On the winding Far East Highway in Minsk Province, an army stretching beyond sight marched westward. This was Duke Ludi's Demon Race legion, fresh from its great victory at Moon Bay. Wherever the eye fell, banners billowed like a sea, blades gleamed like snow, and spears clustered like clouds. The new conquerors of the Far East radiated unstoppable momentum, their ranks at the height of their strength.
On a hillside beside the road, Duke Ludi watched his own high-spirited army. In that instant, the sensation of limitless power flooded his mind: Unrivaled strength lies in my hands. With this army, I will destroy Valen Fortress, said to stand forever unconquered. I will trample the mighty Empire beneath my feet. I will conquer the whole continent, pile human corpses into mountains, and build my immortal legacy atop them!
As though he had seen through his thoughts, Imperial Guard General Yun Qianxue smiled faintly. "What a formidable army! Your Grace truly is remarkable!"
Though they were words of praise, Yun Qianxue delivered them with that half-smiling expression, an unfathomable smile hanging on his face. Duke Ludi found it deeply unpleasant. He could not tell whether that effeminate, sinister little pretty-boy was praising him or mocking him.
Duke Ludi came from the lower ranks of the Demon Race. Before a refined imperial noble like Yun Qianxue, he felt a deep inferiority. Because of that, he made an especially ostentatious display of arrogance and crudeness, constantly baring his thick muscles and scars before others, as if to say: I'm a rough brute, so I look down on you pretty boys who live off others! He tried to use brute vulgarity to overwhelm the graceful bearing he envied yet could never imitate.
Duke Ludi snorted through his upturned nostrils, as though he had not heard