Chapter - 45

[In Aethelgard, rank equals real combat power, Master. The hierarchy is absolute.]

A new glowing list snapped into existence in Leo's mind, scrolling downward like a military record sheet.

[Recruit: It is the basic cannon fodder of the army. Barely trained. Always on the beck and call of other soldiers and meat to slow down enemy blades]

[Infantry : They are the bulk of every army. They can be newly trained soldiers or veteran warriors. They are also disposable bodies.]

[Swordsman / Spearman / Archer: They are usually well trained specialist soldiers, still not powerful enough.]

[Recruits, Infantry and the specialist soldiers usually are between Levels 1 to 5.]

[Sergeant: These are squad leaders. Who have nearly 50 Soldiers under their command. They can be veterans who have seen real shit. They can be anywhere between Levels 6 to 10. (Like Kaelen)]

[Captain: These are often commanders of small battalions with up to 200 soldiers. They generally hover between Levels 11 to 15. (This is where Captain Valerius is at.)

[Lieutenant: This is where things get interesting. They have nearly 1000 soldiers under their command. Their strength is anywhere between Levels 16 to 20.]

[Knight: They are usually C-Class Divine Blessing holders with 5000 soldiers at their call. They are generally Levels 21 to 30.]

[General: They are the leaders of the Legions, Real War Machines who can easily fight off thousands of Infantry soldiers on their own. Generally they are between levels 31 to 45 in strength.]

[Major General: They are the power houses that start to define the power of a kingdom. They lie between Levels 46 to 60.]

[Marshal: To average mortals, these are monsters in human skin. They are one man catastrophes. Anywhere between Levels 61 to 80 can be Marshal.]

[Grand Marshal: Even 2 or 3 Marshals might not be able to fight off a Grand Marshal. They are in a league of their own. They are just a step away from breaking the chains binding them to this world.]

Leo exhaled sharply through his nose.

"Level eighty-one…" he muttered, "I am fucking level three."

He was tiny and pathetic, a bug next to a hurricane.

"Even that ass faced Valerius can squash me," Leo shook his head, "I better not poke him too much."

[There is a critical distinction you must understand, Master. The 'Divine Gap'.]

Aiva spoke again and got Leo's attention.

And just then a second hologram appeared in front of him. There were two human silhouettes. One was bright and pulsing with mana, the other was dim and dull.

[A normal human without a Divine Blessing or a Mana Core has a biological ceiling. No matter how hard they train, no matter how much they bleed, they will almost never surpass Captain or Lieutenant rank. Their bodies simply cannot store or control that level of power. There is hardly any person in the history of this world who has managed to reach a General level of powers.]

"So the game is rigged," Leo mockingly grinned, "The nobles and the blessed bastards stay on top because they are born with cheat codes, and everyone else hits an invisible wall."

[Correct. To become a Knight, General, or higher, one must almost always possess a Divine Blessing or Mana Core. A B Rank Blessing holder can reach General with sufficient efforts. An A Rank Blessing is practically guaranteed to reach Major General level of strength before forty. The hierarchy is enforced by divine monopoly.]

Leo laughed under his breath. Dark. Sharp. Hungry.

"Well, tough shit for them," he said, flexing his hand. "I don't have a Blessing. But I have you, the almighty system that will guide me to the absolute top of this world."

[Correct. You and I, we both are an anomaly, Master. A have evolved outside this rigid ecosystem. While others are chained by rank limits, your progression is theoretically infinite.]

"Infinite…" Leo repeated. He looked down at his hand, imagining it crushing throats, tearing apart the chosen ones, starting with that bitch, Aliana.

"Aiva, I won't just make them my stepping stones," he whispered, "I will fucking crush everyone I will step on."

"Now that we are done with the power structure," Leo muttered, cracking his neck, "Now tell me where the hell I actually am. Auravale feels like the middle of nowhere. Is it?"

[Accessing Cartography Module...]

[Displaying Geopolitical Map of the Continent...]

The pyramid shattered into particles, reforming into a massive map hovering in the air, bright enough to sting his eyes. The detail was insane. He could see the mountain ranges like jagged scars, rivers like veins, cities marked with glowing runes.

Leo stepped closer, "Holy hell… this place is huge."

[You are currently in the Kingdom of Aethelgard,]

Aiva started to explain as it highlighted a near square shaped landmass right in the center. The border lines glowed blood red.

[Aethelgard is surrounded by three major powers, forming a precarious balance.]

[In the North we have The River Typhon]

Aiva began to explain.

A thick wide blue line ignited along the top of the map.

[River Typhon is a massive, four-mile-wide barrier of freezing, violent water.]

[It protects the Kingdom from the Frozen Wastes beyond, inhabited by barbarian tribes and frost giants. It is a quiet border but deadly to cross.]

Leo let out a sharp breath. "Four miles of ice water? Yeah, screw that. Whoever tries to swim across deserves to die."

He imagined giants tearing men apart like paper. And whatever was there on the other side of that river was definitely not on his travel bucket, at least not now.

[On the East we have the Kingdom of Oakhaven]

The right side of the map lit up in lush greens and shining gold.

[The Kingdom of Oakhaven is a wealthy and prosperous, trade focused nation. They control the major ports and trade routes.]

[Diplomatic relations currently: 'Friendly.']

Leo snorted. "Friendly my ass. Sounds like they are smiling at the kingdom as long as the kingdom is emptying its pockets.

[They supply Aethelgard with grain and steel]

Aiva added

[So they profit from the kingdom's wars and consumption]

"They are just parasites in silk," Leo muttered, "Got it."

[On the west side we have The Empire of Ironblood]

The western territory blazed red, jagged edges like cracked bone. Leo felt heat radiate from the projection as if someone opened an oven door.

