The First Magic World War

Charles' view was dominated by a map.

At that moment he was conducting a military meeting; the core members of the Westwind Knights were all in attendance.

Though the map showed the entire Old Continent, all other areas were blank except for the densely marked territory of the Black Phoenix.

Charles was now somewhat troubled about how to wage the next battle?

He had previously invaded the territory of the Black Phoenix Dynasty and had gathered information about the distribution of the dynasty's noble lands, autonomous regions, and directly governed districts in advance. Therefore, once the war began, he specifically targeted weak points to seize control, conquering twenty-eight cities and occupying land that was more than twice the size of Earl Mecklen's domain.

However, moving forward, attacking any location might lead to assistance from other noble lands, and every battle could turn into a tough fight. This was not Charles' style of warfare. He was patiently waiting for the armies of the four-nation alliance to initiate an attack, hesitating between taking a few more bites and weighing the pros and cons, indecisive about his next move.

The Black Phoenix Dynasty spanned an area more than four times the size of Fars, but most of its territory was valueless desert. Its core lands comprised only twelve directly governed counties near the sea. These twelve counties accounted for only one-twentieth of the dynasty's entire territory but housed over seventy percent of its population and were the most economically developed.

Apart from the directly governed counties, the Black Phoenix Dynasty consisted of one thousand one hundred and six noble lands and fifty-eight autonomous regions, with neither overseas domains nor colonies. When other nations were fiercely seizing overseas domains and colonies, the Black Phoenix Dynasty had yet to rise to power. By the time it had unified into a great empire, the age of great voyages had come to an end.

The Black Dragon cleared his throat and said, "We have already occupied one and a half directly governed counties and twelve noble lands of the Black Phoenix Dynasty. From this point, I believe we should not launch any more attacks; instead, we should consolidate the territory we've taken."

The words of the old lizardman won the approval of most present.

Even though Charles had entered the Black Phoenix Dynasty and drafted soldiers desperately, enlisting tens of thousands of local troops, the large expanse of land he had claimed still lacked enough hands to manage, leading to difficulties in all aspects. Many areas could not even spare troops for garrison duty and had to allow local "autonomy" to continue.

Charles shook his head. The Emperor of Brittany had promised him that the divided land of the Black Phoenix Dynasty would be his and would be incorporated into Earl Mecklen's domain. For him to pause now felt almost sinful.

Charles couldn't possibly hand over fertile land on a silver platter!

Even infertile land should not be given away for nothing to Inglima, Byron, and the Lionheart Dynasty!

He was indecisive about the direction of the next attack, but he was openly opposed to halting the offensive.

Charles shook his head and declared, "I must take more land, especially since all twelve of the Black Phoenix Dynasty's directly governed counties are fertile territories!"

Charles clenched his fists tightly; he almost wanted to shout his hunger for conquest for all to see.

He asked again, "Have those four Transcendents of the Black Phoenix not considered surrendering yet?"

Gareth Mekelen, his eldest, responded, "My Lord Father, they have not considered surrendering yet!"

"I think we should kill one to set an example!"

Charles also felt that killing one might convince the remaining three to relent. Yet, he still rejected the inhumane suggestion and said, "Let's spare them for now."

Gareth was truly no spring chicken. Even if not sixty, he was close in age. Whenever he addressed his father so formally, every one of the Sacred level practitioners had to firmly cover their mouths, afraid of making an unseemly noise.

They could hardly hold back.

Seeing that the meeting was no longer productive, Charles sighed and concluded, "That will be all for today."

As the military meeting disbanded and people left in small groups, Gareth remained. He waited until the room was left with only him and Charles before speaking in a low voice, "My Lord Father, I have a strategy."

Charles sometimes found it hard not to laugh when his eldest called him father, but he had to restrain himself—how could he mock his beloved only son?

Struggling to contain his laughter, Charles managed to say, "Speak."

He dared not say more, in case he lost his composure.

Gareth pointed to the map and explained, "The most valuable land of the Black Phoenix Dynasty lies in the twelve directly governed counties, but the dynasty's power is also concentrated there. Despite our considerable strength, we cannot swallow it whole."

"But..."

"Sesath is an exception!"

Charles glanced at the map of the Black Phoenix Dynasty, his expression shifting slightly. Sesath was an autonomous region that straddled the Black Dragon Strait.

The Black Dragon Strait connected the Sea of Giant Whales with the Berserk Sea, and beyond the strait was the Black Phoenix Dynasty's "The North."

In fact, the Mesu Family of Fars was not originally a local noble family of Fars, as they hailed from The North; hence, their fleet was known as the Northern Fleet!

It was said that for generations, the Mesu Family had guarded a great secret closely linked to the Savage Seas. Therefore, the Duchess Mesu took great risks to explore these unpredictable waters, which in turn diminished the strength of the Northern Fleet.

