The Sword Emperor Transmigrates

“Long time no see, Commander Audrey.”

“Cough.” Heather choked and stifled her cough in response to Leonard’s calm greeting.

Even as a member of the Seven Great Orders, it was rare to encounter a superior officer from a different knightly order. For the reclusive Order of the Green Dragon, such an encounter was especially unlikely.

Heather’s reaction to suddenly meeting a commander-level figure was understandable. The real issue was Leonard himself, who seemed utterly unfazed and even delighted by Audrey’s presence, an attitude that defied all logic.

He said, “I can’t say everything’s been smooth, but I’ve been well.”

Audrey smiled warmly at his response. Tone tinged with admiration, she said, “Hoho, Wade told me about you. Not only did you stop the escape of two apostles, but you also managed to reveal their weaknesses. It seems like wherever you go, you leave a trail of stories behind.”

Though ordinary knights only heard whispers of his exploits, Leonard’s name was already well-known among the commanders. Before Leonard could offer a modest reply, Audrey unstrapped the glaive she had been carrying on her back and casually placed it on the weapon rack. She did so with complete disregard for the owner’s permission.

As expected, Garneau’s eyes widened in fury, and he erupted in rage. “Damn it all! The blade’s edge is completely crushed! What in the world were you doing to reduce an adamantium weapon forged with eightfold tempering to mush like boiled vegetables?”

“How long will the repairs take?” Audrey asked nonchalantly.

“What?! Repairs?! It’ll be faster to melt it down and forge a new one from scratch!”

“I see. Send me the bill as usual. The mission’s timeline seems tight, so if you could expedite it, I’d appreciate it.”

“A week! That’s all I can promise, no more!”

“Fair enough,” Audrey replied with a nod, concluding their not-so-amicable negotiation.

Turning her gaze from Garneau, she observed Heather with an intrigued expression. “I didn’t mean to overhear, but you’re Leonard’s peer?”

“Y-Yes! That’s right! My name is Heather!”

“You’re the Wolf Knight making waves in the Order of the Green Dragon, aren’t you? Your skills are exceptional for your age. It’s a shame we couldn’t bring you into the Order of the Black Dragon.”

“Y-You flatter me!” Heather stammered, her face flushing red as she received praise from the commander of a prestigious order, someone whom all Cardenas bloodline members revered.

Audrey smiled at Heather’s humility and added, “Even though you’ve reached your level through reckless attempts, you’ve achieved a tier rarely seen before. With time, you might even establish a distinct school for our family. Be proud of your talent and strength.”

“Yes! Thank you!” Heather responded, her eyes welling with tears at the commander’s sincere encouragement.

As Heather stepped back with emotion, Audrey turned her attention to Leonard. “I heard from Wade that his son is making progress, and even Belita seems to have awakened her potential. It feels as though fortune is smiling upon this generation of trainees, including your cohort.”

“Everyone’s hard work is simply bearing fruit,” Leonard replied humbly.

Audrey smirked. “I’m sure your influence played a role as well. Anyway, I didn’t come here to exchange pleasantries.” She shifted the conversation, her tone becoming more serious. “I heard from Uluka that you’ve been appointed as a Special Officer?”

“Yes. It seems I’ll be tasked with delaying the Wraith Kings in battle.”

“You’ve never shaken that habit of throwing yourself into danger, have you? Still, I suppose no one else is better suited for the job.”

Satisfied with Leonard’s calm demeanor, Audrey reached into her coat and pulled out an artifact—a bracelet brimming with ominous magic.

“If two or more Wraith Kings approach, or if your survival is in doubt, activate this.” Before Leonard could ask what it was, she explained, “It’s inscribed with a spell that allows the wearer to summon one responder among those equipped with the same artifact. It’s issued to commanders, and I have one spare, so I’m giving it to you.”

“A consumable, then. Are there limits on range or usage?”

“Any participating commander in this operation will be within range. The activation is limited to three times. Use it only in critical situations since the usage is restricted.”

If the artifact could be used freely, four commanders could converge on any sighting of a Wraith King and obliterate it within seconds. Although the Wraith Kings’ existence was tied to the World Tree and they would eventually resurrect, even slightly diminishing their accumulated power would be worthwhile.

Leonard slipped the artifact onto his wrist, briefly probing its circuits to sense its signal before retracting his energy.

