Chapter 9: Forces of the Last Kingdom

Moriah stared at the ruined land. Fires raging all around them. New knowledge filled her head and her mind expanded as she comprehended the heat and destruction from the flames. Things she would be able to replicate with light. Aegis still stood in place across from her ashes descending around him. The attacks pushed both of them back and she was now out of range of that ability. It was weird as Moriah never heard of the Kans having any powers related to ashes. Especially ones that could suck the strength and mana from your body.

Her core was whirling as it struggled to pull in mana and essence from the surroundings. She looked down upon herself as patches of her leather armor began to fall revealing the skintight body suit, she wore underneath. A second layer of protection courteous of her mother. Moriah’s eyes drifted back to Aegis. He was in a much worse state than her with most of the leather armor being burnt to a crisp as well as patches on his body. She watched in amazement as those injuries began to heal. Not at an incredible rate but faster than what a normal magi human should be able to heal.

Neither of them had yet to move nor talk just silently gazing at one another. Both silent in contemplation. Moriah’s move Last Light of the First Sun took all from her. Mana and physical body included she wouldn’t even be able to use her bloodline for a while because of how drained she was. Amaya Kan appeared by the two of them and Alexa right behind her.

“Princess, Young Lord, we’ve just received word that a force of one thousand soldiers are marching towards the mountain range accompanied by several hundred attendants.”

A soft chuckle came from Moriah’s lips as Aegis closed his eyes and fell backwards only for Amaya to catch him. Moriah could now consider this her win and she too fell backwards only for Alexa to catch her.

It took over two days for both parties to fully recover but Moriah believed Aegis was slightly faster as she received word from her Watchers that he was up and about at the end of the next day. Her mind was however solely focused on the thought of the upcoming battle. At least she hoped it turned out to be one. Men under a Count Caccula of this ‘Last Kingdom’ were sighted marching towards the mountain range by the Watchers. As they only penetrated so far into the area dubbed the free lands by this kingdom.

A report on the actions behind the count’s movements should be arriving by today and Moriah’s core grew hot in excitement and anticipation. She sincerely hoped these people were up to par and could provide a challenge to her much like Aegis.

***

Makanui returned to the field that yet to be repaired and looked over the raw devastation that remained. The fires had long since been put out. The area was once a forest but was quickly cut down as the wood was processed into buildings and other materials. Only to be turned into a training area were soldiers practiced their formations and developing combat abilities. Now it was a wasteland. The final attack between the two parties had destroyed much of the ground and dark obsidian sat riddled throughout the destruction from the final attack between both Aegis and Moriah.

“This is amazing,” Makanui said to his two attendants.

“Yet he hasn’t used the blessings from the Star God. Only his own physical prowess and the Kan bloodline.”

Makanui clenched his hands tightly together growing silent as he walked through the few miles of destruction. To think his cousin was only two tiers above him in power.

“The Young Lord will most likely breakthrough soon into the 7th tier,” Keanu the male magi attendant said.

“Keanu,” his sister Halia hissed noticing their master’s mood.

Makanui bent down to touch some particular ash that surrounded the area Aegis stood after the end of the fight. The moment he did he could feel his strength sapping away. A burst of magic and the ash was pushed off leaving his hands clean. They were both around the same age, both were magi humans, both were at the height of power within their region in terms of family. So then why was Aegis so much more powerful than him. Makanui truly questioned himself within this moment. His starlit eyes a sign of the royal bloodline of the Hukku Clan darted back and forth. He came to a decision as turned to Aegis manor.

***

I sucked in a breath of fresh summer air. I could break through at any period. The magic had more than saturated my heart, kidney, and intestines empowering them so that I could last even longer no matter the ordeal. I let the breath out and took in another. I was standing on the wooden balcony of the manor viewing the bustling military town as soldiers and civilians off duty went around in merriment. The weekends were the off days for everyone, and it was here they were allowed to do whatever they wished. Several taverns were already built, and food was aplenty. Enough was stored in the spatial holds of the ship to last us for an entire year with preservation magic being cast upon the entire room. A few areas had been set aside as parks and young couples roamed through the magically lit trails.

I let out the breath and took in another. Decisions, decisions, decisions… I was really here on another world and priming to conquer it. So far, I’d yet to truly sit down and think on this. I mean I’ve made plans and have protocols in place for things and events but I’ve yet to truly sit down and talk to myself about the implications of what I’d be doing. These people had no beef with me or my family. Hell, they still didn’t know we were up in the mountains invades from another world. An army was marching towards these sword-like mountains. The Endless mountains they called it. And even from space it truly looked that way as the range went all the way to the sea cutting off a significant portion of the land. It had officially become claimed underneath the flag of the dukedom. I could even change the name if I wanted, and it would be enforced once we began to take cities.

I can do this… I will do this. My resolution became firm as I broke through into tier seven and I guided the magic to reinforce the next part of my body. In the final stretch of tiers until you truly became someone to reckon with the Kan reinforced your privates and brain. Other families may do it different but that was what I was taught by my father and mother and so I would follow through. In tier nine you would bring everything together and make sure it was cohesive before you were ready to become a Land God or tier ten.

Murnia appeared with a tray in her hands with some slices of fruits and something for me to drink. I gave her a smile as she set the objects down on a table.

“I’m really going to do it.”

“Young Lord?”

“I’m going to conquer a world for the Kan dukedom.”

She was silent for a few moments before she spoke.

