But he forced them out.

"Those who wish to live..."

He paused. Then finished quietly.

"Surrender."

One sword hit the ground, then another. Soon thousands of weapons were being discarded. The sounds echoed throughout the ruined city.

Clang.

Clang.

The surviving soldiers slowly knelt. Some looked ashamed. Others looked relieved. Many simply looked exhausted.

A young soldier fell to his knees and started crying.

"We’re alive..."

Beside him, an older veteran placed a hand on his shoulder.

"We survived."

The veteran’s own eyes were red.

"But the kingdom probably won’t."

All around them, surrender spread rapidly.

Monster officers immediately began organizing prisoners.

The soldiers who surrendered were disarmed and gathered into groups.

No unnecessary killing followed, and the battle was over.

There was no reason for further bloodshed.

However...

Not everyone surrendered.

Near the northern district, several hundred soldiers still stood together. Their armor was damaged, and their bodies were wounded.

Yet none of them had lowered their weapons. A middle-aged commander stood at their front. Blood covered half his face, his sword remained firmly in his hand.

A monster officer approached.

"The battle is over."

The commander spat blood onto the ground.

"For you."

The officer frowned.

"You can still live."

The commander’s expression hardened.

"My family served this kingdom for twelve generations."

His grip tightened.

"I swore an oath."

Several soldiers behind him nodded.

"We swore too."

"We’ll never serve monsters."

"We die as soldiers."

The monster officer smirk. He kinda liked this outcome.

Some people simply refused to bend. No matter the circumstances.

The commander looked toward the city one final time.

Toward the kingdom he had spent his life protecting.

Then he raised his sword. The remaining loyalists followed.

A few hundred soldiers, against an entire army.

Everyone knew how it would end. But none of them hesitated.

The commander smiled sadly.

"Brothers."

The soldiers looked at him.

"Thank you for fighting beside me."

Some smiled.

Some laughed.

One soldier wiped tears from his eyes.

"It was an honor, Commander."

The commander nodded. Then pointed his sword forward.

"For the kingdom."

The soldiers roared.

"FOR THE KINGDOM!"

They charged, one final hopeless charge.

The monster soldiers met them head-on. Steel clashed, and Qi exploded.

The battle lasted only minutes.

When it ended, the last loyal defenders lay dead among the ruins of the city they had sworn to protect.

Not a single one had retreated.

Not a single one had surrendered.

Even the monster soldiers who buried them later showed a measure of respect.

Because loyalty like that was rare.

And courage, even in defeat, deserved recognition.

As the sun slowly began to set, silence finally descended upon Sodon City.

The fighting had ended, and the banners of the kingdom were lowered.

The black banners of Alix now flew from the walls.

The road to the capital lay completely open.

-----

Night had fallen over Sodon City.

The fires of war still burned in some districts, casting an orange glow across the ruined streets. Soldiers moved through the city, gathering prisoners, treating the wounded, and clearing away the countless corpses left behind by the battle.

The city was busy, but none of that required Alix’s attention. His generals knew what to do.

Vordon was organizing the occupation.

Erel’na was handling supplies and reconstruction.

Varesh was securing the surrendered soldiers.

Ruk was probably looking for someone to fight even though the battle had already ended.

As for Morgro...

The giant was helping rebuild sections of the city faster than hundreds of workers combined.

Everything was under control.

For once, Alix had nothing urgent to do.

He sat alone inside the former City Lord’s residence.

The previous owner was dead.

Which meant the residence now belonged to him.

The room was quiet.

A large desk stood near the window, overlooking the city.

Moonlight poured through the open curtains.

He leaned back in his chair and finally opened his status.

A transparent screen appeared before him.

[ALIX

Level: 600

Population: 340,561,726

Need to level up: 500,000,000

Gold Coins: 213,635,242

Erevaris Kingdom

Capital City: Noctaris City

Cities: 53

Soldiers: 12,460,239]

For a few moments, Alix simply stared at it. Then a faint smile appeared. His population had exploded. The increase wasn’t from this continent.

Not even close.

Sodon City and the surrounding territories couldn’t account for such a massive jump.

