The Imperial Conference was about to begin.
This time, the atmosphere was different—sharp, tense, suffocating.
Military officers who usually carried themselves with arrogance now sat stiff and silent. The civil officials, normally talkative, had pale faces and cold sweat running down their backs.
Whatever this meeting was about, everyone knew it was not normal.
People not involved in the conference stayed far from the hall, as if the air itself rejected them.
Something heavy had settled over the entire building.
This gathering…
was on a different level.
The attendees lowered their heads the moment the ceremonial officer announced the emperor's arrival. A tall silhouette stood behind the bamboo blind—Emperor Rudra Nam Ul Nasca, the man who ruled the world's most powerful military nation.
He remained hidden as always.
His intentions never revealed, his presence alone overwhelming the hall.
He didn't need to speak.
He simply existed.
And that was enough to silence nearly two hundred people.
Inside stood the Three Commanders, their adjutants, the elite Imperial Guardians, cabinet ministers, and the Great House of Peers—all kneeling or bowing in absolute respect.
The rustle of clothing faded.
Silence swallowed the room.
"His Imperial Majesty the Emperor has arrived!"
The hall erupted in a single, unified salute.
Thus began the Imperial Conference—one that would be remembered for weighing the fate of their great expedition.
...
...
…
The meeting opened with rigid formality.
But the moment discussions began, tensions cracked through the hall.
Two factions clashed:
• The swift invasion faction — strike fast, overwhelm the West
• The cautious faction — avoid provoking unnecessary threats
The first question rose:
"Under what justification will we begin our invasion?"
The belligerent faction scoffed.
"What justification? We march because the Emperor wills it."
The cautious faction countered—
"Is that truly wise?"
The arguments spiraled from there.
They all agreed on one thing:
War was inevitable.
The real question was how to wage it.
The demon lords ruling distant lands were obstacles, but as long as their territories weren't violated, they usually didn't act.
The true problem was Veldora, the Storm Dragon.
That shifted every conversation toward the Great Jura Forest.
Suddenly, one man raised his voice:
"With all due respect, Your Majesty—I oppose this war."
It was Gadra, the Empire's Archmage.
He alone dared to speak without fear of punishment.
Calgurio burst into laughter.
"What a cowardly thing to say! Still clinging to that nonsense, Gadra-dono?"
The usual clash.
Gadra warned:
"The West will fall easily, yes. But the Storm Dragon has been revived—only two years ago! Moreover, he has allied with the new king ruling the forest—King Atem of Eterna. Marching blindly is lunacy!"
A few civil officials nodded.
But most of the room scoffed.
Three centuries had passed since Veldora's disaster.
Fear had faded.
Arrogance thrived.
Calgurio seized the momentum.
"Master, your caution has taught us much—yet you underestimate our new weapons. Against Veldora, our countermeasures are flawless."
Gadra snapped.
"Ridiculous! Your confidence is delusion, Calgurio-dono! And the presence of a new monarch—King Atem—complicates everything. Unlike most demon lords, Atem does not operate on whim. His authority is real. His aura is real. He united Eterna in months. To provoke him is—"
Calgurio cut him off with a laugh.
"That newcomer? Atem may be powerful, but even he cannot oppose the Great Eastern Empire."
But deep down—even Calgurio remembered the unsettling feeling Atem radiated when he met Gadra in Eterna.
Gadra pressed on.
"We avoid Milim's territory because provoking her is suicidal. Yet you speak of entering a forest ruled by Veldora and Atem? The logic is the same!"
Debates raged.
The Valley of Death route was too close to Milim's domain.
Marching across fertile land risked awakening another demon lord.
That left only one path—
The Great Jura Forest.
Which now meant facing Atem and Veldora.
"We must avoid making new enemies," Gadra insisted.
Calgurio sneered:
"Then you would have us abandon the Empire's dearest wish?"
If the forest route was abandoned, the Empire couldn't mobilize a large enough force.
Calgurio's words fueled the warmongers.
"Calgurio-dono is right! Even demon lords cannot stand against our army!"
"You overstep in the presence of His Majesty! Gadra-dono, do you defy the Emperor?"
"Nay!" Gadra declared. "But rather than fighting a demon lord, it is wiser to ally with the Dwarven King! No casualties. No risks. More efficient!"
