A center proves its worth when it does not waver.
On the outer ridge of the Terra Empire, where rock and earth were tangled in disarray.
Through the dust, dazzling silver steel slowly appeared.
The moment the advance force of the Metallum Empire arrived, the citizens of Terra turned their heads and looked toward them.
“What’s going on?”
“Last time we gave them something, so is it their turn to give us something this time?”
“But that’s an enormous army.”
“I’m glad they’re not our enemy.”
News of what was happening nearby also reached a certain plain south of Montera.
Rumble, rumble…
A pebble rolled down along the road.
“Grandfather, I think my body’s gotten bigger!”
When the pebble shouted, the boulder resting beside it laughed.
“Hoho, little one. You are growing too.”
“You were right, Grandfather! It seems like you grow if you stay still in one place.”
The boulder spoke without moving.
“Yes, that is what a rock is. To stand still in one place and look upon the world—that is the role of a rock. That is why rocks contain the traces of countless years.”
“Ah, yes, I think I understand.”
After a while, the boulder spoke again.
“But the world is very chaotic. Fire, water, wood, and metal, each of which had taken its own place, are gradually expanding their power, and collisions are occurring more and more frequently.”
The pebble rolled up in front of the boulder.
“Yes, that’s true. Even our side moved, after all. I never imagined our army would attack Aqua, and now Aqua and Silva have created cores, while Metallum has obtained Aqua’s core too.”
“Hmm. No matter how I think about it, the things happening these days seem to be because of us. Ignis has always been that sort, so let us set them aside, but to think we would disrupt Aqua and Silva, who had quietly joined forces and grown together. I always thought the earth was silent, but now it speaks and even swings its fists.”
Thud… thoom…
Clank, clank, clank…
The sound of something massive moving could be heard from afar.
“Huh? It looks like Metallum has come again. But today, it seems enormous.”
“So it does. They surely haven’t come to attack us, so naturally, they must have come to meet the emperor.”
“Waaah…”
The pebble hopped up and down as it looked toward the sound of steel.
“Will we be joining forces with Metallum too?”
At the pebble’s question, the boulder gave a laugh.
“Huhut. What an interesting question.”
“Yes?”
“That depends on Terramont’s will, but if he makes such a decision, the world will undergo another great change. Let us watch and see.”
Within the Terra Empire, soldiers, rock infantry, boulder throwers, and earth guardians discovered the steel knights of the Metallum Empire and lined up as one.
The sight of the soldiers of the two empires facing each other looked like a structure formed by the continuation of solid walls.
A short while later, Terramont appeared.
Standing at the center of the ridge, he moved forward, kicking up dust, and each time his foot touched the ground, the earth trembled softly.
“Terramont.”
Oruma also stepped forward and stood before Terramont.
“Iron upon earth, then.”
Terramont asked Oruma,
“What brings you here?”
Oruma stared quietly at Terramont and answered.
“What brings me? I imagine you already know.”
He looked over his army once and continued.
“I thought about why you handed Aqua’s core over to us. Most likely, it is because you now require our strength, is it not?”
Terramont spoke in an indifferent tone.
“That is merely an answer considered from your position.”
Oruma looked at Terramont again.
“Is that so? Even if it is, this time it is our turn to act. We have already spoken of balance before, have we not? A center ought to have weight. My statement that I would become that weight still stands.”
Silence flowed between them.
The sound of the wind passed through their midst.
With the armies of the two empires standing still, Oruma continued speaking.
“If the earth is shaking, there is no reason for steel not to respond. You know better than anyone that Silva is now approaching you. Leave them to us. We will deal with them before they reach you.”
Terramont silently raised his hand and moved the earth guardians to the rear.
“We will adjust our operational deployment. Place our forces parallel to the steel knights, and entrust the due eastern defensive line to Metallum.”
He said to Oruma,
“If that is what you want, do so.”
Oruma narrowed his eyes.
“I will also see just how strong you are. If your structure wavers, we will redesign that structure.”
Terramont turned his head.
“The same goes for us.”
Thus, the battlefield slowly began to merge.
Gorban, standing beside Terramont, carefully opened his mouth.
“Your Majesty, is it not excessive intervention for Metallum to lead troops into our territory?”
Gaia added as well.
“Foreign troops stepping upon this earth… I do not quite know how to describe it. Should we call it interference, or surveillance…”
Terramont, who had been listening to them in silence, spoke.
“Oruma is a man of great pride. He has an inflexible order within him, one that demands he must repay what he has suffered and somehow return what he has received.”
They stopped before the fortress.
Terramont continued.
“The fact that he sent troops to us is not intervention or interference. It is Metallum’s own way of taking action.
Rather, for us to refuse that action would be interference toward them.”
Gorban asked,
“Did Your Majesty perhaps anticipate Metallum’s actions?”
“I did. Not only that, the actions of the other empires will also move within my expectations.”
The wind over the ground settled a little more heavily.
They once again moved toward the east, where Silva’s slime infantry would come crashing in.
Not only was Silva’s army approaching Terra’s eastern territory, but the armies of Terra and Metallum were also gathering there together.
“Wait, is this place also Terra’s territory?”
Oruma said as he looked around.
