The Lord Is Too Overbearing

“What a dark age we live in. Not only do we have to be wary of Demons, but also others. History repeating itself, huh? Now, you can’t live without siding with anyone.”

“Has it not always been the case, though?”

“What do you mean?”

“Anyone who went against the Empire was a traitor. What makes it seem different this time is that the traitors have a faction.”

A sobering silence descended between the conversing people. They were but ordinary Knights who couldn’t choose sides. It was not that they were indecisive. To have a voice, one should have a fist. They didn’t, hence, they had to follow the words of those who had it. they were betraying themselves, yet it was their only way to survive.

“I heard that the Pacifer faction is ridiculously strong. I can’t help but worry about our survival.”

“Basil Pacifer is the Kingdom’s supreme genius. He was already the strongest Mage in Braxtein when he was a mere Sixth Circle Mage. Now that he has become a Seventh Circle Mage, how powerful do you think he is?”

“He has defeated a Ninth Circle Mage. That Ninth Circle Mage was said to be the survivor of the Age of Chaos. I think we don’t have to argue about how powerful he was. Imagine what will happen if Basil becomes a Ninth Circle Mage, which he will.”

The Knights grimly hummed to themselves. Amongst the ten of them, the strongest of them was merely a Peak Stage Blue Core Knight. It was already impressive under normal circumstances, yet they were facing Basil’s faction. There was another name for Basil’s faction: The Hide of Geniuses. It hosted so many geniuses that everyone couldn’t help but gulp in nervousness.

Anyone with a sane mind and a working brain could tell whom they should side with. While the Empire and the Church still had the upper hand given their military power, it might not last long. The emperor himself had expressed that he was wary of Basil. Basil was bound to be an incredible powerhouse himself. Therefore, no matter how few sided with him, his victory was guaranteed.

The Empire and the Church were painfully aware of this fact, therefore, they sent these Knights to eliminate people who sided with Basil. Basil was hard to catch and kill, so they only targeted his people. They wanted to instil fear in the mind of everyone who followed him that doing so was equal to courting death.

A lot of Knight and Mage squads were sent out, yet very few returned. It was even rarer for them to bring the bodies of their dead comrade home. All of them had two similar stories. Either they didn’t know what ambushed them or they had a confrontation with Basil’s faction which they lost humiliatingly.

“About the monster that the Pacifer faction has…have you heard about it? The one that almost killed the genius Galvin D’Arch.”

“The rumour about it is very obscure. I can’t tell if they mean it literally or if it is just a metaphor.”

“I think they mean it literally.” 𝗈𝑣𝓵xt.𝗰𝑶𝔪

At the remark of one of their fellows, every head turned to the said person. They looked at him as if he had grown another head. This Knight had been silent since their departure. They didn’t expect him to say a word, so his joining the conversation was a delightful surprise. Attentively, they listened to what the Knight had to say.

“My friend was part of the Legion sent there to confront the Pacifer faction. Their initial mission was to kill a group of escapees. However, it was but a cover for a greater, more dangerous mission. When they reached the border of the Great Forest of Yitoupheo, the Ninth Circle Mage and his Eighth Circle Mage entourage showed themselves. At the same time, thousands of people from the Pacifer section also showed up.”

The Knight recounted the story as if he had experienced it himself. Realization quickly dawned on the others and they immediately nodded inwardly. They knew where the story was going and what the Knight was going through. When a warrior evaded the battlefield, he must have seen something that traumatized him.

“My friend was too dumbfounded by the situation that he only swung his sword without inflicting any significant damage to the people attacking him. Probably it was out of pity, but none of them minded him. He retreated to the back line and watched as everything unfolded. Despite the stark difference in number, the Pacifer faction held their ground very well.”

A solemn look decorated the face of the Knight. His hands trembled as he stared at them hauntingly.

“When the balance was about to tip because of Grandmaster Galvin’s participation, August Rancuser, the old monster from the Age of Chaos whom Basil Pacifer killed descended from the sky. At a glance, he looked human, yet you could tell he was no more. His skin was as pale as a dead person’s. His gaze was empty, but you could feel his overbearingness.”

The Knight looked up and met his fellows’ shocked gaze with his empty gaze. “There is a reason why what happened that day remains a secret to this day. It was a haunting experience for all of us. Basil Pacifer has the means to turn your dead body against your friends. The message was clear: either we fight for him alive or we die to fight for him.”

Upon listening to the story, one would immediately think someone on Basil’s side practised Necromancy. Dark Magic was something that everyone frowned upon. It should have been a perfect chance for the Church to slander his name but they didn’t do anything about it. It could only mean two things: either it wasn’t Necromancy or they were too caught up in their worry that they couldn’t care less.