Laughter erupted from another source.
Beast King Gladium, Commander of the Magic Beast Corps, rose to his feet, radiating raw intimidation.
"The Dwarven King is no simple foe. He and his champions would be more troublesome than Atem. But the optics of defeating a demon lord—ah, now that inspires the Empire!"
Gladium's presence pressed against the room like a physical weight.
He was one of the strongest men in the Empire, second only to the Marshal.
Rumors said he was descended from beastmen, but none knew the truth.
His strength was unquestioned.
Gadra pushed back.
"That comparison is wrong, Gladium-dono! I mean we should make King Gazel our ally!"
"You fool," Gladium growled. "Crush all who oppose imperial rule! That is the path!"
Their voices grew louder.
"You know the Dwarven Kingdom is a natural fortress! Taking it would be—"
"Silence!" Gladium roared.
"Complain again in His Imperial Majesty's presence, and you prove why you were stripped of command!"
It was true.
Gadra's Magic Corps had been dismantled decades ago, replaced by science-driven
weapons.
Spell guns.
Magic sabers.
A new age.
Calgurio grinned darkly.
"Master, you have grown old. Your knowledge of magic is a treasure—but your thinking is obsolete. Our weapons are the future. And Atem's weapons, found in his labyrinth, will soon be ours."
Gadra's face twisted.
He already knew the truth.
Atem was stronger than they realized.
Calgurio's arrogance would be his downfall.
Gadra's thoughts churned.
They truly don't understand. Atem is different. He is a king—calculating, commanding, untouchable. And his power… no army here has the slightest clue what they're dealing with.
But Gadra had already surrendered to Atem.
His loyalty lay with Eterna now.
He tried to help the Empire avoid disaster, but they refused to listen.
Any further advice would be meaningless.
So Gadra moved quietly to his next role:
Divert the Empire's attention to the Dungeon, just as Atem instructed.
He steeled himself.
Then he turned his eyes toward the empty seat where the puppeteer who once manipulated this conference would have sat.
That shadow was gone now.
Erased by Atem—
completely erased from existence.
Calgurio took Gadra's silence as an admission of defeat.
Gadra's Magic Corps had long been disbanded, replaced by new military science and otherworld technology. Now, he held only an honorary title—technical advisor to the Armored Corps. A decoration, nothing more.
Yet everyone knew the truth.
Even stripped of command, Gadra's influence still overshadowed Calgurio's.
His heroic feats were legendary. His knowledge unmatched.
But to Calgurio, Gadra was simply a relic.
Hah. In the end, he belongs to the past. Just an old man getting in the way.
As the Empire advanced into a new era, Gadra's hesitation and caution—especially regarding Eterna's ruler, King Atem—felt outdated to Calgurio.
Atem's presence, Gadra's warnings, the unease he expressed…
Calgurio dismissed it all.
War had evolved.
The Empire had evolved.
And those who failed to keep up were left behind.
Gadra, in Calgurio's eyes, was one of them.
...
...
…
But the Empire itself had indeed changed.
Three new military corps stood at the center of the new Imperial era—each one revolutionary.
It was the Empire's largest army and its greatest symbol of progress—
a fusion of otherworld science, technology, sorcery, and brutal efficiency.
Over 2 million soldiers across the Empire.
A mobilizable force of 1 million.
A century ago, such numbers were unthinkable.
With their magical augmentation procedures, even the weakest soldier possessed at least C+ rank combat power, and many elites reached A rank.
To Calgurio, the Armored Corps was proof that the Empire could crush anyone—
including the Storm Dragon Veldora, and even…
Atem, King of Eterna.
He never said the name aloud.
But the thought always lingered behind his arrogance.
DNA analysis—a technology stolen from another world—allowed the Empire to breed and raise magic beasts artificially.
These creatures were trained, disciplined, and paired with champions—warriors who inherited the awakened power of ancient bloodlines.
Only 1 in 100,000 had the talent to join.
Only 30,000 soldiers in total.
Every member was powerful.
Every mount was fierce.
A legion of monster-riding champions.
This elite corps surpassed anything the Empire had ever fielded.
And standing at their apex was Gladium, whose monstrous strength rivaled legends.
