9720th year on the Continental calendar since the Arrival.

Standing among the blood and dead bodies, a masked man with a black staff raised his head and looked at the enormous army in front of him.

A helpless smile appeared when he turned around and saw that only a few of his men were still standing. The enormous army that he spent years creating and training disappeared several days after the start of the battle. His loyal generals, companions, and his woman all died. Now, he and several groups of other survivors prepared for the last battle with the enemy force with Griffon flags and banners.

His subordinates continued to fight, and blasts, spells, and energy techniques traveled through the battlefield. However, the outcome was already obvious and only sudden marvel could reverse the situation.

Right now, the man, known as the “Space Lord”, the last archmage of the Trade Union was preparing such marvel while his silver staff was glowing and releasing unique undulations. He hated himself for his mistake. If he didn’t fall for the enemy trap, their condition would have been different. All those people died because of him and his confidence. And now he was forced to send one unique and mana-consuming space spell at the enemy, one after another, to reach his goal.

The gold masked man, who was now flying above the enemy army. The golden crown with griffons was on his head and a unique-looking earring was attached to his left ear. Purple eyes shined behind that mask while long, black hair danced in the wind.

He was the reason for many bad things in the life of the Space Lord, and now his desire to kill him was stronger than ever before.

As he continued to pour the enemy with his arsenal of spells, killing thousand, the enemy continued to deal with survivors and sent one new squad at the famous archmage after another. The battle was fierce. Spells, ballista-like arrows, unique energy techniques, and last stands of Union’s last forces were sad, but inevitable things on the battlefield. One by one, the red banners with scales fell to the ground.

Though Union’s forces fought like lions, it wasn’t enough and with each new passing moment, imperial forces slowly pushed them while blue griffons captured more land. Even their morale suffered little because of the presence of their Emperor, while Union’s forces already knew the outcome.

All of them had only one hope left, their archmage - Space Lord that has already saved the Union several times from the Empire.

So, they were ready to sacrifice themselves for the sake of his survival and calmly swallowed certain pills that could restore their battle capabilities to the peak for the imminent death.

It was the only way they could continue resisting and buy some time for the man they respected and admired.

“For the Union!”

“For the Space Lord!”

“For the king!”

“Kill invaders!”

It was their last battle, but the other side also had their mottos, which we much louder.

“Emperor Nero!”

“Griffon Empire!”

“War of vengeance!”

“Kill all rebels!”

In such a manner, both waves collided, creating death and chaos. Union’s forces tried their best, but it wasn’t enough.

“Space Lord, the battle is over!” cried the general, approaching the black-masked man. “You should escape!”

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The masked man ignored him and continued to look at the distant figure on the throne who created such a situation.

“Not yet. Though we can’t change the outcome for us, we can change the outcome for the Griffon Empire!” said the mage, taking his mask and using it as an ingredient for the spell, revealing his face covered with many scars.

“I see,” said the general, releasing a bitter sigh, recognizing his glance. The glance of the one ready to die.

His commander smiled before narrowing his hate-filled eyes and looking at his enemy.

“This will be a gift. Griffon Empire will never forget,” said the man, gathering as much mana as possible. “Buy me some time.”

The general nodded before looking at a few surviving squads near to him.

“You heard our commander. Prepare for the last battle,” ordered the general, swallowing the certain pill. Other survivors also swallowed them without hesitation. Though they lost the battle, they still could help their homeland by sacrificing their lives.

At the same time as Theo started his last spell, an imperial archmage felt magic ripples.

“Stop him!” cried the man, sending his voice across the long line of his army.

“For the Empire!” cried many commanders as the long line of the imperial forces moved. Blue banners, belonging to riders, knights, scouts, mages, Great knights, griffon knights, and other units moved out, following their orders.

Earth and skies trembled below their feet and roars as they moved.

Of course, Theo’s forces used everything they had to slow down and stop the enemy, but the imperial forces were too big.

The general that was standing below the flying Theo sighed as he looked at the approaching spells and techniques. He threw a last glance at his people before gripping his sword and jumping into the air.

“Commander, this is the end for me. It was an honor,” said the general, giving his last salute and turning at the approaching spells and techniques.

“For the Union!” cried the man, sacrificing his own life, and using everything he had to create sword slashes to counter the approaching enemy attacks.

Several moments later, the general disappeared, while his energy slashes moved out at the imperial forces.

*Boom*

*Boom*

*Boom*

*Boom*

His last attack was enough to halt the entire line, buying a short time for Theo. Thanks to him, Theo finished preparations. Huge magic incantations appeared, creating an invisible pressure for everyone on the battlefield. The pressure was so big that even people thousands of meters away felt it.

Theo, who has just lost another friend, clenched his fist before activating incantations that started glowing and releasing mysterious magic ripples. That was enough to send shivers to everyone on the battlefield. They knew what usually happened after such incantations and pressure appeared.

As soon as Theo finished his last preparations, he sighed, noting how few of his men survived. It was his first major defeat. He had no way to change the course of war anymore. Hence, Theo could only use his last trump card.

His glance was soft and his arm tenderly touched his artifact.

“Sorry, but I have to do it,” said the man, using his staff as an ingredient to strengthen his spell.

A moment later, the incantation increased in size, covering the whole battlefield. Space storms started appearing, tearing everything in its way. Uniforms and banners no longer mattered as they destroyed everything on their way.

The more Theo sent his mana to incantations, the stronger the space storms became. Even archimages could barely survive those space storms. Imperial forces were melting at the rate visible to the eyes. Minutes were enough to get rid of hundreds of thousands of troops.

Even though he sacrificed his life and damaged his staff, Theo only smiled, sending more to the incantation.

Even a mighty emperor couldn’t do anything, and just watched at his slowly disappearing forces behind the shield created by his throne. He knew even he wouldn’t survive against such a frightening spell.

However, he quickly noticed that the staff in the hands of the “Space Lord” was dimming. The emperor knew why. Such a sacrifice was a fair price for his death.

...

..

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Several hours later, a “Restoration emperor” moved through the battlefield. There were no corpses. Everything disappeared, leaving only a vast, empty surface for the world.

The emperor looked at the kneeling man, who was trying to stand up. It was just shallow of his past self. Theodor Freinos was now a helpless and dying old man.

A “Restoration emperor” prepared his sword to finish with his enemy.

“It’s a pity that you refused to serve me. Imagine our achievements if you were by my side,” said the emperor with a cold and calm expression on his face.

The dying Theo only smiled bitterly, ignoring his words.

“You were the strongest opponent I ever met. I will miss you, my enemy, and this pleasant feeling, said the emperor, adjusting his sword and piercing Theo’s heart. “History will remember this day. Today, Griffon Empire returned all their ex lands.”

Theo had no strength left to struggle, and could only make a helpless smile. His entire life flashed through his eyes while the cold sword moved through his body, approaching the heart.

A short time later, the emperor buried his enemy and quickly left the battlefield.

However, he didn’t know that a small part of the mage’s staff survived. It wasn’t an ordinary artifact, but the primal one. It was now glowing, activating the hidden trump card.