At the precipice of the upcoming grand war which was speculated to escalate beyond even the borders of the Greensend continent, a lot of powers were finalizing plans for the coming storm. Armies were marshaled. Sky ships were primed and lined in formation, waiting for the orders to lift off. Intelligence agents were sent out into the wild, eyes and ears scanning for information that could benefit their sovereigns. Even Monarch cultivators were sent out in teams to prepare the paths for the armies to cross. The wills of multiple Spirit lords could be seen carried out by their subordinates while the Spirit lords themselves speculated on who amongst their numbers would be foolish enough to side with the Solarians. While all this was going on, a bodacious declaration and warning was then broadcasted. By the one person everyone had their eyes on.
"Many of you have heard of me, with some even having crossed paths. You all view me as an enigma, an unpredictable and unknown player in this game of dominion. Some of you have even sent your subordinates against me, whilst still being unsure of the success of such orders. But there is one thing you all know for a fact: You do not know what I am fully capable of. So I want you all to think about this carefully when you plan your alliance with the Solarians: I do not forgive those who act against my life; and that is what you will be doing when you side with the Solarians.
"I do not care if you decide to sit on the sidelines, becoming a neutral party; it matters not to me. But should any of you join forces with the Solarians, Know this: I will come down on you like the hammer of god, himself. Even the returned Solaris won't be able to save you."
In light of this declaration, fear rippled in the hearts of many, and speculations were being formulated and tossed out. But one message was clear for all to know:
The grey-eyed demon had sent out his warning.
It was left for them to either heed it or find out personally the results of crossing him.
****
The environment was chaos as thousands of soldiers moved, marshaled, and prepared for battle. Chosen Ymal stood, his division of soldiers gathered around him, waiting for their turn to go in.
He was putting on the silver armor of the Camlen Soldiery, with black stripes lined across the armor. The emblem of the queen of Camlen – a silver bird over a black field – was emblazoned over his chest piece.
He had been amongst the multitudes who'd borne witness to the calamitous battle that had been fought over the city of Cirin.
Seeing that battle had made him thankful that a battle of such scale had not been fought during the city-wide evacuation of Tashin. Otherwise, none of the survivors here today would not have lived to see this day.
The energy shield protecting the entirety of the city of Cirin had been visibly cracked and leaking essence, even with more than half the attacks aimed at the city being deflected by a Spirit Lady. From what he'd heard, the enchanters were still working on fixing the damage done to the shield. Had the battle not stalled when it did, a large portion of Cirin would have been turned to dust and rubble. Now, with a continental grand war on their heads, he was sure to witness more of the devastating powers these beings could bring to bear.
When the continental grand war had been declared and the common soldiers had been called to arms. This had been predicted to be a war never before seen on this scale. And because of his experience commanding a city's worth of soldiers – even though it was minuscule compared to the great cities – he had been given charge of a division, a surprising command for one still at the lord stage.
He and his division, along with thousands of other soldiers still at the adept and lord stage, waited to be let into the staging hall, a large warehouse-like building used for moving armies anywhere across the world.
On the outside, it looked like it couldn't hold up to a capacity of more than a few thousand soldiers, but Ymal knew it had been heavily spatially modified to hold up to a hundred thousand, a full army. And that was just one of Camlen's armies waiting to be deployed. They were all to be led by Monarch realm commanders. And to be protected by a spirit lord at the sign of trouble.
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"This is sure going to be a bloody one," someone commented, the others nodding their acceptance.
"Heard from my old man who fought in the last one that this one's going to be far worse because of the grey-eyed demon."
"Why's that?"
"Didn't you know?" The man lowered his voice. "There's a rumor that the grey-eyed demon is no mere Spirit lord. That he's far more powerful than even the queen, even the Solarian Emperor."
"Pfft, that's just rumors. You don't agree? Let me ask you this, if he was more powerful than the Emperor, why hasn't he solely defeated the Empire by now? Why does he need the help of Camlen and Gandor to do it?"