[The Empire of Ironblood is heavily militaristic and an expansionist power. They are hostile towards the kingdom. Border skirmishes are frequent.]

Leo nodded as he read through the information, "Finally, someone honest."

[They view Aethelgard as weak]

Aiva added.

[Their Emperor is rumored to be an S-Rank Blessing holder of the God of War.]

Leo's heartbeat kicked harder, "An S-Rank?" he whispered, "He must be a fucking monster. Exactly the kind of person I need to avoid."

The map scrolled downwards towards the south.

[To the South lies the mountain range known as 'The World's Teeth,']

Aiva explained.

[And to its north is the Endless Forest. The location of your arrival, the Dawnspire forest is a part of the Endless forest."]

Leo remembered waking up on the soft green grass in the forest. It looked so peaceful from there.

The hologram zoomed out, revealing more territory.

[Beyond the mountains lies the Kingdom of Zarth.]

[It is a hostile, savage land ruled by shamanistic tribes, dark magic users, and beast-tamers.]

[They constantly launch raids into the southern territories of Aethelgard.]

Leo rubbed his jaw, "Dark magic, shamans, monsters, and psychopath raiders. Just the place I need to avoid."

"And where is Auravale?" Leo asked.

The map zoomed closer. A tiny blinking dot pulsed near the base of the mountain range.

[Auravale is here.]

[It is almost the southernmost fortified town in the Kingdom. There is just an army camp that is further south of Auravale.]

[So one can say Auravale is the last town that sits directly on the primary pass for the Endless Forest and through to the World's Teeth.]

Everything clicked instantly. Leo was finally getting the gist of this new world.

[Auravale can be considered as the gatekeeper. It is the first line of defense against the monsters of the Endless Forest and the raiding parties of Zarth.]

[If Auravale falls, they might open a tiny hole in the kingdom's defence for the monster flood to swarm inside the kingdom.]

Leo nodded in understanding, "That Bastard Lord is holding a duct tape to keep the hole closed."

"That also explains why the Capital tolerates a 'Bastard Lord,'" Leo tried to make sense, "They don't want to disturb the balance here. No one would want this job. It's a dangerous and unrewarding job."

[That's not entirely wrong, master. But I wouldn't say that might be the main reason.]

[Monster floods are a very rare, once in a decade sort of phenomenon. Meanwhile it is not an easy job to climb over the mountain range, go through the stretch of the Endless Forest filled with monsters and attack the Kingdom.]

"You are right, I was thinking the same thing," Leo nodded, "Maybe the Bastard Lord has a sex tape of the Baron or that Viscountess."

[...]

"Come on, can't you even take a joke?" Leo grinned, "Why are you so serious all the time?"

[Master, your jokes are what they call PJs in your world, very poor.]

"Whatever, you are just dumb not to understand them," Leo taunted Aiva, but quickly changed the topic before she could retort.

"Tell me something about that Baron Volkov?" Leo asked. "Where does he and the Temple of Light fit in?"

The map shifted again, marking a fortress city north of Auravale.

[Baron Volkov controls the town of Ironhold. It's a two days' ride in the north.]

[He is Lord Caelum's direct superior. Intelligence suggests he deliberately keeps Auravale under-supplied.]

"To weaken Caelum," Leo growled, "Let Auravale get fucked so he can swoop in and play hero."

[Correct, master. It can be said he does not have any accomplishments in the near future, and his family might be running out of favours.]

[He brought a large force for this 'birthday celebration'.]

[Far more troops than needed.]

[Looks like he was planning to use the Blackfang attacks as proof of Caelum's incompetence and petition the King for him to change the Lord of Auravale. He wants his brother in law to take the job.]

The map flickered.

Leo smirked, "Son of a bitch. A vulture waiting for the corpses."

"Leo?"

The soft voice broke his train of thoughts.

He looked down, and saw Lady Seraphine looking at him with those beautiful sleepy eyes of hers.

She shifted against him under the silk sheets, her thigh sliding against his. Her warm and soft hands traced up his stomach, fingers dragging slowly across the ridges of muscle. She was memorizing every inch of his body.

Leo felt his cock twitch with her touch. This damn woman, she knew exactly what she was doing. He could not hold back the smile.

She exhaled a long and satisfied hot breath on his chest. Her soft lips pressed against his skin, brushing close to his nipple.

The war, the map, the politics… All of it was gone. Right now, she was the only battlefield he cared about.

Seraphine lifted her head to look at him with the most soothing smile he had ever seen. Her hair was a tangled mess, golden strands falling everywhere. Her cheeks were flushed.

Her eyes still looked drunk from the chaos they had unleashed just a couple of hours ago. Her pink lips were swollen and bitten red. Leo paid extra attention to those soft, tempting lips.

There was no makeup, no accessories, no fancy clothes on her body and yet she was still the most beautiful woman.

"Good morning…" she whispered. "…Mr Leo."

Leo couldn't stop the grin.

His hand slid up, cupping her cheek, thumb brushing her lip slow enough to make her breath hitch.

"Good morning, my Lady," he said, voice low, rough. He leaned in and kissed her forehead, slow and claiming. Then whispered against her skin, "Or should I say… my Seraphine?"

She shivered hard when she heard him. She didn't say anything, just lowered her eyes. It was as if she was surrendering to his desire.

The Dragon had taken his first treasure.

Now it was time to build the hoard.

** ** ** ** **

[Author's Note: Starting tomorrow, the update will be 2-3 chapters every day unless I get tangled up in something.

I hope you are enjoying the plot, the character growth and the Ahemm Ahemm scenes so far. If you are, do support the story any way you can.

Thank you]

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