In terms of landmass, The Global Azakin Empire wasn’t the biggest of the three nations. However, it was, by far, the one hardest to invade. More specifically, its Northern provinces were only accessible by passing through the Global Line.
It was a relatively narrow passage, approximately 50Km in width, which separated the Tempest Sea from the Phantom Ocean.
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Furthermore, the Global Line had the Skywall Fortress; A gargantuan stone structure with a castle around it. It wasn’t a city, per se, but a highly-guarded line of defense that would resist even the mighty army of the South.
Additionally, the Global Line, precisely where the Skywall Fortress was built, had very fertile lands.
120 years ago, farmers from all over the Empire were paid to relocate to the Global Line. There were a multitude of farms and fields very close to the Skywall Fortress, which allowed it to become self-sustaining even with the ridiculous number of soldiers stationed there.
Although it was built in a seemingly vulnerable and exposed place, directly accessible from the South, the Skywall Fortress had become akin to a monument. Ever since it was erected, it had been attacked twice, and not once did it fall.
What made the Global Line more astounding was the presence of the Shadow Keep Penitentiary.
Underneath the massive stone fort, which was bigger even than Green’s End, was a high-security prison meant for all sorts of criminals, amassed from all over the globe, not just the empire.
In such an age, rather than imprisoning criminals, all the governments would just kill them, especially the dangerous and strong ones.
The Shadow Keep Penitentiary was built to reject that fact. Technically, it was under the control of the Global Azakin Empire, however, there was a silent agreement between the three nations that the troublesome criminals would be sent there.
Sometimes, it was better to keep people alive to extort information from them. There were even cases where said criminals were cursed or used special artifacts that rendered them practically immortal, or at least unable to be killed through the use of conventional means.
The underground prison had a total of 6 floors and wasn’t particularly big. Still, it was well-managed and heavily-guarded by selected personnel. Not even the soldiers stationed on Skywall Fortress were allowed entry.
Albeit being underneath the fortress, the Shadow Keep Penitentiary was wholly independent. It had its own rules and, besides a couple of high-ranking aristocrats, no military officers could intervene in its state of affairs.
That was the extent of the public knowledge regarding this notorious prison, which housed heinous criminals from all over the world.
..
30th of the Golden Star
Above the Skywall Fortress, there floated an enormous ship. Its biblical size dwarfed the entire sky-piercing stone fort and cast a shadow over it and the farms and villages around it.
The ship was no different from a veritable mobile city, equipped with massive engines and enough room to house tens of thousands of people.
The flying ship was called the Ragnarok, and it belonged to the Ancient Federation.
“Please be assured. He will be dealt with accordingly and shall never see the light of day again.” Politely said an old man with a long white beard, a bony facial structure, and wrinkled skin.
The man wore a snow-white long robe and had a set of golden teeth, which matched his not-so-pretty face.
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He was the Warden of the Shadow Keep Penitentiary, Bernard Capilla. A shrewd and greedy person, someone lacking any morality or sympathy for anyone else.
For him, the prisoners were a source of profit, to be used however he wanted.
Across from Bernard were two people; One was a middle-aged man with a unique but gentlemanly black attire, and the other was a relatively young-looking man with a thin beard, a long scar across the right side of his face, and a single uniquely-colored eye.
“It’s always a pleasure to work with you, Mister Capilla. I hope this pleases you.”
The gentleman presented a gift wrapped by a smooth and silky black cloth.
He slowly opened it in front of the Warden, revealing an unfamiliar kind of firearm.
The new product impressed the chuckling man, whose bony fingers snatched it and closely examined it.
“It’s a 5th-grade Magical Artifact, named Lost Moon. It can hold up to 6 bullets. It’s one of our newest products, labelled as a Revolver. This one is our first working prototype.”
“A prototype is a 5th-grade artifact? Really?”
The scarred young man was surprised as he tried to get a better look at the revolver. Alas, Bernard quickly put it away and cackled joyfully.
“Your gifts always delight me, Edward.”
“It’s both a gift and payment for your commendable work.”
Edward didn’t look very comfortable, so he didn’t try to prolong the conversation. He stood up, elegantly bowed before leaving the office. The young man, who was actually the person in charge of the Skywall Fortress, chased after the esteemed guest after whispering some insults to Bernard.
‘Time to take a look at our new puppy!’
Bernard grinned and headed straight to the 5th-floor. The Penitentiary was divided into 6 separate floors, each holding a certain type of criminal.
The lower the floor, the stronger and more dangerous the criminal.
Those on 6th floor were imprisoned in a tiny cell and forbidden from going out or seeing the light of day.
Those on the 1st floor were relatively harmless and, depending on behavior and ‘contribution’, they would regularly be allowed to go outside. The rest of the floors were, more or less, independent from each other and had formed their own ‘system’ there.
The Warden, accompanied by five men clad in black and metallic armors, stopped the mechanical elevator on the 5th floor and peeked his head into the dimly-lit cold hallway.
It was more like a cave than a prison as only the cells were properly built and had thick walls and an even thicker impenetrable door. Furthermore, there were a lot of magical runes on each of the doors, rendering any Magic used around or at them extremely weak, if not non-existent.
“Open it.”
Bernard waited till his guards opened the way before he stepped inside and scrutinized the new prisoner.
“Sup!”
Chris, who was severely beaten up and wearing glowing locks around his wrists and ankles, waved his hand toward the ugly old man.
He was sitting on a dirty and old mattress near the wall. Excluding the hole meant to be used as a toilet, the only piece of ‘furniture’ was the mattress.
Basically, the prison cell was no more than four walls, a roof, and a big door that had five to six key holes.
“Oh! You’re the Warden. Hmm…”
The new prisoner, Christopher, sized up the old man while caressing his beard.
“I have not come here-”
“Your level is a bit low though. Also, your title is ‘Ugly Snitch’. Figures! It’s typical for Wardens to be ass-lickers and rats hahahaha!”
Livid, Bernard’s face turned red from embarrassment and anger.
“You…”
“You? What about me? Aha! Are you one of those people who say ‘you!’ when they can’t come up with a good insult? You’ve gotta read, old man. A vast vocabulary allows you to never… well, almost never, lose an argument.”
“...”
A gloomy silence flowed between Christopher and the Warden. Eventually, the latter stormed away after ordering his guards to beat up the former until he couldn’t speak or move anymore.
Christopher, who was magically-weakened and wasn’t physically strong to begin with, didn’t try to resist and merely curled up while protecting his head.
Alas, even though they tried their best, the guards weren’t able to make him shut up.
“Hey you!”
As they gasped for breath, tired from attacking him non-stop for almost thirty minutes, Christopher spat blood on the ground while pointing at one of them.
“Did your mother fuck a chimpanzee? Cuz your ears are hella big, dude! Look at the other one… he’s got the face of a horse. In your case, your momma must’ve been into bestialit-”
They didn’t let him finish and resumed their incessant and brutal beating. Only at the end was Christopher silent, his eyes puffed up and blackened and his body twitching from pain.
Still, he kept laughing like a mad man as his vision slowly turned black.