“Do you believe you’re in the wrong?”

“Yes, no, maybe, probably, but might makes right. We have the bigger fist so what we say goes.”

“Young Lord…”

“You know to call me Aegis when it’s just the two of us.”

“Aegis Kan look at me.”

I looked over to her dark eyes and brown skin. I stood slightly taller by a few inches but what did it matter to magi humans who stood taller than regular humans.

“The world is dangerous. Do you know how my parents died? A monster attacks. The orphanage thought I was too young to remember but I do. I remember my father hiding me in the cellar as he removed a few old weapons passed down in my family to fight. I remember my mother calming me down and telling me everything was going to be ok.

It wasn’t. I was found a day later by the forces of the duke who responded to the attack. An outbreak from one of the Forbidden Zones. Ruined tens of villages that day. That’s what made me want to become an adventurer in the first place. So that no child would have to ever go through something like that again.”

“Eventually I fell in with Alex and the rest and you know how it turned out from there. My life changed ever since then. I have new friends and people I consider family. Even you are like a little brother I never had. What I’m trying to get at is the unpredictability of life. Things I’ve come to learn and understand as I grew up beside you.

Did you know your mother has had me trained in 37 different assassination techniques that can work on someone two tiers ahead of me. Even if they’re faster and stronger there is always a way. That is the unpredictability of life.”

She gazed over the city as she talked with pleasant content expression on her face. Before giving me, a nod and leaving. Neither approval nor disapproval. Just the fact that life can punch you in the gut and you’ll just have to get up and keep on walking. Well, I was about to give the residents of Prima a punch in the gut hopefully as they got up it would be under the Kan’s family banner.

*

I sat around the big oval war table with a detail view of the terrain surrounding the city and area the troops were stationed at. It was late in the evening when a messenger appeared at my door with word from the Watchers. Immediately I summoned a meeting of all the relevant military forces.

I shot a quick glance to my cousin who was fidgeting nervously before my eyes returned to the terrain. He showed up outside my manor almost the same time as the messenger and wanted to talk to me. About what I had no clue but promised a meeting after I came to a decision on whether I wanted to capture a count with overwhelming forces.

The table was a magical device in which after deploying a few orb-like drones into the air would survey the land and make a detailed copy of it using sand. The ten great families were present as well as Moriah who had a hungry look within her expression.

“The first battle belongs to me.”

Her head snapped towards me, and she blushed in embarrassment as I was looking directly at her. The count forces appeared at an opportune time as I just got over one thousand of my soldiers to become inducted into the system with a bit over fifty mages as I was more worried about the effects on the physical cultivation of my troops.

Those fifty had already shown vast improvements on their spell casting and each mana reserves had grown.

“Alexa if you would repeat the report, please,” I said while looking over at the young human woman.

She nodded in my direction before lifting a piece of paper.

“Count Caccula has sent a thousand men plus himself to look for the meteor that never exploded. We’ve also received word that an additional hundred men sent by the Warrior Princess ruler of the Last Kingdom will arrive shortly also in search of this fallen meteor.”

“What do we know of this Last Kingdom so far?”

A woman with a mane of red hair spoke. She was Koama Lionheart heiress to the Lionheart family.

Alexa looked over to Moriah who gave her a nod.

I frowned at this action. I would need to start sending out the people I hired as I did not need information coming from a source that answered to another. Something that I was already in the works for.

“From what we’ve gather so far. The Last Kingdom formally was the Empire of Artis which fell once civil war struck and they were invaded by the Nox. The war has bee…”

My ears began to ring, and all sound faded as my head swam. The Nox…the nox… THE NOX.

Perfect Recall activated and the buried memory returned to the surface. A slightly older Alex looking at me.

-Memory flashback-

“Young Master Aegis….”

“Get up Young Master Aegis….”

“The Nox are coming, we must get the Young Lord to safety. The mission is a failure.”

That one word seemed to knock Aegis Kan out of his stupor. They had been hit with the 9th tier spell Falling Sky and yes it did exactly as its name suggested. If not for his mother insisting upon his father that he be given a 10th tier or Ranked defensive item his entire expedition would’ve died.

“Failure?”

Aegis surroundings grew to an almost peaceful stillness as the young lord finally spoke.

“The Kan don’t know the word.”

Alex, the one who spoke, sighed in deep relief. He had a slip of the tongue. Fortunately for him the young lord was still out of it, or he might be leading the next charge.

Aegis looked at the surrounding mountain range or at least the little that was left of it. The Endless Mountains clearing had an end. The snow-covered peaks were ruined, and desolation had set around them. Falling Sky would have wiped out his entire expedition if not for item Aegis’s Shield. It was a defensive item his mother gifted to him in the form of a necklace with a shield at the end. The shield had the Kan’s regalia imprinted upon it as most of the household items did. It was a dragon’s claw grasping a shield.

Aegis grasp at the necklace and tore it off as he finally noticed the scalding heat spreading across his chest. A crack was in the middle and the aegis that represented the Kan family was split.

“Young lord, look.”

Aegis brought his attention to the direction Alex was pointing and his open pores produced even more sweat.

“Shit.”

From top to bottom the sole mountain that remained was covered in Nox.

“We’re so fucking scre…”

-Memory End-

“Young Lord…?”

All eyes were on me as sweat began to pour from every pore within my body. The green glow from my wrist became intense with each passing second. Amaya was looking over at me in concern while the table watched me with hidden emotions.

Oh… shit.