On the wall of a county city in the northern part of the chaotic region, Anko, Gates, and Boon, the three brothers, each held a terrifyingly huge battle axe, standing on the ramparts like demonic gods. Corpses lay all around them, and blood had stained the bricks beneath their feet red.
The surrounding soldiers had been scared out of their wits.
They no longer dared to resist. One by one, they dropped the weapons from their hands.
"Of the seven duchies, five have agreed to surrender, and one has already fallen to us easily. You're the last one." Gates grabbed the garrison commander by the collar, his round, bull-like eyes glaring down at the trembling man. "Damn it, you don't have the strength and still refuse to bend? You're just sending your men to die, aren't you? Huh?!"
It really was sending them to die.
The disparity in strength was enormous. Just the three of them had cut down a huge swath of the defending forces.
The garrison commander was hoisted into the air, his voice trembling with fear. "Sir, this has nothing to do with me! It was the Grand Duke's order!"
"Come on, Fifth Brother," Anko said with a laugh. "Let's head down. Big Brother and the rest are already down there — probably getting the victory celebration drinks ready. Taking this county city… plus the five that surrendered, and the one we conquered before that. Everything's done!"
Gates and Boon both burst into hearty laughter.
In just twenty days, including the Baruch Duchy, all eight duchies along the border of the Dark Forest had finally been unified, forming a new kingdom — the Baruch Kingdom. The Baruch Kingdom had a population of nearly one hundred million and controlled almost a quarter of the chaotic region's territory.
This portion of land was the poorest, but its people were likewise the fiercest.
The other, wealthier regions of the chaotic region had been divided between the Church of Light and the Church of Darkness. From this point forward, the chaotic region had formed a three-way split of power.
The greatest genius in the history of the Yulan Continent — Lin Lei — was about to wed Miss Dilia of the Leyen family in the Yulan Empire! The day of the wedding would also mark the official founding of the Baruch Kingdom.
Date: July 21, Yulan Calendar year 10,010.
Location: The future capital of the Baruch Kingdom — Baruch City (the very city formerly known as Black Soil City, currently under expansion).
This news spread through the chaotic region like a whirlwind, radiating outward to every corner of the Yulan Continent. Invitations were dispatched at breakneck speed to every corner of the land… and countless eyes across the Yulan Continent turned to focus upon the chaotic region.
The imperial capital of the Yulan Empire, inside the main hall of the Leyen family.
If one were to ask who held the highest status in the Leyen family nowadays, it wasn't the patriarch Dea Leyen, but rather Dikexi Leyen!
Dikexi was, first and foremost, the future patriarch. But more importantly… he was the direct disciple of the Yulan Empire's pillar, the Grand Priest. The Grand Priest was the most exalted figure in human society on the Yulan Continent. Among the masses, perhaps only the War God could be compared to the Grand Priest.
A terrifying powerhouse who had possessed god-level strength since before the first year of the Yulan Calendar. The vast majority of those taken as the Grand Priest's personal disciples could reach the rank of Grand Magister!
The Grand Priest's personal disciple, a future Grand Magister! And a dual-system Grand Magister at that!
At that moment, Dea Leyen was frowning as he handed the invitation to his son Dikexi.
Straight golden hair that fell to his shoulders, a cold and distant demeanor that kept everyone at arm's length — that was Dikexi. He took the invitation, opened it, and read it carefully. To everyone's surprise, a rare smile appeared on his face: "This Lin Lei… he hasn't let our sister down."
"Dikexi, what do you think we should do?" Dea Leyen asked.
Dikexi glanced at his father and furrowed his brow. "What do you mean, what should we do? Sister has pursued her happiness for over a decade, and it's finally succeeded. Of course we should offer our blessings."
Dea and his wife hesitated for a moment.
"Father, Mother, I know what you're thinking," Dikexi said calmly. "Your perspective is too limited to the secular world. What truly determines everything on the Yulan Continent… is the War God, the Grand Priest, and the many powerhouses of the Saint Realm."
He had to admit that his parents' vision was shortsighted.
"Dikexi, my dear son, no matter how strong that Lin Lei is, could he possibly affect our Yulan Empire?" Dea sighed. "After all, our family's foundation is rooted in the Yulan Empire."
Dikexi looked at his father. "Father, I must tell you — you've underestimated Lin Lei."
"Oh? How so?" Dea Leyen looked puzzled.
Dikexi spoke solemnly: "Actually, before I came home this time, my teacher gave me a command."
"Your teacher? Ah, the Grand Priest!" Dea and his wife's eyes went wide. Heavens — people of their station would never so much as lay eyes on the Grand Priest in their entire lifetimes, and now the Grand Priest had issued a directive to their very own son.
In that moment, they felt a surge of pride.
"The Grand Priest has asked me, along with two of my senior fellow disciples, to travel to the chaotic region and convey his congratulations to Lin Lei on his behalf," Dikexi said formally.
Dikexi himself didn't quite understand. At the Grand Priest's level, why go out of his way to be so cordial toward Lin Lei? He knew full well… the War God and the Grand Priest were opposed to each other. Lin Lei had a good relationship with the War God — logically speaking, the Grand Priest's relationship with Lin Lei should have been poor.
And yet it seemed…
The Grand Priest was the one extending goodwill toward Lin Lei.
"The waters of the Yulan Continent run deep," Dikexi sighed to himself.
The imperial capital of the Yulan Empire, within the Huashi family estate.
"Sir, this is an invitation from Master Lin Lei in the chaotic region." The butler respectfully placed the invitation in George's hands. George had already been unofficially designated as the future patriarch of the Huashi family.
George took the invitation.
"Haha… Third Brother, oh Third Brother. I can't believe you ended up with Dilia after all." The moment George saw it, he burst into laughter.
"Fate works in mysterious ways." George still remembered back when they had first entered Ernst Academy — Dilia was always seeking Lin Lei out, wanting to spend time with him. Back then, he'd seen Lin Lei together with Alice and had thought there was no way Lin Lei and Dilia could ever end up together.
Who would've thought that after all the twists and turns, more than a decade later…