Once a chaotic group of misfits, the Mixed Corps had been reorganized into the Empire's experimental division.
A place for:
– Otherworlders
– Unstable awakenings
– Experimental subjects
– Modified soldiers
– Human weapons with unknown origins
Their power varied wildly, but their upper limit was terrifying.
100,000 of them were combat-ready.
Among them were individuals nearing special A rank through unnatural means.
This corps was now the Empire's unpredictable trump card.
Together, these three corps created an overwhelming military machine.
If the Western Nations could muster 400,000 troops at best…
The Empire would respond with 1,130,000 elites.
From the nobles' perspective, it was simple:
"Victory is guaranteed. The West cannot resist."
Calgurio fully believed this.
He would prove the Empire's might to the world—and to the emperor.
...
...
…
Now came the mobilization breakdown:
Augmented Legion – 700,000 Soldiers
C+ rank minimum.
Many A rank.
An unstoppable human wave of magically modified warriors.
Magic Tank Division – 200,000 Personnel, 2,000 Tanks
Five-man crews.
Magic guns that fired iron shells at 2,000 meters per second.
Each round as destructive as a tactical spell.
Magic defenses?
Meaningless.
Armor?
Shredded.
Old-era wizards, once the elite of battle, were now obsolete.
Air Assault Division – 400 Airships, 100,000 Personnel
Massive carriers capable of transporting troops with no risk of anti-air interception.
Floating fortresses filled with magically enhanced guns.
Air supremacy belonged solely to the Empire—not because they earned it, but because no one else even conceived the sky as a battlefield.
...
Calgurio admired his own strength.
With an army like this… even Veldora, even a demon lord, even that king of Eterna—Atem—cannot frighten me. My army alone can conquer the world!
But then—
he noticed something.
Gadra wasn't watching him anymore.
He was staring at a seat.
A vacant one.
A seat that once belonged to a person the Empire believed still existed.
Someone whose name was erased, someone whose presence was removed so cleanly that only the memory of "someone should be there"
lingered.
Atem had killed that person—
and erased their existence completely.
The Empire did not know.
They did not even suspect.
Only Gadra could sense that unnatural void.
Before Calgurio could reflect on it, murmurs filled the hall.
The discussion about the Great Jura Forest had shifted:
– the Storm Dragon Veldora
– Eterna's ruler
– Atem's capital that could "vanish" into a vast dungeon
– rumors of a labyrinth stretching 100 floors deep – Veldora guarding the lowest level
Nobles panicked.
Commanders debated.
Warnings spread.
Calgurio's irritation grew.
More and more voices insisted:
"We must investigate the dungeon before invading!"
"We cannot risk the army being attacked from behind!"
"Atem's city escaping underground means we cannot predict enemy movements!"
This was exactly what Gadra wanted.
Exactly what Atem intended.
But the Empire did not realize it.
Calgurio slammed a fist on the table and rose to his feet.
"Enough!"
He bowed toward the bamboo blind concealing the emperor.
"Your Imperial Majesty!
Master Gadra fears Atem of Eterna and the Storm Dragon—but I do not!
Grant me the honor of conquering the Great Jura Forest.
Command me—and I, Calgurio, shall bring you victory with my very life!"
Gasps erupted.
"You dare speak directly to the Emperor?!"
"Have you lost your mind, Calgurio?!"
"That arrogance is unforgivable!"
Gladium stood as well.
"Your Imperial Majesty,
my Magic Beast Corps is prepared to march at once.
If battle is demanded, I shall lead the charge!"
Not to be overshadowed, lesser commanders blurted out their own declarations.
The hall descended into chaos.
Only one person could silence this madness.
…Or so everyone believed.
But there was one more.
A single figure stepped forward from behind the bamboo blind—
a woman with graceful footsteps, a smile sharper than any sword.
Her voice rang out like a whip cracking across the hall:
"Be quiet, fools.
You stand in the presence of Rudra-sama."
To address the emperor by name was an offense punishable by death.
Yet she spoke it casually, confidently.
Because she alone had the right.
The one woman who held the absolute authority of the entire military.
The only person besides the Emperor who could command the Three Corps.
The Marshal.
And here the chapter ends — exactly where your provided text ended.