Ancient Imperial Calendar Year 1813
The Western Armies, consisting of three million soldiers under the command of the 65th Lord of the Kislavein Dynasty, IV Orsman Kislavein, had reached Ashterah, the capital of the Eastern Territories.
When IV Orsman and his entourage arrived at the capital's gates, they were greeted by the 122nd Lord of the Ashbrum Dynasty, IX Junric Ashbrum.
When Orsman saw Junric, he didn't recognize him at first.
"You've grown so much,Lord of the Ashbrum Dynasty."
IX Junric was a tall, extremely handsome man with golden blonde hair and eyes. He had a slender yet muscular build and was very popular among girls his age. However, due to the trauma caused by the war, he had become antisocial, like many young people currently living in the Eastern Territories.
IX Junric didn't even bother to hide the anger in his eyes; he was filled with hatred and resentment, his cold voice clearly displaying his dissatisfaction.
"It's been years,Lord of the Kislavein Dynasty. It's normal for me to have grown, but you haven't changed at all."
Orsman immediately noticed the young Dynasty Lord's cold personality but chose to ignore it.
"I came as soon as I received your messenger's call for help.But it's hard not to doubt the reality of these 'Devils' the messenger spoke of."
Junric, maintaining his cold demeanor, answered Orsman's question.
"We have a few captives.Perhaps they can answer your question. Please, follow me."
Orsman dismounted his horse. His army would wait outside the city. Orsman was accompanied by important Dynasty Lords of the Western Territories and his most elite soldiers.
Fraud Kislavein walked behind Orsman. Suddenly, Orsman began hearing voices in his head.
"Dynasty Lord, entering the city with only a hundred soldiers isn't very logical. What if they try to kill us?"
When Orsman heard these voices, he understood that Fraud Kislavein was using telepathy magic and used the same spell to communicate with Fraud.
"Your worry is unfounded, Fraud. Just the two of us have the power to turn this city upside down. Besides, I don't think the Ashbrums are that stupid, especially after the Second Great Kislavein-Ashbrum War."
"You are right, Dynasty Lord, but that's precisely why we must be careful. They might have decided to risk annihilation to avenge the war."
"I don't think so, Fraud. Let's wait and see. Besides, if anything happens, I can inform the commanders outside the city using telepathy magic."
Orsman and Fraud's conversation continued like this for a while longer.
After some time, the group descended into the Ashbrum dungeons, where they encountered Devils who had been severely tortured.
The Kislaveins could not hide their admiration at the horror of the torture.
Considering themselves masters of torture, the Kislaveins were astonished by the marvels of Ashbrum torture techniques.
"Hmmm,your torture techniques aren't half bad, I must admit," said Orsman with an admiring expression.
The Ashbrums did not react to the praises of the Kislavein members. The wounds of the great war were still fresh in their hearts, but no one dared to show this pain outwardly.
Orsman examined the tortured devils in detail.
"The messenger was right.They have horns, wings, and tails."
Krael Kislavein picked up the severed wings, horns, and tails from the devils' bodies and examined them.
"The writings in the Ancient Holy Scriptures are true.Devils really do exist."
The Ashbrum Dynasty Lord, IX Junric, began to speak again with the same cold expression and tone.
"Was that enough to convince you,Kislaveins?"
Orsman took his eyes off the half-dead devils on the floor and fixed them on Junric's eyes.
"Yes,it was enough. Now explain the details of the invasions, and we will determine our strategy."
IX Junric had taken the commanders and important figures of both the Kislavein and Ashbrum Dynasties to the meeting hall.
IX Junric stood up to start the meeting.
"The invasion began one month before our messenger reached you.The devils attacked from the east of the Eastern Territories. We sent an army under the command of Marco Ashbrum and Brian Ashbrum to repel the invaders, but they failed."
Orsman asked curiously,
"How did you fail?Even if you lost the war years ago, the power of the Eastern armies is undeniable, especially with two commanders like Marco and Brian, who killed many of our commanders and won victories in the war."
Junric fixed his eyes on Marco and Brian Ashbrum.
"If you wish,Lord of the Kislavein Dynasty, let's hear the details of this story from the main actors themselves."
All eyes turned to Marco and Brian Ashbrum. The duo stood up after a few seconds.
"To summarize the battle briefly..."
A Few Months Ago
The Eastern Territories had healed the wounds of the Second Great Kislavein-Ashbrum War and were trying to recover.
Thanks to Marco Ashbrum's intensive efforts, villages and cities had stabilized, the economy had recovered, and a new army of two hundred legions had been established.
Just as everything was going well for the Eastern Territories, that day everything changed.
A mysterious race from the seas attacked with great fury, as if venting millennia of hatred. From the very first day, they invaded the ports, cities, and fortresses in the eastern region of the Eastern Territories and carried out great massacres.
The news quickly reached the Ashbrum capital, Ashterah. IX Junric was astonished by the situation and couldn't understand what this mysterious race was or how powerful they were.
Marco Ashbrum, the Head of the Ashbrum Council, became the commander-in-chief of the Ashbrum armies by order of the Dynasty Lord.
The two armies faced each other on the plains of Xian Yuan Wei. Marco Ashbrum was horrified by what he saw.
He was facing an army ten times the size of his own. They had hair and skin like coal.
They had sharp teeth and claws. Some were flying.
Marco Ashbrum realized he could not win this battle.
He turned to his aide beside him.
"Go immediately and tell the Dynasty Lord everything you see here."
Marco's aide, Juan Yuan, gripped his horse's reins tightly and galloped towards the Ashbrum capital at full speed.
Marco spurred his horse forward and drew his sword.