Had the Northern Fleet not ventured into the Savage Seas, and instead preserved its peak combat power, only Inglima's Royal Navy on the Old Continent could rival the naval forces of Fars. Byron's and the Black Phoenix Dynasty's navies would be easily crushed.

Yet the world never changes according to the whims of humanity.

For her explorations into the Savage Seas, the Duchess Mesu had weakened her family fleet's capabilities, and in sea battles with Byron and the Black Phoenix Dynasty, their strength was further reduced. She had no choice but to stealthily take the Fontainebleau, surrendering to Byron. Although this preserved their power, their reputation suffered greatly.

This surrender would take decades for the Mesu Family to recover from.

The North was the most mysterious land of the Old Continent. Despite being just a crossing over the Black Dragon Strait away, and with the Black Phoenix Dynasty having developed dozens of Freeholds there, as well as hundreds of nobles establishing their domains, The North remained an enigma to humankind.

By allowing Charles to assume control over Sesath, Gareth Mekelen effectively controlled the connection between The North and the Old Continent, satisfying Charles Meklen's demands for more land to consume.

Although... controlling Sesath did not mean controlling The North, it was certainly possible to assimilate it slowly.

Charles scrutinized the map several times, finding Gareth's proposal very enticing and decided to convene another military meeting the next day to discuss how to seize Sesath.

Charles gave Gareth a pat on the shoulder in encouragement, then abruptly changed the subject, inquiring about his recent training.

Gareth expressed his frustration, "I clearly possess great strength, but I just can't seem to harness it!"

"I don't know what's gone wrong."

"Every time I activate the power within me, I feel this dangerous sensation that I could be blown to bits by this force."

Charles nodded in understanding. Gareth's current condition was due to a fragmented soul. Despite souls being capable of regenerating from even the tiniest pieces without further damage, the reformed soul would certainly not be the same as before.

For example, if you break a lump of clay and then reshape it back together, while it remains that lump of clay, it truly isn't the same lump you started with, as every grain making up that clay has changed position.

Now Gareth, even though he still possessed the power of a Sacred level at the twenty-second rank, lacked the Spirituality and wisdom to wield this power, as well as an understanding of his family's Secret Technique.

A Sacred level, even the lowest at the nineteenth rank, could tear apart the heavens and split the seas, achieving the impossible.

Such tremendous power, if not restrained by ample Spirituality, wisdom, and Secret Technique, indeed had the potential to obliterate its owner.

Of course, Charles had no intention of divulging the Mosleyd's and Gareth's family's secrets. Upon learning of Gareth's predicament, he immediately planted the "Seed of the Blood Butcher" within his beloved eldest and encouraged him to start practicing the Beast God Shapeshifting Art whenever possible.

After Gareth's complaints, he soon perked up a bit and said, "I have practiced the Blood Butcher Secret Technique you taught, and in the past few days, the power seed has cracked open, awakening the Blood Butcher Fighting Spirit!"

"And I can also transform into a Channing Falcon Person!"

"I'm also close to awakening my Bloodthirsty Fighting Spirit."

"What I don't understand is, why should I practice two kinds of power at the same time? If I had chosen to practice only one, I might already be at the Transcendent Second Level."

Charles smiled slightly and said, "You should focus mainly on the Blood Butcher."

"Practicing the Beast God Transformation Technique is just so that when you're in danger, you can quickly escape, given that a Channing Falcon Person has wings! The last time you were injured in battle, I was worried for a long time, and I don't want you to face danger again."

Gareth instantly felt his "father's" meticulous care and said in a low voice, "Thank you for your concern, Father."

Charles tenderly consoled him, deepening Gareth's affection for his father even more.

The power of the Blood Butcher was incredibly domineering and had already started to devour the forces within Gareth. If Gareth could successfully master the Blood Butcher, Charles would gain another Sacred level guard. He even felt that Gareth alone could activate the Prime Blood Limit!

Having such a "Blood Servant" proficient in the Prime Blood Limit meant no longer fearing various dangers, as the Prime Blood Limit could even withstand the Magic-Breaking Bombshell Bullet, and the power unleashed by a Sacred level would be dozens of times stronger.

As for having Gareth practice the Channing Falcon Person, it was purely due to Charles's personal preference. He had only recently become aware that Beastmen included avian species, with the Channing Falcon Person being one of the fastest flying types.

Charles himself was attempting to master a third Beast God Transformation, and had Gareth practice it as well, to serve as a reference.

After sending Gareth to rest, Charles looked at the map of the Black Phoenix Dynasty, his emotion surging and unable to settle down for a long time.

The promise of the Emperor of Brittany to give him the divided lands of the Black Phoenix was simply too enticing.