The battle had begun a few hours ago; the smell of ashes and burnt bodies flooded your sense of smell. The city's once beautiful appearance had now become a graveyard of stones and warriors in armor. In the center of the city, on top of a pile of bodies, a man stood, his bored and angry face visible.

"If I had known it would be this easy, I would have come without so many weapons; at least I could feel some emotion."

The man then looked at the sword stuck in the ground next to him, the golden handle glinting in the sunlight, and the silver blade with rune designs conveying pure power.

He got up, picked up the sword, put it away in its sheath, and started walking towards the once-destroyed city park. He looked at the steampunk-style houses; his overcoat had already been destroyed earlier due to a fire attack from one of the city's mages. The city's residents had been evacuated before he arrived, so he was pretty much on his own now.

He got up, picked up his sword, put it in its scabbard, and started walking towards the once-destroyed city park. He observed the steampunk-style houses. His overcoat had already been destroyed earlier due to the fire attack of one of the city's mages. The city's residents had been evacuated before he arrived, so he was practically alone now.

He continued walking until he reached the central lake and then looked at his reflection.

What he saw was an incredibly handsome man; surely his beauty would be almost divine. He had blond hair and blue eyes. Curiously, there was a golden crown on his head that rotated slowly on its own from time to time. He was 6'5" tall and had some tattoos that marked his muscular torso.

He watched the Zeppelins flying over the city.

"Those suckers took too long to get here. I finished off the mages in this place the moment I arrived."

He stopped looking at the sky when he heard footsteps coming toward him. He raised his sword toward the intruder but lowered it when he saw who appeared from behind the rubble: a beautiful woman with long red hair, green eyes, and an impressive physical profile—long, spindly legs and some muscles showing. She was a well-trained warrior, for sure.

She was walking around the city looking for enemies who were still alive, but she didn't find any. Whoever had come here before her squadron was sure to be strong—very strong.

Her name?

Vane Weinstern, captain and leader of the Blava Kingdom's combat squadron. The Fraugburg Kingdom was currently trying to wage war against the Blava Kingdom because of its mana crystals. Obviously, they hadn't expected Blava to have so many strong soldiers, Vane being one of them.

When she emerged from the rubble, she was alerted to see someone other than herself in the area. She was about to launch a light attack with her foil but stopped at the same moment when she saw who it was.

(Huh, it can't be! So he decided to join us in battle? Finally, something good in this stressful job.) "Vane thought with a smile on her face and a cute blush on her cheeks as she looked at him; she almost drooled seeing that he was shirtless.

- Hendrickson, I never thought you'd come all this way to fight. Shall we go back to Blava and have a drink at a bar I know? - Vane.

- Someday, maybe. I hope I'll be in combat by then, since doing nothing in the kingdom was getting on my nerves. - Hendrickson.

- Then let's get on the plane; we can get home early and rest. - Vane.

- Okay, let's go then. - Hendrickson put his sword back in its sheath and walked with it to the Zeppelin plane.

He looked at the city that was once the capital of the kingdom of Fraugburg and smiled at the destruction it had caused.

"This journey is just the beginning; let's see what the future holds."