It is believed that the Druids are the first intelligent beings in the Base Realm. Due of some mysterious reason, a tree grows out a womb, gradually giving birth to a being known as 'Druid'. It is interesting to note that all Druids born are female, and there is no known male Druid. Also, the only explanation of other species being more is a mutation in the tree womb; perhaps a change occurred, which gave birth to the First Dragon, Devil, Fairy and Giant instead of a druid girl. Another important point is that Druids cannot be born sexually- it's children will always have the race of it's father. As such, the Druids face multiple problems : lack of a male sexual partner, absence of same-race descendants, etc.
***
Somewhere in the Gateway Continent.
"I Am Invincible !!" a shout echoed the forest as a sword traveled through the air into the belly of a pig like beast. The beast had bleed a lot already and was in no condition to give a tragic cry. Thankfully, this beast's butt was intact and it did not have to go through a 'carving process'. The prince was finally graduated !
The soldiers moved the carcass behind, where it was put on a cart they'd brought beforehand. The cart was now filled up with numerous monsters, each extremely valuable.
"Wait !" Elder Bahut Accha suddenly spoke. Prince Shur furrowed his brows, then understood. The forest was quiet, extremely quiet.
Then it came- the tremors, the loud roars, and the murderous spirit. A dragon like creature appeared, tearing away trees and smashing the rocks that appeared in its way. The dragon was surrounded by multiple beasts, which were led by five Sage beasts. It was as if no one could stop this beast horde.
The Dragons weren't unfamiliar with a beast horde, and they had fought with a horde multiple times this size. But this was Gateway Continent- the gate to the Forbidden Continent. The Profound Pressure was enough to kill ordinary elites in a few hours, so how could they fight against those born and brought up in this harsh environment ?
"Escort him to the warship." the elder waved his hand, and took out an old sword. Perhaps it was a fashion among experts to cover their priceless treasures with mud and dust to fool the innocent.
The soldiers went into formation, pointing their swords forward. The Elder circulated his Profound Energy according to the Twelve Purification Circulation Technique, and the air around him became sharp. His sword glittered, and with a simple slash a line of energy flew out. Sending energy outside in spite of the Profound Pressure was enough proof of the elder's strength.
An unfortunate beast was immediately cut into two but was quickly replaced by those behind him. The soldiers charged and hacked into the beasts, while the elder traded blows with the dragon. Blood spurted from numerous places, and limbs popped up followed by the soldier's wail.
The elder landed on a high rock, his cool and expert demeanor was nowhere to be seen. His robe was torn in various places, and his face was black and his beard and hair charred. The dragon could breathe fire, and one could smell sulfur from it's mouth.
"Humph ! Eat this !"
The sword in the elder's hand quivered as it shone with a brilliant light. Vast amounts of energy gathered in the blade, which concentrated itself at it's tip.
"Release !" the suppressed energy was released along the dragon's direction where it collided with it's massive body.
*Boom*
A shock wave was created, which threw away men and beast alike. The Sage beasts leading the young ones saw this and signaled the same hand sign to each other. The hand sign meant : 'FOOk !'
The dust flying in the air gradually settled, and both the dragon and the elder appeared. The dragon was almost dead, with a huge hole in its body. Almost half of its internal organs had disappeared, and the other half were open for all to see. The only thing keeping it alive was its tenacious vitality. The elder was no better, and was panting like a thirsty dog. As his body was now empty, the Profound Pressure on his body had increased. He felt as if his internal organs were being squeezed, and his muscles and bones were being forcefully compressed. Soon blood seeped out from the pores of his skin.
The Tiger-like Sage beast roared, commanding the young beasts to attack- the beasts were young when compared to his age.
A few soldiers broke from the formation and helped the elder escape. They had no worries since they had already moved a large amount of their hunts onto their warship.
***
Fate is mysterious.
Prince Shur wasn't angry; he knew how much was he worth. He knew that he couldn't defeat those beasts, and if he died the soldiers would have their heads rolling. Even though he was just a son of the emperor's concubine, he was at least more valuable than a few thousand elite soldiers.
They didn't follow their usual route but went through places where trees were sparse so that they could immediately spot any beasts. Two days passed, and the prince was sure that they were lost. It was almost night and sunlight would disappear soon.
"Your Highness, there seems to be a fight ahead." a soldier spoke. Indeed there was a fight, the Vampires were fighting with the Fairy colony. The situation was chaotic and there wasn't much light in the camp.
"Search their tents and grab whatever is useful." the prince immediately ordered. The soldiers quickly split in three groups, and made a small opening in the tents.
