This world was without a name to most, but that was only to most. Since humans were the most plentiful species on the surface of this planet, they were the 'most' here. But to those who didn't occupy the entire land yet had greater talent and skill, this world was the World of the Three Races. It had been named so several millennia ago, before other races were born. Before the humans came to occupy most of this world it was known by that name. And if the Three Races didn't wish for the humans to occupy this world the humans would have never gained a foothold. These Three Races were also known as the Three Great Races, and they were the Barbarians, Elementals and Ancients.
Even now, with the power the Three Races commanded, every human was in great trouble. Even Lions, Eagles and Snakes didn't control their own destiny. To the Three Great Races, Predators were nothing but mid-tier warriors. They were nowhere near the cream of the crop. After Predators were Pseudo Nightmare Powerhouses also referred to as Half a Step into the Nightmare Realm Experts. And above that were Nightmare level warriors. But even then, Nightmares weren't the peak of power within the three races. For there were two more levels above the Nightmare Realm!
Pseudo Phenoms or Half a Step into the Phenom Realm Warriors!
And Phenoms!
Pseudo Phenoms were truly talented members of the Three Races, and their power was above that of Nightmares by a huge margin. These people had the power to change the destiny of the world itself, and had the strength to singlehandedly wipeout humanity. Maybe only the Black Dragon of the East – that legend of old – would be able to stand up to a Pseudo Phenom. But even then the Black Dragon would fall without the support of The Citadel. In a way, The Citadel was mankind's greatest defense, yet mankind itself was unaware of this. Maybe The Citadel had the power to go against a single Pseudo Phenom, but even this 'greatest shield' was nothing but a lump of coal before the might of a true Phenom!
Phenoms were just what their names suggested – Phenoms! They were unbelievable forces of nature that could only be described as legends. Their power and stories were so pure and so true that it was hard for anyone to believe that such people existed without seeing them for themselves. These were the true powerhouses of the Three Great Races. But even the Three Great Races had only a few Phenoms. Each race had about 6 or 7 Phenoms, and no more than that. Because of how rare these warriors were, Pseudo Phenoms usually handled the affairs of the Three Great Races. For each race's Lord was a Pseudo Phenom. The Phenoms were referred to as Great Ancestors, and once a Pseudo Phenom became a Phenom, no matter who they were – whether Lord of the Race or not – they had to put down their worldly attachments and become a Great Ancestor. These worldly attachments included their families. For it was believed that Phenoms had so much power that if they were to remain interested in the affairs of mortals they would be breaking the balance of the world. Great Ancestors were only called upon when the Three Great Races were in great trouble – or when there was information that even they would be interested in.
The Barbarian Race wasn't a race of brainless buffoons. They weren't called Barbarians by the Elementals and the Ancients because they were idiots. When it came to the race with superior intellect, it was undoubtedly the Ancients. They were strong and very innovative, capable of creating mysterious medications that could turn the previously ordinary humans into extraordinary.
The Elementals were also intelligent, but their intellect wasn't the kind that brought about new inventions or changed the world. Their intelligence had to do with their comprehensive abilities when it came to the elements. Unlike Ancients, Elementals didn't have the ability to use more than one element. There was no dual elemental user in the Elemental Race. Yet it was because of this that they were so powerful. Their superior comprehensive abilities pushed them to the summits with their elements. For unlike the Ancients who never truly master the power of their elements, Elementals always reached the peak of Elemental Comprehension. That was their greatest strength, and that was why even with their inherently weaker physiques they were still able to go head to head with the Ancients after all these years.
So what about the Barbarians? What was their intelligence? The Ancients had their deep scheming and innovative minds. The Elementals had their Elemental Comprehension. And the Barbarians had their Battle Intelligence. That was their intelligence. It sounded trivial, but it was not. Barbarians were so called because they were beings who loved to battle. They weren't ugly, grotesque looking creatures that were of no appeal to anyone. In fact, most Barbarians were very good looking and exceptional physical specimen. Place them anywhere in the world and there would be millions of men and women craving for their attention. They were very good looking creatures, just like the Elementals and the Ancients. But when it came to battles, this beauty was tossed outside the window. Barbarians had extremely strong bodies, and they had battle awareness that neither the Ancients nor the Elementals possessed. Not only were they able to combat members of other races at a higher level of power than themselves, they were able to read the flow of battle so accurately and adapt to any unexpected changes with such speed that none of the races could match up to.
