Five months earlier-- Somewhere in what was known as the Black Sun Kingdom
*Step... step... step...*
'What have I done wrong in my life? Why is everything falling apart...'
'I never sought to harm anyone... That wasn't my initial purpose at least~ All I wanted was not to live a life like the rest of the herd. All I wanted was to leave a legacy behind me... Is this heaven's punishment for deviating from the usual road? But what crime did those around me commit to being tortured for my sin? Why did all those souls have to be destroyed for the sake of the path I have chosen for myself?'
*Step... Step..*
'If the Sect was still on my side, I might have been able to do something to put some things back together, but the Sect is... THE SECT IS...!!! Sigh~ But can I really blame them? I don't own them, they think it's better for them to distance themselves from my problems, that is their decision and I can't make them enemies because of it, it's my problem that I didn't make them completely loyal followers, It is my problem that I wasn't a good leader and walked by their side all these years, after all, most of those Elders in that council I have only seen them once or twice in my life...'
*kicks a rock from a collapsed building in the middle of the road*
'What should I do now... I have no more forces on my side other than the Demon race and some human forces of the Burton family and the rest of the friendly families like Bradley and Camden and Morpheus, they are more than enough to invade this nascent planet a few times over, but they are nothing in Nihari, Nothing compared to the emperors of the Northern Region...'
'I need to get into that Northern Region no matter what, Even if I put my vengeance aside, I must still get Richard out of that place!!'
'Maybe I go with a few other experts in disguise to get to Richard and rescue him? ...No, it is not possible, they treat him as a national treasure because of his ability to extend life and cure diseases, he is under strict protection all the time and their spiritual sense does not leave his side, I wouldn't be surprised if there is an emperor nearby to secure him, even I can't use the Dark and Space paths To hide from someone beyond the Sagehood realm, if even I can't hide then how can I hide Richard from their eyes?'
'Should I take a few thousand Demons on a quick quest on the backs of the Draco to attack the Azel tribe, rescue Richard, and then return quickly? ...No, the Azel tribe is located on the far north of the planet, and around it are other tribes of the north in all directions, even if I entered and exited from the lands of the Azel tribe successfully, and this is impossible, I still have to cross more of their allies' lands to reach the space portal... it is impossible for me to carry out an operation like this Successfully, and even if Richard and I manage to escape somehow, all the Demons who will participate in the mission will be exterminated and I will risk being hated by the Demon race forever because of this, they are now fighting me but are also fighting to eat, I can't go too far and simply throw them on suicide missions..'
'Maybe I should wait until I break through to the Emperor's realm and storm the Azel tribe alone and rescued the boy? .. it is not possible, the difference between the levels of strength is not too wide and can be compensated by the number, even if I become the strongest emperor in the world within the next few years, I will not be able to attack a tribe containing a number of emperors and do as I please with it.... I also do not know when or If I were to be able to break through to the Sagehood realm anytime soon, much less the Emperor's realm!'
'The only solution I see would be to strengthen my forces enough to sweep the entire northern region with minimum losses, this is not at all far-fetched in the long term, but I must strengthen them to such a degree before the invasion arrives in the next 27 years... I do not know how strong those invaders are, but they undoubtedly have emperors among their ranks or at least some means to deal with the Emperors, Otherwise, they would not have dared to come, if the invasion had begun on Nihari, who knows how long it would last before the invaders were victorious and annihilated the natives, and who could guarantee that an indiscriminate strike would not strike the city in which Richard now resides, or worse, the invaders deliberately kill him because he Heals their enemies...'
'So I have to strengthen my current army to be powerful enough to conquer the northern region within 27 years...'
*Craack*
Robin stood his place and clenched his fist too badly that his bones were about to break, 'But that's impossible! How do I strengthen everyone to this degree? the Demons have a characteristic that distinguishes them from all other creatures, they can easily obtain power by eating intelligent creatures, this ability is so overpowered that nature itself made them deaf and blind to make it somehow fair, but can I take advantage of it to this degree?'
'...No, They would need an enormous amount of food to even come close to completing this task. Where do I get that kind of food for them? Even ordering the extermination of the continent of the Flame Empire containing tens of millions of people would not be enough, to carry out such a scheme I have to give them the order to eat every blade of grass on the entire six continents, and then take them on hunting trips in Nihari, and of course, the first target would be the City of Hope that contains the space portal!-
Robin finally stood his place and grabbed his head tight, 'Arrgghh, what do I do? Why is all this happening to me? Why does heaven force me to suffer so much? Is it now between letting my son suffure til death or sacrificing billions of innocents to save him? Why do I have to make such difficult decisions? WHY ME?!?!'
"Hey, Jessie.. look here... I found breakfast... for today... I'm coming, honey.."
During Robin's nervous breakdown, he suddenly heard a weak voice that forced him to look toward its source...
The sound was not weak because its source was far away, it was a middle-aged woman not more than twenty meters away from him, the sound was weak because she herself sounded as if she was about to die
Robin lowered his hand from around his head and looked at what that woman was hugging between her two weak hands.
It was a dead chicken.... horrible looking and smelling chicken, apparently it dead and rotted a few days ago, yet the woman was cuddling it as if she had found a treasure.