Shur swung his sword and entered and saw hundreds of papers lying on the ground- it was the tent where Param and Madhu lived in the camp. He grabbed a few papers and tried to read it near a hung torch. On one paper was a humanoid design, with various lines and circles drawn around. Another seemed like a cultivation scroll. It was large and heavy, and when Shur opened it he found that it was also detailed and lengthy. He read the outer cover of the scroll, over which it's name was written in sharp letters.
Precise Energy Control Technique.
The prince furrowed his brows when he read the overly technical name, and shoved the scroll and paper with the humanoid diagram into his pocket and slipped back.
Another two days later he reached the warship and spotted the elder who was beaten up.
***
Borders of Makara Dynasty, Human Continent.
More than a dozen carts moved in line along a dirt road towards a fortress city. The Ancient Gold City was one of the oldest cities of the humans, but now was conquered by the Giants and the Beastmen.
"The human continent is in a fragile state, and our lands are now colonized by the Beastmen and the Giants. Of course, these bastards have their own support. The Beastmen have become the henchmen of the Fairies, and they can't even properly govern their own lands. The Giants are in an even worse state. Those lands of these muscle brain idiots have become a playground for the larger powers to play around, and are even able to change the king tribes on a whim."
Sura the Mad Saber softly explained to Ananya. After creating a mess for this young girl, Sura decided to accept her as his disciple so that she would at least be able to leave independently in the future. He did not held any expectations for her, but her progress surprised him. She was quickly able to learn the Vindhya Sword Art that he taught her. It was a pity that this sword style was more suited for men; like its name, the Vindhya Sword Art emphasized 'heaviness' and 'firmness', which were not appropriate for the female body.
The three dynasties had their own sword arts, which every person in the dynasty practiced. Similar to the Vindhya, there was the Makara Sword Art which emphasized 'explosiveness' and 'purity', and also the Maurya Sword Art which emphasized 'vastness' and 'omnipotence'.
At the foremost of the caravan were three carriages which were as huge as a train bogey. As the savage beasts pulling the carriages were larger than the size of an elephant, it was a given that the carriages had to keep up with their size. Remember, in a fantasy world, almost all things were XL size.
The gates of the fortress city were massive, and were guarded by a dozen of wolf beast-men. This fortress city seemed to be forcfelly colonized by the beast-men.
The beast-men wore simple leather armors, and were equipped with weapons made of bones. The beast-men had poor talent in manipulating Profound Energy, and they could not use weapons made of metals. Instead, they used weapons made of body parts of their fellow beastmen, such as teeth, nails or bones. As there was a greater synergy between their bodies and these weapons, they could unleash great powers through them.
The three carriages moved forward and the beastmen did not dare to stop them when they saw the sign of the Great Root Sect. The carts equipped with goods were the same size of the carriages, and as it would take some time for them to pass Sura jumped down from the cart to inspect the surrounding.
According to his father, the Human Saint Bhaskar, the Makara Dynasty was ruled by Bhargava, who was the elder brother of the other human Saint, Neel. Saint Neel's martial prowess was famous, and was one of the reasons why the other races weren't able to completely occupy the Dynasty.
The carriages moved, and there were many beggars who would cry and beg near the windows of the luxurious carriages. It was a given that these beggars were humans. Many of them were below fifteen, and although they were afraid of being eaten up by the mounts, being lashed up by the guards or being crushed under the large carriages, they still came forward in search of hope.
"Shooo" one of the beastmen guards tried to keep away the filthy beggar kids from the carriage, and a wave of his hand was enough to throw a kid away.
Suddenly the window opened and a soft voice resounded from within. "Stop."
The firm voice stopped the wolf beastmen as he lowered his hand. A fair hand came out of the window which held a silver coin.
"Give it to him."
The beast-man took the coin from the rich lady's hand and although unwilling, handed it over to the beggar. The kid was smart and after a small 'thank you' dashed into the alleys. Clearly, it would be difficult to trace him.
Shur watched the window close, and this scene surprised him. He never thought that some druids would care about beings of other races.
Suddenly a commotion was heard behind him.
"You b*tch ! I'll kill you !"
He dashed towards the gathering crowd and saw Ananya. In her hand was a cheap heavy sword which she used for practice, and a beast-man was clutching his arm in front of her. His arm had two wounds, one large and one small, and blood was dripping out, forming a small pool of blood.
He immediately came forward when he saw the other beastmen beginning to surround her.
This was a messy situation.