The other man shrugged, "Dunno. It isn't my place to fathom the plans of beings like that, I'm just saying what I heard."
They all turned towards Ymal who had been quietly watching.
"What d'you think, Commander? You've met the grey-eyed demon before. Is he as powerful as they say he is?"
Ymal was quiet for a moment, thinking. Eventually, he spoke, "Yeah, I spoke with him," he said, ignoring the other question.
"Soo.... How was it? Heard he could kill you with just a stare."
Ymal smiled, chuckling, "Ohh.. it felt like it. But if it's true, I haven't seen him do it."
"I heard he bargained with a demon for his quick powers, and his soul would be eaten when he eventually stalls in his progression," someone said, another immediately countering.
"No, I heard he was raised by the red dragons growing up, which gave him his weird and destructive affinity. How many cultivators have you seen or heard wielding such destructive affinity?"
Ymal, who had decided to leave them to their argument, immediately turned when something ticked his ears, "Red dragons?" He asked.
Growing up on the desolate continent, he'd heard of Sand dragons, seeing their signature sand storms. And their proximity to the dragon sea had awoken him to the existence of Sea dragons. But he'd never heard about Red dragons before.
"What are those?" He asked.
Even though they tried not to show it, he could still see the way they looked at him, like they were questioning his mental faculties.
"Boss, you haven't heard about the Red dragons?" One asked, choosing to voice the thoughts the others were clearly having.
Immediately seeing where the misunderstanding was coming from, he clarified.
"I lived in a desert city growing up. I've heard of Sand dragons since they occupy the same continent. With their ability to conjure huge sandstorms, they're mostly the cause of massacres of any large gatherings of people on the continent, so everybody has heard of them. And I've also heard of the Sea Dragons too. Learned about them in the introduction training on creatures we're likely to encounter on sea deployment and what to do when we see one. But I've never heard of Red dragons before," he finished, the others nodding, finally understanding the reason for his lack of knowledge.
Someone spoke up, "Ok, we get it now, although I still find it strange that you've not heard of the Red Dragons," the man shook his head. "The Red dragons are huge, bulky creatures, unlike the Sea dragon's serpentine features. And they're more vicious, with four long, bulky limbs that could crush anyone unfortunate to be under them. Unlike their Sea cousins, they have large pairs of wings, which they use mainly for flying, but they can still swat you out of the air like a fly. And finally, the reason they're called the Red Dragons is because of their immense affinity for the element of fire. A young Spirit lord Red dragon could be considered halfway through to becoming a master of fire, with the capability to burn down entire cities with their breath. With their infamous rage and pride, Red dragons could raze a city to the ground on what they perceive as a slight," the man finished, shivering. "Thank goodness they aren't on the Greensend continent."
Ymal nodded, having gotten most of it, so he asked the next question on his mind, "So, where are they located?"
"The Red lands," someone chirped in.
"Red lands?"
"To the northeast. A continent filled with all sorts of dangerous calamity beasts. Although there are different Spirit lord Calamity beasts, everyone knows that the Red dragons are the real rulers," someone else answered.
"Ohh... So that's why it's called the Red Lands? because of the Red dragons," he asked, intrigued.
"Oh no, it's because the land's practically Red, even the skies. No one knows the reason. Some speculate it's because of the Red dragons, but there's no proof to back it up."
Ymal was about to ask a follow-up question when a sound broke through the cacophony of waiting soldiers, loudly announcing, "Fifth army! Fifth army! You are cleared to proceed into the staging hall," the sound soon cut off after one more call.
"Ok people, that's us. Move it. Move it. I want you all arranged in an orderly manner. Stick together; I don't want anyone getting lost in this crowd, so If your sense of direction is terrible and you can't tell left from right, I suggest you tie yourself to a partner with a good sense of direction. And if your partner's sense of direction is as bad as yours. Well, I wish you both good luck."