Knock! Knock!
Hearing the Knock, a man sitting on a chair opened his eyes. “Come in.”
The soldier entered the tent and kneeled in front of the man who sat on the chair. “Sir we have bad news.”
“So the 30,000 troops led by Commander Aris have been defeated.” The soldier for a moment was surprised. But he quickly calmed himself knowing how frightening a 3rd-order cultivator’s powers were. It wouldn’t be surprising since
General Darren Ellis, a mid 3rd-order powerhouse, a person who has been serving the Zulux Dynasty for three decades now. When General Darren joined the army 35 years ago, he quickly rose in ranks after his talent was discovered by the King himself.
The King of the Zulux Dynasty gave him the resources to become a third-order as quickly as possible. In 5 years he became one of the strongest pillars of the Zulux Dynasty. Ever since Darren had taken on the role of commander, he never even once had lost a battle. He always has managed to crush his enemies and achieve victory for his Majesty.
The moment that storm started, Darren knew deep in his heart that Aris and 30,000 troops had lost this battle before the battle could even begin. In the mountain path, Aris and the troops would have no choice but to continue their march towards the fortress. It was a do-or-die situation.
“I still don’t understand how Lady Tamar’s prediction was wrong this time. A simple wrong prediction caused us a talented commander and 30,000 troops. And worst of all, we were humiliated by a kingdom that recently became a 2nd-tier powerhouse.” Darren angrily clenched his fist. In his carrier, this was the most humiliating loss he faced.
The soldier who was kneeling 10 meters away from Darren began to tremble when Darren released his killing intent without realizing it. The soldier felt at this moment he was standing in front of death itself. The pressure was so big, that after a few seconds he was having trouble breathing. He felt his entire body being pressured by a mountain.
“Inform the squad leaders to get ready. The storm is near its end. The moment this storm ends, we will head out and crush the enemy. I will erase this humiliation with the blood of that pathetic Dragon.”
“Y…Yes, sir” The soldier didn’t even dare to waste another second. He quickly run out of the tent like his whole life depended on it.
After the soldier ran out, Darren sighed and once again closed his eyes. He was getting frustrated as he was stuck in mid 3rd-order for almost a decade now. After reaching the 3rd-order, his Majesty stopped providing any resources as the resources needed for 3rd-order cultivators were too expensive.
Without any resources, Darren had to rely on his talent to reach mid-3rd-order which almost took him a decade. And now he was stuck in the mid-phase. He needed some kind of boost that could take him to the Peak 3rd-order.
Bang!
“Hello! Darren! How is everything going for you?” Darren opened his eyes while suppressing the anger he currently felt while looking at the person who knew him for almost 4 decades. 𝒍𝙞𝙚𝒂𝓭.𝒄𝙤𝙢
“Dylan Kelly, what are you doing here?” Darren asked in an irritated tone. Like Darren, Dylan was also a 3rd-order general serving under his Majesty. Clearly, Darren was not happy to see one of his rivals here.
“Don’t so be rude. I came to see my trash and old rival.”
Dylan Kelly was a man with black beard covering his lower face. Dylan was only 5 feet 1 inch tall. But no one dared to make fun of the general’s height. Dylan wore was black armor and pants. He carried two sharp battle axes on his back. Despite his short size, Dylan’s body was packed with muscles. Dylan was half dwarf so he had the advantage when it came to raw strength. Despite his size, his raw strength can compare with an average Peak 3rd-order.
“We both here know that if I am trash, then you’re worse than trash.” Darren was not offended by Dylan’s words. He instead smiled in amusement. Whenever Darren and Dylan fought in the past, Darren always managed to beat the half-dwarf. Never, even once Dylan has managed to defeat Darren.
“So did his Majesty send you here?” Darren stopped smiling. Suddenly the atmosphere inside the tent turned dark and chilly.
“What do you think?” Dylan asked back with a cold smile. Hearing Dylan’s response, Darren’s face instantly turned dark.
