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Not only the castle walls, but also the buildings within the citadel had all been destroyed.
The roads were no exception.
Weeds grew menacingly from the cracks in the pavement.
“How could this be…”
They had no idea why the Silphir Citadel had fallen into such a state.
One thing was for sure: this place was no longer under the protection of the guardian.
Rustle-
The dragon horse followed behind Lynn.
If this place was still under the guardian’s protection, he would not have been able to enter.
The ruined citadel, now nothing but ruins, was filled with desolation.
“Do you think everyone died when the guardian’s territory disappeared?”
The princess answered Rebecca’s question.
“Let’s head to the palace first. There’s an altar to the guardian there. Maybe the area around the altar is still intact. There might be survivors.”
Screech-
A sickening sound came from behind them.
They turned their heads and saw a horde of goblins approaching.
They were wearing what looked like the equipment used by the soldiers of Silphir.
They stared at the women, their mouths watering in excitement.
Screech-
They didn’t come any closer, but howled.
It was a signal to the women.
To run away.
Catching and raping terrified women as they ran away was the goblins’ favorite pastime.
“You’ve picked the wrong people to mess with today.”
Rin and the princess brandished their swords.
And Rebecca,
Clack-
Loaded her rifle.
The firearms Minhyuk had Balin create weren’t just heavy weapons like Gatling guns.
He’d also made portable weapons like rifles.
Rebecca was an exceptional marksman who’d won first place in a rifle shooting competition hosted by the emperor.
She took aim at the goblins.
Bang-
Bang-bang-
With three gunshots, three goblins fell dead.
Kee-eeek!
The goblins were bewildered by the unexpected turn of events.
And then they charged at the women.
Rebecca continued to shoot at the approaching goblins.
Bang-bang-
Bang-bang-bang-
She was hitting every shot, but she couldn’t kill them all.
There were just too many goblins.
Eventually, dozens of them surrounded the women.
Swish-swish-
The goblins’ heads flew off as the princess and Rin swung their swords.
Swish-
Rebecca also began using her sword instead of her rifle.
When surrounded by multiple enemies and attacked from all sides, it was more efficient to fight with a sword than a gun.
She held two short swords in her hands and gracefully danced around, slicing the goblins’ necks.
Kee-eeek-
The goblins kept coming.
There had only been a few dozen when they’d first attacked, but more and more kept swarming in from the surrounding area.
“No matter how many we kill, there’s no end to them!”
“If we keep killing them, eventually there will be.”
The battle dragged on.
They were severely outnumbered, and as the melee continued, they couldn’t avoid getting minor and major injuries.
Swish-
A goblin’s axe blade cut deep into the princess’s shoulder.
Groan-
The princess let out a short cry.
The goblins thought they had the upper hand, and their expressions turned vicious.
But they were wrong.
Swish-swish-
The princess’s wound healed in an instant.
The potion pouch of Charon she was wearing automatically injected a red potion.
Thwack-
The princess’s counterattack began again.
The head of the one holding the ax was split vertically by the princess’s downward sword blade.
When the goblins realized that their wounds were being healed automatically, the atmosphere of the battle changed.
Thud!
The goblins turned and ran away in fear.
Bang, bang, bang-
Rebecca shot at the backs of their heads as they ran away.
Clang-
Clang-
The princess and Rin loaded their guns.
Bang, bang-
Bang, bang, bang-
Bang, bang-
The goblins who were running away fell dead.
However, there were too many of them to kill them all.
“Shall we chase them and kill them all?”
To Rin’s question, Rebecca shook her head and replied.
“It’s too dangerous for just the three of us to chase them to their lair.”
“Let’s go to the royal palace of Sylphid for now, assess the situation, and inform His Majesty.”
Everyone nodded at the princess’s words.
***
Minhyuk received a report on the situation in Sylphid from the princess.
Flap, flap-
He immediately rode Chun-sam there.
‘I never expected this.’
He had to revise all the plans he had made so far for the conquest of Sylphid.
Originally, he had planned to attempt peaceful absorption and unification, and if that didn’t work, he would subdue them by force.
However, Sylphid had already perished.
He didn’t know the exact reason, but the altar of protection there had completely lost its power.
As a result, everyone died when the protected area disappeared.
So, there was no one to negotiate with.
So, from now on, there were two main things to do.
First, rescue any survivors of Sylphid who might be left in the castle.
Second, restore the altar of protection.
Ten reconnaissance teams had already arrived at Sylphid Castle.
They were searching for survivors under Minhyuk’s orders.
However, it was impossible for only 30 people to thoroughly search every area of the castle.
From Noble mtl dot com
When Minhyuk arrives at Silfir, he will open the gate connecting to Asdel Fortress.
Then, he will be able to mobilize a large force and begin a full-scale search operation.
Perhaps there will not be a single survivor.
Even so, it was something that had to be done.
The old Minhyuk would not have understood this part.
However, after becoming the head of the empire, he came to understand.
A country or an empire should be built on the foundation of humanism.
A person who will take all 12 fortresses of the Rania Continent and become the Unified Emperor should show that he values the lives of all people, regardless of their country or origin.
Minhyuk’s policy as emperor was to mercilessly execute those who disobeyed orders, but to do his best to protect those who did not.
Swoosh-
Chun-sam flew through the sky at full speed.
The guy’s size had become that of a giant duck.
He had been taking the blue earthworm powder steadily, so his body had grown to its full size.
