Akazuha grabbed the man's arm and pulled his corpse up.
"Tch, leaving it here isn't a good idea."
Sakura looked at Akazuha. She didn't know who he was or how he got here and helped her.
"Hey, your name is Akazuha, right?"
Akazuha tossed the man's corpse into the sun before turning to Sakura.
"Yes."
"Is something wrong?"
"So, who are you?"
Akazuha reached out his hand to Sakura and pulled her to her feet.
"I'm Shashiki Akazuha."
"I'm a wandering swordsman."
"A wandering swordsman?"
"Yes, I was on my way to this kingdom when I suddenly saw these guys kidnapping this pink-haired girl, so I came to help."
Sakura thought to herself, "So, I'm lucky to have met a good person."
A magic circle appeared beneath the pink-haired girl's body, healing her wounds.
"Oh, it's healing magic."
"I almost forgot about you." He also used healing magic to help Sakura's wounds heal.
"Thank you."
"You're welcome." Akazuha smiled and scratched his head.
"But you're a swordsman, aren't you?"
"Huh?"
Sakura pointed to the sword at his waist.
"Well, actually, not exactly. I'm good at many things."
"Many things?"
"Yes, but there are so many that I can't really list them all."
Suddenly, a sound echoed from afar. It was from a group of soldiers in iron armor.
"Who are they?"
Sakura, a mix of joy and shock, snapped back to reality and looked in the direction Akazuha was looking. She realized they were the lord's soldiers.
"Damn it, it seems those two have already informed the lord."
Hearing this, Akazuha lifted the pink-haired girl and tossed her over to Sakura.
"Why did you—"
Before she could finish her sentence, Akazuha yelled.
"Don't stand here too long. Find someone you know or someone you know to take care of that girl. I'll keep them here for as long as possible."
Seeing Sakura hesitate, Akazuha continued,
"You're free now, so don't make me yell at you like a slave owner."
Sakura said nothing, only looked at him gratefully, then hoisted the girl onto her shoulder and ran away.
"She looks so thin, but she's surprisingly strong."
"Never mind, let's not worry about that anymore. What should we do to deal with those guys up ahead?"
He rubbed his chin for a moment, then snapped his fingers.
"Alright, let's just use that."
The soldiers, clad in gleaming iron armor, strode quickly toward Akazuha. Did they know him? No.
"Hey, who's that guy?"
"He was just standing next to that Elf, so he must be her accomplice."
One soldier spoke up upon seeing Akazuha approaching.
Another's eyes widened at the sight of the corpses of the others.
"It looks like he killed them all."
"Hey, should we kill him?"
"I think so, but we have to be careful. He's definitely not an easy opponent."
The whole group looked towards him, but their hearts leaped when he appeared before them.
"Damn it!" He grabbed the man's mouth.
"You guys, you must be some kind of murderers, huh?"
"With that devious face."
~kink~ While he was thinking, the other guy slashed at his head, but the blade shattered.
"How are you so tough!"
"Why? Didn't your mother tell you?"
"If you want a tough body."
He threw the man being choked at another, then turned and kicked the one who had slashed him in the stomach.
"Then drink milk every day."
The man flew away, crashing repeatedly to the ground before finally stopping.
The others were still in shock, staring at Akazuha with terrified eyes, their legs too weak to move to attack her.
"Please..."
One of them dropped his weapon.
"Please don't kill us!"
"Don't kill them?"
"Why not?"
His left arm rose and punched through one of the men's bodies.
"Those you killed, each one had their own life."
"Whether fortunate or unfortunate,
They were all born and raised in this world..."
"Some had families, some didn't."
"Some had young children, some didn't."
"Some were raising virtuous wives."
"Some were raising elderly mothers."
"And some were dreaming of something..."
"And some simply lived carefree lives without thinking about the world..."
"You say you want forgiveness?"
"Then why..."
~whoosh~ Akazuha's arm shot out, grabbing one man by the neck and snapping it.
"Why didn't you listen to those who begged for their lives?"
