"They are a vast army indeed" Duke Essandor's expression was stern as he took in the huge army facing the Kingdom of Aira's walls. The Kingdom of Aira was the Northern Empire's first line of defense. It would be best if they didn't lose it.
"Yes" Grand Marshall Blunt replied solemnly. When the Eastern Empire's army was several kilometers away, the two saw that it was a large army. But even when they drew closer, there didn't seem to be an end to their numbers. The Northern Empire soldiers who stood on the walls with the Duke and Grand Marshall gulped as they watched the army slowly grind to a halt. They were scared, but they were more terrified of what would happen if they lost. That fear overrode the fear they had of the army before them.
"Halt!" a wielder in front of the Eastern Empire's army commanded, and the entire army stopped their march with great discipline. There were three men leading the charge. All of them sat on large war horses with red manes. These horses were called Red Maned Horses and were the fastest creatures amongst creatures on the same level. So basically, a 3rd stage earth realm red maned horse was faster than any other creature in the 3rd stage of the earth realm. They were difficult to breed and very expensive. The three men slowly rode forward, leaving the army behind them. Two of them rode behind the one in the middle. The helmets on their heads covered their faces and made it difficult to tell their identities. Once they were close to the gates of the Kingdom of Aira, the one in the middle lifted his hand. The two at his side stopped their horses from going any farther and watched as their leader's red maned horse moved a few feet ahead of them and stopped as well.
"Is that the esteemed Grand Marshall Blunt I see? So you worked out your problems with the Duke. That is great!" the leader's voice boomed, forcing most of the wielders on the kingdom's walls to hastily cover their ears. A few who were too slow to react stumbled as they struggled to stand firm. The more determined ones stood their ground, but their ears bled at the powerful voice of the leader.
"That voice-" Sir Blunt had heard that voice before. He knew that voice. Duke Essandor was also surprised by the voice. He should know this person. However, he couldn't find the origin of the voice anywhere in his memories.
"Do you not recognize your own friend?" the leader spoke once again and lifted his helmet off his head to reveal his face. He had beautiful brown hair with wisps of grey in between. His eyes shared his hair's color – brown. He was a handsome middle aged man with a genial smile on his face.
"General Thoth!" Sir Blunt exclaimed in disbelief. "How is that possible?!" Duke Essandor was just as surprised as Grand Marshall Blunt. When they accepted that there was a war coming, both men had prepared to face their old rivals. They thought about every single person who would come and lead the charge: General Oswald, Major Glen, and Captain Zack. All these men were dangerous characters and Eastern Empire legends that were major headaches for the Northern Empire. Sir Blunt personally had a longstanding rivalry with General Oswald; and Duke Essandor had gone against Major Glen several times. They knew these two men well enough. They didn't know a lot about Captain Zack but they had faced him a few times to be able to predict what kind of strategy he preferred. All their arrangements were made based on the behaviors of these three leaders. Yet the person leading the charge was the one they never expected to see.
"I thought you were dead!" Sir Blunt was emotional. His shaky voice conveyed just how shocking it was to see this man.
"No you definitely died!" Duke Essandor screamed in grief. "I watched you die in my arms. I mourned you for years!" he screamed mournfully. Anyone watching could tell that he shared a rich history with the man.
The wielders on the walls began murmuring amongst themselves.
"Is that really General Thoth?"
"The only general our empire has ever had?"
"But I thought he died"
"Yes. I heard that he died in battle after a few nobles defected and caught him by surprise. He was returning from defending the empire when they attacked. They ambushed him with thousands of wielders"
"Indeed. According to the legends he killed several hundreds of wielders on his own before he escaped. But he escaped with grievous injuries so he died shortly after he returned to the capital"
"How is that possible? How can one man deal with thousands of wielders?!"
"It was said that he had broken through the limits of this world, and that was why he was so powerful. Initially I didn't believe it, but now all of us know that the SSS class isn't the final class. Apparently, it is only the peak of a stage called the mortal realm and there are several realms after that"
The soldiers continued to whisper amongst themselves. By now it was common knowledge that the mortal realm wasn't the only level of strength. Although many didn't want to believe it, the army facing them was proof of this. Although the rings Alexis provided protected them from the crushing aura of their enemies, they could still feel the power and presence behind their enemies' unrestrained aura. It was only the three leaders whose power they couldn't gauge.
"The Duke looks like he would lose his mind" some of the wielders noticed the strange state of the Duke.
"It's no surprise. The General died more than three years ago. But before his death he was the Duke's cousin"
"You dare impersonate my cousin! I will kill you!" Duke Essandor was furious now. There was no way he'd believe that the man in front of him was his cousin – the man he regarded a brother. Over the past few years, he had hunted down the nobles who had caused Thoth's death and killed them all. Even then, the flames of vengeance still remained, only suppressed. But now they erupted strongly. His aura was pushed to the peak and he started showing signs of a breakthrough. As long as he was given the right above-mortal realm manual, he would be able to breakthrough. But now, he was truly the strongest person in the mortal realm.
Sir Blunt also had an ugly expression on his face. General Thoth wasn't related to him by blood like with Duke Essandor, but he was his friend. He was one of the few people who never looked down on him even though he was a commoner before he became a Grand Marshall. And it was because of the General that although Duke Essandor disliked him, he never truly made any life threatening moves on him. It was out of respect for his cousin. Even when he died, Duke Essandor still honored his memory by staying his hand and never trying to destroy Sir Blunt. He only abused the man verbally even when Sir Blunt kept interfering with his businesses.
"I know it is hard to believe but I am alive and well" General Thoth smiled and glanced at Duke Essandor with a loving expression. He sighed when he looked at Sir Blunt and said, "I have wronged you both. I couldn't come back because the empire was rotten from the inside. I didn't want to lay a hand on my own people so I left. But a few months ago, the Master found me. He gave me a new purpose!" the more the general spoke, the more twisted his expression grew – from a loving gaze to the look of a fanatic.
"And for that purpose the North has to fall. Move aside my friends. I don't want to hurt you" General Thoth's expression grew cold when he finished his statement. His gaze sent chills down the spine of all the wielders who dared look into his eyes.
"Archers!" Sir Blunt shouted
"HERE SIR"
"Ready Yourselves!" he commanded and several wielders strung their bows and took aim.
"Gunners!" Duke Essandor screamed out
"HERE SIR!"
"Ready Yourselves!" he commanded.
"Are you still going to try to persuade them sir?" the man on the left side of General Thoth took off his helmet and enquired. He had black hair and black eyes with a large scar underneath his left eye. The rider on the right of the general also took off his helmet and placed it underneath his arm. He waited for the General's answer. These men were two of the Eastern Empire's Sacred Three. The man with the scar was Captain Zack and the one on the right was Major Glen. These two major Eastern characters were playing second fiddle to General Thoth.
"No. They have given their answer" the general's expression was cold. He knew that the only reason Sir Blunt and Duke Essandor hadn't given the order to fire yet was because of him, He slowly turned his horse around and marched towards the Eastern army. Captain Zack and Major Glen followed him. General Thoth took one last glance at Sir Blunt and Duke Essandor and gritted his teeth. He steeled his resolve and ordered
"Leave no survivors"
"YES SIR!"