Ancient Empire Calendar, Year 1833
Years had passed like water since the war began in 1830.
Sometimes the invaders, sometimes the defenders, claimed victory.
Two million soldiers under the command of Krael II Kislavein, the 66th Dynasty Lord of the Kislavein Dynasty who started the war, were moving by ship to conquer the Northern Lands.
In the year 1833, the Kislavein armies landed in the Western Region of the Northern Lands.
Marilin greeted the Kislavein army that had landed.
Marilin knelt before Ricardo, bowed her head, and offered her respects and greetings.
"I present my most sincere respects, greetings, and love to Krael II Kislavein, the 66th Dynasty Lord of the Kislavein Dynasty."
Ricardo was overjoyed to see his one true love after all these years.
"Rise, My Lady, so I may see your beautiful face more closely."
Marilin stood up. All those years had taken nothing from her beauty.
"I am very happy to see you, Dynasty Lord."
As the husband and wife reunited, Ricardo's eye caught someone.
He saw Jamier Kislavein, who had recently lost his son Jacop in the Pass Battle. He went to him and spoke with a sincere and sorrowful voice.
"I share the pain of your loss, Lord Jamier. Your son Jacop was one of my closest friends. We fought shoulder to shoulder in the War of the Heirs and in many battles afterwards."
Jamier, burying his pain deep inside, replied in a manner befitting palace protocols.
"In wars, losses are always incurred. Until now, millions of fathers have buried their sons. I am no exception, of course. But if I do not die in this war, I wish to spend the rest of my life with my grandchildren, entrusted to me by Jacop."
Ricardo respected this wish.
"I will ensure this wish of yours comes true. Jacop's children are also my nephews. Their development and service to the Kislavein Dynasty is a duty for us all. After us, they will rule these lands."
Jamier bowed respectfully and wanted to leave. As he turned around, Ricardo channeled his mana into his own brain and Jamier's, asking a question through telepathy.
"There is something I wish to ask, but you are not obliged to answer, Lord Jamier. Why did you allow Jacop to go to his death? You could have sacrificed yourself in his place. You know the saying: fathers should not have to bury their sons."
Jamier swallowed hard and replied.
"Because he told me, through telepathy, not to interfere. He told me to respect his determination and courage. Deep down, I wanted to object, but he stopped me. And as a father, even though my heart bled, I had to know my place."
"I understand. I am sorry again. My condolences. May your lineage prosper," said Ricardo.
Jamier struggled not to cry and walked away quickly.
The Kislavein armies rested for a week before embarking on the campaign to Ottukent.
This period was less for the army to rest and more for Ricardo and Marilin to spend time alone together.
At the end of the week, the Kislavein armies, rested and renewed, set out on the Ottukent Campaign.
The campaign lasted months. All villages, forts, and cities that opposed them and showed resistance were destroyed. Their populations were put to the sword. Homes were plundered and set ablaze. Many people, regardless of age or gender, were raped by Kislavein soldiers.
Meanwhile, upon learning that the Kislavein Dynasty Lord was conducting conquests in the Northern Lands, the Ashterah armies under Hakuda Ashterah's command mobilized and continued their own conquests.
Jarl Bayındır Han IV, the Turvig Dynasty Lord, remained silent in the face of all these invasions and prepared for the battle he would wage against the Kislavein Dynasty Lord.
After all these battles, two and a half million Kislavein soldiers and half a million Ashterah soldiers reached the walls of Ottukent, the center of the Turvig Dynasty.
Ricardo looked at the walls of Ottukent. In the memories of his ancestor Harloumen VIII, he had seen that this city did not exist a thousand years ago. He wanted to finish the campaigns here and quickly conquer the Southern Lands.
"Good, we've finally arrived. No need to waste time. I will destroy the walls; the rest is up to you."
As Ricardo prepared to destroy the walls, he was stopped by his master, Eduardo.
"What is it, Master?"
"Dynasty Lord, allow your soldiers to fight. You have finished most of the battles yourself throughout the campaigns. Your soldiers are very eager to fight, but they have begun to feel worthless in the face of your one-sided absolute power. Please respect their Warrior's Pride. We beg you, allow us to fight."