“Well then, I’ll take my leave. It’s been a while since I’ve been on the Barricade Train, so I’d like to look around.”

As Audrey stood up to leave, Leonard recalled that he too had no further business. Turning toward Garneau, he noticed the smith was completely engrossed in staring into the forge, as still as a statue.

“Ah, we’ll be on our way as well, Elder Garneau.”

Without looking back, Garneau bellowed, “Do as you please! And don’t be late next time!”

With Garneau’s characteristic grumpiness as their farewell, the three left. The sweltering heat that had swirled inside the forge was so intense that stepping outside felt like a breath of fresh air. Although his Cold-Heat Invulnerable Body State allowed him to withstand the extreme temperature, it did not mean his senses were unresponsive.

Glancing at Heather, who looked visibly relieved, Leonard silently organized his thoughts.

The operation is moving faster than I anticipated.

He had expected the operation to require more preparation, but it seemed the Empire’s upper ranks deemed the potential threats during the interim to be even more dangerous.

While the Order of the Blue Dragon had little to do after their non-aggression pact with the Celestials, leaving both Audrey and Wade away from their posts for too long could lead to incidents that Demian alone might not be able to handle.

It was a matter of prioritizing and focusing their efforts.

…A week, maybe ten days at most.

Whether it was his accumulated experience from his past life, the heightened instincts granted by his dragon bloodline, or both, Leonard’s prediction was eerily accurate.

Exactly seven days after his encounter with Audrey at the Jehoia forge, the Barricade Train began its slow, deliberate march.

* * *

Rumble, rumble, rumble—!!

The Barricade Train’s pace could hardly be called fast. In fact, the word slow was an understatement—it was more like a lumbering turtle. Still, the sheer power it exuded was overwhelming.

Is this what the great flood that swept across more than half the continent in ancient times might have looked like?

A colossal fortress towering fifty meters high advanced, shaking the earth with its weight. The rumbling thunder it produced echoed through the clear skies as if a storm were about to break loose.

As its massive wheels carved deep tracks into the ground, the Barricade Train left its unmistakable mark wherever it passed.

It looks unprecedented even when it’s still, but to think it can move… It would not be surprising if the strategists of the Zhuge Clan chose to snap their fans and retreat in defeat at the sight of this.

Leonard clicked his tongue unconsciously and gazed at the horizon.

Despite several hours of progress, the position of the Barricade Train had not significantly changed, yet the earth-shaking noise and vibrations it emitted continued to summon the legion of corpses.

For now, due to the fact that they were still not very deep into Yggdrasil’s domain, the majority of the creatures were minor ones like goblins and kobolds. Still, even those lowly creatures were not to be underestimated.

Screeech!!

One goblin, running faster than a leopard, leaped from the ground, soaring a staggering ten meters into the air before crashing into the wall. Its physical capabilities seemed to rival that of a Third Stage monster, at the level of the True Demon Tier.

If it were an ordinary fortress, the goblin could have likely scaled the wall. However, the height of the Barricade Train was far beyond what it could overcome.

Splatter.

The goblin, having absorbed the train’s kinetic energy, burst like a rotten tomato. Its remains turned into a mushy sludge that slid down and was soon crushed under the train’s wheels.

The same fate awaited the rest. Hundreds of monsters—no, perhaps thousands of monsters, if counting those falling outside Leonard’s view—were hurling themselves against the train, only to end up as pulverized mincemeat. Though these creatures were neither truly alive nor truly dead, their assault was utterly futile.

“…No, it can’t even be called an assault at this point.” Muttering to himself, Leonard looked down at the endless field of corpses stretching all the way to the horizon.

Unlike the Undead Legion of Nastrond, these creatures had weak regenerative properties. Once their bodies were utterly destroyed, they couldn’t recover. Yet, they showed no fear.

If they had clashed with these creatures before confronting the Spriggans, even the elite forces of the Seven Great Orders would have suffered considerable losses.

There was a reason the Barricade Train was deemed the core weapon of this frontier. Without the train, it would have been nearly impossible to fight on equal footing in the hostile environment created by Yggdrasil.

“Wow! This is the first time I’ve ever gone this deep so effortlessly!” Even Heather, who had previously entered the Spriggan territory as a Green Dragon Knight, looked around with wide eyes, visibly surprised.

No matter how powerful the Barricade Train was, if several Demigod Tier entities appeared, it would inevitably sustain significant damage. Thus, penetrating Spriggan territory was only feasible during moments when Yggdrasil’s power was diminished or when multiple commander-level figures were present.

