The Stepstones boasts vast territories and countless islands, among which the largest main island is named Bloodstone because its entire rock strata are of a rich, vivid crimson red.
The scorching sun hangs high in the sky, baking the entire crimson land.
The jagged red rocks are baked until they are scorching hot, and only the salty-wet sea breeze blowing from the surface of the sea disperses the heat in the air.
Yet today, the sea breeze is mixed with a strong and pungent smell of blood.
“Kill—”
“Kill all these bitches of the Triarchy!”
“Together! Kill Talvey!”
“Protect Lord Talvey!”
“Ah—”
…
A fierce and tragic slaughter is unfolding on the island.
The crisp clashing of gold and iron, the shrill screams of soldiers, and the earth-shaking battle cries intertwine and wrap around each other, piercing the sultry sky and echoing over the crimson island for a long time.
In the crowd, a tall figure clad in plate armor is personally leading the elite soldiers of House Valthorn to engage in a head-on battle with the army of the Triarchy.
On the armor of this tall figure, a dragon-shaped heraldry can be vaguely seen, declaring his identity—the commander of this elite troop, the heir of House Valthorn, Talvey.
He takes the lead and has already charged deep into the enemy’s territory.
The two-handed greatsword in his hands has long been stained dark red by blood, yet deep within the blade, the characteristic wavy patterns of Valyrian steel can be faintly seen.
Now, he has been surrounded by the elites under The Crabfeeder.
They hold sharp Myr scimitars in their hands and stare covetously at Talvey.
For them, as long as they can capture Talvey, not only can they win this war, but they can also demand a huge ransom from House Valthorn using Talvey, the direct heir of the family, as leverage; therefore, these men have a very firm will.
“Triarchy soldiers, Craghas has already fled!”
“Now! Put down your weapons! I can spare your lives!”
Talvey props himself up with his sword in both hands and shouts loudly.
“Don’t listen to his nonsense. General Craghas has gone to gather reinforcements. Charge! Kill him! Once Talvey dies, we win!”
A purple-haired Tyroshi officer immediately gave the order to attack.
Surrounded, Talvey looks at the blue-haired officer with a gaze as if looking at a dead man.
“Roar—”
Suddenly, a heaven-shaking roar comes from above the soldiers, and a sky-blocking shadow instantly envelops their heads.
Blazing and dazzling golden dragonfire sweeps down from high altitude.
Wherever the dragonfire passes, the soldiers of the Triarchy cannot even emit a scream before their bodies are instantly burned to ashes by the high temperature, turning into charred black ashes in an instant.
The tragic scene not far away does not panic the enemies around Talvey; they are long accustomed to the existence of the enemy’s dragons.
Not only do they not retreat, but they further tighten the encirclement, making the space around Talvey increasingly narrow.
Since the enemy refuses to surrender, there is nothing to do but send them to hell.
Beneath the gorgeous full-face helmet, Talvey’s gaze is icy cold as he stares at the dense crowd of enemies before him.
His body leans forward slightly, and then with a hard stomp of his feet, his figure shoots out like an arrow off a bowstring, instantly rushing in front of the enemy.
He swings his two-handed greatsword downward with great force, and the enemy fails to even react before being cleaved in half from the shoulder, head and half-torso slowly sliding down to the ground.
Not until the hot, viscous blood splashes onto their bodies do the remaining soldiers of the Triarchy react.
But it is all too late.
“Courting death!”
A low, chilling voice transmits through the gaps of the helmet without a shred of emotion.
The heavy two-handed greatsword is as light as a feather in Talvey’s hands, tracing streaks of afterimages.
Without complex techniques, just simple chops, slashes, and sweeps, the enemies around Talvey instantly become broken limbs scattered all over the ground.
At this moment, several spears pierce directly toward Talvey’s upper body accompanied by the sound of tearing air.
His waist twists flexibly, the heavy armor weighing as light as nothing on his body.
