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nDyon was immediately immersed in his planning. And even planning his planning. He wanted to know everything there was to know about the army he had just gained, and how to make the best use of their abilities.

nWhat he ended up finding out was surprising. Even the weakest among the generals were of the essence gathering level, including Arios. At first, Dyon wondered why a sage would need such relatively weak generals, but then he realized his thought was stupid. Since some Gates cap at the essence gathering level, you obviously needed talented young generals to lead campaigns at those Gates.

nThere was a total of 3000 generals. A thousand at the lower essence gathering level, another thousand at the higher essence gathering level, and the last thousand at the lower saint level. This realization made Dyon widen his eyes in shock.

n‘A thousand saint level experts?… ridiculous.’

nHowever, Dyon was also aware that this was but a drop in the ocean compared to the experts even in this universe. Not only did even the small the Elvin Kingdom itself have peak level saints who could wipe out Dyon’s entire army with just a bit of effort, if one took the entire planet into consideration, a thousand lower saints, even without taking into account those of higher levels of cultivation, would lose out by sheer lack of numbers. What was a thousand to millions?

nThus, Dyon made a decision. He wouldn’t use the demon generals in his first campaign unless he uncovered the mystery of the Elvin Kingdom and the Celestial Deer Sect. Only by knowing who and where his enemies were would he feel comfortable revealing some of his hand. The second decision he made was to cap the amount of demon generals he would use.

nBecause of the talent of the demon generals, their combat prowess far surpassed those of the same level. As such, Dyon decided that he would only take out 100 lower essence gathering demon generals if he uncovered the mysteries of the Elvin Kingdom.

nDyon smiled to himself, ‘sure, leading a massive army is great… although I guess 2000 isn’t that large,’ he thought. Remembering that the Gate his first campaign would take place in had a cap of peak essence gathering, Dyon knew the saint level experts weren’t a possibility, ‘but, what could be cooler than having a small army and still dominating?’

nAlthough Dyon thought this like a joke, there were real reasons why he preferred a smaller army. For one, with his lack of experience, smaller numbers would be easier for him to command. Then, with the unpredictability of the Gates, it was also easier to protect everyone should their numbers be kept in check. And finally, him suddenly appearing with an army of a hundred was still acceptable… two thousand though? That was pushing it.

n‘plus… with only a hundred, considering how many transcendent weapons the Celestial Deer Sect left to me, I should be able to equip them all.’

nWith that thought, Dyon quickly memorized the names of each and every one of his demon generals. Over the next few months, he would take his time to learn about all of their abilities and more about the Gates. With that knowledge, he’d form a well-balanced team of a hundred. Dyon already had no doubt in his mind that settling the matter of the Elvin Kingdom… was only a matter of time.

n“Arios,” Dyon called out to the handsome young man.

n“Yes, Successor?”

nDyon waved his hand, “don’t call me that, it’ll only make me feel bad. Just call me Dyon,” Dyon smiled bitterly.

nArios smiled in acknowledgement.

n“Since you’ve were part of the Elvin Kingdom for a while… what do you know about its troubles?”

nArios was surprised by Dyon’s question, but quickly continued to answer, “as an outsider… not much. But, over the course of the few months I stayed there, I did come to know of some things.

nFor one, their king has been missing for a long while, and with him, his daughter, the princess.”

nDyon nodded. He remembered Ri mentioning her cousin. But, considering that was the one and only time, Dyon didn’t doubt that this princess was gone.

n“The other is that the Elvin Kingdom adheres to very strict traditions in choosing their rulers. Oddly enough, said rulers aren’t picked from their most prestigious families, instead, anyone can become king or queen as long as they are a True Empath.”

nDyon’s face furrowed in thought, ‘True Empath?’

nDyon suddenly thought of Jade. Jade could see right through him and could clearly tell when he lied and when he didn’t. Even to the point that it was almost as though she could read his mind. But, he shook his head at this point. Being a True Empath definitely meant more than just being able to tell whether someone was lying or not.

