The air was thick with the smell of blood and gunpowder.
When I gave the order to attack, it wasn't just a battle between two armies—it was a slaughter.
"Breach their walls!"
My voice boomed across the field, carried by the wind to the soldiers who surged towards the enemy like a raging flood.
The Zilvera Empire's army relied on defensive fortifications, but I didn't need a traditional siege.
I hadn't come here to fight fairly.
A week prior, I had prepared for this moment.
While everyone thought I would launch a direct assault, I had secretly sent a small battalion of my best soldiers through the mountain passes behind Zilvera City.
And now, while their army was busy repelling our main attack, my soldiers appeared behind enemy lines and set fire to their provisions and supplies!
"It's an ambush! They've circled around us!"
Screams began to rise from the heart of the Zilvera army, and panic began to grip their leaders.
I saw one of the generals running towards the command tent, trying to reorganize his forces.
But before he could issue any orders, his head was severed from his body.
Who killed him?
Me.
In the blink of an eye, I used my skill of instantaneous movement, appearing amidst their leaders like a ghost, and began tearing them apart one by one.
Every time a leader fell, another part of the enemy's morale collapsed.
And in less than an hour… there was no army fighting us anymore.
There were only the defeated fleeing the battlefield.
By nightfall, I entered the royal palace of Zilvera, where the King sat on his throne, his face as pale as death.
"What do you want from me?!" he screamed in a trembling voice, his hands shaking.
I approached him with quiet steps, then stopped just one step away.
"I want something simple from you…" I whispered to him. "To acknowledge me as your emperor."
Hesitation was clear on his face, but he knew he had no other choice.
He knelt before me slowly and raised his head to utter the words that would change the fate of his empire.
"I swear my loyalty… to the Heavenly Emperor."
At that moment, Zilvera was no more.
There was only another part of my expanding empire.
After the fall of Zilvera, I sent a message to the rest of the great empires.
"Zilvera fell in one day. Who will be next?"
And so, the second phase of my plan began.
The world was not ready for what would come next… but I was completely prepared.
The moon was in the middle of the sky, shining with its silver light, as I stood on the balcony of the royal palace of Zilvera.
Beneath my feet, the city was silent… but it wasn't asleep.
I could see flames devouring parts of the lower districts, where my forces were restoring order in their own way.
"Emperor…"
I slowly turned to the source of the voice and found Countess Serafina standing behind me.
Her long black dress swayed with the night breeze, and her cold eyes reflected the moonlight.
"What's the news?"
She replied in a calm voice, but with a hint of hidden pleasure:
"As you expected, the rest of the kingdoms and empires have begun to move after the fall of Zilvera. Secret alliances are being formed, and armies are being prepared."
I smiled faintly, as if I were hearing pleasant news.
"Excellent… that means they are starting to take us seriously."
Serafina placed her hand on her hip, tilting her head slightly.
"What will be your next step? Will we conquer another kingdom?"
But I didn't answer her directly.
Instead, I closed my eyes for a moment and inhaled the cold air.
Then, slowly, I uttered words that completely changed the course of the conversation:
"Not yet… before we conquer more, we must become stronger."
In the days following the fall of Zilvera, I did not launch any new conquests.
Instead, I focused on something more important: rebuilding my army and turning it into an invincible force.
In the new throne room, all my leaders gathered around a massive table with a detailed map of the world.
With my finger, I pointed to the areas now under our control.
"Zilvera is no more, but it is only the beginning."
I raised my eyes to General Falco, who was sitting near me, and said to him:
"I want a new army. Not just an ordinary army, but a special force… an elite that no one can stop."
Falco smiled fiercely, as if he had been waiting for this request for a long time.
"How many do you want of them?"
I replied without hesitation:
"Five thousand to start… but each one of them must be as strong as a hundred soldiers."
On the other side of the table, Minister Ivan stroked his chin thoughtfully.
"Training forces of this level will require enormous resources, not to mention time."
I smiled, then looked at Lord Gray, who was responsible for resources and the economy.
"Give me a number."
Lord Gray, who was always calm and calculated, took out a small piece of paper, looked at it for a few seconds, then raised his head.
"We will need three times the current army budget… but if we implement it as you wish, we will have an army that no other army in the world can stand against."
I paused for a moment, then slammed my fist on the table, announcing the final decision.
"Do it."
For months, I personally oversaw the training of the new force.
There was no room for the weak.
Anyone who wanted to join the Shadow Army, as it was later called, had to pass three deadly trials:
The Strength Test: Fighting against magical beasts without any weapons.
The Survival Test: Surviving in the cursed desert for a week without food or water.
The Loyalty Test: Facing death without hesitation, even if it meant sacrificing oneself.
Out of ten thousand candidates, only two thousand survived.
But these two thousand… represented the strongest military force in the entire world.
And in the midst of all this, I, the Emperor, was watching and waiting for the day I would unleash this power upon the world.
"The time for preparation is over… it is time to conquer again."
Six months later, my empire was stronger than ever.
And now, the time had come to move things again.
I sent a message to the Iron Empire, my strongest rival so far.
In it, I wrote clearly:
"Surrender, or prepare for destruction."
And with that, the drums of war beat once more.
But this time… there was no one who could stop me.
◈◈◈◈
Time: Dawn.
Location: The northern borders of the Iron Empire.
The air was cold, and the sky was overcast with clouds, as if reflecting the grim mood of the impending war.
On top of a high hill, I stood beside my black horse, looking at the horizon where the armies of the Iron Empire were lined up as far as the eye could see.