The number of people who had made it to the deepest core, where Yggdrasil’s main body resided, was in the single digits.

“Heather, from where do the Spriggans typically appear?”

Heather pondered briefly and replied, “We’d have to go another two days to reach the Spriggans’ appearance zone. Starting from the mid-sized demonic monsters, just bulldozing through won’t cut it anymore, so artillery usually gets involved.”

“What? Artillery?”

“Yep.” As she answered nonchalantly, a fairly large monster came into view.

It was an ogre. Despite its body being partially decayed, it seemed to retain its former strength, leaping dozens of meters with each stride as it charged forward menacingly. If its strength matched that of the Mature Demon Tier, it might barely manage to climb even a fifty-meter wall.

Boom!

However, a Titan stationed at one of the Barricade Train’s turrets roared, releasing a fiery blast from its muzzle. Even though the ogre was still some distance away, the Titan’s artillery struck it with pinpoint accuracy. The upper half of the ogre’s corpse exploded into tatters, and its lower half, unable to stabilize itself, toppled and slammed into the ground.

Though the upper body showed no signs of regenerating, the lower half attempted to rise again, grotesque and unyielding. But the creature had no chance to recover.

Crunch.

The Barricade Train’s massive wheels crushed it entirely, rendering it into pulp. Even within Yggdrasil’s sphere of influence, it would never move again.

Heather chuckled at the sight and explained cheerfully, “We could block them with the magic arrays embedded in the walls, but why waste mana on something so trivial? Especially when we need to conserve it for the Spriggans. Instead, we just smash them using the artillery-equipped Titans or fixed cannons scattered across the wall.”

“I see.”

Leonard silently admired the tactical efficiency of their methods.

Using unmanned weapons and artillery to minimize the consumption of manpower and irreplaceable resources… Given that the Wickeline family can’t fully support this frontier, they must be compensating for the lack of large-scale magic with gunpowder weapons.

Gunpowder weapons were potent. Though their destructive power was often overshadowed by augmented energy and supreme magic, even an expert in the Creation Realm would sustain injuries if hit directly by a Thunderblast or Shocking Grenade.

While spears and bows were still monitored by the authorities, they were trivial compared to gunpowder weaponry. Any sects foolish enough to produce and use incendiary weapons were thoroughly eradicated by the imperial forces. Even the Sichuan Tang Clan, known for their use of gunpowder, refrained from touching explosives, which demonstrated the severity of such matters.

So, what if a colossal empire like Arcadia, with its unparalleled resources, economy, and technology, decided to deploy gunpowder weapons systematically?

Boom! Boom! Boom! Kabooom!

Leonard now bore witness to that horrifying spectacle.

“…Looks like we won’t have much to do for a while.”

“Right?”

By now, most of the monster corpses had changed to intermediate-ranks, yet the speed of the Barricade Train remained unchanged.

The corpse soldiers created by Yggdrasil were not just animated bodies. They were imbued with distorted natural mana, drastically enhancing their combat abilities. This was one of the defining characteristics that set this army apart from the Undead Legion of Nastrond.

Boom!

A troll engulfed in dark green flames had its head blown off, its body swaying momentarily before three additional shells exploded against it, reducing it to chunks of flesh.

The strength of the Barricade Train, honed and enhanced over centuries, was beyond what mere small fry could contend with.

Even demonic monsters capable of contending with Transcendence Tier beings were being wiped out in mere moments. If one shell was not enough, two were fired. If two were not enough, three. At this rate, even the higher-ranked monsters, like Rank A monsters, would be reduced to shreds within moments.

Still, this is just the prelude to the real battle.

It felt like both humanity and the Spriggans were merely warming up, neither side revealing their true hands.

Yet, their positions were fundamentally different. Attackers versus defenders. With each passing minute and second, the defenders’ options dwindled. Inevitably, they would be forced to reveal their cards first.

* * *

“Enemy sighted! Sound the emergency alarm!”

“A Wraith King has appeared!”

Sure enough, two days into the Barricade Train’s advance, an enormous molten giant emerged beyond the horizon, its size almost unbelievable to the naked eye.

For the first time in this operation, a Demigod Tier entity appeared—a mutated Spirit King, one of four in existence. It was the Wraith King of Molten Flame, Vulcanus.