n‘when I mentioned Madeleine to everyone, they reacted as though Jade’s reaction was law. But, it wasn’t that it was because it was Jade, but because she was part of the Eostre family. If a whole major family has the ability to see through people like that, and yet they aren’t the set rulers despite this, that can only mean that True Empaths aren’t as simple as that…’

nArios seemed to realize exactly what Dyon was thinking, “if you’re thinking of the Eostre family, I used to have thoughts on them too. Their abilities are so close to what anyone would intuitively think a True Empath would be, so why weren’t they the ruling family if Elvin Kings and Queens were always said True Empaths?”

nArios sighed, “but, I don’t have an answer to give you regarding that. The True Empath seems to be a very important being for the Elves, but, at the same time, from what I’ve pieced together, it has also brought them untold tragedy….

nI don’t know why, but from what I’ve deduced, the Elvin Kingdom can’t afford to have a True Empath on the throne without the help of the Celestial Deer Sect… but, the problem is that that sect was destroyed long ago.

nThe reason they needed the sect isn’t common knowledge. And what they stand to lose without them is also unknown….

nThe last thing is that the hate for the Acacia family is deeper than just the fact the king disappeared. I read an ancient book once, not here, but when I was campaigning with the demon sage, that spoke about the 3 ancient families of the Elvin Race. One was the Florence family. The other was the Mathilde family… and the last, as you’ve probably guessed, was the Acacia family… The fact the Acacia family is known as an ancient one, and yet isn’t given their due respect here, must have a deeper story behind it… That’s all I know.”

nDyon nodded, ‘for one, it wouldn’t make sense for a kingdom to let their citizens know how reliant they were on an ally, so it’s clear why no one knows the true reason behind the alliance except for a select few. Aside from this, the hate of the Acacia family sounds interesting… it may very well be the reason behind some of these odd occurrences.

nBut, Arios’ information did give Dyon a new train of thought. Why would a kingdom who knew they needed an ally like the Celestial Deer Sect not help in stopping their destruction? Did that mean that even with the help of the Elvin Kingdom, the fate of the Celestial Deer Sect was set? Or did that mean that they simply decided not to help for some unknown reason? And maybe, that unknown reason was exactly the reason the major families hated the Acacia ancient family.

nDyon sighed, there was no use pondering on this now with no real information. It was best that he went out for now. Ri and Little Lyla were probably worrying.

n**

nOutside the spatial world, Ri was sitting nervously, staring at the ring in her hand.

nThe vibrations had long since quietened down, but she had no way of knowing what happened. Since the ring was owned by Dyon, she had no way of entering without his permission, so she could only sit and wait while ensuring the ring never left the cave.

nTime passed and soon she was started awake by the pitter patter of small feet running into the cave.

nRi looked up to see Little Lyla skipping in. Without her noticing, the sun had already come up in the sky, and Dyon was still nowhere to be seen.

n“Big sister? Where’s big brother Dyon?”

nLittle Black walked beside Little Lyla. Although the little guy was aware of the dangers, he too was worried about Dyon. But, he couldn’t very well leave Lyla outside.

nRi looked into the little girl’s sparkling pink eyes and stroked her long hair, “big sister’s not sure… we can only wait,” Ri’s eyes glistened with worry.

nLittle Lyla patted Ri’s face in her usual adorable fashion, “big sister, you’re too beautiful to be sad, okay? I’m sure big brother will be fine.”

nRi smiled, chuckling to herself, “I should be comforting you little girl, don’t look down on your big sister.”

nLittle Lyla giggled as Ri pinched her soft cheeks.

nAlmost as if on cue, Ri’s hand was suddenly invaded by a comforting warmth. Looking up in confusion, she found pure hazel-green eyes looking into hers with a playful look in them.

n“You’re beautiful and your hand feels so good in mine. You’re quite good, aren’t you?”

nRi’s eyes flashed with happiness as she finally realized it was Dyon, but his words made her roll her eyes. Taking her hand away, she gave Dyon a stern look, “you think you can just leave us for an entire night and pretend like nothing happened?”

nDyon raised an eyebrow, but soon noticed that the cave was much better lit than it had been when he left. He could only scratch his head awkwardly in acknowledgement.

n‘I guess learning 3000 names and partial backstories took more time than I thought… but, I can only imagine how powerful an army of generals would be. It’s well worth it.’

nPicking up Little Lyla into his arms, Dyon smiled, “we should get you back, hm? We wouldn’t want Ms. Everdeen to get mad at me for you missing your lessons, right?”

