Aso's story wasn't particularly interesting. Very few people knew how Aso, who stood at the peak of the world, had experienced such a bumpy path.
Just like how very few people knew that after the ancient Great Demon Empire and before the elves' glorious era, there had been a country that had long since perished in history — the Tark Republic.
The Republic? That's right, that was a country formed by escaped slaves, farmers who lost their land, and craftsmen who had nothing at all. It was one of the few countries in history that didn't have a ruling class.
Perhaps the reason why the Tark Republic wasn't recorded in history was because it was a country that belonged to the undead and magic.
Aso F. Millanton. A slave did not have a surname. This name was given to him after he gained his freedom. Millanton was the surname of the priest who had saved him, and F was a special symbol of the Republic. It represented "a freed slave."
That's right, the powerful Emperor Aso had once been born as a lowly slave.
"I was born to serve the great demons. Once I grow up, I'll become food for them. My life will be worth it."
Humans became nothing more than livestock to the great demons, who were far stronger, more talented, and more cultured than humans. Once their inheritance and culture was cut off, it would only take three or four generations for all intelligent creatures to return to the most primitive of times.
Even after more than a thousand years, many great demons still maintained the hateful custom of eating humans. There was no need to prove the relationship between ogres and great demons.
Slaves, servants, items, and food for them. This was Aso's life. Ever since he was young. Aso had been instilled with such a concept. He had once treated this as the value of his existence. Until one day …
"Don't eat my mother! Damned monster! "
When the great demon Aso decided to turn his own mother into mincemeat, perhaps it was because he still had a will to resist, or perhaps it was the most basic instinct of all creatures to protect their mothers. Even if his wolf and "common sense" told him that it was only natural for humans to be eaten, that it was the fate of all humans to be eaten, he still acted instinctively.
He picked up a meat cleaver and chopped off Aso Walker's head from behind. He even sprinkled kerosene on Aso's body. He ignited Aso's body and transformed it into a blazing torch, completely eliminating Aso's ability to regenerate.
In a generation where an adult great demon could easily kill ten adults, this was an incredible heroic feat. However, what welcomed him wasn't gratitude from his family or respect from his own kind …
"Why would you do that! Why did you kill Master Walker?! What do you want us to do? We'll be killed before we even get fat. No, without food, we'll starve to death first! "
If you attacked an owner who was abusing his pet, you might get bitten first. Instead, it was the pets that had been rescued that had been educated for many years and generations of slavery. These humans, whose minds were blank, were no different from pets.
The end result was that Aso, who had saved his mother, was angrily roared at and hated by his own tribe. In the end, he was tied to a slab of meat and prepared to be used as a sacrifice to appease the great demons.
But …
"Kill them all and hang them on the plaza to dry as fodder!"
Even though the murderer had already been executed, how could the slave tribes that killed the slave masters possibly be forgiven? Otherwise, if this sort of behavior spread, the entire society would be shaken.
The evil slave masters even intentionally placed Aso in the same room as his own tribe before executing him. They even maliciously revealed that everyone would die because of him. And so, on the second day, Aso was the first to be hung on the gallows. He had over a hundred wounds all over his body, and he even lost one of his eyes and one of his legs.
How could the slave masters not only resist? How could domesticated cattle, sheep, and pigs possibly resist? They would only cry at the butcher's knife and obediently give up their necks.
Aso's family didn't protect him? The person who stole his right eye was his mother, who he desperately tried to protect. The person who broke his right hand that he used to resist was his father. His starving tribe members treated his foot as their last meal.
When humans didn't even treat themselves as humans, it was lamentable, pitiful, laughable, hateful, and pitiful …
Before Aso was finally hung on a rope, he stared at his numb tribesmen with his bruised and swollen eye. However, there wasn't a single trace of hatred or fear of death in his heart. The only thought in his mind was: "Let's go.
"How pitiful …"
As the noose tightened, Aso still didn't feel any fear of death. Instead, he pitied a few more people.
"You're not the only ones who are pitiful. I'm pitiful too. No, I should say that humans are pitiful."
Before he lost consciousness, he saw a black flag fluttering not far away. It was a strange flag with a black hand holding an oil lamp. Under the flag was a group of strangely dressed people in black.
"Child, are you alright?"
When he woke up, he discovered that he had been saved by a group of strangers. They called themselves the "Black Will", and they were a group of strange fellows.
They told Aso that humans weren't born to become food for trolls. They told Aso that everyone had the responsibility to fight for their own survival. They told Aso that ogres and trolls weren't invincible. They told Aso that not everyone had the courage to fight. They came for him!
The black-robed people gave young Aso a choice. He could either stay with his tribe, and they would find a relatively safe valley for him to live in. The other choice was to join them.
Aso glanced at his family who were filled with fear and confusion. How could a natural wolf or tiger stay with a cow or sheep? Aso chose the latter without hesitation.
"Idiot! We're the righteous ones! "
The Black Will had gotten used to using this phrase to deal with their numb tribe members. This seemingly angry roar was actually filled with hope. They hoped that their tribe members would finally wake up.
But most of the time, they received nothing in return. If they forced their tribe members to join them, it would be a disaster for both sides.
After experiencing countless betrayals, they still chose to shout this slogan. However, only those who were willing to stand up were companions. Otherwise. It would be better for them to continue being cows and sheep.
