《The Heavenly General Just Wants His Retirement》


 Chapter 1: A New Life

    I, the Heavenly General, hated war.


    Ever since time immemorial, the War of Holy and Evil had been going on and on. During those times, all I did was kill demons.


    As I stood above the corpses of demons, drenched in their blood, in my hand was the head of their king, the Demon Emperor. Many questions appeared in my mind.


    What was the point of all this? Why was I even fighting in the first place? These questions bugged my head. I had waited for a long, long time, but the answers didn¡¯t show up to me.


    I sighed in helplessness. I placed the head that I was holding on the throne and walked away, exiting the throne room. Before long, I was able to leave the Night Castle of Demons. The whole castle was dark and eerie, and the thick malice in the air made it a little bit hard to breathe.


    Just as I passed through the gates, a loud roar of cheers startled me.


    ¡°WOOOHHH!! The General came out of the castle!!¡±


    ¡°Yes, I can see that! This means the General won!¡±


    ¡°Finally, the eons of war have ended! This is all thanks to the General! Long live the Heavenly General!¡±


    ¡°¡°Long live the Heavenly General!¡±¡±


    ¡°¡°Long live the Heavenly General!¡±¡±


    ¡°¡°Long live the¡­!¡±¡±


    The millions of Heavenly Soldiers stationed in front of the gates had been waiting anxiously for a long time. Now that they saw me, their general, coming out in one piece, I guess they couldn''t help but celebrate.


    Still, what do they mean by ¡®long live¡¯? We¡¯re immortals, so living for a long time is a given. Well, I suppose I can let them off for a while.


    Ignoring the loud cheers, I called out for one of my trusted lieutenant generals. A man in shiny silver armor appeared from nowhere and kneeled in front of me.


    ¡°What is your command, General?¡±


    ¡°Immediately tell all the troops to retreat. I¡¯ll go ahead first,¡± I ordered in a cold manner.


    ¡°Understood.¡± Then the man vanished.


    With a leap, I immediately left the Demon World and headed to the Heavenly Realm, the territory of the Heavenly Race. Entering the realm, I instantly went to my house. Different from the status that I had, my home was just like a commoner''s. Well, Heavenly beings are devoid of any desires, so we don¡¯t actually have needs for luxuries and such.


    I lazily jumped onto my bed. I took a deep breath and sighed in exhaustion.


    ¡°Finally, these eons of fighting are over¡­ at least for a moment...¡±


    As long as the Holy aspect exists in this world, the Heavenly Race can never die. Likewise, the Demonic Race is the same¡ªonce the Evil aspect still exists, the demons will just regenerate themselves, and the war will continue.If you encounter this story on Amazon, note that it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it.


    There is a simple solution: wiping out Evil. But the process is too troublesome. In any case, the Demonic beings won¡¯t emerge for a long period of time. That means I should have enough leeway to take a vacation, right? Why don¡¯t I relax in the Lower Realm for a couple of centuries? That''s a really good idea! I grinned, rose from my bed in excitement, and rushed to the Reincarnation Well.


    .


    ¡­


    ¡­..


    The Demon World is the home of the Demonic Race. It only had one rule: the strongest will be king! Due to this rule, any place in this realm was in constant battle for power. But now, since they lost the War of Holy and Evil, every one of them had perished.


    The whole world was silent. The corpses of demons were scattered, and the blood was thick enough to color the sky blood-red. Suddenly, each corpse of a demon turned into dark, shining dust. The dust gathered in one spot, forming a large black ball.


    Although the ball was pitch black, it shone like a bright star. This black ball was supposed to go to the Evil Star and let the demons be reborn slowly¡ªor at least that should¡¯ve happened. A black smoke with a hue of violet emerged out of nowhere and swallowed the black ball in a single gulp. The violet-black smoke seemed to form a silhouette after devouring the black ball; it even burped in satisfaction. Finishing its business, the violet-black silhouette began to melt into the air and vanished.


    ***


    The Reincarnation Well is a place where the souls of mortals are in a constant cycle of life and death. Although the place¡¯s name had "well" in it, it wasn¡¯t actually a well. The path of the souls formed a smooth, continuous curve that looped symmetrically around a central point, resembling a sideways figure-eight. It was divided into two sides: a white one, which represented life, and a black one, which represented death.


    The Reincarnation Well was huge; it made me look like an ant in comparison. I took an object from my pocket and showed it to the well. The object was just a normal-looking brown bead without any special appearance. This bead is called the Soul-Holding Bead. As the name suggests, this bead is able to hold a soul within it. As for why I took it out? It''s simple, really¡ªI planned to put my soul into this bead.


    Despite being created by the Creator as powerful beings, a soul is still incredibly fragile. I needed some kind of shell to protect my soul from the corroding process of reincarnation, and this is where the Soul-Holding Bead came in handy.


    As I raised the bead, I closed my eyes and focused my entire senses on it. After a couple of seconds, a shining ball of golden light came out of my forehead. The light circled playfully for a moment before going inside the bead. My empty body seemed to lose color and collapsed to the ground while the bead floated in the air, shining a golden light. It shone brightly as if in excitement and charged at the Reincarnation Well. The bead came in contact with the well and, as I expected, it resisted. Well, I was practically forcing my way into it, so it wasn¡¯t a surprise.


    It was a relief that I first contained my soul within the bead; otherwise, with just this clash, my soul would have perished into nothing. I let the bead continue to clash with the well until it was finally able to pierce through.


    I was finally inside the Reincarnation Well. My soul, within the bead, was gushed along the path like a ball in a river. As the bead continued, it eventually reached the center point where life and death met. I could see the purple light where a new beginning of my life as a mortal would start.


    ***


    The Sylvania Empire is an empire ruled by elves. In its capital city, Sylvia, a joyful celebration was currently being held. This was because of the birth of Arthur Sylvania, the First Prince.


    All the people of the city gathered at the castle just to catch a glimpse of the newborn First Prince.


    The people were excited at the news of the First Prince¡¯s birth. After all, he would be the only successor of Emperor Sylvania. This made all of them at ease, knowing that their empire would be passed into good hands.


