The magic cards I made are absolutely flawless!

The clouds seemed to swirl in the sky like a vortex, and the air pressure made it difficult to breathe.

The cultists grew increasingly vocal, chanting bizarre hymns with frenzy, a scene that sent chills down the spines of even the Imperial Army.

"All personnel on high alert!!!"

The officer who had just rushed into the secret room shouted loudly.

Sudden.

A red thunderbolt descended from the sky, growing ever stronger until it reached the altar and the horizon.

Waves of heat, accompanied by smoke and dust, drove away the chaotic cultists and imperial army.

The imperial soldiers refrained from killing the cultists for the time being. Perhaps they were following their superiors' orders, or perhaps they were simply taking a few steps back instinctively, their hearts pounding as they watched the altar warily.

The smoke and dust on the ground and the black mist on the altar dissipated, and it seemed that the things on the altar could finally be seen clearly.

On the altar sat a bewildered red-haired girl.

After a moment of silence, the cultists erupted in thunderous cheers and then engaged the Imperial army in fierce combat.

The cultists ignored the red-haired girl on the altar and fought the Imperial Army fearlessly, as if they wanted to protect her. The Imperial Army also had no time to pay attention to the girl for the time being.

However, apart from the leader, this group of believers was not very strong.

They were quickly swiftly slaughtered by the Imperial forces, who cut them down like vegetables.

Seeing the chaos, after a slight hesitation, the spirited female officer loudly gave the order:

"While fighting the enemy, we must do everything in our power to rescue the half-dragon girl who was sacrificed!"

This female officer exudes a completely androgynous beauty; her elegant demeanor is undeniable, yet she doesn't conceal the imposing presence of an eighth-tier powerhouse.

However, many of the other soldiers seemed hesitant about her order.

"Lady Andrea! She! She was likely summoned by these lunatics!"

The officer beside her pointed fearfully at the red-haired girl on the altar.

The female officer slapped her subordinate on the head and angrily rebuked her:

"Don't you have any common sense?! How could you possibly summon the Lord of Calamity out of thin air like some kind of shamanistic ritual? These cultists are idiots, are you an idiot too?"

341 Dekan is secretly speedrunning the Empire dungeon.

Originally, this was the central territory of the Kingdom Federation.

At the military camp on the border of the Kingdom of Norton.

A young Imperial officer, whose uniform bore the highest-ranking military insignia, stood on the watchtower and gazed into the distance for a while, watching the logistics troops busily receiving the returning front-line troops.

However, the military camp under his command was heavily guarded and orderly, and although busy, it was not chaotic.

This is the Sixth Army Group of the Salon Empire.

The supply wagons and massive wooden palisades encircled the camp, and a long trench had been dug outside the camp, indicating that this battle line had been in place for some time.

Even though the Kingdom's army was nowhere to be seen, there were still thousands of cavalry units and scouts patrolling the border line, with small teams of dozens of men each.

The more the enemy appears to be resting, the more we need to intensify our patrols to prevent the Kingdom's raiding forces from breaching their lines and reaching the rear.

After several battles in recent days, neither the Kuran Territory on the northern border of the Norton Kingdom nor the Hanover Territory on the western border could be successfully defeated by the Imperial Army.

Under the siege of the Sixth and Fourth Armies, the Kingdom of Norton once again withstood a full-scale attack.

Soon, a sergeant ran up to the officer and conveyed some information to him.

The officer nodded, a slightly amused smile playing on his lips—an emotion completely out of character for someone who had just suffered a crushing defeat.

He then returned to the military camp.

He was Adair, the corps commander of the Sixth Army of the Imperial Army.

He was also a man once known as the Imperial Sword Saint.

At the Kingdom Federation Heroes Festival, he rendered a great service to the Empire—successfully forcing the Kingdom Federation and the Church of Resurrection to suffer heavy losses.

Upon his return, he was rewarded by the Queen.

His already promising future was further boosted by his meteoric rise, and he became the corps commander of the Sixth Army Group.

On the battlefield that year, he proved himself worthy of the position with his outstanding military achievements.

He has now become an executioner who strikes fear into the hearts of the people of the kingdom.

Even though the Empress had issued orders that civilians should not be harmed, prisoners of war should not be massacred, and torture should not be used to extract confessions.

However, Adair would always engage in some borderline activities on the front lines, and none of his subordinates dared to testify against Adair to the authorities in the capital.

Therefore, on the battlefield where he was, the efficiency of breaking through was often higher than that of other army groups.

However, their advance is now blocked in the Kingdom of Norton.

A month has passed, and the Sixth Army he led has still failed to break through Kuran territory.

