Chapter 376: 376

Chapter 376: 198. The Beginning of the Apocalypse -3 (Part One)

Translated by A Passing Wanderer

Edited by RED

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Ding-! Clang-! Dang-!

Bells began ringing within Laurensis, the capital of the Theocratic Empire.

A scout on a horse was racing ahead at their top speed towards the Imperial Capital. Behind them were countless commoners, running breathlessly towards the city, as well.

“Open the gates-!” One of the Paladins stationed over the outer wall roared out, and the outer gate leading into Laurensis was quickly opened up. The pulleys and gears creaked and turned, and the massive doorway spread open to the left and right.

The scout waved a flag as he flew past the doorway with every ounce of his energy. “Get out of the way! Get out!”

The crowds in the streets were taken by surprise and hurriedly jumped out of the scout’s way..

The scout rapidly travelled along the city’s avenues and entered the Imperial Palace. He eventually reached the Imperial Audience Chamber.

Paladins clad in pure-white armour smartly opened the doorway, and the scout took in the full view of what lay waiting for him beyond the gap in the opening doors.

The vast, expansive audience chamber, Paladins standing in lines on either sides, and then…

The one sitting on the throne in the middle of them all.

The Holy Emperor, Allen Olfolse!

The scout saw the ruler of the empire and swallowed nervously. Despite simply sitting down, the sheer pressure emanating from the Holy Emperor completely justified his title as the absolute sovereign. There couldn’t be any doubt about that.

The Holy Emperor locked his gaze on the scout and asked, “What have you seen?”

His voice sounded too heavy and dignified to be coming from a young man.

The Holy Emperor’s Spirit Speech burrowed into the head of the scout, finally snapping the latter out of his reverie. He hurriedly knelt down and, even though his heavy panting didn’t want to leave him, he still made his report. “The Bringers of Apocalypse, they have arrived, sire!”

That answer was sufficient enough. No need to listen anymore.

Holy Emperor Allen stood up from the throne.

Step, step…

He stepped down and gallantly strode forward.

The time had finally come!

“The time has come to sever the ties of this really tiresome fate.” Allen summoned Amon’s Skull, and as he put it on, he muttered the activation phrase, “I am the legion.”

Pieces of bones began materialising from beneath his feet, traveling up his legs.

“And I am…”

The bone armour encased his entire body next. The Paladins all around him unsheathed their swords in unison.

“…Gaia’s inheritor!”

Underneath Amon’s Skull, his eyes gleamed sharply.

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**

“Retreat, retreaaaat-!”

The Hedron fiefdom, about thirty minutes’ distance away from the Theocratic Empire’s capital…

This place had been reduced to pure pandemonium.

“The evacuation of all the citizens is finished! We must leave right now, too!” The eldest son of Count Hedron’s family, Heis Hedron, yelled out as loudly as he could. As a matter of fact, he was actually getting tearful from fright.

He was currently swimming in confusion. Although he was taught how to use a sword, that was nothing more than just some surface-level knowledge. He might have come from a Count’s household, but he had only barely managed to get his graduation certificate from the academy. His skill level wasn’t high enough to fight against a real undead.

As for his father, Count Hedron, he had left the official residence while saying that he’d go and take a look at the situation himself. However, there had been no news about him ever since then.

In the end, all command had fallen to Heis’s shoulders.

The territory’s soldiers heeded Heis’s yells, and began running around like a bunch of headless chickens.

BOOM-! Crunch!…

It was right then; the noise of something breaking echoed out from somewhere.

Heis urgently turned his head around and stared at the tall outer walls of the city, which were quite some distance away from where he was right now. He could see a truly huge hand grabbing the top of the tall outer wall.

Heis’s eyes nearly bulged out of their sockets. A strand of cold sweat trickled down his cheek next.

A short while after that, the face of a Jötunn showed up above the wall. It belonged to a giant seemingly covered in nothing but sand and earth. When this creature’s gaze and Heis’s ran into each other, the latter instantly froze up where he stood.

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The Jötunn cruelly grinned with its eyes next.

Heis’s shaking eyes began scanning the areas surrounding the outer walls.

There was more than one giant; there were dozens, nay, hundreds of them climbing up over the outer walls. But there were other giants that were so massive that their faces could still be seen over the walls just by them standing still on the ground.