    I guess you¡¯re wondering where I am in this crowd of people? I am currently on the balcony of the Empress''s room in the castle, being held by one of the most powerful men in this world¡ªthe Emperor of this empire, Emperor Alexander Sylvania. And the baby he was holding... was me.


    He had a big grin on his face, full of pride. He took a deep breath and faced the citizens of his empire. I could predict what he was going to do.


    ¡°My people! The First Prince, the very successor of my empire, has been delivered safely! The Empress is also healthy and fine! This day will be etched into history as the day the greatest Emperor of our Empire is born! HAHAHA!!¡± The man laughed in delight.


    For goodness'' sake, just what went wrong?

 Chapter 2: A Creature No One Expected

    For goodness'' sake, just what went wrong?


    I was sure I set my place to reincarnate to some small town with a small population. And yet, what am I doing here looking down at a thousand people from above? Did the Reincarnation Well break? No, no, that''s impossible, that Well holds all life and death in existence; it cannot be broken or else chaos will come. Then what just...


    Somehow I didn¡¯t even realize I was panicking, unlike my usual calm and composed self. It can¡¯t be helped though. This event was surely strange. Well, I don¡¯t have a choice but to just go along, at the price of giving up my peaceful and secluded life. Being the sole successor of this Empire, I will surely have a ton of work that will fall on my shoulders in the future.


    Looking at the cheerful people below and the happy face of my father, my future seems to be bleak.


    .


    ...


    .....


    And so three years have passed.


    In that small span of time, I was able to finally speak and walk. At this moment, I realize the importance of being able to talk and move freely. The humiliation of being fed and carried was finally over.


    Currently, I was drinking tea with my mother at the Rose Garden right outside the castle. We were sitting across from each other at a table in a pavilion. This life wasn''t bad as I expected. Throughout the day, all I did was eat, play, and then sleep.


    In the Upper Realm, blood and bodies were always the view in front of me. Living without them was a huge change in my life but not in a bad way. I hope this peaceful life continues.


    As I sip my tea, I heard a small chuckle come out from my mother. I looked at her and saw her holding her laughter while looking at me.


    ¡°Are you laughing at me, Mother??¡±


    ¡°Fufu¡­your face was just so cute that I can''t hold my smile.¡±


    Honestly¡­


    My mother was very beautiful. Her long silver hair flowed smoothly over her shoulders. Her sky-blue iris, along with her fox eyes, made her very enchanting. In contrast, the long pointy ears that she had also made her look cute.


    She was wearing a pure white blouse and a long pleated skirt. Covering her was a long white robe. Her outfit made her look elegant, befitting an Empress.


    (A/N: It''s similar to a pure white Chinese ruqun hanfu for females.)


    She seemed to realize that I was staring at her, so she reached out her hand to pinch my cheeks.


    ¡°That hurts, Mother!¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s because you¡¯re staring at me too much. Are you finished with your tea?¡±


    I took a look at the teacup in my hand and saw that it was already empty.This story has been taken without authorization. Report any sightings.


    ¡°Then, let¡¯s go back to your room.¡±


    My mother stood up and walked toward me while reaching out her hand. Why is she always treating me like a child? Although I know I am, it was just too humiliating to be spoiled by someone like this. I have to remind you, I lived ever since the Creator created the world. But seeing the kind smiling face of my mother, I wonder if rejecting her will make her sad? I don¡¯t know, but somehow I didn¡¯t want to see her like that.


    I took her hand and jumped down from the tall chair, which my mother found hilarious.


    ¡°Pfftt¡­¡±


    ¡°Mother..¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry. I¡¯m sorry, okay?¡±


    I shook my head in exhaustion. My mother acts mature sometimes, but whenever she¡¯s with me, she¡¯s like a child.


    .


    ...


    .....


    My mother dropped me off at my room and left after asking for a kiss on the cheek, which I reluctantly gave.


    ¡°Haah... dealing with my mother is so tiring.¡± I sighed as I lazily lay down on my bed.


    ¡°...Well, it wasn¡¯t that bad.¡±


    Heavenly beings are born naturally without the need for a woman to birth them and with an already fully-grown body. We don¡¯t undergo a long process of growth. That¡¯s why all of this is a first for me. I felt frustrated that they treated me as a child, but at the same time, I don¡¯t hate it. These conflicting thoughts make me clueless on how to treat my parents.


    I wonder if I was just tired, so I was feeling very sleepy right now. Just as I was about to drift off into my dreamland, an intense sharp and throbbing pain woke me up instantly.


    ¡°Ughh...what...is...this...?¡±


    I held my head in pain. This sensation was quite familiar to me. It was a kind of pain as if something was directly tearing my soul in half.


    ¡°Wait...my soul?¡±


    Ignoring the excruciating pain, I focused my entire consciousness on my Soul Space. Soul Space is a small room in my head that holds my Soul. After a couple of seconds, I was finally able to enter my Soul Space. All you can see in this room was white; you can¡¯t even observe the depth of the space. It was as though you could touch the wall at an arm''s length or the space was just never-ending.


    Of course, this won¡¯t confuse me, this was my very own soul after all. I reached out my arm, and a golden bead appeared out of thin air. This was the very same bead that I transferred my soul into to reincarnate myself, and right now it was at the brink of breaking.


    The bead was full of cracks that, if you just flicked it slightly, it would instantly turn to dust.


    ¡°As I thought, my soul is breaking, but why?¡±


    There was no one to answer my question. In any case, I need to stop it from breaking, or else I will die. Fortunately, I still have Holy power left. I poured my remaining Holy power into the bead, and the cracks actually began to heal slowly, in which I sighed in relief. I was a little uncertain that it would work; thankfully, it did.


    As I gradually healed my soul, I realized one thing. My current Holy power isn¡¯t enough to fully heal my soul. The Holy power of each Heavenly being came from the Holy Star, and now that I discarded my Heavenly body and severed my connection to the Holy Star, I cannot replenish my Holy power.


    Of course, I thought of that problem when I was planning my reincarnation. To solve that problem, I left a partial part of my soul in my original body so that my Holy power could continue to regenerate. The concerning matter was that my Holy power seemed to suddenly stop regenerating.


