‘Jang and Raku had died during the second trial. Pathetic weaklings…they do not deserve to have their own graves!’

‘Only three of my five sons are still alive. It is only a second trial, but my clan already suffered such losses. My clan is the strongest clan in the Kalkan Kingdom, yet so many have fallen in a single swoop to Holy Water and savage humans. This is unacceptable!’

‘I have groomed my heirs, bred them from females with strong blood…yes, even if I had to chain them up to do so.’ Jaulon’s preferred way of doing it.

‘My first three sons had fallen at the hands of the crow’s spawn, so I made more….Had there been more time, I would have made more sons with all the captured females….But, oh well….it couldn’t be helped’

Had he had about five more years before the Trials had begun, he would have bred another few Phoenix demons.

Breeding a pure Phoenix demon is not as easy as it sounded, if Phoenix demon mated with another type of non-avian demon, more likely than not, the resulting child would not be a pure Phoenix demon, and as such would not be as powerful.

Even when breeding with an avian type demon, there was a chance that the offspring might not fully inherit Jaulon’s power.

That is why, Jaulon made sure to capture many female avian type demons that had strong bloodlines, in order to increase his chances of creating powerful heirs. No matter how much they screamed, Jaulon had them fulfill their purpose as females.

At first he thought he succeeded until Ymit Karatengu killed all three of them in a single battle.

Phoenix demons may have powerful regeneration, but it is only as far as physical damage goes. They can shrug off damage that is up to level 4 magic, but magic of higher level than 4th could cause them undeniable harm. If an opponent were to strike their vitals with a high level spell, a Phoenix demon can be killed.

This meant that only experts at using magic could actually harm Phoenix demons.

After losing three of his sons, Jaulon deemed them as failures and focused on breeding more.

Of the previous litter, only Zirc was left.

But Zirc proved to be far more than what Jaulon had expected, a true hidden gem among their clan. A once in a century genius.

Fueled by rage, Zirc became stronger and stronger, and now, in terms of might, he had already surpassed Jaulon.

‘Kin is too weak; Jang’s abilities are good but are not perfect. Of the three of them, Zirc alone is the one fit to be my heir’

‘To think we would be in this mess, all because of Korgan Karatengu, that damn crow!’

‘The power of the Demon King should have been mine! If only Korgan Karatengu did not stand in my way, I would have obtained the ultimate power. Instead, Akil Ras was selected as the next king.’

The fury Jaulon felt within his heart was indescribable.

He was the demon who had everything: heirs and broods (legitimate and illegitimate), riches beyond comparison, powerful army, and all the females he could ever desire.

But there was one thing he was denied, the one thing he could never take for himself.

That was the power of the Demon King.

To continue his father, Ralgar Altyn’s legacy, that was Jaulon’s greatest desire.

To rid the Kalkan Kingdom of all clans, and unite those foolish demons under a single banner, the banner of Altyn clan.

Strong must rule the weak. That was code of the Altyn clan.

Because strength is everything, nothing else mattered.

The defeated only exist to become a stepping stone or a breeding hen for the winners.

All demons must bow down to the Altyn clan, the one clan that was above them all.

He would establish a perfect kingdom with the pure blood Phoenix demons at the top, half-blood Phoenixes below them, and below them everyone else.

That was the perfect order Ralgar Altyn envisioned, and that was what Jaulon planned on creating.

But he wouldn’t stop at Kalkan Kingdom, he would conquer the Frost Empire as well, make the Frost Emperor submit to him, bow before him and beg for mercy.

As the Demon King, he would have conquered the world, creating a legacy that would last for eternity.

All of that would have been possible had it not been for Korgan Karatengu.

Phoenix demons and Crow demons had been enemies for centuries.

Korgan Karatengu’s siblings were all slaughtered by at the hands of Altyn clan, which is why Korgan’s branch is the only branch of Karatengu clan that remained.

In the beginning, the loss of his siblings was what fueled Korgan’s desire to stop the Altyn clan, but then his wife and oldest son were killed, at which point his second son took over his father’s position as the leader of the clan.

Ymit Karatengu led the Tengu clan to unprecedented victories which cost Jaulon much of his forces and three of his sons.