His flying speed seemed to be around 6,700 km per hour.
It was slower than a dragon, but it was an incomparably faster means of transportation than a horse.
Flap, flap-
Chun-sam lowered his altitude.
The ruins of the Silfir fortress began to appear beneath his feet.
‘We’ve arrived.’
It was getting dark, but a bright light was spread out in the center of the fortress.
It was a signal for the reconnaissance team to let Minhyuk know their location.
“Land where the fire is lit.”
“It will be hot if I land on the fire.”
“Who said to land right on the fire? I said to land nearby.”
“I understand!”
Chun-sam was good at listening to what was said, but he was not perfect yet.
He was still far from being able to understand everything perfectly, even if it was said roughly.
Just because he ate a lot of blue earthworm powder didn’t mean that part of him would develop.
He had to learn on his own through many conversations with people.
There was no need to worry too much.
Professor Raymond, Verona, and others who liked Chun-sam visited him every day and talked to him.
That’s why his vocabulary was growing rapidly.
Pat, pat-
Minhyuk stroked Chun-sam’s head with a proud heart.
“Our Chun-sam is so smart.”
“Chun-sam is a genius!”
“Who taught you to say that?”
“Verona said it. She said Chun-sam is a genius.”
Verona, the daughter of the royal chef, Tres, spent the most time with Chun-sam after Minhyuk.
“Does Chun-sam like Verona?”
“Yes, Bellona is my second favorite in the world!”
“Who’s your first?”
I thought she’d say that Minhyuk was her favorite.
But,
“The blue earthworm.”
“Me? What place am I?”
“Daddy isn’t someone you can like or dislike. The moment I say I like you, it means I don’t like anything else in the world.”
It might sound strange,
but Minhyuk could understand what Chun-sam meant.
To Chun-sam, Minhyuk was an existence that couldn’t be compared to anything else.
Thump-
Minhyuk’s chest suddenly felt heavy.
Minhyuk could understand Chun-sam’s clumsy but sincere words because he had experienced similar emotions.
He suddenly thought of his deceased father.
It was the emotion he had felt towards his father, who was his only blood relative.
Flap-flap-
Chun-sam landed next to the fire.
Then, the scouts approached.
“Did you find anything?”
“We haven’t found any signs of survivors yet.”
Minhyuk took the cauldron out of the refrigerator.
The cauldron that made a pair with this one had already been installed in Astel Fortress.
He brought the magic stone close to the cauldron’s magic diagram.
Poof-
A blue curtain of light was created.
Through the teleportation gate, the soldiers who were on standby at Astel Fortress began to move to Silphir.
Thud-thud-
They walked out in a formation of five rows, in step.
Soon, thousands of soldiers moved to Silphir Fortress.
They began to search, following Minhyuk’s orders.
Minhyuk approached the princess and said,
“Guide me to where the Altar of Protection is.”
“Yes, your majesty.”
.
.
.
Minhyuk arrived at Silphir’s royal palace with the princess.
“Nothing’s left.”
Like the other places, this place was also completely ruined, with all the buildings collapsed.
“The entrance to the underground is completely blocked by the wreckage of the building.”
The altar of Sylphid was located in the basement of the royal palace, just like Asdel’s.
However, as the royal palace collapsed, the boulders completely covered the entrance to the basement.
“If it’s blocked, we need to break through it.”
Minhyuk called the Dwarf Engineers to Sylphid.
And the excavation work began.
It was much more dangerous than general excavation work as it involved removing debris.
This was because it could collapse if not done properly.
However, the Dwarf Engineers skillfully carried out the difficult task.
Golems were also deployed to move heavy rocks.
And finally, an entrance was secured to go down to the basement.
Minhyuk entered the entrance alone.
It was the law of the empire that only the emperor could approach the Altar of Protection.
So the Altar of Sylphid was no exception.
Whirl, Whirl-
Minhyuk went down the circular stairs.
When he reached the basement, there was an elevator that could take him deeper.
And in the center of the elevator was a crystal ball.
It was a similar structure to the Asdel Palace.
Minhyuk put his hand on the crystal ball.
＜Key mismatch.＞
Just in case, he tried using the ring that operated the elevator in the Asdel Citadel, but it was useless.
‘How do I go down?’
It was then.
Thud-
A dull vibration was felt.
And at the same time,
Creak-
The elevator began to descend.
However, it was not operating normally.
It was completely broken and falling down.
If he fell to the ground with the elevator like this, it would be difficult to save his life.
But there was no need to worry.
Swooshhhhh-
A strong wind gushed out from Minhyuk’s armor.
As a reaction, Minhyuk’s falling speed gradually slowed down.
And he was able to land safely on the floor.
He was wearing special armor in case he fell to his death while flying in the sky riding Chun Sam.
It was an armor designed by Minhyuk and made by Vallin.
Using the upper-grade magic disk, they infused the effect of blowing wind into the back of the armor and the gauntlets.
It was impossible to fly, but it could have an effect similar to a parachute.
Anyway, it saved his life at that critical moment.
‘This is why I should always be prepared.’
Minhyuk’s eyes fell upon the Altar of Protection.
It had lost its glow, as its magical energy had been completely depleted.
Thud, thud-
Minhyuk headed towards the altar.
But then, all of a sudden,
Boom, boom, boom-
Along with the vibrations that shook the ground, something huge charged towards Minhyuk.