    My Holy power continued to regenerate even over these three years, and now it suddenly stopped? The only thing that I can think of is that my partial soul that I planted has perished. But who would do that? The possible suspects have already been eliminated, such as the demons. Could it be an unknown variable?


    Just what is happening to the Upper Realm?


    ***


    Since the Holy faction has won the War of Holy and Evil, the prosperity of life will spread throughout the whole realm. Each world will have a bountiful harvest, animals and monsters will be at a calm state, and spirits of the dead will pass on peacefully. All of the living beings in existence will enjoy this prosperity for a million years to come.


    And yet all of this was gone because of a single entity. A creature that no one expected.


    Each world in the Upper Realm has been consumed by a violet-black smoke. The Heavenly Race fought the smoke, but they were beaten one-sidedly. Physical attacks seemed to not work because of its composition, while using Holy power also didn¡¯t work out. Every attack that they made just passed through the smoke. Therefore, they weren''t able to do anything, while the smoke just enjoyed eating to its content.


    In no time, the whole realm was consumed with no single world spared.

 Chapter 3: A Common Tree

    It was now morning. The sunlight passed through a small crevice from the door that led to my balcony and hit my face, waking me up from my slumber. I was too tired to get up from my bed due to exhaustion, then I remembered that Mother and I were supposed to meet early this morning at the library. My sleepiness immediately disappeared in the blink of an eye.


    Without delay, I got up from my bed and went to the bathroom to take a bath. After that, I changed into very sophisticated clothes. I took a look in the mirror and was quite satisfied.


    I was quite tall compared to other children my age, towering at four feet. My outfit was also rather fancy¡ªa night-black garment and pants, with a wide and flowing robe embroidered with a golden eastern dragon at the sides.


    I had to admit, though, I was a pretty handsome boy myself. My midnight blue, shoulder-length hair, along with my sky-blue eyes similar to Mother''s, made me look very alluring. Once I grow up, this face will definitely be a lady-killer.


    As I admired my appearance, I realized that I was already running late for the meeting with Mother. Fixing my face for a bit, I hurriedly exited my room while also greeting the maid standing just outside.


    ¡°Good morning, sister! Can you please clean up my bedroom? And also, change my bedsheets for a clean one. I have a meeting with my Mother, so I¡¯ll go now. Thank you and bye!¡± Without even waiting for the maid¡¯s response, I was already sprinting along the hallway.


    ¡°I understand, Your Highness¡­¡±


    As I ran, I heard a loud scream from my bedroom.


    ¡°Why are the bedsheets drenched with sweat!? And it stinks!¡±


    I¡¯m very sorry, sister¡­ I promise I¡¯ll grant any of your wishes after this. For now, I need to hurry. Mother is very scary when she is angry.


    ***


    The Sylvan Archives is the largest library known throughout the seven continents. It was said that this archive holds all the history and knowledge of the world, although I don¡¯t know if that was the truth.


    As I stood just before the entrance of the archive, I was very impressed. The whole archive was actually built inside a huge tree! The tree was so thick that it would take at least a thousand people to encircle it. It was so tall that it made the castle surrounding it look small in comparison.


    However, there seemed to be no doors that would let me into the archive. This was where the most interesting part came in. I took out a small golden plaque from my pocket. The wooden plaque was coated in gold, with the head of an eastern dragon engraved on it. This plaque was the Dragon Seal¡ªthe only key to entering the Sylvan Archives¡ªand it could only be activated by the Sylvania Empire''s royal family. Naturally, as the son of the Emperor, I was able to activate it.Unauthorized tale usage: if you spot this story on Amazon, report the violation.


    I raised the seal in front of the tree, and suddenly, white lines of light began to appear on a part of the tree, forming an upside-down U-shape. With a creaking scream, each half of the shape began to open like double doors. I then entered the archive. The double doors shut behind me and vanished.


    I looked around the archive. It was the second time I¡¯d seen this place, and it never failed to amaze me. The first was one year ago when my Mother and Father introduced me to this place. Rows of bookshelves lined up in a very orderly manner. At the middle-end, there was a receptionist''s table where one could inquire about books. Behind the table, a beautiful white-haired woman stood with a not-so-smiling face.


    ¡°Arthur Sylvania, you are fifteen minutes late,¡± the woman said. Although she had a smile, her eyes were anything but friendly.


    ¡°Mother... I¡¯m sorry.¡±


    I looked down in remorse. My Mother always taught me that, as the Crown Prince, I had to constantly mind my etiquette. That was easier for me since I was also a very mindful person before. Ever since then, I hadn¡¯t made the mistake of being rude to anyone. This was a special case.


    Due to what happened last night, I slept too late and stayed in bed for too long. But I didn¡¯t plan to use that as an excuse. If I did, I would have to explain what happened, then why it happened, then reveal my past, which I wasn¡¯t ready to share. Without me even realizing it, I had grown attached to them and was afraid they would begin to avoid me¡ªor worse, exile me¡ªonce they found out who I really was.


    I was thinking of other excuses to tell when my Mother reached out and patted my head. I looked up, staring directly into her eyes, which were now full of kindness, unlike the cold look she had earlier.


    She caressed my head softly, making me feel a funny sensation in my stomach. Then she said gently, ¡°It¡¯s fine, my dear child Art. It¡¯s okay to be late sometimes, but you have to remember¡ªyou¡¯re the Crown Prince of our Empire and the future Emperor. If you act rudely, people will see you as an arrogant idiot unbefitting of the throne.¡±


    ¡°I understand, Mother.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s good. Then shall we sit at that table over there and begin?¡±


    My Mother pointed at the reading section, where many tables and chairs were placed. She left the receptionist''s table and held out her hand to me. A big smile was on her face.


    ¡°Mother... I can walk on my own¡­¡±


    Yet, Mother still held out her hand with a smile that said she would never take no for an answer. It seemed I had no choice but to take her hand again.


    As we walked, I grew curious. Why was my Mother, the Empress, working as the only receptionist in this archive? Couldn¡¯t she assign other people to work in her place? The question bugged me so much that I asked her.


