Siegfried finally opened his eyes.

“You damn bastaaards!”

“Die! Dieee!”

“A-Aaack!”

“Get away from me!”

“For the empire!”

Deafening, blood-curdling screams rang across the battlefield.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

On top of that, the sound of explosions shook the air, rupturing the eardrums of those unfortunate to be in close proximity. Blood soaked the ground, and dismembered body parts were strewn across the ground.

After recovering his Primordial Force, Siegfried opened his eyes and was greeted by the ugly sight of the battlefield.

“Phew...” Siegfried let out a sigh and looked around his surroundings.

“Oh no, you don’t!”

“You’re not taking another step toward His Imperial Majesty!”

“I will protect my father!”

“Anyone who dares to harm His Imperial Majesty will be sentenced to death by my sword.”

His family and comrades were still protecting him from the enemies, holding the line.

‘I knew it.’ Siegfried smiled. He knew that his family and comrades were far from weak and that they were strong enough to buy him the time he needed to fully restore his Primordial Force.

‘It’s my turn now.’

Siegfried immediately activated Discharge and unleashed all of his debuff skills.

Woooong!

Fwaaaaah!

Sseuuuu!

A powerful burst of debuff auras enveloped the entire battlefield, and the Marchioni Imperial troops were visibly weakened.

“Ack!”

“Arghhh!”

“G-Ghhrk!”

With Siegfried’s debuff auras supporting them, the Proatine Imperial Army and the Allied Forces began driving the Marchioni Imperial Army into a corner, unleashing a merciless onslaught upon them.

The difference between having Siegfried’s debuffs and not having them was like the difference between heaven and earth. The fact that the previously even battle suddenly tipped in favor of the Proatine Imperial Army and the Allied Forces the moment his debuffs were unleashed was a testament to how important his debuffs were.

“Father!”

Verdandi was the first to notice that Siegfried had returned.

“Dear!”

Brunhilde also turned around after sensing the debuffs.

“Take Verdandi with you and fall back,” Siegfried said.

“Okay,” Brunhilde replied with a nod. She did not voice any complaint and withdrew from the battlefield with Verdandi to safety. She knew that Siegfried had brought Verdandi only because she had begged him for it.

Moreover, neither of them wanted her to stay and witness the horrors of the battlefield.

Once Brunhilde and Verdandi had safely retreated, Siegfried charged into battle.

“Where do you think you’re going, Siegfried von Proa?!”

“Where do you think you’re going, Siegfried von Proa?!”

“Where do you think you’re going, Siegfried von Proa?!”

The clones of Duke Randoll blocked his path.

Wooong!

Siegfried immediately unleashed Absolute Nullification at them.

In an instant, the original clones were revealed while the divided copies either turned gray or were obliterated entirely.

‘I’ll just snipe them down.’

Siegfried summoned dozens of aura blades and hurled them toward the original clones of Duke Randoll, sniping them down.

“Arghhh!”

“Aaack!”

“Ghhrk!”

The original clones of Duke Randoll screamed as the barrage of aura blades struck them down, while the divided copies crumbled into dust and vanished completely.

‘I’m going to wipe them all out.’

Siegfried jumped straight into the enemy ranks.

Fwaaaaah!

There, he unleashed Infernal Hellscape, causing molten lava to gush up from beneath the ground.

“Aaaack!”

“Gaaah!”

“S-Save me!”

The Marchioni Imperial troops were burnt to a crisp and blackened by the unforgiving lava.

And that was not the end of their nightmare...

Shwaaaa!

Siegfried immediately followed it up with Frozen Hell, sending a surge of freezing cold aura across the battlefield.

“A-Aaah...!”

“H-H-Help m-me...!”

Dozens of Marchioni Imperial troops were frozen solid by the freezing aura.

Bam!

Siegfried stomped hard and—

C-Craaaack!

—the frozen soldiers shattered like glass, breaking into thousands of fragments.

The sheer force unleashed by Siegfried’s stomp had obliterated them entirely.

‘I’m going to kill every single one of them.’

With his +10 Sky Piercer in hand, he charged even deeper behind enemy lines and began massacring all enemies around him.

He killed, killed, and killed. It seemed as if he was intent on annihilating every single enemy soldier present on the battlefield.