When the Kislavein soldiers echoed the same sentiments, Ricardo found these objections very illogical and foolish.
"While I could end the war with no losses, while every single one of them could return home safely, are they really this eager to fight and die?" he thought.
Ricardo stepped back.
"Very well, so be it."
He drew his sword, channeled his mana into his vocal cords, and amplified his voice.
"ATTACK!"
The Kislavein and Ashterah armies began their assault on the city.
Ricardo, as promised, did not join the attack and watched his soldiers fight.
"I hope we don't regret this," said Ricardo.
As the Kislavein and Ashterah soldiers ran to reach the walls, millions of arrows, stones, and spells were hurled at them from atop the walls.
Soldiers shaped their Auras, covering their bodies with Aura armor. The incoming arrows, stones, and spells wounded some lightly or severely, while killing others.
By the time they reached the walls, their total losses were three hundred thousand.
Soldiers who reached the walls began climbing using siege towers and ladders. The battle raged.
As warriors climbed the walls, archers and mages shot arrows and spells at the Turvig soldiers on the walls.
The arrows and spells that hit the Turvig soldiers defending the walls killed tens of thousands of them.
Arrows and spells fired from the walls hit not only ordinary warriors but also some commanders.
Edwyn Kislavein, son of Tyrel, was crushed to death under a boulder thrown from the walls.
"MY SON! MY SON! NO! NO! OPEN YOUR EYES! DON'T GIVE UP! PLEASE DON'T DIE! I BEG YOU, DON'T DIE! AAAH! AAAH! PLEASE DON'T DIE!"
An arrow lodged in Eduardo's hand, but he pulled it out, channeled his mana into his hand, and cauterized the wound with a fire spell, continuing to fight.
Adolf Fraus, father of Heinricht, was severely wounded by a fire spell that exploded right beside him.
"FATHER! FATHER! It's okay, you're okay! I'll save you!"
Heinricht carried his father from the battlefield and did not leave his side until his treatment was finished.
Adolf died from his wounds while the battle still raged.
Kislavein soldiers who reached the top of the walls fought Turvig soldiers to the death. Every hour, hundreds of thousands of soldiers from both sides perished.
Even the commanders, each worth tens of thousands of soldiers and being the decisive factors in the battle, were among the dead.
Tyrel, swinging his sword with the pain and rage of his son's death, slaughtered over a hundred thousand Turvig soldiers before finally succumbing to exhaustion and massive blood loss.
Jarl Bayındır Han killed tens of thousands of Kislavein soldiers who reached the walls. As he continued fighting, he encountered two Kislavein commanders.
Eduardo Kislavein and George Kislavein.
"Hah, look at my luck. Two more names to add to my list of slain commanders."
Eduardo and George attacked Bayındır from the right and left with rhythmic movements.
Both managed to wound Bayındır Han severely. However, Bayındır Han struck his fist, coated with his aura, with all his might into the heart of the old and tired Eduardo.
"AAAAHH!"
The impact of the blow stopped his heart, and he died on the spot.
Eduardo Kislavein, Ricardo's Second Master and son of Richard Kislavein, Ricardo's First Master, was dead.
When Marilin, fighting at one end of the walls, saw her father's death, she went mad with rage.
"FATHER!"
With bloodlust clouding her eyes like a monster, Marilin fought at a speed imperceptible to ordinary human eyes, tearing apart anyone who stood in her way to reach Bayındır with her whip.
"What kind of woman is this?"
Bayındır sensed how dangerous the woman advancing towards him was.
"If I don't run, I die. But if I run, I lose the war and die anyway. Hah, if I'm going to die either way, I prefer to die fighting."
Bayındır wanted to go on the defensive to deflect Marilin's attack, who was approaching faster than a galloping horse. However, George, constantly targeting his vital points by his side, wouldn't allow Bayındır to defend.
"ENOUGH, DAMN IT! GET AWAY FROM ME, INSECT!"
With a blow struck with all his might, Bayındır sent George flying off the walls.
George did not scream; he did not fear death. As he fell from a height of meters, his bones shattered, piercing his organs and flesh.