nLittle Lyla smiled, and wrapped her arms around Dyon’s neck. But, much to the surprise of both Ri and Dyon, she fell asleep almost immediately in that position.

nA tinge of guilt invaded Dyon’s heart. It looked like the little girl hadn’t slept that night either.

nDyon sighed, “it looks like Ms. Everdeen is going to be quite angry with me. But, I can’t send her to lessons like this. She’s too tired.”

nDyon rubbed the little girl’s back. Lyla had found a strong hold on Dyon’s heart and he wasn’t willing to see her suffer at all. He berated himself for not at least coming back to let them know he was okay… but it was too late now.

nRi flicked his forehead, “you seem to forget that you have people who care for you now. Don’t be so reckless next time.”

nWith that line, she walked out of the cave, expecting Dyon to follow her.

nWatching Ri’s alluring back and swaying curved walk away, Dyon smiled to himself, ‘I guess I do, hm?’

nAlong the way, Ri asked Dyon about what had happened. Dyon, wanting to be honest, told her it wasn’t something he could tell her the full story behind just yet. But, he reassured her that it wouldn’t be a recurring problem.

nThe demon generals had only been trying to grab Dyon’s attention. They had been awake for days, but he still hadn’t checked in. Since they were vaguely aware of the fact they had been out of it for more than a year, they didn’t want to wait too long for when Dyon next checked on them. So, they stirred a little trouble.

nThe only thing really on Dyon’s mind now was feeding them all. He had no choice but to keep them within his ring so as not to alert the Elvin Kingdom. At most, he could bring out Arios since he had once been here, so his existence wouldn’t be questioned too much. In the end, he decided that he might as well feed them like kings. He once again inwardly thanked the Heaven’s Wine founder for unwittingly being his benefactor.

nAs Dyon was lost in thought, he suddenly felt a strong grip on his arm.

nDyon looked over Ri confusedly, not understanding her actions. But, seeing the horrified look on her face, he immediately followed her line of sight.

nStill holding on to Little Lyla, Dyon trembled violently.

nThere in front of them, the fences of the orphanage he had built were destroyed. Half of the house was charred black from an obvious fire, and there was layer after layer of feces piled onto the front lawns, peaking through the windows, and even filling the doorways.

nHuddled outside, hundreds of shivering children sat together, looking at the scene with tears in their eyes.

nDyon quickly scanned the crowd. He had memorized the faces and names of every child he had taken in, so the first thing he wanted to make sure was that none of them were missing.

nTaking a deep breath, Dyon did his best to calm himself. He didn’t want his anger to awaken Lyla or frighten the already scared children. They were lucky enough that none of the children seemed to be missing, he didn’t want to make a bad situation, worse.

nBut, the next sight Dyon saw nearly made him lose nearly all control.

nMs. Everdeen, the sweet old lady he felt like he had just spoken to. The same old lady he had watched through Little Black take such good care of the children… Hung by her neck on a nearby tree.

nHer face was in ruins, nearly unrecognizable. Her clothes had been stripped from her. Deep cuts littered her once fair and fragile wrinkled skin…

nTears of anger streamed down Dyon’s face as he felt Ri turn her gaze away, burying her head into his shoulder.

nDyon silently and gently held the back of Little Lyla’s head, making sure that even should she wake up, that she would never see this sight.

nThe kids noticed Dyon’s arrival but were too distraught to move. None of the other caretakers were in sight… it was as though they had never existed.

nMinutes passed by as Dyon burned this scene into his mind.

nTaking a deep breath, and ignoring the consequences, he sent Ri into his spatial ring along with Little Lyla.

nWith Little Black by his side, he slowly walked to the group of children.

nTaking a look at the children, Dyon’s heart ached. Their faces were covered in soot and tears. It was a heart rending sight.

nKneeling down, Dyon patted the head of a boy sitting near the edge of the huddled group. The poor boy’s face had snot running down it as he quietly sniffled, but Dyon’s touch seemed to be the light of his day.

nLooking up with his big black eyes, the boy cried, “Big brother, are you going to leave us too?”

nThe words of the boy nearly made the tears Dyon had only just managed to stop resurface again, “of course not, Nopos. I wouldn’t leave any of you.”

n“big brother, y-you remember my name?”