    She laughed at my question. ¡°Well, I guess we should have a little introduction before we begin our lessons.¡±


    After saying that, we were now sitting at a table across from each other. That¡¯s when I remembered that this was the beginning of my succession training. The first stage of my training was learning history, and my trainer would be my own mother¡ªthe Empress.


    ¡°My dear Art, what do you think of this tree?¡±


    ¡°This tree? It is quite impressive¡­ and huge.¡±


    ¡°Other than that?¡± my Mother asked, clearly not satisfied with my answer.


    What else was there to say, though? This was just a tree that had somehow managed to live an exceptionally long lifespan. Such trees were quite common in the Upper Realm. The only impressive thing about it was the archive.


    Seeing my uninterested expression, my Mother pouted in annoyance.


    ¡°Gosh, you should be excited like a kid and eager to learn about it! This tree is our origin¡ªit is our very own ancestor!¡±

 Chapter 4: The Solution!

    Millions of years ago, when true dragons ruled the whole world and made it their playground, there was a Wood Dragon.


    This Wood Dragon was different from the other dragons. It had a very long body that slithered like a snake, and its horns were similar to a reindeer''s. This characteristic made the other dragons avoid him because of his strangeness. It was not long before he was exiled from the race, accused of having impure blood and that if he continued to stay longer, he would corrupt their true and pure blood.


    (A/N: Just to be clear, the ¡®true dragon¡¯ has the appearance of a Western dragon, while the Wood Dragon has the appearance of an Eastern dragon.)


    And so, he was forced to leave and wander alone. He didn¡¯t have any place to go since he hadn''t had parents ever since his birth. As he traveled for a long time, he eventually grew tired and wanted to rest. He landed in a barren land, found himself a cozy and comfortable place, and slept.


    Then he woke up after a good night¡¯s sleep. It seemed like the sleep had lifted his bad mood, judging by his eased expression. It dawned on him that this kind of lifestyle, where he traveled throughout the world, quite suited him, and so he continued his journey. What he didn''t realize was that while he was sleeping, one of his scales had fallen off his skin.


    This scale, which held an incredible life force, revived the barren land. With it, the lifeless land began to bloom, and eventually, the whole place turned into a very thick forest. As for the scale, it turned into a very large tree, though not as huge as the current tree. It stationed itself at the very center of the land. At this point in time, the tree had evolved and was able to take a human form.


    At a particular moment, she took an interest in humans who were living just outside her territory. And so, she severed a branch of herself, and that branch took a human form. She had flowing white hair and golden eyes. Her ears were long and pointed, similar to an elf¡¯s.


    She went to the human settlement that was right beside her territory and observed them. After a very long time of observing, there was only one thing that she found interesting¡ªa baby.


    The act of giving birth to a new life intrigued her. She observed and observed, and the more she observed, the more interested she became. At some point, she started thinking about wanting to create one herself. The instant she thought of this, she immediately acted on it. She hated the idea of copulating with humans, though. But she had a way of giving birth even without copulating.If you encounter this tale on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.


    She planted a seed inside herself and showered it with strong life force every single day. That seed came from the fruit of her tree, so it would definitely be related to her. She continued to pour life force into it for a very long time, and finally, the seed hatched. A small baby came out of the seed, and in her delight, she realized she had actually given birth to a child. She had been looking forward to this all her life.


    She still had to wait a long time for the baby to grow, but she didn''t complain. She was just grateful that her plan was successful. At the time of delivery, the baby was safe and sound, much to her relief.


    ¡°And so, she raised the baby into a magnificent elf. This was the age when the elven race came into existence, and the Sylvania Empire was founded by a child who was raised by a tree¡ªthe very first Empress.¡± My mother pointed at a very large portrait that was hanging on the side.


    ¡°That is the whole history of how our elven race and the Sylvania Empire were created.¡±


    I nodded in amazement. I couldn¡¯t believe someone was able to create life by themselves. Beings like those usually have a strong connection to the aspect of life. There was still something I wondered about, though.


    ¡°If she was the very first elf in the elven race, then how did our race prosper? Did the tree create more elves?¡±


    ¡°Fufu¡­ I¡¯m impressed you noticed that. Here¡¯s a pat as your reward.¡± She reached out and patted my head.


    ¡°Unfortunately, the tree at that time had depleted her life force, making it impossible for her to birth more elves. It even endangered her life. The first Empress tried to find potions or elixirs that could restore life force, but to no avail. It was during that journey that she encountered another elf.¡±


    ¡°Huh? I thought the first Empress was the first elf? How come there¡¯s another one?¡±


    ¡°It turns out that there wasn¡¯t only one tree capable of birthing elves. These trees are called the Trees of Life.¡±


    Tree of Life, huh? Sounds befitting. Still, if there were so many of them, did the Wood Dragon shed his skin?


    ¡°The elf that the first Empress met actually carried a scale of the Wood Dragon. The elf¡¯s parent had been hunted down, forcing the Tree of Life to sacrifice herself so her child could escape safely. The scale was the only thing the elf was able to take. The first Empress took the elf in and also asked for the scale, which the elf gladly gave upon hearing her situation. As the first Empress surmised, the scale was able to restore the tree¡¯s life force. Not only that, but it was also able to enhance one''s soul!¡±


    That scale is quite a treasure. There are only a couple of things that are able to affect the soul. That scale should sell for a high price.


    Wait¡­ isn''t that the solution to my current dilemma!?

 Chapter 5: A Duel

    Bang! Bang!


    The sound of a clash between two wooden swords filled the whole training room. The knights who were watching the current battle were fired up.


    ¡°Go! Go! Your Highness! Beat His Majesty to a pulp.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t be defeated by a child, Your Majesty! I bet all my money on you!¡±


    I panted heavily in exhaustion, but I didn¡¯t lose my concentration. I was still in a stance, ready to intercept any of my father¡¯s attacks.


    While he was also panting, it was just a light catch of breath, as if he had only taken a small jog, which irritated me greatly. He didn¡¯t even pose any stance and was full of openings. He is completely underestimating me, huh?


