Chapter 1067 War Begins - Unity Cube

Far from the commotion in Xeloria, a young man with grayed-out hair stared at the soldiers separated into three. Starhaven, Lonin, and Velvetmoor had all joined his cause after he managed to convince them.

Lonin was the weakest city among the ten, plagued by starvation. Most challengers avoided staying in this place, but weaker families and orphans had no choice. The lord of Lonin, a humble but incompetent man, was happy to hand over the burden he had carried for all those years. After making Dorian the lord, the man disappeared into the woods and never reappeared. It seemed that the only reason he had remained as a lord was out of guilt and a sense of responsibility that his father had burdened him with.

Dorian did not officially accept the lord position but acted as the lord, leading the soldiers. He rallied them with a speech about a brighter future where no child needed to feel hungry. Even though only a few men wore their armor and carried their weapons, they followed him.

Velvetmoor was the second weakest city, overrun by monsters due to the lack of challengers joining this city. Dorian had to use the man standing next to him to obtain their approval.

"Our armies look promising," said the middle-aged but fit man with a small mustache beneath his piercing eyes. "The war is fast approaching. When are we going to meet him?"

Although he looked thin, the man was more powerful than Dorian had antic.i.p.ated. Starhaven was always a powerful city, although not the best. However, after this man became its lord, it started contending for the top ranks among the cities.

"We made no agreement to meet again until the war," said Dorian with a shake of his head. "Alexie… no, Arthur Silvera wanted to find the artifacts before the war starts. Since you already found one, we have two more to find."

"Even in such a place, he cannot stand idle while injustice spreads," said the man with a grin as he gripped his white spear, which looked quite similar to Dorian"s weapon. "I was starting to think that he already left this tower without me."

"What is your relationship, exactly?"

"…in the beginning, I think we were enemies. Then, we fought together against a powerful man. And then, he executed me before I became his follower?" answered the man as his grin disappeared. "Now, we entered this tower together to find a certain man."

"A complicated relationship," said Dorian with a nod as he looked at the armies. "The war will begin in less than a day. I want you to become the lord of Lonin and Velvetmoor, Ilia Perli. You are a better fit than I am."

"My lord has asked you to make the weaker cities join your cause," said Ilia Perli with a frown as he shook his head. "You should become the lord. I have no interest in ruling since I have already found the man I am looking for."

"Even if that is the case, become the lord until he joins the war," said Dorian with disinterest. "I am still too immature to rule anything."

"I heard that Dorian Stormblade is a synonym for arrogance, but you are nothing like that," said Ilia with interest. "What changed you this much?"

"Your lord"s burden," said Dorian as he narrowed his eyes. "I saw heaven and h.e.l.l, angels and demons, and men weeping over their children. As I saw how much suffering the world has and your lord carries, I found my ambitions and confidence insignificant. What do I have to be arrogant when such suffering exists while I"m helpless?"

"There will always be suffering," said Ilia as he gazed at the soldiers. "As these men march to what they believe certain defeat, they will choose death and pain over everlasting suffering. Some fates, like seeing a starving child, are worse than death. Your body can be torn apart, but what about your spirit?"

The two men gazed at the army as the countdown was almost over. In the end, Ilia Perli became the lord of three cities as he ruled the three armies together with Dorian. Once the countdown was over, a notification was sent to every lord.

[War has begun. You must make the choice to either:]

[Concede.]

[Partic.i.p.ate.]

Ilia Perli stared at the two choices before choosing to partic.i.p.ate, to which he was presented with another notification. Since he became the lord of three cities, he must choose a name for his army, to which he grinned.

[Ascent City has been created.]

[Eight cities have chosen to partic.i.p.ate in this war. The following list is their names:]

[Crestview]

[Xeloria]

[Rosewood]

[Ascent]

[Elvenheim]

[Westcoast]

[Ironspire]

[Blood Keep]

[The a.s.signed armies can access the battleground whenever they desire. The ranking will be a.s.signed according to military achievements and lands conquered in the war. The war will last one week.]

Once this announcement was broadcasted throughout the second floor, a giant island appeared in the sky, casting its shadow over the cities, making children rush home in fear. As for the armies, they marched out of their cities, prepared to enter the battleground island.

Ascent City appeared out of nowhere, making most lords apprehensive. The partic.i.p.ation of eight cities also made them fear an all-out war, but none wanted to let go of the chance for a better ranking. These cities had found artifacts that could greatly boost their powers, and they wanted to make use of this opportunity.

"What is our plan, sir?" asked the previous lord of Velvetmoor, a military commander who had taken the position after his lord ran away. After Ilia defeated him in battle, he became the loyal follower of the general.

"Our plan is to fight," said Ilia as he took a few steps toward the edge, where all soldiers could hear his words. "We will fight for a better future. However, we are not without hope. A powerful man is coming to our aid, more powerful than any lord. He is the man I served before I came to this tower. All we have to do is wait!"

The soldiers seemed excited when they heard that such a man would be leading them, their eyes brightened with hope. Dorian took a few steps to stand next to Ilia, his tall figure impressive to those watching. His eyes scanned each of their faces as he surveyed their army.

"My father is Marshal Stormblade, Lord of Xeloria. In the last war, our city ranked second after Crestview. The war before that, we were third. In this war, he plans to take the first place. His eyes were always fixed on those above him but never those below him."

His ident.i.ty was no secret to their army because he was the one who swayed them with his words and sincere gestures. Velvetmoor was besieged by monsters while Lonin was struck by famine. If not for this man who brought every help he could get, they wouldn"t even partic.i.p.ate in this war.

"In a coincidence of fate, I looked to those below me. I saw children"s laughter disappearing as their mothers wept. I saw men being enslaved by others. I saw a world that I did not take pride in creating. This war, I want to be proud. I want those below me to be our equal, in food and shelter. This is what we will fight for! This is what we will achieve!"

"This is what we will achieve!"

"This is what we will achieve!"

"This is what we will achieve!"

Chants echoed in the army following his speech, and Ilia stared at Dorian with a knowing smile. In his mind, Arthur had once again chosen a proper candidate to lead the second floor. His long white hair swayed in the wind as his broad shoulders carried the hopes of many.

Dorian Stormblade raised a fist in resonance to those below him. A few days ago, he was just a brat who wanted nothing but to have fun. However, a single event changed his life. As he saw the life in the Red Temple and then the injustice of the world, he realized the true purpose of his strength.

Ilia Perli took out a small cube from his pocket before he activated it. The cube spun above his hand as it shot beams of light toward the soldiers. This cube covered their entire army with lights that connected them to each other.

"Our artifact is called Unity! It will share our stats between each other, allowing us to become a single ent.i.ty. No man will find himself overpowered by enemies because this will allow us to reallocate our stats as we see fit. We will be a single ent.i.ty!" shouted Ilia Perli as he raised the cube.

The entire army cheered for him as they felt themselves grow stronger. Then, with overflowing morale, the army started marching toward the portal that appeared following Ilia"s command to enter the battleground.

Their feet slammed the ground as one, creating an earthquake unlike any other. Their minds became one as the cube, Unity, allowed them telepathy as well. Although they were misfits who came together for a single cause, this artifact allowed them to become a united and powerful army!