At noon, the blazing sun hung high in the sky.
The sky seemed to be torn apart by an invisible hand, and pitch-black cracks spread like a spider's web, swallowing the sunlight.
Ning Busan finally knew what the unease he had been feeling all along was.
“The Black Sun! It's the Black Sun!”
“Didn't the Black Sun just pass five years ago? Why has it suddenly descended again?”
In an instant, the grand ceremony turned into hell, and panic spread like wildfire.
The commoners around the high platform fell to their knees one after another. “Your Majesty, save us! Your Majesty, we beg of you, save us!”
Although Novalia was also astonished that the Black Sun would appear today, she could not lose her composure.
Because she was now the monarch, the backbone of the entire Dawn Empire.
Novalia raised her voice and said, “I swear that I will protect your safety with my life. As long as I am here, the xenos will never breach the city.”
The citizens began to praise Novalia one after another, their eyes filled with trust in her.
However, after witnessing this scene, Ning Busan did not feel touched at all. Instead, he found it somewhat absurd.
His lips parted, but in the end, he said nothing.
This was Novalia's home ground now. Even if he had something to say, it would have to wait until today's disaster had passed.
Grayson dropped to one knee. “Your Majesty, our soldiers are all outside the city. We will become the empire's first line of defense.”
Novalia nodded. “Grandfather, I will leave it to you then.”
She turned around and instructed, “Teacher Saige, please activate the magic defense array with the members of the Mage Association.”
“Vinya, gather the soldiers of the Thorns Legion and come with me to face the enemy outside the city.”
“Elion, deploy a portion of the palace guards to maintain public order within the empire.”
“...”
After arranging everything, Novalia looked at Ning Busan.
“They say a wise man does not stand next to a collapsing wall, but I know you will definitely charge at the very front, Your Majesty,” Ning Busan said.
Novalia's gaze was resolute. “If it were General Louis or Emperor Leo, I believe they would make the same choice.”
“Perhaps,” Ning Busan smiled. “Let's go. I'll go to the front line with you.”
Outside the city.
On the distant horizon, densely packed xenos swarmed forward, pressing directly toward the empire's borders. Their footsteps shook the earth, cracking the ground and kicking up rolling clouds of dust.
In the sky, flying xenos circled like dark clouds. Their shrieks pierced the eardrums, and the flapping of their wings brought a foul, stench-filled gale.
In contrast, the empire's army assembled in a rush. Some of the soldiers had not even put on their armor properly, and the weapons in their hands appeared somewhat disorganized.
Ning Busan sighed softly.
The empire had been comfortable for too long.
The Black Sun descended once every century, and most of the xenos were dealt with by the mythical creatures summoned by summoners. The remaining few xenos were slowly wiped out by the royal family's troops, so the pressure was not too great.
But now, Novalia could no longer summon Mammon.
Mammon demanded too much compensation; the foundation the empire had accumulated over a century was barely enough to satisfy his massive appetite.
Only five years had passed since the last time Mammon was summoned, which was nowhere near enough to pay the price he demanded.
This was the first time the empire faced the true terror of the Black Sun without a summoner.
On the city walls, Ning Busan methodically commanded the archers to counter the flying xenos, taking the time to teach the mages who had come to help how to coordinate with the archers.
Below the city walls, Novalia held her silver sword high and led the cavalry regiment in a charge.
But in the face of the swarming army of xenos that rushed forward like a tide, human resistance appeared incredibly minuscule.
The sharp claws and fangs of the xenos tore through the first line of defense. The water of the moat was dyed blood-red, with floating corpses and severed limbs drifting along the current.
Novalia retreated back into the city with her soldiers.
Those hideous xenos pursued relentlessly, but they were blocked outside the city walls by the empire's magic defense array.
The magic defense array was like a giant net, enveloping every inch of the empire's land, preventing the xenos from advancing even half a step.
Novalia's armor was drenched in blood. Panting heavily, she said to Ning Busan:
“The xenos this time are more than twice as strong as they were five years ago. The defense array won't hold for long. Ning Busan, I want you to promise me one thing.”
“...Tell me.”
“Once the empire falls, I will assign a squad of soldiers to you. You must escort the people from the Mage Association and escape first,” Novalia said.
“And what about you?”
“Today is my first day as Empress, and it might also be my last,” Novalia gave a bitter smile. “But no matter what, I will not abandon my people to drag out an ignoble existence on my own.”
Novalia gripped the sword in her hand tightly, her eyes fearless and resolute. “I will live and die with the empire.”
Ning Busan comforted her softly, “Don't think of things so pessimistically. What if there's still another turn of events?”
“Hahahahaha...”
A laugh filled with mockery suddenly rang out.
Novalia and Ning Busan looked in the direction of the sound and saw a handsome, red-eyed man floating in midair, the pitch-black wings on his back gently flapping.
Novalia's eyes were full of wariness. “I did not summon you, Demon King of Greed.”
“Want to make a deal?” Mammon looked down at Novalia from above. “I can help the Dawn Empire survive this Black Sun crisis. In return, you only need to hand Ning Busan over to me.”
Ning Busan's gaze toward Mammon instantly turned cold.
Nothing tests human nature like crisis, and Mammon's move was truly a cruel play on the heart.
But Novalia did not disappoint him. She refused flatly, “Impossible.”
“Your Majesty, won't you reconsider?” Mockery filled Mammon's eyes. “A single person's life versus the survival of an entire empire—which is truly more important?”
Novalia's heart was actually in great turmoil.
As the Empress of the Dawn Empire, she could not stand by and watch her people be slaughtered by the xenos.
But she was equally unable to betray the moral principles she held in her heart.
After a moment of silence, Novalia still shook her head. “Ning Busan is my friend. He cannot be used as a bargaining chip.”
“You really are...” Mammon thought for a long time before finally coming up with a word to describe Novalia, “...hypocritical!”
Ning Busan finally spoke up.
He stared into Mammon's eyes and asked coldly, “Have I ever offended you?”
“No. But after seeing your face, I feel extremely, extremely displeased.” The corners of Mammon's mouth split open, revealing an almost torn smile. “What kind of thing are you? How dare you look exactly like our King?”
“A clumsy, lowly imitator! You had better pray you don't fall into my hands, or else I will definitely make you wish you were dead!”
Ning Busan's lips twitched.
He really wanted to ask: Are you out of your mind?
“I bet Lucifer doesn't know you've come to the human world.” Ning Busan pulled out the feather Lucifer had given him and asked with a fake smile, “Do you want me to call him over for you?”
“Don't use Lucifer to threaten me. Do you think I'm afraid of him?” Mammon sneered. “No matter what Lucifer wants to do, I will not allow the existence of someone like you to defile the King.”
Ning Busan felt like he was about to have a heart attack.
He could tolerate toxic solo fans, but a toxic solo fan who treated the actual person as a substitute should drop dead as far away as possible!
Rate on N.U.
