundred people.

Aside from me, there were several Scholars and even High Scholars, Battle Wizards, members of the Chaos Flame Covenant and Magic Knights, and a lot of Magic Knights who were sworn guardians of the Wizards.

The role of the Magic Knight was to protect the Wizard when the Wizard was casting spells because sometimes assassins could sneak or a large number of enemies could attack the spell caster.

Usually, the Wizards would strengthen their Magic Knights with a lot of rituals, greatly elevating their strength and power, in exchange for the Magic Knights protecting them with all their might.

Soon enough, the portal gate activated and connected a portal that was connecting two points in space and people started flooding into the Skycrown Gate.

***

3rd POV

Skycrown Gate

Elector Count Vladislaus Draculya-Tepes watched as tens if not hundreds of Wizards, Scholars, and Magic Knights were flooding from the portal as the Byrgenwerth was sending their reinforcements.

The ones from the Anor Londo and Yharnamn arrived only a few minutes earlier, and now the Skycrown Gate was host to the 250 members of the Reiksgarde and 250 Church's Executioner Holy Knights.

The only thing they were now waiting for was the 6th Imperial Legion, which was taking some time from the Grand Province of Klandor.

Now that the reinforcements from Faust had arrived, the Elector Count was more confident and thought the only thing they were lacking was someone who would deal with the Daemon Lord Azgith The Stormbrand.

And just as he was contemplating about this, he was shocked to the core by the sight before him.... because he saw the Holy Imperator walking through the portal, holding his Holy Weapon, Longinuslanzse Testament.

When other soldiers saw the Holy Imperator, they wanted to kneel, but one gesture told them to stop.

"I am not here as monarch but as another soldier today, Elector Count Draculya-Tepes... I got the latest news about the Skycrown Gate during the time I was in Faust and the High Chancellor asked me to stall the Daemon Lord Azgith The Stormbrand for long enough until another Master Hunter from the Workshop arrives."

Karl Franz stated he wasn't here to take command of the battle, but he would be here only to fight against the Daemon Lord Azgith The Stormbrand, as the Skycrown Gate was not his to command personnel.

Elector Count Vladislaus Draculya-Tepes was far more than competent to command against the incursion of the Daemon horde, as he had done for the past many decades, and always defended the Skycrown Gate.

"I understand, Your Majesty; please follow me to the command center. Only several minutes earlier, one Sadality of Church's Executioner Holy Knights and Sadality of Reiksgarde arrived together with their Prefects."

Standart members of the Holy Knights or Reiksgarde were of Level 3 and could effortlessly deal with even the strongest Lesser Daemons, and with their superior equipment, they had a solid chance against even Level 4 Greater Daemons.

"When is the approximate arrival of the Daemon horde?"

Karl Franz asked, noticing dark clouds gathering in the distance of the Dark Lands, and the daemonic miasma was getting thicker...

A sign that they were close. Karl Franz also ordered the Reiksgarde Knigths and Church's Executioner Holy Knights to follow the arrangements and orders of Elector Count Draculya-Tepes.

"Approximate time is fifty-four minutes."

While they were talking, suddenly, another huge portal appeared in the Skycrown Gate, only for a huge shadow to fly through the portal with a screeching sound.

"Deathclaw."

It was a personal mount and familiar of Karl Franz, his Imperial Griffon Deathclaw.

Elector Counts, Imperial Nobles and Knights of the Empire prize Imperial Griffons above all other mounts, and years of selective breeding have produced noble beasts that are notably stronger and larger than their wild counterparts.

Brave Empire adventurers seek out Griffon nests and steal their chicks to raise in captivity, singling out the strongest, cleverest, and most ferocious for their lords.

Once trained to carry a man in battle, Imperial Griffons are incredibly dedicated to their riders, and many of the most powerful people within the Holy Arcadia Empire prize these ferocious beasts as loyal mounts.

Griffon was a powerful Magical Creature with a body that of a lion, a head and wings that of an eagle. Griffons were very intelligent, cunning, and powerful creatures; some older ones could even cast some spells.