Sending another 3rd-order means that his majesty didn’t have enough trust in Darren. Just realizing this fact made him angry. Darren’s anger wasn’t directed at his Majesty nor at Dylan. He felt this was the Istarin Kingdom’s fault. The fact that his Majesty sent another 3rd-order said a lot of things. It meant that his Majesty wasn’t confident in his abilities. This itself hurt Darren’s pride as one of the strongest generals.
‘Everything is happening because of the Istarin Kingdom. A kingdom that recently became a 2nd-tier powerhouse is making his Majesty doubt my abilities. This is unacceptable. I must regain his Majesty’s trust.’
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Similarly, somewhere in the Nepoca Kingdom capital, a meeting was being held. In an underground chamber, a group of people was sitting around a 3 meters big round table.
“Your Majesty, the Zulux Dynasty has very badly lost their first attack on Istarin fortress. Reports say that around 17,000 troops were killed while the rest 13,000 were captured as war prisoners by the Istarin Kingdom. During the whole battle, the King of the Istarin Kingdom was not present. Our spies can’t find the King in the capital or any two cities either. It’s like the King has gone missing all of sudden.”
“I think King Aditya has gone into hiding. He is a clever man. He clearly knows that there is no future for the Istarin Kingdom after offending the Zulux Dynasty. Maybe he is already planning to abandon the Kingdom from the beginning and escape somewhere else.” Duke Easton, one of the 4 Dukes of the Nepoca Kingdom spoke whatever came into his mind.
“I have to disagree with Sir Easton. The possibility of King Aditya abandoning his Kingdom is very slim. Before this war started, he personally said to have cleaned the entire capital and made it safe for the public. I don’t think a man like him would just run away. I believe he is planning something from the shadows.”
“I will have to agree with Prime Minister Jamie here. We also shouldn’t forget that now with the victory, the Istarin Kingdom has a total force of 28,500. This much force is enough to fight with the other 30,000 forces of the Zulux Dynasty. Also from my sources, I have there were 7 beings who played a major role in the battle. They are known as the 7 generals of King Aditya. Each general is said to have killed thousands of troops alone. Do you know what’s more shocking, each 7 general is still a 1st-order cultivator. Can you imagine how frightening they will become when their strength reaches second-order?” Hearing the King’s words everyone turned silent.
Sigh!
“I don’t know from where King Aditya got those seven monsters. We all should stop underestimating the Istarin Kingdom. We should begin to think of them as a 3rd-tier powerhouse. If they manage to win the next big battle, no one can stop them from becoming a 3rd-tier powerhouse.”
“But I think the Zulux Dynasty will win the second battle. Knowing how prideful the King of the Zulux Dynasty is, he won’t sit around knowing that his 30,000 forces were defeated by a 2nd-tier Kingdom. I am sure this time he will be aiming to crush the Istarin Kingdom.”
“So our involvement in this war will be decided by the outcome of the second battle. If the Istarin Kingdom loses this battle, we will support them as our ally. But if they win, we won’t get involved in the war.”
“Also make sure to order all the merchants in our kingdom to stop selling food to the Istarin Kingdom. I have to stop the Istarin Kingdom from becoming a powerhouse that can threaten our Kingdom.”
“Understood your Majesty.”
“By the way, what about the Merchant Amos? Did the investigators find anything that can tell us about the culprit?” The King and merchant Amos knew each other. The death of Amos left the King shaken. A person who had become the sixth richest man in the Nepoca Kingdom in such a short time dying like this was very suspicious.
“Unfortunately, we couldn’t find anything. We are sure that the attacker was a dragon. Other than that, we couldn’t find any other lead on the attacker.”
“Your Majesty, what if the attacker has fled to the Istarin Kingdom?” Everyone looked at Duke Easton in surprise.
“The attacker was a dragon, meaning that he can fly. In three Kingdoms only a handful of people can fly using the help of an artifact. If the attacker has flown to the Istarin Kingdom and taken shelter there, I don’t think there is anything we can do about it.” Duke Easton looked at the King hoping that the King would ask King Aditya to allow for a search mission.
“For now, we will send spies to the Istarin Kingdom and try to find anyone who is a dragon while also keeping an eye on the capital.”
“There is a big possibility that in the future, both Kingdoms will clash.”
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