by Daman
A soldier was currently kneeling behind the red-haired man, as he patiently waited for further commands from his Commander.
“Where is Marcus?”
Elias asked the soldier without turning around.
Faced with this question, the soldier let out faint smile. Although the soldier could not see Elias’s face, there was also a hint of amusement in Elias’s expression when he asked this question to the soldier.
“The prince is… well, uh…. contained by the… ehem, female soldiers.”
The soldier hesitantly replied with red face, as it was mostly his squad’s female elementalists that were the ones who were pestering the prince.
Elias could not contain himself anymore and burst out in a belly full of laughter!
“Hahaha, that kid! No matter where we go, he still has his female followers pestering him! Anyways, this will lighten the mood before we set out for the first battle, so it’s fine! Marcus needs to solve this problem on his own, otherwise once he gets married, I’m afraid his wife will leave him after the first day! Hahaha!”
Seeing the Commander himself laugh, the soldier let out a grin as well. He knew how popular the Prince was with the ladies of court, and that seemed to extend to all young females of the kingdom.
At the age of sixteen years old, with milky-white skin and raven-black hair, along with his dark emerald eyes, Marcus was more of a beautiful male than handsome!
Combined with his compassionate personality and amiable attitude towards others, Marcus found it difficult to directly reject any female’s advances.
*step* *step*
Hearing the soft footsteps, both men turned around to look at the newcomer.
Seeing who it was, the soldier quickly saluted Elias and returned back to his post. He knew that these two powerful men would like to be in private, so he swiftly departed.
“It appears that wherever we go, carnage and bloodshed seems to follow us, old friend.”
The newcomer stated, as he continued to slowly walk towards the cliff where Elias was standing.
The newcomer had dark purple hair mixed with strands of grey, and eyes the color of black jade. With a thin face, he had a sharp jawline and excluded an aura that was no less authoritative than Elias.
He was also equally as tall as Elias, but lacked the muscular structure of his friend.
In response to his friend, Elias simply looked towards the sky and said.
“This war feels different, Solin. Our enemy this time is the Kingdom of Gastron, but we’ve always been on peaceful terms with them, so why did they suddenly declare war on us? It just doesn’t make any sense.”
Elias did not feel the need to hide anything from Solin, as he was his closest friend since childhood and they had both fought together in countless battles!
“What does your brother say about this?”
Solin inquired as he wrinkled his eyebrows.
“My brother is suspicious as well, but as the King, no matter how false of a threat, he has to send an army to defend our Kingdom of Xuria and its people. He fears that someone is trying to cause unrest in Xuria, but without any proof, he does not dare to accuse any of the Nobles.”
Elias solemnly responded as he gazed at the horizon.
It was not surprising that in a world dominated by power, even Kings had to be wary of their subjects, as the moment they showed weakness, was the moment they would be overthrown!
It was well known that familial lineage was integral in determining the nature of both one’s element and the degree of talent they would have in cultivating it. That was why as a general rule most Royal families had many geniuses under their care.
Solin silently stood next to Elias without saying a single word, and simply waited for his friend to finish pondering within his thoughts.
Solin was the son of a servant working in the Royal Palace, and would usually play by himself in the courtyard, when one day, a red-haired boy suddenly approached him.
The red-haired boy had a large grin on his face as he cheerfully introduced himself to Solin. Although Solin had been wary of the boy’s noble status, it soon became apparent that the red-haired boy did not care about Solin’s background.
Once Solin awakened to his element, it was discovered that he had an extremely high talent in cultivating, despite his commoner blood. So, Elias begged his father, the King at that time, to allow Solin to train in the cultivation techniques of the family.
Usually, when faced with such a request, the King would have denied it even if it was his son asking him, but with Solin’s talent in the Wind element, he knew that his son would have a powerful companion once they grew up.
Soon, the two boys developed an unbreakable bond and entered the Royal Army together!
As such, many years had passed with countless battles and skirmishes, which led these two men to stand here. They were the true geniuses of their Kingdom and with the strength to back it; they soon became one of the most feared duo in the Royal Army!
………….
“Uncle! So this is where you were! I looking all over the barracks for you!”
Hearing the melodious voice of his nephew, Elias broke free from his daze, and turned around to face Marcus with a large grin on his face.
Solin similarly gave a faint smile at the spectacle in front of him.
“The barracks are only so small, and you should have been out of them after a few minutes, so I wonder what could have kept you there for so long?”
Elias inquired with an amused tone, as he raised a single eyebrow.
