Right at the heart of the frontier's defences, the octagon-shaped wall swarmed with monsters like ants.
A man around forty years old stood tall. He wore blazing red armour, similar to his long hair, tied in a ponytail. His name was Kaelion Valebright, the Duke who served as the ruler of that frontier land.
He was also known as the 'White Sun General', a brave leader whose white spear shone like a divine light during battles.
His sharp blue eyes monitored the distance, unable to contain the tingling sensation spreading on his skin due to a bad premonition.
"Maintain formation and attack intensity; reinforcements will arrive from the south soon."
His shout exploded like a thunderclap, echoing throughout the battlefield.
"Yeaaah!"
The troops under his command responded loudly, like a symphony of rebirth, which boosted their morale after fighting nonstop for half a day.
They stood atop the towering wall, carrying bows, and hundreds of arrows rained down on the monsters below.
The monsters' attacks were like an unending tidal wave, relentlessly launching a futile assault.
Humanoid monsters like goblins, orcs, ogres, and trolls relentlessly retaliated with crude arrows and sometimes thrown rocks. Beast-like monsters with sharp horns and knife-like fangs were also present.
A large boulder flew and headed towards Kaelion, who stood at the edge of the wall.
"General!"
Some new recruits shouted his name, but the man remained silent and gripped his spear tightly.
His hand blurred, and with one thrust, the boulder didn't shatter but bounced back as a counterattack with a much greater impact.
Boom!
A loud explosion occurred where the rock landed. The man truly lived up to the greatness of his name, dubbed the strongest in the Empire.
"Don't worry about me, continue your work!"
The new knights gaped, realizing how formidable their leader was.
It was true what their seniors in the barracks said: Just by seeing the General's back, fear and anxiety would disappear even in fierce battles.
"Yes, General!"
Rooaaar!
A savage cry from the monsters below snapped their minds from their thoughts; they immediately grabbed arrows and aimed them below.
The scorching light above them blazed mercilessly, but alas, the land beneath was polluted with cruelty, full of savagery, blood, and death.
The land of the Empire was supposed to be the most glorious on the continent. Yet, it never knew what lay beyond the vast Verdant Hollow stretching to the north.
Even to this day!
Since its first establishment, the Empire had tried to send some of its strongest candidates to conquer that dangerous area once and for all.
But all they got was an ever-increasing number of casualties; even the first hero, the very first emperor of this country, died in the expedition.
Because of that, their current solution was to build a fortified city and have it guarded by the strongest person, along with his best troops.
'This feeling!?'
Kaelion looked north, and then a black light gushed like a giant tower. The black light pierced the clouds and exerted intense pressure, causing the atmosphere to tremble.
'So, it finally dares to show itself.'
From the beginning, he had suspected this attack was under the command of something or someone.
The monsters' blank expressions indicated they were being controlled like puppets and had no will whatsoever.
Also, this city had experienced several monster attacks like this before, but mostly, after realizing how difficult it was to breach this wall, they would return to the forest.
A stark difference from this one, which attacked nonstop as if it had another agenda behind it.
Regardless of what it was, Kaelion's only duty was to protect his citizens and the people of the Empire.
A strong wind blew across the battlefield after the black tower shattered and spurted thick miasma into the air.
'Where is it!?'
His eyes widened after he found a tall figure writhing out of the Verdant Hollow.
Its lower part had a long body covered by a hard exoskeleton with many sharp, pointed legs. Eight black spider legs writhed on its back as if they had a mind of their own.
The upper part of its body was a black humanoid with glowing crimson eyes. A mouth extended down from its head to its chest, and two pincers were on either side of its chest.
"What in the world is that?"
Those words immediately came out of Kaelion's mouth and spread like wildfire across the troops.
In his life of fighting monsters, he had never seen such a strange and amalgamated figure, and even history had never recorded the existence of such a creature.
His body tensed, an instinctual response to danger. The hairs on his body stood on end, seeing the figure standing.
"Brace yourselves!"
Immediately after Kaelion shouted, the figure opened its wide mouth filled with jagged teeth and roared.
Khiiiik!
An eerie voice echoed, like a mixture of insect hisses with the world's own rage.
Kaelion clutched his head as an unbearable pulse throbbed from within. He was not alone; some troops under his command fainted and fell from the walls.
The roar stopped after a while, but its effect was tremendous: troop morale plummeted, and the atmosphere grew darker.
Taking a deep breath, the man sent a vast amount of his aura and raised his gleaming silver spear.
"Cast away your fear!"
His voice resonated through the town, letting the gaze of the troops and citizens focus on him.
"I, Kaelion Valebright, swear upon my spear. I will protect you all. There is nothing in this world that my spear cannot pierce! I will prove it. My spear will pierce through despair itself!"
Kaelion thrust his spear upward, unleashing a radiant white pillar into the sky.
The abysmal creature growled, a low thunder rolling from deep within as it finally acknowledged the powerful presence in the city it attacked.
"All troops, fight! Remember that behind us is where your loved ones live. If not us, then who will fight?"
The dying embers embraced a new wind of change as the fire within every troop's heart reignited and burned brighter.
They raised their bows one by one, then drew their string to stand on their ground.
Kaelion swelled his chest, his voice booming like thunder.
"Glory for Frontier!"
"Glory for Frontier!"
The entire troop—no, all the citizens cheered, shouting their leader's cry and chasing away the gloom in their eyes.
Seeing the whole city seem to come back to life, Kaelion grinned and glared fiercely at the abysmal creature.
However, all the tension built up was shattered when he heard the laughter of a youth who had plunged into the battlefield alone.
The man shifted his attention and saw the youth with snow-white hair dancing fiercely. A dense crimson aura clad the boy's body, giving him an impression of malice and madness.
But as a strong warrior, Kaelion could feel his breath hitch with every slash the boy swung.
A flurry of crimson flashed, sending several lives away to the underworld. Everywhere the boy steps, corpses follow.
Undoubtedly, he was a great martial artist like Kaleion himself.
'Who is that child?'
From that day forth. The name 'White Demon' would re-emerge due to how brutal and merciless Yuto was on the battlefield.