Niel slumped back towards his tent. The soldiers quickly knelt while shivering. To have let an assassin into their ranks without knowing was a major slip up. However, fortunately for them, Niel didn’t seem like he minded to much.

“Get up. None of you could have stopped that assassin, he was a level above you guys.”

“Thank you General Niel!”

The soldiers all got up and shouted in unison. Their respect for their general had just gone up tremendously. Niel wasted no more time with them and went into his tent to get his wounds tended to. A week later, he was all healed up and it was time to end this all. Now that the chieftain was gone, there was no one strong enough to protect the northern plains, hence Niel and his army steam-rolled through. It didn’t take long before the captured the entire place and claimed as an extension of the Budo Kingdom.

After all that was done. Niel had finally come back to the kingdom. The years had past and he was already an adult, much more seasoned and mature then he was in the past. He walked into his castle inconspicuously. People had forgotten how he looked after so long, so when he walked in he was surrounded by guards.

“Halt”

Niel looked at these guards and just let of a small fraction of his pressure. The instantly collapsed onto their knees, they wanted to scream for help, however, they found that their lips were completely sealed. Niel walked past them and headed to the dining room. The same maid was that had served him in the past was still there, however now she had a few more gray hairs on her head. However, unlike the others, she had served Niel for so long that she still recognized him, despite all his changes.

“Yo-Young Master, your back!”

“Yes, you must have heard of the success in the northern plains. Now that the battle is over, there is no reason for me to stay there any longer.”

“You came at the perfect time, Young Master. King Budo is about to retire and choose the new king”

The next day, all the crown princes gathered in front of the main castle. This was the place where the ruling king lived, and was located at the center of the kingdom, making it a prime spot. Everyone around the kingdom was gathered for the event, from commoners to nobles. No one would miss just a tremendous event. Their new king would decide how their lives would progress. If the king was war hungry then the commoners would suffer, however if they were kind and peaceful, the nobles would suffer. This was an event that would truly decide the entire kingdom’s future.

They were all gathered around at the banquet, the king sat at the front of the banquet table while the princes sat nearby. However the eldest, second, third, fifth, and sixth prince all looked extremely bland in comparison to Niel, the fourth prince. Niel’s body emanated the feeling of a ruler, this was due to him being the general, and leading thousands of men to war. He was already used to being in control for a long time. King Budo who was silently eating, looked around and stood up. His powerful voice spread across the banquet area.

“Thank you everyone for coming. I’m getting old so it’s time to decide who the new king shall be. All my princes are strong in different regards, and all would make for great kings. Unfortunately this old man can only choose one, and of all my children, one impressed me the most. He started out below his brothers, but through fortune and fighting, he reached the top. Hence I shall now crown 4th prince Niel Budo, the new king of my Budo Kingdom!”

The crowd instantly cheered and were happy with the decision. Niel was the person who was most involved with the war, and hence the commoners respected him since they saw him as a protector for the kingdom. The noble’s were also satisfied because Niel was most likely a fan of war after participating in it for so long, hence he would be more involved in efforts of trying to expand the kingdom, giving the nobles more chances to amass greater power.

However not everyone was satisfied with this decision, and these people were naturally the princes. They had tried countless different schemes, but nothing worked, at this point the only thing they could do was bow their heads and admit their inferiority. Niel walked up to the podium and knelt in front of his father. His father took the crown in his hand and slowly placed it on Niel’s head. Niel looked at the kingdom in front of him, and suddenly realized that this was now all his.

Years soon flashed by and King Niel Budo’s name had spread across the world. He was a man who seemed to have endless power, and he kept expanding his land outwords. His empire got larger and larger, and eventually became a superpower that had no rivals. Unfortunately he also got older and older as this all happened. He quickly became the greatest king the budo kingdom has ever had, and was labeled the Golden King, because he led the kingdom into a golden age. Yet despite all this, his body was now frail and old. Looking at his kingdom, that had now stretched farther than the eye could see, he wasn’t satisfied. Despite all his strength, prestige, valor, and ability, he still couldn’t defeat age, the greatest curse humanity faced. The feeling he had when he first woke up in this world also got clearer and clearer the closer he got to his death. However even on his final breath, he couldn’t pinpoint what exactly this feeling was. Word of King Budo’s death had spread, however a young man in another world soon opened his eyes.

Just like this, 99 lives flashed by, and Cain who was originally in a coma, opened his eyes.