Winter Fall Province... was quite famous in the Borderland. It was the only Pioneer Territory to have recently been promoted to the status of an official Imperial Province, with a touching and inspirational story of a fallen family toiling away at the border for over a hundred years before finally rejoining the Empire’s fold.

It was what all Pioneer Territories aspired to become. Yet, such a thriving Imperial Province had been annihilated in an instant.

"How could something like this happen...? Didn’t Winter Fall just receive a Little Holy Tree?"

Yolanda said, utterly bewildered.

She gazed at the refugee columns that continued to trickle in. The exodus showed no sign of stopping, even after several days.

The platinum-blonde girl couldn’t understand it. A Chaos Shock that severed the connection between the divine and the Mortal World was bound to bring a great cataclysm—that much was certain. But how could a disaster strike the rear first?

Even the Pioneer Territories in the Borderland were relatively quiet, so how could a perfectly fine Imperial Province suffer such a cataclysmic disaster?

’And they’re fleeing toward the Borderland... They must be truly desperate and fleeing blindly. What on earth happened in Winter Fall?’

When they questioned the refugees, they found that most didn’t know what had truly happened. They were all residents from the side of the Province adjacent to the Borderland and could only offer fragmented accounts based on their limited knowledge, all talking over one another.

"Demons... There were Demons coming from the direction of the capital, but they didn’t seem like Demons."

"All the crops withered, the land became barren, and there was a miasma and swamps... it was like they just appeared out of thin air."

"There’s not a single living person in the direction of the capital. They’re dead. All dead."

"We couldn’t get through at all. We couldn’t escape to the Imperial interior, so we could only come toward the Pioneer Territories."

...

But among the survivors, a very small number knew the inside story. However, without exception, their mental states were extremely worrying.

Some had disheveled hair, some were banging their heads on the ground, and some were breaking down and wailing. The few who could rationally describe the situation had bulging, bloodshot eyes as they spoke in despair:

"It was the tree! The Little Holy Tree! The Little Holy Tree destroyed the capital..."

"The forest eats people, the vines kill people, and the flowers kill people, too."

"Why? Why! O Divine Ancestor, have you closed your eyes to us?"

...

’What on earth are they talking about?’

After listening, Yolanda and the others were completely dumbfounded. Only Westheid nodded in understanding.

"Just as I thought. It’s the Plague of Corruption..."

In this era, as the tides of Chaos surged, every nation had the hidden dangers of its past detonated, forming cataclysms that swept across the land.

Winter Fall Province had clearly encountered the signature disaster of this chaotic new era. In the Radiant Holy Tree Empire, this was known as the [Plague of Corruption].

To speak of the [Plague of Corruption], one must mention the Little Holy Tree, a specialty of the Empire.

It is the physical manifestation of the [Prosperity Law], a gift from the Divine Ancestor to his followers, and a construct of Divinity descended from the heavens.

The [Radiant Holy Tree] plants a Little Holy Tree in the capital of every Imperial Province. The tree is bound to the entire Province; they flourish together and fall together.

The Little Holy Tree is not only a symbol of glory and nobility, but it also acts on behalf of the [Prosperity Law], spreading endless blessings to the people of the land.

But this kind of Divine Power structure is something that should never have existed in the Mortal World. It is incredibly troublesome to maintain, basically a losing proposition.

Only a Celestial God like the [Radiant Holy Tree], with its profound obsession with propagation, would spare no effort to plant these Little Holy Trees.

In the past era when the Supreme Heaven was linked to the Mortal World, the [Radiant Holy Tree] would naturally do its utmost to manage the Holy Tree System. But once there is no Celestial God to maintain these divine constructs, the Little Holy Trees become breeding grounds for Chaos.

This is because a Little Holy Tree is a forcibly maintained divine structure with no ability to protect itself. Once the [Radiant Holy Tree] disconnects... it’s an existence of Order that possesses the essence of a Holy Spirit, but lacks its wisdom and power. What that means to Chaos goes without saying. 𝒇𝒓𝙚𝒆𝔀𝓮𝓫𝒏𝓸𝙫𝓮𝓵.𝓬𝙤𝙢

Rated as an Innate Star Fury Saint Body, a hundred times more tempting than a Pure Holy Spirit! Bait on par with Golden Wine!

Not to mention, the Little Holy Tree in Winter Fall Province was only recently planted; its construction wasn’t even complete. It was only natural for Chaos to utterly defile it.

"No wonder the Borderland has been so peaceful. The intensity hasn’t ramped up at all. So Chaos was focusing its efforts on corrupting the Little Holy Trees."

Westheid said, stroking his chin and nodding repeatedly.

Yolanda’s indigo-purple eyes widened. "Is something like that even possible? Bypassing the border entirely to release corruption into an Imperial Province?!"

Westheid glanced at his shocked, silly little sister, seeing she was still stuck in her old ways of thinking, and said:

"Abandon your old assumptions. The Laws of the Celestial Gods can no longer protect the Mortal World, and Chaos no longer needs to invade from the periphery."

Chaos’s approach was undoubtedly the correct one. The border regions adjacent to the Chaos Domain had long grown accustomed to gazing into the abyss. They were heavily fortified, making them difficult to infiltrate by any means.

In contrast, the heartlands, which had long known peace, relied on the Divine Ancestor Law as their only means of defense. Beyond that, the vast majority of the populace didn’t even have a concept of Chaos Undivided.

With the Laws of the Celestial Gods lifted, the corrosion of Chaos hadn’t grown stronger, but it could now ignore spatial barriers. Was this not the perfect opportunity for a vicious sneak attack?

In fact, the time for Chaos to truly score big was right at the beginning of this new era of strife. Once the Mortal World recovered from the shock of the Celestial Gods’ departure, it would be much harder for the corruption and rampages of Chaos to achieve such bountiful results.

"So that’s why you recalled the troops stationed in the Chaos Domain? We’re no longer defending against the Chaos Domain itself, but against the cataclysms that could erupt behind us at any moment."

Yolanda was lost in thought after hearing the explanation. Then, she asked Westheid for instructions:

"Brother, what should we do? Should we establish a defensive line in the direction of Winter Fall?"

"A defensive line?"

Westheid tilted his head and smiled.

"My dear Yolanda, you seem to have misunderstood something. When have I ever done anything cowardly or withdrawn?"

"Since the Empire has entrusted me with managing the southeastern border, dealing with the Plague of Corruption is part of my duty. Besides, we have another reason why we must go and suppress it."

Yolanda asked, "Because this cataclysm will eventually reach us? To fight the enemy before they reach our walls?"

"That’s one reason."

Westheid nodded, starting to walk back as he spoke.

"There’s also the matter of establishing our authority. The Pioneer Territories we’ve annexed are not yet of one heart and mind with Qinghui. They’ve only submitted out of fear of the Empire’s authority and our military might. Although we hold all military and political power and the original inhabitants aren’t likely to cause trouble, I still prefer to win people over with virtue."

"Let them see who it is that can truly protect them in this chaotic era!"

The key to establishing a [Fanatic Realm] was not expanding territory, but having everyone united as one.

To put it simply: cultivate a cult of personality.

"...And the final reason."

Westheid stopped in his tracks and declared righteously,

"How can I stand by and watch innocents suffer before me without extending a helping hand?"