“M-Monster...! He’s a monster!”

“R-Run for your lives! We have to run away!”

“The d-devil... He’s the devil!”

Most of the Marchioni Imperial troops staggered back while some fell on their butts. The sheer display of carnage put on by Siegfried sapped all of their will to fight.

And who could blame them?

At this point, not a single person in the Marchioni Imperial Army was capable of stopping Siegfried.

The three Grandmasters were no longer around, and their trump card—the army of clones based on Duke Randoll was completely neutralized. Now, no one could stand against him.

With Siegfried left uncontested, all the Marchioni Imperial Army could do was get slaughtered.

“All forces, fall back! We will stop Siegfried von Proa!”

“All forces, fall back! We will stop Siegfried von Proa!”

“All forces, fall back! We will stop Siegfried von Proa!”

In the end, the Marchioni Imperial Army decided to deploy every remaining clone of Duke Randoll to stop Siegfried.

“Kill as many as you can! Though we might lose this battle, we will take down as many of them as possible!”

“Focus on inflicting as many casualties on the enemy as possible! We still outnumber them! Kill them! Take as many as you can with you!”

The Marchioni Imperial Army sent the clones of Duke Randoll to mark Siegfried, and then turned their attention to inflicting as many casualties as possible on the Proatine Imperial Army and Allied Forces.

Their goal was far too obvious.

Even if they were to lose this battle, they planned to drag the Proatine Empire and its allies down with them.

It was a self-destructive tactic, one that could be considered a last resort.

The fierce fighting grew even fiercer.

Neither side relented, as weapons clashed while mortar shells and spells flew overhead.

The cries of the wounded rang like a requiem, and the blood-soaked ground was littered with the remains of those who fell in battle.

Just then, the Marchioni Empire finally unleashed its ultimate secret weapon.

The Four Heavenly Kings.

The artificial beings cloned from Emperor Stuttgart himself had finally emerged on the battlefield, marking this the first time they were revealed to the world.

***

The clones of Emperor Stuttgart, the Four Heavenly Kings, completely ignored Siegfried.

While the clones of Duke Randoll kept Siegfried busy, the Four Heavenly Kings charged straight into the heart of the Proatine Imperial Army and the Allied Forces.

When the Proatine Imperial troops and allied troops swarmed them, a merciless slaughter began. The Four Heavenly Kings were the final trump card of the Marchioni Empire, and it was no exaggeration to say that this would be the final turning point of this war.

All of them possessed combat prowess comparable to a Grandmaster, and with four of such powerful warriors joining the fray, the Proatine Imperial Army and the Allied forces were naturally driven back.

“Tsk... Filthy vermin.”

“This is the price you will pay for going against the Great Marchioni Empire.”

“Every single one of you will be cut down. There will be no mercy.”

“Haha! Killing weaklings is the best thing in the world!”

The Four Heavenly Kings revealed the cruel and dark side of Emperor Stuttgart, the side that he had always hidden from others. These four, being the clones of the emperor, had no reason to act as such in front of others, so they rampaged to their hearts’ content and slaughtered everyone around them without mercy.

“...!”

Siegfried’s eyes shot wide open at the sight.

‘Those sons of bitches!’

One of the things he hated the most in this world was seeing his precious soldiers get hurt. As the emperor and the one in command of this war, he felt it was his duty to ensure that these brave soldiers fighting for the Proatine Empire made it back home.

He would do whatever it took to save even one more soldier and send them back to the loving embrace of their family.

Yet those damned Four Heavenly Kings were slaughtering his men while he was getting tied down by the clones of Duke Randoll.

“You dare hurt my men?!” Siegfried shouted, rage filling his voice.

“You shall not pass, Siegfried von Proa!”

“You shall not pass, Siegfried von Proa!”

“You shall not pass, Siegfried von Proa!”

The clones of Duke Randoll blocked his path yet again. Even though the divided ones had been weakened and the original ones were marked, they stubbornly threw themselves at him.

Siegfried might have significantly reduced their numbers using Transcendent Torrential Flower Rain, which came at the cost of exhausting all of his Primordial Force, but there were still far too many of them remaining.

“We are prepared to give up our lives to hold you down, Siegfried von Proa!”