The Knight who was present on that fateful day gave the nine curious Knights the answer to their wondering. None of the Priests who were present could do anything to August. Calling August a monster was correct since Miracle didn’t work on him. It was this fact that made the Pacifer faction even more fearsome.

The Empire and the Church didn’t have any counter for the ace cards Basil had up his sleeves. What they could do was overpower Basil through sheer power which was getting harder to do. They didn’t want people to realize that. Therefore, they remained quiet and kept everything a secret.

Rustle.

Everyone was jolted out of their grim thoughts when the bushes shook faintly. With the paranoia filling their mind because of how mysterious Basil’s faction in handling their enemy was, they didn’t even think that it might just be a small animal.

They took out their weapons, activated their Aura and attacked the bushes. Clarity quickly returned to their mind and they stopped when they saw nothing come out. As they were about to heave a sigh of relief, their adrenaline shot up through the roof. In the blink of an eye, they were surrounded by hooded figures.

The gears in their mind turned as they tried to figure out where the hooded figures had come from. They couldn’t think up the answer, so fear immediately overwhelmed them. Their eyes frantically scanned the surroundings looking for an escape, yet they didn’t find it. They had only one choice: run.

“Wait. Take me with you.”

“What—what are you talking about?”

At that moment, the Knight who had recounted the haunting story stood up. Under everyone’s shocked gaze, he calmly approached one of the hooded figures. He even had a relieved smile on his face. The development was so bizarre and bewildering that the rest of the Knights questioned if they were having a dream.

“Kneel. You have to be enslaved until the war ends.”

“Of course, I don’t mind.”

Listening to the order of the hooded figure, the Knight gladly knelt. A small Magic Circle appeared in front of his chest before shrinking and leaving behind a Slave Seal. Soon enough, he stood up with glee on his face. He turned to face his bewildered fellows and flashed them a smirk.

“As someone who has seen the atrocity committed by the Empire and the Church, I know who is in the wrong. As someone who has tasted the power that the Pacifer faction has, I know who is going to win. This is my advice for you: choose wisely. It’s better dying as a victor than living as a surviving loser.”

Silence descended upon the place after the statement. The hooded figures revealed their daggers and it sent the Knights on edge. The glinting daggers were as if a declaration of their death. They thought about the words of their fellow and made a choice. Thus, the hooded figures took action.

No one returned from the mission.

…

Bam!

“Gah! Frustrating! Why is the human body so frail? I thought Mana toughens you up!”

“I don’t know just how many times you want to say it.”

“Shut up, you stuck up Prince! Just do your job!”

“I would like to say the same thing.”

In the deepest part of Padeitophys, the Empire of the Elven Race, the two brightest individuals in the Great Forest of Yitoupheo bantered amongst themselves. One of them was a well-endowed blonde-haired woman and the other was a red-haired handsome mature man. They were no other than Dantalion and the supposed-to-be-dead third prince of the Empire, Myles thu Arthean.

Both of them were focused on the materials on their table. Myles was busy figuring out the correct composition to make the best healing potion meanwhile Dantalion was busy reconstructing August’s destroyed body.

While the battle on the border of Yitoupheo sent shivers down their enemy’s spine, they still suffered quite a huge loss. It wouldn’t be a stretch to even say it was akin to their having burned most of the wax of their candle. With Basil away, Golem August was their ace. With it broken, they were quite prone to extermination.

Fortunately, they had a way to rebuild their candle or, in this case, fix Golem Caesar. Although the body was heavily damaged, the core was still in pristine condition. As long as they could fix the body, the Golem would be ready to wreak havoc again. This was the reason why Myles was doing his best to concoct a potion that would work on a dead body.

“Say, what will you do if you succeed in making it?”

“The potion? Well, I guess the era of the Priests will come to an end.”

“Healing Potions have been around for centuries. I am asking about what you will do with such a powerful Healing Potion.”

At Dantalion’s question, Myles quirked an eyebrow. A Healing Potion that worked on a dead body was indeed amazing, however, did it even matter if the body was already dead? Therefore, his answer was obvious. He wouldn’t do anything.

“Are you sure? You can revive a person using that Healing Potion, you know?” Dantalion stopped working and looked at Myles with a mischievous gaze. “We can figure out a way to reconstruct the soul. Don’t you have someone you want to revive?”

“Stop. Don’t ever play with lives.”

With a distasteful look on his face, Myles realized why he still couldn’t get along with Dantalion despite her amicable personality: she was a Demon.