"In my life, I rose from the very bottom. Thinking carefully, every step I climbed in life was a gamble with fate."
"As a youth, to survive, I killed the leader of the beggars' gang and took his place myself."
"To cast off the identity of a beggar, I led my men into the home of a fallen noble and seized the secret medicine that awakened bloodlines."
"After becoming a bloodline ronin, I trained my former companions and turned them all into ronin as well, then entered the service of the ruler of a small kingdom."
"In my youth, I commanded a hundred soldiers. While the ruler of that small kingdom was at war with another country, I seized its capital in one stroke and became the ruler of a land!"
"Afterward, I endured countless hardships and perils, gambling my life more than ten times before reaching my current position as ruler of the Dragon Kingdom!"
"And now, why has my spirit weakened instead? Why have I become so timid and hesitant?"
General Deman muttered to himself. He seemed to be recounting his past, but he was also reminding himself.
He slowly exhaled a breath of stale air, and a trace of icy coldness flashed through his eyes.
"My entire life, Deman Ieyasu, has been built on gambling with my life. This time, I'll stake everything I own and gamble with my life once more!"
Unprecedented resolve burst from his eyes, sweeping away all hesitation and worry.
Rumble, rumble.
Muffled thunder sounded in the sky, as gloomy dark clouds blanketed the heavens for a thousand li around.
The fine rain of spring arrived quietly, and the entire East Wasteland seemed to have entered the season when all things sprang forth in abundance.
Within the Dragon Kingdom's palace, General Deman looked