"Dimon Kingdom sent word through Joan. They can take Old Val Town."
The messenger stood outside the door, panting.
Olmedo nodded. "Good. Tell them we'll set out from the Northern Great Wall and sweep toward the Graypeak Mountains."
The Empire had staked everything on sending out all its forces in the North. Its northern territory was now exposed, and the border had to rely almost entirely on its two allies for defense.
Dimon Kingdom had chosen to take over the main battlefield, so Free City would share the burden on the outskirts. Together, they would keep the enemy out of Middle Earth.
Otherwise, the Empire might push deep into the heart of Chaos, cut off High Priest McKennan's head, then turn around to find its home gone. That would be humiliating.
Just in case, they would scour every mountain and plain between the Great Wall and Old Val Town. It would serve as practice before the major battle and give their forces a chance to learn to work together.
Only the Guard Legion, which protected Free City's assets, would stay out of the fighting. The other Six Legions received their assignments and, once ready, marched through Portals to positions along the Empire's vast Great Wall.
Under a gloomy sky, the well-equipped Hellfire Legion marched out of a Portal in perfect step. The cold steel and grim resolve of its troops made the imperial soldiers stationed there feel, for a moment, as though an imperial Legion had returned—
As Free City's first Legion, the Hellfire Legion had fought in every battle, large and small, since the city's founding. Its troops were the elite of the elite. Naturally, they would take the lead, driving like a dagger from the Northern Great Wall straight into the Graypeak Mountains.
From the imperial garrison on