    As for why this happened? We will have to go back thirty minutes ago.


    .


    ¡­


    ¡­.


    ¡°Now then! This lesson is over,¡± my mother said in a happy tone.


    Finally, it was over. I was dying to know more about the scale of the Wood Dragon. I intended to search for books about the dragon and whether it was really capable of affecting the soul.


    ¡°Mother, can I browse through the books?¡±


    ¡°No. Reading time is over. If you are bored, join your father. I love you, child.¡±


    ¡°Huh? What ar¡ª¡±


    Before I could even finish what I was about to say, with a wave of her hand, I was sent outside of the archive, right beside the entrance.


    ¡°...¡±


    I sighed heavily. I had forgotten¡ªa visitor only has a limited amount of time to stay inside the archive. It looks like this will be harder than I thought. For now, should I go to the training grounds?


    .


    ¡­


    ¡­..


    Before I went to the training grounds, I was feeling famished, so I asked the maid to send a meal to my room first. The meal was quite delicious.


    After that, I headed straight to the training grounds. Even before I entered, I could already hear the shouts and grunts of knights in harsh training. All of them trained wearing only pants, leaving their upper bodies bare. I could hear the maids¡¯ loud screams coming from behind the wall barricade.


    Seeing the knights in training reminded me of my subordinates who were under my supervision in the Upper Realm. Well, the war is over now, so I doubt they are in danger. They must be enjoying their lives right now.


    The one in charge of the knights¡¯ training was the commander of the Knights Order. They were the ones tasked with overseeing and protecting all the citizens throughout the Empire.


    He saw me approaching him, so he bowed and greeted me.


    ¡°Greetings, Your Highness, the Crown Prince. Welcome to the training grounds. If you want to meet with His Majesty, then you are just in time¡ªhe is training right over there.¡±


    As I followed where he pointed, sure enough, Father was there. He was holding a long sword, swinging it repeatedly in one direction with the same strength and the same speed every time, which I admired. He must be enhancing his control and precision in swordsmanship.


    Perhaps sensing my gaze, our eyes met. My father¡¯s focused expression immediately changed into a happy one. He threw the long sword he was holding and waved at me with both hands.This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.


    ¡°Hey! Isn¡¯t this my most proud son, Arthur!?¡±


    Ugh¡­ here comes another headache. I don¡¯t know if it¡¯s intentional, but my parents seem to enjoy embarrassing me in public. My mother treats me like a child, while my father shamelessly boasts in the presence of many people. I mean, sure, no one will speak out since they are the Empress and Emperor. Still, don¡¯t you two mind your reputation!?


    Although I was complaining in my mind, even if I said this to them, it would go in one ear and out the other. It was completely useless.


    That¡¯s why I had no choice but to go along with them.


    ¡°Yes, yes¡­ Your most proud son is here.¡±


    ¡°Hahaha, it¡¯s always interesting to see your indifferent expression. I wonder just where you got it from?¡±


    I also wonder about that sometimes.


    ¡°So, what did you come here for? Your fighting lessons won¡¯t start until after your baptism.¡±


    Of course, I knew that. I just came here because of what Mother said. But seeing the knights dueling, my blood started to boil.


    ¡°Father¡­ do you want to have a one-on-one?¡±


    My father seemed surprised at what I said¡ªhe had a dumbfounded expression on his face.


    ¡°Ohh? That¡¯s the first time I¡¯ve seen you make that kind of look.¡±


    ¡°What kind of look did I have?¡±


    ¡°A beast hungry for a fight. Come down to this arena. I¡¯ll satiate your hunger.¡±


    He grabbed two wooden swords from the weapon rack and tossed one of them to me, which I easily caught.


    ¡°Commander Darius, come down here as well and be the referee for this fight.¡±


    The commander of the Knights Order, Darius, didn¡¯t immediately carry out my father¡¯s request. He seemed dissatisfied with something.


    ¡°Your Majesty, I apologize for being rude, but isn¡¯t this excessive?¡±


    ¡°What do you mean?¡±


    ¡°His Highness is only three years old. He still has an underdeveloped body and hasn¡¯t even begun any training yet, and now he''s dueling with Your Majesty, who is practically the strongest in this empire!¡±


    ¡°Ahh¡­ I see what you mean. Don¡¯t worry, I¡¯ll hold back and only use my swordsmanship. If you¡¯re worried about his physique, then take a look at him again! Do you think your children¡¯s bodies when they were three years old were as mature as my son¡¯s?¡±


    ¡°No, they weren¡¯t, but¡­ I understand, Your Majesty. I¡¯ll be the referee.¡±


    ¡°Good. You should¡¯ve listened to me in the first place.¡±


    Father, aren¡¯t you being too harsh? Look at the commander¡ªhe¡¯s so dejected. His words must have hit a hard spot for him.


    I have to say, though, Father is definitely suited to be an Emperor. He doesn¡¯t lash out at people who disagree with him and at least listens to them. I wonder if this is the kind of Emperor they aspire for me to become? If he could just fix his haughty attitude, then he¡¯d be perfect. Alas.


    My father and I stood facing each other with a fair distance between us. I took a stance, ready to attack the moment the battle started, while my father had a laid-back expression, his sword pointing at the ground. Right now, he had a lot of openings that I could exploit. He¡¯s looking down on me just because I¡¯m a child¡ªwell, that will be his huge mistake today.


    ¡°That is a stance I¡¯ve never seen before.¡±


    That¡¯s no surprise. This stance came from my personally made technique called the Demon-Culling Sword Technique. I found killing demons one by one to be a waste of time, so I created this technique focused on efficiently slaughtering demons.


    The referee, Commander Darius, stood in the middle. He looked at us both to check if we were ready. He raised his hands and said,


    ¡°The duel between His Majesty, Emperor Alexander Sylvania, and His Highness, Crown Prince Arthur Sylvania, has now¡­ begun!¡±


    The moment the referee signaled, I immediately dashed toward my father.


    ¡°How hasty!¡±


    My father continued to stand still even after seeing me charging at him. His arrogance was quite infuriating.


    I readied my sword and made a right slash at his torso.


