Dark Lord: ‘Forming the Shadow Lords was truly a wise choice. I could never have accomplished this much alone’

Each of the Shadow Lords was a master of their own set of skills. In terms of ability, Dark Lord was inferior to them in their specialties.

In fact, Dark Lord was the weakest member overall, as far as power is concerned.

He acknowledged a long time ago that he did not possess any special talent, which is why, he tried to surround himself with allies that did.

Each member had a skill they excelled in.

Camilla Kumis: concealment, disguise, poison, and espionage. Though he was not much of a fighter, Camilla excelled at things that involved finesse and professional touch.

Meros Solros: high level swordsmanship and a potential to reach the level of a hero. Essentially, Dark Lord considered Meros to be the muscle of the group. Even though Lake is physically stronger since he is a demi-human, Meros had the most powerful physical attack.

Lukalis Kreschen: expert magician and a walking library of information. She was as proficient in magic as Meros was in swordsmanship including an expertise in many other subjects.

Kyra Kara: illusions, brainwashing, and fire magic.

Morphus: anyone he possesses will be temporarily enhanced, though; housing him puts a lot of pressure on the vessel. A Holy Knight level warrior can step into the realm of heroes, and a hero level warrior could possibly reach the level of a Legendary Hero.

Cifer Palak: Darkness magic, teleportation independent of teleportation rings, and hand to hand combat skills.

Lake Luondo: Physically strongest member and possesses control over earth magic.

Jun Valence: Assassination and torture.

Navek: practically unkillable, but can be easily sealed away or captured.

Goblin Captain: leadership over other goblins and absolute loyalty to Dark Lord.

Morphus’s subordinate Vampire: blood draining and regeneration. Dark Lord used her as a guinea pig for his experiments that would most likely result in death, but due to her regenerative power, he could keep using her indefinitely.

Even the ones Dark Lord considered redundant or replaceable like Vampire and Goblin Captain had more raw ability and overall power than Dark Lord.

Each one joined for one reason or another, to complete a goal that would have been too much for Dark Lord to handle alone. Overall, the Shadow Lords was a group consisting of extremely competent people.

Yet, not a single one of them was a leader.

None of them had a big plan or even a vision for the future.

And that was one thing Dark Lord had.

The entire setup was a one big game for him, the game he intended to win.

Though, he was not in a hurry, as far as time is concerned, he had more of it than anyone else.

Knight of Night posed a dire threat since he possessed a weapon that could kill Dark Lord for good. This time, he had Meros/Morphus protect him, but next time circumstances might not be so favorable. After the mess Dark Lord created, Knight of Night will be a little busy….

Making two kingdoms fight each other was part of the plan as well. First Phase of Operation Darkness: ignite the sparks of war between elven and human kingdoms. Now, the first phase was complete.

Dark Lord: ‘I would never have dreamed of such a plan had I not met Luka. She has been most helpful indeed’

When he found Lukalis on the verge of death, he took a gamble with her, thinking she would have more worth to him alive than dead.

It seems like this time, he lucked out.

Dark Lord: “I guess it’s time I take some time off and let the events play out”

Dark Lord had more than 2000 goblins attack the elven capital during their invasion, as such; they have managed to procure many females for breeding purposes.

Goblins may be individually weak, but in high numbers they made excellent foot soldiers.

Human Kingdom had the Holy Order with its many knights, Holy Knights, and Heroes.

Demon King had countless demons and Demon Lords backing her.

Dark Lord was the third powerhouse that entered the fray.

Not on the side of demons yet a sworn enemy of the human kingdom. As such, it felt appropriate to have his own troops.

Human kingdom could not produce heroes on demand.

And with each event, their numbers plummeted.

The heroes that Elf King kidnapped were unlikely to ever go back to the frontlines. As far as Dark Lord could tell, the three of them were traumatized to the point of being mute and motionless.

This effectively reduced their numbers, leaving Human Kingdom with nineteen heroes.

With a war looming over, their numbers would likely plummet even further.

Dark Lord: ‘The feeling of a plan working out exactly as intended sure is good’

Switching back into his nobleman’s attire, he entered the Sevilles Mansion.

He was done being Dark Lord for today, now it was time to assume the guise of Runfar Sevilles.

Runfar spent his day exactly as any nobleman would, in peace.

When the evening came, he grabbed a book and went to Rune’s room to read her a bed time story.