When he finally managed to make Ymit ‘disappear’ into another world, Jaulon managed to take a breath of relief.

He could have just gone and finished Korgan off, but Jaulon wanted Korgan to suffer as everything he loved was taken away from him and push Korgan into despair.

For two decades, Jaulon thought he had succeeded.

Tengu clan declined to the point that only a dozen members were left in it. Most importantly, there was none left to restore it to its former glory.

But then…out of nowhere…the crow’s third son appeared on the stage.

As far as Jaulon knew, everything about Ren Karatengu was a complete enigma.

What he knew about Ren Karatengu was from the reports of his spies.

Because of the barrier surrounding the Tengu clan territory, they could not know what was going on inside of it, but Jaulon’s eyes and ears were spread far and wide for him to hear everything that went outside the Tengu territory.

And the accounts he received were….disturbing, to say the least.

Within a couple of months, Ren Karatengu managed to accomplish more than an ordinary demon would have accomplished in a lifetime.

Under his lead, the declining clan grew to the point it was now considered a mid-tier clan.

The change was too fast for Jaulon’s comfort.

‘All will be fine when Zirc becomes the Demon King’ of his son’s success, Jaulon was assured.

Right now, attacking the Tengu clan was not possible.

As much as he hated them, Jaulon feared their might, in particular, the power of two demon Lords.

If it was only Korgan, Jaulon was confident he would be able to handle him, but if it’s two against one, then Jaulon was not as confident.

Combined with the fact that Ren Karatengu was most likely a Demon Lord level threat as well meant that their victory was not assured.

Even with all the advantage he had, Jaulon would not attack unless he was absolutely assured of his victory. For this reason, Zirc considered Jaulon a coward.

Every day, Jaulon would spend meditating and expanding the capacity of his mana, training his body to reach the next level of power, but so far it eluded him.

The legends and old accounts tell of demons who had managed to exceed the ranks known to the demon-kind. Usually, demons stop when they peak at Gold rank, but Jaulon knew that there were levels of power higher than that. Because he had seen someone reach them.

Akil Ras was already a Gold ranked demon before he became the Demon King. The power of the Demon King essentially enhanced all of user’s powers by enormous proportions. When using the Demon King Mode, the Demon King’s normal power was said to be multiplied ten to hundred fold.

After becoming the Demon King, Akil Ras reached ranks that far surpassed the Gold Rank, the elusive Amalgam Rank, and at his peak, the Luminous rank.

At that point, his power was uncontested; he was so far above anyone else who could dream of challenging him. Even Jaulon could not help but bow in his presence.

But after fighting against the Frost Emperor, Akil Ras lost all that power, dropping down two ranks, rendering him back to Gold Ranked demon.

“All that power and potential, wasted. I should have had that power, I should have been made the king… I should have been the one chosen to lead this kingdom!”

As Jaulon concentrated his energy within him, expanding his mana capacity, he did not realize he was not alone in the room. He was so concentrated on his training that he did not notice as an assassin managed to sneak in.

But to be fair, that assassin did manage to kill the Demon King.

“You sure like talking to yourself, don’t you, Jaulon Altyn?”

Jaulon’s eyes opened wide as he realized there was an enemy behind him.

Before he could attack, a fist ended up connecting with Jaulon’s face, sending him flying across the room, crashing into the wall, knocking down the tapestry.

The bruise on Jaulon’s face was slowly healing, it was not a mere physical attack, but a punch coated with high level magic.

As Jaulon tried to stand up, the masked man appeared right before him and proceeded to knee Jaulon in the stomach and groin, repeatedly, at least three times, before hurling him across the room.

He did it so fast that Jaulon did not even have time to react.

Enraged, Jaulon’s body became coated in golden fire, burning everything around him as he stood up.

“I will not let you get away with this!” Jaulon unfurled his golden wings, ready for a battle with the unknown foe.

Standing before him was a humanoid wearing a mask. Jaulon could not tell his race because his entire body was clothed.

“A mere Demon Lord should not think himself invincible” the masked man chuckled, finding the situation oddly amusing.

The battle between the Death Hand and the Demon Lord of Altyn clan had begun.