    Bang!


    ¡°Is this all you can do?¡±


    As I expected, with just a casual slash, he deflected my sword. But I grinned in victory. Instead of resisting the deflection, I let the momentum carry me, twisting my body into a spin. In an instant, I was behind my father.


    ¡°Wha¡ª!?¡±


    I bent my knees to gain momentum, then jumped! Now, we were at the same height. I positioned my sword like a dagger and stabbed at his neck. However, instead of feeling the sensation of piercing flesh, all I felt was the wind whistling. My father had vanished from where he was, and all I stabbed was just air.


    Then I realized I was actually hovering in the air. In shock, I lost my balance and fell face-first to the ground.


    ¡°Ouch¡­¡±


    What the heck just happened?


    ¡°Whew¡­ that was close.¡±


    I heard a sigh of relief a distance in front of me. I raised my head to look at my father, who was definitely standing in a different spot than before.


    ¡°Father, you cheated! You said you¡¯d only use your swordsmanship!¡±


    ¡°I could say the same thing to you! You were about to pierce my throat. If I hadn¡¯t dodged that, you would have killed me then and there!¡±


    Ah, right. My father is not an immortal. In the Upper Realm, our way of training was battling each other until one of us was dead, then the dead could just be revived in the Holy Star¡ªbut mortals can¡¯t do that.


    ¡°Even so, that was impressive. Do you want to have another round?¡±


    ¡°As much as I want to, Father, I can¡¯t move my body. I¡¯m too exhausted.¡±


    ¡°Oh, let me help you stand.¡±


    What we didn¡¯t realize was that Mother had actually been watching our whole fight.


    ¡°You two¡­ what are you doing!?¡±


    ¡°Uh-oh.¡±


    Yeah, definitely ''uh-oh''. We are dead.

 Chapter 6: A Demon that Came Crawling Out of Hell

    ¡°What are you thinking, dueling with your three-year-old son!? Are you out of your mind?¡±


    Mother shouted and pointed at my currently kneeling father. By the way, we were right now in my father¡¯s office. As for me, I was sitting beside my mother, joyfully watching the show.


    ¡°My Empress, why am I the only one kneeling? That kid was the one who invited me to a duel!¡±


    ¡°Hm? Is that true, Art?¡±


    How cunning! It seems like Father wants to bring me down with him, but I won¡¯t let that happen.


    ¡°Mother¡­ I just wanted to play knights with Father, but he hit me too hard. Look, I still can¡¯t even move my body.¡±


    With all my heart and broken soul, I acted pitifully in front of my mother, even producing a drop of tears in my eyes. And it seemed to have worked, seeing her eyes full of love and sadness.


    ¡°Oh, my pitiful child¡­ This is all your fault!¡±


    My mother looked like she couldn''t hold her anger anymore and grabbed the golden branch that was displayed on the wall.


    ¡°Wait¡­ my Empress! Please, anything but that!¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s too late to ask for forgiveness!¡±


    ¡°GAHHH!¡±


    The situation appeared to be getting worse, so I sneakily escaped. I just hope you¡¯ll still be alive after this, Father.


    ***


    It was still afternoon, and since I had nothing better to do, I planned to wander around the castle. In the span of an hour, I had already visited a lot of places.


    The kitchen, where food was being made¡ªI snatched a few snacks on the way.


    The stables, where the knights'' horses were being taken care of¡ªI also saw my father¡¯s horse, and it was magnificent. It was as tall as him, soaring six feet high. It had jet-black fur and rock-hard muscles. It was definitely a powerful horse. How envious¡­ There were no horses in the Upper Realm, so I hope I can at least try to ride one.


    Next was the armory. Rows of armor and weapons were placed inside, but the one that stood out the most was my father''s armor. The armor was pure black, but even in the dark, you could clearly see the armor due to the glitters that shined like stars. It was as if the night sky had been taken directly to make this armor.


    Then came the smithy. Even from afar, you could hear hammers striking down on hot metal. As I got closer, I felt the temperature gradually rising. I was amazed at how the workers could endure this heat. Each worker had impressive arm muscles¡ªprobably due to their constant hammering.


    All of them were elves, which was commendable considering elves were more aligned with wood elements. But I noticed one who wasn¡¯t an elf.


    This person was short, even though I was a bit taller than him, yet he had a very old face. He was full of facial hair, which was braided in a very neat manner. He appeared to be the one in charge of this place, seeing that he was the one giving orders. My lessons with Mother hadn¡¯t reached the different races in this world yet, so I couldn''t identify what he was. Well, I could just ask him, right?


    With that in mind, I entered the smithy. That¡¯s when I realized that the temperature outside couldn¡¯t even compare to being inside. Rows of forges were placed along each side of the wall, every one of them with a blacksmith heating up metal, then dipping the metal in water before starting to hammer it. The process was done in an orderly fashion¡ªit was almost hypnotizing.


    Even when I entered, they hadn¡¯t lost their concentration at all and continued their work. The only one who noticed me was the short old man. He approached me and bowed slightly.


    ¡°Greetings, Your Highness. Welcome to this humble smithy. Did you come here perhaps to request a weapon? If so, I can arrange for someone to do that.¡±This book is hosted on another platform. Read the official version and support the author''s work.


    ¡°No, you don¡¯t have to.¡±


    I immediately refused this little one¡¯s offer. When Heavenly beings are born, a sword manifests alongside their soul. This sword¡¯s strength depends on the owner. Although I still can¡¯t summon mine because of my soul¡¯s current state, using a customized sword seems wasteful since I won¡¯t need it once my soul heals.


    ¡°Then may I ask why you came here, Your Highness?¡±


    ¡°I was¡­¡±


    Just as I was about to answer, a streak of light suddenly flashed in my eyesight. I followed where it came from and saw a young man hammering metal. Surrounding him were floating red lights pestering him, yet the young man looked as if he couldn¡¯t even see them.


    I looked around and saw red lights lingering around each blacksmith. But I noticed one thing¡ªthe red lights around the young man were fewer compared to the others.


    ¡°Hey, don¡¯t you think that man¡¯s fire is a little lower than the others?¡± Without realizing it, I had already asked the question.


