"It's good to see you being so obedient," Joshua said with a faint smile.
"Is there anything else, Father?" Val asked calmly. It seemed like losing his identity and being betrayed by his father didn't hurt him at all!
"Yes, there is. You will be dispatched to the Northern Frontier by the end of this month," Joshua revealed, "So, I suggest you start packing your bags and be prepared."
The Kingdom of Victoria was divided into three main parts: the Outer Region, the Inner Region, and the Divine Capital. The Divine Capital served as the residence for the Empress and the royal family. The Inner Region was regarded as the safest area for humans in Eldrich because there were no dungeons nearby. On the other hand, the Outer Region was scattered with strongholds, while the wilderness stretched between these strongholds, harboring dangerous dungeons.
The Kingdom had its fair share of troubles.
The Durcal Empire, consisting of Devils, posed the biggest threat to the Kingdom of Victoria.
The Northern Frontier acted as the primary and most fortified line of defense against this formidable enemy.
Skirmishes between the two forces were a common occurrence in that region.
It was considered to be quite a deadly place where normies dying was a common occurrence.
Joshua didn't know that Val had become a Bloodline User. In his eyes, Val was still a normie. Yet, he was sending him to the Northern Frontier. It was clear that he was so cruel that he would even send his own flesh and blood to his doom!
"You are sentencing me to death!"
Val roared in response!
"A normie like me will undoubtedly end up as nothing more than cannon fodder in that place. You're tossing me into the jaws of death. Father, how could you do this to me?!"
In reality, Val, with his newfound skills, could be considered a Bloodline User, and Bloodline Users can survive and even thrive in the harsh environment of the Frontier. Not to mention, the Whitemore might have a say in the IronSpire Stronghold, but they couldn't push their weight in the Frontier. In that place, Val could use his bloodline skills without holding back!
For someone like him, surviving in the Northern Frontier wouldn't be the perilous struggle he portrayed.
There was an actual reason behind his act, though. He wanted to gauge the depth of his place in his father's heart. Based on the upcoming answer, he was ready to discard the last bit of filial piety he had for his father.
Joshua was really a special existence in Val's heart.
To better understand their complex relationship, one must know about their past.
Joshua found an injured and unconscious woman while he was returning home through the wilderness. At that time, no trains were established in the Outer Region. One could only travel by foot or horse-driven carriage. But Bloodline Users were faster than that, so they tended to travel on foot in urgent situations.
He brought her home and saved her life.
After recuperating, she wanted to leave, but Joshua forced her to stay. When she resisted, he forced himself on her.
Val's existence was the result of a painful incident—a rape. It wasn't without a reason that his mother despised him. He was a constant reminder of her most painful memory.
She, a woman of unparalleled beauty, was reduced to a captive breeder and kept confined within the walls of a mansion like a pet. She felt that she was losing her mind.
And whenever she saw Val, she would take her anger out on him by cursing him.
Val was a murderous spirit in a child's body. So he ignored her. He didn't know how to sympathize with her. After all, he was not a virtuous person himself.
Nevertheless, he could recognize that his father was the one at fault.
One day, when his mother pleaded with him, he made the daring decision to set her free. She ran away without looking back, leaving only an old, tattered black book in his hand.
For granting her freedom, Val faced severe punishment.
He knew that he would be punished for saving her, but he still saved her. It was to repay her for giving him a second chance at life. She could have tried to kill the fetus when it was in her womb. She could have hurt him. She could have refused to let him drink her milk. But she didn't do any of that. After being physically tortured by her captive for years, she only dared to curse him. And even her curses were quite childish. She was a stupid person that didn't even know how to curse properly. Maybe she succeeded in touching Val's heart or he couldn't stand her stupidity any longer that he helped her escape.
Anyway, he couldn't feel pain so no matter how he was punished, it didn't matter.
Even if they deep-fried him, he would just yawn and die.
At the tender age of six, he endured whipping and was locked away in a cell where he received no food. He nearly starved to death before his father ultimately rescued him.
Val's mother had escaped his clutches.
A potential talented bloodline user, Joshua couldn't afford to lose him too.
Then for 10 straight years, this man had fed him, clothed him, and even taught him. From him, he had learned a lot of things. Joshua had noticed Val's defects when Val was still a young child. He had tasked the private priest of the Whitemores to cure Val. When that failed, he taught Val the art of mimicking emotions. It was thanks to him that Val, who could barely perfectly express emotions, fooled those around him into thinking he was just like them. But he wasn't. He was different, but because of his perfect acting, it had gone unnoticed so far. Except for himself and his father, no one knew that Val was a monster with the Unfeeling and Emotional Impairment Traits.
He didn't have a father in his previous life, but Joshua made him experience how shitty and great it was like to have a father figure in life.
That's why, even after what he had experienced so far, he still had one last bit of filial pity towards him. All of Joshua's efforts had only managed to earn that from him. But that might cease to exist depending on how he is answered!