The Ancient Imperial Calendar, Year 1819
Ricardo opened his eyes at the head of a massive army. This time, he knew instantly where he was.
Standing before him was the man he hated most in both his lives.
The man who had killed him, slaughtered his family.
The man who had ordered his daughters, granddaughters, wives, and concubines to be violated.
His mortal enemy.
Frank Fresfurt II, the third King of the Fresfurt Kingdom.
The Fresfurt Kingdom.
It had been founded in the year 713 by Frank Fresfurt I.
Frank I had started the first rebellion in Hergeval City, which he ruled as Lord, in the westernmost part of the Western Territories.
Temiztokrisses II, the 41st Emperor of the Ancient Empire, had ascended the throne just a few days before the rebellion broke out.
A puppet of his mother Cassandra and his uncle Rodrigo Kislavein, Temiztokrisses II saw Frank Fresfurt I's rebellion as an opportunity to prove himself to the entire Empire—to the whole world, to the Five Lands.
The Five Lands was the shortened term for the Central, Northern, Southern, Eastern, and Western Lands.
Temiztokrisses II, with ninety thousand soldiers, left the capital to enter the Western Lands to suppress the rebellion.
In 713 and the years that followed, Frank Fresfurt I won every battle and declared himself the first King of the Fresfurt Kingdom.
With each victory, they expanded their borders further into the Western Territories, but they encountered an obstacle:
The Kislavein House.
After Temiztokrisses II's endless string of countless defeats, the True Founding Lord of the Kislavein House, Rodrigo Kislavein, took command of the Imperial armies.
He defeated Frank I in the Battle of Uşak Pass in 716.
However, the rebellion was not crushed; only the rebels' conquest of the Western Lands was prevented.
After this date, the Fresfurt Kings never attacked the West again. Instead, they turned all their focus to the Central Lands, the Heart of the Empire.
In 795, the 4th Fresfurt King, Frank Fresfurt II, and the 44th Emperor of the Ancient Empire, Harloumen VIII, faced each other at Magusa Harbor.
Ricardo gripped his massive sword tightly. In his eyes burned a savage bloodlust.
"Frank Fresfurt! May the One True God be my witness—this time, I will kill you."
Ricardo raised his massive sword high.
"SOLDIERS, FOLLOW ME! MAGES, PROTECT THE WARRIORS!"
Ricardo and his army charged.
Frank II watched with a filthy smile, waiting for his enemies to reach the very center of the battlefield.
"A little more... just a little more... almost there..."
Just as the Imperial soldiers were about to reach the center of the battlefield, Ricardo halted his army.
Seeing this, Frank II tried to make sense of what was happening.
"Why did he stop? If I know Harloumen, he never stops once he attacks."
Ricardo infused his massive sword with Aura and slashed it down into the ground, cleaving the battlefield from one end to the other.
The Aura-cut earth instantly erupted into blinding, terrifying explosions.
"How did he know?!"
Frank II's plans had been ruined. He couldn't understand how his archenemy Harloumen had detected this trap.
"In my previous life, this trap wiped out half my army, especially my elite Imperial Guards, and left me severely wounded. Because of this trap, I lost the war."
Frank quickly scanned his surroundings to assess the situation.
"The situation is bad. Our victory depended on that trap working. We have to retreat."
Frank II turned his horse toward his army and shouted with all his might.
"RETREAT! IMMEDIATELY!"
At that very moment, a booming voice rose.
"FRAAAAAAAANK!"
This rage-filled cry belonged to the 44th Emperor of the Ancient Empire, Harloumen VIII.
Frank II froze in terror.
When he turned his horse in fear, he saw the Emperor, encased head to toe in Aura armor, charging at him with the fires of Rage, Hatred, and Vengeance.
"ACCURSED BASTARD! VANGUARD UNITS! KILL THE EMPEROR! I WILL GIVE YOU LAND AND LIMITLESS TREASURE! ATTACK!"
The Fresfurt Kingdom's vanguard forces attacked.
Ricardo and his accompanying Imperial Guards began cutting through the thirty-thousand-strong force like paper.
"It's unbelievable. In my previous life, this battle was the end for the Empire. After falling into the Fresfurt trap and being severely wounded, they cut us down like paper. Now, we're cutting them down. I don't know if what I'm doing here is changing real history, but at least I can quench my thirst for vengeance this way."
Ricardo and the Imperial Guards annihilated the vanguard forces within half an hour.
Meanwhile, the fire caused by the explosions was extinguished by the Imperial Mages, and the lower-ranking Warriors and Mages who had remained behind the fire began to advance.
An officer approached Ricardo.
"Your Majesty, the enemy forces have retreated far. What are your orders?"
Ricardo answered furiously.
"We will not let them escape.I will slaughter each and every one of them in the most savage way possible."
Ricardo turned to his mages and gave an order.
"Mages!Cast speed-enhancement spells on our fastest horses! Immediately!"
The mages carried out their Emperor's command, casting speed spells on the army's fastest horses.
"Your Majesty,your order has been carried out. Preparations are complete."
Ricardo and the Imperial Guards mounted their horses.
"FORWARD!WE WILL BUTCHER THEM ALL!"
Meanwhile, Frank II and his army were galloping at full speed toward the nearest castle, Magusa Harbor, to fall back and defend.
"We've gotten far enough,but they could catch up at any moment. Damn it! This was supposed to be the day of my Fresfurt Kingdom's rise. It had to be! Why have things come to this? How did Harloumen spot my trap? Is there a spy among us? No matter. For now, I must retreat and survive. Once I board the ships and leave the Central Lands to return to the Western Lands, I'll prepare for a new war. And next time, I will be the victor."