"LIONS OF THE EAST!THE TIME HAS COME TO VENT THE RAGE OF OUR DEFEAT YEARS AGO! ATTACK TO THE LAST DROP OF YOUR BLOOD!"
That day, the Lions of the Ashbrum Dynasty fought to their last drop of blood. But they faced an army ten times their size, using mysterious magic, even possessing the first air force in history. They suffered heavy losses and retreated.
"In the battle, one and a half million of our soldiers died. But not a single one of our soldiers died without taking two or three devils with them."
After listening carefully to the story, Orsman stood up.
"In short,you fought an army of twenty million devils, using mysterious magic, capable of flight, with two million soldiers. You lost three-quarters of your army but killed a full three to four and a half million devils. Do I understand correctly?"
Marco nodded his head as if to say yes.
Orsman ran his hand over the map showing the settlements of the Eastern Territories.
"If the battle happened here,and if the devils are acting with rage as you say, they will spread to the surroundings. Then, if we distribute our own armies to the potential areas the devils will attack and launch surprise attacks, we can win great victories with few losses."
Everyone liked this plan.
Brian Ashbrum asked for the floor and stood up. Contrary to his normal personality, he had an extremely polite and obedient demeanor.
"Then,in your opinion, which regions will the devils attack, and how shall we divide our armies, Lord of the Kislavein Dynasty?"
Orsman explained the details of the war strategies for long hours.
A few hours later, everyone left the room. Only IV Orsman and IX Junric remained.
Junric asked anxiously,
"Are my siblings alive?"
Orsman saw Junric in a different light than his usual cold expression for the first time.
"They are alive,but not all of them."
It was as if boiling water had been poured over Junric's head.
"What happened?Did you kill them?"
Orsman crossed his arms.
"No.Only some committed suicide."
Junric almost lost his balance. He sat in a chair and brought his hands to his face.
"Why did such a thing happen?What were you doing while they were committing suicide?"
Orsman sat in a chair and looked into Junric's eyes.
"The Second Great Kislavein-Ashbrum War left deep trauma not only on you but also on your siblings.Many committed suicide because of this, and others because they couldn't adapt to the Kislavein palace."
"'Couldn't adapt'? What do you mean? Why would a person commit suicide for such a reason?" said Junric.
"They were young.Moreover, unlike the comfortable, convenient, and luxurious Ashbrum palace, the Kislavein Palace is a palace where death stalks the halls. Ultimately, the gloomy Kislavein Palace, on top of their trauma, caused most of your siblings to commit suicide, Junric."
Junric began pulling his hair out in anger. He was feeling many emotions at once: rage, grief, sorrow, and many similar feelings gnawed at him from within.
Orsman placed his hand on Junric's head and used a healing spell to stabilize Junric's mental state.
When Junric came to his senses, he brushed Orsman's hand away from his head in a momentary burst of anger. He shouted at Orsman in a voice filled with rage and hatred.
"Take your hand away!I don't need your pity! You killed my father! My siblings committed suicide because of you! You and your Dynasty are no different from these devils! I am disgusted to share the same bloodline as you!"
Orsman was not cowed by these words. He directed his killing intent towards Junric.
Junric fell to his knees, bowing his head forward. This pressure made him feel as if he were drowning in the sea. His veins began to swell.
As Orsman choked Junric with his murderous desire, he fixed his Dark Blood-Red eyes threateningly on Junric.
"Know your place,Junric. I would never allow even my own wives, concubines, children, or even my Heir to speak to me in this manner. Let alone you, who are merely the son of XXI Carl, who challenged me and started the Second Great Kislavein-Ashbrum War!"
Orsman's voice was extremely terrifying. Just as Junric was about to faint, Orsman withdrew his killing intent. He turned his back and, before leaving the room, spoke one last word to Junric with his back turned.
"Blame your father,not me, for what happened to you. His ambitions started all these events, Junric. I will marry you to one of my daughters. Thus, this blood feud will end, just as my ancestor III Orsman married an Ashbrum Princess 300 years ago to end the blood feud. You will marry a Kislavein Princess."
Junric forced himself to stand up. He looked at Orsman with a face full of rage.
"You want me to marry the daughter of my father's killer?"
Orsman smiled like a villain.
"Exactly.You have no choice. Besides, you will profit from this deal."
"WHAT PROFIT ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT?!" shouted Junric angrily.
Orsman stretched his hand forward, speaking with a smirk.
"Think of it this way:we inherited the Healing Magic from the Ashbrum Princess who was III Orsman's wife. If you marry my daughter, your bloodline will inherit our Dark Magic."
Just as those descended from the Kislavein bloodline hereditarily inherit Dark Magic, those descended from the Ashbrum bloodline inherit Healing Magic.
However, the intensity of these magics' powers is preserved through intra-bloodline marriages conducted between certain generations.
In short, even if Junric marries a Kislavein Princess, unless subsequent specific generations marry those of Kislavein blood, the Dark Magic they possess will not be as powerful as that of the Kislavein Dynasty members.
Just as Orsman's healing power is not as strong as the Ashbrums'.
Even if Junric knew this truth, he was in no position to refuse. The Ashbrum Dynasty was a vassal of the Kislavein Dynasty.
Junric spoke through gritted teeth.
"I gladly accept your marriage proposal,Lord of the Kislavein Dynasty."
Orsman was pleased with the answer.
"Good.From now on, I am your father-in-law, groom."
If he could have, Junric would have killed Orsman. But he lacked the potential to ever possess such power.
Junric silently left the room. He walked through the palace corridors with rage and mixed emotions, trying to forget the wedding with his father's killer's daughter and focus on repelling the Devil invasion.