Marcus’s face suddenly turned bright red, and he stumbled on how to respond back to his Uncle.
Seeing the blushing Marcus, Elias decided to stop his teasing for the moment. He was glad that his nephew still had the innocence of youth, and not the mindset of a power hungry cultivator.
He would have kept his nephew away from this war, but his brother wished for his son to experience the brutality of war. Otherwise, Marcus would never have that ruthlessness and would be devoured by the nobles in the Royal Palace.
“Hahaha, I was just teasing you, kid. Just remember to stay on the other side and just observe the battle! There is no need for you to get involved, as you are still in the Spiritual stage. Make sure to stay safe, and I will also dispatch a contingent of guards for you.”
Elias chuckled as he patted Marcus on his shoulder.
“Uncle, I would like to fight as well.”
With this one sentence, Marcus’s entire demeanor changed.
While everyone would think of him to be a shy youth who would often get harassed by girls; however, within the boy ran the blood of the Royal Family, so how could he not have the same power as the rest of his family?
Although he was only sixteen years of age, he was already at the ninth rank of the Spiritual stage with half a foot entering the Vajra stage!
He was almost at the point of breakthrough, and if not for the war suddenly spreading across the kingdoms, then Marcus would be currently training to break into the Vajra stage!
“Sigh… Marcus, I know exactly how strong you are and I’m sure that none of the elite soldiers here would even be a match for you, but you’re still the prince! The future of this kingdom is within your hands, and unless absolutely required, you should not carelessly charge into battle. You still haven’t mastered our family’s legacy, so just observe for now. Is that understood?”
Hearing the stern voice of Elias who had drilled Martial Arts into him, Marcus subconsciously nodded and bowed his head in acceptance.
A loud horn abruptly sounded in the air, as it startled everyone.
“Elias, it is time.”
Solin quietly whispered next to Elias.
“I think the world has forgotten who the Twin Demons are… ”
Elias muttered, as a savage grin spread across his face.
Chapter 9 – A Painful Past
With the horn blowing, everyone knew it was finally time for battle to start, and wave
s of killing intent could be seen spreading throughout the camp. Elias’s grey eyes flashed with a strange glow, as he released his essence into the air!
This was what he lived for, the thrill of the battle and slaughtering of people! He was not Royalty, not a Commander, not an Uncle or a brother, but simply a man who wanted to test the limits of his Martial Arts in the blood of his enemies!
“Get ready Solin, We will depart once the sun sets.”
Elias quietly whispered to his brother with a slight smile on his face, as he eagerly awaited the start of the battle.
……………………..
While the red sun was slowly setting, a massive army silently stood at the edge of the terrain as it faced a similarly sized opponent. Although it was eerily quiet, the bloodlust in the atmosphere could not be mistaken.
At the forefront of one of the armies, stood a mighty onyx black warhorse with a tall rider dressed in a dark blood-red suit of armor.
Another warhorse with a pure white coat stepped up behind Elias, with its rider carrying a monstrous long bow behind his back. This was Solin.
Elias suddenly unsheathed his massive sword and raised it towards the heavens. He spoke a single word, but that word echoed throughout the entire battlefield, causing the hearts of the soldiers to tremble in fear.
“SLAUGHTER!”
…………………
Meanwhile, Marcus silently watched from the sidelines. He restrained himself from charging towards the battle behind his Uncle, and instead just observed the two armies. His guards remained on high alert behind him.
…………………..
It was a complete massacre on the battlefield!
It had only been a few minutes since it started, but the smell of blood and gore had deeply infused with the air.
Desperate cries of agony, and amputated limbs could be seen everywhere, as rivers of blood flowed around the corpses and turned the ground to a dark crimson hue.
It was as if hell had descended upon the mortal world, and in the center of this carnage, stood two figures bathed in the blood of their enemies!
While one figure cruelly butchered the soldiers apart like meat, another one used his vicious bow to puncture the throats of men.
They were aptly named, for they were given the title of the Twin Demons!
There was no sign of humanity within their eyes, and one could only guess how many people the two demons had killed, in order to achieve this level of brutality and savagery against their own kind!
Within the detached consciousness of Elias, he could not help but think that something was very wrong here.
The Kingdom of Gastron should have known that both him and Solin would definitely be dispatched to the war, but they still sent common soldiers against them.
Elias continued to slaughter his enemies, but the unease within his heart continued to grow.
……………………..
On the other side of the enemy headquarters, a mysterious trio silently walked towards the center of the battlefield.
