On the far bank of the Blood River, inside the Strongarm Bull Devils' military camp.
Prince Darius Ironhorn stared at the intel coming from his royal city. His face was so dark it seemed ready to drip water: the Martial Saints stationed there had been killed, the treasury looted, multiple buildings in the city burned, and over a hundred thousand residents killed or injured. The losses were catastrophic.
Seeing him like this, everyone in the tent started guessing what kind of news their prince had received to make him so furious.
Soon, word spread that Prince Darius Ironhorn's royal city had been wiped out.
When the First Prince and Third Prince heard the news, they were both delighted. The Third Prince even summoned all his Martial Saint subordinates to his tent for a celebration.
Upon hearing the news, Prince Darius Ironhorn nearly ground his teeth to dust.
The three princes had joined forces to attack the Blood River Front—not by choice, but by order of Emperor Magnus Ironhorn.
Halfway through the Third Prince’s drinking session, a guard delivered a report.
“Read it!” the Third Prince waved impatiently.
But as soon as the report was opened, just one glance made the guard’s face change drastically.
A vague sense of dread crept over the Third Prince.
“What does the letter say?”
“I... I dare not say,” the guard stammered.
“Idiot! What’s there to be afraid of? Read it, now!” the Third Prince cursed.
“Yes, sir.”
The guard braced himself and began to read: “Urgent message from the royal city. Early this morning, a group of Human Martial Saints attacked the city. All four palace guardians—including Lord Sparta—were killed. Hundreds of palace guards were also slain. The treasury was completely looted by the Humans. Before leaving, the Humans went on a rampage, killing and burning throughout the city. More than half the buildings were destroyed, and civilian casualties have reached over 160,000...”
Clang!
The Third Prince lost his grip on his wine cup, dropping it to the floor. He glared coldly at the guard. “Is that really what the letter says?”
Irony.
It was the ultimate irony—he’d just been gloating over Prince Darius Ironhorn’s misfortune and drinking to celebrate, and now, in the blink of an eye, karma had come for him.
The guard answered in terror, “Reporting to Third Prince, that’s exactly what the letter says—not a single word is different!”
“Die!”
A murderous gleam flashed in the Third Prince’s eyes. He swung his fist, and the guard’s body exploded into a bloody mist, splattering everyone in the tent. Not a single person dared to dodge.
Everyone knew the Third Prince’s moods were unpredictable. If they tried to dodge, they might just anger him and bring disaster on themselves.
Not long after, Prince Darius Ironhorn received news that the Third Prince’s royal city had also been raided.
He’d been furious before, but now, hearing this, he couldn’t help bursting into laughter. “Ha! That’s karma—pure karma!”
When the First Prince heard that the Third Prince’s city had also been raided, his heart tightened. What if my own city gets hit too?
He immediately sent people to check on his own city. By evening, the news came back: his city was safe and sound. The First Prince finally breathed a huge sigh of relief.
When the Third Prince and Prince Darius Ironhorn learned that the First Prince’s city was untouched, they both felt seriously disgruntled. Why did the Humans only raid our cities and not the First Prince’s?
The more they thought about it, the more annoyed they became.
Eventually, the Third Prince went to Prince Darius Ironhorn’s tent.
“Why are you here, Third Brother?”
Prince Darius Ironhorn replied coolly.
“I came to apologize to you, Ninth Brother,” the Third Prince sighed.
Seeing the Third Prince bow his head, Prince Darius Ironhorn felt much of his resentment fade. “You’re being too serious, Third Brother.”
The two brothers conspired together in the tent, then went hand in hand to the First Prince’s camp.
“Why are you two here, Third and Ninth Brothers?” The First Prince was secretly surprised to see them together—weren’t these two always at each other’s throats?
“We’ve come to complain to you, Big Brother!” said the Third Prince.
At this, the First Prince’s brows twitched—he had a bad feeling about this.
“That’s right, Big Brother,” Prince Darius Ironhorn chimed in. “Both our treasuries have been looted. We have no resources left for the war. So tell us—how are we supposed to keep fighting?”
"What do you two mean by this?" The First Prince felt his sense of foreboding grow even stronger.
The Third Prince smiled faintly. "We mean, we'd like our big brother to lend us some resources."
Prince Darius Ironhorn nodded in agreement. "Exactly. We hope big brother, for the sake of family, will help us out!"
Watching the two of them play off each other, the First Prince finally understood the source of his bad feeling. He sneered inwardly—these two had their capitals sacked, their treasuries emptied, and now they wanted him to cover their losses? Outrageous.
"How much do you two need?"
Prince Darius gave a sly chuckle. "Right now, Third Brother and I are flat broke. But with Father's death order, we can't withdraw our troops. So, we hope big brother will cover all military pay and rations for our armies!"
"What?!"
The First Prince jumped up in shock. The three of them had mobilized a total of 2.4 million troops—800,000 each.
If he had to pay all salaries and rations for 2.4 million soldiers, it would be a number he simply couldn't accept.
"What's the matter? Big brother's not willing?"
The Third Prince's face suddenly turned cold.
The First Prince cursed the two of them as shameless in his heart, forcing a bitter smile. "It's not that I don't want to help my brothers, it's just that I'm broke too. How about this—I'll cover rations for your soldiers, but as for their pay, you'll have to figure that out yourselves."
Prince Darius shook his head vigorously. "No way! War is gambling with your life. Without pay, those bastards will revolt! So big brother, no matter what, you have to lend us military pay!"
Hearing this, the First Prince cursed them again in his heart. Are these two really trying to squeeze me dry?
"Third Brother, Ninth Brother, you have to understand—my territory isn't as big as yours, my income is limited. I really can't afford all that pay!"
Prince Darius sneered. "If that's the case, there's nothing left to discuss. Third Brother, let's withdraw!"
"Let's withdraw, then!" The Third Prince nodded.
Hearing they were about to pull out, the First Prince panicked. "Don't be reckless, you two! If you withdraw, Father will definitely blame you!"
The Third Prince curled his lip. "Let him blame us. Our capitals have been raided, our treasuries emptied—we simply can't pay our armies. I'm sure Father will understand. But there are some people who clearly have the means, yet refuse to help, causing Father's grand plan to fail. I wonder how Father will deal with such a person?"
Hearing the Third Prince's thinly veiled threat, the First Prince flew into a rage. "Are you two threatening me?"
The Third Prince gave a mocking laugh, his tone playful. "Don't misunderstand, big brother. How could we threaten you? It's just that we can't pay our troops, so how can we fight? Besides, your soldiers are all elite—even without us, you can surely defeat the humans and complete the mission. When Father rewards you, don't forget your two brothers, okay? After all, if we hadn't withdrawn, you wouldn't get all the credit, right?"
"Well said, Third Brother!" Prince Darius clapped. "Come on, let's go withdraw our troops and leave the Blood River Front!"
Squeezed like this, the First Prince nearly burst with anger. But seeing them about to leave the tent, he was forced to swallow his pride and call out, "Wait, Third Brother, Ninth Brother—please stay!"