George Kislavein took his last few breaths with difficulty and then died in agony.
"BAYINDIR!"
Marilin swung her whip at lightning speed from a height of meters, shattering the walls and thousands of Turvig soldiers upon them.
"YOU AGAIN, WHORE?"
While trying to deflect the relentless whip attacks, Bayındır looked for an opportunity to kill Marilin. But the opportunity never came, and he was severely wounded until he could no longer move.
Finally, Bayındır, severely wounded, knelt down. As he awaited his approaching death, a shadow blocked the sunlight falling upon him. When he looked up, he saw Marilin before him.
"I have killed many soldiers and commanders, but I never thought my death would come at the hands of a woman."
Marilin brought her hands to Bayındır's throat to break his neck.
"Die."
With a single motion, Marilin broke Jarl Bayındır Han's neck.
"If only I could have said my last words... Now everyone will remember me as the man killed by a woman, and they'll probably think I was some raging misogynist. Ah well... I'm dead and I've lost. The North belongs to the Kislavein now. Come, beautiful death, take me to your sweet sleep and carry me to the skies."
The last Dynasty Lord of the Turvig Dynasty,
Jarl Bayındır Han IV, was dead.
Marilin cut off Bayındır's head, impaled it on the tip of a spear, and raised it high. She channeled her mana into her vocal cords and amplified her voice.
"I, MARILIN KISLAVEIN, HAVE TAKEN THE HEAD OF JARL BAYINDIR HAN, DYNASTY LORD OF THE TURVIG!"
After their Lord's death, the Turvig soldiers' morale collapsed, and they lost their will to fight. But they knew the fate of the entire city population if they gave up now.
The Turvig soldiers fought valiantly until their last drop of blood. Not one fell until their final drop of blood had spilled onto the ground.
At one point, when they came close to repelling the Kislavein soldiers, Ricardo took action.
"Look at this disgrace. After all that talk about warrior's honor, they came to the brink of a disgraceful defeat. Anyway, time to put an end to this nonsense."
Ricardo shaped his Aura. Hundreds of thousands of Aura arrows, the color of Dark Blood Red, rained down upon the city.
Not only the Turvig soldiers but also the Kislavein and the few surviving Ashterah soldiers were in utter shock.
Each Aura arrow struck a Turvig soldier, claiming their life.
When the rain of arrows stopped, there were a total of three and a half million corpses on and at the foot of the walls.
When Ricardo descended from the skies onto the walls beside Marilin, the surviving soldiers looked at him with a mix of fear, admiration, and shame.
Seeing his soldiers' embarrassment, Ricardo decided to make a speech to dispel this negative atmosphere.
"DO NOT BE ASHAMED! YOU FOUGHT VALIANTLY! EACH ONE OF YOU HAS MADE ME EXTREMELY PROUD! IF YOU WERE MY OWN CHILDREN, I COULD NOT BE PROUDER! DO NOT BOW YOUR HEADS! I WANT TO HEAR YOUR VICTORY ROARS!"
The Kislavein and Ashterah soldiers roared like lions.
"HURRRRAAAAAAAAAA!"
"THAT'S IT!" said Ricardo.
Ricardo looked first at the city of Ottukent, then at his own soldiers.
"Everyone seems sated with blood today. Even if I allowed it, it looks like no one wants to carry out further plunder and massacre."
Marilin confirmed this.
"Yes, we have lost too many of our kinsmen. Enough for today."
Ricardo and Marilin descended from the walls. The Kislavein and Ashterah soldiers entered the city in a controlled and calm manner.
Led by Ricardo and Marilin, the surviving one million soldiers stopped before the Turvig palace. They were greeted by a woman who knelt and bowed her head.
"She will probably beg for mercy," said Vereina Vamparos.
"Probably," added Ricardo, stepping forward a few paces.
"Raise your head, Lady. Introduce yourself. Who are you?"
The woman raised her head. She was in her early forties, pale, but still bearing traces of the beauty of her youth.
"My name is Ashina Turvig."
"So, someone from the Turvig Dynasty remains. And who exactly are you?"
Ashina answered Ricardo's question.
"I am Bayındır Han's mother."
