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Davion, having returned to the ground, headed towards the eastern avenue.
"It's almost cleared up here too?"
"Oh, Davion."
"Liber, your shooting skills are quite something, huh?"
Liber Specula, living in a world without guns, didn't know what shooting meant.
"Shooting?"
"That pistol, the magic tool."
"Ah, I practiced a bit. And my concentration has improved a lot while practicing mental magic."
Davion nodded.
"Latia, how about you? Are you okay? Don't you need to rest?"
The area around the eastern avenue that Latia and Liber were in charge of was burning and exploding here and there.
Sharp traces of wind elemental magic were deeply etched into the buildings.
All traces left by Latia.
"I'm still okay. I'm resting now."
"Latia, you're really amazing too. Spitting out that kind of magic without resting."
Latia pointed to the northern avenue.
"I don't think I should be hearing that from you, Davion?"
Before they knew it, the square was filled with Colonia people.
Liber, looking around, asked.
"By the way, Davion, what's the reason for helping the Colonia people this much?"
"It's as Latia said earlier. We don't know when we might end up in this situation because of the Marino Empire."
Liber cautiously looked around and whispered.
"But you know, even if we help them defeat all the Imperial soldiers today, won't the Empire eventually send more troops? And the oppression will become more severe."
Davion nodded.
"That's possible."
"We're leaving anyway, but why are the Colonia people going this far?"
"Because they can't just stand by and do nothing. They know very well that a people who do nothing have no future."
Liber nodded, looking like he understood what he meant.
Although the directive was to gather in the square except for young children and the elderly, there were many elderly and young children in the square.
There were old people standing with canes, and women who came out with babies wrapped in blankets.
It was obvious that the main Imperial force was coming down from the north.
Already, countless Colonia people had been brutally massacred.
No fear or dread could be found in the eyes of the people gathered in the square.
Only fervent determination and anger filled their eyes.
Clins approached.
"It seems like the area around the square is all cleared up. It was much easier thanks to you."
Just three young men had taken charge of half of the avenues leading to the square.
"As soon as you're ready, deploy all the independence fighters north and push forward."
Clins nodded and returned to the group of independence fighters.
Davion looked at Latia and Liber.
"Shall we go?"
Latia nodded and replied.
"I've got a new perspective on you, Davion."
"What?"
"That you would get so involved in other people's affairs."
"The citizens gathered in the square are advancing this way, with the independence fighters at the forefront."
Calai, the commander-in-chief of the colonial command, frowned.
"Fools. They're kicking and screaming to be killed."
"The independence fighters and civilians are mixed together. What should we do?"
Calai cocked his head.
"Civilians? Where are the civilians? Didn't they all crawl out to the square to fight our Imperial soldiers?"
"Ah, yes. Commander."
Calai jutted his chin forward and narrowed his eyes.
"There they are. Maintain formation, and kill all those approaching."
"Yes!"
The distance between the main Imperial force and the independent demonstrators gradually narrowed.
The Imperial army was the first to stop.
The independent demonstrators continued to march towards the Imperial army.
When they could recognize each other's faces in the front row.
Whoosh.
A huge pillar of fire engulfed the Imperial army.
It was Latia Meridiem's fire elemental magic.
A mage standing somewhere in the rear ranks behind Commander-in-Chief Calai raised his staff and waved it in the air.
Pwang.
The pillar of fire, which had been flying with intense momentum, scattered into the air as it was.
Only hot heat remained for a while, creating a mirage.
Latia's fire elemental magic disappeared without a trace.
Commander-in-Chief Calai grinned and turned around.
"Diler, your nullification magic is as good as ever. It's been a while."
The mage Diler, surrounded by knights in full armor, replied.
"Thank you, Commander-in-Chief."
"It must be the magic of those outsiders. It had quite the momentum, but if you hadn't been here, Diler, we would have managed to block it somehow, but there would have been some damage."
On the other hand.
Latia's eyes, who had launched the preemptive strike, widened.
"What? How?"
Liber, too.
"What? Latia's magic attack suddenly disappeared?"
Clins, who was standing next to him, answered.
"It's Mage Diler's nullification magic."
"Nullification magic?"
"An incredible defensive magic that can nullify all magic attacks. Mage Diler. The one who made our Colonia Kingdom's magic corps unable to use any power and made them hand over the castle gate to the Imperial army."
"Colonia had a magic corps?"
Clins continued with a brief explanation.
The Magic Corps of the Colonia Kingdom.
Originally, Colonia was a kingdom that worshiped magic.
About one-fifth of the population were mages who could wield magic.
The magic corps was a defense force composed of the top mages in such a Colonia kingdom.
It meant that they could exert as much power as a corps force with a small number of people, and it was a defense force composed of 12 mages.
