The battle between the Proatine Imperial Army and the undead legion was in full swing.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

The Iron Fleet bombarded the undead legion’s rear while the mages of the 1st Mage Division unleashed indiscriminate area-of-effect spells without letting up.

“Ahhh~ Ah~ Ah~ Aaah~”

Gringore’s voice echoed throughout the battlefield, sending out sonic assaults that swept through the oncoming hordes of undead monsters.

Meanwhile, the three corps fought fiercely against the undead legion at the front lines, showcasing tremendous combat power. This was the first battle where the three-man unit of humans, demons, and angels was deployed.

Their synergy was nothing short of astonishing.

“Ugh!”

Sergeant Daryl of the Proatine Imperial Army was struck down by an undead monster.

“Hey, Daryl! Don’t you dare call yourself my comrade if you’re this weak! Get up!”

The demon soldier, Demonx, shouted toward Daryl while holding back the wave of undead monsters.

“Get up, Daryl!”

The angel soldier, Buel, helped Daryl back to his feet while shielding him from the arrows unleashed by the undead archers.

“T-Thank you!”

“Be careful!”

“Yes!”

The undead monsters rushed at Demonx.

“Die!”

“Your bodies will rot away!”

“Become one with us!”

“We are legion, for we are many!”

“Not so fast!” Sergeant Daryl shouted.

“Watch out, Demonx!” Buel exclaimed.

Then, they charged in and stood on either side of Demonx.

Together, they fended off the attacks of the undead monsters.

It was truly a remarkable sight.

The three-man unit composition used by the Proatine Imperial Army used a combination of races that were never supposed to work together.

No one had ever even imagined that this combination was possible—no, forget about it being possible. Most people would immediately be skeptical that the three could even work together.

And yet, the three races of the three-man unit fought side by side like true comrades on the battlefield.

It was a touching scene.

Though they often bickered with each other—especially the angels and demons—fighting like this naturally forged an unbreakable bond, a camaraderie between them.

It was unknown whether that camaraderie was the reason or not, but even while facing the overwhelming number of the undead legion, the Proatine Imperial Army held their ground and was even starting to overwhelm their enemies.

“Wow...”

Siegfried rushed to the scene only to end up with his mouth agape at the astonishing sight before him. Watching the immense combat power of the Proatine Imperial Army sent a shiver down his spine.

After seeing the Proatine Imperial Army fight on the battlefield, he realized that his worry had been a needless concern. The Proatine Imperial Army had become a formidable army.

With the angels and demons added to their ranks, their strength was boosted by at least three or fourfold.

‘At this rate... I think we could even crush the Marchioni Imperial Army in battle,’ Siegfried thought.

He had personally witnessed the might of the Marchioni Imperial Army a few times and knew better than anyone just how powerful they were. Seeing the combat prowess of the Proatine Imperial Army made him think that they were stronger than the Marchioni Imperial Army.

Of course, in terms of raw troop count, the Proatine Imperial Army only had around three hundred thousand troops, including the angels and demons.

Compared to the Marchioni Imperial Army, which could mobilize more than a million soldiers at a whim, they were hopelessly outnumbered.

Still, Siegfried couldn’t help but feel relieved after confirming just how strong the Proatine Imperial Army had become.

As long as they avoided large-scale head-on battles against the Marchioni Imperial Army, the Proatine Imperial Army had a very good chance of winning the war.

‘Good. This is excellent,’ Siegfried thought, smiling faintly.

At that moment, Hansen walked up beside him.

“Are you perhaps planning to join the battle, sire?” he asked.

“Yes, I am,” Siegfried replied with a nod.

“Judging by the situation on the battlefield, it does not seem necessary for Your Imperial Majesty to personally fight.”

“That may be true, but... Every single soldier is precious to me.”

“...!”

“If I can save even a single one of them, then it is only right that I fight.”

Siegfried was determined to fight if it meant there would be fewer casualties among his men.

Moreover, he had determined that this incident was the doing of the final calamity, the Curse of Decay.

Thus, he felt compelled to join the battle.

The Proatine Imperial Army could defeat these undead monsters easily—if they were ordinary undead monsters. However, it was a different story if this was the doing of one of the Ten Calamities.

No matter how strong the Proatine Imperial Army had become, their strength alone would not suffice against that demonic creature.

