I am the Emperor of Humanity across the Multiverse

At a town several times larger than River Creek Town:

The outermost walls were 15 meters high, with towering, sturdy arrow towers and turrets. Nearly 400 soldiers, clad in leather armor and steel helmets, gathered along the southern wall.

In addition to human soldiers and volunteers from the town's residents, over a hundred dwarves who lived here were also present, along with elves carrying arrows glowing with green light and wielding exquisitely crafted longbows.

On the city gate:

Though the town's lord was of old age, he stood alongside the soldiers, his face grim as he looked southward.

The "dark clouds" continued to press toward their position, and the lord's expression grew increasingly severe. His right hand rested on the hilt of the sword at his waist.

The soldiers also saw the scene unfolding before them. Many of them trembled uncontrollably, fear and hesitation evident in their eyes.

Fear was inevitable.

Their town, Sandsea, was close to the domain controlled by Moedo, and they had long dealt with crazed followers and mutated creatures.

But they had never imagined that in their lifetimes, they would face the expansion of Moedo's influence.

The call for reinforcements had been sent, but the soldiers remained pessimistic. No one could stop Moedo. Even if the knights from the capital and the entire empire's forces were gathered in Sandsea, it would be futile.

Whether reinforcements arrived or not wouldn't change the fate of Terraria; it was destined to be destroyed by Moedo.

Soon, everyone could faintly see the figures swarming beneath the dark clouds—it was the army of Moedo's faithful and worshippers.

"Warriors!"

The lord's powerful, aged voice rang out, just as the soldiers were at their most restless and afraid. He said:

"Three hundred years have passed since the last royal bloodline of humanity perished.

Yes, I know this means that no one can now suppress the expansion of the Dark Lord Moedo, and our world of Terraria will never again see the light of dawn under the influence of the dark forces.

But have you all forgotten?! Besides the prophesied end of the world, the elves once foretold the coming of a new human emperor, who would descend from the heavens with his descendants and warriors to save us from destruction, and to dispel all the darkness that looms over Terraria."

Clang!

As the lord spoke, he drew his sword, the blade glinting coldly as he pointed it southward, his voice growing impassioned:

"So, warriors, we must fight Moedo and his minions to the end! Only victory will allow us to see tomorrow, and tomorrow represents the hope of completely defeating the darkness!

For humanity! For the Empire!"

"For humanity! For the Empire!"

The soldiers and the residents who had volunteered to defend the city shouted with fervor.

"Victory for our land!"

"For glory, for the light!"

Even the dwarves and elves, who had little loyalty to the current empire, were stirred by the atmosphere and joined in the battle cries.

Then, the lord swung his sword down and shouted, "Open fire!"

Ri~——!!

The turrets glowed with a faint blue light as they charged.

Whoosh————!

The turrets fired several brilliant blue projectiles, quickly streaking across the arid land.

Boom! Boom!

The projectiles exploded in the midst of Moedo's army, and in an instant, the blue flames pierced the darkness beneath the clouds, illuminating the previously unclear figures.

They were bloated "mutant humans" and towering, powerful "orcs."

It seemed that their devotion to Moedo had been rewarded with dark powers, transforming them irreversibly. Their armor had fused with their skin, never to be separated.

In addition, there were hundreds of massive mutated creatures, and even siege engines that were part machine, part organism.

One of the siege towers, nearly 20 meters high, had tentacle-like appendages spilling from the gaps in its armor, moving its wheels forward without the need for human power.

Some siege engines had grotesque human faces growing on them, their sides covered in sinister eyes and tumors.

As Moedo's army advanced, a foul stench permeated the air like an invisible wind of decay. The ground beneath them became black and sticky, polluted as it transformed into a "rotting swamp" suited to their survival.

The shots fired from Sandsea's turrets did little damage to Moedo's army. Instead, they enraged a mutated general, or rather a "bloody general," who stood six meters tall with bat-like wings and swollen skin.

"Roar!!"

The creature, with crimson skin and ram-like horns, raised a giant hammer and, in a deep nasal voice, shouted:

"Retaliate! Retaliate! Show these insignificant creatures the meaning of terror!!"

Following the command, several siege turrets turned and fired at the southern walls of Sandsea, launching black-and-purple projectiles that emitted a putrid, corrupting aura.

Boom! Boom!

Just before the projectiles hit the walls, they were stopped by an invisible magical barrier.

However, the violent shockwaves from the explosions nearly knocked a few soldiers off the wall.

What followed was an intense exchange of artillery fire.

The magic barrier of Sandsea gradually wore down, on the brink of collapse.

Meanwhile, the army under the bloody general's command, using emaciated, skeleton-like wizards to chant spells and sacrifice captives, sought more power from their "master," Moedo, launching a frenzied assault.

By now, Sandsea was shrouded in dark clouds.

On the southern wall;

Boom! Boom!

Low, rumbling thunder broke through the blackened sky, followed by deafening explosions.

Although the magic barrier successfully blocked the artillery fire, the lingering smoke from the explosions filled the air, causing many to cough uncontrollably.

Swoosh!

Fortunately, the elves cast a purification spell that quickly dispersed the dark magic-infused smoke, preventing it from affecting the defenders' combat abilities.

The elves also began drawing their bows and firing arrows at Moedo's army from a thousand meters away.

