“Why in the world have warp gates appeared here...?” High Priest Apollonas was utterly baffled by the situation unfolding before him. “What is happening, High Priest?” “I think those are warp gates, not the Celestial Gate...” “Something feels off, High Priest.” Even the high-ranking priests of the Church of Healing—no, more precisely, the Illuminati members, turned to Apollonas for answers. They were holding a ritual to open the Celestial Gate and summon an army of angels, yet warp gates appeared as soon as the ceremony began. This was something that none of them had ever anticipated. “I have no idea... I will go ask Romanson,” Apollonas replied. He descended the grand altar and approached King Romanson, who was still kneeling and praying fervently. “What is the meaning of this, Your Majesty?” Apollonas asked. “Pardon me...? What do you mean by that, High Priest?” King Romanson asked, blinking in confusion. High Priest Apollonas pointed at the dozens of warp gates shimmering in the sky and asked, “Those warp gates, what are they? Did you perhaps arrange some sort of military airship parade without telling me?” “Aren’t those warp gates there because Lord Hippocrates is descending?” King Romanson asked, looking puzzled. Then, he added, “I haven't planned any military airship parade or anything like that.” “Then, what are those warp gates?” Apollonas asked, his voice sharp with a hint of agitation. “I have no idea!” King Romanson protested. Then, he said, “The kingdom strictly controls the warp gate frequencies surrounding the capital city! I assumed Lord Hippocrates was the one opening them so—” “Gods do not create warp gates!” Apollonas bellowed. “Those are magic circles! That is a man-made spell!” “T-Then that means...!” “Hah!” Apollonas scoffed in disbelief. A court mage responsible for managing the warp gate frequencies rushed toward King Romanson in sheer panic. “This is a disaster! We have a problem, sire!” “Tsk! What is it?” King Romanson snapped. He was in a foul mood after being interrogated and accused by Apollonas, and he was starting to wonder what those warp gates were, as even the high priest had no idea what they were. “Forget about that! Tell me, just what are those warp gates?!” King Romanson lashed out at the mage. “Y-Your Majesty! It seems that the Proatine Kingdom has opened those warp gates!” “They are trying to warp over here!” “Do you expect me to believe that? How can the Proatine Kingdom open warp gates that lead directly here? Our kingdom has absolute control over all warp gate frequencies!” “T-That is...” the mage hesitated for a moment. Then, he responded, “It appears they are using a far more advanced form of magic to hijack our frequencies.” “What?! That’s impossible! The Proatine Kingdom doesn’t have that kind of capability!” “Given the scale of the interference... The only plausible explanation is that they may have enlisted the help of a dragon to—” “DO YOU EXPECT ME TO BELIEVE THAT CRAP?!” King Romanson screamed in anger. “M-Mercy! F-Forgive me, Your Majesty!” “Silence! You incompetent fools! You let them hijack our warp gate frequencies and cause this mess?!” “Well, what are you standing around for?! Blast those warp gates to pieces with magic and our cannons!” “Are you just going to sit there and let enemy troops drop right into our capital?! Get moving! NOW!” The religious ceremony suddenly faced an unexpected air raid. With the enemy attempting a large-scale warp gate deployment, it was impossible to proceed with the ceremony as planned anymore. High Priest Apollonas turned to King Romanson and said firmly, “The ritual must continue, Your Majesty.” “Those vile demons seek to disrupt the sacred offering to Lord Hippocrates. We must not yield to them. This is a holy war, and the ceremony must be completed at all costs.” “But the casualties will be immense—” “Once the ritual is finished, Lord Hippocrates will smite our enemies, heal the wounded, and resurrect the dead.” “What are you hesitating for? Crush the enemy, but do not halt the ritual.” Persuaded by High Priest Apollonas’ words, King Romanson made his decision. The anti-air cannons stationed around Iraxia roared to life, unleashing devastating fire upon the warp gates that appeared over the city. The kingdom’s mages, too, began unleashing an onslaught of magic bombardment spells. Thus, the skies above the Senece Kingdom’s capital city, Iraxia, erupted into chaos. “One minute remaining until warp!” Siegfried sat aboard the Iron Fleet, waiting for the warp to initiate. The reason he risked deploying the Iron Fleet in this battle was simple—there was absolutely zero chance that enemy anti-air cannons could destroy the warp gates, so there was no risk at all. It was all because the one who created these warp gates was none other than Dragon Lord Gerog. A warp gate personally conjured by a Dragon Lord was indestructible to mere humans. However, the real problem would come after the warp. A massive bombardment would rain down the moment they were warped, which was why Siegfried couldn’t just drop his forces recklessly like he used to. Instead, he decided to deploy the Iron Fleet, which was no different from tanks or armored personnel carriers of the skies, that could endure anti-air cannon fire upon arrival on the other side. “You’re dead,” Siegfried growled, gnashing his teeth. On top of that, a single Invincible Battleship from the Marchioni Empire’s Immortal Armada had also joined the mission. Princess Irene had personally requested that the Invincible Battleship be included to transport the 8th Corps over to Iraxia. In other words, Iraxia could be considered as good as conquered. “We’re going to wipe them out completely—” Siegfried muttered under his breath. A notification popped up in