Despite the fact that the scale of the Colonia Kingdom was not very large, it was the source of power that allowed it to firmly protect the kingdom from the threats of neighboring countries.
It was thanks to them that they were able to withstand the power of the mighty Marino Imperial Army for quite some time.
Then he appeared.
Mage Diler.
He didn't unleash magic attacks that exuded tremendous power, nor did he cast any buff magic on his allies.
The only magic he cast was one.
Nullification magic that nullified all magic.
The day that Mage Diler joined the Imperial Army.
Colonia's solid gates were opened, and the 12-member Magic Corps was executed on the spot.
"Is there really such magic?"
"We didn't know until we were attacked."
Liber looked around.
"So, there aren't many mages in the Independence Army? Because there's nothing they can do if a full-scale war breaks out."
Clins' expression darkened.
"No."
"Then?"
"Our Colonia Kingdom was a traditional magic kingdom. Magic was the spirit and source of power of our Colonia. As I said a little while ago, one in five citizens were mages."
Liber raised his right hand and covered his mouth.
"Then, could it be..."
Clins nodded.
His expression darkened even more.
"The first thing they did to break the spirit of our Colonia people was to capture and execute mages as they saw them. In just ten years, the seed of the mage was gone."
"You mean you killed all those mages?"
"Almost all of them."
"How do you know who's a mage?"
"Our Colonia Kingdom worshiped magic, so in order to systematically train mages, we awarded a special mark to all mages in the kingdom and systematically managed them. After the Imperial Army took the country, it became poison."
Latia asked.
"So, does that mean that the children of Colonia are not receiving proper education..."
"That's right. It's to prevent us from teaching magic to children in any way. It's to completely break the magic spirit of Colonia."
"That's too much, those bastards."
"That's why I was trying to get you out of the city as soon as possible. But..."
Clins looked at Davion and continued.
"This young man doesn't just use magic."
Davion, who was listening to Clins' explanation, turned his head and looked at the main Imperial force.
Before they knew it, they had stopped advancing and were standing with their weapons drawn towards them.
They were just waiting for the Commander-in-Chief's order to attack.
'They're more vicious than I thought.'
They invaded the magic kingdom.
They killed all the mages, who accounted for a fifth of the population, and completely trampled on the source of power.
'This is tantamount to cutting off the lifeline of the Colonia Kingdom. Besides...'
Only then did he understand the expressions of the Colonia people who were gathering in the square.
If a mage was one in five citizens.
All the people who were massacred for being mages were all the families, friends, and neighbors of the people gathered here.
The Marino Empire had brutally murdered the families, friends, and neighbors of the Colonia people and cut off the lifeline of the kingdom.
'Why do you have to go this far?'
He didn't understand.
Wasn't it already a place they had conquered as a colony?
They had downgraded the former kingdom to a mere city and set up a colonial command to rule it as they pleased.
But why did they have to go this far?
Latia, who had the same question as Davion, asked.
"Why do you have to go that far? They've already won. This place has become a colony."
Clins made a bitter expression.
"It's for efficiency, I guess."
"Efficiency?"
"Do you know how many colonies the Marino Empire has on the Manum Continent? To efficiently manage so many colonies, it's best to eliminate all unstable factors in the first place."
"They did this for their...management efficiency?"
"I haven't been in their position, so I don't know exactly, but I think that's probably it."
"Crazy bastards."
Harsh words popped out of Latia's mouth.
Surprised, Liber looked at Latia.
The dignified and calm atmosphere remained the same, but her expression was slightly different from what he usually saw.
At that time.
Davion opened his mouth.
"I'll give them one last chance."
Clins cocked his head.
"Last chance?"
"The last chance to get out of this city alive."
Clins closed his mouth and waited for Davion to continue.
They had advanced this far to wage an all-out war, so what was he suddenly saying?
Last chance.
And did they have the power to give such a thing?
They had come to this place risking the fate of Colonia, but they were not sure if they could win.
Davion stretched out his finger and pointed to the front row of the Imperial army.
"Anyone who comes even one step closer from there will be killed."
Clins, who had been shifting his gaze along Davion's fingertip, could only open his mouth with a blank expression.
Did the last chance he would give to the Imperial army mean that line?
Weren't they the ones who were drawing their blue weapons and waiting for the Commander-in-Chief's attack order?
This meant.
'Does he really mean to kill them all?'
But.
He knew that this young man was strong.
But was it such an easy task to say so easily?
The number of Imperial soldiers in front of them was in the hundreds.
Most of them were knight-class powerhouses, and there were quite a few mages included.
And as long as Mage Diler was on that side, magic attacks would not work.
'What on earth is this young man thinking...'
At that time.
Puuu.
The sound of a trumpet rang out from the Imperial army camp.
It was the signal to advance.
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