"How did you know what we did?!"
A magic circle appeared in Akazuha's palm, emitting sparks of electricity.
"Who am I?"
"If you want the answer, go to hell and ask those I've killed."
"Electro Overlord."
Following his words, millions of purple lightning bolts rained down from the sky onto the soldiers and Akazuha.
The ground turned into lava, the vegetation was incinerated to the last particle, and sparks flew up, accompanied by smoke and dust.
Akazuha sighed, looking at the charred corpses on the ground, then up at the clear blue sky with only a few clouds.
"Better now..."
"Sometimes I feel better killing people like this."
He shook his head wearily and walked towards the castle ahead.
He walked on, lost in thought.
"Anyway, those kinds of people don't deserve to live..."
"But what about those two?"
"Never mind, if they find me, I can just burn them alive."
<♤♤♤>
Impact Kingdom
A land once known as the "Kingdom of Light," where peace and prosperity lasted for over a millennium. The Impact Kingdom was built around the capital, Lunaris, nestled in a valley surrounded by mild weather and lush vegetation, where races like humans, elves, beastmen, demons, and even dragon-humans once lived together in harmony.
However, over 1000 years later, an unexplained event occurred. The Palace of Light, the seat of the royal family, suddenly became the center of darkness. The current king, King Ardan VI, became cruel and fanatical. Under his reign, Impact transformed into an aggressive empire, constantly conquering neighboring lands, enslaving non-pure races, and burning those who dared oppose them.
People called this era the "Dark Ages," where even the memory of peace was distorted by war and greed. Within the capital, resistance began to emerge, but could it restore light to a kingdom already rotten?
That's what he heard over three years ago from an old man in some village.
The old man had lived in this kingdom his entire life until he turned 50, when he finally left to live elsewhere.
"That place is terrible."
"The taxes just keep increasing."
"The poor are constantly oppressed, and even if something happens to them, they're left there without anyone caring."
"Only the nobility or the wealthy like us are treated like human beings."
"And what about those who are a little poor?"
"They treat us like animals."
Every word of that old man echoed in his mind.
"It's amazing that a place like hell can still exist."
He looked around and then up. Something the size of Texas was hovering in the sky.
"Indeed, it looks enormous even from here."
Located exactly 427 meters above the ground, suspended in the highest cloud layer, Aetherion is inaccessible by conventional means. It is anchored by a reverse gravity core, a cutting-edge technology. Seen from the ground, it resembles a giant satellite in low orbit, with two enormous solar-powered charging wings, and a shape only seen in science fiction movies.
"I wonder what's up there," Akazuha thought.
"I'm new here, so I don't have any information about that thing," Akazuha thought.
"Please move aside."
"Huh?"
He recoiled slightly, startled. He had been so focused on the satellite station that he hadn't noticed the robot standing in front of him.
It was a one-eyed robot, a magic-controlled fighting machine, its massive body made of stone and metal, its eyes glowing with magic stones embedded in its head.
"Uh, um, sorry."
Akazuha stepped aside, out of the robot's path.
"It's a robot, huh? It looks a bit different from a Golem." Akazuha thought.
"It looks pretty cool." Akazuha thought.
"But... I think these were created with taxpayers' money, right?"
He stood watching the robot for a moment before turning and walking away.
"First, I need to find a library somewhere. I need a lot of information about this kingdom."
~BOOM!~
A huge explosion occurred in the distance, followed by more and more explosions.
Many people began running away from the explosion, while some robots from a distance started flying towards it.
"What's going on over there?"
~Boom~
He ducked and jumped onto a nearby building, the ground cracking open.
Jumping from building to building to get there as quickly as possible.
End of Chapter 2
Some information that isn't very helpful:
- Impact Kingdom: At the end of the 10th century, the "Black Flood" swept through neighboring kingdoms. Monsters from the Abyss of Oblivion rose up, and creatures from the Eternal Mist Forest poured out, turning fertile lands into a living hell. Tens of thousands of people of all races—Humans, Elves, Beastmen, even resilient races like the Dwarves—were forced to abandon their homes, swept along by the refugee flow toward a valley surrounded by the Heavenly Mandate Mountains.
