It is said that the world must rely on the strong to function. The strong are the shield that protects them from aggressors and the sword that wages battle against their nemesis. And due to their strength, they had the will necessary to rule the world, but strength is not the only factor. Leadership required cunning, compassion, and collaboration. And not all of the warriors standing on the peak of power had these traits.

But the strong only respect the strong. And they were ambition beyond belief. So to control them, the world's most powerful leaders organized a system that allowed those that seek power but were not born to lead a way to satisfy their hunger for power.

The Golden Condottiero was that system. The title was given to the most powerful beings on the planet, with their names alone spreading dread as far as the tongue could reach. They had the strength to destroy mountains and split oceans apart. And with their legend, an army that gathered around them hoping to be recognized by their heroes and maybe earn the prestige to become a Golden Condottiero.

But the title was not enough, and for many, it was just a useless title meant to shackle them in place. They were not as strong as those that put them in their position. They don't have a nation, nor were they qualified to lead one, but that didn't stop some from creating their own. Most of them succeeded. They built cities with slaves, golems, or by themselves. Some usurped already existing rulers. But there were some born lucky enough to be the heir in line for the throne. Some were lenient with their laws while others invaded their subjects' lives, telling them what to do, what to eat, and what to think.

Because of the chaos brought upon them, the superpowers created a law that the mercenaries must follow, or they will be revoked of their status. These laws were simple, and they go as follows:

They must not ally with the great powers that are fighting against a superpower.

They must not pledge allegiance to more than one superpower. Only one of them can pledge allegiance to one superpower.

They must not switch sides during a war.

And they must never wage war against another superpower. They can only join a war started between two superpowers.

The law did not do much to stop the chaos, but it did secure the rule of those that created it, protecting themselves from the very toxin they produced. But soon, the law and the title grew more than it was before. And fear turned to awe and respect. The Golden Condottieros were proud of their chivalry, but they're still some loopholes that romance could not mend. Remnants of the chaos the strong let proliferate under their rule.

Andrew Prince was born into this world knowing none of these things. He knew nothing about the weight a Golden Condottiero carried in the world. All he cared about was why he was n.a.k.e.d and on the floor. And why he was surrounded by goblins.

He was human before. Born with a silver spoon in his mouth, he enjoyed life without any worries. He was raised to believe in a distorted reality where everyone lived at the side of the pristine █████ river and owned a garage big enough to fit their race car collection. And with his wealth, he had little to worry about and had free time to do as he pleases. One of his favorite hobbies was collecting guns from various time periods and learning about them.

Prince opened his mouth and yelled at them, "F.u.c.k off!" But this startled the goblins, especially his mother. "Who the hell are you?"

The goblin woman wearing a golden gown grabbed him and raised him to the sky, "My son, so smart!" She cried out.

Prince was born as the heir to the Chiefdom of Karat, again born to the elites. But this world was not like his own. No amount of wealth his new family has could let him escape the harsh reality he was living in because he was a goblin. A lowly, pitiful goblin.

Prince grew up with malice. His hatred of the world grew alongside his body until the day of his tenth birthday. Most of the women in the Karat tribe were sterile, forcing the tribe to raid not for gold but for women. Because of this, the tribe was ruthless and aggressive, and most importantly, the tribe was made up of halflings. They grew to a.d.u.l.thood in less than three weeks, but they were malnourished compared to the purebreds. They were hungry, and through their desperation, they acted like a mindless beast that must be tamed by the Prince's parents.

They ruled over them with an iron fist. And because the halflings were inherently weak, they were easy to herd. The strong would beat the weak whenever they give in to their d.e.s.i.r.e. One will not feel hungry because the fear of getting hurt was far more powerful.

At the age of twelve, Prince was given a horsewhip and beat his first halfling to death. His parents were both proud and upset. Proud to have raised a son so strong and cruel but upset that he killed one of their meatshields. This experience was nothing like Prince had before in his past life. It was a fantasy he never dreamed would be real. Living every day with no thrills of danger had made his already distorted sense of reality feel like a grey world filled with unsatisfying p.l.e.a.s.u.r.e.

As a human child, he looked up to fictional figures like Batman and Lex Luther. Ordinary people that turned into superheroes and supervillains. Well, ordinary but rich. After tasting the thrill of violence for the first time, his dull carefree life was destroyed, and a new fetish was born. The fantasy that many of his statuses had but too scared to attempt. And maybe his collection of weapons was the sign of this fantasy manifesting in his young heart, and only now did he fully realized it as an a.d.u.l.t.

Over the years, Prince sought the thrill every day. He joined the tribe in raids, living the power fantasy of his past life until he became so strong that his father had to force him out of the tribe, paranoid that his child will overthrow him.

A paranoia that became a prophecy. Prince joined the Everflow City as a wandering goblin. He joined one of the tribes inhabiting the city, the Rook tribe. But he did not only joined them; he trampled them and became their new Chief. The rest of the tribe cared not what happened in the Rook tribe because they were the weakest in the City, so Prince did as he pleased. He trained his goblins to the bone while forced those he found inferior into the catacombs to build his army's weapon.

And with no one to stop the Rooks, at the third year of his banishment, Prince marched his new army out and towards the mountains where the Karat tribe resides. He burned the homes and banished the goblins into the mountain, forcing them to mine out the resources hidden inside.

He hanged his parents in front of the mines they have created and marched back to the city with the raw materials he needed to create his army's trump card. And now, he was King, the King of Everflow City.

And he stood on the rood of his castle looking at the river. Smoke was behind, lying on the floor. Half of the castle was destroyed from their battle. Smoke's lightning was fast and destructive, but King was stronger and faster than his lightning strikes. And the explosions he created in the palm of his hands blew away Smoke's possibility of winning.

"You are strong." He said. "And you beat Queen. She may be a woman, but now everyone, not even her twin brother, could say that they can win against her. Although that may be due to her beauty being distracting."

Queen was on the rooftops with them, leaning against an ice pillar she created to shelter her from the fighting. Her cheeks blushed when her King called her beautiful. "He called me beautiful." She whispered to herself.

"Too bad for her," Smoke said, "She wasn't my type. In fact, you'll never see me get distracted by no woman because they are all ugly!" He yelled proudly.

King was fl.u.s.tered, "Sorry, I didn't know you swing that way."

"What do you mean?" Smoke suddenly got angry, "No! That's not what I meant. The only woman that is beautiful in the world is my mother. That's what I meant."

"So you're one of those degenerates with a mother complex."

"What?" Smoke jumped back on his feet. "What does that supposed to mean?"

"It means," King threw the magical spear. Smoke caught it before it could pierce his body, but it exploded afterward. Smoke fell off the roof and landed on Rock's arms. "That you're not strong enough to be in the top." King looked to the sky and glared at the sun over his head. "If only he was here to watch me kill everyone."