As Frank II lost himself in his dreams, war cries were heard from a not-so-distant hill.
"FOR THE EMPEROR! FOR THE EMPIRE!"
Frank II and his army looked back in terror.
"DAMN IT!THE EMPEROR!"
Ricardo and his army descended upon the Fresfurt soldiers like lightning, at ten times the speed of a galloping horse.
"DIE,DOGS!"
With each swing of his massive sword, Harloumen's Aura tore thousands of enemy soldiers to pieces.
"I HAVE NEVER LOST A SINGLE BATTLE!YOU CAN ONLY WIN THROUGH COWARDLY TRAPS! FRANK FRESFURT! FACE ME! TODAY WILL BE YOUR DEATH DAY!"
Frank II was drowning in hesitation and thought.
"Was it all for nothing?Am I going to die here? No, there's still a chance. If I can kill him... Ah, who am I kidding? That trap was my only chance to destroy him and his army."
Frank II bowed his head, weeping inwardly.
"Damn it...CURSE YOU, EMPEROR!"
Frank II leaped from his horse and rose dozens of meters into the air with a wind spell. He concentrated all his mana into a single sphere.
"If I can't kill him with this,there's no hope."
Frank II took a deep breath and focused his target on the Emperor.
"DIE,HARLOUMEN!"
Frank II unleashed all his power toward Ricardo.
"Hmph.No need to dodge this. I just need to cover my body with all my Aura to protect myself. Afterwards, I'll kill him."
Ricardo spread all his Aura over his body, creating an impenetrable shield, ready to withstand the attack. But he had forgotten something.
"PROTECT THE EMPEROR!PROTECT OUR FATHER!"
The Imperial Guards, who saw their Emperor as their father, who saw their father as the shadow of the One True God on earth, and who would not hesitate for a moment to protect him, displayed admirable, dazzling, and exemplary courage, insight, and nobility. Without a second thought, they used their own bodies as a shield against the approaching attack for the 44th Emperor of the Ancient Empire, Harloumen VIII, whom they had sworn to protect.
During this noble sacrifice, each of the ten thousand elite Imperial Guards—whose training took ten years—perished during Frank II's attack.
"Damn it!I didn't kill the Emperor. Those damned Imperial Guards... Well, look on the bright side. The Emperor is alone now, and I still have thirty thousand soldiers. Damn it, I had dreamed of winning this war with few losses. But look, only thirty thousand of my hundred thousand soldiers remain."
Frank II, his mana depleted, descended to the ground. He pointed a finger at Harloumen with an arrogant smile.
"KILL HIM!TEAR HIM TO PIECES! BRING ME HIS HEAD, AND I WILL REWARD YOU WITH LANDS AND HARLOUMEN'S MOST BEAUTIFUL GRANDDAUGHTER!"
Hearing this, the soldiers attacked with zeal, and Ricardo attacked with fury.
"I was going to use all my Aura to defend myself.But thanks to the sacrifice of the Imperial Guards, I can use my Aura for offense instead of defense."
Ricardo fought non-stop for twenty minutes, tearing the thirty thousand soldiers to pieces. But he was so exhausted he could barely take another step.
"I've reached my limit.So this was my maximum power in my previous life... Hahaha... I wish things had gone this way in my previous life. Then the Empire wouldn't have collapsed. Although, then the Kislavein House, which rose to a position more powerful than the Empire, would never have ascended, and my bloodline wouldn't have reached millions... Hmph. 'What ifs' and regrets don't change the past. Maybe the reason I had to face all these regrets from my past and present life was to show me that I can't change the past and that I need to leave my regrets behind. Yes, I think that's it."
Ricardo struggled to his feet. Frank II approached him with confident strides.
"Frankly,I'm genuinely curious, Harloumen. How did you spot my trap?"
Ricardo didn't answer.
"You're going to be silent,huh? Well, you'll be silent forever soon anyway."
As Frank II raised his sword, an arrow pierced his hand.
"AAAAAAAAHHHHHHHH!"
Frank II fell to the ground in pain and screamed. He felt the ground shake.
"What's happening?No! Damn it! This can't be!"
As the Imperial soldiers rapidly approached, Frank II trembled with fear and pain.
Ricardo struggled to his feet, envisioning the tortures he would inflict on Frank.
When the Imperial soldiers surrounded Ricardo and Frank, everything was over for Frank II.
"It's over.I lost. Were all those preparations, plans, and efforts for nothing? I wanted to establish a new world order, a new Empire, and a new Dynasty... Ugh... ahh..."
Ricardo grabbed Frank's throat tightly and lifted him into the air.
"I have no intention of listening to your complaints,Frank. Get ready, because you are going to suffer pain like no one ever has. You will experience a billion times the suffering you inflicted on my family."
From that moment on, a week of torture began for Frank Fresfurt II.
His fingernails and toenails were slowly, painfully pulled out one by one.
His bones were shattered inch by inch, slowly and agonizingly, until they were pulverized.
He was violated thousands of times by homosexual men.
Starting from his fingers, every part of him was finely sliced away until only his head and torso remained.
His flesh was fed to wild animals before his very eyes.
Throughout this process, healing spells were continuously cast to prevent him from dying.
At the end of the week, only Frank's head and torso remained.
"You don't know this, but in my previous life, you did the same to my sons, daughters, grandchildren, wives, and concubines. How painful it is, isn't it, Frank Fresfurt II?"
Frank pleaded in broken sentences amidst the pain.
"Pl...ea...se...k...ill... m...e..."
Ricardo laughed.
"With great pleasure."
Ricardo brought his hand to Frank's neck and slowly wrenched his head from his torso. The white light appeared and began to erase everything.
"That was the best one yet. Thank you."