Ancient Imperial Calendar Year 1813
The war preparations were nearly complete. Ricardo was spending his last days before the campaign against the Iayan followers with his mother.
As the maid Margareth filled the glasses with wine and stepped aside, Ricardo and Seliarnevre slowly drank their wine.
Knowing these were the last days they would spend together, the pair took care to savor the moment.
That night, Ricardo performed a spirit summoning ritual. His goal was to summon as many spirits as he could and add their power to his own.
Ricardo performed an unprecedented summoning ritual in a remote place where no one could reach him.
When the ritual ended, a massive beam of light enveloped the area, and hundreds of spirits appeared.
"Incredible!"
Ricardo had summoned a full thousand spirits, setting a record that would remain unbroken throughout history. Each one was a High-Tier Spirit.
Ricardo made a pact with each one in turn. When he made a pact with the last one, he experienced a tremendous increase in his power.
"Spirits are truly unique beings. Just by making pacts, I've increased my power this much. Now I can kill tens of thousands of soldiers single-handedly. Hehahha!"
Ricardo laughed like a victorious commander, eager to use the power he had gained.
"Now that I pay attention, some of these spirits are ones born from the pact between me and Aherlenna in my past life."
These spirits, just like Giskar, had realized that Ricardo was in fact the reincarnation of the last Ancient Emperor, VIII Harloumen, and approached him excitedly.
"Harloumen, it really is you! It's been a thousand years!"
Aranderen, a fire spirit, spun around Ricardo with joy and excitement.
"It has been a long time, Your Majesty."
The water spirit Elindir, like a noble lady, bowed her head before Ricardo in greeting.
One by one, many spirits born from Aherlenna greeted Ricardo, their Spirit Father from his past life.
Ricardo spoke with all the spirits in turn; they conversed all night long.
A few days later, with the help of Margareth and the maids, Ricardo donned his armor. He bid farewell to his mother for the last time and left the room.
As he walked through the palace corridors accompanied by his friends, a guard respectfully approached Ricardo, knelt down, and offered him the sword in his hands.
"I greet the Dynasty Heir. It is an honor to present you with your new sword, forged day and night without cease by Jaxenguard, the finest blacksmith of the Kislavein Dynasty."
When the guard finished speaking, Ricardo took the sword, drew it from its scabbard, and examined it in detail.
The blade was now made of Bloodstone, an extremely rare material accessible only to the Lord of the Kislavein Dynasty and his Heir. Similarly, it had been enchanted by the most skilled enchanters, becoming a dazzling sword.
"It looks wonderful, just as I imagined. I needed a blade that could withstand the Light Element; this sword meets that need," Ricardo thought.
Ricardo was pleased with his sword. He sheathed it and looked at the kneeling guard.
"You may go," he said in an authoritative voice.
"As you command, Dynasty Heir."
The guard saluted Ricardo in a respectful tone, stood up, turned around, and disappeared from sight. Ricardo and his friends also went to join the awaiting Kislavein Army.
Shortly after, Ricardo and his friends took their place at the head of the massive 600,000-strong Kislavein army. Ricardo gazed with admiration at the size of his force.
"Even in my previous life as Emperor, the largest force I could gather was 432,000 men. Kislavein... no, the nations of this time truly possess immense wealth and power."
As Ricardo was lost in thought, a detail caught his attention: every single person in the army had dark red hair and eyes.
Curious, Ricardo looked at Eduardo Kislavein, his personal guard and master, who stood beside him, and asked with curiosity:
"Master, are all of these people truly of Kislavein bloodline?"
Eduardo turned to his student Ricardo, bowed his head, and answered his question in a respectful tone:
"Yes, Dynasty Heir. Every one of the 600,000 soldiers you see here descends from the Kislavein bloodline."
Ricardo could not hide his astonishment.
"How is the Kislavein Bloodline so populous?"
Eduardo answered:
"The answer is simple, Dynasty Heir. Our founding Lord, I Karlmen, and all Dynasty Lords since have had more than ten wives and concubines.
They had many children with each wife and concubine. The male children also took many wives and concubines. Even if the daughters were monogamous, their sons also led polygamous lives.
As a result, after dozens of generations of this polygamous and multi-child system, millions of people today are descended from the Kislavein bloodline.
The men and women in the Kislavein army are selected from among those of Kislavein descent."
Eduardo's lengthy explanation astounded Ricardo. He knew the Kislavein Dynasty and its descendants were numerous, but he hadn't expected it to this extent.