    The little man had a questioning gaze as he looked at where I pointed.


    ¡°Hey, rookie! The fire is too low to let the metals melt. Raise the temperature of the fire!¡± the little man said to the young man grumpily¡ªcompletely different from the attitude he had with me seconds ago.


    The young man, startled at being called out, checked his fire and quickly realized the issue. He shoveled some coals into the furnace, then stepped on the bellows pointed at the furnace, letting it blow air until the fire reached the right temperature.


    ¡°I apologize, Your Highness, for letting you see such an embarrassing thing. I assure you, anything he makes won¡¯t be distributed among the knights,¡± the little man said heartlessly. His words appeared to have dealt severe damage to the young man, judging by his depressed face.


    ¡°If I may ask, Your Highness¡­ how did you know that the temperature needed to be higher to melt the metal? Only blacksmiths with considerable experience can discern that. Did you perhaps study smithing, Your Highness?¡±


    The little man asked with shining eyes, as if he had found something precious and immediately wanted to take it, which made me a little uncomfortable.


    I took a step back before answering, ¡°Well, not really. I just saw these little flames floating around and noticed that every single blacksmith had a fairly equal amount of flames lingering around them. The ones around that man were considerably lower than the others, so I assumed he needed more fire.¡±


    ¡°WHAT!?¡±


    I was startled by the little man¡¯s sudden loud voice. ¡°What¡¯s the matter?¡±


    Instead of answering, he abruptly grabbed my shoulders. Our faces were so close that our noses were almost touching.


    ¡°Your Highness! Please, be my disciple! I beg of you!¡±


    I pushed the little man away in disgust. What¡¯s the deal with this creepy little man? He¡¯s unnaturally strong for his size.


    ¡°You¡­ How dare you¡ª¡± Wait, I shouldn''t make this a bigger issue. If my mother finds out that I used my authority for something like this, then I¡¯ll be the next one to receive that golden branch!


    ¡°I-I have something urgent to do, so I must leave now. Farewell.¡± That¡¯s why I immediately ran. Just what¡¯s wrong with that little bearded man? His expression when he looked at me was like that of a hungry lust demon. They¡¯re the kinds I hate the most! I should avoid the smithy from now on.


    I panted heavily in exhaustion. I had run so far that I didn¡¯t notice I was already at the Knights'' Headquarters. Well, this was supposed to be the last stop of my adventure, so all was well.


    The Knights'' Headquarters was where all the knights in the Knights'' Order were stationed. It was the center of command¡ªyou could also say the brain of the Order.


    If the empire was not in a national crisis, then the Headquarters should have been peaceful and quiet. Yet, hundreds of knights were running around, grabbing armor and weapons, readying themselves as if they were going to war.


    I approached one knight who was preparing himself, asking him what was happening. The moment I spoke to him, his face turned white in an instant due to shock. He immediately bowed deeply and greeted me. I just noticed this now, but why does everyone in this castle seem to recognize me every time?


    ¡°Your Highness! I apologize for being rude, but you should go back to the castle!¡±


    ¡°What do you mean?¡±


    ¡°There¡¯s a sudden surge of undead appearing in the northern part of the forest, and it''s heading in this direction! Your Highness, for your safety, please go back to the castle.¡±


    A surge of undead? Out of nowhere?


    ***


    In a place full of tall trees and lush grasses, the Emperor and Empress were lying down on the ground, looking at the blue sky.


    ¡°Is all of this necessary, my Emperor?¡±


    The Emperor¡¯s closed eyes slowly opened, and he spoke with a pained expression. ¡°You also heard what the Ancestor said. This is all to identify his true nature.¡±


    Tears began to flow from the Empress¡¯s eyes. ¡°But¡­ he¡¯s our child.¡±


    The Emperor reached out his hand and wiped the Empress¡¯s tears while also caressing her face to comfort her. ¡°This is incredibly painful for me as well. How can a father doubt his own child? But you¡¯ve seen the strangeness that surrounds him. You carried him for nine years, which greatly affected your health. There was also that strange event the day he was born, where no other life came into the world except for our child. Even the other monarchies weren¡¯t unaffected. And it doesn¡¯t help that he refuses to tell us anything.¡±


    ¡°Then, if the Ancestor¡¯s speculation is true, what will you do?¡±


    ¡°Her speculations don¡¯t matter. I will protect him as long as I am his father¡­¡±


    ¡°¡­even if he¡¯s a demon that came crawling out of hell.¡±

 Chapter 8: Army of Undeads

    Undead creatures are born from the souls that escaped the cycle of life and death due to their desire to return to Earth. I know this because they occasionally spawn in the Upper Realm as well.


    The event itself is quite rare since souls will perish once they try to disrupt this cycle. Though a few of them can possibly survive, they will be in an extremely unstable state, hence they are reborn as undead. Yet, the knight seems to describe an army of undead that is currently charging at this place.


    That means an abnormal number of souls was able to break through the cycle. Unless the Reincarnation Well has been destroyed, how can that be possible? In any case, I need more information to find out.


    ¡°Before you leave, can you lead me to the Great Hall?¡±


    ¡°Of course, Your Highness!¡±


    .


    ¡­


    ¡­.


    The Great Hall is where the meeting of the officials is regularly held. The room had a long rectangular table in the middle. At the end of the table, which was just a couple of steps closer to the door, there were three chairs placed beside each other. These seats were for the three commanders who led their own divisions, respectively.


    At the far end of the table stood a grand chair with a tall backrest. Its golden frame was adorned with exquisite carvings, and a plush red cushion added a touch of elegance. This seat was naturally for the Emperor, and it was currently empty.


    As for me, I was peeking through a small crevice in the double doors. I haven''t had my coronation yet, so I can''t enter this place. Although my unofficial status as the Crown Prince allows me to enter as I please, formally, I still can''t. I can''t see much inside, but I can still hear what they''re saying from here, and it seems like the meeting isn''t going as smoothly as I expected.