While dodging the stabbing spears, the blade in his right hand sweeps horizontally, sending several heads soaring into the sky.
Before the mutilated bodies hit the ground, his left hand picks up a spear and throws it backward with great force.
The continuous “squish” sounds of spears tearing through bodies merge into one, and it is not until it pierces eight enemies and strings the last three together that the immense impact finally dissipates.
Talvey enters a realm of no one, rampaging through the enemy formations and remaining invincible.
Today’s him is no longer the green and inexperienced appearance of more than a year ago when he first arrived on the battlefield.
More than a year of bloody slaughter has completely obliterated the pity in his heart, making him as hard-hearted as iron and decisive in killing.
Participating in combat for the first time, back then he still harbored pity.
Possessing powerful strength in vain, he always showed mercy to his enemies; this was his concept of reverence for life.
However, the cruel battlefield gave him a resounding slap in the face.
The enemies he spared not only did not feel grateful to him, but charged at him again even more fiercely.
His pity was seen as sheer weakness in the eyes of the enemy; they stared greedily at Talvey.
In their eyes, Talvey was not a person, but a glowing mountain of gold.
Whoever could slay or capture Talvey alive would possess endless wealth and power.
Ever since then, he has changed, becoming increasingly ruthless toward enemies and growing more indifferent to their lives.
Correspondingly, the knights and soldiers under his command have grown increasingly in awe of him, their gazes shifting from initial contempt to heartfelt reverence.
On the battlefield, wherever Talvey passes, there is a field of broken limbs and corpses strewn everywhere.
The enemy finally grows fearful.
The enemies around him become fewer and fewer, forming a vacuum zone within a range of seven or eight meters around him.
The enemies only dare to stand seven or eight meters away to surround him tightly, yet not a single person dares to actively initiate an attack, their eyes filled with fear toward Talvey.
As expected of the most elite troops under The Crabfeeder; if this situation were any ordinary unit, their morale would have collapsed long ago and they would have fled in all directions.
But they can still continue to surround and kill Talvey, making them elites among elites.
“Fire!”
The blue-haired officer sternly ordered, and countless arrows poured down like a rainstorm from above Talvey’s head.
The crisp clanging sounds echoed continuously across the battlefield.
The rain of arrows slammed fiercely against his heavy armor, yet failed to leave even a shallow scratch.
Washed by the rain of arrows, the bloodstains on the surface of the armor dissipated, faintly revealing its true color and complex patterns.
It turns out that this is a set of armor forged entirely from Valyrian steel, and also a supreme treasure passed down through generations by House Valthorn.
Then one could see on the battlefield, Talvey wearing heavy armor moving as fast as lightning, thrusting left and right amidst the battlefield.
Such a brutal yet discordant picture, coupled with the golden dragon circling in the air and spewing dragonfire from time to time, instantly shattered the enemy army’s psychological defense line.
As the first soldier of the Triarchy brokenly put down his weapon and knelt on the ground to surrender.
The emotion of collapse spread rapidly among the enemy forces like a plague.
The sound of metal falling to the ground was endless, and patches of enemy soldiers bent their knees and knelt down to beg for surrender.
Seeing the enemy surrender, the soldiers of House Valthorn successively stopped their attacks, and then earth-shaking cheers rang out across the battlefield.
They excitedly raised their weapons, looking with reverent gazes at the tall figure in the center of the battlefield, shouting aloud:
“Lord Talvey!”
“Lord Talvey!”
“Lord Talvey!”
Talvey in the center of the battlefield took off his helmet, and the enemy finally saw Talvey’s true appearance.
His silver-golden long hair shone brilliantly in the sunlight, and his violet-gem-like eyes were majestic without anger.
His chiseled face was covered in blood at this moment, further accentuating his murderous aura at this time.
Bathing in the sunlight, the whole person made him look even more like a deity descended to earth.
Reference image of the protagonist!