Yet while all these events were taking place, and their doers being none the wiser, the wider world had been shuddering, like a shuttering window trying desperately to bear the hurricane windows, who came barging in from the south on the lips and tongues of vagabonds and bards. Many desperately doubted the authenticity of the claims, while most completely denied them; a few even wanted to condemn the speakers for spouting lies, but all nonetheless stared in shock, believing their ears or sanity had betrayed them instead of these tall tales of absurdity, muttered by nothing more than madmen, who brought their peddled lunacy here to swindle the gullible of his purse and the fool of his time. But when more and more people came from the south with the same words on their breathe, those who doubted began to consider, while those who vehemently denied started to waver, but none dared to believe, until the coming of the sixth day that is. As Maximillian's mercenary army finally arrived into the lands of the Yue Dynasty, and with it so did the truth; yet it was not the truth they thought would accompany them, as these men of gold and blood offered them no peace of mind with denial and rebuttals, but only of acknowledgement and confirmation. They too repeated the impossible words of the gossip, the Bloody Emperor had fought the Mercenary king into a standstill in the Battle of the Anazoi Canyon! Convulsed were the hearts of every man and woman, poor or rich, young or old, who's ears were too unfortunate to grasp wind of this single whispered rumour, now turned fact. The common folk were unsatiable, talking till their mouths nearly bled about this unprecedented turn of events that none saw coming, a few among them even began to whisper of a new title for the young emperor of the south, one that was said to have been uttered by the War Dragon Maximillian himself. Yet while the ignorant only grew ever more talkative, the knowledgeable only sank deeper into silence, aware of what this event presently signified and what it's sanguinary future entails. Like calamitous oracles who only foretold misfortune, they could easily discern visions of the ink on their weathered history books rise from their white parchment prisons to repeat the ancient acts they described. They saw an end to the current age of four-pronged stability; and a return to the ancient Age of Tarnished Steel, an age of war and aggression, an age of endless war and carnage, but most importantly, an age of southern supremacy. But how dominant the Eclipse Empire will prove to be they didn't know just yet; but if they were to make an educated guess, then these academics and wisemen of foreign lands feared that it would be far more tyrannical than the time of Azrael the Second, that nightmarish Beloved of Battle. And while those men of books and science did what they do best, sit in lonely halls and quietly think, the men of power and influence were not so blessed with their time, as they rushed to do what must be done, racking their brains to better exploit and plan for the rapidly changing future, as all their gazes turned to the south, with three pairs of these piercing eyes being more intense than the rest. The first of these stares were from the Eastern Silver Court, the court which held the emerald throne of the east. As they suddenly felt like a man dangled over a pit of dying embers, that could reignite at any moment to singe their flesh. "My emperor we must send an army to aid this new state by the name of the Appethus Kingdom!" One minister who looked fairly young and sat on the left side of the massive, yet beautiful silver and emerald decorated hall exclaimed, his voice buried in urgency. "Are you mad!" Another minister, who sat on the right and looked about the same age as the first, quickly rebutted "The southern emperor has just managed to fight the War Dragon himself to a standstill, and you want to send an army against him?! Do want a disaster on our hands?!" "We must do this, even if the price is steep or else we risk this previously docile southern neighbour of ours growing stronger and stronger under the command of this new emperor of theirs! We must clip his wings before they further spread, or we risk a second coming of the Beloved of Battle!" Another man on the left replied with a vigorous yell. "Don't hide behind honeyed words! Steep price? Ha! What a joke to use such a simple phrase as that to describe the horror we would face and the possibly hundreds of thousands of souls we would lose in such a war!" Another from the other side swiftly said. "A war, I might add, we are completely uncertain we can win!" Another member from the left quickly supported. "Exactly!" Then a second spoke up. "If even the War Dragon couldn't achieve victory and had to settle for a draw, what chance do our generals have?" And a third quickly also questioned. "Cowards! You would see our best chance to contain a future peril because of the threat of hardship!" An older minister from the left side condemned with rage in his voice. Nᴇw ɴovel chaptᴇrs are published on 𝓷𝓸𝓿𝓮𝓵✶𝕗𝕚𝕣𝕖✶𝓷𝓮𝓽 "How dare you! Do you want to be beaten you old sack of bones!" A hot-headed man from the right quickly yelled back in response, when another calmer minister quickly stood up to prevent the talk turning into a senseless brawl of useless words "Who says the Bloody Emperor must