Luckily for the humans, the Three great Races weren't populous. And their numbers kept dwindling over the years. So they slowly disappeared from the world.
But the Three Great Races hadn't disappeared. They had difficulty procreating, but they still lived in this world. After all, this was their world before it was the world of humans. And though some of the Elementals, one of the Three Great Races, chose to mingle with the humans, the Ancients kept to themselves. The Barbarians mostly used the humans as breeding tools, but they didn't live amongst the humans like they did in the past. Now the Barbarians had returned to their home, and they performed many tasks from there. As for how they still procreated with humans, the secret lay in the greedy humans themselves. For some members of that race were so selfish that they were willing to sell their own people for a few coins. This group was known as the Black Market.
The home of the Barbarians was a small one. It was called Intersection, for it was right in the middle of three lofty mountains. The entire region was covered in a fog that robbed away the vision of all who dared venture into it. And the city itself was covered by a barrier. In fact, the fog was nothing but a part of the great barrier that concealed and protected Intersection. Any human who was foolish enough to venture into this place was either killed by the numerous ferocious Magical Beasts that roamed it, or was dealt with by the Barbarian Border Patrol Team.
But for a human to survive the caliber of Magical Beasts around Intersection was nothing short of a miracle, and the Barbarian Border Patrol Team seldom had anything to do. For the beasts that lived on the three mountains were all powerful, and there were several Mythic Class Magical Beasts among them! Each mountain housed at least 100 Mythic Classes, 50 Pseudo Legendary Classes, and 25 Legendary Class Magical Beasts! This was a number that would dumbfound and terrify any human who heard it. After all, it took only one Pseudo Legendary Class Resurrection Cat to reduce a village at the peak of the human world into a shadow of its past strength. Yet that wasn't even the peak of power on these mountains. For each mountain had a ruler, and each ruler was a beast at the level of a Pseudo Phenom! These beasts were called Sacred Beasts, and they could easily destroy the human race. But they weren't known to the humans, and to the Barbarians they were nothing but animals to be hunted for food and pleasure. In fact, a group of Barbarians were out hunting right now.
On one of the Three Mountains called Ice Frost Mountain because it always snowed on this mountain, there were three healthy looking Barbarians riding some large Tigers. These tigers were easily taller than the adult man, and they were at least three meters high! Their fur coats were a beautiful combination of blue with several black stripes running along it, and their eyes were a beautiful golden color. These were Golden Eyed Tigers! They were creatures not known by the human world, but famous amongst the Three Great Races. These beasts were born with their strength already in the Mythic Realm, and by the time they reached maturity they would be Legendary Class Magical Beasts! They were powerful beasts, but these powerful creatures were only serving as mounts for these three Barbarians.
"Leave the mounts here. We'd finish the rest of the journey on foot." The Barbarian who sat on the largest beast spoke up. His eyes were red, just like Number 3's, and he was very good looking. He had long red hair that extended all the way to his buttocks, and almost covered his entire back. He was almost two meters tall, and had an extremely impressive build. He wasn't bulky, but lean with well sculpted muscles. Even on Ice Frost Mountain which was covered in snow and ice, this man was almost naked! He wore only a pair of trunks that covered his genitals, and had a large axe strapped to his back. However, apart from these, he was wearing nothing else. This man was the Lord of the Barbarians!
"Yes Lord," the other two Barbarians who were with him didn't hesitate to dismount like their leader. They were even taller than their leader. Both of them were easily over two meters tall, and had very bulky physiques. Unlike the Barbarian Lord whose physique was a healthy mixture of strength and speed, these two had physiques that suggested that they were full of strength and lacking in agility. Their arms were large enough to easily crush rocks just by leaning onto them, and their legs seemed to hold power that could easily crush their mounts to dust. Just like their Lord, they wore only trunks, with each man opting to use the weapon their Lord used.
Soon all three had dismounted. They tied their Golden Eyed Tigers to large tree and left them with some food. Golden Eyed Tigers were beasts of the Fire Element, and had no problems surviving in the cold. Once that was done they moved on ahead without the Tigers.