"So, do the other Ancient Dynasties have a similar system, Master?"
Eduardo answered expressionlessly yet respectfully:
"Not similar, an exact copy, Dynasty Heir. It's not just the Ancient Dynasties; every Dynasty in the world, large and small, wants to grow their bloodline. For this reason, even marriages up to the fifth degree of kinship are forbidden."
Ricardo was amazed to learn about the system that began with the fall of the Ancient Empire, but he hid his surprise.
"I've read thousands of books, but I've never seen anything about this in any of them, Master."
"You wouldn't, Dynasty Heir. This information is considered general knowledge, so writing it in books is unnecessary. It's only found as a footnote in a few books."
Ricardo said jokingly:
"Master, are you calling me uncultured?"
Eduardo knelt and bowed his head, speaking in an obedient tone that begged for mercy.
"Forgive me, Dynasty Heir. There is no excuse for my offense."
Ricardo didn't react to this scene; he had only meant to joke, but he had forgotten his position. He was the Heir to the Kislavein Dynasty, the darkest dynasty in the world, and its next Lord.
Ricardo placed his hand on his master Eduardo's shoulder. His voice was forgiving and aimed to reassure the other.
"Rise, Master. I forgive you."
Eduardo slowly rose to his feet, his head bowed and silent. Ricardo was saddened to see him like this.
"Sigh... I guess I won't even joke anymore."
Ricardo and Eduardo heard a pair of footsteps approaching. They belonged to Eduardo's twin children, Marco and Marilin.
"Daddyyy!"
Marilin approached her father with her usual loving, cheerful demeanor. Eduardo did not compromise his serious and expressionless exterior, but inwardly he was happy to see his daughter and son.
"I greet the Dynasty Heir."
Marco, who had inherited his father's serious demeanor, knelt to salute Ricardo.
"Rise, Marco."
Marco stood up and signaled with his eyes to his sister, reminding her that she should salute Ricardo.
Marilin, getting the signal from her brother, bowed her head respectfully.
"I greet the Dynasty Heir."
Ricardo gestured for Marilin to raise her head, which she did.
A short while later, Ricardo's other friends and army commanders joined them, completing the group.
Edward Rodwel bowed his head and presented his report on the war preparations.
"Dynasty Heir, our forces, consisting of 60 Legions, are ready for the campaign."
In the military system widespread throughout the world, armies are divided into Legions of 10,000 men, each commanded by a Legion General.
Each Legion is divided into 10 Battalions. Battalions consist of 1000 soldiers and are commanded by a Battalion Commander.
Battalions are divided into 10 Regiments. Each Regiment has 100 soldiers and is commanded by a Regiment Officer.
Regiments are divided into 10 Units. Each Unit has 10 soldiers and is led by Assistant Non-Commissioned Officers.
The entire army is commanded by the Dynasty Lord, the Dynasty Heir, or, if both are absent, an appointed Commander-in-Chief.
This system allows orders from the Commander-in-Chief to be executed in seconds, and the army moves in harmony.
Ricardo watched his army for a long time. Even in his past life, he had never commanded an army of this size, though compared to the armies he would command in the future, this one would seem very small.
"MY SOLDIERS! THE REBEL DYNASTIES KILLED MY SISTER AND BETRAYED THE WESTERN LANDS! WE WILL DROWN THEM IN THEIR OWN BLOOD! WE WILL PUT THEIR CITIES TO THE SWORD! THE WHOLE WORLD WILL SEE WHAT IT MEANS TO REBEL AGAINST THE KISLAVEIN DYNASTY! EACH OF YOU WILL RETURN HOME WITH BOOTY THOUSANDS OF TIMES YOUR WEIGHT! THOSE OF YOU WHO FALL WILL WATCH YOUR GRANDCHILDREN GROW UP READING OF YOUR HEROICS BESIDE THE SPIRITS OF OUR ANCESTORS! FIGHT WITH ME, MY KINDRED!"
Every single soldier in the 600,000-strong Kislavein Army drew their swords and shouted until their throats were torn.
"LONG LIVE KISLAVEIN! LONG LIVE RICARDO! LONG LIVE KISLAVEIN! LONG LIVE RICARDO! LONG LIVE KISLAVEIN! LONG LIVE RICARDO!"
Amid the cheers, Ricardo moved to the very front of his army, took command, and set out on the first campaign of this life.
The 1028-year rivalry between the Kislavein and Pleyciys Dynasties would end with this final war.