After the Echo of the Five-Continent War began taking shape, Lucien turned his attention to another force he had kept hidden.
The monster legions.
He had not deployed them during the Keeper war.
That war had not been a simple contest of numbers.
The Keepers had specialized in turning structure against itself.
A massed army that did not yet understand proper formation discipline would not have been a trump card.
It would have been a feast.
The monster legions were powerful.
But they were not yet an army.
They were closer to a swarm that had learned to speak, obey, and fight in the same direction.
That was not enough.
Lucien had needed precision during the war.
The monsters were not ready for that.
So he had kept them back.
Now, however, the next disaster was approaching.
And hidden blades still needed sharpening.
•••
Lucien entered the small world he assigned to the monster legions.
The air changed the moment he stepped through.