No signs of emotion flashed across their eyes as they walked through the carnage and bloodshed. The most shocking fact was that whenever a loose arrow or an elemental attack came their way, it was quietly incinerated before even reaching a foot from them!
The trio wore bright silver robes, and against the darkness of the night, their robes shone brightly like a collage of moons. Hidden under their robes, it was plain to see that all three of them were completely armored in metallic plates.
Two of them were male, while the third one was clearly a female from her slight figure and the shape of her body.
They did not exude any aura, so it was difficult to tell what their cultivation stage was!
The trio abruptly stopped after a few seconds, and in the hand of the woman, a slim longbow appeared from thin air.
The bow was decorated with intricate patterns and edged with silver lining. The string was taut and extremely thick, and one could imagine the extraordinary strength that would be required to draw that string!
Condensing her essence into the shape of an arrow, the woman silently took aim while the essence around the arrow increased by the very second. The air around the arrow started to distort at sheer amount of essence being gathered!
Suddenly, the earth quivered and the surrounding wind screeched as if being pierced by a thousand needles. The knees of every soldier on the battlefield trembled under the suffocating pressure, and even Elias and Solin were frozen by this oppressive display of power!
Their hearts felt like they were being crushed from the inside, and for someone to be capable of suppressing them both to this extent, it meant that the enemy was at least at the Saint stage!
The hearts of everyone on the battlefield suddenly froze.
Even the enemy Commander of Gastron did not know who these people were, and he hesitated to give any further commands to his soldiers, so he simply awaited the next actions of these ultimate experts.
Once the elemental arrow was buzzing with raw power, the woman quietly took aim, and suddenly released the arrow!
BOOOM!
The sound of a loud explosion erupted once the arrow was released from the bow!
It was right at this moment that Solin realized just where this arrow was aimed at. The only reason he could tell was due to his extraordinary talent in the cultivation of the Wind element.
Solin felt numb to his core, as he thought about the repercussion of what would happen to his kingdom if the arrow pierced through its intended target.
All blood drained from his face as he realized that his closest friend would soon die, and at the same time he would have to helplessly watch his brother fall.
Just as the elemental arrow was about to pierce Elias, Solin forcefully shattered his elemental core!
*CRACK*
Solin’s blood started to violently surge through his veins, and his soul started to separate from his body as it develop a separate realm of its own.
His purple hair wildly floated in air, as his emerald eyes flashed with an intense light!
Solin’s heart pounded against his chest when he felt the uncontrollable amount of power flowing through him.
He had just entered the Saint stage!
This transformation had all happened within a fraction of a second, and with no time to lose, Solin instantly rushed in front of Elias just in time to take the full-blown might of the elemental arrow!
BOOOM!
Even with the might of the Saint stage, Solin felt a soul-crushing amount of pain wreck through his body!
“ARGGGHHH!”
Both of Solin’s arms were bent at odd angles, and even the bones of his legs could clearly be seen against the dark red blood covering his body. Solin coughed up a mouthful of blood before spitting it on the ground.
What was this?
Solin thought while hanging on to his wavering life force.
This was not the might of an expert in the Saint stage, but the absolute domination of a Heavenly stage elementalist!
This whole time, Elias had not even realized that he was the real target of the elemental arrow.
As he looked down upon the almost lifeless body of the man whom he called brother, and the one who risked everything including his life to protect him, Elias’s heart burned with rage at the person responsible for this!
“Run…Eli…as… Heav…”
Rasping these words as he struggled with each breath, Solin weakly reached out his hand towards Elias, but suddenly collapsed as his soul left his mortal body.
When he saw his brother take his last breath, Elias felt raging wrath churn his insides, as the fury within his eyes burned with an inextinguishable will!
“UNCLE!”
A youthful voice suddenly boomed in the silence of the battlefield, as it shook Elias from his murderous thoughts.
He knew that the enemy was powerful if they could so easily defeat Solin even when he had sacrificed his core in exchange for th
e tremendous boost of power! Elias guessed that the enemy was at least in the Heavenly stage to be able kill Solin in a single strike!
And moreover, there were three of them!
If all of them were at the Heavenly stage, how could Elias even dare to hope of surviving this battle?
His first and foremost thought was to immediately escape with Marcus!
When Marcus had abruptly bellowed, the mysterious trio of the supreme experts were suddenly startled.
They guessed that he was also a member of the Royal Xurian Family, as he referred to the other man as his ‘uncle’.
Another elemental arrow swiftly appeared within the woman’s hand and she immediately released the arrow the moment it formed, without giving anyone the chance to register what was happening.