"And what do you want? If it's mercy, don't worry. We won't be massacring anyone today. Enough people have died," said Ricardo.
Ashina's hopes rose.
"Then, can you also show mercy to my grandchildren?"
"Your grandchildren?" said Ricardo.
"Yes. My entire family—my husband, my brothers, my cousins, and many others—were killed in the war by you or your soldiers. From my family, from the Turvig Dynasty, only my two grandchildren remain. I beg you."
"Are your grandchildren male or female?" asked Ricardo.
Ashina Turvig swallowed hard and answered hesitantly.
"One boy, one girl. But both are still in the cradle, still babies."
Ricardo replied ruthlessly.
"The girl will live. But the boy will die. As long as he lives, the Turvig Dynasty will continue."
Ashina couldn't breathe. In a choked voice:
"I beg you... You took my whole family from me. I'll do anything. I'll even be your wife if you want. I beg you, don't kill my grandson!"
Ricardo considered this proposal favorably.
"Very well. If you become my wife, I won't kill your male grandson. I will raise him as a Blood Bastard. He will never marry, and his line will not continue. Do you accept?"
Ashina bowed her head.
"As long as he lives, I accept everything."
Ricardo and Ashina were married in a lavish ceremony. During the ceremony, Ricardo gave Ashina's granddaughter to the Blood Bastards.
"Raise this child as a good and loyal warrior," he commanded.
"As you command, Dynasty Lord," said the Commander of the Blood Bastards.
On the evening of the wedding, Ricardo and Ashina were together. Throughout the sex, Ashina was emotionless and numb. She didn't moan, didn't make a sound, didn't react.
Finally, even Ricardo grew tired of Ashina's soulless demeanor and left the room.
Ricardo went to his beloved wife Marilin, who always awaited him with love and lust, and spent the rest of the night with her.
The next day, a messenger arrived in Ottukent.
"My wife Aybüke Costin is pregnant. This is wonderful!"
The commanders bowed their heads in congratulations. At that moment, Vereina Vamparos also entered the room, her face beaming.
"Dynasty Lord, I am pregnant. I am carrying your child."
Ricardo had just experienced the joy of the news that he would become a father, and now he experienced the same joy again seconds later.
"THESE ARE WONDERFUL NEWS! THE SPIRITS OF MY ANCESTORS ARE REWARDING ME FOR MY CONQUESTS!"
Marilin was emotionless towards all these events, but seeing the smile on Ricardo's face, she stroked her womb and silently prayed to become pregnant once more.
"Spirits of my Ancestors, grant me a child too, so I can bring this happiness to my one true love again."
Marilin's prayer would not go unanswered, but there was still time for the answer.
The news that Ricardo would become a father again spread through the army, and everyone was in a very good mood.
While millions of people perished in the Five Lands, new lives were taking the place of those lost.
"Everyone is in such a good mood. This is a perfect opportunity to introduce Freya to the Dynasty Lord," said Rappa.
Freya was very anxious about this.
"Please, let's not. He'll kill me."
Rappa calmed Freya down.
"Don't be afraid. Our Dynasty Lord always rewards those who succeed. He will reward you too. Come on, besides, I can't hide you forever. He will find out eventually."
Freya was finally convinced and, although fearful, came before Ricardo.
"I greet the Kislavein Dynasty Lord. This is the woman I mentioned."
Ricardo examined Freya.
"Yes, a very beautiful woman. And hiding behind that beauty is a terrible fury, hatred, psychopathy, and a formidable intelligence."
Rappa looked at Ricardo in astonishment, who had listed Freya's traits in a single glance.
"This is incredible. So, Dynasty Lord, what is your decision?"
"Very well. I cannot take her as my wife; the social status difference is too great. But I can take Freya as my concubine. The lineage created by those carrying both our blood will be very strong."
Freya was so stunned and excited she was speechless, not knowing what to say.
"But... my ancestor killed your ancestor a thousand years ago."
"I don't care about that anymore. I will no longer live in the shadow of the past. I am taking you as my Concubine, Freya."
The union of Ricardo and Freya merged the lineages of Harloumen VIII and Frank II.