The moment the war began, Li Aoz realized that the Oshulia Empire had already lost.
Its forces collapsed like an avalanche, its borders crumbled without cease, and even the capital, Fort Destiny, was harassed repeatedly. Farmland across the nation had turned into wasteland, while pale green motes of light lingered in the air.
As the capital, this once-prosperous metropolis had become a field of ruins. Skyscrapers lay shattered and dilapidated, the carefully arranged garden architecture built by the royal family had been reduced to ashes, and corpses now floated upon the clear inner lake.
Most people had been suddenly attacked by Earthlings in their sleep. High-energy radiation had burned them down to their bones, setting their clothes and fat ablaze. Once the attack began, they had rushed madly into the river, but the flowing water had not stopped the radiation damage. Instead, it had spread the contamination into the water.
The rare fish and exotic species offered to the Empire by tribute states now floated miserably across the surface, their bellies charred black. The beasts raised in hunting grounds had also mutated, breaking through their enclosures and prowling the streets with scarlet eyes wide open, tongues lolling as they searched everywhere for living people to prey upon.
The small teahouses, streets, and civic gardens Ou Shen and the others had once visited had long since been turned to ash in the initial nuclear strike. Now, cold black snowflakes drifted through the sky, dancing with the bitter wind.
The awakened God Samurai of the True Samurai Party were the first to regain their combat power.
In the hours following the attack, the Empire's parliament had been in a state of collapse, while local officials and governments across the nation were paralyzed. Yet after leaving the divine kingdom, the awakened God Samurai