Meanwhile, the Fourth Army also failed to break through Hanover territory, and news of the Fourth Army's defeat in the west had just reached Adair.

"That damned Nightmare Bishop, why is he just refusing to leave Hanover... And that merchant, don't think I can't interrogate you..."

Adair said through gritted teeth, sitting in his chair.

He still remembers the battle in which the merchant Morion, also the Earl of Hanover, and the Nightmare Bishop tricked him in the capital of Philowen.

Even though the Kingdom of Norton was already very strong, it shouldn't have been able to withstand two army groups of the Saron Empire.

However, this time, among the fragmented kingdoms, many southern kingdoms were willing to risk coming to the aid of the Kingdom of Norton.

And the Hanover Territory, which should have been no match for the Fourth Army, now has an incredible supply chain and is guarded by the powerful Nightmare Bishop.

As a result, the Kingdom of Norton has now become the last line of defense in the central region of the kingdoms, and it seems that it can even hold out against the Imperial Army for a long time to come.

"And that elusive 'unicorn,' where is he right now...!"

Adair still remembers the Empire's review of the situation at the Heroes' Festival.

The Kingdom Federation's situation, which was on the verge of collapse, was miraculously reversed by this legendary top intelligence agent of the Kingdom Federation.

"Former Mad Bishop" Clay's combat ability was already terrifying. As a bishop-level combatant, he could hold off ten thousand men single-handedly.

But what's even more terrifying is that Clay didn't engage in direct combat; instead, he completely disappeared from the map.

This man has done too many outrageous things.

Adair always felt uneasy as long as Clay didn't play.

In any situation, Clay's role as a "spy" is infinitely more terrifying than his role as a "berserker."

However, these problems...

The problem will be solved soon.

Because the strongest reinforcements from the Imperial Army will soon arrive in the Kingdom of Norton.

First, Kuran territory will be destroyed, then Hanover territory, and then the capital, all will be easily overrun!

The Kingdom of Norton is the one Adair most wants to destroy!

Whether it was Dekan's hometown of Kuran, the capital where Mie had lived for several years, or their relatives and friends, the thought of ravaging and trampling them made Adair's heart itch.

Adair instinctively put his hands behind his head and leaned back in his chair with a mocking smile on his face.

Then, as if he had just remembered a good idea, he instructed the engineers:

"Help me call the commander of the Ninth Army Group."

Under orders, the engineers quickly began using communication magic terminals to connect to the capital.

Communication magic can usually only travel across half a small country at most. To achieve long-distance communication magic, multiple relay terminals are needed.

Of course, the entire northern kingdoms, as well as parts of the central kingdoms, have now been completely occupied by the empire, and can be freely connected from the empire's rear to the front lines.

And so they called out to the capital from the military camp.

Several minutes later, the call was finally answered in the capital city.

It seems the commander of the Ninth Army Group is busy.

Or perhaps she's deliberately ignoring Adair.

So he was ignored for a long time.

Adair took the microphone from the engineer who handed it to him with both hands, and said in a somewhat respectful tone:

“Our ‘logistics unit’ Commander Mier, you seem to be very busy.”

Adair quickly made no attempt to hide the fact that his communication was not well-intentioned, and asked jokingly:

"How does it feel for Lord Mia to be locked up in the tower by Her Majesty the Queen?"

After returning to the Empire, although Mier was a great contributor to the Empire, he ultimately made a mistake at the end.

Even though the merits outweighed the demerits in the end, the Empress frowned when discussing the rewards and punishments.

The end result was that the Queen gave Mier a position that at least appeared respectable.

Similarly, he kept Mia under his watchful eye, allowing her to fulfill her most stable clerical role.

After a moment of silence, Mir's cold voice finally came through the microphone:

"Please watch your words. I will report your choice of words to Her Majesty the Queen truthfully. And if you have important matters to discuss, please speak as soon as possible."

Adair laughed upon hearing this, his face beaming with the smugness of a victor:

"Oh dear, Her Majesty the Empress's favorite general is truly terrifying. Although everyone knows that Her Majesty the Empress has placed you under house arrest in the capital, it is indeed not easy to say it outright."

Adair paused, then continued, somewhat troubled:

"Well, I have some frontline battle reports that I'd like to ask you to convey to Her Majesty the Empress, though I'm not sure if they're important. Considering how busy Her Majesty is, after much deliberation, I think it would be better to have someone like you, who has more free time, help analyze which ones to convey."

"..."

Mier did not reply.

She knew Adair was trying to disgust her.

But she really didn't have many other ways to find out the latest battle situation on the front lines.