Whoosh! Whoosh!

With sharp whistling sounds, the arrows shot through the darkness like green comets streaking across the night sky. Their incredible speed and power easily pierced the enchanted armor, killing the twisted mutants leading the charge.

Seeing the elves calmly and gracefully solve their problem, efficiently sniping enemies from afar, greatly encouraged the surrounding soldiers and residents.

The musketeers and crossbowmen also aimed and fired, launching enchanted bullets and armor-piercing arrows at Moedo's forces.

"Hmph! What are you showing off for?" A dwarf, noticing how the elves had become the center of attention, immediately set up a large-caliber musket on the battlements and shouted to his kin:

"Brothers, come! Let's show them what real firepower looks like!"

"Yeehaw! Watch this!"

Dozens of dwarves quickly readied their weapons, and then—

Boom! Boom!

Bang! Bang!

The sound of gunfire and cannons filled the air.

The dwarves' weapons, though oddly shaped, were no less powerful than heavy machine guns, grenade launchers, or rocket launchers from the main universe.

Working together with the elves and humans' long-range attacks, they caused heavy casualties among Moedo's vanguard forces. Hundreds of mutants and orcs were shot through vital points or blown apart, their bodies convulsing as they fell.

The situation seemed to be improving, but in any world or universe, the attackers in a siege usually suffered greater losses than the defenders.

Both sides understood the brutality of siege warfare, so the allied forces of the three races did not celebrate too early. At the same time, the bloody general's second wave of troops had already passed over the piles of corpses, advancing ever closer to the southern walls of Sandsea.

Crack.

Crack!

Finally, after nearly a quarter of an hour of fierce fighting, the magic barrier could no longer hold and shattered, leaving the walls completely exposed to the enemy's attacks.

The siege weapons, mutant beasts, and fanatical followers, replacing the chaotic dark magic artillery, now led the assault.

Before long, the first siege tower, under heavy fire, reached the wall and lowered its metal gate.

With a loud "boom," the gate slammed onto the battlements.

"Hahaha! For my lord!"

"Pathetic, insignificant mortals!"

The followers, with their armor fused to their skin, rushed out of the siege tower, shouting maniacally.

Seeing this, the human soldiers defending the area hesitated for a moment, but still stepped forward to meet the enemy.

Clang!

Clang!

The sound of metal clashing echoed across the wall.

Slash!

Splat!

The sound of leather armor and flesh being torn apart and pierced reverberated as well.

The nearby human soldiers stood no chance and were killed instantly.

The followers' armor appeared chaotic, but it provided much better protection than the soldiers' leather armor. Moreover, they were "blessed," granting them strength and reflexes far beyond those of ordinary people.

"Ugh... Huh? Ahh!!"

One soldier was kicked so hard he vomited blood, stumbling back and falling off the wall.

As he lay motionless on the streets below, a follower sneered and said:

"Hah! Weak flesh... you'd be better off joining us, becoming a faithful servant of our lord..."

But before he could finish, a silver flash sliced through his neck, silencing him mid-sentence.

His head and body fell separately to the ground below.

It turned out that while the follower had been distracted, a female elf had swiftly and deftly decapitated him with a short sword, moving gracefully between the followers with ease.

The enhancements the followers received were undeniable, but the elves' natural agility, speed, and reflexes made them formidable opponents. Aside from their strict, rigid personalities, the elves were nearly perfect warriors. 

Not only were the elves fighting on the walls, but the dwarves, too, took advantage of their compact stature to target the followers' knees, legs, and ankles, creating more openings for the human soldiers.

However, at this moment...

If one were to look down at Sandsea Town from the sky, it would be clear that the allied forces of humans, elves, and dwarves were on the verge of collapse.

The mutated beasts had rammed into the walls with their enormous bodies, knocking down parts of the structure, leaving the defenders without the high ground they needed.

In reality, with hundreds of defenders against tens of thousands of attackers, it was remarkable they had held out for so long.

But there was no option for the allied forces to retreat.

It was either fight to the death or hold on to the bitter end.

"Roar!!"

Frustrated by how long it was taking to defeat such a small number of defenders, the bloody general let out another furious roar. He flapped his massive bat-like wings and soared into the air, intent on destroying Sandsea Town himself.

Just as he was preparing to unleash an advanced spell, he noticed something unexpected on the northern horizon—an enormous army of elves and dwarves, numbering around 120,000, advancing rapidly toward Sandsea.

If they stayed any longer, Moedo's forces would become the disadvantaged side.

Realizing this, the bloody general made a quick decision and immediately ordered a retreat.

"Woowoo—woowoo—!"

With the sound of low, mournful horns, Moedo's army began to withdraw like a black tide, retreating from Sandsea Town and giving the defenders a momentary reprieve.

"We... we actually won?"

A squad leader on the wall spoke in disbelief.

"Wait, is that an earthquake?"

"No... no, it's the reinforcements!"

When the cavalry circled from the east to the southern gate, the surviving defenders finally allowed their tension to ease. Cheers of joy erupted as they released the fear and anxiety that had been building inside them.

Leading the elven army was a female elf draped in a white cloak over her armor, her golden hair flowing down to her waist.

The old lord, exhausted and covered in wounds, was shocked when he saw her and exclaimed in disbelief, "It's the Elven Queen?"

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