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  Day 21:

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  Thud* Thud* Thud* Thud* Thud* Thud* Thud* Thud* Thud* Thud* Thud* Thud*

  "One! Two! One! Two!"

  "This is the song of the bloody march!"

  "Men of war on the violent path!"

  "The weak will fall!"

  "While the strong will walk!"

  "Only the strong survive!"

  "One! Two! One! Two!"

  "Steal their water, food, gold, and homes!"

  "Ensve the men to work our field!"

  "Take their women to warm our bed!"

  "Train their children to be men of war!"

  "Only the ruthless survive!"

  "One! Two! One! Two!"

  "And when they resist!"

  "Decapitate them with a bloody axe!"

  "Use their skulls to drink our wine!"

  "Qhiion thirsts for blood!"

  "And the bloody march goes on!"

  "One! Two! One! Two!"

  .

  .

  .

  A 10,000-strong army, composed of well-armed and armored axe-and-shield infantry and horse archers, marched through the periphery of Tulens while singing a strange marching song that summed up all that was Qhiion. If one looked closely, one would notice a light bloody aura on these men, where the shamans and Bloodletters of Qhiion led their warriors on the bloody march, promising a river of blood.

  Qhiion was an ancient human god, one of the earliest gods humanity believed in during a time when alien races ruled the world and ensved Man, and kindness was a deadly sin. They had to march and migrate quickly over harsh terrains. They had to pilge the women and goods to survive and prosper. They had to fight their enemies and sughter those who resisted until the rivers turned red. It could be said that, without Qhiion, humanity would be a sve race, or even exterminated from the genetic pool. Qhiion was the strongest war god, the embodiment of primitive violence.

  But times changed, and when humanity reached a point where there were more humans to fight than other races, Qhiion's ways fell out of favor. The more civilized humans feared him and other ancient gods, switching to newer deities that preached things more in line with the advancement of civilization and co-existence. Some even directly wrote him off from history, wanting to stop the cycle of violence!

  But the Kadin Barbarian Coalition thought differently. The old pantheon existed for a reason, and Qhiion marked every human's heart with his bloody mark of violence. Even if they deliberately tried to forget him and worshipped other gods, Qhiion was so tethered with humanity that Qhiion fed on all acts of violence humanity committed, and some subconsciously harnessed his power during times of cruelty, whether they liked it or not. The barbarians merely stuck to the old ways to harness his raw power, which others chose to ignore or forget. That was why they looked down on the so-called civilized humans and their new pantheon of gods.

  "Have you noticed it?" Grand Jarl Wolfgang Grimjard, a mighty and towering bear of a man riding a tier 3 Barbaric Warhorse, said while looking around.

  "The prey smelled trouble and fled ahead of time." Grand Jarl Audbjorn Karljorn, a lean warrior with sharp features and a graying beard, nodded.

  "My Jarl, this is a bad omen, and I fear spies are in our midst. Allying with the cultists of the upstart heathen god already displeased Qhiion, and failing to offer him blood will disadvantage us in battle. I suggest cautiously treading, or the blood that will flow might not belong to our foes." A veiled and curvacious woman dressed in ceremonial dress and wearing a tiara with a beautiful ginger braid that reached her waist warned while riding next to Wolfgang. She had a drop-shaped red mark on her forehead, her birthmark.

  She was Astrid, Wolfgang's most competent daughter, and a tier 4 High Priestess of Qhiion, born under his bloody mark. She was the most attuned to Qhiion, and her intelligence was without question, so she offered wise counsel to Wolfgang as young as she was twelve! She already sensed Qhiion's displeasure when they sided with the heathens, and while they could abate and even please Qhiion's discontent with a river of blood, without it, Qhiion would shun them during battle.

  Many cautionary tales remain about dissatisfying the gods. Ancient dwarven mountain kingdoms were buried alive with their enemies after desecrating their god's teachings. Elven trees of life grow sick overnight. Other things include crop failure, bad luck, epidemics, ck of fertility, natural disasters, and more. In Qhiion's case, he would make their blows less impactful in combat, and they would be more prone to fear. Since they are fighting against fellow humans, he might even bless the enemy if they knew how to harness his power!

  "I also don't like working with the heathens, but since Audbjorn already consented and we received orders from the high king, we must agree," Wolfgang wasn't happy either.

  "There will be chances to abate Qhiion's wrath in the coming battle, and we can kill the heathens ter." Grand Jarl Audbjorn dismissively said.

  "You are just paranoid, woman! We will deal with the snake cultists when the time comes and appease Qhiion. And besides, the cattle fleeing means there will be more blood to spill in the city." An arrogant voice sounded from a lean warrior in his te 20s, draped in the bck fur of a ferocious wolf monster he slew.

  He was Kurc the Wolfsyer, son of Audbjorn, a peak tier 4 Bloodletter of Qhiion, and the son of Audbjorn.