“Your Imperial Majesty...” Hansen muttered, his eyes glistening with respect.

“Then, I’ll be heading to the battlefield now,” Siegfried said. Then, he looked at his trusty sidekick and said, “Let’s go, Hamchi!”

“Kyuuu! Time to fight!”

And so, Siegfried took Hamchi on his back and flew toward the battlefield.

“His Imperial Majesty truly is one of a kind...”

Hansen watched Siegfried’s figure flying off into the distance, his eyes filled with awe and reverence.

For the emperor to personally rush into battle in order to save his soldiers was something unheard of in this world, and such selfless actions were more than enough to stir the hearts of the people.

It wasn't just Hansen; every single one of Siegfried’s retainers believed that serving such a liege was the greatest honor of their life.

***

If anyone shone the brightest in this battle, then it was Seung-Gu and Carell.

After completing his training in seclusion, Carell finally shattered through the insurmountable wall and stepped into the realm of Masters.

In recent days, the significance of this achievement had diminished somewhat, as numerous Adventurers had grown stronger and stepped into the realm of Masters with the help of the Elixir of Transcendence, but it was still an extraordinary feat.

Anyone who broke through the wall on their own without the help of the elixir possessed a certain strength that surpassed mere stats.

Now a Master, Carell’s combat power would increase by nearly tenfold whenever he activated his mechanical heart.

“I, Carell, shall become the Sword of Proatine.” 𝒻𝓇𝑒𝘦𝘸𝑒𝒷𝓃ℴ𝑣𝘦𝑙.𝒸ℴ𝘮

Channeling the overwhelming might into his sword, Carell swept through the horde of undead monsters charging straight at him.

Born as the son of a rural lord and once a failing officer, he had grown into one of the pillars of the Proatine Empire.

Meanwhile, Seung-Gu’s performance was even more astonishing.

Among Siegfried’s comrades, Seung-Gu was the only one who had consumed the Elixir of Transcendence. After months of grinding almost nonstop and a fair share of luck, he managed to reach Level 449.

Since the second Elixir of Transcendence, which allowed the user to surpass the second wall and step into the realm of Grandmaster, had yet to be released, reaching this point was virtually the same as hitting max level.

Thus, Seung-Gu was currently ridiculously powerful—no, simply saying that he was powerful did not do him justice.

He was no longer the same Seung-Gu as before.

His partner, Golem King Reventon, had grown in size and had seen upgrades with his weapons and gear. He now boasted a jet-black look rather than his previous silver, making him far more intimidating on the battlefield.

However, the biggest change was that Reventon could no longer exert his will on Seung-Gu.

Now that Seung-Gu was on the cusp of stepping into the realm of Grandmaster, he had completely crushed Reventon’s ego and seized complete control over him.

But that was not all...

The number of Iron Golems under his command had swelled to more than a thousand.

After reaching Level 449, he looked as if he were the king of a Golem Kingdom and was fielding an army of golems.

“Three! Two! One... FIRE!” Seung-Gu roared.

Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!

Kaboom! Boom! Boom! Boom!

The canons mounted on the shoulders of the one thousand Iron Golems spat fire all at once.

Each Iron Golem was armed with two powerful cannons. In other words, a salvo of two thousand artillery shells had rained down all at once.

And the result was pure destruction.

Nothing remained in the area where Seung-Gu had unleashed the devastating artillery strike. The battlefield was completely devastated by the bombardment.

“Wow...”

Siegfried couldn’t help but admire Seung-Gu’s growth. He had not seen him for some time, and it turned out that he had achieved such tremendous progress in secret.

‘I’ll make sure to praise him later.’

With that thought in mind, Siegfried stepped into the battlefield and activated Discharge before unleashing Karma Flare.

Fwooooosh!

Scarlet flames erupted around him before spreading across the battlefield.

“Ah! This is—!”

“His Imperial Majesty has arrived! The emperor is with us!”

“The Hero Emperor, Emperor Siegfried von Proa has descended among us!”

“For Proatine!”

“Long live the Proatine Empire!”

“Long live His Imperial Majesty the Emperor!”

The Proatine Imperial Army recognized the flames scattering across the battlefield and erupted in cheers. They knew all too well that these crimson flames were the trademark of their emperor.

Ding!

[Alert: The morale of the Proatine Imperial Army has soared to the heavens!]

