Jai's POV:
"Finally! I made it back home!" I said, brushing off the black feathers on my shoulder while fixing my gaze on the familiar gates of my estate.
Some time ago, I had left home to undergo my advancement to green core within a suitable location inside a chaos plane, but never in my wildest dreams could I have imagined the struggles awaiting me on my journey. One might imagine I am talking about my advancement, but that would be wrong. My ascension to green core was rather uneventful actually. Not to brag, but I am a rather talented genius, so there was no way I could possibly fail. Plus, I had the "Roaring Thunder Sword" on hand, a legendary grade weapon with the ability useful for regulating the lightning qi of my tribulations. No, the unimaginable struggles I faced only reared its ugly head after I advanced.
*Splash*
"Sup!"
That is how it began. Though, I didn't recognize her at first, through some strange twist of fate, I ran into a certain thieving maniac who had once slipped through my fingers in the past, and this one encounter was what set me on a gruelling and unforgiving path that took me up and down the fabled "Spirit Sword Mountain", scouring the bottom of the ocean, and the northern to the southern skies of the 2nd martial continent.
On Spirit Sword Mountain, I had been beaten, stabbed, threatened, possessed, dropped from on high, and had my right eye crushed, not in that order. If there is one silver lining about that wretched experience it was that I regained consciousness while in freefall and managed to stop my descent before hitting the ground, unlike that maniac whose bad karma finally came back to bite her when I witnessed Spirit Sword Mountain collapse on top of her.
Unfortunately, that madwoman survived and proceeded to force me to play pirate as she dragged me to the bottom of the sea in that underwater vehicle she built from legendary swords. I spent who knows how long being used as live sea monster bait while she collected legendary weapons that had sunk to the sea floor after the collapse of Spirit Sword Mountain. What's worse, by the end of the voyage, I didn't even get to keep a single one of the priceless artifacts we collected, because, according to that greedy maniac, "the booty be too cursed for mere cabin boy such as ye.". Once we reached land, she finally let me go free as we parted ways, so things were smooth sailing from there, or so you'd think, but no.
First of all, the beach where she unceremoniously kicked me off her amphibian vehicle was on the opposite side of the continent from where I lived, but that's not the worst part. Early on in my flight back home, I had taken out the Roaring Thunder Sword to look for any scratches or dents it might have incurred over my journey when suddenly…
*Bird Cry*
Before I knew it, a giant black crow had grabbed on to the sword, and I was hurled through the air along with it as the dumb bird tried to shake me off. I ended up frying the damned thing using the qi stored in the sword, only to find myself surrounded by a murder of giant crows soon thereafter.
Those feathered freaks chased after me like they were possessed, as I had to fight against the wind on my way down south, literally. Those damned birds wouldn't stop throwing tornados at me until they died, which proved difficult because the damned things would only ever get within range of my attacks for sneak attacks, and the turbulent winds throwing off my aim, worsening the already terrible accuracy of my attacks. I spent weeks, slowly weeding down their numbers until the few that remained finally gave up and ran away. Honestly, if those overgrown chickens were not so damned quick in the air, I would have tailed them to their nest just so I could smash their eggs out of spite before killing them.
At the end of my struggles, the only thing I had gained was a missing eye and the eyepatch that maniac had slapped over it while playing pirate.
"If I ever see that maniac again, it will be too soon! Oh, that feels good!" I said, feeling the tension in my muscles relax as I stepped into the bath.
I suppose all that matters is that those terrible experiences are now all behind me, so for the time being I should focus on resting and relaxing while enjoying all the amenities that comes with my position.
I was both born to and later succeeded a very wealthy and influential elder within a very powerful clan inside Ashi. As such, my accommodations, resources, and quality of life are far superior to most, so my estate might as well be considered my own personal spa. Though, as this treatment has been pretty standard for me, I've only ever been able to appreciate all that I have on my worst of days, and my recent journey must be amongst if not the worst of them all.
"I really needed this!" I muttered to myself after having received a massage.
*Yawn*
After a full day of relaxation, I decided to head for my bedroom to sleep.
"So soft!" I mumbled as I laid down on my very soft mattress.
My lasts thoughts before nodding off to sleep was a promise to myself that I would spend the rest of the year at home like this. I really wish I could have kept that promise.
*Knock**Knock**Knock*
I was awakened in the early morning the next day by the sound of a servant frantically knocking on my bedroom door. Irritated by having my slumber interrupted, I groggily got out of bed and went to see what they wanted.
"What is it?!" I barked out the moment I opened the door.
Seeing me, the servants kneeled in greeting before speaking.
"Elder Jai, crown prince Puja has arrived for a visit, wishing to speak with you in private!"
"Hm? Oh, right! *Sigh* Tell him I'll be there in a moment." I ordered, wishing my guest could have picked a better hour of the day to stop by.
Puja, the crown prince of Ashi and one of my oldest friends, had barged into my estate early in the morning without giving prior notice, or at least to my knowledge anyways. I had not bothered going through any of the letters addressed to me while I was absent from my estate, so it is anybody's guess if he had. Regardless, I had a pretty good guess what he was here for.
After getting dressed, I grabbed the Roaring Thunder Sword and headed out to meet my royal guest.
The legendary grade Roaring Thunder Sword I had used to aid in my advancement to green core was something I had borrowed from Puja. Seeing how quickly he showed up today, I assumed he must have been itching to get it back in his hands, not that I could blame him. Despite the mountain of such articles which I recently witnessed she-who-shall-not-be-named running off with might have you believe, legendary grade weapons aren't easy to come by, even for a crown prince. However, my expectations were dashed not long after I entered the room.