be a future threat to our land! We can just as easily befriend him and all is well." "Befriend? We allowed the Mercenary King's army to quietly pass through our land so that they could stealthily invade his lands and join the rebellion he's currently still fighting, do you truly think a man as ruthless as the southern monarch, the Bloody Emperor himself, would be so forgiving?!" Another quickly argued with a hint of sarcasm in his voice. "Why not?" He confidently replied "If we offer him a significant enough gift of jewels or Darr we..." He suddenly stopped, as the hall instantly fell into a pit of dread at the mention of giving money, before everyone slowly turned to look at the man on the highest seat in the hall. The emperor of the east was currently fiddling with a golden coin with his right hand, his silverish white hair, like captured moonlight, tied in a loose knot, while a gentle smile was playing on his lips, as he looked at the one who's lips had slipped, making the poor man bow and awkwardly sit back down. The hall then grew unnaturally still, with the previous furious debates now completely pausing, until Emperor Tianlan spoke up with his almost femininely soft voice "Minister of the left and right, let us end this debacle already. Tell me your final opinions on the matter." The first to stand was the minister of the left, dressed in the highest official silver robes of the dynasty, as he performed the customary bow and answered "My emperor I believe that though it will be difficult in the short term, war with the Eclipse Emperor would prove to be not only the most profitable, but also safest option for the nation's future." The minister of the right then rose from his seat and then did the same customary bow, before saying "I completely disagree with the views of the minister of the left, as I believe befriending the southern emperor is wiser. And though, yes I do admit that doing so would prove to be expensive, especially after allowing the Mercenary King passage through our land, I believe that such a task would still be not only easier, but also less costly than if we wish to achieve victory over the Bloody Emperor." Emperor Tianlan wore a displeased frown at the two's arguments, before suddenly looking back at the minister of the right and asking "Are you sure that your solution would cost less?" "Your imperial majesty!" The minister of the left tried to stop him, but a single angry glare silenced him instantly, not daring to utter a single other word. "Yes, your imperial majesty. I can assure you that not only will we earn the Eclipse emperor's understanding for our earlier affairs, but his friendship as well, with the least amount of cost possible." He said with a large and confident smile, much to the chagrin of his counterpart, who was currently doing the best he could, trying to find a way to mitigate the future damage, he knew this decision would cost his homeland. But if the Yue Dynasty was beginning to feel a slight sting from feeling as though they were suspended over a few burning coals, then the Luminous Empire felt as though they were hung over an infernal volcano. The Golden Western Court, where the mighty emperor Octavian ruled from the golden throne of the west, was currently frantically ordering for all offensive operations against the Eclipse Empire to be immediately halted, while Marius Nerva who looked even younger than the time he'd spoken with Maximillian many months ago, was urgently drawing up plans for future wars and allies he could muster to face this demon of the south. There was no divide among the men of the Luminous Empire like there was among those of the Yue Dynasty, as they all understood the disaster that was afoot and they all rushed to prepare for it. For they had already tasted the bitter smack of losing before the Eclipse emperor before, and they had no desire to taste it again. But unbeknownst to them, a pair of young golden eyes were quietly observing them at that moment, eyes that burned with an unspeakable amount jealousy and malcontent, as he resentfully thought 'He and I are both of the same generation of future leaders of the world, yet his name already invokes such fear and respect, while I...' He didn't finish this thought, as his fingernails began to dig into his palms, drawing blood, catching the attention of his mother, the empress Roxana who yelped for a priest to come heal her son, but he didn't care, nor did he even hear his mother's concerned questions, as his eyes still focused on the bustling court before him. "Aurelius! Are you listening to me? Stop clutching your fingers and open your palm already so that the priest can heal you!" Roxana raised her voice at her son, as he just continued staring off into the distance. Yet instead of answering her, he turned his head to her, his eyes glowing like the sun at noon, a product of his newly unsealed divine power reacting to his unstable emotions, as he swore with a bloodied palm "One day mother, I swear to make people react to my name and achievements in the same manner... No! Even more than this! So much so that no one will even remember his name ever again!" Roxana stared silently at her usually sweet and honest boy, the apple of her eyes, before she carefully hugged him close, burying his little head in her bosom, half in pride half in worry, for this troublesome trait of his.