  "Do not address me so casually, Kurc. I am not your trophy wife," Astrid coldly said to the man, her blood-red ruby eyes narrowing at him.

  "You will belong to me one day, fair Astrid! Sooner or ter, you will warm my bed!" Kurc said with a ferocious grin, right next to Wolfgang.

  "Hahaha! Young wolf! You have yet to earn my blessings!" Wolfgang ughed, silently consenting to Kurc's rudeness.

  If a man didn't show backbone when courting a woman, then he was a spineless coward! What self-respecting strong woman would enter his bed? Astrid was a grand prize many sought, whether for her status, beauty, strength, or favor with the gods. Without backbone, even if she married him, she would whip him day and night.

  "I will prove myself in the next battle! I shall bring the skull of a powerful warrior as a betrothal gift, to use as a cup of wine!" Kurc had a bloodthirsty grin.

  "Hah! That's my boy! A proper Bloodletter!" Grand Jarl Audbjorn ughed.

  "Daughter, what say you?" Wolfgang didn't immediately answer, turning to his daughter. He wasn't against political marriage, but he favored his daughter. He wouldn't marry her off unless she consented.

  "Alright. Prove yourself under the watchful gaze of Qhiion and bring me the skull of a champion of Bulthar, and I shall warm your bed." Astrid nodded.

  As a fellow warrior god, Qhiion respected him, and the skull of Bulthar's champion was a worthy prize.

  "Hahaha! Then I will bring you a fine trophy!" Kurc happily ughed.

  "I am surprised you agreed." Wolfgang weirdly looked at his daughter.

  "The signs tell me I shall be cimed by a man blessed by Qhiion soon. And Kurc is a fine Bloodletter. He would fight bravely tonight." Astrid said, a strange gleam in her blood-red eyes as she looked at Kurc's back.

  "Hahaha! My son will prove himself worthy of your favor!" Grand Jarl Audbjorn ughed again, not noticing the look.

  But Wolfgang felt a chill when he noticed the bloody gleam in his daughter's eyes. It was the look she had when she sacrificed cattle and sinners on the altar.

  "Qhiion will drink his blood tonight," Wolfgang knew.

  And so the march continued.

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  .

  .

  In Tulens City-

  Rilden looked at his three daily prophesies with great interest.

  [The enemy will strike at 2:00 at night! —]

  [The three Ludiron assassins agreed on a special sign with the forces of Osnines and Steorus. —]

  [You have the chance to earn Qhiion's bloody favor! —]

  "Well... This will be fun." Rilden grinned while rubbing his hands and got up.

  He had some preparations to make.

  At noon, there was a strategic meeting.

  "The enemy has 10,000 soldiers! Two peak tier 5 Grand Jarls will lead 8,500 regur soldiers, 1,000 tier 1 junior warriors, 300 tier 2 full-fledged warriors, 120 tier 3 elite warriors, 26 tier 4 champions, and 2 tier 5 epic warriors as adjutants."

  "Meanwhile, gathering all avaible combatants, we have approximately 4,000 men, of which 3,400 are regur soldiers, 430 are tier 1, 120 are tier 2, 30 are tier 3, 8 are tier 4, 4 are initial tier 5 epic warriors and a tier 6 Legendary Warrior."

  "Our spies discovered the battle pns of the enemy army. They will wait until 2:00 tonight, —"

  "The eastern gate will bear the brunt of their main force, while they will send a force to our western gate to block the escape of civilians, and their force will be weaker. Our forces will be distributed like this—"

  "Any questions?"

  Rilden asked, looking at the surrounding people. They included Varkas, Erose, Madam Riveria, Knight Commander Enderson, Vice Commander Hugh Strongfist, Spymaster Jerob, Padin Leader Brilda, and other powerful nobles and clergy at tier 4.

  Everyone shook their heads, indicating they had none.

  "Then, we shall end this here. Rest well before the battle." Rilden said before leaving the room.

  Everyone else also left, while the nobles quietly discussed among themselves.

  "Who is that young man? He was barely a tier 2 warrior! Did you notice how respectful all the powerful people were to him? Who is he? The emperor's son?" Count Ralph Darrington, a dignified warrior in his te 40s, warily asked.

  "I hear rumors he is Varkas's son-in-w. But I also don't know what is so special about him." Countess Colleen Keaton, beautiful despite being in her mid-40s, shook her head, also confused.

  "Don't you think the rise in strength of several people is strange? Is it reted to him?" Viscount Henry Mast pointed out.

  "Don't ask useless questions. Jerob gave me a warning before the meeting. The less we know, the better." Bire Quickspear, a Viscountess who had a fling with Jerob, sternly warned before leaving quickly.

  "I agree. That young man is not someone you should doubt." A priest of Druelia who saw Rilden sacrificing the statue and obtaining a divine artifact also warned and left.

  The others looked at each other and decided to heed the advice, merely taking note to stay in Rilden's good graces.

  And so, time quickly passed, and the hour of battle arrived.