Their numbers? More than two hundred thousand soldiers.
"Hah… so they decided to resist."
I smiled sarcastically as I watched them from afar.
On the other side, I had brought only thirty-five thousand soldiers, but they were no ordinary soldiers.
"The Shadow Army is ready to fight, my Emperor,"
I turned to General Falco, who was standing beside me, wearing his full black armor.
His eyes were blazing with enthusiasm.
"We will wipe them off the face of the earth."
I replied calmly:
"No… we will not just wipe them out. We will make them an example for anyone who thinks of challenging us."
As the sun rose, the enemy began to advance.
Their ranks were dense, their polished armor gleaming in the dawn light, and their red banners fluttering in the air.
But I didn't move.
I didn't give the order to attack.
Instead, I remained standing, watching them get closer… and closer… until they were only five hundred meters away from my army.
At that moment, I slowly raised my right hand and, in a low voice, commanded:
"Open the gates."
In less than a second, the ground in front of my army split open, revealing hidden magical passages.
And from within them, dozens of trained magical beasts, which we had been hiding for the past months, poured out.
"What is this?!"
One of the enemy generals screamed as he watched hundreds of massive beasts—creatures that shouldn't exist in this world, but were now standing in our ranks.
Black dragons, hellhounds, giant Gigantos… each beast here was strong enough to kill a hundred soldiers on its own.
And so, before the fighting even began…
"They're collapsing!!"
Screams of terror swept through the enemy army.
Some of them began to flee before the battle even started.
But for me?
This was just the beginning.
In a moment, I jumped off my horse and landed right in the middle of the battlefield.
"The Emperor himself has descended to fight!!"
The soldiers around me began to shout as I gripped my greatsword and charged towards them like a storm.
Swoosh! -
With a single strike, I cut five soldiers in half, while I used my left hand to cast an explosive spell that sent twenty others flying through the air.
My eyes met the eyes of one of the enemy commanders, who was standing there trembling.
I pointed my sword at him and said calmly:
"Come. Let's see if you deserve your title as commander."
But before he could even raise his weapon, I had disappeared from in front of him…
And appeared behind him.
Shhhk! -
In a single second, I severed his head from his body.
By noon, the battlefield was covered in corpses.
The Shadow Army had lost only a few hundred soldiers.
While the army of the Iron Empire?
More than a hundred thousand dead, and tens of thousands of prisoners.
As for the Iron Emperor himself?
He was brought before me, covered in blood, carried by two of my soldiers.
He knelt before me, his eyes filled with fear and despair.
"Please… don't kill me…"
But I wasn't interested in his life.
Instead, I leaned down towards him and whispered in his ear:
"Tell me… which empire should I bring down after you?"
Time: Evening.
Location: The Iron Emperor's palace, the burnt capital.
The wind carried the smell of smoke and blood, and the sky was the color of a red sunset, as if reflecting the massacres that had taken place here.
I stood on the balcony of the palace, overlooking the capital that was engulfed in flames.
"Unbelievable... the Iron Empire fell in one day."
A quiet voice came from behind me, and I turned to see General Falco, who was looking at the burning city with cold features.
I replied calmly, without turning around:
"They overestimated their strength... and underestimated mine."
Falco chuckled sarcastically, then said:
"And now? What shall we do with the prisoners? We have more than fifty thousand soldiers from the Iron Empire who surrendered. Some of them are high-ranking officers."
I looked at him with cold eyes, then said:
"Execute the officers and commanders before everyone... As for the ordinary soldiers, let's give them two choices."
Falco raised his eyebrow, wondering:
"And what are they?"
I turned to him and replied with a slight smile:
"Either they join our army... or they are executed."
An hour later, thousands of soldiers and prisoners gathered in the main square of the capital.
In the middle, a large wooden platform was erected, and on it were dozens of commanders and officers of the Iron Empire, bound in chains.
I looked at the crowds, then slowly raised my hand, and silence fell over the place.
In a strong voice, I spoke:
"To all the inhabitants of the Iron Empire... from this moment on, you are all under the rule of the Heavenly Empire."
Some people showed shocked expressions, while others whispered amongst themselves in fear.
I continued:
"The rule of the former tyrant is over. But I will not be merciful to those who think of rebelling. Today, I will show you the fate of everyone who stood in my way."
Then I nodded, and ordered my soldiers to execute all the officers and commanders before everyone.
Shhhk! -
Gggaaaah! -
Their screams pierced the air, and the faces of the people turned to horror.
At that moment, everyone understood one message:
"This new ruler... is not someone to be challenged."
After the execution, I turned to the prisoners, who were kneeling on the ground in fear.
"Now, I will give you the final choice."
"Either you join my army and swear loyalty to me... or you die here."
Moments of charged silence passed.
Then, the first soldier began to raise his head, his eyes filled with surrender.
"I... I swear allegiance to Emperor Kyle!"
After him, another followed.
Then a third.
And after moments, everyone knelt, chanting in unison:
"We swear allegiance to Emperor Kyle!"
I smiled coldly and said calmly:
"Good... from now on, you are part of my army."
Just one day later, the capital had completely submitted and become part of my empire.
But I didn't stop here.
After a meeting with my leaders, I made my next decision.
"The Iron Empire was just the beginning... next will be the Crimson Empire."
Falco laughed, then said excitedly:
"Oh, this will be fun."
I replied with a cold smile:
"Prepare yourselves... we march tomorrow."