Robic also examined the place and answered.
“It is close to Terra, but Terra’s army has not advanced this far.”
They halted their advance.
A short while later, Terramont arrived with the earth guardians.
“Is this place your land as well?”
When Oruma asked, Terramont shook his head.
“No. We have never advanced eastward.”
Gorban hurriedly observed the surroundings and said to them,
“This is remarkable. This entire area is covered in a rocky stratum. There are enormous rocks in every direction.”
Oruma’s eyes gleamed brightly.
“Interesting. Then is this not also good for us steel? When earth and stone become even harder, they become metal. It is a location favorable for battle.”
Robic added to his words.
“On the other hand, it is an unfavorable position for Silva. An environment beneficial to us will be harmful to the enemy.”
Terramont turned his gaze toward the rocky ridge.
The terrain was neither high nor majestic.
Yet beneath it, land heavier than soil was breathing.
“The energy of water and wood weakens here.”
At his words, Gorban quietly nodded.
“We still do not know the power of Silva’s slime forces, but they too will have difficulty displaying their full strength here.”
Robic also stepped forward.
“Our steel knights will also receive an elemental correction in this terrain. We will be able to attack and defend at a higher level than usual.”
Terramont’s voice rang out again.
“It is fortunate that we have taken this region first. This is no coincidence. The earth has made a place to receive the soil.”
He gave a brief order to his army.
“Concentrate our forces here. Fix this ridge zone as the front-line battlefield.”
Those words were also a lure.
The rocky ridge was a terrain the world had permitted to Terra and Metallum, and soon, in this place, they would stop the slime with rock and steel.
Not long afterward, from the east of the ridge, Silva’s slime infantry unit was slowly approaching.
Their bodies were still flexible, and they moved as if flowing.
But once the terrain changed, that flow began to be affected in some way.
The moment they touched the ground, parts of the slime infantry began to stick little by little to the rocks.
The waves of life that had spread smoothly through ordinary regions were being weakened here by some force.
“Abnormal reaction detected.”
The vanguard stopped.
“Recovery rate declining. Mucous membrane regeneration slowing.”
The soldiers following behind also slowed their movements.
Silva’s thicket infantry and vine archers also felt their power weakening.
“This feels ominous.”
Suddenly, a shout rang out from beyond the ridge.
“Earth guardians, deploy to the front.”
“Steel knights, spread out on the flanks.”
Silva’s armies were startled.
“W-what is this?!”
“Isn’t that Metallum?”
The slime infantry and Silva’s soldiers tried to attack, but the adverse effects of the terrain’s attribute diminished their reactions themselves.
“This is… land where no forest can grow!”
Tarban, who led them, said in a flustered voice.
He had never imagined that Terra might have allied with Metallum.
The slime infantry were certainly strong.
They could seep into the soil and destroy it from within, and they could withstand the hammers of the steel knights.
Even so, with the terrain’s attributes added in, the armies of Terra and Metallum, surging forward like a tide, did not fall easily.
Terra’s earth guardians blocked the front, while Metallum’s steel knights pressed heavily against the flanks.
The flow of slime was blocked by the earth.
After a long standoff, an order to retreat came from the other side.
“Slime infantry and Silva forces, withdraw! Reorganize outside the boundary zone!”
Silva’s forces hurriedly left the area.
Their retreat was not so much a defeat as a declaration that they could not take root upon this rocky ridge.
Due to the first clash between the Terra Empire and the Silva Empire, Silva also obtained a small amount of Terra’s earth core.
After the battle ended, only a quiet wind passed over the rocky ridge.
Terramont and Oruma were on their way back to the fortress of Montera together.
“It has been a while since we landed a blow on Silva.”
Oruma spoke first.
“The power of the terrain helped us. The slime infantry were not as easy opponents as they appeared.”
Oruma had no choice but to acknowledge it as well.
Metal was strong against hard things, but against soft things, it was instead a being that could not properly exert its strength.
“It was a perfectly timed moment. You coming to us, that is.”
At Terramont’s words, Oruma looked back at him.
“We calculate thoroughly. If you had not given us Aqua’s core, I would have had no reason to come here.”
They stopped before the fortress.
Terramont and Gaia, Gorban, and Oruma and Robic faced one another.
“Is there anything else you need?”
When Oruma asked, Terramont answered in a low voice.
“We wish to share a portion of the earth core.”
Silence flowed.
Gaia and Gorban seemed to have expected it, and showed no reaction.
Oruma nodded.
“You mean to say we will share our weight with one another. To share weight is also to share responsibility.”
He looked back at his army, which still remained within Terra’s territory.
“I will make certain to return the price. Do you also need our metal core?”
“No.”
“Then…?”
Oruma considered what else he could do.
“We have sufficient forces. If you do not need the metal core, then instead, we can share our troops with you. That weight of the center you are bearing—we will also try to feel it together.”
“Very well.”
Terramont answered briefly.
Long after water and wood had shared their flow, earth and metal finally shared their weight with one another.
For a moment, the earth seemed to regain its balance.
Yet in the gap between them, the flames were growing once more.
The moment fire and life mingled, an entirely new reaction had finished preparing to shake the battlefield again.