nDyon smiled gently, “of course I do,” then Dyon began pointing to each child, quietly speaking their names.

n“Onas.. Nym… Ruith… Ryul…. Soora… Talila…. Nuala…. Aurae….”

nDyon rattled off every single one of their names. Many of these children didn’t even have last names to them, much like Little Lyla. Dyon’s heart was pained by the fact this was the best he could do to give these kids a little warmth in their lives.

nBut…

nWith every name he said, another light of glistening admiration surfaced in the eyes of those kids.

nWith every name he spoke, tears of warmth replaced the cold and dried streaks of salt and dread that had once covered their faces.

nWith every name he whispered, he added another child to his family.

nIn the end Dyon kneeled before them and bowed his head. He had promised to never do this for anyone other than his master. In fact, in the western part of the world he originated from in the human mortal realm, bowing and kneeling was seen as nothing but a form of disgrace. But, that was exactly how Dyon felt now. He had let these kids down. Whether that be because of his arrogance, or because he didn’t build their defenses well enough, was irrelevant to him. The mere fact he had allowed such innocent souls to experience something like this was something he would never forgive himself for.

nThe kids shivered watching Dyon’s actions. But, his next words were ones they would never forget.

n“Sorry is not enough for what I’ve put you all through,” Dyon buried his forehead firmly into the ground, “but, I promise with everything in me, that from this day forward, I won’t allow anyone to treat you like this again. You’ll live your lives as children should. You’ll laugh and smile. You’ll only cry tears of happiness and maybe frustration… but never. Never again will they be tears of pain.”

nJust as Dyon finished, he felt a small hand on his shoulder. He looked up to find Nopos looking at him with tears streaking down his small face.

n“it’s not your fault, big brother. They were bad people… very bad people… they even tortured Ms. Everdeen to find where sister Lyla was hiding… in the end, only she fought for us. Everyone else ran… now we have you big brother. You’re willing to remember our names and you’re willing to kneel for us. You will always be our big brother.”

nDyon’s words caught in his throat, he hugged the little boy, and every child after. Silently sending them and Little Black into the spatial world.

nSoon, he was all that was left.

nSilently, Dyon walked to the tree Ms. Everdeen hung from, gently taking her down.

nDyon slowly and diligently repaired the wounds on the beautiful old lady’s skin. Taking his time to repair her grey eyes and her disarrayed hair. Dyon knew this would never revive her, but he wasn’t willing for her to have any blemishes even in death.

nAfterwards, Dyon created a beautiful dress for her. An elegant and conservative silver covered Ms. Everdeen’s body.

nSlowly closing her eyes for the last time, Dyon smiled gently, “you truly are beautiful Ms. Everdeen. May you rest in peace.”

nDyon’s crystal will whirred to life as he created endless flowers, small birds, and butterflies, gently layering Ms. Everdeen’s crystalline coffin with them.

nShe looked peaceful. Exactly like someone who fought to the end for what they believed in.

nHer arms were crossed, and the countless crystallized flowers and elegant animals graced her in death.

nDyon took a deep breath, “when the time is right, I’ll complete your perfect burial. The ones who did this to you will kneel before you in repentance. Forever.”

nWith that thought, Dyon took out a new spatial ring… one that he would reserve for Ms. Everdeen.

nSilently putting her away, Dyon closed his eyes.

nIt was still the early morning. Birds chirped, and the leaves of the forest rustled in the wind. But, aside from this, there was nothing but an eerie quiet.

nThe village that had once had many residents was empty. They had most likely fled in the midst of the disaster, not bothering to care for already parentless children.

nHours went by with Dyon in this state, but he still wasn’t willing to move. He smelt the foul manure coming from the once vibrant orphanage. He felt the trembling in his heart as it continued to fiercely pound. He felt the dripping blood from clenched hands he wasn’t willing to relax.

nSoon, it was already the next morning.

nSuddenly, Dyon opened his eyes, a dense fire burning within them.

nBlack flames danced across Dyon’s face, erasing all traces of the tears he had ever shed.

nHis eyes were decidedly darker, dimming from their hazel-green, to a murky and dark brown.

nWith a wave of his hand, the black flames engulfed the orphanage. Not even sparing the trees and village around it.

nDyon stood within, untouched. His face without emotion and his heart calm as a dark and gloomy lake.

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