Heis was utterly stupefied by what he saw, and ended up letting out a stupid-sounding gasp, “Uh… Eh?”

This was the attack of the Jötnar. The bastards were invading right now. They had finally reached this far after burning and destroying countless other territories!

“Euh… uwaaaaahk?!” Heis cried out and urgently climbed up on his horse, before kicking it into a desperate sprint. Almost at the same time, the outer walls bulged unnaturally, then blew apart in a powerful explosion.

Stone debris began raining down everywhere like a shower of meteors. The screams of the territory’s soldiers echoed throughout the land.

The knights mounted their horses and gave chase after Heis, then provided protection to their young master from his side. They pressed down on their heads, worried that their helms might fly off.

The Jötnar were no doubt quite a distance away, yet the huge boulders continued to slam down on the ground up ahead of the fleeing humans.

The buildings around them were crushed and demolished, spewing out smoke and dust.

Heis sucked in his breath hard after realising that the boulders weren’t the only thing blocking their escape path. “Oh my gods, isn’t that…?!”

He had to doubt his own eyes for a moment there.

Thick dust clouds were rapidly gathering up and began churning into whirlpools. Those winds… they couldn’t have been generated naturally. It had to be magic at work!

The dust continued to swirl around in stiff winds, and became huge tornadoes in the city’s vicinity. They began destroying and devouring everything in their path.

Heis screamed again as his vision was obscured by the dust. Sand and dust entered his mouth and made it hard to shut his jaw now.

The life he had been living so far passed by his eyes like a revolving lantern.

He was born as the eldest son of the family, and his father had expected many great things from Heis. But he ended up making a mistake at the academy and was sent to the northern region.

When he had to face off against the Tide of Death, he believed everything was over for him. But then, he had witnessed the Imperial Prince blessed with the status of a Saint, and he had felt hopeful again.

All sorts of memories flitted in and out of his mind.

It was right at that moment someone suddenly grabbed his shoulder. “Is it you, Heis?!”

“F-father?”

His blurry vision caught the sight of someone else on a horse riding right next to him. The dust cloud made it hard to discern that person’s face, but the voice definitely belonged to his father.

“Our citizens have already evacuated now. Our job now is to survive this ordeal, son!”

“Father, father!” Heis desperately cried out to his father.

Ka-boom-!

His voice was buried under the commotion of all the boulders still crash-landing everywhere. The monstrous screeches of the undead were coming from somewhere his obscured vision couldn’t see.

One by one, the knights providing protection to Heis were captured and dragged away inside the dust cloud, never to be heard from again.

The howls of lycans, and the mocking sneer of vampires could be heard now. There was no need to mention the horrifying noises of bones breaking and blood splattering all around them as well.

Vampires had invaded the city to rapidly hunt down any living humans, but Heis’s eyes still couldn’t see anything amidst all the swirling dust. All he could hear were tragic screams.

“Be strong, son! Do not stop praying, as this is merely another trial for us to overcome! Goddess Gaia, and His Majesty the Holy Emperor, will definitely save us, that’s why…!”

Heis decided to heed his father’s advice and began praying. He pressed his head on the horse’s neck and muttered out loudly, “Oh, dear Gaia. Gaia! Gaia! And His Majesty the Holy Emperor, please come and save us!”

How unsightly this was. He felt like he had regressed to being a little kid. But all he could do right now to ensure his survival was to pray away.

They continued to flee for a while. The noises of vampires catching up could be heard coming from somewhere behind them.

But then, rays of light began breaking through the choking dust. Heis’s father broke through the dust and took in the sight waiting for them up ahead. His brows shot up, and his cheeks quivered as if this powerful emotion had taken over him. “…Now behold, my son!”

All the commotion taking place behind them were buried under his gentle voice. Heis found himself faltering a little at his father’s calm words.

“Son, the gods have not forsaken us.”

Heis slowly raised his head and tried to stare into the light with his blurry eyes.

The light remained bright and powerful. This heavenly light broke through even the pitch-black darkness.

“This is the Theocratic Empire, son.”

His blurry vision suddenly grew clear. All those emotions stained by terror gradually regained their composure, but at the same time, Heis grew more and more excited, and began to shudder uncontrollably.

He could see it now.

He could see the huge army of light standing gallantly above the wide hills up ahead.

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