They were top-notch predators, and because the Holy Arcadia Empire lacked the means to tame Dragons or Wyverns, as that would require a method of binding their bloodline from one source to another, Griffons were the main Air Forces of the Empire.

Naturally, in the future, Griffons would become one of many flying creatures in the Holy Arcadia Empire that were part of its forces. But there was an important thing today: the Griffon wasn't a pet; it was a companion, friend, and ally.

They were incredibly proud and intelligent creatures, and they needed to be treated as such. Karl Franz went to the Deatclaw, and the huge griffon clad in Mithril runic armor snuggled his huge head to him as he was patting his head.

Karl Franz loved animals of all kinds; even right now, there were about a dozen Magical Creatures wandering through the Imperial Palace, from cats to griffon chicks and there was even an egg of Greater Wyrm that Karl Franz was taking care of for more than thirty years and feeding it his energy hoping to create a familiar bond with Great Wyrm.

"So they sent you here to help?"

Karl Franz asked as Deathclaw huffed in agreement and nodded his huge head as he continued petting the majestic Magical Creature.

***

On the eve of the battle

"Load the Mortars! Bloodletters incoming!"

Shouted one of the artillery masters from the walls.

Bloodletters generally stand taller than a man, though they are so stooped and hunched that their faces often lie at a similar height.

Their bodies are slim with a muscled, wiry strength. Their horns and claws are blackened and flecked with crimson, and their feet are turned and cloven like those of a goat.

A Bloodletter's skin beneath their armor runs from the deepest red to near-orange in color and is as hard as brass forged upon the anvil of ceaseless war. It also drips constantly with blood, for Bloodletters frequently paint their bodies with gore taken from the enemies they have slain.

A Bloodletter's head is stretched tall with two ridged horns the color of bone sprouting from their temples. Their snarling, bestial faces, twisted by rage, are overlarge with the skin pulled taut so that their face appears as a skull.

Their visages are framed by horns sprouting from the sides of their skulls and shaggy manes that run down their backs, their hair like a black wire that was molded and spiked by gore.

There were hundreds of thousands of Bloodletters running at the Skycrown Gate, all of them ranging from mainly Level 1 to Level 2; some of the bigger and strongest Bloodletters were at Level 3, as they were the most basic Lesser Daemons.

Instantly, the mortars were loaded with ammunition, and soon enough, sounds of artillery firing were heard across the entire Tartarus Pass, and the sky was lit with countless projectiles that were falling on the incoming Daemon Horde.

The entire battlefield erupted into an enormous explosion as tens of thousands of Bloodletters were torn apart by the artillery firing from the Skycrown Gate. Just one salvo was enough to cause tremendous losses to the Daemons, but naturally, the Daemons didn't care about their losses, only about the results.

"Helstorm Rocket Batteries Fire!"

Several seconds later, after the mortars, hundreds of rockets shot into the air and fell into the incommiíng horde of Daemons.

Helstorm Rocket Batteries was a relatively new technology in the Imperial Arsenal developed by Master Engineer Herman Faulkstein only a few years ago, together with Dwarven Engineering Guild and Gnomeregan Alchemists.

"Reload on my command! Battle Wizards activate the barrier!"

Elector Count Vladislaus Draculya-Tepes shouted the orders as he personally commanded the defensive battle and the entire garrison worked like a well-working machine. Such a thing was natural because the 11th Imperial Legion and Provincial Army of Sylvania were experienced at this.

There was no soldier of the Holy Arcadia Empire who wasn't a master in combat, as all Legions and Provincial Armies fought non-stop to keep them in top condition.

Instantly, the mortars shot once again while the Helstorm Rocket Batteries were reloading, and immediately afterward, the Battle Wizards were finished with their spells, as a translucent shielding barrier started enveloping the Skycrown Gate entirely.

"On my command, fire at will!"

As the Elector Count of Sylvania commanded, the artillery pieces and siege engines were firing furiously, bombarding the incoming daemon horde to smitterness and cutting down their numbers as much as possible.

But everyone was aware that the most challenging part of the battle was just coming.