After that. After hundreds of years of bloody battles, the slaves didn't have the will to fight. No matter how fat they were, they were still cows and sheep waiting to be slaughtered.
Even after awakening as tigers and leopards, they still didn't have the resources to become strong. They didn't have the weapons to fight, and they were in a difficult situation.
Meanwhile, their opponents were the winners of the Holy War. The great demon kingdoms that spanned the entire continent had inherited witchcraft, curses, and magic spells that were at the peak of the world. The "Black Will" only had their own souls, flesh, and blood. Of course, they also had the obsession to change everything at all costs.
But in the Aichy Plane, where souls were the source of power, having souls, flesh, and obsession was enough.
That's right, the Black Will had no way to obtain precious magical knowledge and magical ingredients. It was impossible for them to become wise mages. Nor did they have any hunting techniques passed down from generation to generation. It would be impossible for them to become hunters or rangers. It would be difficult for them to eat, run, and sleep well. It would be difficult for them to become excellent warriors with their weak and malnourished bodies. The great demon True Gods were the true Main Gods of the time. It was even more impossible for priests and Holy Warriors to obtain Divine Blessings. The mysterious Druil was still exclusive to the elves. However, there was one job class that only needed souls and flesh.
That's right, undead mages, villains who played with souls and flesh. Very few people knew that undead mages were once a job class that represented the hope of the entire human species.
Perhaps it was a sudden idea of the demons, or perhaps it was a secret trick of a certain Death God, but part of the knowledge of undead magic that originated from the ancient demons fell into the hands of the Black Will. The Black Will then swiftly spread this knowledge to all those who resisted.
The Black Will's pitch-black battle flag of the lamplighters came about because of this. They were simply the guides that persisted in their hearts in this pitch-black night.
Aso was the same. When he became a black warrior who practiced undead magic, he was only twelve years old …
He allied with the elves and obtained precious magical knowledge from the annoying long-eared elves. He split up the great demon kingdoms and incited internal strife among the great demons. He used evil blood sacrifices to please the non-great demon True Gods. He gave birth to the first batch of dark warriors. He formed an alliance with the dragons and became a Dragon Knight. He took one step at a time.
After his epic story unfolded and he experienced countless battles, his former companions had all been reduced to corpses. His companions all fell one by one, and that pitch-black battle flag finally landed on his shoulder.
Aso F. Miranton, the third Senator of the Tark Republic. He had been in office for 172 years. That's right. When that long, drawn-out war between species finally ended, that impetuous youth had already transformed into the undying Lich King.
The Tark Republic prided itself on cultivating undead magic. The boundary between life and death had long since been broken. Undead magic had even extended to civilian technology. During the Tark Republic's most powerful period, they even had SemiGod undead in the triple digits. They had the power to challenge the Gods. But of all the things they should never have done, they should never have researched the perfect undead transformation technique.
When all the living could easily be transformed into the undead and obtain an endless lifespan, when the entire Tark Republic's population only increased, the Cycle of Reincarnation was obviously broken. This was obviously a taboo for the Gods.
And so, a calamity descended upon the Tark Republic. The elves, who were originally the Tark Republic's mage teachers and allies, suddenly attacked the Tark Republic's capital. A forbidden spell directly transformed the capital into a gigantic canyon. This was the wondrous "Scar of Betrayal", whose name had long since been forgotten.
Without the protection of the Gods, the Tark Republic became the public enemy of all species overnight. All of its cities were surrounded and attacked. The dark warriors lost their Gods' protection, and the Dragons mysteriously left the Tark Republic. Only the undead mages were still able to fight (the Death Knight had yet to be born). The leaders of the Tark Republic were no weaker than the elven scholars, so it wasn't as if they didn't have the power to fight.
But this time, the Tark Republic met their mortal enemy. The elven scholars made a new discovery. A special golden energy and ringing sound could cause the undead to instantly fall silent. That's right, that was the original form of Holy Light.
But fortunately, no, perhaps I should say unfortunately, there was an undead archmage who discovered a way to open a Dimensional Door. He even successfully connected to a Dimensional Door that contained negative energy. Those Dimensional Doors were the first few Undead Planes that had been discovered.
Faced with an undefeatable enemy, the Tark Republic's last surviving members escaped into the Undead Planes. Faced with such a high density of negative energy that the living couldn't possibly survive in, the Tark Republic's perfect undead transformation technology was once again effective. All the living chose to become the undead.
The elves' betrayal, the Dragons' betrayal, the Gods' schemes, undead magic which had once represented glory and freedom, and the Source of Holy Light which had always played a dishonorable role. With all these factors combined, it was easy to understand why this part of history had been "forgotten."
Nostalgia for the Tark Republic? Hatred for the traitors? Nostalgia for the Tark Republic? Or perhaps it was simply because Aso was unwilling to be forgotten, unwilling to allow the Tark Republic to be lost in history. That was why he unhesitatingly transformed himself into a bridge for the Tark Republic's people to return to their homeland. He also passed on this experience and memory to his descendants as the final evidence of his existence. Perhaps it was also to let his descendants know about the forgotten Tark Republic and justice.
Countless Dimensional Doors were opened, and the undead flooded in like a tidal wave. The undead from the six Planes were all different in form and species, but they all came from the same place: the Tark Republic, which had been forgotten for thousands of years.
Today, these forgotten undead had returned. They raised the banner of the Lantern Bearers and shouted the same deafening roar of anger.
"Idiots, we're the righteous ones!"
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