"Hey Puja! You'll never believe where I've-!"
"We are going to war with the Dark Empire!"
"Huh?"
I was just about to tell him about my visit to Spirit Sword Mountain, leaving out the humiliating parts of course, only to be cut short by his words.
"Haha! I see you've gained a sense of humour while I was away!" I said, trying to laugh off the very serious look in Puja's eyes.
"…"
"Haha, ha, ha! …!"
"I'm being serious." He stated, his words sending chills down my spine.
"No!" I said, in refusal.
"Yes!" Puja replied.
"No, no, no, NO! NEVER AGAIN!!!"
Any other nation. I don't care which, but I absolutely refuse to battle the Dark Empire again. Before becoming a vassal state, Ashi and the Dark Empire were at war with each other, and due to a pact between my clan and the royal family, I was sent to participate in the conflict back then, so I saw it, the Dark Lord.
*Shouts and screams*
Our army were slowly pushing them back, until he appeared.
*Splash*
It wasn't even a battle. A single man, if you can even call that monster a man, effortlessly slaughtered us by the thousands, and what's worse, he wasn't even trying. I saw him smile and laugh as he waved around some of our strongest experts like they were ragdolls. Like a child playing with his new toys until it breaks, that beast laughed with genuine joy as he tested out different ways to tear a man to pieces. When he eventually tired of playing, he just released an inferno that erased our entire force in an instant, proving he could have ended the battle whenever he wished. Had I not been lucky to have been just outside the reach of those dark, crimson flames, I would not be here today.
"I REFUSE!"
"YOU DON'T HAVE A CHOICE! YOU ARE OBLIGATED TO PARTICIPATE!"
"PLEASE! I AM BEGGING YOU! ANYWHERE ELSE IS FINE! PICK ANY OTHER NATION AND I'LL FIGHT! HECK! I'LL LEAD THE CHARGE, BUT DON'T MAKE ME FIGHT THE EMPIRE AGAIN!"
"NOT POSSIBLE!"
"WHY NOT?!"
*Sigh*
Grabbing his temples, Puja let out an irritated sigh as he sat back down in his seat and explained.
"We received a proposition from some power on the 3rd martial continent."
"Proposition?"
"Apparently, some upper-class lady from the Dark Empire offended someone she shouldn't have, and they are offering an exorbitant amount for us to invade the Empire."
"So? Just decline the offer!"
"It's not my decision to make. My father has already agreed to it."
"WHAT?! WHY? HAS GREED MADE HIM FORGET WHY WE CHOSE TO SURRENDER BACK THEN?!"
"It's not just the 3rd continent. Shi to the west and Nishi to the east have already accepted the proposal and is pressuring us into joining forces against the Dark Empire. I trust I don't need to explain that when war does break out, fighting on two fronts would be bad for us."
"So is provoking that monster!"
"He won't be present."
"Hm?"
"Well, this is just what I've been told, but the Dark Lord and the Red Palace Lord is not currently on the continent."
I began to contemplate a bit as hearing that the worst of my fears would be absent from the battlefield eased my mind a little. That being said, the dark lord is far from the only big fish in that nation. Fuji of the Purple Palace, the Mad Mage of the Blue Palace, and of course there is that snake monster too.
"I also hear that something big is brewing up north which will take up much of the Dark Empire's attention, making this the most ideal time to strike if we are."
*Sigh*
"Fine! I'll do it. Not like I have choice in the matter." I grumbled.
Even if I rejected Puja here, the clan head would just come drag me out by my hair anyways and force me on to the battlefield against my will.
"By the by. You said this is happening because of some rude woman. Any idea who she is?" I asked out of curiosity.
"Hm? Oh her. It's the lover of the Dark Lord."
"Oh, wait? Woman? Isn't he notorious for his dislike of the fairer sex? I suppose those rumours he was into men was false. Guess all the honeytraps you sent his way was ultimately for nothing." I said as I began pouring myself some tea.
"He's probably just taking on a woman for the sake of passing on his bloodline. Anyways, they said they wanted her taken alive, so I had someone paint this to help identify her." Puja said as he pulled out a painting from his spatial ring.
*Trickle**Sizzle*
"Not very descriptive, I know, but apparently, not many people know her face because she always wears a mask. Jai? Uh, the tea is spilling out of your cup."
*Smash*
"NO, GOD DAMN IT! WHY IS IT HER AGAIN?!" I screamed, as the masked woman in the painting looked just like that maniac who bullied me from the peak of Spirit Sword Mountain to the bottom of the ocean floor.
"Jai?"
"I REFUSE! NEVER AGAIN! I'M NOT GOING TO WAR! YOU CAN'T MAKE ME!" I screamed as I ran out of the room.
It's not that I am afraid of her. I mean, my experiences under the sea made it clear that I can't beat her on my own even if I tried, but I know for a fact that that woman is currently sitting on an army's worth of legendary weapons, because she made me help her collect them all. The Dark Empire's army is fierce enough as is, but fitting them all with legendary grade equipment would be like giving a tiger wings, and I absolutely refuse to be part of this. I would rather abandon my luxurious estate and clan elder position than face that.
Unfortunately, before I could actually act on my impulse to abandon everything for the sake of survival, the clan head, flanked by the other elders paid me a visit and long story short, I am now tied up and flown across a thunderstorm to reach the island where my body will probably be buried in the not-so-distant future.