front of his eyes. [Alert: You have triggered the Quest — Shut the Celestial Gate!] The quest details were as follows... [Shut the Celestial Gate] [Destroy the altars to stop the ancient secret organization, the Illuminati, from opening the Celestial Gate.] [Type: Time Attack Quest] [Progress: 0% (0/13)] [Reward: +1 Level per altar destroyed] [Note: This quest is shared with all party members, so focus on destroying the altars instead of being greedy!] [Warning: An Archangel will descend for each altar you fail to destroy!] “Oh?” Siegfried smirked after reading the quest details. Gaining one level for each altar meant that destroying all thirteen would earn him a massive thirteen levels. Since everyone participating in this mission would share the rewards, it was guaranteed for everyone. In other words, this was a jackpot of a quest. “This is perfect,” Siegfried muttered with a grin. As soon as the words left his mouth... “Five seconds until warp! Four! Three! Two! One! Initiating warp!” A brilliant flash of light engulfed his vision as they were warped from the Proatine Kingdom’s airspace to the skies above Iraxia. The moment they warped, a barrage of anti-air shells slammed into the hull of the Invincible Battleship. At the same time, the Seneca Kingdom’s fleet engaged the Proatine Kingdom’s fleet in an aerial battle to defend Iraxia. The battle began, and the conquest of Iraxia was underway. The aerial battle over Iraxia was nothing short of intense. Both fleets unleashed relentless barrages, raining hell upon one another without mercy. However, the Seneca Kingdom’s fleet was visibly losing the aerial battle. Although the Iron Fleet, under Siegfried’s command, had slightly weaker firepower, their absurdly high defense meant that they suffered minimal damage even after getting hit by enemy shells. Unfortunately, the same couldn’t be said for the Seneca Kingdom’s fleet. Their defenses simply couldn’t withstand the bombardment from the Iron Fleet, and their airships, one by one, began to plummet from the skies. But that was not all... The Invincible Battleship, commanded by Irene, demonstrated its overwhelming firepower and utterly annihilated the Seneca Kingdom’s fleet. As expected, the Marchioni Empire’s Invincible Battleship was no ordinary warship armed with conventional cannons. The laser beams shot by the Invincible Battleship pierced the Seneca Kingdom’s warships, slicing them cleanly in half before sending them plummeting to their doom. “That’s crazy... I mean, that’s no longer a battleship. That’s a goddamn alien warship armed with extraterrestrial technology...” Siegfried muttered in awe while watching the destructive laser weaponry of the Marchioni Empire in action. At this point, the Invincible Battleship was like a hungry lion let loose in a pet full of rabbits. The power gap between the fleets of the Marchioni Empire and the Seneca Kingdom was so visibly overwhelming that it was no exaggeration to call it a severe mismatch. ‘Yeah, I need to get my hands on those things,’ Siegfried thought. Then, he turned to Hamchi, who was standing beside him. “Kyuuu! Hamchi was born ready! A man must be ready around the clock to—” Before Hamchi could even react, Siegfried grabbed him by the scruff of his neck and hurled him out of the battleship. “KYUUUUUUUU—GWAAAAH!” Just like that, Hamchi was sent free-falling at breakneck speed toward Iraxia. Of course, Siegfried did not just stand back and watch. He unfurled his +10 Black Crow Wingsuit and dove down straight after Hamchi. Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh! The operation had begun. One after another, nearly one hundred thousand soldiers from the Proatine Army and the 8th Corps of the Marchioni Empire strapped on their parachutes and leaped from their respective battleships. Operation Bomb Drop was initiated. King Romanson stood frozen and watched in horror as the enemy utterly decimated his fleet. His airships crashed down on the capital, causing catastrophic destruction. Buildings crumbled, and explosions ripped through the streets, causing widespread casualties. Iraxia, where the religious ceremony was underway just a moment ago, had become a battlefield. But that was not all... The anti-air cannons scattered throughout the city, and Iraxia’s last line of defense against enemy airships was wiped out by enemy cannon fire. Then, as if signaling the impending doom of Iraxia, the skies turned black as a swarm of enemy troops began descending upon the capital city. This was the end, and there was no stopping it. Iraxia, the capital city of the mighty Seneca Kingdom, was on the verge of being conquered by the enemy. “T-This...! What are we to do?! Aaaaah!” King Romanson cried out in horror. But while he fell into despair— “We offer these pure souls as sacrifice... In the name of the Illuminati... Hear our cries... Open the Celestial Gate...” High Priest Apollonas remained steadfast with his chants despite the chaos around him. He knew that this ritual was the only way to reverse this situation. “O Celestial Gate! Open!” As soon as High Priest Apollonas finished chanting... The air trembled as the space around the grand altar began to twist and warp, revealing a golden circular gate. The symbol of the Chief Archangel, Lucifer, was in the middle of the closed gate. “O Chief Archangel! By the name of the Creator! Descend upon this world!” Apollonas exclaimed. Among the thirteen altars, the high priest managed to summon the Celestial Gate, symbolizing Chief Archangel Lucifer. Then, he turned to the Illuminati members. “Offer the sacrifices so that the gate will open.” With gleaming daggers in hand, the Illuminati members rushed over to the one hundred young boys and girls, who were laid unconscious upon the altar.