[Alert: The combat power of the Proatine Imperial Army has greatly increased!]

The effects of Siegfried’s titles activated, buffing the entire Proatine Imperial Army. Armed with the buffs, the Proatine Imperial Army began slaughtering the undead monsters debuffed by Karma Flare with ease.

In an instant, the battle turned into a one-sided massacre.

This was Siegfried's influence. With just his presence alone, he could raise the morale of his allies and even buff them. He also cast debilitating debuffs on their enemies. He was truly the epitome of selfishness, as he would buff his allies while debuffing his enemies.

Rumble!

A powerful aura spread across the battlefield, bestowing yet another powerful buff on the entire Proatine Imperial Army.

‘Chae Hyung-Seok!’ Siegfried smiled after recognizing the buffs.

If Siegfried’s buffs increased the army’s morale and combat power, then Chae Hyung-Seok’s buffs were the real deal.

With Chae Hyung-Seok buffs added in, the outcome of this battle was as good as sealed.

The undead legion?

They would be lucky if they lasted more than thirty minutes.

The ridiculous combo of Siegfried’s debuffs and Chae Hyung-Seok’s buff gave the Proatine Imperial Army an overwhelming advantage.

Seizing the momentum, the Proatine Imperial Army charged to slaughter the enemy once and for all. Well, it sounded strange to say "slaughter" when they were already corpses.

‘I should go take down the boss,’ Siegfried thought.

He turned in the direction of the boss monster's overwhelming presence.

Shwiiiik!

An arrow shot through the air and lodged itself deep into the ground at Siegfried’s feet.

“Huh?”

He turned his head and—

“Hi, oppa.”

—Gosran appeared.

She, too, had reached Level 449, just like Seung-Gu. However, Siegfried had no idea if she had truly surpassed the wall or had consumed the Elixir of Transcendence like Seung-Gu did.

“We will take care of it,” Gosran said.

“Hm?”

“I want to show you that we can hunt the boss without you.”

“Well, but...”

Technically, he would still gain experience points and complete the quest as long as they were in the same party, regardless of who landed the finishing blow.

However, Siegfried did not want his comrades to get hurt. He knew just how powerful the Ten Calamities were, so he was hesitant to just sit back and relax while they fought against the demonic creature.

“Don’t worry, no one will get hurt. I’ll guarantee it,” Gosran said confidently.

“Hmm...”

“I want to prove that we’re not a burden to you.”

“Hmm...”

In the end, Siegfried decided to take a step back after seeing Gosran's determination.

If his comrades wanted to prove their abilities to him, then there was no need for him to interfere. In times like this, it was best that he trusted them and let go. If he were to refuse and join the raid, it would show that he had no trust in them at all.

‘I should trust and let them handle it,’ Siegfried thought.

“So? What do you think, oppa?”

“Okay. I’ll leave it to you.”

“You won’t regret it.”

Thus, Siegfried did not join the boss raid. Instead, he returned to the command tent.

‘This is not my fight.’

For once, he realized that he was not the main protagonist of the battlefield.

***

About an hour later—

Thud, thud, thud...

Carell strode proudly toward the makeshift throne where Siegfried was seated. He was holding a severed head, one dangling and dripping with thick black blood.

It was the head of the last calamity of the Ten Calamities—Rotten Maw Peyto.

The boss raid was a success.

Siegfried’s comrades, led by Carell, along with his retainers, had defeated one of the Ten Calamities. Carell dropped to one knee before Siegfried and presented the head of Rotten Maw Peyto.

“I, Carell, report our triumph over the enemy. I sincerely congratulate Your Imperial Majesty on this victory!”

At once, the knights lined up on either side also dropped to one knee and exclaimed at the top of their lungs.

“Congratulations on your victory, Your Imperial Majesty!”

“Congratulations on your victory, Your Imperial Majesty!”

“Congratulations on your victory, Your Imperial Majesty!”

A roar of cheers thundered across the ranks of the imperial army.

Waaaaaaaah!

“Long live the Proatine Empire!”

“Long live His Imperial Majesty the Emperor!”

“Glory to the Proatine Empire!”

The soldiers of the Proatine Imperial Army raised their weapons high and cheered at the top of their lungs. With Carell formally reporting their victory to Siegfried, the adrenaline from the battle was unleashed through their triumphant cries.