There was only one explanation.

"The Ereborn Continent."

Alix tapped the population number. Three hundred forty million.

Before coming here, it had been somewhere around two hundred million.

Now it had increased by well over a hundred million.

That meant only one thing. His subordinates had succeeded. The conquest was finished.

The entire Ereborn Continent had finally fallen under his rule.

A rare feeling of satisfaction settled in his chest. He had left capable people behind, and they had delivered.

"Good."

The single word echoed quietly through the room.

His gaze moved downward.

Toward the number that interested him even more.

Gold Coins: 213,635,242

This time, his smile became slightly wider.

Finally, after all this time.

After countless battles, conquered cities, and accumulated resources...

He had enough.

Alix opened the building shop. Rows upon rows of items appeared before him.

Most were things he had already seen countless times.

Then his eyes landed on the item he had been waiting for.

[Intercontinental Portal

A portal capable of permanently connecting two continents.

Price: 200,000,000 Gold Coins.]

Alix stared at it for several seconds. He had looked at this item many times before. Every single time, it had been out of reach.

Now it wasn’t.

His finger hovered over the purchase option.

A moment later...

He pressed it.

The number of gold coins instantly dropped. The portal appeared inside his inventory.

For a brief moment, the room became completely silent.

Then Alix exhaled slowly.

"It’s finally mine."

The words came out softer than expected.

He looked out the window.

Beyond the city, the mountains, and the kingdoms and battlefields of this continent.

Toward a place thousands upon thousands of miles away.

Noctaris City, his capital, and his home.

The place where everything had begun. A place he hadn’t seen for a long time. A place where Ruva was waiting.

Where Sorin, Karnessa, and countless others continued building his empire.

A place that existed on an entirely different continent.

Being here and being home were two different things.

He could admit that much. A knock suddenly came from the door.

"Enter."

The door openeda, and Mero floated inside.

The small spirit immediately noticed Alix’s expression.

"Hm?"

He floated closer.

"Something good happened, master?"

Alix looked at him.

"I finally have it."

Mero blinked, then his eyes widened.

"The portal?"

Alix nodded calmly.

"I finally built it."

The little spirit froze. For several seconds, he simply stared. Then he shot upward like a startled bird.

"You built it?"

"Yes."

Mero circled around the room several times.

"An Intercontinental Portal?"

"Yes."

Mero stopped floating. His tiny fluffy body hung motionless in the air.

"Master..."

His voice sounded genuinely shocked.

"Do you know how ridiculous that sounds?"

Alix remained calm.

"I do."

Mero immediately floated closer.

"No, I don’t think you do."

The spirit pointed at him.

"My former master was a Tier 8."

He puffed himself up.

"A real Tier 8."

Alix raised an eyebrow.

"Oh, what about it."

"It still took him years to build one." Mero looked increasingly confused.

"Years."

He emphasized the word.

"Not months."

Alix simply shrugged.

"I had help."

That wasn’t technically a lie, the System helped.

Mero rubbed his chin thoughtfully.

"Even then..."

The spirit shook his head.

"No, no, that still doesn’t make sense."

Alix changed the subject before Mero could start asking dangerous questions.

"It’s not finished yet."

Mero blinked.

"Oh."

"The main structure is complete." Alix leaned back. "But I still need to finish the stabilization process."

That part was entirely made up. Mero, however, immediately accepted it.

"Ah."

Now that sounded reasonable. Intercontinental Portals weren’t simple structures.

The spirit nodded several times.

"Right."

"That makes more sense."

Alix almost laughed.

"Where is it?" Mero asked.

Alix answered immediately.

"In a secure location."

"Can I see it?"

"Not yet."

"Why?"

"Because it’s not finished."

Mero opened his mouth. Then closed it again, that was fair.

After all, nobody wanted a half-finished portal exploding and sending them into a random void between continents.

The spirit reluctantly nodded.

"Fine."

"I’ll show you when it’s completed."

Mero sighed dramatically.

"You always keep the interesting things secret."

Alix ignored him.

A few more minutes passed before Mero eventually floated away.

"I’ll continue cultivating then."

"Good."