Perhaps it was because of his paternal instincts or perhaps he was trying to compensate for something he lost, Runfar ended up essentially adopting Rune.

Runfar was one of the two people Rune was not afraid of, the other being Elian who treated Rune like a younger sister.

Every now and then, when he had time, Runfar would read Rune a bed time story.

Since she could not talk, her expression of delight and wonder was the only way Runfar could know that she enjoyed their time together.

He found such times highly therapeutic.

Sometimes, the three of them, Runfar, Rune, and Elian would go on a picnic together, just to enjoy a breath of fresh air.

During such moments, Runfar wondered if that was what it feels like to have a family.

After tucking Rune into bed, Runfar proceeded to head back to his bedroom.

Since he was half undead, he hungered for mana but was unable to produce it, making it necessary for him to ‘recharge’ every now and then.

That is why; he would sleep in the same bed with Camilla.

Except today, Sariu was standing in front of his bedroom door in her nightgown. Camilla was standing next to her, with an awkward expression that seemed to say ‘I am so sorry’.

Runfar: “What exactly are you doing, Sariu?”

Sariu, in a whispering voice: “I wish to sleep with you…”

Runfar: “Pardon?”

Sariu: “It is not fair, young master. You sleep with Camilla in the same bed, even though you are both guys…. I want to sleep with you too!”

Sariu: “Young Master, please don’t tell me….do you prefer men?”

Lately, everyone in the mansion aside from Shadow Lords was under an assumption that Runfar preferred men. He and Camilla sleeping in the same room did not help matters. Only one unaware of such rumors was Runfar himself.

Her eyes were overflowing with tears for some reason.

Dark Lord: ‘Oh goodness, I had this coming’

* * *

Elven Kingdom was shook to its very core.

Actions of the human kingdom’s hero known as the Knight of Death were unforgivable to say the least.

The entire capital was left in ruins, countless females kidnapped and males simply killed at the hands of goblins. Many building structures collapsed due to the earthquake.

But the biggest damage was done upon the royal family.

Nearly every member of Elven royal house was purged. Only one child of Elven King, his youngest daughter remained.

Elven king received the biggest damage overall.

The healers replaced his severed limbs with magically created substitutes, but as far as replacing his severed genitals go….there was not much success in that regard.

Recreating a lost appendage is one thing, but making it functional was an entirely different subject. Whatever that was now between his legs felt like foreign object that has been crudely glued to his flesh.

Unless he consumed an elixir made with dragon heart, he would never regain his ability to reproduce.

Elven King: “Knight of Death! Damn him!”

Elven King: “I want the human kingdom burned to the ground! Kill every hero! Bring me the head of the Knight of Death!”

Losing all his limbs in one go and being made a eunuch king in front of all his subjects…that hero sure did a number on him.

Much to Elven King’s horror, he discovered that he could no longer use magic.

Magic is cast by the usage of mana that is created by the user’s mana points.

Elven King originally had 36 mana points, but after the incident, his physician informed him that Elven King now only had a single mana point. During the torture, Dark Lord used his undead skill to steal nearly all of Elven King’s mana points.

Because of this, Elven King’s days were numbered and within a few days he knew he would inevitably succumb to death.

His body was still alive and conscious, but barely, with each day he grew weaker.

Rather than a quick death, Dark Lord gave him a prolonged torture before his time is up.

While the draconic heart elixir might have saved his life, there simply was not enough time.

By the time they found a dragon, slain it, and extracted its heart, Elven King would be long dead and buried.

Elven King: “How dare he, how dare he!”

As his body could not handle his outburst of anger, he fell over, his blood coming out of his mouth.

Even now, his eyes could only see the image of Knight of Death looming over him like a Grim Reaper.

Knight of Death: “You may be a god king to your people, you may be an almighty monster to others, but in my eyes, you are nobody”

Scarier than any hero Elven King had met and ten times more cruel than the Demon King.

Rather than a hero, that man was akin to a god.

A cruel and capricious god that brought chaos and destruction everywhere he goes.

No, comparing him to a god would not do him justice. More accurately, he would be described as a living antithesis of a deity, an anti-god.

Even if he only met him once, Elven King understood that he was no match for him.

Elven King used to believe that Demon King was the worst fiend there is, but after meeting him, Demon King looked like a kitten by comparison.

Elven king: “Damn you!”

Elven King declared a war upon the human Kingdom.

Having no other choice, he declared his only surviving offspring as his successor.