    ¡°What do you mean to continue to remain here in the city? Are you saying we should let those unholy beings step on our sacred grounds!?¡±


    ¡°Our duty is to protect the royal city and the royal family within it! Leaving the city and charging directly at the enemy will leave this place unguarded! This is a clear violation of your oath!¡±


    ¡°You said that protecting the royal family comes first, and yet the Emperor and the Empress cannot even be seen anywhere!¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s¡­!¡±


    As I watched them argue with each other, I fully grasped the whole situation. This meeting was divided into two sides: those who wanted to stay and protect the city and those who wanted to directly attack the march of undead. Both seemed to be sound ideas. The main concern that I had was that my parents weren¡¯t present at this meeting. As far as I know, they weren¡¯t the kind of people who would leave their responsibilities and abandon their citizens.


    ¡°You. You don¡¯t have the right to comment about the Emperor and the Empress.¡±


    One of the commanders suddenly spoke out coldly. This commander was sitting in the middle of the three of them. He was wearing a red uniform that had a golden deer-horned dragon and a crossing sword embroidered on the sleeve. His long green hair flowed smoothly along his shoulders.


    ¡°I-I apologize..! It was a slip of the tongue¡ª¡±


    ¡°Shut it.¡± The green-haired man stared hatefully. ¡°Normally, I should punish you with death right this instant. Unfortunately, we are currently in a national crisis. Consider yourself lucky.¡±Love this story? Find the genuine version on the author''s preferred platform and support their work!


    The green-haired man appeared to lament more about the fact that he couldn¡¯t behead the man rather than the crisis the nation was facing right now. This man was always a bit too extreme.


    I often saw him lingering around my father all the time. His name was Lorien Oakshade, the commander of one of the legions that represented the pillar of the empire, The Royal Knights Order. Their duty was to protect the royal bloodline no matter what. This group always took things too far, especially their commander. He would sacrifice anyone to protect the royal family¡ªhimself included. In other words, he was a fanatic.


    The strange thing was that this fanatic was too calm. The other two commanders were also composed, as if this was any other day. This was suspicious.


    ¡°Then, since His Majesty isn¡¯t present to lead us, will you be the one to do it, Commander Lorien?¡± one of the Vice Commanders from the ¡®protect the city¡¯ side asked.


    ¡°Hahaha...¡± Commander Lorien laughed at the question. ¡°How can I take the position of the royals? If the Emperor is absent, isn¡¯t it natural that the successor will be the one to take the reins as the General?¡±


    ¡°Do you mean His Highness, the Crown Prince Arthur? But we don¡¯t know where he is currently. We don¡¯t have enough time to find him. Any moment now, the army of undead will enter our land.¡±


    Why am I suddenly mentioned at this meeting? From the way this conversation is going, I have a bad feeling. F-For now, I should immediately leave this place as fast as possible. Just as I turned around, intending to get away from this place, a rock-hard wall suddenly appeared in front of my path, leading me to crash into it.


    ¡°Ouch¡­¡± I grimaced in pain as I scratched my swollen head. ¡°Where did this rock wall come from?¡±


    ¡°Your Highness, Prince Arthur, I wonder where you are headed?¡±


    I turned toward the source of the voice. It was Commander Lorien. He was looking at me with a sly smile. Right, this person also had the personality of a fox. There¡¯s nothing scarier than a mastermind who is willing to scrap everything to achieve their goal.


    ¡°Commander Lorien, you do know I don¡¯t have the right to enter the Great Hall yet, don¡¯t you?¡± I looked straight into his eyes, showing a composed expression.


    ¡°Well, why does it matter? The Crown is already set for you; this much can be ignored.¡±


    I chuckled lightly at his answer. ¡°That¡¯s a lot of words I didn¡¯t expect to come out of you, a man completely devoted to the royal family.¡±


    ¡°...¡±


    It seemed that I had hit a nerve, seeing him speechless. Well, even though I berated him, I still decided to enter the Great Hall. I expected that this would not be the last time this would happen, so I thought that escaping this responsibility would be useless. I had enough experience as a general anyway.


    And that¡¯s how I was currently sitting in the grand chair, acting as the leader. I observed the expressions of each person in the room, and as expected, some of them had a frown on their faces, mostly from the ¡®attack the march of undead¡¯ side. Yet, they didn¡¯t seem to be brave enough to state their dissatisfaction. Was it perhaps because of my status or out of fear of incurring my father¡¯s wrath?


    I didn¡¯t know. And I didn¡¯t care.


    Actually, it was kind of refreshing, really. The guys in the Upper Realm always obeyed every word I spoke. Occasionally having these kinds of people under me makes me look forward to leading them even more.


    ¡°First of all, inform me of the situation.¡± I broke the silence of the room first and proceeded with the meeting. The one who explained to me was one of the vice commanders under the Royal Knights Order.


    According to him, the army of undead came from the far north. Coincidentally, this was also where the war between our race and the human race happened thousands of years ago. They suspected that the remains from that war had risen from the ground and become undead.


    The abnormal thing was that the undead were countless. Along with the armor they had worn in their deaths, it was practically an army.


    From the ranger¡¯s report, there were approximately twenty thousand armored undead currently marching in our direction. This was definitely not normal.


    But they were only undead. They were slow, mindless, and acted instinctively. I was sure that with our army, we could manage to win.


    ¡°Regarding that, Your Highness¡­¡± This time, Commander Darius of the Knights Order was the one who spoke out. ¡°The current number of undead overwhelmingly exceeds our army.¡±


    What? How can an Empire have so few soldiers?


    ¡°...To be specific, how many exactly do we have?¡±


    ¡°...We have at least ten thousand knights stationed here, Your Highness.¡±


    I widened my eyes in shock. ¡°D-Did the other knights perhaps go on an expedition to other countries? Or are they guarding the Emperor and the Empress?¡± I asked, seeking comfort in the hope that the other knights were just not present.


    Which Commander Darius immediately dismissed.


    ¡°We don¡¯t have something like that, Your Highness. Almost all the countries are hostile towards us. As for the latter, even though we¡¯d like to, we don¡¯t even know the whereabouts of the two of them. How can we send knights to guard them?¡±


    This seems to be more troublesome than I thought.