“We are prepared to give up our lives to hold you down, Siegfried von Proa!”

“We are prepared to give up our lives to hold you down, Siegfried von Proa!”

The clones basically volunteered to become meat shields to buy time for the Four Heavenly Kings to slaughter the Proatine Imperial troops and allied troops.

‘Damn it all!’ Siegfried cursed.

Siegfried couldn’t shake them off easily. Not only were there an overwhelming number of them, but the clones had also stopped attacking and focused on holding Siegfried back.

There was simply no opening for Siegfried to shake them off and get past them.

‘Do I use it again?’

He considered unleashing another barrage of Transcendent Torrential Flower Rain, but that would come at the price of his debuffs being deactivated for a while.

Once his debuffs were deactivated, the Four Heavenly Kings would slaughter countless Proatine Imperial troops and Allied troops while Siegfried was busy recovering his Primordial Force.

‘I’m... I’m too weak... If only I were stronger. If I could just push myself even harder...’ Siegfried bit his lips until they bled. This battle wouldn't be that difficult if only he were stronger. He'd save more of his men if he were stronger.

He regretted not pushing himself harder and grew stronger when he had the chance.

“Look here!” At that moment, one of the Four Heavenly Kings called out to Siegfried, and in his hand was a knight of the Proatine Empire. He flashed a wicked grin and taunted, “Behold! This is the fate that awaits you and all vermin who follow you!”

With those words—

Whoosh!

—The knight was decapitated in one clean swing of the sword.

“You fucking bastard...” Siegfried growled, gnashing his teeth.

Anger welled up inside of him, and he wanted nothing more than to charge straight at the bastard and rip him to shreds.

‘I’m going to kill him. I’m going to kill them all...!’

His rage demanded that he go and kill the Four Heavenly Kings, but the fact that he couldn’t do so only fed his rage even more.

“You’re not taking a single step forward, Siegfried von Proa!”

“You’re not taking a single step forward, Siegfried von Proa!”

“You’re not taking a single step forward, Siegfried von Proa!”

The clones of Duke Randoll blocked his path, making it impossible to get anywhere near the Four Heavenly Kings.

“Get out of my way!” Siegfried roared. Even as he unleashed his wrath upon the clones, they stubbornly threw themselves at Siegfried.

Their mission was to keep Siegfried tied down until the Four Heavenly Kings had annihilated the entire Proatine Imperial Army and the Allied Forces.

‘Damn it! If only I were stronger... I need more power. I need more power to kill all of these bastards...’

Siegfried couldn’t help but wish that he could use the Demon King’s Descent skill right now.

He was desperate for the power that would let him end this war.

‘Just one more... Let me save just one more...’

Whooooosh!

Just then, the sound of whistling came from the heavens above, and the air slowly grew violent.

Shwiiiiik!

Then, from behind the clouds, a tornado descended.

***

Flash!

Rumble!

A bolt of lightning flashed, and thunder rolled overhead.

Shwaaaaaa!

A torrential downpour quickly followed shortly after.

And...

Shwiiiiiish!

A white lance appeared in the eye of the tornado, and it descended from behind the dark clouds.

Shwiiiik!

Then, the white lance fell from the sky as if the tornado had blasted it toward the ground.

Shwooong... Kaboom!

Powerful shockwaves and violent gales swept across the battlefield as soon as the spear struck the ground, ripping apart everything around it.

Every single Marchioni Imperial soldier within a fifty-meter radius around the impact zone was completely ripped to shreds.

“I-Is that...?”

Siegfried instinctively recognized the white lance.

“Is it... finally complete...?”

It was then.

‘Are you supposed to be my master?’

A voice suddenly whispered to Siegfried.

“Ah!”

‘Tsk... I don’t like you at all. You’re too weak. You haven’t even attained the power of invincibility.’

“...?”

‘But... Since I was forged with your blood, I’ll give you a chance to be my first master.’

“What in the...?” Siegfried muttered, baffled by the lance's haughty attitude.

‘Come here.’

Now, the lance was even ordering him around.

‘Come here and hold me. I will test if you’re qualified to be my master or not. I shall serve you as my master if you pass, but if you don’t... I’ll rip you to shreds until you’re barely recognizable.’