Born in Blood

Hearing a nigh-declaration of war, Liam furrowed his brows a bit.

"Empress of Fear and Emperor of Courage," Usan explained.

"These are the two in charge of the Dual Empire."

"They were indeed lovers at once. But they've had a falling out. Or so I've been told."

Liam's eyes widened.

"You were serious about the lover's quarrel part?" Liam asked incredulously. 

Usan nodded with an amused snort.

"The black side of the country belongs to the Empress of Fear."

"The white side belongs to the Emperor of Courage." 

"Both countries work in similar ways, but also contrast with one another.

"For the Empire of Courage, those higher ranked will live above those below them." 

"For the Empire of Fear, it's the opposite. The lower ranked folks are at the top, while the higher ranked live at the bottom."

"Both their empires are massive. And their war is somewhat controlled. It's only between their borders."

"The monarchs themselves aren't fighting though. Just their underlings."

Liam took a deep breath to digest the explanation.

A controlled war.

Meaning, the two monarchs probably agreed on certain conditions before sending out their forces.

Which begged the question, was this really a lover's quarrel?

Or was it something deeper?

Wars happened because of resources, plots of land, and deep rooted conflicts with ideology and whatnot.

Not because two lovers grew bored and wanted a spectacle.

…Or did they?

Cultivators were not normal people. Who knew what went through their minds.

"I just came back and you want me to enlist in a war?" Liam asked sarcastically. 

"This isn't really the time to splurge on resources. But I'm sure you knew that," Liam added.

"I know," Usan responded. "I'm not asking you to drop in the middle of their war and start swinging your blade."

"We'll focus on smaller territories before building upwards."

"Although I hate to admit it… the Imperial Legion is too strong." 

"The Echorians outnumber everyone else."

"Aiho and Neren didn't do us wrong."

"But a crack has appeared in the impregnable walls of these two empires."

Silence.

Usan's face turned grim.

"I… don't have much longer to live," he said firmly. "Six to eight months are left in the tank."

Silence.

Liam's face turned slightly dark at the change in mood.

"It doesn't have to be now," Usan said. "But I won't be there to support you once this passes over."

Liam suppressed the urge to curse. 

Of course, Liam didn't really blame Usan for his way of thinking.

Everyone had different motivations and goals.

It just so happened that Usan's goal was self destructive and unwise. 

Liam glanced at the Black Blade sigil on his left arm with a complicated gaze.

A Celestial's heir, albeit not a complete one, was a dangerous threat with the biggest growth potential.

The techniques given to them were downright ridiculous.

Liam's greatest technique was undoubtedly Mind Edge, Hone and Sword Connection, with Sword Hardening being the last.

'And I didn't even attain the whole inheritance. All I got was Half-head's Corruption abilities.'

'Maybe we could use that to our advantage. Tell the world I'm not a full heir.'

Still, if the Dual Empire knew Liam was out in the open?

Why wouldn't they wipe away such a threat?

They'd be saving themselves a headache for the years to come.

But powerhouses rarely dabbled in matters below their interest.

If every Rank 6 cultivator got paranoid and killed off a Rank 5, the world would be in disarray.

But although Liam's reputation wasn't that infamous by now, it was growing.

Liam pursed his lips with thought.

"...What if we take an ally?" Liam asked Usan, who raised his brow in response. "A big one."

"Who?" Usan questioned. "Not even Kuan wants to take part in this."

Liam lowered his head. Paused, then looked up with a slight smirk.

"You didn't mention the Korsan Lands," he said.

Usan looked taken aback. "The vampires?" he asked. "The other races are all out of reach."

Liam's smirk grew. 

"During my time at the academy, I was given a job to infiltrate their country and bring back info on their dealings."

Usan made an impressed face. 

"They use human as livestock and grow them in farms…" Usan's face grew dim. Liam continued. "But if you look past that, they're not weak."

A short pause.

"But I even brought back a living vampire for them to interrogate and question," Liam said.

Usan blinked, then started to laugh.

Liam ignored the laughter and continued. 

"If the vampire I brought back is still alive… I have a plan."

"Which is?" Usan asked with an interested brow.

Liam proceeded to tell Usan the 'plan'.

As he explained the details, Usan's eyes slowly widened.

Then, it ended with a pensive silence.

"You're mad if you make this work somehow." 

Liam shrugged. "Won't hurt to try." 

"By the way, you have any Rank 5's for me to munch down?" Liam asked.

The question had been on the back of his mind for some time now.

During his stay at the fake dimension, Liam wasn't able to progress his blood by a lot.

Eating magical beasts helped, but it was barely enough for nourishment.

"Just two," Usan said bitterly after a short pause. 

Liam stared at him blankly.

Several seconds passed.

"I know, I know. I'm working on fulfilling my end of the bargain," Usan said placatingly. 

"But it's difficult to find, and kill them without the world noticing."

"But you wouldn't have gotten Eternal Sword's inheritance without my help, either."

"That counts for something, right?" Usan said with a hopeful tone.

Liam grumbled but remained silent.

Usan handed over the two Rank 5 bodies.

Liam didn't recognize either of them. 

But he really couldn't care less.

Throwing the bodies in his Inner World, Liam turned to leave. 

"I'll be on my way, then," Liam said.

"Prepare well."

***

A few weeks passed.

By then, most of Liam's wounds were healed.

Including his cracked mental sphere.

Now, there were only faint markings on its surface.

Now, Liam needed to prepare for this plan.