There, at the foot of the mountains, they found a strange land. The air was so fresh that wounds healed twice as fast, the soil so fertile that seeds sprouted overnight, and underground springs emitted a soft silver light, which the people called "Veins of Light." They believed this was a blessing from ancient gods, or perhaps a remnant of magic from a lost civilization.
Over twenty years, refugees from different cultures gradually integrated. They built the first villages, naming the land "Impact," meaning "Where Destinies Collide and Reborn."
1000 to 1450.
In 1000, under the leadership of an outstanding leader, Ardan I, a former general who had lost his entire family in a tragedy, the refugee tribes officially united, establishing the Kingdom of Impact. Ardan I was crowned the first King. He established a government centered on Justice and Mutual Protection. The first constitution stated: "Every race, wherever it comes from, has the right to live, to be protected, and to contribute to Impact."
The capital, Lunaris, was built right in the center of the largest Light Vein. For 450 years, Impact flourished. The subsequent generations of Ardan kings (II, III, IV) were all wise rulers. The kingdom became a symbol of racial harmony and prosperity. Magic academies, knight training schools, and merchant guilds sprang up like mushrooms. Impact not only strengthened itself but also became a destination for war refugees from all over, earning the title "Kingdom of Light" or "Shield of the Weak."
1450 to 1460.
Impact's prosperity finally attracted the attention of dark forces. In 1450, the Time-Space Demon King Kamikaze, who had previously devastated many lands, brought his army to the gates of Impact. His target was the "Veins of Light," a pure energy source that could almost weaken his power.
The war lasted for 10 years, known in history as the "Great Holy War." King Ardan IV, along with his skilled generals and tens of thousands of warriors of all races, fought valiantly. The bloodiest battle took place at the Gate of Destiny, where Impact's forces halted the Demon Lord's main force.
Finally, in 1460, through an ancient sacrificial ritual at an extremely high cost, the disintegration of the seven Great Light Veins and the lives of Ardan IV himself, along with a thousand elite mages, repelled the Demon Lord Kamikaze, who was temporarily imprisoned in another dimension. Impact won, but at the cost of half the population and most of the kingdom's primordial energy, depleting the kingdom.
1460 to 2020.
Post-war, Impact entered a slow recovery period under the leadership of Ardan V. Without abundant Light Veins, the kingdom began researching and developing technology combined with magic to compensate, paving the way for inventions like the Golem and later the Aetherion. Society gradually changed, with the nobility, military, and scholars wielding more power. The equality between races began to show its first cracks, as some groups considered themselves more "purebred."
However, overall, Ardan V remained a moderate king, striving to maintain his ancestral legacy. Impact remained a relatively peaceful kingdom, though not as glorious as it once was.
From 2020 to the present.
In 2020, Ardan V died suddenly and under suspicious circumstances. His successor, Ardan VI, a prince who had lived a life of luxury since childhood and showed contempt for "inferior" races, ascended the throne.
In just a few years, everything was turned upside down. Under the guise of "restoring Impact's power," Ardan VI abolished the Ancient Constitution, establishing an absolute monarchy. Power was concentrated absolutely in the hands of the royal family and their close circle of nobility. Purebred humans reign supreme, while other races are relegated to the bottom, heavily taxed, restricted in their rights, and gradually enslaved. Evidence suggests Ardan VI secretly allied with unscrupulous magical science groups and possibly remnants of the Demon Lord's cult, exchanging power and technology for it.
The shield of the weak has become the scythe of the strong. The "Kingdom of Light" now exists only in the memories of the elderly, replaced by the "Dark Ages," an era of injustice, oppression, and the dominance of power-obsessed fanatics. The true light of Impact lies buried beneath the dust of ambition and sin, awaiting a rebellious spark or a savior to rediscover it.